Summer in the City

85 Days in New York City

2009-11-27T16:26:00.000-08:00

Here it is: FINALLY the last post! I won't lie, this is actually coming four months after I returned home from the city, but better late than never!

I've collected the photos from my last week in New York when Mom came to visit me and I finished up my internship at Scholastic. I was so excited to see my mom! This was the longest I had ever gone without seeing my family. I had a blast showing my friends who came to visit around the city, but there's something about getting to take Mom around a place where I had learned to live, work, and play in all on my own.

Mom's flight came in on Wednesday, August 5- same 6am flight out of Des Moines I had taken back in May the morning after a whirlwind of a weekend at home with Reece's graduation from Drake with his Masters on Saturday and Thad graduating from high school in Ogden on Sunday.

I had planned my time carefully at work. I was in my last week of the internship when Mom came to vist. New projects were not coming in, but it took a significant amount of time to tie up all loose ends and complete my portfolio. Since I was completing this internship for credit towards my journalism degree, I was required to put together and submit a portfolio showing all of my work from start to finish over the 12-week internship. I had kept all of my projects very organized on the computer drive. Separate folders, some on the computer, some hard copies, were a must for my ridiculous level of organization that sometimes gets in the way of actually getting my work done. :)

During that last week I had to talk to all of my editors, art designers, etc. to get all of the print-outs of the stories I had written that were all ready in layouts with art and design. The team I worked with at Scholastic were so great about assisting me in completing my portfolio. They were extremely helpful all summer about making sure I learned as much as possible.

I want to share a part of my final report I was required to write in addition to my portfolio to receive the credit from Iowa State. In this section, I talk about how different of an opportunity I had in my internship compared to other internships out there:

"On my last day at Scholastic, I was talking with my editors over lunch and explained to them how this internship is different from others in a way that is much more valuable. Writing for the science magazines allowed me the perk of guaranteed publication. I also have guaranteed readership. There are not many interns, or even some professionals that can say that. Because of the type of magazine I was working for, I knew that my article would indeed be read by someone. Teachers use the magazine as a teaching tool and thus they themselves and their students will read almost all of the articles written. My internship was different in this way compared to other internship positions I have heard about where the intern is merely an in-between person, a researcher to do the dirty jobs for the full-time employees, or even if they get to write pieces, they don’t know if they were get published or even read by readers of the publication. Once I realized this, it served as a motivating factor for working hard to write concisely, but intriguing for the readers."

My already busting portfolio is still growing as during this past fall, I received periodic mail from Scholastic. My editors would send me the final published editions of the magazines that I had worked on in some shape or form. It was so much fun to see the final product!

I was recently featured as a Spotlight Internship on the Iowa State Department of Journalism and Mass Communications website. They asked what my most memorable experience was at the internship:

"While learning to be a journalist in New York City is an experience unlike any other, my best experience happened after I returned to Iowa. Both my mom and my older brother are science teachers, and their students read Scholastic publications. This gave me the opportunity to receive feedback from readers about my work in the published magazines. It was rewarding to hear about the students in their classrooms reading articles I wrote. It was also interesting to hear how the students reacted to what they learned."

I had planned to bring my Mom to visit Scholastic when she arrived in the city. Ever since I began talking of seeking out an internship with the company she is so well-versed with as a teacher, Mom always said she would want to visit and "see Scholastic." I managed yet another form of public transportation and took the E train or the subway across the East River and as far as I could into Queens (because subway is the fastest mode of transportation) before coming up and getting on an early bus to LaGuardia Airport. I must say, I am extremely proud of how well I managed the public transportation in NYC. I am teased a lot by my family for not being able to understand CyRide in Ames...look at me now! I made it to the airport in plenty of time to wait for Mom's arrival. It was a wonderful feeling to see my mom walk through those gates. :) I had already found her luggage before she came around so we walked out and got on another bus to take us back across Queens to the subway station that would take us across the river again and back in to Manhattan. We checked into my building where the front desk people knew me by know because I had checked so many guests from back home in with them. Up the elevator we went to the 29th floor and dumped Mom's bags in my room. It wasn't long and we headed out into the city to see all we could see before we both left for the summer.

First stop was at Scholastic down in SoHo. I had told my editors we would be coming to visit on my day off and how excited my mom was to see the place. It was fun to show mom my desk (how far it was from the rest of the Science crew and well, everything pretty much!), and to introduce her to my editors. The picture below is me holding a copy of one of the editions of Science World and with Patty, the executive editor for both Science World and SuperScience, Beth, editor of SuperScience, Karina, my mentor and writer/editor for Science World and Cody, writer/editor for Science World. I can't say enough about the ladies of the Science Crew. A simple thanks will never be enough!

After the meet and greet, I took Mom up to one of my favorite places: the Greenhouse, or the top of the roof of the Scholastic building. I found myself to need this place during the day. I wasn't made to sit at a desk for hours at a time and this place became a refuge of sunshine and greenspace. A lot of reading was done this summer, on the subways, running at the rec, sitting up here, and elsewhere. How wonderful :) Mom and I got our lunch from the friends at the Greenhouse and found a table outside. The beginning of the summer was soooo rainy, even the locals said so! It was a pleasant day of sunshine when Mom came to visit. We had just sat down to lunch and Mom's phone rang. Guess who?! REECE. Of course he calls when I finally got to see my mom and have time to myself with her. So what did I do? Called my dad to complain. He just laughed. Lots of family love. :)

We finished lunch and went downstairs to visit the Scholastic store. Mom loved it of course because of all the books and educational things inside! We found a couple of gifts for people and got a cool Scholastic bag to store our purchases. Lots of memories from the things seen in the store that had ties back to my childhood. :) We thought it was only appropriate to get a picture with Clifford the Big Red Dog who seems to be the poster child for Scholastic.
Another photo op in the Scholastic store for Mom was with the Magic School Bus with the license plate "The Friz" in honor of the loved teacher in the books, Ms. Frizzle.

Another photo op outside of Scholastic on the busy sidewalk of the Soho District. I was lucky to be able to grab a picture during a break in the people, mostly tourists, out on the sidewalks shopping in the area.

Next stop was just a short walk up Broadway, past NYU, toward Union Square to an incredible bookstore called The Strand. Its claim to fame is that within its walls it holds 18 miles of books. I believe it! Mom and I went in to look around and came out with a few gems.

After walking farther into Union Square and then over to Washington Square Park where the big arch and fountain are, we headed back to East 55th for a short nap before heading out to the baseball games in Central Park. The number one thing I missed so much this summer, besides my family, was baseball. I only wish I would have discovered the leagues playing in the numerous diamonds of the park earlier in the summer!

Mom and I got a huge kick out of this old-man's league team where one of the players had his number as "pi" on his jersey. Classy.

After returning from Central Park, we met up with Natalie to take Mom to our favorite establishment, just like the rest of the guests that came to visit. I had to have Mom meet my partner in crime from summer, and of course try the margaritas of our favorite restaurant on 2nd Ave. Mom and I at Blockhead's
Even though we were exhausted from running around the city the day before, Mom and I decided to take advantage of where we were and got up early to walk over to the Today Show in Rockefeller Center. I was highly disappointed to find out that I had once again missed seeing Matt Lauer. :( Yet, we couldn't stop laughing at this guy who works as a crew member for the morning show. Doesn't he look as if he was transplanted from the West to the city? How he survives in New York with his style, I'm not sure...
Meredith Viera came out to say hello to the crowd and the ladies next to us, who happened to be from Iowa as well, couldn't stop gushing over how "fabulous" she looked.
During the flurry of comments from excited attendees to the Today Show that morning, Ann Curry stopped everyone by sharing advice from her mother about creating self-confidence and believing you are beauty. Very impressive!
In the excitment of the Today Show, Mom and I rushed back to my room in Marymount to grab her bags and back down to the subway where we waited and waited and waited for an E train, which usually comes more regularly than my V train I take to work. Finally we jumped on a train and got down to Penn Station. Luckily, I knew where I was going to get Mom on her train in Penn that would take her out of the city and upstate to visit my dad's cousin and her husband that so graciously took care of me during the first weekend I was in New York. Mom also had plans to visit her roommate from Iowa State who she hadn't seen in 20 years. I got Mom on the train and hurried to the office for work. Cousin Judy picked up Mom at the station in Hudson, NY and took her back to their home. Mom got to ride on Dan's motorcycle! (see below)
It is such a neat story how Mom and her roommate caught up with each other. After not seeing each other for 20 years, Mom didn't have Peggy's email address or phone number. She did have an address for Peggy so she wrote her a letter earlier in the summer telling Peggy she would be coming to the state and would love to see her after all of those years. Peggy received the letter and emailed Mom back. Complications came with getting the two together even the day of, but it was worth it and the two were reunited in a gorgeous landscape of the Catskill Mountains of Upstate New York. Here is Mom and Peggy enjoying wine at a winery that Peggy helped at.
Since I was without my camera when I visited Upstate New York over Memorial Day weekend, I requested that Mom take pictures of the absolutely stunning views. I could live here...and I'm pretty sure Mom and Dad should retire here. :)
This is a shot of the Amtrak at the Hudson Station. What a nice way to ride because of the beautiful views that the track goes through en route to and from the city!
On Friday, in a whirlwind, I finished my work at Scholastic and my Science Crew took me out to lunch to celebrate the summer. Patty, Beth, Karina, Cody, and myself walked to a fun Tai restaurant to dine. The funniest part was the restrooms were built with glass that allowed you to see out of the bathroom into the dining area, but the people outside couldn't see in- thank goodness! haha

It was fun to relax and talk about regular things going on in the city, their lives, and to reflect on my experience at Scholastic. I was able to share about my experience with them in New York, both living in the city and working at my job. It was fun to talk about the difference of coming from the Midwest, rather than the experience of many of the interns from NYU just up the street. Patty shared that she was somewhat worried about my age, the fact that I was young, and coming to the city. I guess I never really thought about it that way, and just took things in stride! We finished up lunch and went back to the office. I finished up my portfolio, packed up my things, gave out my thank you cards, and made the rounds of the office to say my goodbyes. All summer I completely immersed myself in the work of my job, but never really attached myself to my co-workers. I told my Mom later that I was surprised at how emotional I was walking out of the Scholastic building the last time. I guess when you put a lot of time and effort into something, it is tough to leave it behind!

Mom's train came back into Penn Station on Friday evening where I picked her up and rode the E train back to Lex where we got off and took her bags back up to my room. She shared the delicate chocolates from the winery before we headed back out. We walked (because that's what you do in the city...my feet were such a mess of calluses and pain by the end of the summer) the few blocks from my place to Times Square where we went to see a movie Natalie had found called Paper Heart. It was a documentary about love. Sounds cheesy, but it was so well done and really fun to watch! Afterwards, we walked around Times Square and of course took the classic picture. It truly is the city that never sleeps. :)We had all day Saturday and Sunday to do final explorations around the city. Earlier in the summer, Natalie, Emily, and I had gone out to Governors Island to ride bikes. The Satre family gets into riding bikes, so I took Mom on the ferry to the island. We rented our beach cruisers and rode around and around the island. Here is Mom on her beach cruiser:
On the opposite side of the island is a great view of the Statue of Liberty. It became a challenge for myself to figure out how many different ways I could show my guests the Statue of Liberty. Mom was one of the lucky few that were taken all the way to the actual statue, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
After coming back on the ferry to Manhattan, we trekked up to just below the deemed Upper West Side to visit the American Museum of Natural History. I had been waiting to go all summer and I knew Mom would like it, being a science person herself. The best part of the visit was the fact that my Scholastic ID got us in to the museum for free!

We had to stop outside for Mom to get a picture with one of her 6th graders' "famous scientists." Inside the museum, I was of course attracted to the geological and earth science features. Here I am checking out one of the displays on how the different types of rock are formed. Nerdy, I know. :)
Unfortunately, the agronomy and tree displays were very outdated, so we moved to the oceanic and animal science displays. Here, Mom is with the HUGE life-size replica of a blue whale. What a massive creature!
Back to the rocks. Pretending to bear the weight of the meteor...
We breaked back at my place in Midtown before heading out for the night again. I was always giving Mom a hard time about the ridiculous amount of things she carried around her neck...ID/money holder, old lady reading glasses... Fashionable, Mom! ;)
I had been telling my mom about this place we HAD to go when she came to New York. It is a restaurant devoted to her and I's favorite food ever- CHOCOLATE. I had ate at Max Brenner's in the East Village earlier and knew I had to bring Mom back when she came to town. We went to the restaurant, only to find out it had closed down. Bummer! With everything in NYC being relatively close, we walked over to Union Square to the other location. Our wait was for-ev-er, but worth it! We walked up to the square and were lucky to find an empty bench in the crowded square. Mom found it extremely hilarious to watch this young fellow off to the side of us offer tarot card readings at his rinky-dink card table with tea light candles and lawn chairs. She thought it'd be a good idea to set up her own shop in the Ogden City Park...I don't think Police Chief Bailey would agree. :)

We finally got our table to dine at Max Brenners and dove into choosing something from the menu. To make ourselves feel better, we ordered a salad to share, shown below.

Because you only live once, we switched things up and ordered the salad to share, but chose our own desserts. :) Before our desserts came out, we shared a chocolate drink that came in a shot glass and was absolutely delicious going down! Check out the pictures below of Mom and I with our treats!

Mom and I at the table (After the lady behind us had hot chocolate sauce accidently dumped on her...Mom and I decided we would have simply told the waiter, "no problem" and licked it off our arms :))

Our chocolate mixed drink
Mom with her choice: "The 100% Pure Chocolate Chocolate Experience Ice Cream 'Max-Wich'" which was listed as "decadent dark chocolate truffle ice cream and pure chocolate chunks hugged between old fasioned very rich chocolate cookies and drizzled with a boost of pure chocolate. Served with pure chocolate ganache for dipping" ($10.95- totally worth it!)

Here I am with my MASSIVE dessert: "The Euphoria Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge Sundae" which was described in the menu as "deep chocolate peanut butter ice cream, dulce de leche ice cream, carmelized toffee bananas, pure chocolate chunks, milk chocolate sauce and warm peanut butter sauce. Garnished with whipped cream and crunchy hazelnut bits. Served with extra peanut butter sauce and very pure milk chocolate ganche" ($12.95- worth every penny!) There was NO WAY I could finish all of it!

