April: Conferences and Family

She is definitely not beautiful. Her cracks and wrinkles are echoes of a beauty that once was. She is definitely not young. Her lilting curves and grey shores are well traveled. She is definitely not paradise. Her drooping dressings and dusty ornaments have lost the luster of excitement that once drew the young and beautiful to her. She is definitely not fast. The fastest men may visit her once a year, but their adrenaline rapidly fades leaving a slow-moving, tired city. Daytona was clearly once a beautiful, vibrant, fast-paced city in paradise. That was probably in the 1950s. She has not been updated since then. Her well-worn buildings are grayed from the competing forces of rain, wind, and sun. Her decrepit streets ache for action that will never return. Daytona is definitely not beautiful, but you can tell she once was.

At the beginning of April I trekked the three hours across Florida to Daytona beach to mentor four groups of undergraduate students at an undergraduate conference at which they were presenting. As I drove into Daytona, I kept expecting it to get better. I kept thinking that I must just be on the wrong side of the town. It never did. I stayed in a run down little hotel room that was moist with stale sea air. The air conditioner was working overtime to keep the room cool despite its rusted edges. The tile floor was clean, but when I walked on it, I could not help but think there was sand all over the bottoms of my feet. I was joined by some friends that night J and G and we sat on the beach staring at the stars over the black ocean chatting about life, school, dreams, love, and destiny. Juxtaposed with these conversations were brief breaks when tiny children who were vacationing with their family at the same hotel mustered up the courage to come talk to the strangers on the beach. They would make themselves fall over laughing as they asked us questions like "do you love him?" "are you married to me?" "are you magicians?." Kids are funny creatures. The next morning we found ourselves at the Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, a beautiful campus near the beach that played home to some of the brightest minds. Over the next ten or so hours, we listened to different presentations on human factors and applied psychology. Overall, the conference went smoothly, and I beamed with pride as I watched my undergraduate research assistants clearly articulate their studies and findings to professionals in the field. I was so proud to see this young minds I had helped mentor critically thinking and responding to questions they had not prepared for. It also filled my heart to find out that my research assistants were all friends, sharing a group chat, inside jokes, and helping one another through the daily struggles of undergraduate life. I drove home from Daytona with a sense of accomplishment, pride, love, and a strong desire to never visit Daytona again.

A few short days later, Kim and I were on a plane to Los Angeles for another conference, the biggest annual conference for IO psychology, SIOP. We both presented our studies, and networked with colleagues, and reconnected with friends who have graduated or who attend different institutions. The conference was held at the convention center in Anaheim and happened to overlap with a national youth cheerleading competition. So for four days, there was a healthy mixture of adults in suits and dresses, and tiny makeupped seven year olds with big hair in leotards running around. One afternoon, as Kim and I were walking back to the hotel from the convention center, I heard my name shouted from behind.  I turned around, shielding my eyes from the Californian sun, and saw Mike, a former employee of my dad's waving me down. Mike is a very large man, somewhere between 6' 3" and 6' 6", and a solid 215-245. His wife and kids were there too to cheer on the youngest child,and only daughter, in her cheerleading competition. What a small world!

One of the nights of the conference, my cohort plus my Kim minus the Kim in our cohort who unfortunately had to stay home, journeyed out to an outstanding wine and tapas bar. We spent the next few hours reflecting on how far we had come over the past three years and looking forward to all the changes we could expect over the coming three years.

The last night of SIOP we attended the closing reception which served up a wide selection of traditional Californian food (flatbreads and sliders) and some solid Beach Boys cover music. About half an hour into the closing reception, after doing the twist and downing a pork slider, Kim and I had to hustle off to a Dave & Busters to meet up with her friends and mentors from her masters program at Cal State. We had a blast playing arcade games, eating more food, and catching up with/meeting old friends. At the end of the night, we gave all of our hard earned tickets to a random tiny child, assuming he needed them more than we needed some plastic tchotchke.






The next day, we packed our bags and checked out of the hotel in Anaheim. While we were in line to check out, I answered a phone call from my mom panicking since they had come to pick us up from Las Vegas in their RV. They had come by the hotel, and we were not ready yet, so they were forced to circle around, making very tight turns in a very large vehicle with an attached trailer. We hurried through the checkout process and managed to jump into the RV while my parents parked, briefly stopping traffic. Over the following four hours or so, we trekked across the desert enjoying the view of dunes, and the opportunity to rest and catch up with my parents. Unfortunately, my parents had not yet figured out how to work the air conditioning in the RV, so the enjoyment was capped a bit by the heat, which was kept in check only by a strong, warm breeze through the open windows. There was nothing to do but laugh and enjoy the hilarity of the situation of four adult humans and two large adult dogs driving through the desert in a forty something foot bus without air conditioning.


While in Vegas we spent most of our time relaxing, chatting, and working out at my parents' kickboxing gym. One night, we walked along the strip together, eating dinner by the large Ferris wheel that offers spectacular views of the city in the desert. But all too soon, it was time to say our goodbyes and head back to Tampa to finish up the year.

Back in Tampa, as April came to a close, we celebrated Kim's birthday. I surprised her with a day of Chicagoan food. A Culver's Custard had recently opened in Tampa, so we went there for lunch, and more importantly, a Portillo's had opened in Brandon. Kim had been dying to go to this Portillo's since it opened in February. We made the thirty minute drive to meet some of our friends at this behemoth of a fast food restaurant. Kim's excitement and ravings were justified. The hot dogs, and Italian beef sandwiches, and chocolate cake were amazing. Thank you snowbirds for bringing your food franchises down to Tampa with you!

Overall, April 2016 was a furiously busy month, but I would not have it any other way.  Cheers to the daily adventure.

March: Friends, Family, and Zombies

The trees seemed to be reaching for them, the shadows curling their gnarled fingers toward them. There was something in these woods. If they could only get out. The heavy crunch of their feet on broken twigs and rocks as they ran through the steamy forest echoed in their heads, matching the pace of their quickening heart beats. Sweat rolled down his back, sending shivers through his body despite the heat. Then they heard it, the snarl and scratch that meant something was around the corner of the trail. They turned, not knowing exactly what they would see. As they rounded the corner, they were greeted by three freshly-made zombies. They had to pass them. There was no way around. As they tried to run through, they were snagged. The zombies were too fast, there were too many of them. They were done.

In March, Kim and I had the pleasure of running a Zombie Run 5k through the woods/swamps. We were not quite risking our lives, but we were risking our flags. We each had three flags that represented our lives.  Zombies were placed throughout the path with the sole purpose of stealing our flags. Sadly, neither of us made it the whole way without losing all of our flags. But, we did learn a bit about ourselves. I learned that alternating sprinting and running is pretty miserable, especially with a twisted ankle. Kim learned that in the case of a zombie apocalypse, maybe she should not run in front of me, since I may or may not accidentally push her toward them... 

As part of the Zombie Run, we were also supposed to have a color run in the afternoon. Unfortunately, pretty intense thunderstorms rolled in and the color run was canceled. So, looking like we just survived a zombie apocolypse, complete with caked on mud, sweat, and fake blood, Kim and I went to Panera and worked for the rest of the afternoon.

One might think that surviving a zombie apocalypse would be enough excitement for one month, but Kim and I were not quite satisfied. We were happy to have one of my best friends from high school, Graham, come and visit along with his friends. Being only an hour away from Disney and Universal has made Tampa a prime place to visit. While in town, Graham, friends, and I went to the beach and searched for seashells and sunrays. It is crazy how you can not see someone for the better part of a decade and then when you do meet up, it is as if no time has gone by. 

