IsitBecauseImBlack?TheRealStory.

It's beautiful today so I decided to write with the window open while I wait for Liz to finish packing. It's been a great weekend with card games at the bar, four story clubs and dance offs, 5:00AM diner grub and... the homeless man.

There are countless homeless people in the city, with time I'm calculating to become one of them. But this homeless man took a different approach than any I've ever seen. Instead of posting up a street corner, or inside the subway trying to make music or sell his artistic capabilities, he was lounging half way across the stairwell to get out on the street. We almost tripped over him. His feet were bloody and calloused. He held a cup for money. Truly, I would have felt bad for him and spared my change if he hadn't of muttered the words:

"It's because I'm black."

Really? Is that it? You're settling for living in the stairs of a subway and panhandling for food because you're black. I know PLENTY of African American people that are doing well. Much better than I am. They have a work ethic and class. My advice for you man, is to get a new line. People don't want to hear excuses.

A few of my favorite moments of the weekend:

1. Sliding back in the crowd and letting a midget fill my position behind Liz in line. The look her her face was priceless.

2. Discovering the "card" application on iPhone. I highly suggest it, great entertainment and perfect for Circle of Death.

3. Dance off with a very large middle aged man. Don't judge a book by it's cover. He pulled out dance moves only Michael Jackson could've been capable of and got low, low, low... And moved his hands in a constant rave motion all the while.

4. Liz ordering a full meal at 5AM and then refusing to take a bite. This upset a large part of the table as we devoured our fries, burgers, and wraps. Liz fought back by lying about her flight time. 7PM became 7AM. She had to go. Soon.

We ignored this and she tried again to win the battle. She was saving it for her plane ride. For dinner. Okay Liz.

5. A girl cleverly yelling PETA at me in the bathroom. I wanted to say, it's fake and I paid $10.00 for it. Yours are fake and you paid a few thousand. Who wins?

6. Triumphantly becoming a true New Yorker and eyeing the less packed subway cars before boarding. One was almost completely empty so we all had the same brilliant idea to fill it. As the doors quickly closed behind us we became one. Tourists, city dwellers, all ages and races realized we had sentenced ourselves to a subway that smelled like a mix of garbage and a homeless man's bathroom stall. In a line we moved from one subway car to the next laughing and gasping for air.

Tomorrow, will be an early morning of Regis and Kelly with my mom's friend Mrs. Coggins. She was surprised I was excited to join her. Are you kidding me? I am publicly announcing my love for that show. Regis is classic and Kelly is hilarious. I can't wait. Then it's job search time. Only a few more days to find a killer job before it's back to Florida. If not, I'm realizing that I DO want to ultimately own a successful clothing line and if moving back south to sew and live cheaper for a while is what I have to do I'm content with that.

I feel like laying outside with my laptop, blanket and book. Might have to make it a roof top day.

IsItBecauseImBlack???

The past two days have been accompanied by Lower East Side dive bars, the internship runaround, shopping... and of course, Liz. The first night Liz got here we changed and hit up the local bars. What made the night interesting is that on our way to the bar Liz mentioned how she might need to change into a heavier jacket. Suddenly a feisty Brazilian man intercepted our conversation and suggested that he was headed to the same bar as us. I'm sure he decided this once we dropped the name. Anyways, he bought us both drinks, which is always nice for the steep prices in the city and stuck around for a beer and conversation. He openly told Liz that he misses the intimacy of having a girlfriend in the first five minutes. When he left we were a little relieved, and I promptly got a facebook friend request from Paul in a glittered spanish parade costume. Unfortunately my finger slipped and hit ignore....

We woke up to spend our next few hours of existence finding fabric swatches, picking up dresses, re-ordering buttons. In summary, power walking a fashionable half marathon. Afterwards we checked out the NYC Juicy flagship store, two stories of high priced outfits displayed in a setting that made me want to hire the interior designer on the spot. I love the romantic vintage style of the stores, but it was all eye candy and I kept the wallet stashed away deep in my purse. Liz did the same. Once we got home we crashed into a power nap and woke up to my room mate coming home from work. He confidently accused us of being lazy and hung over while denying our alibis of an eventful day.

TBC..... Happy Hour Margaritas calling our names.

DoubleTrouble

I am aware that this is my second post of the day but I'm trying to redeem myself from not writing at all tomorrow. I think I'm going to be way too excited and busy to slow down and type out a few stories. Also, I'm going to be running around four fabric samples for Vladymir, which always takes longer than expected.