After a very long day on Saturday, we collapsed that night to get some rest before getting up rather early again to head down to Battery Park to catch the ferry out to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Mom had mentioned early in the summer that she would really like to see Ellis Island because of all the cool history that resides there. While buying tickets for when Emily came to visit, I also purchased passes for Mom and I later in the summer, in hope to avoid long lines even early in the morning. With the excitement of the crown of Lady Liberty re-opening on July 4th this past summer, lots of people came to visit the famous landmark. There was no way I was going to get up into the crown with those special tours being booked until November and it being only August at the time.

Mom and I on the first ferry to the Statue of Liberty. Another hazy day...

Once we got to Liberty Island where the statue actually is, we walked around to the front side of the lady. The ferry takes you around to the opposite side of the statue as you come it. It is kind of strange to see her backside- not the side you see in all of the pictures!

Here I am standing on Liberty Island with Lower Manhattan in the background across the Hudson River.
Just like good tourists, we took multiple pictures of ourselves with Lady Liberty. Here we attempted to black out all color besides the green of the statue.
Again with the color...and you gotta love the souvenirs available! Do I kind of look like her?
Whenever you're ready to leave the Statue, a ferry will pick you and other thousand people up and cut across the waters to the next drop off at the historical Ellis Island. To some it is just a building that is worn and yet beautiful. Yet, if you stop and stand to consider the herds of people who made their way through the doors of the island, it becomes a place where dreams either came true or were crushed. Mom and I sat in on an educational movie where the story of Ellis Island was told. (This time I made it through the entire movie, unlike the first time I saw it with Emily and we both ended up napping in the dark theater within only a couple minutes of the featured film beginning...haha :) )

Here is Mom standing in one of the holding rooms of the main building on Ellis Island.

Mom outside of the main building with the official National Park sign
Mom, being the green enthusiast/science teacher that she is, couldn't get over the amount of trash always piled high on the sidewalks of New York.
Another must-see for this duo. I took Mom to 59th and 3rd Ave where on the corner is one of the "sweetest" shops in New York. Dylan's Candy Bar was started by Dylan Lauren, daughter of "lengendary fashion designer" Ralph Lauren. I've blogged before about this place, but could never visit it enough! Mom and I immediately went downstairs to the chocolate area, skipping past all of the fruity candies on the first floor.
One of Thad and I's most favorite movies of all time is For Love of the Game starring Kevin Costner and Kelly Preston. There is a scene in the beginning of the movie where Costner is searching for Preston and finds her sitting looking out over a baseball field in Central Park. While I couldn't find that exact field, I did reenact the shot that seems to speak volumes about the game that is America's pastime.
We hustled back to my place after visiting the Statue and Ellis to pack up the remainder of my things so they could make the journey home. I was so incredibly fortunate to not have to ship all of my stuff home-expensive! One of Mom's co-workers at school was moving her son back to the city the exact weekend that Mom and I were to fly home. Marlene, or Mar (affectionately), was going to have an empty van that would eventually be trekking back to Ogden later that week. How perfect! Mar was so great- her, and her son and daughter drove right up to my outside door where Mom and I loaded the many bags of belongings that I had accumulated. I am so thankful I didn't A) have to pack all of my things so they would make a safe trip via the postal system and B) have to pay the hefty bill it would be to ship all of that stuff home...probably around $200! No thanks! So, THANK YOU Mar for the huge favor!

After loading my things, I wanted to go to Central Park one more time. I didn't spend as much times as I would have liked in the park this summer, mostly because I didn't realize how much this captivating green space amongst the concrete had to offer! Our trips walking around the park led us to many places, including the Strawberry Fields on the west side where there is a memorial to John Lennon of the Beatles. His famous song, Imagine, is the focal point of this memorial on the sidewalk in the Strawberry Fields. We were there right before a small rain storm came in so we snapped these pictures before the self-proclaimed tender to the memorial scooped up the decorative flowers and left for the day before getting wet.

Walking away from the Strawberry Fields, we came across one of the many massive rock crops protruding from the ground. Being the geology student, of course I wanted my picture on the granite that is the foundation for holding this city up! (There is a neat National Geographic article titled "Before New York" that talks about what Henry Hudson would have found when he first came across the land that would one day become one of the greatest cities in the world.)
From there, we walked further to find the famous Boathouse in Central Park. It is a restaurant and is seen as a place for casual and classy events. It has been in several movies, most recently, 27 Dresses with Katherine Heigl

And then we went to find, after a long goose chase, the Bow Back Bridge. It is known as one of the most romantic spots in the city. (Although according to Natalie, she could come up with tons of ideal places to be proposed to in NYC hehe) In fact, there was a couple having their engagement photos done in a rowed boat as it floated beneath the bridge. Cute. :)

Mom and I on the Bow Back BridgeAfter tiring ourselves out yet again (a common theme as a tourist in New York!), we made our way down towards Times Square as nightfall came about. On our way to find some grub to fill our tummies for dinner, we passed the Ed Sullivan Theater where the Late Show with David Letterman is filmed each day. While I tend to be a fan of Letterman's show, it was tough to swallow the news later in the summer/early fall of his announcement acknowledging the accusations of sexual wrong-doings. He's still one funny dude!
After dining at Applebee's in Times Square, thanks to a gift card Mom happened to have, we walked some more and came across this place. Even though I only ate here once and the food wasn't top notch, it still remains as one of my most favorite restaurants. With its location in Times Square and in the vicinity of Broadway locals, all of the waiters and waitresses are constantly singing/performing on microphones in hopes that someone with connections to a Broadway show will happen to walk in and "discover" these hopeful talents.
We made it back to my place on 55th between 2nd and 3rd, only to decide that even though we were dragging, there was one more night scene that Mom just HAD to see. C'mon...how many times are you in New York? We hopped on an E train to go across the East River to one of my favorite spots. Growing up, we used to watch a lot of Reading Rainbow on IPTV with the host LeVar Burton. I specifically remember a childrens' book being read on that show about an African American family living in New York City. The book talked about the family going out to their rooftop and being able to see the twinkling lights of the Brooklyn Bridge. I have yet to figure out the title of the book, but memory remains the same! This truly is the best view of the city at night, hands down. With the lights of the city skyline lit up and the Brooklyn Bridge to the south and the Manhattan Bridge to the north as they cross the East River, it is a place of serenity away from the busy streets just across the way. Sitting on the bench that night, my last night in New York, Mom asked the simple question, "Are you ready?" At first I thought she was asking if I was ready to head back for the night. Then I realized she was asking if I was ready to leave the city and go home to Iowa. I was ready to leave, knowing that I had accomplished what I had come here to do and that was to grow up. As I worked through my college years, I was always afraid that if I never got out, in a sense that I never visited/lived anywhere outside of the state or even the Midwest and stayed here to go to school, get a job, and establish myself, I wouldn't ever leave and that would be a shame. I am a true believer in the idea that people need to leave their comfort zone at least for a period of time, and go to a place much different than their home. Experiences such as these allow for perspective to be gained and growth to occur that could not happen when living in the comforts of a home that you've always known. I was ready to go home to the places and people I love. I have a special spot in my heart for New York. I always have and always will. But if there's one thing about traveling and living in foreign places, it's that it sure does make you appreciate the place where your roots lie.
The next morning was Monday, August 10- the day I had been counting down towards! Our flights weren't until later in the afternoon, so of course there were just a few more places I wanted to visit before fleeing the city. Columbia University was just south of my first home in Harlem so we rode the subway up to the Upper West Side to take a gander at the grandeur of the prestigious school. I was impressed with the campus and the way it made me feel. Somewhat like Iowa State, the campus took you away from the buzz of the city and made you feel as if you were someplace else. Below is me on the steps of the library at Columbia.
Before hitting up the bookstore to grab a couple of official Columbia t-shirts, Mom stopped for a quick photo with this statue, which the name is escaping me at the moment...some scientist for sure. :)
I found us yet another new subway station and a new color train to ride back down the West Side. It would be my last subway ride ever as it was soon time to zip my suitcase and hail my second and last cab (the first was from the airport IN to the city) to leave the city and head for the airport. Once again, I pulled out the trusty map and navigated Mom and I down to Midtown one last time.

This map of the subway routes was like another limb of my body all summer long.
One the subway one last time!
Inside the subway car...I love New Yorkers :)
Mom on her final subway ride as well :)
We came out of the subway station on the west side of Central Park at Columbus Circle because there wasn't a direct route that would take us from the Upper West Side to East Midtown. We also didn't have time for any transfers and knew we could both walk faster to get back to my place instead of waiting for another train.
We hurried back to East 55th and rushed upstairs to do final cleaning of my room, kitchen, and bathroom. The staff person came up to check me out of my room and we were on our way! I turned in my keys and bid farewell to the desk security guards who had become good friends over the summer.

Me with the view out my window before checking out to leave the city.

We had one last errand to do before catching a cab- buy white I Heart NY t-shirts for Reece's girlfriend, Amanda. I knew there would be stands if we walked west towards Lex, Park, Madison, and eventually 5th and 6th Ave. We found a rinky dink shop, grabbed a couple of shirts and went out to the street to hail the cab.

Me walking with my suitcase on the sidewalk a block west of my place on 55th.

Finally getting in the cab to head out of Manhattan!
In the taxi, taking final shots of the skyline I've learned to love.
Mom and I split the cab, but she took the bill (thanks Mom) as she was being dropped off last since we were flying with separate airlines back to Des Moines. At the airport, there were long lines even though it was a Monday aftenoon. I was lucky that Mom and given me a 20 dollar bill since my debit card wouldn't work to pay for my luggage fee. That could have been a disaster! I was a little nervous to fly by myself. I hadn't flown since the summer of 2001 when the family went to California for a vacation and on the way out here I had a direct flight from Des Monies to LaGuardia AND Sara Semprini, the girl I lived with for 2 weeks in Harlem, happened to be on the same flight as me. Therefore, this was the first time I was actually on my own and had to figure out a transfer in Chicago at O'Hare. As we taxied on the runway of LaGuardia, I noticed the welcome sign that I had seen when I arrived 3 months earlier. Gotta love the signature "Big Apple!"

My city from the air- Goodbye New York!
It was fun to watch the land change as we flew farther west. The gridlines of the square miles in the Midwest never looked so good!
Finally, the "skyline" of Des Moines came into view :)
About 2 seconds after snapping this picture welcoming me back to Des Moines, I saw my dad at the waiting area to the left. What a wonderful feeling to be swept up in an embrace from my daddy that I missed so much all summer! Soon, after a delay in Minneapolis, Mom joined us at the airport and we were on our way home to Ogden.
85 days. 85 days in a place where a person can live, work, play, grow, change, stay the same, but most importantly, have an experience of a lifetime. My summer in New York City was a dream come true- a dream I never knew I had. I always knew that I wanted to spend an extended period of time in a city on the East Coast, but I never knew what that would look like. I couldn't have illustrated it any better than what it turned out to be. I'm a better writer because of the opportunity at Scholastic, and better navigator thanks to the subways of New York. The roundedness of my experience has shaped me forever. I couldn't have done it without the patience, love, and support from so many people, especially my Mom and Dad. (You're the best!)

I will never forget New York. I will return someday. I will have changed by then and so will have the city. But the summer of '09 will always be what it was- a summer to never regret or forget.

Thank you, New York. :)

Winding down, but not letting up!

2009-08-04T04:46:00.000-07:00

This past week brought more, yes you guessed it, more rain! Even the locals have said this has been an odd summer- exceptionally wet and cooler than normal. Below is a picture I took of the traffic in the rain when I was walking back after work.

Thursday evening, Natalie and I headed over to the Theater District for another Broadway show. Natalie had been wanting to go to the Tony Award-winning show, Next to Normal, all summer. I'm always up for musical theater and the show seemed like something out of the ordinary. As New York Times says, Next to Normal "does not qualify as your standard feel-good musical." The plot revolves around a modern-day family starring Alice Ripley as the mother suffering from bi-polar disease 18 years after the death of her infant son. The anguish felt by this family drives straight to the core of the audience. The music was brilliant and even though the plot didn't give you the warm-fuzzy feeling, the overall show was fantastic- to be expected on Broadway! Check out the video of the selection from the show that was performed earlier this summer at the 2009 Tony Awards held in Radio City Music Hall here in New York.

Friday finally arrived Natalie got Emily and I out of Manhattan and over to the Williamsburg neighborhood in Brooklyn. It really is a cute area, a nice break from Manhattan, but Emily and I decided to stage a photo looking as if we stepped in to a crazy place...haha

Natalie introduced us to one of her favorite artists, Ben Sollee, who put on a free concert in Brooklyn Friday night. Ben plays the cello and sings- amazing talent! Check out him singing is song How to See the Sun Rise. You can find his album on iTunes. I added it to my music collection. :)

Ben playing the cello along with guitarist, and a new addition to his act, Morgan, the banjo player. Ben, a native of Lexington, Kentucky, was playing in New York awhile ago and happened to see Morgan playing his banjo down on a subway platform. Ben asked Morgan to come play with him and they make a great duo! The funny thing is we saw Morgan playing on the subway platform on our way to Brooklyn as well!

Saturday morning, Brianna, my uncle's step-daughter from California, came to visit New York City. She had been staying with her aunt about an hour out of the city near New Jersey and wanted to see NYC before heading back to the West Coast. I wanted to see the city from above one more time so we headed over to Rockefeller Center and went up to the Top of the Rock- almost an equivalent of the 86th floor of the Empire State Building.

Looking north over Central Park from the Top of the Rock

Brianna and I looking south towards the Empire State Building

After coming back down to the ground, we walked in the lower part of the GE Building and found the Swarovski Crystals shop. Of course we were attracted to the pretty, shiny things :)

More shiny objects

After grabbing some lunch at Hale and Hearty Soups and Sandwiches, we walked back east and ended up going in to St. Patrick's Cathedral.

As we walked in to the church, we could hear a voice talking over the loudspeaker, but didn't think anything of it. As we walked closer towards the front of the church we found quite a surprise! A wedding was going on! How would you like to get married in front of your friends and family, plus tons of tourists!?

The happy couple. After we left and walk around the other side of the church, we noticed another bride and groom waiting with their attendants to have their turn at the altar. Popular place to tie the knot!

More of the gorgeous interior of the cathedral

More waiting for the 6 train at the 51st/Lex stop to go downtown and transfer to the 4 train to get to Battery Park City.

There was a vendor just outside of Battery Park City that was giving out free samples of a new beverage on the market- Coca Cola is introducing, or rather testing, a new "Vibrancy" drink called Vio that features sparkling water with a hint of milk and fruit flavors. It was hot out and the cold drink, for free, hit the spot, even if it was a little weird. :)

In attempt to see the Statue of Liberty in a different way, for me at least, Brianna and I caught a Staten Island Ferry running from Lower Manhattan to the island. It's always fun, for a land-locked gal like myself, to be out on the water.

