DoingGoodFeelingAlright

I missed a few days in the whirlwind of an incredible weekend with Jacksonville visitors so it's time to play catch up!

Friday night I went blindly into a concert. No background on the band, just reliable recommendations. It was an amazing time and once again I caught myself staring at the walls, lighting fixtures, and ceilings of the building. Within my love of design I guess architecture has the ability to catch my attention just as easily as the newest fashion magazine.

The next day I woke up and tackled the Brooklyn Bridge, which I quickly discovered is a tourist attraction unlike the Williamsburg I dominated a few days earlier. People were setting up tripods and full on photo shoots while I aimlessly tried to keep my sneaker laces tied. Something I find hilarious is watching people with cold hands try to tie their laces or zip up a jacket. I can't stop laughing, much like when I see someone trip or slide on the ice. It's the look in their faces. I'm developing a terrible sense of humor correlating with the cold weather.

It also reminded me of a service dog video my friend sent me from youtube. The puppy could do almost anything for you- dress you, fetch papers, you name it. Sadly it was released and now surfs waves with paraplegics. Anyways, the point I'm getting it is that I wish I could hire a service dog for the winter season. All I wanted was a mutt to come zip up my hoodie so I could keep my hands in my pockets...

Saturday Dana had me calling around to a juvenile diabetes unit to try and get her in for Valentines Day. Apparently she has diabetes also and likes to bring in games and toys for the children in place of candy. This sounds easy enough, but I'm beginning to realize if it were she would do it herself. I called numerous numbers and left three messages regarding her purpose. I got zero call backs all day. Guess that means the diabetes unit was doing more than fine this Valentine Weekend?

This weekend I also got to ice skate and visit the Brooklyn Flea, both of which I've been excited to try and do. You can imagine my delight on the ice rink watching all of the embarrassing wipe outs. A particular favorite being a lanky Japanese man with a mohawk. I developed a sense of selfish adoration for him. Big tree fall hard. But he didn't ever give up, he only yelled and screamed louder with each fall. Don't judge me. I too used to question my character laughing at this but I think I'm in the clear now since I almost fell myself the other day. The BrooklynFlea was in an amazing old bank on three different floors and I was excited to find a nice little gift for my friend Cayla's upcoming birthday. Getting home ended up being a crazy adventure but eventually ended up taking the Staten Island Ferry back to Manhattan. I'd really like to do that again when it gets warmer because you get an awesome view of the Statue of Liberty. Who, by the way, you CANNOT climb up into. I always had this vision of waving my hand out her crown at the top of her head. Don't ask where I came up with this, I want to say it was in a movie. Those dreams have now been shattered so I just looked from afar.

In conclusion. Great weekend. Great food. Great people. Two weeks left to figure out my next move....

Current new obsession: Strawberry Serenity Kombucha and Rebelution

My friend Danielle had talked about this chinese tea rich in antioxidants so I scooped up a few flavors at Whole Foods.

DumplingsandSoup

Last night I was dealing with some serious cabin fever so I took to the streets only to realize that nobody was on them and even Starbucks had closed it's doors! On the way back I almost slipped about three times and then became a moving hostage to a snowball fight.

Today turned out to be beautiful but the melting snow made things pretty icy and probably more dangerous than yesterday. I camped out at Starbucks for quite some time to catch up on emails, the online bank account, and bills. While I was there I met an aspiring actor named Peter. He had just moved back to NYC from Cali and was trying to find some freelance work. He was actually on a casting call at Starbucks before he decided to help me with my resume and cover letter. Lucky for him he's also a fluent Spanish speaker and substitutes at the local high school, as well as coaches their basketball team. I don't have anything to fall back on. Once we cleared up my resume and such we ended up grabbing a bite around the corner. Five dumplings and a bowl of soup for $2.25! I noticed he filled up his water at Starbucks and took it with him. I have so much to learn....

I got new rain boots today that were 50% off. I told them to throw away the box and I slipped them on immediately. I had a few close calls yesterday and didn't want to end up on the ground with the ice taking over the streets. After that I looked for Forever21 in an effort to return a few of my purchases. I got REALLY lost... and then realized they only do exchange. Likely story. On the subway home I got caught up playing with a foreign baby sitting on the lap next to me and missed my stop. Not my day. Anyways, I'm FINALLY back home and most likely will be helping Vladimyr run a few errands tomorrow...