Not only were we visited by Graham and friends, but my Aunt Mabel and Uncle Ken and friends had their annual beach trip. Once a year, they drive down from Newfoundland, Canada to St. Petersburg, Florida. It was a great chance to catch up with family that I do not often get to see. We chatted family, politics (it was the day Marco Rubio suspended his presidential campaign). One day, we will definitely have to make the journey up to the mystical rock in the ocean.

February: The Show Goes On

The warm rays of sunlight caress his cheek through the glass of the car's window. The afternoon was beginning to fade into evening, but there was a certain palpable energy hidden within the calmness. They were returning to his house from a day of socializing with friends and watching a college lacrosse game. He was newly single and certainly not expecting to find a life-long romantic partnership in someone he had thought was firmly in the friendzone. But as the little Chevy Cobalt zipped through the streets of Tampa, their conversation turned toward the future and his best friend revealed that not only was she willing to date younger men, but that she would be excited to have kids one day, if it happened with the right man. Still unsure of whether this was heading where he though it might, he could not help but awkwardly stutter out "wait, am I the right man?" Could this be real? They were firmly just friends. Of course there had been attraction here and there, but it was never more than a fleeting thought because they wanted different things out of life. Right? But here they were, talking about a shared vision of the future, with all the reasons they could only be friends mute or nonexistent. "Yeah, you are." She wryly said, trying to pay attention to the road, with her heart hammering in her chest. "Well, then, let's just get married. I'm serious. Let's do it." And he was. In the briefest of conversations, his whole world had been flipped upside down. He knew that this woman was his soulmate, that she was not only his best friend, already, but that she was beautiful and brilliant, and now she wanted kids and was actually attracted to him too? Why, wait? "Things need to happen first, like dating, for example." she said. She was taken aback by his abrupt forwardness and earnestness. "Well, ok then! Let's date." And thus began a romance to rival the likes of Cleopatra & Mark Antony, Orpheus & Eurydice, Marie & Pierre Curie, Jack & Rose.


A little over a year later, Kim and I celebrated our first anniversary of dating on Valentines day. Kim surprised me with a day trip to Lettuce Lake Park, a local wildlife and nature reserve. We wandered around the boardwalks above the lake and swamps, trying to spot gators or turtles or birds. Mostly, we just talked and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Kim had also surprised me with a picnic lunch of Publix sandwiches (the food we ate on our first date). We sat and watched other young couples milling about the park, playing with frisbees, half-heartedly sneaking sips of wine from bottles donned in paper bags, or just laying down enjoying the warmth of the sun and each other's company.

Later that month, I trekked down to St. Pete beach to finish filming the independent movie I was starring in. The director, my costar, and I spent the early afternoon filming outside of a pizza restaurant that had agreed to let us film on their patio. That evening, we were set to film in the apartment of a friend of the costar. In between shoots, I found myself wandering down to the water and working on some of my coursework for the last semester of classes I would ever take. The final shoot took a while to set up in the apartment that overlooked the water and park where a Blues festival was beginning to pick up some energy. The sultry melodies echoed their way up to the upper balconies where we stood, waiting for the sun to set so we could film. Hours later, the film was finished, the festival had quieted, and the reflection of the moon was shimmering on the water below.

This post may be a bit short, but February is a short month, after all.

Gasparilla

The ocean glimmered, reflecting the faint pink hue of the new rays of dawn. The sun rose over the port of Tampa, greeting thick clouds of smoke and chaos. Shops and homes were burned to the ground or reduced to rubble. Bodies lined the street of innocent Tampa residents who sought to flea their homes as the call of "Pirates" echoed throughout the city in the pre-dawn hours. Still trolling through the streets, through the thinning smoke and the thick smell of blood and death were the pirates, the crew under the command of Jose Gaspar. Jose Gaspar, the man, the pirate, who invaded Tampa. Or, at least that is how the story goes.

Our friends, Kim and Will, in typical Gasparilla Garb.

Every year in late January, early February, the city of Tampa congregates along Bayshore to celebrate the historic--and yet entirely fictional--event of Gaspar's pirate invasion of the town. Early in the morning, all the boats of Tampa sail out into the bay and then sail back in for The Invasion. Supposedly (for I have never actually witnessed the invasion, it is much too early for my liking), there are reenactments of ship battles and fights between the shopkeepers and the pirates. The area president of Wells Fargo, for example, partook in The Invasion, taking over his own bank! That is how Gasparilla, Tampa's annual tradition that looks a bit like a pirate Mardi Gras, starts.

Dave and Hector enjoying post-gasparilla brunch

Elysia and Kristen at Cicio's Cali.

This year, we were blessed to have many friends visit us for Gasparilla. Kim's friends from home Aimee, and Elysia and Hector came down and stayed with her, while our newest couple friends Kristen and Dave stayed with me. The morning of Gasparilla, we all prepared ourselves, applying eyeliner, dawning pirate costumes of varying degrees of authenticity, and making pacts to make it to the parade this year! Kim's house is a short walk from Bayshore so we host a get-together for our friends there before the parade. Many friends (and some strangers) joined us in celebrating this year. At some point during the day, we made friends with the next-door neighbors who share a fence with Kim (think Wilson from Home Improvement). This young couple had two friends over who were dressed as if they were attending the Renaissance Festival. That said, the homeowners were super friendly offering to share dessert-drinks with some of us, and even gave me a meatball sub to eat because I mentioned that they smelled delectable!

A little before two, we meandered down to Bayshore to watch the parade. Floats filled with pirates, who are actually some of Tampa's most elite citizens, passed by as the crowds cheered and begged for beads. Some people even brought lacrosse sticks to maximize their bead-catching abilities. As the parade began to wind down, we trickled back toward Kim's house. I had one job: "Don't Lose Aimee." When we get to Kim's house, guess who isn't there? Aimee. We had become separated during the departing process and instead of leaving all together, Aimee was left to wander home with some new friends. Aimee arrived at Kim's a mere few minutes after we did, and I avoided the doghouse.

 The rest of the evening was spent playing games and chatting at Kim's as friends came and left. At some point in the night, Kim's cat "Kitty" ran away. A fact, we did not discover for a few days. That emotional rollecoaster of an extravaganza lasted for about a week, as the hunt for Kitty went on in vain. Until, one day, Kitty deciding she had had enough of the streets, longing for the lap of luxury she was used to, hunkered down in the cat trap we had set up on Kim's front porch (complete with Kitty's favorite blanket and calming cat pheromones).

Kim and Aimee at Cicio's post-Gasparilla.

Alas, all great things must come to an end, even Gasparilla. And all great things must have their appropriate endings. Every year, we have a post-Gasparilla brunch at Cicio's Cali in North Tampa. Their bowls are delicious, the live music is always outstanding, and it feels like it's healthy (or at least healthier than the alternatives).

All in all, this was a rather entertaining, yet tame Gasparilla. Previous years saw strangers attempting to crawl into Kim's car through her passenger window as we drove through the crowded streets, insisting we take them home. That is, until we started rolling the window up on them. Or friends locking themselves in the bathroom for multiple hours. Shenanigans. But, what can you expect for a holiday designed to celebrate the day a fake pirate supposedly took over your city?

January: A New Beginning

Moments before midnight December 31, 2015

It starts with a kiss, as do all great stories. Amid the bright booming fireworks and the joyous cheers and general cacophony, a boy and girl are locked in a deep embrace. The moment lingers as they share warmth and love, both feeling electrified with passion. Then, the moment passes, they pull apart and join in the celebration of the new year. 2016 would be quite an amazing year, especially if it started off like this. Little did we know that our kiss would mark the beginning of one of the best and busiest (and most challenging) years of our lives!