Looking back at Manhattan from the Staten Island Ferry

Yet ANOTHER post office picture for you, Dad. There was a wife taking a picture of her husband by this sign as well...she explained he worked for the post office. I understood completely. :)
Ferry Terminal Station on Staten Island, NY.

We went for a stroll on Staten Island for a few minutes and came across this 9/11 memorial called "Postcards". You can see in the picture below how the two slabs direct your view towards the island of Manhattan. What a sight that must have been that day.

This is the inside of the memorial on Staten Island. Each "postcard" has a name of a person that passed in the attacks, where they worked, and their birth date. Look close to see the silhouettes of the faces of people lost.

On Saturday night, we were walking in Brooklyn and passed this guy on the sidewalk.
"Natalie, that guy had an Iowa State shirt on!" I said. So we turned around and asked him about his shirt. He was very confused and didn't understand what Iowa State "was". After explaining that Iowa State was a school and we were students there, he told us he was from Chile and his brother-in-law gave him the shirt. The best part was the girl he was walking around with didn't understand English (he translated back to her what we were saying) , yet was one of those tourists that videotaped everything. Needless to say, we'll be in their video of memories from New York City.

We continued walking and got to the destination we were seeking. Known as the Brooklyn Bridge Park, we plopped down to enjoy the view of the sunset and eventually the lights of the Manhattan skyline, highlighted by the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge. It is probably one of my favorite views of the city!

Natalie treated us by stopping at the bake shop on 2nd Ave to get cupcakes. I'm usually not a fan of frosting, besides the stuff out of the can and my mom's sugar cookie frosting, but this stuff was to die for. Buttercream frosting- delicious!

Setting sun and lights of the city

Brianna and I with the view in the background

Natalie and I sitting in the park. It was surprisingly not very busy- a nice break from the people of Manhattan!

Brianna and Natalie devouring their cupcakes

Self-timer lent itself to this photo shoot. Finally a good one!
Natalie, Hallie, and Brianna

Looking right towards the north, the Manhattan Bridge lights up the water beneath it.

And looking left towards the south and lower Manhattan. The Brooklyn Bridge sparkles in the dark night. I called Mom while in the park because I couldn't remember the name of a book that Lavar Burton used to read on the childhood show, Reading Rainbow. It was a picture book about a family that had a rooftop garden in New York City and there was a picture of the lights on the Brooklyn Bridge at night. We still have not figured out what the title of the book is....

Sunday, we went up to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, or better known as The Met. Not being a big art buff, I went mostly with the mind set of "I should go since I'm in New York City." It was exactly what I expected it to be- lots of impressive art that is very old. I can appreciate art masterpieces because of the historical value. It really is amazing to see the works that people did so long ago. Yet, I was appreciative of a few gems Brianna and I found in the special exhibits.

One of the special exhibits was called The Model as Muse, Embodying Fashion. Another area that I usually don't get in to, I was surprised how interesting I found this exhibit dedicated to fashion. As you turned each corner, a new decade was displayed in a way that related to the style of that decade. From the fallible fashion of the 40's and 50's to the craziness of the 60's and 70's and in to the modern styles of the 80's, 90's, and today- I was entertained seeing how looks have changed, and come back again over the years. The attention to detail and complete exhibit, including the music playing during each decade's display, was impressive!

There was an area of the museum where modern art was on display. It was much different compared to the rooms containing the historical art. The are was much more spacious with huge white walls and bright lighting. This piece of art caught my eye because of its simplicity as the slabs of color spread across the wall.

We timed our visit to The Met perfectly with the rain showers that went through the city. It was beginning to sprinkle as we escaped indoors with the hundreds of other people and came out as the sun was beginning to shine through.

Brianna and I in front of The Met

We took our time walking the 25 blocks south back to my place through Central Park. Brianna's aunt told her to be sure and try a New York pretzel from the many vendors on the streets. Yum!

Rain, rain go away...this sidewalk in Central Park has flooded MANY times this summer.

We caught up with Natalie down near St. Mark's Place in the East Village to treat Brianna to the Frozen Yogurt Station. More for less when it's 35 cents and ounce!

Brianna and Natalie enjoying their frozen yogurt goodness

With only an hour or so before Brianna's aunt was going to be back in the city to pick her up, we walked over from St. Mark's Place to Washington Square Park near the NYU campus. This is the famous arch that is a mock-up of the one found in France. For you Friends fans out there, this is shown many times on the TV show.

The giant fountain in the park was a common attraction for many kids and even some far from childhood in the warm weather. This kid found fun with an umbrella in the many water spouts of the fountain.

After Brianna left on Sunday night, I prepared for my last week at work! How time flies! Mom was coming on Wednesday morning- more fun to be had!

3x the Fun!

2009-07-29T03:50:00.000-07:00

The fourth weekend of July came and went, but not before more friends from Iowa saw the city for themselves! Thursday night after work, I met two of my classmates from geology classes at Iowa State for a dinner in Times Square. Kyle was visiting his brother on the East Coast and came into New York to check out the sights. Kaylee got in to New York that morning and spent the day walking around before we all got together to dine and catch up. Of course there were lots of stories about the geology field camp I was at in Wyoming last summer, Kaylee was at earlier this summer, and Kyle will go next summer. Rock nerds, unite! :)

Kaylee, Kyle, and I in Times Square

I was expecting three guests to hang out with that weekend and the other two didn't get to the hotel in the city until after 1 in the morning. Flight delays will do that, I guess! Shannon and Craig, friends from high school, finally got to the hotel where they, along with Kaylee would be staying. They say spaces are small in New York, and this hotel room was no exception! 1 bed and we added an air mattress to accommodate everyone. No big deal :)

Friday I went to work while Kaylee, Shannon, and Craig got to know each other while they toured around Midtown. Entertainment was found in the Toys R Us store in Times Square, at the Top of the Rock at the Rockefeller Center, and down to Grand Central Station. I met the crew for lunch at a cafe in the Rockefeller Center before heading back down to Soho to work that afternoon.

Craig, a devoted Yankees fan, and I, a hater of the Yankees have always exchanged friendly banter regarding the baseball team. His trip was really to visit the new Yankee Stadium and go to a game while in town. While the ticket was a bit pricy, Craig and Shannon enjoyed the beauty of a major league baseball game in Yankee Stadium on Friday night. Having only been to the stadium once, Craig must truly be a fan- he remembered what subway train to get on- 4 train Uptown to 161st street!

Meanwhile, Natalie and I met after work and caught up with Kaylee and her friend, Charles, at Pier 46 on the Hudson River to watch Ghostbusters on the big screen. Kaylee met Charles earlier this summer while they were both at geology field camp in Wyoming. He is a native of the East Coast and now lives in Brooklyn. Kaylee and him ran circles around the Village on Friday afternoon seeing everything they could!

Later after the movie, Craig and Shannon made their way back from the Bronx after the game and we all met up at their hotel. Craig was in a good mood since the Yankees won, so of course we continued with the bantering. I had to give him a hard time about his Yankees shirt that was number 42 on the back- Jackie Robinson's number that is now retired, but not before current Yankee, Mariano Rivera snatched it up. Craig's shirt bore the famous number, but had his last name, Lamm, printed on the back. Clever, Craig. :)
The classy decorations in the Best Western hotel at 48th and 8th: the American Presidents. Kaylee, JFK is creeping on you!
Craig's mom, Carolyn's last words to her son were, "Take care of those girls, Craig." Hm. Well I won't say he wasn't a perfect gentleman, but shown clearly in this picture, it looks like wittle Craigy couldn't put in his own eye drops. Good thing our resident pharmacy student was on hand to properly medicate! Nice work, Shannon :)
Charles, Kaylee, Shannon, Craig, and I walked down on 8th Ave to Smith's to toast a drink to being in New York City together. The live band playing was, well, not the greatest...

Shannon and I

This was Kaylee's first trip to NYC!

Craig, you're smiling!

This is a little more like it...Craig goofing off :)
And as Shannon said, "this photo makes me feel a little nostalgic."

Charles and Kaylee

The Iowa gang- Kaylee, Craig, Shannon, and I

Saturday, while Shannon, Craig, and Kaylee went down to Battery Park City, Natalie and I went to a street fair. All of the street fairs are close to the same every Saturday morning. Sundress, scarves, sunglasses, jewelry, hats, etc. all sold for cheap- only in New York- prices. This table was a new sight I've seen at the street fairs. Don't be fooled- these plates don't hold real produce, but rather fake, plastic vegetables and fruit that are glued to magnets. Looks appetizing!

A shot of the street fair.

While walking along the street, Natalie and I noticed a vintage shop and decided to stop in and check it out. A friendly place, complete with a dog that sat on the rug, we deemed the prices waaaaay out of our range. Not exactly "vintage" prices.

I loved this dress in the vintage shop. Reminds me of the dress Julia Roberts wears in Pretty Woman. I called Mom and asked her to sew me clothes again like she used to when I was little. I think the begging worked... :)

Later that afternoon, we all caught up and went to a new place, Roosevelt Island. It is a skinny little island in the East River between Manhattan and Queens. This is a Google Image that looks north with Manhattan on the left, Roosevelt Island in the middle, and Queens to the right.

The Queensboro Bridge crosses Roosevelt Island, but the only way to get to the island, besides a single subway stop, is the tram car that is suspended on a wire above the bustling city below.

Kaylee, Shannon, Craig, and I inside the tram car above the streets of Manhattan.
After getting off the tram car, we walked past a baseball field. America's favorite pastime is everywhere!

Our whole purpose for going to the island was in search of some live music we saw advertised. Jones Street Station and Diane Birch put on a concert for the small (small for NY!) crowd gathered in the green space. It was once again nice to get out of the craziness of Manhattan for a couple of hours. My gray sheet is getting good use at these outdoor events!

Kaylee, Natalie, and Shannon finding seats in the grass.

NYPD on a Segway :)

Shannon and I visited the friendly man at one of the many fruit stands on the street. Fresh grapes and sweet cherries were the produce of choice for a snack that afternoon on Roosevelt Island.

Natalie and I sent Shannon, Craig, and Kaylee on the subway back to their hotel before meeting up for dinner. We took the tram car back since it's stop is just a few blocks up on 2nd Ave from our building. We didn't leave Roosevelt Island without taking a picture with the Queensboro Bridge.

The next few pictures were taken while in the tram car going back to Manhattan.

East River

1st Ave

2nd Ave

After getting off the tram car, Natalie and I were walking back to our building and while crossing one of the streets, a vehicle that normally wouldn't get a second glance out of a couple of Midwestern girls, took us both by surprise- a F150 pick-up truck was waiting for the crowds of people in the crosswalk to pass before making it's turn to the west. Haven't seen one of those in quite a long time! It stuck out like a sore thumb against the yellow taxi cabs.

For dinner that night, we took the guests to Blockheads, the Mexican restaurant down the street. The shaken margaritas were a tad on the strong side...

Kaylee and Shannon expressing their feelings about the margaritas, haha!

We entertained ourselves after a long day of walking by relaxing in the tiny hotel room on the west side of Manhattan. Natalie insisted on jumping on the bed. "It's a must in a hotel." :)

Sunday, I took the gang down to Little Italy for lunch at some genuine Italian pasta. Shannon and Craig enjoyed their dishes without a doubt.

The real highlight of the midday meal was the entertainment provided on the street next to our table. The younger guy in the white shirt worked for the restaurant we were eating at as a representative to get people to come in and eat. What a schmoozer! The other guy to the left of him in the yellow shirt worked for the restaurant across the street. You can understand the competition that was going on as they fought for the business of the innocent people walking down the street between their restaurants. It was highly entertaining to watch Mr. Yellow-Shirt get all worked up and call Mr. Young Guy a discriminator, etc. etc. etc. while Mr. Young Guy went about his business quietly drawing in the ladies from the sidewalks. Too funny. :)

One country to the next! After lunch, we walked into Chinatown where Craig was extremely excited because he recognized the sights after watching the movie and playing the video game,The Godfather. Impressive, Craig. haha

Kaylee, Hallie, Craig, and Shannon in the streets of Chinatown

We consulted the Not For Tourists book that has been leading me around all summer to find a street that is oddly angled and "has a decidedly otherworldly feel." No kidding! Doyers Street was slightly deserted, for Chinatown, and what do you know!? The Chinatown Station Post Office was on this odd street- fitting, don't you think? (Haha, just kidding, Dad!)

We stopped in a "candy" store after leaving the angled street and found things not in the category for candy, well at least we thought. They had sample dishes for anyone to try the "treats" in the store. Shredded Squid, anyone?

We walked up from Chinatown to St. Mark's Place in the East Village. The goods were plentiful and colorful in this Thai store.

Over spring break, we found a place called "Berry Happy Frozen Yogurt" in Encinitas, California. This place on St. Mark's Place in the East Village was pretty much the same- AWESOME. It was self-serve frozen yogurt with lots of flavors- cake batter, dutch chocolate, peanut butter, cheesecake, strawberry, green tea, pomegrante, etc. You took a cup, filled it up with as much as you wanted, and then went to the bar were there were toppings of everthing imaginable- lots of fresh fruit, chocolate, marshmallows, gummi bears, galore! Put it on the scale and pay only 35 cents an ounce- what a sweet treat!

Kaylee, Shannon, and I enjoyed our bliss in the form of frozen yogurt. Yum!
The colorful street lamps were a work of art in the East Village on St. Mark's Place:

"A Nation Once Again"

"East Village"

Us girls ended up on a bench together in the subway ride on the 6 train back up to Midtown while Craig was across on other side of the car. Perhaps out of exhaustion, we found it to be humorous watching Craig sit between regular New Yorkers in the subway car.

Craig and his first set of "friends" on the subway

More "friends" on the subway for Craig...it was a long ride.

No more subway friends by the last stop...Poor Craig. :)

Shannon and Craig flew home to Iowa on Sunday night (delays, many crosswords, and a drive from Kansas City to Panora and Omaha later, they finally made it by 4 and 5am on Monday morning- yikes!) Kaylee didn't fly home until Monday night so we, along with my suitemate, Jessica, used discounted tickets from my housing service and went to see a newly released movie- The Ugly Truth at an AMC Theater down in Kips Bay. $8 instead of the regularly priced $12.50 ticket! I got a kick out of the theater using dated movie posters to decorate the many hallways in the building. I wish I could go see The Little Mermaid in theaters on the big screen! :)

Monday morning, Kaylee and I got up in time for me to go to work for the day while she headed up to 81st street on the west side to visit the American Museum of Natural History. It's still on my to-do list! Kaylee called from LaGuardia while I was watching the Bachelorette finale (Natalie and I watched every episode on Monday nights together. It was a must because we are devoted fans to the show!) to say her flight had gotten cancelled, but she was staying in a hotel near the airport to catch the 6am flight the next morning. LaGuardia better get it together before I fly home in August!

