"Sometimes it's not where you're going-It's who you're with"

"Let's get crazy, talk about our big plans. Places that you're goin'. Places that I haven't been."

Three girls + A closet sized bedroom with cartons of Chinese food scattered around the floor = The perfect formula for the "what do you want to be when you grow up" convo-that still doesn't get old, even at 22.

***

I have a fascination with places. I know what you're thinking, don't we all? But my fascination is more about the power a place can have over you. Like somehow, it is the key that unlocks every wonderful, sad, horrible, great, beautiful thing that happened there. And it brings you right back to the people you were with.

Lately, I've been in the wonderful habit of being exhausted until the point when I actually get in bed. Like tonight.

Tonight I'm thinking about this place. It may be far less glamorous than New York, but let me tell you-this weekend for the 4th of July there will be a happenin' parade, complete with fireworks over the bay and beer for sale-compliments of the local church.






I've been blessed with the opportunity to travel the world, live on both coasts, and yet, I still don't think I've ever felt truer, more genuine happiness than in Door County, Wisconsin of all places.

I've heard that if you are truly content with yourself, than you will be happy anywhere. The place won't matter. I think I need to dive back into my 16 year old self and think about why I loved that place so much, because that is the kind of feeling I want to have wherever I end up.

One obvious key element is to find yourself surrounded by wonderful people, and so far, no matter what country, coast, or city, I think I've been pretty darn lucky.


On a far less philosophical note, do you think they make the serving size "3" on packages that contain mini, individually wrapped candy bars because they know it is absolutely impossible to eat only one?

Wishful Thinking.

I want to be a writer observing life in NYC while ALSO living in Dublin where I can drink Guinness and listen to great music ALL the time...but I also want to sip on wine while walking through the beautiful streets of Florence and still be able to jet over to Brussels (Belgium OR Wisconsin) for some waffles and frites and STILL-I want to lay on the beach in LA while the loving the presence of films being made and endless opportunities.

And every now and then I just want to sit at Shades of Brown in Tulsa, Oklahoma and sip on ridiculously high-calorie-frozen coffee with my little sis.

Who can make this happen for me? :)
How can a girl ever choose just one place?

Maybe I just have to wait for the place to choose me....

doc U-ME ntary.

I keep forgetting that for the sake of school credit, I'm supposed to be logging what I do at work each day!

Today was pretty interesting. I was given a break from transcribing...Praise the Lord...and I got to watch and organize footage for a documentary on a jazz music festival that takes place in the south. I loved this and it was a great excuse to sit back and enjoy some relaxing melodies on the piano.

I think one of the most interesting concepts regarding the documentary process is the way the story or the theme is constantly changing. When you are documenting real life, you can only plan so much. Stories will occur on their own. The tricky part is looking for the important ones. And then you have the issue of major life changing events that happen, say an oil spill for instance, and suddenly your footage could seem out of date if it doesn't hit on the recent issues. It seems like a bit of a race against the clock.

Here's some food for thought. If a documentary was made about your life, what would be the theme? What people would be the major characters in your story?

In my best "Carrie" tone of voice, I can't help but wonder what the "footage" of mine would show if I fast forwarded it to six months from now. This has definitely been the reigning thought encompassing my mind lately.

Anyway...

On the way home from work, I'm pretty positive I saw Christian from Project Runway ...you know, the "fierce" one. That made me smile just a little! Gotta love working in the Garment District!

Tomorrow is my day off. Woohoo!
Morning goal=4 mile run along the Hudson. I really need to get after my training schedule for the fall! Also need to go to Century 21 to return the jeans I feel guilty for buying. Yes, even at the discount price, I'm still having buyers remorse. That's definitely the Oklahoma girl in me.

After that, I'm thinking that taking a blanket to Central Park and camping out for the day sounds perfect. All I need is my ipod, a PBJ and I'll be good to go :)

I can't wait for my little sis to get here! I do the love the city, but there are definitely some things at home I've been missing lately.

When in Rome...or NEW YORK!

I'm going to try and avoid writing the epic entry that I could about the past week and instead leave you with my list of events that occurred that could only happen in New York City:
(Forgive the terrible grammar that will probably follow while I try and remember everything...)

-A free Bret Michaels and Miley Cyrus Concert, courtesy of Good Morning America, at 7 am in Central Park. As much as I don't want to say this, I was pretty pumped when they sang Every Rose. Honestly, when else would this ever happen? FOR FREE?
-A trip to Magnolia's Bakery to have an orange-pineapple cupcake with cream cheese frosting. Mmmmm.
-Pizza by the slice in the West Village before tracking down a movie set and then stalking it for hours. (The film was Something Borrowed starring Kate Hudson)
-Dinner with the girls on the Upper East side
-An encounter with several ambulances and a cherry picker and wondering if someone is going to jump...only to realize it is yet another TV set.
-A trip to the beach in Brooklyn followed by a trip to Coney Island where none other than the famous "Mermaid Parade" was taking place. Basically this is like Mardi Gras for people who want to dress like fish and mermaids...and call it "art." In the pictures below you will see signs from some of the preachers who showed up. Apparenlty that doesn't only happen in Oklahoma!
-A visit to the original Nathans for hot dogs :)
-Adventures in Chinatown for bargain shopping
-Lunch while overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge
-Sitting on the steps of the Met with your friend while imagining Blair and Serena doing the same ;)
-Amazing Chinese food for half the price of anything else in the Upper East side
-Seeing Van Gogh's Starry Night (for free) at the Museum of Modern Art

(Let me add that all of this was with one of my best friends from home and some new great friends in NYC...couldn't get much better!)