Some context. I am now a 25 year old doctoral candidate in Industrial-Organizational Psychology. I study teams in the workplace and how to make them better. I last used this blog as a way to chronicle my adventures during my undergraduate days, with my last update taking place right before I started my senior year of college at Washington and Lee University. It has been a little over four years since that last post, and I have had many adventures since then. Moving forward, I want to keep this blog as a way to reflect on my life as it is. A sort of diary. I have spent many hours lately fearing growing old and having never lived an extraordinary life. That is, until just the other day when a dear friend pointed out that our lives, in fact already are extraordinary. The opportunities and daily adventures we have, though riddled with challenges and mundane tasks, are still the stuff of dreams for many people. Part of my fears, too, are stemmed in my poor autobiographical memory. I have come to realize that my brain lets many of the events of my life just slip by, washing over it like a wave that retreats. This wave may make some lasting impressions or changes, it may have stand out among the millions of waves of experiences crashing over us every day, but generally, once it recedes back into the endless ocean of time, it's gone for me. Reading over my previous posts I noticed two things: 1. I was rather immature in both my writing and my perspective (but what is to be expected of a 20 year old). 2. I have only the vaguest memories of many of those posts. Some of the people and events mentioned are just shadows of a wave that passed by years ago. I now fear growing old and not being able to remember the extraordinary life that I am currently living, and thus, I have taken up this blog again.

Enjoying the Las Vegas strip before 2016 starts

We started our journey through this recent year at the very moment the clock struck midnight on New Years Eve. My girlfriend, Kim, and I were in Las Vegas celebrating. My parents live out there now, and we had taken two weeks to visit them for the holidays. Not wanting to waste an opportunity to celebrate New Years in one of the three most iconic places to do so, we went to the strip. After hours of wandering around the strip, admiring the lights and the people and the food, we found ourselves buffeted to a viewing area for the fireworks outside the Bellagio. There we stood waiting eagerly for 2016 to begin. It was freezing, quite literally. Kim looked radiant in a very well fitting dress, but because the desert nights are unfathomably cold for a place that can reach 120 degrees during the day time in the summer, she had worn "the warmest coat in the world." This coat is my dad's, but is worn almost exclusively by my mom. It can keep you toasty in sub-zero weather. I was bundled up in a peacoat and blazer. That said, I was much colder than Kim, and both of our legs were freezing. Fortunately, the excitement of the moment, the almost tangible buzz of life around us kept us warm, or at least distracted until 2016.

Enjoying the beautiful scenery and homes in Palm Springs

A few days later, while still visiting my parents, we took a day trip to Palm Springs, California. We wandered around this aging town that served as a retreat for celebrities during the Golden Era of Hollywood. It had the occasional threads of life and new blood that ran through the city, but the magic of yesteryear was ubiquitous. We went through shops (where I picked up my favorite hat, a grey fedora-style hat that actually fits my oversized head), and neighborhoods, admiring the beautiful houses and backdrops.

Tasting some wine and cigars with the parents and Kim

We stopped for exquisite wine and cigars at Fame Tobacco & Wine, enjoying people (and dog) watching. We were surprised to find a film festival taking over the town during that week. We tried, in vain, to watch the celebrities walk the red carpet at the awards ceremony that night. We were able to find the location, and saw limos bringing some of Hollywood's rich and famous, but we had no patience or time to wait in the excruciatingly long lines that buffered us from the red carpet viewing area.

Brewery tour and tasting with Kim, the boys, and Bob at Cigar City Brewing Co. Tampa

Returning to Tampa, we hit the ground running. Classes started back up, my thesis was finishing up data collection, my role as a kickboxing instructor was officially starting, and filming for the short indie film I was in was also beginning. We were home for barely a few days when I was semi-surprised by some of my fraternity brothers who flew in from Virginia, Maryland, and California! We toured the Tampa History Museum, visited the Korean Family Spa: Shangri-la, and toured Cigar City Brewing. It had been a few years since Kim and I had been on Cigar City's tour. They had upgraded from their initial one room tour in which a small group of guests were able to taste green beer, and watch the brewers hand stir the vats of beer. Now, the tour took us into three different buildings, included a tasting of five different kinds of beers, and was led by a jovial man named Bob. He regaled us with tales of inter-brewery competitions and bets that resulted in beers like "Florida Man Loses Bet."

January ended with Tampa's greatest tradition: Gasparilla! That said, I feel like it deserves its own post. In the mean time, cheers to the daily adventure!

The Wrap Up

Let me begin with the fact that this is not the last blog post.  This is, however, the last post about my string of adventures.  In about a week, school starts again and the rate of adventuring goes down dramatically.  I might be getting a job at WalMart so that might be an adventure... fingers crossed right?

Anyways, let me start where I left off, a lot has happened so kick back and get ready to read quite a bit.  After my buddy left, I got an opportunity to attend a concert in Long Island thanks to my second job with Altrocklive.  The review of the concert will be up in the next few days.  So, I won't go over the details of the concert too much, but some of the people in attendance were pretty entertaining.  The concert was for The Dirty Heads and Matisyahu, a very reggae feeling.  This type of music apparently draws in a very diverse crowd.  There were high schoolers and retirees bouncing to the music together.  And, unsurprisingly, the interesting people in the crowd were the older people.  There was a father who was trying to update his facebook status about the concert but couldn't spell "reggae" and tried multiple times and finally gave up and just said "concert."  Another set of older people were watching out for their incredibly drunk friend who was making a bigger fool of himself than a fratboy at a tailgate.

Not much happened for a while after that concert.  I was supposed to go to another one, but they didn't let me in since I wasn't 21, so I ended up standing in the rain trying to get ahold of the band's PR guy who finally got in touch with the bouncer to say that he hadn't heard of me, despite the fact that I was on the list.  Later that week, my boss and fellow writer from Altrocklive came to a music festival in the city and crashed at my place.  After they found my apartment, we walked down the street to get some subway at the 24/7 subway restaurant! (I love NYC).  The writer, born and raised in Boston, mentions to the cashier at subway that he was scared to be in the Bronx.  If there was a way to ask to be shanked other than saying "please shank me" that would be it.  But, I guess someone up there was watching out for this kid, since the cashier sort of chuckled and rolled his eyes.  The following night the guy I stayed with in Huntington, WV came to visit NYC with his friend and they crashed at my place.  They had some funny stories about their experiences downtown and were clearly worn out from all of the walking. 

About a week later, my friend Lisa, from Colorado, came to visit me.  She'd never seen NYC before and wanted to do all of the touristy things. So, I re-opened vacation bootcamp.  We made a list of everything she wanted to see, we bought the NYC pass that allowed us "free" admission to a wide variety of sites for 3 days.  The first day, we do the Statue of Liberty, Battery Park, and Ellis Island.  If you've ever waited in line for the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island, you know why it took us a whole day to get it done.  Granted, we started at noon, but whatever, the lines were long.  Yet, magically, we got to cut the lines.  What should have been an hour and a half wait turned into 30 minutes.  It was nice.  Granted, that thirty minute wait was followed by another thirty minute wait and another fifteen minute wait, but still an hour and fifteen minutes is better than two hours and fifteen minutes.  At Ellis Island, we hustled through the sites, to try and stay on schedule, but when we got outside, and saw that the line wrapped half-way around the island (seriously) we realized that whatever our plans were for that afternoon, they just got cancelled.  In line, we met a mormon girl who apparently was around 26/27.  I started flirting and asking her about her world travel, then suddenly the conversation halts when she drops the "my husband" line.  Whoops.  Since then, I almost always check for a ring first. 

After we got back to the city, we hit up a restaurant that our pass got us a discount at as well as a department store, where I bought THE most comfortable underwear ever (Lucky Brand Boxer Briefs).  We also went to Madame Tussaud's wax museum in Times Square.  That was potentially one of the best places we went to that entire weekend.  It was so much fun getting to take pictures with fake celebrities.  Getting to act out scenes we wish would happen (Kissing Angelina Jolie and pushing Brad Pitt out of the picture). 