"It's just...for the first time, I feel...WICKED"

2009-07-22T06:05:00.001-07:00

I finally got the opportunity to see the Broadway sensation- Wicked. My housing sometimes gets tickets to events around the city for a discounted price and I took advantage of this opportunity. This show has taken Broadway by storm and now it's tour around the US has quickly become a hit.

Dad and Thad saw the show while in New York City this spring on the OHS Senior Trip. Dad kept telling me I would love it! I have been listening to the music since I graduated high school, but had not had the chance to see the show.

Gershwin Theatre on 51st Street in Times Square was beautiful inside! Here is a picture of the stage and the audience before the show started.

A close up of the map of the Land of Oz with the green light illuminating the Emerald City, of course!

Dee Roscioli had her Broadway debut as Elphaba, the green-faced witch, on Tuesday night when we attended the show. She was sensational! The audience applauded her first entrance on stage at the beginning of the show, acknowledging her premiere performance. Here is Alli Mauzey, or Glinda, applauding her performance during the bows after the show. I like this picture because she shows so much emotion in her face :)

Alli Mauzey's performance as Glinda when singing Popular was absolutely hysterical! I sat by a girl in the audience who was seeing the show for the seventh time. She said the performance of that song was the best she's seen! Of course her singing was amazing, but the little quirks she threw in just amplified the girly character she was. For example, the scene starts with Glinda wanting to exchange secrets with Elphaba. Glinda says with great anticipation that she is "going to marry Fiyero" and then in perfect "teeny-bopper" form, runs and throws herself on her bed and screams into the pillows in excitement. Keep in mind she had just met this boy that day. It was perfectly acted!

Witch Love

The song performed by Glinda and Elphaba at the end of the show, For Good, has always held a special place in my heart. We sang it at our high school graduation ceremony. The song is beautifully composed with truthful lyrics that make you really stop and think about those people in your lives that have made an impact. Watching the actresses sing it on stage brought tears to my eyes.

The entire cast for one final bow after the show.

The sign above the door on the way out was very fitting. :)

"Seniors in the City" All Grown Up

2009-07-21T05:58:00.000-07:00

I took my first full day off from work on Friday and Emily and I went got up early and headed down to Lower Manhattan to board the ferry headed out to Liberty Island to see the Statue of Liberty. It was a VERY muggy day as you can see from the picture looking back at the skyline from the ferry.

Lookie there! What is that? The Statue of Liberty? I had no idea!

Emily and I attempted to take obnoxious pictures with the Statue. Emily gave Lady Liberty a wet willy in her ear...I picked her nose. Real mature, I know. :)
(For those of you keeping tabs on my VEISHEA wristband, Nicki, this is the last picture with the beloved piece of green plastic. I parted ways with it on Saturday. My wrist feels naked! haha)

The tickets to the crown are sold out until November and we were too impatient to stand in very long line to go up to the base of the monument. This close will have to do for now!
We were hot and tired on Liberty Island so we boarded the ferry that goes to Ellis Island next. We went inside the main building and counted our blessings that we hadn't arrived back in the day before they installed the air conditioning. :) We decided to learn more about the history of Ellis Island and went into a theater. After we collapsed in the seats, they turned down the lights and we knew we were doomed. A nice little nap was what we got out of that movie! After awaking from our slumber, we made our way to this beautiful, open room- the Registry Room. It was neat to look at the pictures and see this open space full of people all waiting to be let into America.

These columns were preserved because of the graffiti that was inscribed by the people who crossed through Ellis Island. There were illustrations as well as messages left to love ones.

The dormitory room housed some of the smallest and most UNcomfortable beds I've ever seen. A piece of canvas maybe 5 feet long, stretched tight between a couple bars, was all you got if you were unfortunate enough to have to spend the night at Ellis Island.

Coming off the ferry in Battery Park City, there were a couple of these brothers that would run down to were the crowd was and start shouting in a rehearsed manner:

"Ladies and Gentlemen, you have 5 minutes!"
"5 minutes!"
"To get off that ferry and over to watch our show!"
"Our show!"

Emily and I stopped by to watch what these brothers had put together. Of course their attractive outfits drew us in more than their actual act!
It's hard to miss the bull as you walk up Broadway towards Wall Street. There wasn't its usual crowd surrounding the figure so Emily and I jumped at the chance to snap a picture. Apparently I was into picking the noses of statues that day? Haha :)

Natalie had snagged tickets to a taping of the late night sensation, the Jimmy Fallon Show. We went over to the GE Building in Rockefeller Center, received our wristbands as we so fondly show off in the picture below, waited in line for quite awhile, but were finally let into the studio. It's just as they say- the studio is much smaller than they make it seem on the show! The guests that night, Anna Paquin, Mancow, and the band The Dead Weather, weren't exactly highlights. Yet, Jimmy was still hilarious and it was so much fun to watch the taping in real life. The episode we were at can be seen by clicking here. The kid that won the computer was sitting next to us! (Woop-de-do, I know...haha)
Emily, Natalie, and I with our official "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" wristbands.

Natalie noticed this sign on 5th Ave on our walk back from Jimmy. Love it.

Friday night, we tried to go down to the Intrepid Aircraft Carrier where they were showing Jaws on its deck for free. We dinked around long enough after leaving NBC Studios that the on-board crowd reached capacity. Oh well. Still got a picture of the huge ship!

Because we missed out on the movie on the boat, we found these fountains nearby. After sitting and watching the pretty display of lights and water, we decided to retreat back to our childhoods and jumped in the fountains. It was ridiculously fun and made for some pretty pictures!

Saturday, Emily and I finally slept in and got some much needed zzzzz's. That afternoon we hopped on the 4 train to ride to the Bronx for the Yankees baseball game. It was the longest, most uncomfortable subway ride I've had this whole summer. Sooooooo many Yankee fans crowded in the subway car. It was hot. Everyone was sweating. Gross. This picture does no justice in displaying how crowded the car was:

Finally we made it to 161st Street and everyone clambered out of the subway car into the sunny platform with a view of both Yankee Stadiums. The first is of old Yankee Stadium covered by scaffolding:

And then the bright, new Yankee stadium was off to the right.

Being baseball fans, Emily and I were pumped about going to the game, but I should throw a disclaimer out there. We are NOT Yankee fans. In fact, I despise the Yankees. We went for the experience. Period. :)

Because of the loooong subway ride, we got in after the top of the 1st was already complete. Derek Jeter was up and hit a single during our first look at the field.

The food and drink prices were outrageous, of course! Try not to be distracted by the calories listed immediately after the menu item. That number is outrageous as well!

Finally we made it to our seats! We got lucky and didn't bake in the sun since we sat up high enough to be shaded by the overhanging at the top of the stadium. :)

As I warned you all before during my post about the Mets game, I adore baseball diamonds. Therefore, here is yet another shot of the view we had.

The background view of Yankee Stadium offers a glimpse of some of the finest in the Bronx of New York. I was talking to Dad before we came to the game. He had an uncle that lived on Long Island, NY that Mom and him visited a few times. Dad reminded me, "Uncle Rusty would roll over in his grave knowing you're going up to the Bronx." It isn't exactly the nicest borough of New York City, that's for sure... Oh and I should mention, Uncle Rusty was a die-hard Mets fan. Enough said.

The grounds crew came out between innings and while dragging the field, they did a synchronized dance to the YMCA song that was blaring over the loudspeakers. It was impressive!

A-rod hit a homerun to liven up the 0-0 game that they had going...

Then Marcus Thames of Detroit responded with a solo home himself. In true Yankee-form, the fan who caught the ball threw it back into the field in disgust. Yankee fans are classy people. A good comparison would be they're a lot like Hawk fans. But that's just my opinion. :)

In the section next to us, there was an Obama look-alike. He obviously knew of this similarity and played up the part. Why else would some random dude come to a Saturday afternoon game in a suit?! People were taking so many pictures of the guy, you'd think he actually WAS the President.

With a 2-1 score going into the top of the 9th, Mariano Rivera came in from the Yankee bullpen to finish off the game by shutting down the Tigers one last time. No, Thad, it wasn't quite the perfect game I was hoping for, like Billy Chapel (Kevin Costner) somehow throws everytime (haha) in one of our favorite movies For Love of the Game.

Emily and I decided the classic picture with the field in the background was necessary.

And, in keeping tradition from childhood family vacations of visiting MLB stadiums in the area...Yankee Stadium, check!

Saturday night, Natalie and I took Emily down to Blockheads, the Mexican restaurant that we have become regulars at over the summer. Warm night, good food and drinks, and a fun atmosphere made for a great time.

After dinner we went down towards Union Square near NYU in the Soho area. Our destination was this place called the Beauty Bar where you can get a drink and a manicure for only $10 (so cheap!), but the line was too long so we soon left after arriving. We sat in Union Square people watching for a bit, but had to leave when Emily's shoulder got pooped on by a bird. Hahahahaha
This picture of Emily and I was suppose to capture the view of the Chrysler building lit up down the street, but the flash didn't allow that to happen...

Sunday brought yet another trip to Coney Island. My lil sun goddess, Emily, enjoyed the sun while Natalie applied sunscreen every 5 minutes, I swear! Here we are on the pier looking back at the huge crowd of colorful umbrellas on the beach.

For Emily's last night, we went to Times Square to get the classic picture together. Dinner at Applebee's allowed us to be "eatin good in the neighborhood"

Look, I met Morgan Freeman! You thought he was real, didn't you?! So did I... We were walking by this store front that had wax figures of movie stars in it. Morgan Freeman's was closest to the sidewalk and when I saw "him" I stopped dead in my tracks and started grabbing for my camera. "Emily, I know him!" Emily was confused but then after realizing what I thought, she grabbed my arm, doubling over with laughter, and pulled me away. "Hallie, 'he' is NOT REAL."
How embarassing... :)

Monday morning before Emily's plane left, we walked down to the plaza were the Today Show is filmed. A goal of Emily's was to see Matt Lauer. It's still on my to-do list as well because no sooner did we get down there and found out that Matt was on vacation. Not cool, Matt. We did get to see Meridith Viera and Al Roker. We ended up standing by a family that was from West Des Moines. The kid had a Hawkeye jacket on so of course we shared some friendly banter about Iowa vs. Iowa State. It turns out that the dad had relatives that played and coached football at Central College the same time Reece was there. Small world!

This is the way to go. Lucky Mr. Policeman of the NYPD.

You ask her! No, YOU ask her!

2009-07-16T20:25:00.000-07:00

My next guest is here and the highlight of her trip may have already happened! Emily, a classmate from high school and now a fellow Cyclone, arrived Wednesday evening. She toured around on her own during the day while I was at work on Thursday writing about solar radiation's effects on astronauts and what warts are (yes, those were my assignments, haha). We met up with Natalie that evening and headed down to the East Village to go to the Max Brenner's- a restaurant that serves everything you could imagine that is chocolate...waffles with ice cream on them, chocolate pizza, chocolate soup. It was amazing. Mom- We will be hitting up this place when you come! :)

Emily decided she wanted real food and got pasta- still delicious. I went for a dish called "Chocolate Mess." When the waitress came out with our silverware, I was given the GIANT spoon to eat my "mess" with, while Emily was given the normal size spoon for her pasta.

Me with my "Chocolate Mess"- fresh baked chocolate brownie still hot in the pan, topped with ice cream and served with chocolate bits and caramel on the side. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm
NOW for the highlight...besides the ridiculously amazing dessert we dined on. As soon as we were seated, a group walked past and Emily turned to watch them walk to sit at the outside tables of the restaurant. I noticed her staring as she said, "Wasn't that Abigail Breslin?" (Abigail Breslin is the child actress in the recently released film My Sister's Keeper as well as Little Miss Sunshine and Signs.) We ate our dishes and watched Abigail slurp on her milkshake with her mom, a friend her age and the friend's mom. We saw a group of tween-age girls get their picture taken with her and decided that we wanted a photo too. After much debate as to whether or not we should walk down the sidewalk to talk to her or go to her table inside the restaurant gate, Emily got brave enough to politely ask Abigail for a photo. Yes. Three 21 year olds were nervous-excited to get a picture with a 13 year old girl. Pathetic, but hey, we have a picture with a celebrity! Actually we're more like best friends with her now...haha, just kidding!

Abigail, Emily, Hallie, and Natalie

Friday night we're going to another outdoor movie...which celebrity should we sit by?? :)

STOMPed On in the East Village

2009-07-13T18:18:00.000-07:00

A couple more Iowa gals came to visit New York this past weekend. Kristin, one of my friends I met as a freshman in the Cyclone Marching Band and her friend from high school who goes to Truman State, Julie, arrived Friday and stayed in the Millennium Plaza Hotel of the UN. The actual United Nations buildings were across the street on 1st Ave on the East River. It was a sunny morning when I walked down to meet the girls at their hotel and the colorful flags stood out against the trimmed bushes and towering UN building.

After our escapades of seeing Hugh Jackman (see below post) on Friday night, we got up on Saturday morning to go down to Lower Manhattan. Kristin and Julie got tickets and took the ferry out to Liberty Island to see the Statue of Liberty and eventually over to Ellis Island. I enjoyed this time to walk around Battery Park City, be heckled by the vendors down there- the best was watching one guy pull his suitcase of loot out of a trash bag, haha- and soak in some sun while sitting on a bench reading my book and listening to the harmonics of a guy making his music.

I can't help but think of my senior trip in the spring of 2006 before my high school graduation. The place is so familiar now that it's hard to remember being there as a senior in high school and not really understanding where we were. The hecklers with Oakley sunglasses and Rolex watches are still here going strong!