TakeSomeTimeToDoTheThingsWeNeverHave

It's snowing!!! My room mate described me as a little girl on Christmas morning when I woke up today. He was probably right, despite my late bed time I had set my alarm for 7:30 and ended up waking up on my own at 7:00 instead. I immediately looked out the window to see millions of large snowflakes drifting down towards the ground. The last time I remember being this excited to wake up to snow was when I was a little girl at my grandparent's house in northern New York. I'm pretty sure it was Christmas morning... and I was also too scared to go into the basement alone to look for my stuffed bear. Now I'm living in the city solo. Luckily some things, like my sense of adventure, have changed.... and others have not.

To take full advantage of this snow day I had planned to join my room mate, Mike, on his subway ride to work since his office is literally on the edge of Central Park. He was also nice enough to dig out a few extra snow hats for the big day. I choose his mom's brightly striped beanie circa 76' with a pom pom larger than life attached to the top of it. Go big or go home is my motto for the day. Besides, he flew down to Miami in the heart of the storm today so I think he felt pride in being able to trade off his cold weather attire for board shorts and tanks.

Central Park was drop dead gorgeous. There were tons of dog owners walking their well pedigreed canines around in the snow. As well as a few business men with briefcase in hand that had chosen to take a detour on their morning walk to work. Then there was me, the out of place 70s dressed tourist, writing in the snow and taking creepy pictures of tunnels and statues. Once I had had enough I shivered my way back to the subway and headed home trying to avoid getting splashed by the snow muck that was being thrown out in every direction by passing cars and trucks.

Other than playing in the winter wonderland I have stayed in today paying bills and sending out resumes. I forgot to add in why I choose the title to this blog entry. My neighbor has been playing ToTo's Africa song for almost 24 hours straight, which I can tell you is worse than shuffling a mixture of songs. At first I was delightfully surprised by the classic song. Now I'm beginning to hope she's leaving for Africa on a 12:30 flight so this melody can get put to rest. I can tell you if this continues I'll definitely be longing for some solitary company.

Internet connection is slow so I might head up to Starbucks soon for one last traipse in the snow, another dose of social interaction, and warm coffee. Ciao!

Subway Stories

Day 9:

Today I met Vlad to help him deliver a few garments. One thing I've learned about the fashion industry is that people are always late... and usually when they know you're coming they will rarely be there. So, I had to bring the garments to a back-up factory a few blocks away on the subway while the initial office enjoyed their lunch break. Once I did that I walked into H&M and Forever 21 to buy socks.

In the midst of packing I somehow forgot socks. I have one knee-high, ridiculous, plaid pair that i wear with boots and other than that I am empty handed. So a few days ago I borrowed a pair from my cousin and I've been wearing them for four days. It'd like to say I was delicate with them but that would be a lie because you already know the running and walking around I do in this city.It was time for a change.

I'm really great at saving money if I refrain from passing through those double doors. I have potential to be an amazing window shopper. But, once those double doors are behind me I tend to convince myself that each outfit is a necessity. I NEED this top for the interview I'll be getting. I NEED that skirt because it will look great with the $5 top I have in my hand... and who can turn down a $5 top. I mean, really? Anyways, I did some self reflection while in line and dropped a few items before getting to the register. Now I have new socks, plus a few other things.

SUBWAY STORIES:

Street musicians are ALWAYS lurking in the depths of the subway, however today I was particularly intrigued. There was a Jamaican guy in dreads that played the guitar without stopping to hassle a single passerby. He was truly in his own world yet he had a genuine smile for everyone that left him as much as a dime. He also displayed his facebook profile on a cardboard next to him which I thought was clever. Nothing too exciting, but he radiated good vibes.

And, he got my dollar.

The second situation was a little more interesting. An older Italian woman with a wild mane of box dyed red hair was lost. She was oddly familiar to me and I couldn't place my finger on it until now.

She is a deadringer for George Castanza's mom on Seinfeld. Please take a minute to picture the yelling, raspy new york voice before continuing to read this post.