That night, we worked our way up to the top of the empire state building.  It is a beautiful sight up there.  I love NYC.  I was able to tell some Australian women which river was which, and what they were looking at.  But, the downside is, the grates around the observation deck make it hard to take pictures, but it's still breath taking, especially at night. 

The next day, we got an early start so we could hit a lot of sites.  We started at the Intrepid, a retired aircraft carrier turned museum.  It was pretty sweet, but made me realize that I would never cut it in the navy, particularly not on a sub (we also got to tour the Growler, a submarine).  The World Trade Center monument was absolutely gorgeous.  There was a taste of sad beauty to it.  The cascading water, the peaceful trees in the bustling city.  Knowing that so many lives were lost right there.  It was an amazing and touching experience.  Next, we hit up the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).  We did the bootcamp tour, not stopping for anything.  We saw Starry Night and some other pretty famous pieces, and unlike in Italy, you're allowed to take pictures, which was cool.  Once we left MoMA, we grabbed lunch in Central Park and walked an obscene distance up through the park to the Museum of Natural History.  By the time we got there, we were pretty delirious.  All of the information, we either already knew, or didn't care to really learn.  So we hustled through, motivated by a sense of obligation to see everything we could possibly see.  When we left the natural history museum, I went back to the Bronx to do some work really quickly, and Lisa went to Mass at St. Patrick's (apparently the largest Cathedral in the Western Hemisphere).  Quickly, however, turned into not so quickly, because, as it turns out, the train that we were both banking on taking us directly where we needed to go, doesn't run on weekends, or at least not on that weekend.  So, Lisa showed up just as communion started, and what should have been an hour and a half turned into three hours. 

Anyways, we meet back up in Times Square and head over to the Spy Museum, which is apparently closed.  We missed it by 20 minutes.  If it weren't for that stupid train!  Oh well.  We walk back through Times Square to Rockefeller center and go up to The Top of the Rock.  It's an observation deck surrounded by Plexi glass, not fencing.  It offers spectacular views of the city, including views of The Empire State building, something you can't see from the Empire State Building.  Personally, I'd suggest hitting up The Top of the Rock instead of the Empire State Building if you ever visit NYC because the views are better and the lines are shorter.  Also, you'll have an opportunity to practice your French.  There seemed to be an odd conglomeration of French people at this building, with whom I attempted, and barely succeeded, to communicate with, in French.  Anyhow, we left the Top of the Rock and walked back to Times Square to walk through Ripley's Believe it or Not.  It was cool, but not that cool.  Nothing really amazing, believe it or not. 

The last day of vacation bootcamp was supposed to be relaxing.  We set aside this day to enjoy all the free cruises around the Island that came with our pass.  The first cruise was very informative.  The tour guide dropped info about all the sites we were passing, but Lisa was passed out and I was too tired to care.  But, when he said the deck was open, I hustled down to get some rays.  I also, managed to ask an Italian woman to take a picture of me, in Italian.  I was feeling pretty proud about my poor language skills, especially after she asked me where I studied Italian.  The second cruise, was technically a water taxi.  We sat on the top deck and enjoyed the sun and views.  The third, and unfortunately final, cruise was a tall ship.  A giant sailboat if you will.  We spent the entire time trying to figure out if the left-handed red head on board was Julianne Moore (we are roughly 90 percent positive it was).  We finished our tour of the city with a trip back to the spy museum, which was kind of a let down.  But, all in all, we had a great time.

The following week was filled with a bunch of interviews with MPH programs at NYU and Columbia and long work hours trying to prepare for the end of my internship.  I was leaving the lab between midnight and 4 AM for about a week in a row.  But, it all paid off.  The lab sent me off with a great ice cream cake and pizza for my birthday and last day at work.  My mom had a cake delivered to my apartment for my birthday.  And my friend and fraternity brother Scott organized a 36 hour extravaganza to celebrate my entrance into the adult world.

We started the evening of the 15th.  At around 11 pm, we roll up to this American food restaurant in Manhattan and order drinks.  The waitress acknowledges that I will turn 21 in an hour and says she'll bring my drink anyways.  After a short period, she comes back and appologizes saying that she can't serve me until midnight, but then it's on her.  I told her it was absolutely fine and that I really felt ok about it mainly because she had a British accent.  I asked her about Dorsett county (where some of my family come from) and she said it is absolutely breath-taking (I hear an adventure coming up!).  But I digress, the clock strikes midnight, she brings me my drink, and I am officially welcomed into the world of adulthood!  The crew strikes out looking for some bars to celebrate at, and we are joined by a pretty girl and her friend from Indiana.  She had red lipstick on.  Game over!  The rest of the night, I was flirting with her (she was actually my age, so it's ok).  We ended up going to two more bars and playing pool and then shuffleboard at them.  I was having a blast. The girl went home after swapping numbers with me and promising to continue celebrating the next night.  I began the long trek back up to the Bronx at about 5 am (it was still dark outside when I got on the subway).   When I got off the subway, at 6 am, looking disheveled, I was surprised to see that the sun was out.  I must have looked like someone who has been locked in a closet for years who finally gets released only to be blinded by the light of the outside world.  Needless to say, when I got home, I crashed, hard.  I woke up later, feeling well rested and ready to go.  All of the gang bailed except Scott so he and I walked Highline Park (an old elevated railroad track, turned eyesore, turned beautiful public park).  We then hit up a bar called The Blarney Stone (because who doesn't want to be Irish)?.  When the bartender carded me, she said "Sweetie, today is the 15th.  You can't be in here.  I need to ask you to leave"  I was like "NO!  It's my birthday I belong...oh you're joking haha thanks."  Then Scott and I headed over to Brooklyn to meet a few girls and go to all the "cool obscure bars."  At the first, we played a game trying to guess our bartenders names.  Ahh my computer is about to die.  I'll publish the rest soon I'm sorry!

Pain and Pleasure

Quite a bit has happened in the last 48 hours. With the help of my best friend, I cleaned my apartment and cooked a four course italian dinner for the people who work in the research lab that I'm interning at over the summer.  I have limited cooking resources here in NYC, which mainly just affected the tiramisu.  Instead of a fluffy, light consistency, it ended up liquidy.  Tasty but more like tiramisoup.  At some point in the night, I ended up trying to whip egg whites with a fork, even though I knew it wouldn't work, because back in Italy, I watched a girl to the same thing for over an hour to no avail.  But, all in all, it turned out great and I felt like a real adult.

To explain the pain part of the title of this post, we have to jump back a couple days to the filming of the indie movie on saturday.  At one point, I had to walk into the ocean with my socks and shoes on...leading to my shoes getting soaked.  Which, was fine, considering I had ordered new shoes the day before, anyways, and was eagerly awaiting their arrival.  However, the new shoes didn't arrive on Sunday (shocker) so I had to wear my skater shoes, which tend to cut into the back of heals, especially when I end up walking around downtown with them on.  Monday, my shoes still haven't arrived, I wear my skater shoes to walk the two miles to and from work, making the wound worse.  Tuesday, new shoes arrive!!  But, as everyone knows, new shoes are not the way to avoid blisters...  So, last night, I ended up walking from the East Village to Time Square, about two miles.  By the time we arrived in Time Square, my heal looked, and felt like it had been shot.  But, I fought through the pain to enjoy limping around the center of the universe.

The pleasure part of this story?  Dinner, a show, and a moment.  Dinner was 6 dollars per person thanks to Groupon.  If you aren't familiar with Groupon, it is an online service that allows companies to get coupons out to large amounts of people.  Stupidly good deal for both the customer and the company.  Anyways, my first groupon purchase led us to Empanada Bar NYC.  We each had a spicy chicken empanada, a curry empanada (both amazing) and for dessert, a half of a dolce empenada and cinnamon apple empanada.  We were warned that the dessert empenadas were hot, but little did we know, that the server meant they would still be hot after we finished eating our main course empenada.  Surprise!  The dolce empenada was filled with essentially sweet molten lava.  I think it was a chocolatey substance, but I couldn't really tell because I was in so much pain from the ball of fire that leaked out of the empanada and covered all of my fingers!  But, it was sweet, I'll give them that. 

