Coney Island Pics

all photos by Lesley

Good Times

Well Coney Island proved to be a blast. Kat rode all the rides that we were too scared to ride - that is except the Top Spin, which no one should ever ride. In fact we spent about 20 minutes watching the carnies work to free the riders from the ride with screwdrivers and drills. It was kinda crazy - apparently the ride finished and locked them in and no one could get off. Those people did not look happy! And then we came back later and the ride was still going - crazy!!

After my pals spent about an hour in line at Nathans, we had some disgusting/awesome bad food. Sometimes it's fun to eat completely unhealthy food, especially in a carnival setting. :) Kat rode the Breakdance, which is like a trumped up version of the Himalaya. It was really fun watching her spin around in circles and scream. Later on those fools rode the Cyclone and Lesley is still hurting from it. Apparently they need new shocks or something...

I will post pictures soon!

Visitor Fun

It's hot in New York and has been for a few days. Sort of an introduction to summer. Remember me, it says. Well, I do remember well the dog days of last summer when we moved here to New York. We arrived in the middle of the biggest heat wave of the year and it just about killed us both. Coming from San Francisco into the 100 degree heat was a shock to both of our systems. And now after almost a year we still have that San Francisco mentality where we ask each other, are you sure it's not going to get cold later? In SF, you simply MUST leave the house with at least a sweater on every day of the year, no matter how beautiful it is outside. Here, it's 80 degrees when you wake up, 90 during the day, and 80 degrees again all night. Trust me, it is not going to get cold.

At least we've had our friend Kat in town to help us enjoy the heat. She arrived on Thursday and we've done lots of fun things since she got here. Some highlights include bowling at Lesley's new job, margarita's at that crazy Mexican restaurant, thai food in Queens, and lots of laughs. Yesterday we were supposed to go to the Astoria beer garden but when we showed up they were charging 10 dollars. I guess it was some sort of memorial day Czech fest, believe it or not. I tried to reason with the lady saying I couldn't afford to drink if I paid 10 bucks to get in, but she wasn't having it. Stupid Czech beeeatttch.

Today we're supposed to go to Coney Island. I've only been there once so I'm looking forward to seeing it again. The girls are still sleeping, but eventually I'll make some noise and wake them up so we can get on with the adventure. I forsee a day of laughs, cringing at the rides, bad food and long train rides. What could be more fun?

New York Can Be a Small Town

It always amazes me how small New York can sometimes feel. The best example I can give of this is the first time I saw my friend Keala here. It was last fall and I knew he was arriving soon in New York (to live). I was on the 6 train heading to NYU from tutoring. I looked to my right and would you believe it - there was Keala sitting a little ways down. I think I shouted his name I was so surprised. In a city of 8 million... it's just weird.

Today I had a similar small world experience. I am temping at this place in Soho, answering phones and surfing the internet. It's pretty boring but I have so much reading to do for this summer that I really don't mind. One of the women that works in the office passed by and said something like, it's really boring here, isn't it. I told her I was fine and that I had a lot of reading to do for school. She asked wasn't school out yet, and I said yes, but I'm doing study abroad and need to read a lot before I go. So she asked where and I told her. Then she asked where I go to school and I told her the details and the degree I'm getting, etc. Well, wouldn't you know it, but her husband taught theatre in a NYC public high school for 37 years. We chatted for a while and I learned some interesting facts and insights. Not only does this guy know EVERYONE who can potentially get me a job, he also works as a trainer of other teachers and is good friends with the head theatre person at the DOE. Whoah! So she tells me I really should talk to her husband and that she's sure he wouldn't mind helping me out. She goes and gets a business card and writes his cell phone number on it and there ya go! So now I'm formulating a list of questions to ask this guy and working on a plan to razzle-dazzle my way into a kick-ass teaching job. Done and done. And who said temping was a waste of time?!

Field Trip to Danger!

Hi y'all.