After Kristin and Julie returned from the ferry, we walked up to Subway to order sandwiches and then dined while sitting in Liberty Plaza near the World Trade Center site. We walked through a tunnel they have built around the WTC area up to a viewing deck that looks down on the construction. I couldn't help but take a picture of this sign that was posted in the tunnel. I'm a fan of it:

To continue our walk up Broadway and past Wall Street, we took a different route down to the South Seaport area in search of the TKTS booth that sells discounted day-of Broadway tickets. After purchasing the cheap tickets for a show that night, we walked back up to the Brooklyn Bridge. It was my fourth trip to the bridge, but the view is still fantastic. Here is Kristin and I out on the bridge, looking back at Manhattan:

It was late afternoon by then and time for a break so we took the subway back up to Midtown before heading to our off-Broadway show down in the East Village. I wanted to see STOMP when it came to Iowa State last spring, but it was during VEISHEA week so that definitely did not happen. We had our discounted tickets in hand and were shocked when we were were escorted by the usher to the front row, center aisle of the house. Front row sounded pretty good until the performers came out and started sweeping dirt in rhythm on us from the stage. The brooms were only the beginning. The show featured these musicians never uttering one word, but creating rhythms with some of the craziest things. Matchboxes, their own hands and feet, tractor tire tubes, newspaper, rubber bands, trash can lids, sump pump tubing, paper and plastic bags, dust pans, folding chairs, sand sprinkled on the floor, their boots, huge oil barrels (see picture above) and tiny paint cans attached to their feet, lighters, and Culligan water jugs were all used. Being so close to the stage, we were able to see their facial expressions up close and even interact with the performers. We were rolling with laughter on several occasions! One of my favorite features was when 4 of the guys came out with harnesses around their neck that were attached to kitchen sinks- literally. They made music and had fun pounding on the stainless steel, pouring water as if they were washing the dishes, and then finishing the job by draining the water into buckets sitting on the floor beneath them while standing with the sinks around their necks.

With Kristin and Julie after STOMP in the East Village

Sunday we went to church in Times Square and then that afternoon, rode the subway out to Coney Island- I won't get tired of the beach! That evening we walked back to Rockefeller Center and Times Square to see the night lights and enjoyed taking some goofy pictures as you'll see below. We stopped in a gift shop where I got a great deal on postcards to send to all of you back home and some for my collection. :) I found this shirt that shows all of the subways in New York City. I loved it, but decided that just a picture of it was cheaper!

What? I have lots of friends and family to send postcards to back home!

Being artsy standing on, not in, a fountain near Radio City Music Hall

It's quickly becoming a trend to take a picture with my guests in Times Square.
Kristin and I

Representing the Lions of Linn-Mar in Times Square
Shout out to brother Reece, as well as the Jolliffe family! (Mark, I know you're reading...)

The next few pictures are taken in a couple of the best stores in Times Square. If you know my Mom and I at all, you understand our love of chocolate. The Hershey's Store is right across the street from the M&M Store. Can you say, bliss?! When Mom comes to visit me in August, we'll definitely be making a trip to the Chocolate Corner.

Kristin and I "chugging chocolate syrup" How would these bottles ever fit in a refrigerator?

5 pounds of pure joy

In the M&M store, you can stand under this radar thing that scans you and tells you what color of M&M represents your mood. Julie got "Mega Mix"...what does THAT mean?? Haha

Of course we got our picture taken with the giant yellow M&M!

Even the restrooms were decorated appropriately.

A view of Times Square from up in the M&M Store

On the walk home, we found this statue of a man hailing a cab. I decided I needed some practice for perfecting the skill...

Well, another week is done. I have been actively telling myself not to wish away my time out here, yet I couldn't help but notice that the summer is winding down! 25 days 'til Iowa! 25 days to see everything I can in NYC :D

The Wizard of Oz never looked so good

2009-07-13T05:08:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, another friend from Iowa State, Kristin, and her friend from home, Julie, came to visit New York. They toured around the Midtown area on their own during the day while I went to work. That evening, we all joined up, including Natalie, and went down to Pier 46 on the Hudson River. The city puts on RiverFlicks- free movies out on the piers during the summer. Friday was kid's night and the featured film was The Wizard of Oz. A classic! Mom- I couldn't believe how much of that movie I could recite!

We found a spot in the crowded area and laid out our sheet to sit on. Julie, Kristin, and I walked away for a few minutes to find a snack and when we got back Natalie asked me,
"Do you have your phone on you?"
"No, I left it here..."
"Well, get it out"

I dug my phone out of my bag as I sat down next to her and read a new text message she had sent me in the time we were away:

"Hugh Jackman is sitting next to me. Don't make a scene."

WHAT!? HUGH JACKMAN? ...is what I was thinking in my head!

Nat said he had gone to get some of the free popcorn they were giving out before the movie began. When he came back, Nat asked, "It's him, right?"

Oh. It was definitely him. Hugh Jackman was just out enjoying the beautiful summer night with a couple friends and his family- wife, Deborra and adopted kids, Oscar and Ava. What an great dad he is to his adorable kids!

Hugh was really nice to the people who came up to talk to him, but turned down taking pictures with anyone. We didn't want to be THAT person who was obnoxious to the star, especially when he was out enjoying time with his family, so here is the best photographic evidence we got. Hugh and one of his friends is sitting next to us and his son, with the cute dark curly hair, is sitting in front him.

I'm borrowing this image from Natalie's blog. Someone posted this on Twitter and Natalie nicely edited it to point out where Hugh was sat down next to her before we returned from the snack shop.

This was found online from another admirer when the Jackman family was out for dinner before coming to the pier for the movie. What a good dad...

My New York City experience is complete. I can go home now that I've seen a celebrity at random out in public. :)

Nat and I waiting for Judy to come on the screen

Julie, Kristin, and I after Hugh and the fam left

The girls on the pier after the movie
Julie, Kristin, Natalie, and I

I've been here long enough, I'm now the tour guide

2009-07-07T19:43:00.000-07:00

7 weeks. Is that all it takes to become a regular New Yorker? Had to be for me! Last week, my first of many visitors came to see what the big city is really like. Elyse, one of my roommates from Iowa State, flew into New York on Wednesday morning and spent 5 days seeing the sights. A few of the places we visited, I have seen before, but surprisingly, there were many "firsts" for me during her stay.

I had to go to work during Elyse's first 2 days in the city. Since she enjoys walking (thank goodness!), Elyse saw a lot of my neighborhood on her own while I was at the office. Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, 5th Ave, Bryant Park, Times Square, FAO, and Central Park took up a lot of her time. So much to see here! She recently posted her pictures on Facebook and besides the entertaining captions the girl is known for writing, I truly enjoyed seeing the city through another perspective! How fast I have become accustomed to some of the sights and sounds of the city that a visitor finds fascinating.

Friday was a day off for many in the city, including employees at Scholastic, so our group headed to Governors Island for the views of the Statue of Liberty and Lower Manhattan. Natalie had a friend from Iowa State visiting as well, Sam. It was a Cyclone weekend! I reminded Elyse to bring an umbrella because of the notorious wet weather here in New York. Here we are with the tiny Statue in the distance while we wait in the sprinkles for the ferry to leave for Governors Island. Yes, sunglasses and umbrellas at the same time were necessary. :)

Within the time it took us to get to Governors Island, the sun came out and made for a beautiful pictures of Lower Manhattan in the background. Or maybe it was just the beautiful ladies posing for the photo? Haha

Even though this was my second trip to Governors Island, we found a new fort that I swear had a moat around it at one time. You could go down in this secret chamber where they had an electric flame being projected on the wall while a voice spoke, telling the story of the fort. Naturally, I stood "in the flame."

Walking back in Lower Manhattan towards Wall Street, we saw this tour bus advertising flip-flop sandals that apparently work your leg muscles as you walk around wearing them. My feet hurt enough after a day of walking that I don't need my legs doing EXTRA work, thank you very much!

The Ground Zero area of 9/11 doesn't provide much to see, except to take a moment to ponder the idea that two massive towers used to stand where there is now an obvious space. The tallest building on the right was playing tricks on our eyes because of its reflective glass windows lining the structure top to bottom.

Up the street from the Ground Zero area is this cross made famous after it was recovered from the wreckage back in 2001. Check out the sign below that is attached to the base of the cross.

Friday night, the gang of Iowa Staters and our London-influence, Emily, headed down to Little Italy for supper. It is wild how you can be walking along the street and all the sudden turn the corner and you have arrived in a different world, or rather a different country!? :) The streets were closed to traffic and full of people. The restaurants had tables spilling out on the sidewalks so we picked one and dined on fine Italian pasta!

Here's the gang in Little Italy: Natalie, Emily, Elyse, and Sam.

After supper, we continued roaming and came to this bakery. Having been in it before, Emily insisted we step inside "just for the smells." Wow. So this is where they bottle up the scent for all of those candles, lotions, and soaps, only the real thing was 10 times better!

As soon as we walked into Little Italy, we walked right out of it and into another country- China...town! The outdoor markets were overflowing with fresh foods I probably wouldn't touch if my life depended on it. Ok, maybe if it was the last food on earth, I would consider eating it. Mona definitely never cooked for us with this stuff!

Market after market we passed by on the street. Just as I thought they were all starting to look and smell the same, we walked by this one that had these fish- still alive, soaking in bloody water. Mmmmm, fresh! My dad and uncle were texting me at this point because they were with the family at Grandma Jolliffe's apartment eating pizza to celebrate her birthday. I'll take pizza over these fish, thank you very much!

We moved on from the markets and towards these kind of shops where the STUFF is plenty. Stuff animal chains? How about t-shirts, jewelry, purses, handbags, fans, beads, wall decorations, keychains, etc., etc., etc. Besides these crazy shops, there are the people on the street repetitively chanting/asking in their thick accents, "You want to buy a purse, no? Chanel, Chanel, Gucci, Gucci, fake ID, fake ID?"

I have a little tourist book that has come into good use because of its maps with subway routes, cross streets, and local attractions. Somehow the "Chinatown Ice Cream Factory" made it on the map. HUGE disappointment! There was no "factory," but rather a tiny ice cream shop that could go unnoticed unless you were, erm...looking for it. :)

As nightfall came to Chinatown, the numerous fresh produce vendors stayed open by illuminating their stands on the street.

After returning to Midtown, Elyse and I walked over to Times Square to stimulate our senses. Ha! Of course it was packed with people- when isn't it?

What is Lady Liberty doing on the mainland? Maybe she needed one last trip to Times Square before her crown opened to visitors the next day- first time since 9/11!

Elyse and I got this great idea to get up early on Saturday morning and check out the CBS Early Show. We were expecting mass amounts of people crowding on the plaza. Not the case. We walked up seeing no crowds and thinking we were in the wrong place when the producer- the squirrelly, little fellow in the blue plaid shirt on the right- personally came up to us and invited us to the show.

Out of the millions of people in the city, there were about 20 that made up the "crowd of thousands" that morning. Needless to say, were were instantly famous! Here is a snippet of Elyse's description of our experience: "See that beach ball? Later in the show the stand-in weather man thought it would be a great idea to toss it in the air and someone spiked it right into my face ON NATIONAL TV. We also sat on that picnic table and got interviewed (not kidding, they were desperate) So much for our national tv debut! haha"
The best part is, we called our third roommate who is working at an internship in Arizona to let her know we were on TV. Jess is not a morning person, but got up at 6 AM on a Saturday to watch her roomies make fools of themselves! Thankfully the rest of our friends are NOT up that early on a Saturday.

This is Sean, the stand-in (yes, stand-in) weather guy for the Saturday version of The Early Show. He was the one that interviewed Elyse while we sat at the picnic table in the photo above. Guess what? He's an Iowa State Alum!

Ok, so the anchor thought he was a hot shot. He dressed in khaki pants pulled up too high, a short-sleeve button-up shirt that had little buttons on the sleeves, this blue plaid suit jacket, and these awful black VELVET shoes. Apparently he didn't feel the need to put socks on this morning? I was able to capture this picture because he made the comment to the producer, "Keep them (us, the crowd) back. I don't want them on top of me." Not like you're a big enough deal that we would be trying to smother you, dude.

So excited to sit in the chairs where the weekend hosts sit!
Yeaaaaaah right.

To top off the whole Early Show experience, LEE GREENWOOD was the featured performer. You can see the legend in his All-American jacket between Elyse and I. His performance of "Proud to Be an American" was appropriate with the holiday weekend. Yet in the words of my mother who caught his performance at home on the TV, "He needs to hang it up." Click here for the video from CBS of Lee's performance. You'll feel more American just watching it! :)

Elyse wanted to see ALL parts of the city, so we made a trip up to Harlem. We found where the LeBron's of this world come from- true street ballers!

Since I didn't have my camera when I lived in the Harlem neighborhood, finally here is a photo of where I lived with Sara, Meghan, and Emilee. The top floor of the white building was "home!"

Another blast from the past: This is the view looking south down the Hudson River towards Lower Manhattan where I work. This is a small pier along the Riverside Park that was a few blocks down from the apartment in Harlem. I came here in the mornings to run along the path before going to work. This particular morning was clear, but there were a few mornings I would look down towards the city and a cloud of smog was hanging above the skyscrapers. Made me feel good to know I was breathing in that air when I went to work....

This is for you, Dad. Down by Madison Square Gardens is this GIANT post office. You can't read it in the picture, but above the pillars are the words of the USPS motto engraved in the stone: "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."

Being rookies at the NY-style July 4th celebration, Natalie, Sam, Elyse, and I went to the West Side to secure a spot to see the fireworks. We were plenty early so ended up spending 3 hours playing cards, reading, and chatting. We were so focused on getting a spot to sit, we ended up going without dinner or bathrooms until 11 that night because the NYPD closed down our areas in attempt to separate the crowds of people along the avenue. If you went out, you didn't come back in. (Photo by Natalie)

With less than an hour left to wait, our boredom increased and what do most girls do? Take pictures! Elyse, Natalie, and I took a whole slew of candid pictures. Here is the most normal-looking picture- haha!

This year marked the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson discovering the area that is Manhattan. To celebrate this milestone, the city reversed its fireworks display so instead of being shot off from the East River, 6 barges lined up on the Hudson River to shoot off 1500 fireworks/minute. It would have been a fabulous show except we got behind a bridge. Still, you can't beat fireworks on the 4th of July!

For Elyse's last day in New York, we took the subway down to Coney Island to soak up the sun that was FINALLY shining here! The best grab of the day was this fresh-cut watermelon for only a dollar!

Something you've seen before, but never in person- 5 planes flew across the sky at the beach spelling out advertisements for a new museum at the Intrepid Aircraft Carrier. It was fascinating to watch the planes release spots of "white" (to be non-scientific about it) as they spelled out the words.

Elyse and I joined fellow Iowa Staters in March last year for a Spring Break trip to California where we learned how to surf. Before we left, our roommate Jess strictly reminded me to keep Elyse out of the sun (haha!), but if necessary, to make sure she wore sunscreen. Heatstroke is a common occurance with Elyse. Oops, I broke the roommate cardinal rule again and took Elyse out in the sun! :) She flew home that evening and has reported to me that she is back in Iowa looking like a lobster. Lesson learned as a tour guide-have sunscreen in your bag! Glad you came Elyse! I've missed laughing at the most ridiculous things with you!

