Packing was a nightmare. What could I fit into a suitcase (only 50 lbs, mind you) and a backpack as a carry on to last me 2 weeks? Mom and Dad will be sending me more stuff to get through the summer in a couple of weeks. Thank goodness for the United States Postal Service- no FedEx for the Satre's! I got on the tiny little plane that would take me straight to New York. It was so early, leaving home at 4am at Mom's request to get to the DSM airport in plenty of time. I hadn't flown since I was 13 years old when the family went to California, so I was actually kind of excited about the flight. I got on the tiny little plane that would take me straight to New York.
I am sooo blessed by a round of events that took place in the last few days before I was scheduled to fly out. The rent I have set up for the summer doesn't start until May 31- two full weeks AFTER I had to start my internship position. Oh crap. Dad has some family that lives in New York, but not in the city, which means a beast of a commute- especially for a newbie to the area like me. Mom's best friend from high school has a daughter who lives in New York City. Her other daughter graduated from high school this past week, same as Thad, so we went down to Ankeny to her graduation party. Sara, the daughter in NYC, was there and I spoke with her about the possibility of staying at her place during my first two weeks. She was more than willing to help me out. The next best thing is her and I ended up being on the same flight from Iowa to New York on Monday. We took a cab to her place (on the edge of the Harlem neighborhood....yeaaaaah), she took me to the grocery store, and helped me get my Metro card to use for riding the subway. I am so lucky. Soooo lucky. Sara and her roommates, Megan and Emilee have been wonderful to me this past week. Thank you very much for your generosity, ladies!
Now for the job. I took the subway from Harlem to SoHo where I work right in the thick of things. The Scholastic Office is on Broadway near the subway stop on Houston (pronounced House-ton, not Heew-ston). It's a beautiful building and the street below is always buzzing with people no matter what time of day it is. There are lots of clothing and designer stores in the area so the people are a mix of people going to work and tourists visiting the area.
Until I get my official Scholastic ID, I have to sign in as a guest to the office and receive a new Clifford sticker with my name on it. I'm racking up quite a collection of these this week! The science crew at Scholastic- Patty, Cody, Karina, Beth, and then Brenda, Paul, Allan, and David have all been very welcoming to me this week! I was taken to my desk...waaaaay back in the corner, removed from all of the sciencers. My company is the routine custodians that come off of the service elevator several times a day.
I've had several assignments this week for both Science World and SuperScience. Researching and writing answers to the questions that are sent in from student readers and then published in future issues is one of my current assignments. The first couple of questions have been: "Why do male lions have a big mane and female lions don't?" and "Why do volcanoes erupt?" (right up my alley, but difficult to simplify and answer in only 80-100 words!) I also have been designing the introduction page in the issue coming out about doing projects for science fairs. It is testing my creativity to be different than what was done in past issues! Among other things, on my plate is a couple of stories about x-rays, chocolate used as fuel, etc.
Because my laptop had to be sent in to be serviced (as well as my camera that is in the care of the Geek Squad right now...pictures will come as soon as I get it back!) right before I left, I have been reading a lot! I finished the first book in the Twilight series today. Lunch in the warm sun of the rooftop of the Scholastic building is a highlight after being in the office!
I jumped off the subway a few stops early on Wednesday evening to walk around Bryant Park and the 42nd street area where the NY Public Library is located. Neat area! I couldn't help but be lured down to the flashing lights of Times Square. I found out that it is Fleet Week here in the city. That explains where there are so many Navy and Marine people walking around in the touristy areas of the city. A gentleman at work said it happens every Memorial Day weekend. He also suggested going down to the water and getting a tour of the real live carriers that are docked. Might have to do that on my day off on Monday...
Last night after work, I was so thankful to be able to see a classmate from high school. The interaction with a familiar friend was something I already missed! Liz and I, along with a couple of her friends from college that are all here to play a concert in Carnegie
Hall on Sunday (soon I'll know someone who has played in Carnegie Hall!), walked down to 34th street to check out the Empire State Building. By the time we got to the top, it was dark out, but the view was spectacular. The entire city was lit up. We could pick out the Brooklyn Bridge, the torch of Lady Liberty, Times Square, and even the new Yankee Stadium where the Yankees were playing Baltimore.After work, I'll be heading to another new place in the city, New York's Penn Station, to catch an Amtrak train to Hudson, north of the city to spend a couple of days with Dad's cousin and her husband. I've heard upstate New York and the Hudson River is beautiful!
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