Saturday, August 18, 2012

My Life, the Movie

The other day I decided to walk home via Riverside Park. It was my first time, and I quite enjoyed the leisurely stroll down the tree-lined sidewalks. However, next time I'll definitely wear more practical shoes for my 3-mile jaunts.

Anyway, the story goes like this. Right as I meandered past the 91st Street Garden, I swear I heard someone off in the distance yelling "Brinkley! Brinkley!" I didn't see Tom Hanks appear from behind a tree, but it was one of those split-second moments where I definitely felt like my life was a movie.

I'm sorry for all of the continued "You've Got Mail" references, but seriously, this entire movie takes place only a few blocks away from me. I love it.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Into the Woods, Then Out of the Woods

Once upon a time...

My roommate and I decided early last week that we wanted to get tickets to Shakespeare in the Park. I did research on how to go about getting tickets, and we decided to go at 9:00 on Tuesday morning to stand in line for the 1:00 distribution. Little did we know that "Into the Woods" and stars like Amy Adams and Donna Murphy draw a rather large crowd, and by the time we arrived, the line was far too long for us to be sure we would get tickets. We didn't want to wait without that assurance, so we went home and decided to try for a date later in the week. Friday was that day.

The night before, we discussed our plan of attack, much like post-Thanksgiving mommies plan how to get Xboxes and iPods on Black Friday. We planned to leave long before sunrise, and my mother worried from 2,000 miles away that I would be murdered on the streets of New York City while I tried to get tickets for a silly play. It turns out, though, that most people who ride the subway at 5:00am are headed to work, and they all looked about as sleepy as I felt. I didn't get pictures of our preliminary line, but you can rest assured that we weren't the only crazy ones who decided to line up on Central Park West before the park even opened. At 6:00, the Shakespeare-line-security-man led us inside, and he designated the queue for all of us stalwart theatre patrons. Simini and I got a cozy place on the dirt, where we would spend the next seven hours waiting for tickets. Yes, I said seven.

At first, time moved rather slowly, and I was glad to catch about a 45 minute nap as I got used to the uncomfortable ground. I nibbled on my snacks and talked with my roommate, and we befriended the group of girls waiting in line behind us. It turns out that you can become pretty good friends with someone when you're forced to spend an entire morning together. By 11:00, we felt pretty good about the task, and I counted down the minutes until we'd have our tickets in hand.

Then, it started raining.

At first, we thought we would get away with just a couple scattered showers. I didn't mind them, because they kept the temperature reasonable. At about 11:30 (mind you, 90 minutes before ticket time), the rain picked up, and in a little under fifteen minutes, I was soaking wet. I neglected to mention that my preparations for the day included anything necessary for spiking my blood sugar, but nothing for keeping me dry. I huddled under my sheet and prayed that the rain would end to no avail. Soaking wet doesn't really describe it accurately. You must remember that I was sitting on the dirt - now mud - and that my sole mission in enjoying/enduring the rain was to keep my purse/phone/book dry. I huddled over the poor thing, wringing out my sheet and trying to brush the mounting dirt-mud off my hands. By the time we were ready to pick up and move toward the box office, I looked like I had just rolled around in the mud. Really pretty.

But, we got the tickets! We ran back to the subway and took the non-air conditioned car back to 125th. I didn't even mind the heat of the underground, because I was so rain-chilled. I even took a hot shower for the first time since arriving here!

For the play, Simini and I met up with our other roommate Molly and my friend Patricia. We had decent seats, and the security lady came and told me that I couldn't take pictures of the set. Boo. It was gorgeous, though, and everything about the evening made up for the less-than-desirable morning. Amy Adams (Baker's wife) was awesome. Donna Murphy (witch), fantastic. The little boy (narrator) was adorable, and Glen Close as the Giant was crazy. We even got to meet up with some of the cast after the show, and Amy Adams was nice enough to take a picture with us! I had such a good time, and I'm glad that everything came together so that I could have an awesome story surrounding my Into the Woods experience. With all the mud and rain, I might as well have traveled into the woods. I'm just glad I didn't meet any wolves. 







The end.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

bad/good

Bad news:

I ate (almost) an entire package of Oreos in a little over two days.
These Heads or Tails Oreos rock my world. Seriously.

Good news:

I (assume that I) walk off all of the calories by perusing the neighborhoods of New York City. Today alone, I covered the Upper West Side, Central Park, and the Upper East Side.

This was actually from yesterday at Washington Square Park. It is definitely one of my new favorite spots in the city.

Just a quaint house on the Upper West Side. I try to mimic the life of Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) in "You've Got Mail," sans 1990s dial-up internet.

Good news:

While I'm completely ecstatic to start my new job at Columbia University, I will miss the lazy days of exploring the Big Apple and familiarizing myself with this wonderful city. Seriously, there is no better place on earth.


Friday, August 3, 2012

Tourist in My Town

I moved to New York City yesterday.

It still hasn't quite sunk in that I'm here - in the city - indefinitely.

Perhaps it's because I don't have a job yet, but I've spent the last two days doing a lot of the "touristy" things. In between unpacking, grocery shopping, and a job interview this morning, I've also been able to hit some of the sights that I missed during my previous visits as a tourist.

I looked nice for my job interview. This is pre swoopy, cat-eye, nasty bangs that come as a result of high humidity. I've come to the general conclusion that (most) people in New York have a continuous bad hair day. I will be one of them.

I spent my evening at the MoMA. Thanks Target for letting me get in for FREE on Friday! Also, I love ironic art.

And Van Gogh.


If you're like my dad and need to know what type of restaurant this is, let me refer you here. This is right across the street from my (potential) new employer. I'll let you know how the food is once I have job.

Stay tuned. There is much more to come from this crazy place I now call home.