"Some are born great, Some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them"

2009-07-07T13:49:00.000-07:00

Monday evening I had the very special treat of attending a New York City tradition- Shakespeare in the Park. Emily had connections through her god-parents that live here in the city and was able to get a few tickets (3rd row in the center!) to this sold-out show.

Just in from the 79th Street and 5th Ave entrance is the Delacorte Theater in Central Park where acting magic takes stage at night outside under the stars. We could not have asked for better weather- warm with a slight breeze and no rain.

In it's classic form, Shakespeare's Twelfth Night is put on by a fabulous cast that includes Anne Hathaway, star in the films: The Princess Diaries- one of my favorites, as well as Bride Wars, Brokeback Mountain, and The Devil Wears Prada. I guess this counts as my first sighting of a famous person?

The story is about Viola (played by Anne Hathaway) who decides to dress up like a boy to fit in with the Duke's army, taking the place of her brother. As the story unfolds, Viola is sent to try and convince Olivia, a countess, that she should fall in love with the Duke. Instead of taking Viola's advice, who is now acting as her brother, Olivia falls for Viola- thinking she is a boy. Confused? Watch the movie She's the Man starring Amanda Bynes and Channing Tatum. It's a modern take on the classic tale.

I admit, I'm one of the many out there that struggles to read and understand Shakespeare. (Yet, the man does have some good quotes with his name attached to them, such as the title of this post.) But it would have been impossible to not catch on to the plot of this story- the acting was that good. The music that had been composed for the play was performed extremely well and the comedy that was strung throughout the story cracked up the house. (Anne is seen in her male get-up (blue coat with khaki knickers) on the left- photo credit to the New York Times since there was no photography in the theater.)

Catch the New York Times review on the Twelfth Night and more photos from the show by clicking on this link!

"Last Stop! Coney Island!"

2009-06-29T06:01:00.001-07:00

To finish off the month of June, we took our first trip down to Coney Island. It is an hour long ride on the subway to the bottom of Brooklyn. We packed our iPods and books, found seats on the benches in the subway car and settled in for the ride. I actually dozed off for a few minutes, but woke up because of the light coming in the windows of the subway car- we had left Manhattan and crossed into Brooklyn where the subway lines run outside rather than underground. Finally we reached the end of the line, the announcer came over the loudspeaker saying, "Last stop! Coney Island!" and we left the subway station to be greeted by a land much different than the bustling city. There were still tons of people, but the atmosphere was much like the State Fair. Coney Island is a historical area that was once "considered the world's largest and premier amusement area during the first half of the 20th Century. It was a beach resort that provided carefree entertainment and thrilling amusement park rides to the millions of residents that lived in New York City."

After leaving the subway station, we stepped out on the boardwalk of Surf Ave- are we back in California?

For all of you that may have caught some of the 94th annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest on ESPN on the 4th of July, here is Nathan's were the contest is held. ESPN has an online video in case you missed the action, or want to read up on the final results from local daily news.

As we walked toward the beach, we came across this guy applying sunscreen to his humongous snake. (Note: My roommate Jess is interning at a park for wild animals in Arizona called Out of Africa. She identified the snake to be an amelanistic burmese python. Apparently they have two of them at her park....and I'm sure she plays with them everyday. I'm not jealous, Jess.)

Heeeeeere's the beach!

The waters of the Atlantic as they slosh into the Lower New York Bay. Cold water!

Past all of the kids playing on the beach was a long pier to walk out on.

Behind the sandy beach is the amusement park rides of the classic Coney Island.

Natalie was kind enough to deal with her sand dislike to come down to the water.

Sunglasses and sun on the beach!

Can't beat a sailboat out on the water.
Emily, Nat, and I soakin' up the sun on the beach! (Photo by Natalie)

We only stayed long enough to take a few snapshots at the beach because we had tickets to the Brooklyn Cyclones game. (Brooklyn or Iowa State...Go Cyclones!) As the farm team of the Mets, the Cyclones play at Keyspan Park- down the boardwalk, just off the ocean. We spent the first 6 innings in our seats in the outfield bleachers. I was excited to go to another baseball game, but my mood quickly deteriorated...6 innings of little kids running, jumping, singing, screaming, and squirming + parents with no idea what the definition of the words "discipline" or "control" = me extremely irritated.

Natalie, Emily, and Jessica were on the irritated side as well, but found something to smile about here!

And finally we moved away from the playground to seats on the other side of the stadium. Mona would have never let us be so rude as kids...right, Mom?
(Can you tell that last weekend I was reaching my breaking point? When I finally got to my room Sunday night I knew I was "peopled-out"...not a good thing to be in New York City!)

On our way back to Manhattan, we caught a glimpse of the Brooklyn Bridge all lit up as we crossed the Hudson River.

Another Weekend, Another Island

2009-06-29T05:24:00.000-07:00

I've gotten behind on my posts, but that means I've been busy here in the city! We started off last weekend with a stop at Pinkberry around the corner to take advantage of free frozen yogurt to celebrate their new flavors: Coconut and Passion Fruit. I think I'll stick to the original flavor, but hey, you can't beat freebies!

Emily and I waiting in line for free Pinkberry frozen yogurt! (Photo by Natalie)

Natalie, Emily, and I trying out the new Pinkberry flavors. (Photo by Natalie)

Later that evening we wandered down to Washington Square to check out a movie that was playing on a big screen. While the movie wasn't a blockbuster that we were interested in, it was fun to see another park in the city. Clearly we taking our time and enjoying the outside- I decided to make good use of my time and take off my toenail polish as we sat in the park. (Photo by Natalie)

Here comes the E train! (Photo by Natalie)

Saturday we decided it was time to get out of the city. There was finally a day of sunshine so we took a ferry (for free!) to Governors Island- just off the tip of Lower Manhattan.

Looking back at Lower Manhattan from the ferry to Governors Island.

We rented bikes for a couple of hours to ride around Governors Island- no cars, taxi cabs, buses, and less people!

Not miles, only minutes from anywhere on the island: Picnic Point, Pier 101, Fort Jay...

You wouldn't want to miss this sign to the City of Dreams!

As you rode around and came to the backside of the island, or the side opposite of Manhattan, there were chairs on the sidewalk and hammocks in the shade to use for relaxing and taking in the view of the Statue of Liberty in the distance.

Emily, Nat, and I with the Statue of Liberty over our left shoulders.

Em and I with our beach cruisers and Lady Liberty.

"Bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride my bike
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride it where I like" -Queen

This little girl was our idol :)

I brought a Banana Snapple (yum!) for our picnic on the island. The Snapple factory is behind me, across the river.
The Staten Island Ferry leaving Manhattan.

Is that Captain Jack Sparrow's pirate ship? I thought this was the Hudson, not the Caribbean?

After returning to Manhattan, we went over to the West Side to the High Line park.

They converted an old train line that was propped up above the streets to a beautiful green space in the city.

This simple reminder keeps our feet on the path.

It had rained that day- surprise, surprise! (It was the 2nd wettest June on record; 23 out of 30 days were wet!) But we were rewarded with a rainbow above the skyscrapers.

There is some fascinating architecture around here!

Wildflowers were abundant alongside the path.

Looking over the edge of the High Line park to the east were streets after streets busy with cars, trucks, and taxi cabs.

But to the west of the park was the sun setting over the Hudson River.

The sunset between a couple of buildings.

Older buildings near the High Line park with the Empire State Building towering above in the distance.

Laundry drying out in the city.

At the end of the High Line park looking back east into the city.

This is how they park or rather "stack" their cars in New York City. Not exactly convenient...

These buildings in the residential area on our walk back reminded me of Sesame Street. :)

Emily and I strolling back through the Brownstones. (Photo by Natalie)

I've seen rats down in the subways on several occasions. I am not a fan. Gross.

I liked this "sign" quite a bit more than the rats sign down in the subways. I'm not sure how the person got across the subway tracks to the opposite wall to write those 4 letters, but I'm glad they did.

Broadway Again and BASEBALL!

2009-06-25T05:31:00.000-07:00

Who says it needs to be the weekend to see more of this city? It is definitely nice to not have hours of homework and studying to do once the day is done. I have taken full advantage of this "freedom" the past couple of evenings. It is something only summer can bring and what better way to celebrate this season that officially began on Sunday?!

Tuesday evening, one of my suitemates, Jessica, and I took the E train to Times Square to see another Broadway show. Avenue Q was the pick of the night and we were pumped! The show has been celebrated as the 2004 Best Musical at the Tony Awards. I had heard great reviews from friends who had gone to see the show in the past. While the producers caution that it may not be the best show to bring your young children to, simply because of content, it was very well done and absolutely hysterical! Jessica described it best as "a twisted Sesame Street." The show uses a combination of puppets and actors. At first I thought it would bother me to see the actors running around on stage clearly speaking while they moved the puppets' mouths. I was pleasantly surprised to see how well the actors animated their puppet's movements- it was so lifelike! I swear the same people from Sesame Street that entertained my brothers and I as kids were on stage Tuesday night- the voices were identical. Even though the characters were not the same, the similarities were obvious. It was easy to say, "Oh, that one is Bert. That one is Ernie. And that one is Cookie Monster!"

Like I said, some of the issues that are poked fun at during the show are not suitable for children, but the cast does such a great job that you can't help but enjoy their display of musical talent! Here's a little excerpt from a song called, I Wish I Could Go Back to College when the characters are displaying their disappointment in their lives soon after graduating college. There were a bunch of students like me sitting in the same seating area. This song had us all laughing so hard because of the truth in it...actually, we were just thankful we haven't LEFT college yet! :)

I wish I could go back to college.
Life was so simple back then.

What would I give to go back and live in
a dorm with a meal plan again!

I wish I could go back to college.
In college you know who you are.

You sit in the quad, and think,
"Oh my! I am totally gonna go far!"

How do I go back to college? I
don't know who I am anymore!

I wanna go back to my room and
find a message in dry-erase pen on the door!
Ohhh...

I wish I could just drop a class...
Or get into a play...
Or change my major...

I need an academic advisor to point the way!

We could be...
Sitting in the computer lab, 4 A.M.
before the final paper is due,
Cursing the world 'cause I didn't start sooner,
And seeing the rest of the class there, too!

I wish I could go back to college!
How do I go back to college?!
AHHHH...

I wish I had taken more pictures.
But if I were to go back to college,
Think what a loser I'd be-
I'd walk through the quad,
And think "Oh my..."
"These kids are so much younger than me."

Wednesday, I could hardly contain my excitement at work. When I left the office for lunch, I was irritated at the fact that it was raining yet AGAIN (I think they said something like it has rained 19 out of the last 24 days...ridiculous!) because we had tickets to the Mets vs. Cardinals game for that night!

I have missed baseball soooo much this summer. Baseball is a staple of the season for me. I am usually able to get my fill of it with 3 brothers, but this growing-up-and-leaving-home thing is really cutting into my yearly dose of the game. I was stoked (yeah, I said it) for the ride the subway out to Flushing, NY in Queens, to wear my new Mets baseball cap, and soak in the atmosphere that defines summer. Luckily the rain quit, Natalie brought a towel to wipe off our wet seats in the upper deck of left field at the brand new Citi Field (replaced Shea Stadium), and to top it all off, the Mets won! Here are several photos from the outing:

The 7 train across Queens is actually outside...not underground. Needless to say, the ride is a little more exciting with something to see!

So excited to be going to a BASEBALL GAME!

Inside the stadium...inspiring words.
And there it is...the baseball diamond. Beautiful.
View from our seats in the upper deck of left field- pretty good!
Natalie and I introduced baseball to Emily, who had never been to a game before. Then she educated us about "Rounders," the British version of baseball. They don't have to hit a ball to run the bases. (What?!) The guy sitting next to us joined the discussion and claimed that he could go pro in Rounders if he didn't have to hit the ball. So could the rest of us, dude.
Natalie finally figured out how my camera can accent certain colors at a time. Reason enough to experiment! Here I'm celebrating the Mets with a little orange accent...
And some blue accenting...Do I look like a real Mets fan? More of a Mets fan than a Yankees fan, that's for sure! (Don't worry Twins, I haven't forgotten you...just need a substitute team for the summer.)
The opposite side of the stadium. Check out the rain clouds coming in.
So naturally we check the weather radar on Natalie's phone. Not looking good...
A few innings later...clouds still looking ominous.
Emily says, "Hm, David "WRIGHT"...I wonder if he's ever WRONG." Ha! Good one, Em!
Of course we stood up to stretch and join in the chorus of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame"

Nick Evans hit his first Home Run! Natalie was disappointed we couldn't see the huge apple that comes up, spins around, lights up- the whole works.
The guy sitting next to Emily reminded me so much of Reece. It would have been too obvious to take a full picture (because I'm not a creep!), but I did manage to get his feet...Reece always wore black socks and red/white Nike shoes!
"I tell our kids that we’re going to go out and play hard, and we want to win as much as anybody. But when the game is over, we’re going to line up, shake hands, and be gentlemen, knowing that we did the very best we could."
- Ed Thomas
As kids, Mom and Dad would make it a point to hit up a Major League game on vacation in the summer if there was a stadium nearby our campground...Citi Field- check!
We love this game!
Me with Natalie

Congrats, Em, on your first baseball game!
Again with the experimenting...
Me, Emily, and Natalie

One last shot after the game before the security guard told us it was time to go.
Thank you, Citi Field, for finally starting summer for me. :)

I'm Never Growing Up

2009-06-21T19:08:00.000-07:00

Most people come to New York to get grown-up jobs with grown-up salaries and live in grown-up apartments. I thought that was what I was doing until Saturday afternoon/evening. For those few hours, I became a kid again. :)

Natalie and I walked, or rather puddle-jumped in the rain, up to Dylan's Candy Bar (founded by Dylan Lauren, Ralph Lauren's daughter) and then over to the most famous toy store in the world, FAO Schwarz.

Both stores were magical places that could make anyone happy that enters through the doors! Well, unless maybe you were a kid with parents that wouldn't buy you the toy you wanted so badly...

The display of giant lollipops when you walk in the door of Dylan's Candy Bar

The stairs in Dylan's have candy in them!

The entire downstairs level of Dylan's is all CHOCOLATE. Notice the drawer I've pulled out looks like a chocolate bar!
Mom- When you finally get around to renovating the kitchen at home, I think you should install these as drawers! I'm sure they make cupboards as well. :)

Chocolate fit for a Queen...or a Prince, as long as he is charming.
A little history tid-bit on the Hershey's Kiss:
Again with the candy in the floor at Dylan's:
The doorman at FAO Schwarz, his puppet, and I.
The BIG Piano in the toy store. I believe I made the comment while standing here, "Oh, to be a kid again." To which Natalie replied, "Um, there are several adults in there on the piano." Good point.
Is that an Iowa State Cyclones scarf? No, silly...it's red and gold for Gryffindor- the house Harry Potter is in at Hogwarts School
And then we found Harry's wand!!
And to top it all of, for only $55, I could have had my very on Snitch, just like Harry catches as Seeker in Quidditch to win the game! Oh dear, I may have outdone myself...