We left the empanada bar, went to time square, where I had THE MOMENT.  I was crossing the street, and a relatively attractive red head girl was crossing the street towards me.  We made eye contact, I smile, she smiles, we look away.  We're still walking toward each other when we both look back and smile again.  Boom!  Awesome moment.  But, there's more.  We cross paths, get to our respective sides of the street and look back at the same time and SMILE AGAIN!  I chuckle, she giggles, and we both stop, grab our respective friends, and start telling them about the moment.  This belongs in a Jennifer Aniston movie.  As I'm talking to my friend I point and say "the ginger over there, is gonna look over here in two seconds."  Side note, it's surprisingly easy to spot red heads across a crowd, even one as large as the one in Time Square.  Anyways, two seconds later, she looks over smiles again and rapidly starts talking to her friend again.  But, I decided, that was enough of that, and to leave the moment as just that, a moment.

Sadly, my moment abruptly turned into some street vendor trying to sell us tickets to a comedy club.  "No thank...Wait, comedy club?  How much?"  I was suckered in.  We bought two tickets and started walking away when it hit both of us.  OH. MY. GOD.  THESE ARE PROBABLY FAKE!  We headed to where the comedy club was supposedly located and it wasn't there!  Seriously?   I blame the red head.  I let my guard down for a minute and boom, scammed.   "Wait, these tickets say the address is 300, this block is only the 200's.  Let's go one block more"  The address did exist, but it didn't look quite like a comedy club.  We walked in and said "umm, I think we have tickets, but we want to see if these are real... this is a comedy club right?"  "Oh, it is a comedy club, check with the guy out there to see if your tickets are real."  So we head outside and find two guys on the stairs.  One of whom had his pants unzipped and was tucking in his shirt.  He also happened to be going commando...and looked a bit like the australian guy from summerland/Jason Stackhouse from True Blood.  We asked the guy who wasn't exposing himself to the street, "Sir, are these real tickets."  "Well, those are real tickets anyone could tell you that.  They're real tickets, but not to this show.  Sorry kids"  My friend was so bummed, but it hits me...this is a comedy club...that is a joke...these tickets are real and this is a real comedy club.  Oh thank God, it's real.  I was so relieved.  My friend was still trying to clarify when the guy said "Kid, it's a comedy club, lighten up.  Yes it's real, come back in half an hour for the show."

We went and killed some time in Time Square (no pun intended).  Came back and got seated with 8 other audience members.  Of the 5 acts, not one failed to ask everyone where they were from.  Therefore, I can tell you that on one half of the room we had a Philipean couple from Canada who had been married for 30 years and a couple from Brooklyn who were of mixed ethnic heritage.  On my side of the room, we had a white couple from Calgary, Canada, a couple of guys from Denmark, and me and my friend.  If you're picturing this scene and wondering why all the white people are on one half of the room and the non-whites are on the other side, ask our waitress, or every comedian that night, because they all pointed it out. 

The poor Denmark boys got made fun of a bunch, as they were seated front and center, and clearly stood out.  One guy was told he looked like he was from kansas, and his friend looked like someone from Children of the Corn.  There were some funny jokes other than that, but I have no desire to share them, because I feel like they just won't be as funny the second time, especially since you weren't there. 

That's about it.  Pics are still on their way, including one of my battle wounded heal.  Cheers to the daily adventure.

It's all about the people

What's life?  Not to get all deep and philosophical on this fun little blog of mine, but it's the ultimate question that each of us asks ourselves at least once.  It seems to be a common question among young people.  I hardly think anyone has the answer, but I think the key lies in your interactions with people, and with the entire human experience as a whole.  I once read this short story that basically suggested that man kind advanced so much that they created a place to save the collective human experience in hyperspace and allow it to learn and answer all questions because it essentially was everyone.  This thing, once the entire universe succumbed to the nature of entropy, said let their be light, thereby restarting the universe.  An interesting take on the interaction between man, God, and science.  Why do I bring this up?  I have realized over the past week, that I have been blessed to meet some really awesome people, if only for brief interactions. 

My new roommate: Roberto Corona.  Spanish name.  Born in Africa.  Raised in the UK.  Culturally confused?  He is awesome!  Unfortunately, he is barely here because he has cooler friends in Jersey but, when he is here, I probe his mind for information about the UK and try and copy his accent.  He's such a good sport about it.

His friend Chelsea.  She is from upstate New York, currently lives in Brooklyn, with all the cool kids, and handles Roberto's jokes well.  We only spoke briefly, but she seemed pretty interesting.

Becca and KiKi:  I was fortunate enough to meet these beautiful ladies at the New York Philharmonic concert in Central Park.  Becca and I flirted a little bit, I found out that she was a teacher, played Scrabble better if she had a bigger board, and went to church religiously (pun intended).  When I revealed that I was only 20, I think I took her by surprise a bit.  Best reaction ever "No your not!  Seriously?  No.  Wow.  The universe is sending you older women"  Becca, you have no idea!  It was a fun random interaction.  We talked about our blogs, because everyone has a blog these days.  You can find hers here. 

Patrick V. Hackeling: This guy is pretty amazing.  He is an ex-lacrosse player at Swarthmore university.  His true passion lies in filmmaking, however.  He wrote a shockingly deep script and had the guts to try and produce it on his own, and star in it.  I was fortunate enough to have a fun, smaller role in the film and get to meet him and his friends and be part of, what I hope, is an amazing first step towards a great career for him!  Whenever it comes out, in whatever film contests or festivals, you all should check out "The Thirteenth Step."

Judie:  I met Judie, a fiery red head with a personality kind of like Abby Schuto from NCIS on the set of Pat's movie.  She has lived quite the life, being a make up artist and hair designer in Hollywood.  Two of her siblings are also in the film industry, and the other is a doctor.  Judie gave me some pretty realistic track marks as she told stories of interactions with crazy celebrities and wacky film shoots.  What a life she's led.

Sam:  The cameraman for the second half of the day of shooting with Pat.  This guy recently got married at Cold Spring Harbor Labs.  This place is absolutely beautiful!  Tucked away in the hills of long island (seriously), overlooking the water, this medical facility researches neurological disorders while also hosting concert series and such.  Sam works for them as a video technician.  He was born in England, raised mostly in the states, did college in England and came back (leading to a slight, but noticeable accent).  We talked about a zombie film he is shooting and how he really likes filmography, but can't find enough time/people to do it.

But, beyond meeting new people and experiencing touches of others lives (I think I'll post again about some of the people I've met.  Some who have had longer interactions with me, or who were mentioned briefly in other posts but didn't get a paragraph like everyone here) I have created some new memories with an old friend.

I'm lucky enough to have my buddy KC in town to visit me.  Today, we went to brooklyn to have dinner and wound up in the getto/hipsterville/Jewtopia.  It was great food and amazing view of the city.  We walked back to Manhattan, over the Williamsburg Bridge, as a storm started rolling in.  IT was beautiful  (pics will get their own post).  On the metro ride back up to the bronx, we got on the crazy train.  Some woman who looked a bit like Diana Ross started clapping and singing "ain't none yo' business" and would get mad if anyone looked at her.  When she got off she said "I hope you have a bad evening and a worse night."  Elsewhere on the subway, a homeless man fell asleep and fell over onto a very large black woman who just started laughing away.  It was a fun moment.  A different mother got fed up with her crying daughter after what I imagine was a very long day.  Some guy recognized me and KC from the subway ride at the beginning of the day!  He remembered where we got on and said that we were sitting a few seats away from where we sat in the morning.  How funny! 

