New Month, New Week, New Home

June 1st already!? It must be officially summer now :)

To catch up, I spent Memorial Day weekend upstate New York in the small town of Valatie, NY. It is a little more than 2 hours north of the city. My dad's cousin, Judy, and her husband, Daniel, live there. I had another first in the city and found my way to Penn Station and what seemed like every other New Yorker, I got on an Amtrak train and headed out along the Hudson River at full speed. The lady sitting next to me found out it was my first time in the area and generously gave me the window seat. "You've got to see the view on this ride," she said. And indeed I did. Wow. The Hudson River valley is gorgeous. Wide, winding river set against the backdrop of the lush forests and Catskill Mountains. The sun was setting in shades of orange, red, and pink. Beautiful!

The couple of days with Dan and Judy were better than I expected! I had the guest bedroom to myself- a real bed for a couple of nights instead of the air mattress I had been sleeping on. I woke up Saturday morning and Judy had my laundry clean and folded in neat piles for me- this was better than being at home with Mom and Dad! (Just kidding, Mom...I appreciate the laundry you do for me)

Judy and I took off that morning to drive up into the Catskill Mountains. We met Janet, another of the cousins, and checked out a ski resort called Hunter Mountain. The ski lift was open so we took it up to the top to see the whole view. Impressive! Lunch was at a nice restaurant with a claim to fame that out its back window and porch view, 5 states could be seen at one glance. New York, Massachusetts for sure, perhaps Connecticut, Vermont, and the fifth is a mystery- Jersey? New Hampshire? No matter what states we were looking at, it again was a fabulous sight and again, I was given the window seat :)

Back in Valatie, Dan took me out for a ride on their new "toy"- a Spyder motorcycle. With a new style featuring 3 wheels, they are the talk of the town. We rode into Albany, saw the capital building, a school there, a few government buildings and then headed back across the river to get home. Steaks off the grill for supper and good conversation at the dinner table that night- I couldn't have been happier.

Back to Harlem on Sunday evening after my train got in, I came up to the apartment I was staying and panicked because the lock on the door was broken and the door knob was stripped to the point where it just kept turning and turning. Finally, I got into the apartment, confused as to why the lock was being so difficult, but after making sure I was locked back in, I headed to bed.

A classmate was still in town and we met EARLY to walk down to the Plaza area to see the Today Show that morning. Somewhat of a disappointment, Matt Lauer and company were all on vacation for Memorial Day, but we were entertained by the Rock of Ages cast- a show on Broadway, as they performed a few tunes. Mom called to say she had seen us on the show for a brief moment as they scanned the crowd with the cameras!

For lunch, we ventured down to a 50's diner with a twist. The waiters and waitresses had all been on Broadway, or were looking to be on Broadway so they are constantly passing around the microphone to belt out familiar melodies as entertainment for the dining guests. Most are hoping to be discovered or re-discovered by a producer of a show seeking talent that comes in for a bite to eat.

I got to work on Tuesday morning and soon received a text from one of the girls I was living with. She asked if I had seen her laptop computer. I assumed she had taken it with her during the weekend, but after she put 2 and 2 together, we realized the apartment had been broken into during our absence over the holiday weekend. Nice. Well, with a new lock in place, we went about our business the rest of the week.

I finished a few more writing pieces this week at work- newblast stories about a chocolate-fueled race car, robotic animals being used to catch poachers, why volcanoes erupt, why male lions have manes and females don't, and more.

Over this past weekend, I joined Emilee, one of the girls I had been living with at a work out class (that I am STILL sore from) on Saturday morning. It was taught by a Jamaican fellow who I swear was a hip-hop dancer in a former life. He was very entertaining and kicked us into high gear for burning some calories that morning! The afternoon was spent relaxing and catching some sun in Central Park, followed by a visit to a friend who lives in an apartment with rooftop access and a picture-perfect view of the Chrysler Building on one side and the East River on the other.

I went back uptown to Harlem that evening and found a mouse in the apartment. Oh great. I had seen my first rats down in the subway early that week and was thankful it was only a mouse, but still. Gross. After dealing with the mouse the best I could (I take after my mother...not a fan of creatures in the house), I headed out to meet a friend from Iowa State who is also in the city for an internship. It was my first experience of the night life in the city and it wasn't exactly Welch Ave in Ames on a Saturday! Yet, kids are kids everywhere you go and it was nice to spend some time with a fellow Cyclone.

Yesterday I packed up my bags and said good-bye to Harlem and the wonderful gals that had put up with me in their space the past 2 weeks. Sara, Meghan, and Emilee- you all were so helpful in getting my summer started here in NYC. I can't thank you enough!

I took the subway downtown a ways and then was attempting to walk the last few blocks to the building I was moving into when I started to notice massive amounts of people standing along the street and police barricading certain intersections. I had missed the memo that the Salute to Israel Parade was happening that morning down 5th Ave. Great. With no other choice but to tote my bags and suitcase a few extra blocks, I finally found an intersection that was open to get across. Just another day in New York.

I was anxious to move into the new building that I will live in for the remainder of the summer- meet more students like me who have come to New York from all over to do internships and get out to see the sights. It was like moving into the dorms as a freshman in college all over again. My room is on the 29th floor, out of 32 floors, and so far I have one suitemate, Jessica, from Tennessee. I took the stairs up all 29 floors twice yesterday...forget the gym, I've found my workout method for the summer!

The room with plastic covers on the mattresses, bare white walls, fluorescent lights, and tile floors is spruced up with a TV and DVD player for now. A trip to Bed, Bath & Beyond is in the near future to get a couple colorful rugs, for sure! The excitement for this week? The packages I'll be receiving from Mom and Dad- my computer, camera, pillow, sheets, clothes, and hopefully some touches from home. :)