Why am I excited? Liz arrives tomorrow!!! I also have a surprise birthday dinner to attend for my second cousin Butchie in Tribecca, which I imagine is going to be expensive. Is it rude to only order a salad or appetizer at a fancy birthday dinner? Tomorrow night is the final night to go out for Fashion Week. I've surprisingly not taken part in it at all this time around, mostly because I had nobody to go out with. This makes me sound like a pitiful loner, but it's okay because I'm alright with being alone in New York City for a limited period of time (as long as I can pick up the phone for a meaningful conversation every now and then).

When I get bored all I do is literally step out my front door and start walking.

After a few blocks I've either ease dropped or taken part in so many ridiculous conversations and situations that I'm satisfied with the social interaction for the day. I forgot to add that last night on my way out of the apartment I witnessed two guys trying to shimmy a queen size mattress UP, not down, the middle of the stairwell. If you saw the picture of my stairs you would have been in awe too. It was amazing to watch their fingers turn white while trying to grip onto the mattress. I wanted to have a part in it. I dropped my bag and held on for a little while until I realized I was absolutely no help. I asked them if they wanted me to get my room mate to help them. One said yes. One said no.

Then the "one that said yes" told the "one that said no" to stop trying to act cool in front of a girl and that they were actually struggling. I let them bicker for a little while until I got a block away and called my room mate to check on the progress. I didn't want them to lose their manhood- but I'm sure they were delighted when a random dude offered help.

Today I did my laundry. I've always wanted to enter a laudromat since Amy Grant's music video in the 1990s. It was a total success, however I spent the entire hour basically sitting next to what I thought was an indie rocker boy. As I was on the phone I couldn't help but subconsciously compare our thighs, to which my dismay- his were much tinier than mine peaking out through "his" ripped, hippie, skinny jeans. It wasn't until I had to do an extra dryer cycle and needed to exchange my two dimes and a nickel for a quarter that I realized the he was a she. Startled, it took everything inside of me to not jump back. But after I heard the voice, and got a straight on look it was definitely a girl. Who was trying to look like a boy? And succeeding with flying colors...? Well done. You got me.

AllWeNeededWereSomeGoodFriendsAndASong

I was leaving my cousin's last night when I forgot how deserted the financial district gets after Wall Street lets out. It's literally a ghost town. Anyhow, I didn't want to pay for a taxi so I clutched onto my things and walked a few streets up to the subway. The entire time it was only me on the street, plus a lingering man in a trench coat and fedora smoking a cigarette. He stared at me as I walked past and could feel his eyes burning into my back as I picked up the pace. It sounds cliche but I felt like I was the victim in a Nancy Drew or Sherlock Holmes mystery novel. This is the first night in New York I can attest to feeling nervous or unsafe. I hurried to the subway and walked down two stories expecting to see more people but only to realize it was me, alone with two homeless men who had made beds on the floor. It was all too much so I ran back up to ground level and searched for a taxi. I learned my lesson. Next time I'm just crashing on the cousin's couch.

Sun is Shining!

Anytime I say this I automatically follow it by singing the rest of a song by Finley Quaye in my head. If you've never heard it you should look it up. Definitely a mood lifter. Last night I got two Valentines Day gifts in the mail. One from my mother, which included countless bags of candy, a sleeping mask to cover my eyes at night, socks, and money. It was exactly what I needed. I did tear into each bag and candy box individually, insisting with my cousin that we needed to try a sample of everything. I'm pretty sure he had a handful of nerds and an airhead. I ate the same... multiplied by five other types of candy so my stomach felt sick for the rest of the night. It reminded me of a time in college when someone's mom had sent them a large Sam's club pack of laffy taffy. Four of us sat in a circle puling out flavors and reading the jokes on the back. At the end someone said it was time to put them all back in the bag. I didn't realize I was the only one who had been eating every piece... story of my life. I'm surprised I don't have more cavities. Which reminds me, my mom also sent me dental floss. She knows me too well...

My friend Evan's mom, who- if you've never had the pleasure of meeting, is amazing. She is one of those people that can somehow find the balance of giving you honest advice while holding onto the greatness and positive opportunities that can also be achieved. She sent me a hilarious card with a Starbucks gift card inside. Perfect. On top of this, I got a really nice, motivating message when I woke up this morning. I am ready to conquer the world right now. I've always heard the saying "If you lay with the dog you get fleas," I think that is true to an extent but how about if you surround yourself with good people the energy is undeniable? I am VERY thankful for the people I have close to me at this point in my life. They are exactly what I need to help me stay focused. With that said, I have to go make a few phone calls, clean the kitchen & bathroom, attempt laundry, and return a temporary phone I bought when I thought I killed mine with coffee.

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!