After we left the toy store, Natalie and I remembered there was an American Girl Place on 5th Ave. It took only a split second to make the decision to walk on down there and take a trip back to our girlhood fantasies. I couldn't believe my eyes when I got inside- how could a place like this exist and I had never been here before! I called Mom while walking around and informed her that it was probably a good thing we never made it to one of these stores when I was younger- we would have never made it out!

Finally, Santa brought me a Kirsten doll for Christmas. I think that may have been the year Reece and I snuck down to see our presents before everyone got up on Christmas morning...don't worry, Mom and Dad already know. :)

Does your doll want to join you for dinner? No problem. This nifty little booster seat slides right onto the edge of the table.
Pigtails to braids, crimped to curly- your doll could get any hairstyle at the American Girl Doll Salon, complete with the traditional chairs and capes found in a real salon.

For dinner, we walked to a 50's diner on 3rd Ave called Johnny Rockets. While eating our burgers, Aretha Franklin's R-E-S-P-E-C-T came on the jukebox. Before we knew it, the waiter and waitresses came out into the aisle between the booths and did their own dance and chants to the classic tune. Check out the video below! (Video to come...)

To finish off the day, Jessica, Emily, Natalie, and I went to a movie theater up on the Upper West Side to catch Disney/Pixar's latest, UP in 3-D, meaning we had to wear the sweet glasses, of course!

There is a scene towards the end of the movie (warning, this may be somewhat of a spoiler!) where Mr. Fredricksen finds his late wife, Ellie's, Book of Adventures from their childhood growing up together. He flips through the familiar pages that remind him of their dreams as kids to travel to Paradise Falls to build a home. He hesitates turning to the next pages because he knows they are empty and should have been filled with recordings of his and Ellie's adventure to Paradise Falls. He notices something on the following page where he had remembered it to be clean. He turns to find several pages filled with pictures of him and Ellie together throughout the years. As Mr. Fredricksen lingers over the photos, the message is very clear: his life was not marked by the places he went or the material things he had, but rather the time he shared with the one he loved.

I admit, I shed a tear or two at this point in the film, but still now a day later, I can't get this part of the movie out of my head. I've realized that I'm at a point in my life where I too often feel it to be necessary to define myself by what material things I have, what I have accomplished for myself, and what my future plans are. My thirst to "be someone" has a tendency to sometimes take over my mind, actions, and motivation for achieving success.

Ellie's message to Mr. Fredricksen was simple: she had a fulfilling life because of those people whom she loved and those who loved her.

I'm having the time of my life out here, really! I wouldn't trade this time for anything. (Well, maybe a few days at home to see my brothers' baseball games!) I know that adventures such as the one I'm on right now have a purpose in life- to open up our eyes to different worlds in order to gain perspective, as well as experience. It's the chance of a lifetime that I am fortunate enough to get! Yet, I can't help but think how blessed I am, not because of the opportunity I have been given to come to New York to work and live in the city for the summer, but because of all of you who love and support me for just being me- Hallie. So as I near my halfway point of the summer, I want to say thanks to ALL of you for sharing this summer with me. I couldn't have made it this far without each of you! Keep reading, the best is yet to come!

Rocky or Lance?

2009-06-21T11:16:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had something play out in real life a little differently than it did in your head? Tuesday evening, I tried out the Boxing class at my gym up in Harlem. It turned out to be an outstanding workout, ut the whole time, I couldn't help but notice how awkward I felt punching the air with the gloves on. Being able to watch myself in the mirrors didn't help either...

I think I may have diagnosed my problem by the end of the class. We've all watched Sylvester Stallone throw punches in the 1976 hit, Rocky. Ever noticed how boxers keep at least one fist up by their chin area as protection? Yeah, my coordination skills weren't allowing me to simultaneously throw a punch AND protect my face with the other hand. Needless to say, I looked and felt extremely clumsy. Good thing it was a non-contact boxing class or I would have been down in a heartbeat! (To my brothers who I know will be reading this: laugh it up now, boys...I'll be a punching machine on the Wii Boxing when I get home!)

Several times a week I hop on one of the stationary bikes and ride through a Spinning class. We ride for endurance and pump up make-believe hills by turning up the resistance on the wheel. Lance Armstrong, I am not, but you just can't beat the adrenaline when the instructor yells out that the "finish line" is only 30 seconds ahead! It's another hour that makes you sweat like crazy, but the class has nothing on RAGBRAI in the Iowa heat!

I'm Keeping Harlem Strong.

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

2009-06-21T05:29:00.000-07:00

"Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go."

-Dr. Suess

Come take a walk in my shoes during a typical day for me in the city:

Where I live, on the 29th floor: Marymount Manhattan College Residence on East 55th in Midtown

Where I sleep: Top bunk for me, bottom bunk for my clothes :)

The windows in my room with a great view of the skyscrapers in Lower Manhattan
My desk, now complete with books, movies, pictures, and my laptop. (Of course my Gmail is open and you can't beat Step Up on TBS on the tube!)
The other desk area and my closets

The bathroom I share with my other 2 suitemates, Jessica and Kendra
Kitchen area in our suite. Everything is so bare and white!

The sitting area in the kitchen...right.

Now to venture outside down to the corner of 55th and 3rd Ave, PJ Clarkes, a famous restaurant that was built in 1864 and has survived so many changes around it in its 145 year history. Apparently several actors have dined there over the years. It's on the list to do this summer!

It's off to work! I walk 2 blocks to go down into the subway to catch the V train to work in the mornings. I usually allow 30-40 minutes for my commute that includes getting down into the subway and then waiting for my train.

Inside a very empty subway car...it's only empty because I'm almost to my stop at Broadway and Lafayette and most everyone has gotten off before on earlier stops.

Up out of the subway in the Soho district at Houston (How-ston, not Hew-ston) and Broadway and walk 2 blocks to my office. The Adidas store is the big glass building across the street.

Where I work! The Scholastic Building is the red and white one in the middle.

Looking up at all of the staircases inside the Scholastic Building-11 floors! I work on the 4th.

This is the carpet at the office: the Scholastic Credo printed over and over again.

My desk area: computer, phone, locker, family picture (the mail lady thought I had 3 OLDER brothers...guess that's what happens when they all outgrow me!), story files, previous issues of the magazine, and even a couple of science project books.

My desk is just to the right, but at the end of this loooooong hallway is where my editors' desks are. Needless to say, I sit back in the corner with the company of the mail lady and custodians coming in and out of the service elevator all day. Ah, the life of an intern....

My official Scholastic id used to get in and out of the building each day.

The classroom magazines I write for: Science World and SuperScience
After work I ride the D train up to the gym in Harlem. Here is a view of the streets of the Harlem neighborhood...very different compared to Midtown!
And around the corner is the gym: New York Sports Club
Coming back after working out I ride the D train to Rockefeller Center and get off near Radio City Music Hall. A 15-20 minute walk back to the Marymount Residence gives me a chance to chat on the phone with family and friends since there is no cell service down in the subways.
And a bonus picture: Stores are not long, but rather tall around here. Thus, escalators to all of the floors are a common thing inside places like Kmart and Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Here you can see that actually dual escalators are used, one for the shoppers and one for the carts. Haha!

Now It's Starting to Feel Like Summer

2009-06-15T19:57:00.000-07:00

Ever heard of a Bubble Battle? Enter: 47th and Broadway of Times Square on a Friday after work. What we discovered as an event on Facebook turned out to be a fun release after a week in the office. This flash mob was thousands of people that all turned up in Times Square with any kind of toy imaginable that blows soap bubbles, or regulars like us with the old fashion bottle of solution and the magic wand that produces the geometrical shape that one can only smile about!

Bubbles and the Crowd

Emily and I participating in the "battle"

This guy was clearly prepared in his armor of bubble wrap

The real deal: Bubble Soldier

More crowd, more bubbles!

A reflection in the bubble of some of the buildings in Times Square
Emily, Natalie, and I being attacked by the bubbles!

Later on Friday night (6/12), Jessica, Natalie, and I went down to Lower Manhattan for a rooftop film. The building was a school in the neighborhood and their playground area was on the rooftop where there were amazing graffiti illustrations to decorate the walls beneath the basketball hoops. The featured film was New York Non-Fiction, a series of short documentary films about the lives of a few New Yorkers: a tailor in the city, a girl from the Bronx who went to visit her father who is the chief of a village in Ghana, a homeless man, a group of determined men who took a blow-up raft out to Brother Island- a run-down island on the East River, and a hilarious segment on the community of single Jewish people living on the Upper West Side. One of my favorite quotes came from the girl in the Bronx when she was moving to college:

Girl's Mom: "You take the things you need, not everything."
Girl: "I'm going to college. I'm taking everything."

I think I can relate...and so can my mom. :)

Scene on top of the roof as the crowd waits for the film to begin

Me beneath the basketball hoop with the graffiti on the rooftop of the school

When we were walking back to our building after the movie, we were puzzled to see this car sitting near the post office on the corner: POSTAL POLICE...why is this needed?? Postal crooks.

Saturday morning was spent at the gym again and then after cleaning up back at my room, I set out to find a place to get my haircut. I had done some research on this very helpful website, Yelp.com, where you can search for anything that you may be looking for in any city or neighborhood you may be living in. I knew it was going to be expensive, and expensive it was! Good thing I had the guy cut it extra short so hopefully it will last the rest of the summer. I definitely wasn't back at home where I can simply stop in to get a trim and put the bill on Mom's tab for the next time she comes in for her own appointment. Someday I plan to grow up... :)

Saturday evening I rode the subway to the Upper West Side near Columbia University to meet a friend for dinner. Tricia was in town for a conference at Columbia and it was great to catch up with her since their family moved away almost a year ago from Ames where I used to babysit the kids. Familiar faces are a welcome sight in this sea of strangers!

On Sunday we tried out a different church farther Uptown in the city where we met a friend of Natalie's from the last summer she spent in New York. Afterwards I hit up the grocery store where I only bought what I could carry the few blocks back to my room- what a great way to keep the buyer from over-shopping! Fresh fruit street vendors are a favorite during the summer!

That afternoon, Jessica, Emily, Natalie, and I decided to get out and enjoy the sunshine by making a trip to Central Park. We grabbed our books and blankets started walking towards the grassy area of the city. We got held up on 5th Ave when we ran into the Puerto Rican parade. I found out later on the news that this annual event in its 52nd year had attracted approximately 2 million people to the area to celebrate their Puerto Rican pride along the parade route and well into the evening in the neighborhood.

Puerto Rican Pride along the parade route

We spent the rest of the afternoon laying out in the grass of a lawn in Central Park, reading our books and catching some sun. What a perfect way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon.

One of the open lawns in Central Park with the Manhattan skyline in the background

After we had soaked up enough Vitamin D for the day, we headed back to Midtown and found a movie theater that offered a student discount on tickets (only $8- almost the price of a movie in Ames!). We finished the evening by seeing John Krasinski's new film, Away We Go.

I'd say it was a weekend that screamed summer and I couldn't have been more pleased. :)

Broadway and Brooklyn

2009-06-14T20:21:00.000-07:00

The time has finally come to post some of my own pictures on here! Starting with the previous weekend's events (June 5-7):

Natalie (the girl I should have met before now- same school, same major, same church, etc.), Emily (Natalie's suitemate from London), Jessica (one of my suitemates) and I headed down to Times Square for our first Broadway show of the summer.Tony award-winning August: Osage County was our pick and it was a good one! I had heard great things from others who had been to the play. I didn't know much of anything about the plot, but it's Broadway, c'mon! The show was splendid- a "tragicomedy" with a twisted plot of a dysfunctional family. As Natalie posted, it was "moving, thought-provoking, and darkly humorous"- a description I completely agree with! During one of the two intermissions (3 hours of show requires 2 intermissions), we realized that the lead actress who played the grandma/mother in the show was Phylicia Rashad, the mom from the Cosby Show! After the show we walked over to Juniors, a restaurant in Times Square, to get pieces of cheesecake to go that would take each of us days to devour!

Saturday, I trekked up to Harlem to the gym I joined thanks to Meghan, one of the girls I lived with for those first 2 weeks. She is out of the city on a trip to Italy for some time in June so I paid her to use a month of her gym membership- a great way to get around the costly start-up fee at most establishments. I have really enjoyed getting into a routine of attending a couple of classes each night after work and then on Saturday mornings. It's something to do on weeknights and makes me feel better about myself since this new lifestyle of sitting at a desk for hours on end doesn't get me moving around much like walking from class to class on campus. The classes range from the Total Body Conditioning with Gussie- a Jamaican fellow who I swear was a dancer in his former life, Spinning- a stationary biking class with Margot where we ride "hills" by increasing resistance on the bikes (wannabe RAGBRAI, ha!), Core Conditioning with CiCi, Boxing, and even Pre-Season Sports Conditioning- a class that took me back to my days as a high school athlete with agility drills, weaving in and out of those orange cones, and getting low to shuffle back and forth like we were training to play defense in a basketball game. Something we didn't have at Ogden High School were treadmills, each with their own TV and spot for you to plug in your earphones to catch something on the tube while your run for a few miles. I miss being able to run outside, but this will have to do until I get back to a place where there aren't crowds of people on the sidewalks everywhere you go.

Saturday afternoon, Natalie and I caught a different subway train (that went UNDER the river-weird!) and made our way over to Brooklyn. It is odd to go down into a subway stop and when you come back up, the landscape is completely different. Not quite the same as riding in a car and being able to watch what is going on around you outside the vehicle. Our destination in Brooklyn was McCarren Park in the Williamsburg neighborhood. The Renegade Craft Fair had been recommended to me by one of the editors at work so we decided to check it out. A collection of hip, modern artists from the New York area were set up in hundreds of white tents on the track that went around the field in the middle where soccer games were being played. All of these vendors had come with their creations- tshirts, jewelry, purses, handbags, paintings, photography, you name it, they made it! One of my favorite displays was this lady who took old hard-covered books- cookbooks, sewing books, novels, etc. and made them into purses by ripping the pages out and then sewing fabric on what would be the top and bottom of the book. Genius! Another one of my favorites was a guy who created t-shirts with chalk boards on them. The shirts even had a handy little pocket at the bottom to hold he piece of chalk. Natalie and I made it out of the fair with tons of photos and handmade hand purses.