And the icing on the cake was the Yankees/Mets game on Sunday...just being in the stadium alone was amazing..but finding out our seats were right behind home plate about 20 rows up...unbelievable. Didn't even mind the pouring rain in the 7th inning..it definitely added to the experience. There is something magical about the Yankees, despite the fact that I normally have a soft spot for the underdogs...(sorry Case!)

And finally..topping off the weekend in Washington Square Park followed by dinner in the East Village and a night visit to Times Square.

Holy Cow. I'm worn out just re-reading that.

That was all last weekend. Tonight I went with the girls to the Film Forum in Soho. It is an incredibly awesome little theater that screens old films and independent ones. We saw Breathless, which was obviously wonderful. I fell in love with that film all over again. And I just love the fact that on a random Wednesday night, there was a decent crowd at this little theater celebrating this wonderful film.

Only in the City :)


















So my HTML coding skills are failing a bit-but that picture above the one of Miley and Bret is over the movie set! And the statue is Alice in Wonderland from Central Park. And the man on home plate-well, I'm sure you know who that is!



Might I add-this is also the same city where you can discover mysterious blood has dripped on your friend in the subway..creepy? Yes. Also in the subway you can find yourself pulling away from the platform while staring back at your friend who got left behind. Gotta be aggressive!



PS.I'm starting to get really excited when people stop me on the street and ask for directions. Hopefully by the end of the summer I'll actually be able to help them!

New York-You know you make my heart skip

Today was lovely.

Work consisted of more transcribing....I'm well over one hundred pages now.

I found out this evening that one of my short stories is actually going to published! That was an unexpected, fun little surprise.

Tonight was fabulous. I ventured with three friends to the Upper East Side and then to Dylan's Candy Bar. I'm so lucky to have met these girls! I am honestly so relieved to have gone from being completely alone in this city to meeting some really great people! NY is feeling more like "home" everyday.

It was so wonderful to walk on beautiful streets that are actually quiet. I think I had forgotten what "silence" sounds like over the last few weeks because it is a foreign concept over in mid town. Oh the Upper East Side...sigh...

If you ever make it to Dylan's, I highly recommend the Candy Bar Explosion ice cream. :)

I can't wait for the next few days. Kylie coming to visit + Friday night out with the girls + Beach? + Yankees/Mets game on Sunday = a very promising weekend.





Blake likes jelly beans and Penn likes Reeses Pieces :)





I think now is a good time to document, in writing, that Paige and I have officially decided to do the Tulsa run this year :)

Simple pleasures

THEY SELL TAB COLA BY THE CAN AT THE BAKERY/DELI I GO TO FOR COFFEE EVERY MORNING!! I just discovered this today...what a miracle..considering Oklahoma discontinued it for those of you who don't understand why this is a big deal.

And....the bike/running trail along the Hudson River might be my new favorite thing about this city. I wonder how many "new favorites" I will accumulate by August?




Nothing like an evening jog heading downtown along the river :) Did I mention the weather was perfect today?

train stations.

I love train stations.
And in some ways, even the subway.
I love meeting friends there. I love the bittersweet feeling of saying bye to someone you're on a train with when you have a different stop than them...especially when it's a friend you know you won't see for a long time.
I love the movement in the station.
I love watching other people meeting each other.
I love Penn Station where the subway meets the Long Island Railroad.
..It's all kind of like that scene in Love Actually where people are greeting each other and parting ways in airports...that's basically how I feel about the train stations here.


Today started out as a bit of a sleepy, long work day and ended really great.

For sake of my my class credit for my internship, I have to throw a few things in here about what I did at work today, although it's about the same as it has been. I transcribed for hours today. I feel as if I am getting to know Stacy Head and other city council members in New Orleans on a personal level after watching footage of them for hours on end.

At one point I had to run an errand for one of the producers and I just had to laugh, because today is probably the first day I didn't really dress up for work and its also the first day I got to go visit a different office. Let me say though, they told us to dress casually, and every day that I've dressed up I've been a little out of place. So I finally decided to wear jeans like everyone else and then ultimately, still ended up feeling unprofessional. Go figure.