Anyhow, I got off at my stop with the crazy Italian lady at my heels and walked past a middle aged guy trying to sell himself as a one man band. He had tied and taped random objects to himself and was tapping away with no tune. It was so dysfunctional I honestly had to ask myself if he was "all there". Behind me I heard the lady yell: DOES THE M TRAIN TAKE ME TO BROOKLYN? HOW TO DO I GET TO BROOKLYN BRIDGE? WILL YOU STOP BANGING ON THOSE THINGS AND LISTEN TO ME FOR A MINUTE? HELLLLO!?!?

I swear it sounded like nails on a chalk board.

At this point I had already turned the corner and couldn't, nor did I want to look back. Until I heard this awful sound: AGHHHHHUCCCCKKKK!

If I had not already assessed the situation I would have thought somebody was being murdered. But, no. This lady was screaming in agony of being ignored by this handicap street performer.

I'm running out the door to grab some items for my first snow day! Tomorrow New York City schools are closed and we're expected to get quite a lot of snow. Hopefully I get caught in the first few flakes on my stroll back home :)

Chicago is not the only Windy City

Day 8:

First of all, before I rant about my daily New York escapades I have to address the Super Bowl Game. I am so glad the Saints won and wish I could've been there in person to feel the excitement. I have a short attention span with sports (unless I'm the one playing) and this game had me glued to the t.v. the entire time.

Last night I watched the game in my cousin Danny's building. Lucky for us the boyfriend and girlfriend duo throwing the party also knew how to cook. I was given homemade baked ziti, garlic rolls, wings, and cookies along with my choice or liquor or beer. Although it was weird not to watch the game with the same group as the years past it wasn't too difficult to fight off the good feeling of a new football crew, free food and drinks. Afterwards Danny, Americk and I went to a club in the West Village known as Quo. Definitely a hip hop scene, I could only recognize a few of the rap songs while everyone else went crazy singing along with the lyrics. It did cross my mind to use the word Watermelon as a cover up. In third grade I learned that if you mouth watermelon it looks like you could be saying any of the words in a song. But, instead I just danced and kept my eye on the live drummer free styling along with the DJ's music.

Monday. Today. I sent out a few resumes and emails before I treked over to the FedEx Kinkos to print out copies of my finished resume. I had thrown on leggings, my new 6.0 Nike high tops, sweater, and a fedora because it looked sunny outside. Now I feel like I should inform you that looking out my window and creeping on the street walkers has taken the place of my former weather.com obsession. What I didn't suspect from this stalking was the presence of wind tunnels I've so sweetly avoided since my arrival. On the way to Kinkos the wind lifted my hat of my head and carried it somersaulting halfway down the block. Naturally I had to chase after it while gaining an audience in the process. Then on my way home from Whole Foods I had my hands full and accidently brushed past a guy in a group of foreign men. I quickly apologized and kept walking while they yelled after me that they had seen me in my movie. What was it called again? I walked faster relishing the fame, and allowing them to believe they had just ran into their first American actress. Other than that I just ordered business cards, cleaned, and cooked. Tomorrow I'm back at the internship.

Superbowl Sunday Funday

Day 7 (One Week Survival Mark):

I woke up this morning in my clothes and make up from the night before. I need to loose this lazy habit because it's no longer acceptable in the real world and my skin hates me for it. It wasn't so much that it was a crazy night, but more that it was a crazy Saturday in general. So in an effort to regain my dignity and prove to myself that Super Bowl Sunday won't be a total failure I threw on my sneakers and took on the Williamsburg Bridge. There was still snow sitting at the top and the run was really challenging but again, I was fighting with my own ego so I finished it off with watching a skateboard sesh in Brooklyn before forcing myself to keep up the pace and run back towards my side of town. Today I finished editing my resume which needed to be done and I plan on hitting the streets Monday with a few copies in hand. Super Bowl plans are still in the works.

Day 6 (Saturday)

Saturday I woke up early and changed, trying to check my email while looking up subway directions all at the same time. After looking at the snow on the ground and deciding I didn't want to risk showing up late to the photo shoot I hailed for a taxi and got to the shoot ten minutes early, making myself the first to arrive. My dad will be proud, he always tells me to arrive early for work and stay late to make an impression.