We decided to finish off the afternoon by visiting the Brooklyn Bridge. We caught yet another subway and headed back over to the Manhattan side and walked across the classic icon of New York City. The most exciting part of all this was the fact that my camera arrived in the mail on Saturday morning so I was finally able to photograph the things I saw during my outings! We headed down to a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant near our residence called Blockheads. It was nice to dine with the roommates and new friends!

With one of my suitemates, Jessica at Blockheads

Sunday morning we went down to the Times Square area again to check out a church that actually meets in The New York Times building. Jen Spencer, an Iowa State alum and past roommate of an Ogdenite, was our connection to the church- C3 Manhattan(Christian City Church). It had a congregation of young adults and a service that was satisfiying to the soul. It was great to be in an environment that even though the people were unfamiliar, the music and teachings were like church in Ames.

Sunday night was spent on the phone catching up with family back home. I walked around the 5th Ave area as I talked to Grandma Jolliffe who had so many questions we kept up conversation for several blocks of strolling! As darkness fell, I made my way back to the residence hall to catch the Tony Awards on TV. It was a little odd to think that the awards event was taking place only a few short blocks away at Radio City Music Hall. I called home when the Rock of Ages cast was performing on stage. I got Zane on the phone and shared with him that I had gotten my picture taken with the lead actress who was on the TV at that moment- I admit it, I am so "small town" when it comes to any interaction or sighting of a celebrity- big or small. Zane and I talked on the phone for another hour as he caught me up on all the events in the Satre household from his 14 year old point of view- necessary, indeed! He filled me in that now with his new driver's permit, he drives MY car to short destinations with Mom and Dad in the front seat, of course. Not to mention he regularly rides MY bike into Ogden for baseball practice. I plan to reclaim my modes of transportation upon my return to Iowa in August. Enjoy them while you can, Zaner!

Besides the pictures I have mixed into the text of this post, here are a few more from the weekend:

Baseball "field" in Brooklyn with the Mahanttan skyline in the background (Can you tell I'm missing my usual summer dose of baseball with the brothers back home?)

Chalkboard t-shirt, notice the pocket for the chalk

Harry Potter purse
Natalie and I with our purchases from the craft fair-hand purses!
Landscape of the Williamsburg neighborhood in Brooklyn
On the Brooklyn Bridge
The date on the bridge said 1875
I risked my life for this picture- standing in the bike lane on the bridge where the bikers ride like they're in the Tour de France!
Natalie and I on the Brooklyn Bridge

I can't help that teaching is in my blood...

2009-06-14T19:28:00.000-07:00

Two Friday mornings ago, I was spared from a few hours at my lonely desk to attend Scholastic's annual National Advisory Council. All I knew was that the morning would be spent listening to top dogs of the company and other distinguished figures from the educational community around the nation. It sounds rather mundane, but I have to say, I enjoyed it! I will attribute some of my enjoyment to the fact that I am the daughter and sister of a couple teachers which naturally lends itself in this situation. The discussion allowed the professionals that work for Scholastic to hear directly from educators what their needs are for their schools and how Scholastic can improve the works that come out of their company.

The 2009 National Teacher of the Year, Anthony Mullen, from Greenwich High School in Connecticut was a guest for the council this spring. He left the detective forces of the NYPD to start a career in teaching. His reasoning for switching professions began with his desire to be proactive in troubled kids' lives rather than just seeing the same kids in and out of jail all the time as a cop.

The other highlight, for me at least, of the council was a very special guest. Ms. Erin Gruwell, an English teach in Long Beach, CA is the teacher who's story about her and her students is told in the 2007 film, Freedom Writers. Her tireless work with students in a classroom plagued by interracial troubles brought these kids to forget their differences through writing. Her amazing story can be read in her own memoir, Teach With Your Heart as well as the book her students, the Freedom Writers wrote, The Freedom Writers Diary.

Earlier that week, I had one of those moments when something just falls into your hands and works out better than you expected. It was then that I still was waiting for my packages from home and without my computer or Internet, I was reading a lot of books (I still am!). In our break room on the Classroom Magazine floor there is a box of books that are free for whatever reason- unedited versions, etc. I was sifting through, in need of a book to pass my free time, and picked up Teach With Your Heart, not knowing that the author was going to be coming to our building that coming Friday. Easily finishing the book in time for the conference on Friday, I was thrilled to listen to Erin speak so passionately about her students and her experience as a teacher. A hug and her signature in the copy of her book was a great way end to my 3rd week at Scholastic.

2 Words: IT CAME!

2009-06-10T13:20:00.000-07:00

The key. has. arrived. Yessssssssssss!

I could hardly contain my excitement last night when I got back to the building and found a letter that took 8 DAYS to get to me in New York. I'm so glad I didn't live back during the days of the Pony Express. Those people practiced the virtue of patience for days longer than I'd like to attempt.

My new space is finally complete with my bedding, pictures, books, and computer :) Tonight's challenge- getting the Internet connection to work so I can upload pictures to help narrate a post on here about my adventure to Brooklyn last weekend.

Still No Key...

2009-06-08T12:20:00.001-07:00

All of my stories have been building up over the weekend and I have been unable to share them because of a mishap that I blame on the United States Postal Service (sorry Dad...)

I flew out to New York with just one suitcase and a backpack of things. I was going to get by for the first 2 weeks with the bare minimum and then Mom and Dad were going to send me the rest of my stuff after I moved into my housing. Good plan, right? Yeah, we thought so too.

Dad, being a good government employee and an advocate for the US Postal Service insisted on sending my packages through the mail. No big deal, they would get here somehow. I packed up a couple boxes before I left and then he decided to put the rest of my clothes, a couple of towels, my pillow, and whatever else into the infamous pink (yes, pink) suitcases. Now before you judge, those retro-colored pieces of luggage are great for locating on the luggage belt after flying somewhere...at least that's what I've been told by my 70's-thriving parents.

The next part of the story that is important was another decision made by our resident postal worker. "I'm going to lock the zippers on both suitcases and then send you the key in a separate envelope," said Dad. Well to make a long story short, I received all of the packages in the mail earlier last week and now 5 days later I still have NO KEY. My creative ability is wearing thin after attempting to mix and match the clothes that I have to make up new outfits to wear each day. The worst part about all of this is that there is one thing in particular that I want out of the one suitcase: my beloved Dell laptop computer. Dad asked awhile back if I was electronics-deprived. The answer was yes! Just days before I left Iowa, I had to send both my computer AND my camera into the shops to be repaired. I FINALLY got my camera back on Saturday morning- yippee! But I can't upload and share any of the pictures I took this weekend, I can't charge my iPod that has been dead for a week now, and I can't check my Gmail, Facebook, or update this blog on the weekends. All because I don't have that tiny little key. Mom did remind me, as only a mother could, of all the things I've done because I haven't been spending time on the computer. Case in point: I read 4 books in 2.5 weeks. That's more than I've read since I was out in the wilderness of Wyoming last summer. Hooray for summer reading!

Ok, I know what you're thinking. Why hasn't she picked the lock? Or even cut the lock open? The answer is, I tried a different key and even an earring to pick the lock- no success. I'm taking a paper clip from work today and we'll see if my lock-picking abilities get any better. And for some reason the maintenance people in the building I'm living don't have any tools, such as a pair of pliers, that I can use to open the lock. Mom suggested taking a pair of scissors and cutting the leather. I told her no way because Dad would have a heart attack if something happened to his pink suitcases. Plus, then I would have to buy new suitcases to get my things home. Duh, Mom.

I guess Dad sent the second key (yes, he had an extra) from home this morning. This time I hope he put a delivery confirmation on the letter! I bet I'll have both keys in my possession by the end of the week. Things seem to work out that way...

As a disclaimer, I don't blame Dad for any of this...he did pay the outrageous postage to have my things sent to me. What a good dad :) More, I just wish he was here with his supply of tools to pry open that stupid lock. Actually I just wish he was here with the key...

Needless to say, I did get to open 2 boxes last week that came in the mail. It was like Christmas morning! A couple of framed pictures of the family, my alarm clock, DVDs, Clorox wipes, a new book I bought before I left, a couple of hoodie sweatshirts, my webcam (like I can use that right now-HA), and even a few recent pictures of all of us together at the graduations back in May.

After hitting the gym tonight, first thing I'll do when I walk through the door: check the mailbox in hopes of a letter from Dad-with the key :)

People, Performances, and Pebbles

2009-06-03T09:23:00.000-07:00

I'm a people watcher. It doesn't matter if I'm in class, out with friends, at a restaurant, home in Ogden at a football game, or walking on campus in Ames, people intrigue me and I have to stop myself from staring sometimes. Being in a place like New York City is a people-watcher's heaven. There are sooooo many people! I did some quick research on Wikipedia (shameful, I know) and found some numbers on the city's population. Check out these statistics:

New York City has been the most populous city in the US since 1790
The city has 5 boroughs: The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island
Those 5 boroughs cover just under 305 square miles. (Boone County, Iowa covers 574 square miles...269 more square miles of space than NYC)
Living in the area of 305 square miles is a population that exceeds 8.2 million people.(Boone County can only boast of approximately 26,224 people living there)

Now that my usual places include the subway, walking down the streets in the morning and evening to and from work, the gym, Central Park, a student housing building similar to a college dorm in Midtown, an apartment in Harlem, non-chain restaurants, and a few touristy areas, I have been on overload of observations of the people around here.

A friend here in the city, Emilee, and I were relaxing in Central Park over the weekend and she was telling me about some of the highlights she has witnessed in the park. One of my favorites was the story she told about seeing a guy who was running, on his tip toes, wearing tap shoes. Why, you ask? We'll never know.

One of the editors at Scholastic was encouraging me to walk around the area around the office down here in the Soho neighborhood. She said that lots of celebrities tend to be nonchalantly walking around. I asked who she had seen- Jack Black pushing a baby stroller was on her list.

And because it deserves a paragraph of its very own, the subway has got to be a highlight. My brother Thad and I share a love for the movie Men in Black II. In one of the beginning scenes of the movie, Will Smith is going to the rescue again to keep a giant worm from consuming the entire line of subway cars running beneath the bustling city above them. Jeff, the worm, is finally taken out and Will Smith, or Agent J, must re-do all of the people's memories so that they won't remember the giant worm eating their subway car. Fortunately there haven't been any subway-eating worms since I've been here, but I have enjoyed hearing multiple foreign languages being spoken, watching people nap, napping myself, and even getting a front row seat to the performance by a group of teenage boys with a boom box that after an annoucement of "Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a little show for you!" they proceeded to break it down to some hip hop music complete with dance moves. Everyone has a talent and these boys wanted to share their talent with our particular subway car. Lucky us.

Yesterday after work I met up with another fellow Cyclone who is interning in the city and happens to live in the same building as me- what a coincidence! But guess what? I was coming around the corner from the laundry room on Monday night and saw another familiar face. We had worked together on a project in one of our Journalism classes and here we were in the same building. Apparently she is living with another girl from Iowa State so that makes a grand total of 4 Cyclones who all came to New York on separate agendas and ended up living in the same building-what a small world!

Natalie, one of the fellow Cyclones, and I grabbed a sandwich for dinner last night and then topped it off with a stop at Pinkberry, a frozen yogurt chain around here that offers 3 flavors of frozen yogurt- Original, Green Tea, and Pomegranate, and then you can put anything on it for toppings, from kiwi to Fruity Pebbles cereal. Yum!

New Month, New Week, New Home

2009-06-01T08:55:00.000-07:00

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. :)

5 days down

2009-05-22T12:23:00.000-07:00

I made it! It is Friday of my first week in the Big City! The week has been surprisingly calm despite the whirlwind of changes that have come my way.

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!

Small Town Girl in a Big City World

2009-05-22T09:28:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the diary of my summer in NEW YORK CITY. Here is the background story of what I'm up to this summer:

Right after Christmas last December, I began calling places that had potential of being a place for me to intern at for the coming summer. In order to graduate next May (2010) with my Journalism degree, I had to do an internship for credit from Iowa State. I had the goal of finding a position out on the East Coast somewhere...anywhere! After spending last summer in Wyoming doing field work and studying the geology out there, I wanted to try out the urbanized area of the country.

To make my spring semester even busier, I spent the next 4 months searching for places that could offer or create a position for me to do the type of work I was hoping for. Who knew that blindly searching on the Internet and sending numerous application emails could take up so much time! My roommates this past year can attest to the fact that sleeping at night was a treat for me that I actually got on a rare occasion after applications, VEISHEA business, volunteering for the Admissions office, and what was that other thing? Oh yeah...homework!

To get the best experience for both of my degrees in progress, Geology and Journalism, I searched for science communications positions. Scholastic was one of the first places I contacted. The company publishes many educational classroom magazines. Mom and Mr. Smith use the science magazines SuperScience and Science World in their classrooms at Ogden Middle School. After speaking with the executive editor of both magazines in December, it wasn't until March that I submitted my official application materials. Knowing that actually getting the position was a long shot, I pursued other places in cities around the US and also local to Iowa as well.

I had given up on Scholastic and was in the preliminary stages of setting up positions with a couple other places when I received an email requesting a phone interview with executive editor in New York. It being VEISHEA week, for all of you Iowa Staters, I was crazy busy helping to run the show on Iowa State's campus. The interview got crammed in somewhere between a campus BBQ here, a run to the airport to get a performer there, and then after VEISHEA week had passed, I was in the library in the afternoon during the next week when I received an email offering me the intern position in New York City for the summer. I wanted to scream, I was so excited! But being in the library, I contained my excitement and went into the stairwell to immediately call my parents. Mom was teaching a class, but had instructed me to interrupt her if I got any good news. Dad was actually walking around Arlington National Cemetery in DC with Thad's class on the Ogden Senior Trip. Later that week when they got up to NYC, I received a picture message on my phone from Dad of a street sign that read "Broadway"- where I would be working in the city.

The next three weeks were ridiculous: dead week- where the only thing dead about it is the students, finals week, being selected as one of the VEISHEA 2010 General Co-Chairs (along with my lovely partner in crime, Nicki), moving out of my apartment, getting loan money figured out to finance my upcoming summer, finding and paying waaaay to much for housing in the city, going home to help get ready for Thad's graduation party, packing, unpacking, re-packing, attending the graduation ceremony at Drake for Reece who earned his Masters this spring, turning right around and going to Thad's graduation ceremony at OHS the next day and then flying out to New York early the next morning. Whew!

There you have it. My story up until now.
My first week begins in the following post!