After work I met up with a friend from high school who happened to be in town because he's singing at Carnegie Hall tomorrow, no big deal. It was such a nice night. We explored Greenwich...at least I think it was Greenwich...partly on accident thanks to my lovely direction malfunctions and then grabbed some coffee and took it to Washington Square Park for the evening. So far, that is my favorite place in the city. I LOVE it. I could sit there for hours....I'm also a big fan of Think Coffee just down the street from there. The employees are super nice and the environment is just great. I think that's going to be my writing spot for the summer.

I set a goal for myself today of writing several freelance magazine articles this summer, just for more practice. After some research, I think my first query will go to Girl's Life Magazine. If you were 12, what topics would interest you in today's world? I think it will be a fun challenge.

Tomorrow, I have got to get up and go running. I think I'll head to the trail along the Hudson. I'm hoping that by typing this right now, I'll be able to guilt myself into getting up at 7...we'll see!

Oh before I forget, I have to write this down because it honestly made me crack up in a very odd sort of way. When I was walking to meet my friend tonight, the parking attendant at a lot down the street yells to me, "Hey lady! Do you have someone to love you? I would love you all day long!"

Ridiculous, I know. Despite the fact that comments like that don't usually merit eye contact, I actually found myself smiling/laughing at him simply because of the way he said it and the fact that I will likely pass him multiple times a week, all summer.


Wow...there are a whole lot of "I's" in this post. Oh well, guess that's why its "my" blog.



Love, love, love this place.

This one's a novel.

Listening to: Yellow..Coldplay

Disclaimer: Long-winded attempt at deciphering my own thoughts to follow.



Well I think its safe to say I made up for my extremely sedate and relaxing 24 hours on Friday through out the rest of this weekend.

On Saturday I went with my friend Andrea (from Germany) down to the Staten Island Ferry, which is free by the way, and gives you an incredible view of the Statue of Liberty and Manhattan from the water. The weather was perfect and the boat wasn't even too packed. We had a fantastic view from the top deck. It was about an hour trip round trip and so worth it. (I mean it's free-come on!)

That night we enjoyed a few drinks from our roof top deck while listening to Empire State of Mind, on repeat more times than I should admit. Totally cliche, right? I don't even care. Sitting there looking right at the real Empire State building is still an unreal feeling.

Today I went with three other lovely Oklahoma Girls downtown to Century 21. That store is insane. It's floors filled with designer stuff that is seriously marked down. I was a little overwhelmed.

On a side note...and maybe this is a little too philosophical or weird...but Century 21 is right next to the World Trade Center site. Literally, right there. It's kind of a strange feeling to be doing something so completely trivial right in the same spot that such a horrific tragedy happened. Even though it was almost ten years ago, I still can't comprehend what happened there. I feel like with every second I spend in this city I become protective of it, and more proud to be an American. Honestly, I used to be so obsessed with moving to Europe...but spending time here makes me feel good about where I'm from.

To put a positive spin on that whole train of thought though, I guess you could also look at activity around the WTC as a sign that life is still thriving there. There are huge, wonderfully successful businesses next to that site and families walking in and out of stores, people enjoying coffee...just small signs that life continues.

Whew. Not sure where all that came from.

This afternoon I went with a good friend to Union Square which is a really great area. The rain kind of forced us to pick a place to eat pretty quickly, and we happened across a place called the Coffee Shop...but its actually a restaurant/bar. The food was really great...imagine this: a grilled mozzarella, tomato, basil, pesto sandwich...mmm. I read later that place is actually kind of well known, and we didn't know that at the time-so I guess we lucked out.

I love that people really enjoy their Sundays here. I mentioned in a previous post that people are "really in to brunch." And I think it's great. Honestly, it's so nice to have a long lunch/brunch with someone and to not be in a hurry for once.

All of my experiences so far have left me feeling both completely overwhelmed and blessed at the same time. My friend asked me today what my ideal job would be...ya know...in the dreamland sense. And honestly, three years ago I would have said English teacher. One year ago I would have said screen writer, music supervisor, producer, etc. Today, I really don't know. Honestly. I know that no matter what my 9-5 job turns out to be, I will always love writing. That's the only for sure thing I know right now. I am definitely at a re-evaluating point, but this where the "trusting the universe" thing needs to come in to play.

Part of me feels that I need to spend every waking minute trying to put myself in the best possible position to move back here in January after graduation.

The other half of me acknowledges that of course planning ahead is important, but I also know I need to slow down and just enjoy every single moment. I'm spending the entire summer in New York City. It's the opportunity of a lifetime. I think the biggest challenge I will have this summer is just letting go and having faith that it will all work out just as it should.

The funny/cool thing about faith is-you've still gotta have it even when you're happy. I'm so content with where I am right now, yet it's gonna be a struggle to focus on trusting I will end up here if I'm supposed to.

Anywhooo...if we don't stop to slow down occasionally, we could miss something really great, right? And that sure would be a shame.

Alright, time for more "Crackberry" pictures. The first three are from the Staten Island Ferry and the last is a view of a random street in the meat packing district via the High Line.