On Wednesday, I did something pretty fun - and a little scary. I accompanied 50 eigth-graders to upstate New York. Can you imagine?! The day was pretty interesting, so I will chronicle it here.

I had to be at school by 8:45 so we could leave on time - which we didn't! After an intro in the auditorium we all filed outside and piled on the coach bus. Note: coach bus is the nicer alternative to a yellow bus. Thank gawd. Of course, I'm all nervous that some kid is going to barf, but lucky for me, that did not happen. What did happen, though, was that there were 50 screaming eighth-graders and man are they loud. I can't tell you how many times we had to ask them to be quiet, patrol the aisle of the bus and relocate bad kids. It was exhausting.

After taking nearly an hour to get out of Manhattan, we finally arrived at the nature center. From that point, we split up into smaller groups and did a hike around the lake. That was probably the best part of the day because it was really nice out and there was so much green everywhere. Also my nerdy girl students picked me as their leader which was cute. After the hike, I tried to relax, but instead all the students were running away from bees and acting like they were going to die. When I couldn't take it anymore, I noticed a field not far away and so we all went over there. It's great when city kids get out in this much open space - actually it's hilarious. Many of them are so "city" that they thought we were going to see bears! They also kept checking for ticks because they thougtht they might get lyme disease. LOL! When we were in the field, they had some fun rolling down it (my suggestion) and generally chasing each other.

The science class portion of the day was boring so I'll just skip that. ON TO THE DANGER! OK, so we were supposed to take another hike back around the lake to get back to the bus, but instead the bus had to come get us. Why? Because the park rangers reported that there was an impending severe thunderstorm and tornado watch, and they didn't want that kind of liability. The bus picked us back up and we took a harrowing ride back to the nature center to pick up the other section of our group. We're talking little tiny roads on a huge Greyhound-style bus. It was so freaky! And the bus driver! He was not havin' it. At the nature center, we picked up the other section, and the park ranger came out and said something like, "If you get stuck or run into really bad weather, come back here for shelter." I was like, "What?!" Why would we need "shelter" - that sounds serious! She confirmed that there was a tornado watch. Good grief. About two seconds later, it started raining like crazy - just in time for us to take another tiny road out of the park. At this point, I'm white-knuckling the seat in front of me, the driver is shaking his head and saying he's never coming up here again, and the science teacher is trying to keep everybody happy. Right about then the thunder and lightning starts and every single adolescent on the bus screams bloody murder. I literally heard one girl yell, "I don't want to die!" Oy vey...

As we try to settle the kids down so the bus driver can think (and not kill us) we round the next bend in the road and are stopped in our tracks. What's the problem? There is a giant tree in the middle of the road! Not only that, it's hanging off of some power lines. Why me?! So the teachers get out and we assess the situation: bad. The driver is indignant; he refuses to try to turn the bus around, but I don't blame him. We realize after some time that we are stuck there until the local authorities show up. They finally come and tell us it's going to be "a while" because every road is blocked with fallen trees. At this point, I hear the storm warning horn-thing go off and I think of Arkansas and tornado warnings. Basically, I just blocked that out because there was just too much other stuff to deal with. No tornado ever showed up - in fact, it stopped raining soon afterwards.

After about thirty minutes we see this guy rounding the corner carrying a chainsaw. We jump off the bus and thank him, explaining that we can't get past or back up. He chops up the tree to the kids' total amazement and applause. As I am helping to clear bits of tree from the road, I'm thinking, this is the craziest field trip ever...but at least no one barfed!

And we all lived happily ever after...