The owner of the studios, Marc, was a rough guy with a dry sense of humor but we got along great and he was my buddy for the rest of the shoot. If anyone needed Marc, they sent me, mostly because I don't think anyone else bothered to remember his name. It was exciting to see the behind the scenes view of the time and effort that goes into making a fashionable look book. It really takes an army of people: hair dressers, make up artists, stylists, models, photographer, etc. I met the other intern Amber, who was a small town girl like myself from Kansas. We also got along well and I hope I get to work with her again. When ideas of lunch started rolling around the fashion camp my favorite response I heard was laxative tea. The cliche fashionistas do exist. I also passed a model casting going on downstairs. Sometimes it's easy to forget that models are literally glorified clothing hangers with a pretty face... their legs are the size of my arms and it made me feel a little better when our models told me they were only 16 and 17. Little girls that were also sophisticated and smart business women. I was supposed to be helping out at the shoot till two but ended up leaving around 4:30 when I realized how late it was getting and I wanted to meet my friend Casey and her friend who were visiting the city from Jville for her birthday. We walked around and went out to dinner. I have to admit that although I haven't gotten homesick yet it was really nice to see a familiar face. It was just as nice to devour a turkey burger instead of PB&J or grilled cheese like the past three nights.

When I got home I got a text from my other friend Casey who was in classes with me at FSU. She lives in the UWS but was literally a block away from my house drinking $5 martinis with a friend. Even though I was tired I freshened up and met the girls out for my first night on the town since I got here. When I got to the bar, Verlaine, I had an instant like for the place. It was packed and the girls had been sweet enough to have a lychee martini waiting on me. The guy next to them offered me his seat but in doing so knocked into a girl carrying a bagged up bottle of wine to take home. It hit the floor with a bang. He picked it up, handed it to her sloshing around inside the bag and ran out the door. Chivalry at it's finest.

It was a good night bouncing around to different parts of the city but I was so tired I was drinking on fumes, while the other girls were full party mode. At one dive bar we all paraded into the bathroom together thinking nothing of it. A manly woman bartender followed and yelled at us saying there would be no group drug rings going on in the rest room. If we wanted to couldn't we have done it alone anyways?

Casey decided she wanted to head to Brooklyn so her friend and I walked back towards our part of town. The last place we went was swanky and I had offered to buy our next drinks since the girls had paid for the cab ride earlier. Over $30.00 later and striking up an interesting convo with two guys next to me from Amsterdam I decided to call it a night and head home.

I wish my best friends from back home could've been right there with me.

TGIF

DAY 5:

Today was one of the most uneventful ones I've had. I dragged myself out of bed this morning after a late night of studio searching and began calling all of the studios I had lined up for our potential photo shoot, as well as continuing the search for a hotel. After getting some free time to make breakfast I went towards the fashion district to pick up some hook & eyes, buttons, etc. from one factory to deliver to the next. In my excitement of getting new shoes and being adamant about tossing my Ugg boots to the curb I slipped on some heeled boots and a beanie in addition to my outfit sans shower. The two factories sounded close on paper, but once I arrived in the area I realized I was going to be doing a good amount of walking. I even became delusional and arrived at 237 instead of 247. I only realized this when I went to head to the 9th floor and realized it only went to the 7th floor. Great.

After that task I came home and crashed. Literally slept for a good 2 hours until I regained consciousness. Did I mention on my way home I stopped halfway up the stairs to kick off my heeled boots and continue the second half in socks? I woke up and sent out a few resumes. Soon after I received a frustrated call from my mom. The second half of the rent check I had written Mike on Tuesday had bounced. It was completely my fault, I thought my money had cleared by then. I realize as I enter this real world I might have to take money matters more seriously. I hate checking accounts, balances, writing bills, etc. Maybe I was supposed to live in the old days where if I wanted milk I went in the backyard. If i wanted new clothes I sewed them or traded my chicken's eggs for the latest fashion. Yes.... let's go back to this. Or, maybe I'll marry a nice gentlemen who enjoys these things. Or better yet. I will make enough money to pay someone to do this for me. Photo shoot is tomorrow at 8a.mmmm