It was a pretty awesome experience, and I hope there will be more to come.  I'm dreaming of moving back here after I graduate.  I hope it works out.  Cheers to the daily adventure, and the people who make adventures worthwhile.

A new day another adventure

Sorry I haven't posted in quite a while.  I haven't had that many adventures but I'll try to give a little recap of what I've been up to.
Last weekend, I was in a Starbucks in downtown Manhattan, drinking an over priced cold drink and people watching. I realized that I could now officially be considered a New Yorker. To complete my transition to New Yorker, I was wearing pants regardless of the fact that its been in the 90s since the first day of summer two weeks ago.  I meandered for a while that day, down to Battery Park and around the new WTC towers.  After that, I had an incredibly overpriced brunch at a restaurant called 5 points.  Located at the center of the area that Gangs of New York was based on, I could not help but chuckling to myself thinking about the contrast of this 5 points and the 5 points in Colorado (it's Denver's version of the hood).  On my way home, I had to catch the train with a bunch of drunk people leaving the baseball game.  Entertaining, a little annoying, but generally entertaining.

On the fourth of July, I went to a friends apartment, barbequed, played dominos then went onto the roof of the building to watch the fireworks.  It was absolutely amazing, seeing fireworks go off all over the city.  There was so much smoke, the moon looked blood red.  It also kind of looked like Manhattan was on fire.  But it was wild being higher up than the fireworks and being able to see 20 or 30 fireworks exploding at any given moment.  Granted, the 4th of July, the buses don't run, so I was left to walk home, through the Bronx, at 1 AM.  This goes against everything I'd ever been told!  "The Bronx is fine as long as you aren't walking alone though the Bronx at night..."  I called my mom and had her keep me company till I was safe home.  Fortunately, nothing bad happened.  Also, people find it necessary to set of fireworks around the 4th of July.  So from the first until even today, I think there are gunshots or bombs going off (which isn't a radical idea, after all, I am in the Bronx) then I realize it's just fireworks.

This past weekend, I ran to work in running shorts again.  Let's clarify...most of my underwear covers more skin than these shorts... I'm always half afraid I'm going to get shanked for dressing like that, but then I realize that people won't want to rob the guy that clearly has no room to hide a wallet or phone. 

I have a second job writing for a music website called AltRockLive.  I write reviews of CDs and soon I'll be writing reviews of concerts and interviewing bands.  Potentially, I'll be interviewing Owl City tomorrow, we'll see.  In fact, I'm listening to an album I'm reviewing as I write this.  I was enjoying it, then all of a sudden, it got really dissonant and literally started giving me a headache.  I was thinking that this was absolutely terrible.  About twenty minutes later, I had to pause it to just let my ears rest. Some music kept playing.  I realized, I had it opened and playing in two separate windows at two different places.  Ugh, that was a miserable experience. 

That's about it.  I'll try and have a more exciting life...  Cheers to the daily adventure, which is rapidly turning into the weekly/monthly adventure. 

It's Late

It's late, I'm tired, but I'm committed to getting YOU the details of my adventures.  Tonight, I worked a job that I found on craigslist. Fortunately, this tale has a happy ending that doesn't involve the craigslist killer or any scams.  I was hired by an indie film company as a "host" for a movie premier downtown tonight.  My mom and grandmas were worried sick that I was going to die in at least one of enumerable horrifying ways, but somehow, they came to accept the fact that I was going to earn my 30 dollars working from 10:30 pm to 1:30 AM...

My job as host was to welcome movie goers to the film and to say goodbye to them as they left, and to look good.  Simple enough.  Unfortunately, there were only about 20 guests and roughly half of them showed up only for the short film that was shown before the feature film that I was hosting.  Oh well, I got paid regardless.  Now, it was never really clarified whether I was allowed to watch the movie.  The actors/only people who showed up to watch it all paid for tickets, something I wasn't about to do.  I was quite content to hang out with the staff of the theater (2 hipster guys in their late twenties, one of whom was playing the ukulele).  But, I bounced back and forth between watching the movie, and talking to hipster 1 and 2.  (Hipster 1, as it turns out, is in love with a psychopath, literally, a psychopath.  He's obsessed.  He even writes ukulele songs for her.  If that's not commitment, I don't know what is?)  Eventually hipster 1 decided he deserved a beer and a joint while working, so I headed back into the movie, permanently.

By this point, we are waaay past my bedtime.  The film has shoddy videography and some pretty bad acting, but the theme was solid.  It's about a gangster kid who wanted out of the drug business who gets killed and then his body gets taken by the US army and turned into the bionic man.  There's more, but I fell asleep so I have no idea what happens.  But, lets go back to the point where this kid gets shot.  It's a drug deal gone bad and the kid gets shot, point blank, IN THE EYE...but keeps going.  I disagree, writers...one does not simply walk after getting shot in the eye.  You die at that point.  But, just in case there is some freak way he didn't die, he gets shot another 4 times AND KEEPS GOING.  It isn't until the bad guys walk past him one by one each firing another 2 or 3 shots into him that he dies.  Later, when his body is recruited, the doctors say "his brain is completely intact, as are his vital organs.  Apart from a few crushed bones his body is in good shape."  Excuse me?  What bullets crush bones and spare organs?  And in what universe does getting shot in the eye not lead to some form of brain damage?  Also, they talked about downloading the kid's life experiences from his brain onto a "magnetic disc" aka a CD  (which, by the way, is not magnetic.  CD's rely upon light, whereas cassettes used magnetism...whatever).  But, the thing that got me the most, was the scientists kept saying "neuronic"  when they meant "neuronal"  I know...it's a silly thing to be hung up on, but if spell check tells you you're wrong, you might want to check into it.  This was especially bothersome because the director said that they tried to be as scientifically accurate as possible.  Anyways, the movie ends, I wake up just in time to say goodbye to everyone and all in all had a good experience.

So, I'm walking to the subway station and cross a pizza joint, selling slices of "Little Italy Pizza" for 2.75.  It reminded me of Italy and how hungry I was at that point so I stopped in grabbed a slice and headed to the train.  The pizza wasn't up to Italian standards but it was pretty good.  But, around the fifth bite in, a rogue string of melted cheese flips down from the pizza and latches onto my chin, scalding me.  I COULDN'T GET IT OFF.  I now have a pretty sweet burn and a ridiculous story for how it got there. 

A few random fun stories from things you see on the NYC subway late on a Saturday night:

Hookers.
Homeless people.
Drunk couples making out.
Drunk couples fighting.
Drunk single people hitting on semi-conscious or completely oblivious people.
Tweens singing "Call Me Maybe" and pleading strangers to sing along with them.  (I obliged.  I'm a sucker for singing with strangers.)

Some woman got angry at this guy who kept pacing up and down the subway car.  He was clearly not good at interactions with people.  The Call Me Maybe girls freaked him out.  The woman yells at him, in front of everyone, "Just sit down or go to sleep or something.  Stop pacing this car.  Seriously.  Stop being weird."  The poor guy just kind of awkwardly smiled and literally ran away to the other side of the car, where he kept his pacing minimal and eventually sat down for a short period of time.

I love NYC.  Cheers to the daily adventure and to a good night's rest.

Heart Warming in the Heat Wave

It is officially summer, and her in New York City boy don't we know it.  It's been high nineties the past few days and it apparently feels like it's in the hundreds (thank you weather channel for rubbing it in/ validating my feelings).  Meanwhile, in the heat of the city in the summer, my heart was warmed by something other than the sun.  You read about things like these (I suppose like you are right now), you hear about them, but rarely ever do you get to see them.