Last Night in a Nutshell

We had some pretty hilarious adventures last night. After a relaxing time on the Staten Island Ferry with its free views of New York, we all decided to get together for drinks in the East Village. I should say we all = me, Lesley, Keala, Pie, his friend Sally, and our long-time friend Donelle. We met up at Lit, a bar I had never been to before. Surprisingly, we found a table right away and chilled out with our drinks. At first the music was really cool, but soon the DJ showed up and ruined everything. He seriously cranked the music up to about double its previous level and played some kind of 90s tribal crap. So we moved our camp to the downstairs area and into the back room which was empty. It was so rad to just be in there by ourselves for a while and hear each other talk. Oh, I should mention the guy Lesley was calling Wingman and I was calling Wingnut. This guy was like a San Francisco nightmare. He was covered in tattoos - including his face and hands. That's no big deal really, but when you factor in the hairdo, he was just too much. It was like someone bashed him over the head and his hair just froze that way. He kept running around all over the bar and brutally hugging his friends. I say brutally because we couldn't tell if they were fighting or hugging. Plus, he kept darting into the bathroom - we're sure NOT to pee. Anyway, he was a trip!

Speaking of tripping, the other funny thing that happened was right at the end of the night. We had once again moved tables - this time to the front to escape the overwhelming smokefest that had invaded our quiet corner. As we were about to leave, this group of people came into the bar. You have to walk down about three stairs when you first get in - it's sunken or whatever. Anyway, it's about 2:30 a.m. at this point, and this chick and her posse comes in pretty wasted. She basically collapses down the stairs. The doorguy starts yelling 'get her out of here! we can't have her in here if she's going to roll down the stairs!' Her response is 'I didn't know there were stairs here!' WHAT? are you blind?! the funniest part was that both of her trashy high heels flew off and her boyfriend picked on of them up, gallantly, with the tip of his umbrella. it just looked really funny.

Later on in the bathroom line, I heard her telling her friends, "I can't see out of my left eye." LOL!

A Fun Announcement

Yours truly has just landed a blogging gig for next school year. Yep, it's true! Now, in addition to my own blog, I will be blogging for NYU! The deal is that Steinhardt (my school) wanted to start a section on their website for student bloggers. They want it to be a chronicle of what it's like to live in New York and attend NYU Steinhardt. Right now on the website, all of the information is more...well information. There wasn't really an avenue for the voice of the student. Well as any of my classmates know, we are all ABOUT the voice of the student - thus, the blog. I was selected through writing samples and a group interview. I'm not sure how many of us there will be but my guess is around six.

This whole thing will get going in the fall. There's going to be a big launch and *gulp* we have to get our picture taken so they can promote us all over the place. ha! I'm looking forward to this because I think people who are considering NYU will really want to read what we have to say. So hooray for me!

And now you know...

Total. Crap.

Man. I don't even know what to say about Spiderman 3. My friend Tyson and I saw it tonight and I was kind of blown away by it. And not in a good way. It's as if the producers just threw in ever single cheesy movie ploy and no one edited them. The writing was cringe-inducing, the acting was ridiculous. Everyone in the movie was crying - what's with that?! And at one point, Spiderman did a dance number right out of some bastardized version of Cabaret. It was just hideous. But, we still managed to have fun cuz we were in the movies nicely suspending our thoughts of everyday life. It was refreshing to sit and be "entertained" for three hours and forget about the past semester. BUT, approach with caution.

First Year of Grad School - Done!

I can't believe it. This year has flown by like no other. I feel like I've learned so much, and that my brain has literally grown a little bit in size. :) On Saturday, I finished my classes, and walking out, I said to my friends, wow, we're done with our first year. It just feels strange and like we weren't ready for it. Kinda like at the end of a show when you realize it's all over and you're not going to get another chance to perform your role.

So now begins the summer and I have about six weeks until I leave for the London study abroad program. I'm going to be there for a whole month, which is great but also a little bittersweet. I'm really going to miss Lesley, and we haven't been separated for that long in years. I hope that we'll be able to deal with it and stay busy so it doesn't seem so long. Before I leave for London, I have to read a lot to prepare. It's kind of like - well it IS like starting a new semester right away. I ordered a bunch of books last night so it looks like May will be dubbed "study month". I can understand why they want us to be prepared - otherwise we might not get as much out of it or might embarrass ourselves by not knowing the teaching philosophies of those we are going to be studying with. In any case, bring it on.

What should I do in London when I'm no working? I hear we'll have very little time to sightsee. I've already seen some of the stuff like Tower of London and Big Ben. I think I'll spend some time in the British Museum. There's a weekend off and I am severely temped to go to Paris or Brussels, but we'll see how I feel. One thing I know for sure is that this time I am not leaving without having fish n' chips. That was ridiculous when me and Lesley left without it! It will be good to be back in London because it trumps New Orleans as my new favorite city. I love all the old architecture. It just makes you feel like you are walking around in an outdoor museum. I also love how modern London is - I think London is the perfect mix of modern and ancient.

Today I'm going to SOF to tutor. We have a special guest coming. For the past few months, the kids have been learning about the Holocaust, and today we have a Holocaust survivor coming in to talk to them. I hope it will go all right. They're really good kids, but you never know what 13 year-olds are going to say or do. This woman who is coming to speak was a little girl during the Holocaust, and she survived on of the concentration camps. That just blows me away how a young girl could escape with her life from those horrible conditions. I'm looking forward to hearing her story.

So I don't leave you on a down note - I'll say that this afternoon, I'm going to maybe get a free haircut at Bumble & Bumble. That is if they approve of my hair or whatever. :) I really need it. I haven't had a haircut since December!

Signing off...

Watch This Movie, Frenchie!

So, Lesley and I watched this wonderful movie last night called Jules et Jim. It was directed by French New Waver, Franscois Truffaut back in the early 60s. It's a really great story about a love triangle that takes place in the early 1900s, around the time of World War I. Jules and Jim are best friends - Catherine is their lover. Throughout several years we follow the story of this interesting partnership. Sometimes Catherine and Jules are lovers - sometimes its her and Jim. Unfortunately, it's never Jules and Jim, but you could almost see it going that way because they have such a close and special friendship.

This movie will remind you of Band of Outsiders, another new wave masterpiece by Goddard. It also may bring to mind Stranger Than Paradise, the Jim Jarmuch flic. I guess the idea of two guys and a girl presents an interesting take on friendship and love. They all kind of have a bohemian flavor and a very modern attitude about monogamy and so forth. Anyway, I would suggest a triple feature of all three! Call it a threesome of threesomes!

Today I had a special interview. I don't really want to write about it yet just in case I don't get it, but keep your fingers crossed for me.

Now it's time for some lunchies and some TV watching. Hope your day is lovely!

Sing, Sing a Song

So I've decided to make a return to nerdville. I auditioned for the NYU chorus.

Can I tell you how many choirs I was in? A lot. I started singing when I was about two. Formal choir started in 7th grade which lead to ensemble, madrigal singers and barbershop quartets. In so many words, I know it's not rock'n'roll, but I like it...So on Wednesday, I did something I haven't done in like 10 years - a vocal audition. I got my sheet music, I prepared, I stressed about sight-reading. It was just like 8th grade, you know what I mean? Anyways, to make a long story short, it went well, thankfully, and they said, "You'll be singing with us." How cute is that?

In other news, classes are basically over.*

*except dramatic activities! It's so annoying that we have to go back for that class this weekend. I'm not really looking forward to it, but hopefully it'll be fun. I'm more looking forward to drinking afterwards.

Lesley's birthday was a success. We went to Heathers which is a cool bar in the East Village. We ran into friend-of-friend, KimAnn, who was the DJ. It was really fun and lots of nice folks came out for it. We also had way yummy cupcakes from Crumbs. (ps - what's with NYC's obsession with cupcakes?!)

It was very sad last weekend when we couldn't make it up to Boston to see Andmon. We miss them SO much! But with finals and low fundage, we just couldn't swing it this time. Hopefully we will see them soon though.

Well, that's about all for now. Oh, I saw a D-celebrity today. That guy Jim from Shear Genius. Have you seen that show? He was walking his dog in Washington Square Park. In fact, 99% of the celebrities I've seen have been from Bravo shows! WTF?