I was chillaxing in line at the local Rite Aid pharmacy watching this little girl run around and fall and be a major nuisance to her mother/cute as a button.  The mother, a young girl about my age plus/minus 3 years, got called up to pick up her prescription a little before I did.  But, there was a hiccup at the checkout stand.  The pills cost 3 dollars but the woman couldn't pay for them.  As she was trying to ask if she could pay with a credit card, I realized that something was off with this interaction.  She was deaf.  Some other woman who was picking up her prescriptions leaned over and told the checkout clerk to put the deaf mom's pills on her  bill.  It was great to just see such genuine kindness.  The mom thanked the woman in sign language, took the medication and her daughter and headed out. 

It was inspiring.  It makes you want to do something for other people.  I really wanted to thank that woman for being so kind, but I think instead it is kind of just contagious.  Maybe I'll spread it.  Maybe random acts of kindness like that will just spread naturally, kind of like Pay it Forward, but more natural.  Anyways, thought I'd share the story.

Cheers to the daily adventure.

Quickey

Thought you all might enjoy this story. You know how you can get water from soda fountains?  I did that this morning.  I was so proud. I had a new water bottls, I was being so healthy. Turns out, the water was carbonated!  What is that?  So now my air tight water bottle keeps burping since the gas pressure building inside is too much for the little membrane thing on top to handle.  Cheers to the daily adventure.  Here are some pics of central park and NYC streets.

Coney island, baby

Ok, I'm trying posting from my phone since it served as my camera for today's adventures so bare  with me.  So today started with a trip to a pop-up store (what Is that) for suits themed after the amazing show suits.  Free coffee and chips. Awesome tables with tablets in them that recognized cards. And, oh yeah, 1500 dollar suits. It was amazing. Such a great atmosphere. 
Later, we headed to coney island.  I grabbed a hot dog and bacon cheese fries from the famous Nathan's hot dog place that will be hosting the eating contest in about 16 days.
Then we rode some awesome rides.  The girl I went with is a bit of an adrenaline junky so the three rides we went on were the most intense.  See, I used to hope for a life threatening situation so I could prove myself. I wanted my work to get robbed. I wanted to have to fight for my life. I settled for just riding roller coasters.  Today, on the other hand, I have a healthy attachment to my life, so these intense rides were a bit much. Dangling 100 feet in the air, all I could think about was how much it would suck if the machine broke and we plummeted to the ground below.  It was a really beautiful site though.  The second ride was one of those lay down super man  style.  But, the security thing did not click in very well. I could lean back and it would lean with me for about another five inches. Im sure it was safe but at the time I was sure I was gonna die. The 10 year old kid who was riding alone with us was laughing at me.  add injury to insult, since I wear my ID badge from the hospital every where, and it clips in, it unclipped on the ride and fell fifty feet never to be seen again. Oops.  The last intense ride, was the big ball that gets slingshot into the air, about 140 feet. The thirty minutes spent in line were agony. as we watched couple after couple get hurled into the air, all I could think about were the wires snapping.  I was convinced I was going to die.  I met a man in the line behind us, named Alex, who was pissed to go on this ride. His two fears are heights and falling. But he was more concerned about his friend, who looked like Donny Osmond, making out with his girlfriend, who looked like slightly less trashy version of Ke$ha.  Apparently Donny was going to go with Kesha but promised to make out with her afterwards, causing Alex to over come his fears and go on the ride.  Anyways, at the top, when you're in free fall, you can see for miles. its beautiful.  The city, the sun, the ocean, just beautiful.  We were higher than a kite. Literally, there was a kite flying below us. and a seagull was flying  mere foot or so above us. It was an amazing 90 seconds.  Alex and Kesha went after us.  He looked like he was about to cry but as soon as it took off you could tell he was having fun.  But, when it ended, he went back to being pissed at Donny and Kesha.  We ended our coney island trip on the Ferris wheel so I could get pictures for the blog.  So here they are.

We ended our day with the best chicken salad sandwiches ever...from Dunkin donuts. Seriously.  We ate them on the beach at sunset.  Yeah, that's my life in new York 
Cheers to the daily adventure.  And happy fathers day to all you dads out there.

NYC and Me

Sorry to those of you who were hoping for more frequent updates, but new York is turning out to be pretty relaxing.  I made it down to central park which was amazing and felt the subway pass below me as the ground shook.  Ive  continued hunting for a second job.  Ive gotten caught in New York traffic so an hour trip to Newark airport turned into two and a half hours (my friends made their flight with 10 minutes to spare.)
Nothing, this weekend was really blog worthy.  But the last 12 hours have proven a bit more thrilling.  One of my friends who's from Miami and is spending the summer in the upper west side of New York came by to check out my apartment and to pick up a bag of his shoes I brought up for him.  As he gets off the subway he shoots me a text "I'm never coming back here.  Im surprised they did not check my passport ay the border."  The guy who helped me hang out on rooftop poolside was now experiencing how the other half lived and it was culture shock.  I offered to drive him to the train station when he was leaving so he would not have to brave the streets of the Bronx at night.
Back at home, I could not find a place to park on the right side of the street (the left side gets ticketed on Tuesdays and Fridays because it gets street cleaned.)  I resigned myself to driving to work.  I swear, overnight the number of cars in the Bronx doubled.  There was not a parking place the whole way to work.  At some point, I got caught between a set of double parked cars and a diagonally parked garbage truck.  AND, the guy behind me kept honking AT ME!  Are you serious?  There is maybe 3 feet between the truck and the double parked car, I cant fit through that and neither can you, minivan driver.  Whatever, I'm over it. 
Anyways, I finally found a parking spot near a fire hydrant (but not too near this time).  But, I didn't quite know how to get from where I parked to where I worked.  I knew the general direction, but not the specific route.  I cut through this side ally next to a police station, but ended up in a fenced-in parking lot.  As I meaner around, out the other exit, I realize that I am in the parking lot for the police station.  One of the gars flips on the sirens to let me know I'm her way so I move over to let her pass and keep walking out.  She flips on her siren again when I'm out, and I think, Jeeze lady I'm already out of your way leave me alone.  I keep walking and she shouts out her window "Yo, are you lost."  Thank God!  Someone helpful!  "Yes, I am.  I'm trying to get to the Kennedy Center from here."  "Oh I just had to make sure since you were technically trespassing."  At this point, we are joined by a man cop who responds to my "I'm sorry I didn't realize"  with "the signs didn't throw you off?"  No, buddy, they didn't because, upon further inspection when I was walking back to my car, they don't say no trespassing merely "police station, beware of cars."  "No sorry, I came in on the other side"  "They're there too."  "Oh, sorry.  Well, how do I get where I'm going?"  "Take your next right"

The next right turned out to be the fire department.  Seriously?  Out of the frying pan into the fire...department.  But, they were much cooler (no pun intended) and let me through without issue.  Moreover, after all this, I come home to an email from the New York Department of Finance about that first parking ticket I got that read "The respondent has been charged with violating Traffic Rule 4-08(e)(2) prohibiting stopping, standing or parking a vehicle within fifteen feet of a fire hydrant.  Respondent's claim that he is from out of state and was unfamiliar with the parking regulations in New York City is not a meritorious defense to the violation.  Area within fifteen feet of a hydrant is a general no stopping zone.  Signs or markigns are not required.  Claim that the vehicle was parked temporarily as he was moving items into his new apartment fails to provide a meritorious defense to the cited regulation.  Summons upheld.  No reduction."  So, apparently, they can have laws specific to their state, don't have to let you know about them in any way, and can still hold you accountable.

But, it's okay.  I'm in NYC, center of the Universe, heart of culture, and thought, and finance, and loads of other things and I'm having the time of my life.  Cheers to the daily adventure.  Pics to come, I swear!

The Great New York Adventure

I made it.  I am finally in the Big City!  Well, actually I'm in the Bronx, but close enough right?  I'm sitting in my living room on a couch that came with the apartment I'm renting.  I live in a cozy two bedroom apartment, and cozy in the good way not the New-York-I-don't-have-enough-room-way.  Granted, my view from my windows is of our trash filled back yard but hey you win some you lose some.  Anyways, even though I've only been in NYC for a week now, I have already learned a bunch of little lessons and one overarching theme.

First:  driving in New York is miserable.  Now, Men's Health Magazine may rate New York drivers as the safest, but coming into the city, I was much more fearful for my life than in Italy with the magic cars.  But, driving into the city, crossing the George Washington Bridge (possibly on the wrong level) I could see the New York skyline, the classic image of man and nature standing and swirling together in beautiful harmony contrasted against the chaos of the road and I was in love.  See, I've had a poster of the NYC skyline hanging on my wall the past 2 years and I've wanted to end up here for quite some time and, though the skyline looks a bit different (the poster was pre-2001) it still did the trick. 

But beauty of it aside, here in the Bronx, the majesty of the city gives way to tired buildings and dangerous streets in more than one way.  Here in the Bronx, the streets aren't painted!  Seriously.  The lanes are up for you to decide.  It's like the Seinfeld episode when one of the lead guys sponsors a piece of highway and paints over over the lines to make it more luxurious.  Here, though, there is no luxury just confusion and chaos, but hey life is an adventure, why shouldn't driving be?  I've never been one for road rage, but the traffic here has caused me to shout some phrases that would make Steve Stiffler blush.

Second:  moving in sucks

Somehow, we survive the drive through Manhattan (I was blessed enough to have my father riding with me).  After we finish getting all of my stuff into the apartment, sweating, we bumbled down to my car to go get food to find a nice surprise on my windshield.  My first New York parking ticket!  I was too close to a fire hydrant (they don't clearly mark them here).  The fine assessed by the state of New York?  One-hundred-fifteen dollars.  Whether I'll have to pay all of it is still up in the air.

Overarching theme (since I'm kind of sick of writing this):  Life is full of unexpectedness.  You have to just roll with the punches.  For example, on Saturday, I was planning on going to visit Strands (a used book store with over 8 miles of books) and Central Park.  What ended up happening?  I met a friend and his friend in an exclusive club called the SoHo House and ended up relaxing next to a roof-top pool (one of only 3 in NYC) with some 30-year old Australian women and Argentinian models.    Another example of unexpectedness?  I came home from work today and was followed by a man from a different apartment into mine.  He asked if he could come in then sort of just came in without waiting for a response.  He comes in and starts moving things out of my sink and turns it on, leaves it running, and leaves with a promise to come back.  Kay?  He comes back with another guy and a tool.  They duck under my sink and start unscrewing pipes and then jamming the tool into the pipes and snaking the drains.  But after about 30 or so minutes of this, it wasn't enough so they both leave with a promise of coming back and come back with a bigger machine and another guy.  They snake the pipes again with the bigger machine and stand around talking and eating for the next two hours.  They leave, tell me to not use my sink, and tell me they'll come back the next morning.

Cheers to the daily adventure (pics to come, I haven't forgotten about the tower of Pisa).

An end and a beginning

The Pantheon

The Trevi Fountain at night.

Sorry for the delay in posting about the end of Rome but life got in the way, per usual.  Essentially, Rome had a lot of walking involved.  That first walking tour, according to the plan, took us through the streets of Rome to see different Piazzas and monuments and ruins in the evening.  The highlight?  The Trevi Fountain.  Here, we met some other Americans from Nebraska and just hung out for about an hour outside one of the most beautiful pieces of art.  Obviously, I tossed a coin into the fountain to ensure my return to Rome.  We finished the night in the Piazza Republica, the home of a massive fountain at the center of a round-about.  It was beautiful.  We eventually made it back to our hotel, exhausted, and with not much of a plan for the next day.  But, regardless, we dutifully woke up early checked out of the hotel and headed back into the city.  We wanted to see the Roman Baths, but couldn't find them.  Instead, we found ourselves inside a church in the Piazza Republica that housed a Newtonian exhibit.  It was really interesting how Rome, what one could argue is the heart of Western Civilization, has such a strong mixture of art, religion, politics, science, and history.  Everything that we deem important as a civilization is woven together into a tight fabric in a living museum.  Rome is essentially a chronicle of man's greatest achievements, and it's in places like that church where religion and science meet and are bound together by art and history that everything we've been taught in school, everything we've been told is important comes together in a tangible sense.

Meanwhile, we peaced out of the church and headed to a crypt that was decorated with the bones of 4000 monks, some of which still had tissue attached...it was uncomfortable to say the least.  Once we escaped the creepy pit, we essentially did the walking tour from the night before again, but backwards.  It was an awesome opportunity to see the sights both at night and in the day, but my feet hated it.  We made it to a market in the Campo di Fiori, where I mastered my haggling skills.  I bought 20 key chains for my friends back at home.  The set price? 2 euro each.  The final price?  1.50.  Not much, but whatever, I was proud.  We later found ourselves in a war memorial museum thing.  Interesting, but seemingly out of place.  It's easy to forget that Rome has modern history as well.

We had some final time to kill and decided to check out the island in the middle of the tiber that runs through Rome.  In the past, walls were built around the island and decorated to make it look like a giant boat.  It has served as some form of a hospital for over 1000 years.  And that about wraps up Rome.

The Tiber River.

In the week following, I made bread and strawberry/pineapple jam as my final project for my class.  On our final full day in Italy, a group of us headed out to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Mediterranean.  Again, there was a solid plan with some wiggle room but very specific directions of how to get from place to place.  Did that stop us from getting lost?  Nope.  But, our being lost did lead to my ego being inflated even more.  I went to ask a police officer directions in Italian and, instead of responding in English as had happened many times at the beginning of the trip, this guy responds in rapid Italian.  Unfortunately, that was completely unhelpful and my look of bewilderment gave me away and he said "Oh?  You speak English?" and then proceeded to give me the directions in English. The tower was amazing.  It turns out that it isn't the only thing in Pisa or even the only thing on the grounds.  It was built as a clocktower for the church right next to it.  It started leaning by the time the second story was completed, so the architects simply made the leaning side taller to compensate.  The added weight only accelerated the leaning.  In 2002 an effort was made to restore the tower to its original leaning angle and to anchor it there.  So, no worries about it falling in the future.  A hilarious part of this experience, though, is after having taken your own cheesy picture holding up the tower, you look around and see another 50 people doing similar poses, and just looking completely idiotic.  It's great, big fun.

By the time we made it to the Mediterranean, the weather had taken a turn for the worse.  Which, was fine, since the beach was actually more just a network of giant rock and a small patch of sand.  It was beautiful, though, with the rain clouds coming in and the island visible off in the distance.  I dutifully touched the water and we headed home.

The remnants of the wall used to make the island look like a boat.

The following day, we show up in the Rome airport to discover our flight has been delayed 6 hours and that we would be forced to stay overnight in Chicago.  So we spent the next 4 hours drinking wine, playing cards, and eating.  There was also some window shopping since the Rome airport is actually a giant mall of high end stores.  Gucci, Prada, Armani, etc. all had stores there.  We finally made it to Chicago and were put up in amazing hotel rooms.  It felt great to be back in the states.  Needless to say, I passed out immediately.

A bridge to the island.

Somehow, after all of these adventures, I made it home safely, in one piece.  I have a new found appreciation for the beauty of Little Lexington, VA and the United States in general.  I love this country and I am looking forward to my newest adventures in NYC starting next week.  So stay tuned, and cheers to the daily adventure (and the leaning tower of Pisa pics).



PS  I actually just moved in to NYC and there's a bunch to talk about...I've been intending to post this for about a week and I just got the time/internet connection.