And what a week it has been! A pleasant mix of relaxing, catching up on some much needed sleep, and wandering around the city. I can't believe I live here!!
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30
My last day in beautiful Santa Barbara, CA. Went out to breakfast at Cajun Kitchen with my parents and one of my best friends, Sydney. Syd's heading to Panama for 2 years with the Peace Corps in January!! So exciting! Then it was off to the post office to ship the final boxes. The rest of the day was spent organizing my room and putting things in boxes for storage, having a few cry sessions with my mom, cuddle time with my puppies, driving to my old high school to say goodbye to Logan because he couldn't come to the airport due to an away football game, saying a few more "see you soon!"s to a few more people, giving Spencer the keys to my car... and getting one last burrito for the road.
My family (minus Logan) drove me to the airport. After we got my bag checked we decided to walk around the new terminal. We all couldn't go very far, you have to have a boarding pass to get to the restaurant that is upstairs, BUT there is an observation terrace that we hung out at until the very last second. They put the ball machine, the one that was outside the old terminal that my brothers and I loved to watch whenever we had to pick someone up from the airport. It was fun sitting there, watching and listening to the machine chime away, not thinking about the looming goodbyes to the people who mean the most to me...
And then it was time. The moment I had been dreading for weeks. Well, let's be honest, the moment I had been dreading for months. Saying goodbye to my family. I'd done a pretty good job keeping myself pulled together all week, but it all came flooding out once I realized this was it. I was a mess, which made going through security SUPER fun. Especially the part where they thought my burrito was something other than a burrito and had to go through my backpack, find the burrito, realize it was a burrito, and then run my backpack and my burrito through the scanner again. So fun. Anyway, I was a silent wreck sitting in the airport waiting for my delayed plane to LAX. Luckily, I had a traveling companion.
Marcel was SO EXCITED to see the big city! Which in turn reminded me that I was SO EXCITED to be moving to the big city, that I was going to get to see Kelsey and Domonique, and that this is what I wanted to do. When else was I going to get the chance to move to New York with my best friend and actually get to live my life and try to achieve my dream?
The flight to LA was short and uneventful AND I had a window seat, so that was awesome. I got to see the Colosseum (it's kind of hard to miss the huge USC's), and the clouds were simply majestic. Once I landed, I jumped on a bus that took me to the terminal I would be departing from. It was a little crazy driving on the tarmac next to gigantic planes taking off and landing. I found my gate and realized I was starving!! So I cracked open my delicious burrito and was going to watch some things on Hulu. But I was thwarted by LAX and their lack of free WiFi...
So I pulled out a book and read for the rest of my layover.
My flight to New York was pretty uneventful. I had another window seat (YES!!!) so I had something to lean up against to sleep :) I passed out pretty quickly and slept for most of the flight. About an hour out from JFK we hit some turbulence that woke me up. I couldn't go back to sleep after that because I realized how close I was to the epic reunion with Kelsey, so I watched the in-flight entertainment and looked out the window at the scattered cities, wishing the sun would rise so I could see more than just spots of light...
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1
My flight landed at 5:30 am, I got my checked bag and headed to where I was suppose to be picked up by Super Shuttle. They said it would be 20-30 minutes, so I had a nice conversation with my mom about the flight and texted Kelsey with my ETA. My shuttle didn't come until 6:30... and then the real adventure began.
We took the Midtown Tunnel into the city and dropped some passengers off at their hotel on 42nd St. So I thought, because I live on 47th St, that I would be the next passenger dropped off. Boy was I wrong!! There were 11 people in this van and I was the second to last person dropped off. I got a nice driving tour of the East Village, the West Village, the Hudson River... and then at 7:30, after an HOUR of driving around the city, I was dropped off at my apartment. And the Jen and Kelsey reunion was EPIC!!
Kelsey is seriously the best roommate and friend EVER. She had gone out and gotten Dunkin Dounts (jelly filled munchkins, pumpkin spice coffee, bagels and cream cheese, and a blueberry muffin). We filled each other in on our lives since July while I unpacked and enjoyed the breakfast goodies. And then Dom came by before she had to go to work :) The three of us watched the Sex and the City movie, Pretty Woman... it felt like home. Then Dom had to leave for work and Kelsey and I promptly passed out.
After an epic and much needed nap, we decided to go out for a celebratory dinner. I love that you can go out to eat at 10 pm in this city. It's awesome. We walked to the Mercury Lounge, enjoyed a glass of wine and a delicious meal, and then decided we need to go out. We took the subway to the Village and went to a bar Kelsey had gone to a few weeks before. We got our first round and the bartender gave us free shots. He was adorable and a firefighter. Yum!! Then some guys bought us more drinks and the cute bartender poured us more free shots and by 2 am we were ready to go home. I'm really going to have to boost my tolerance to party in this town, what with bars staying open until 4 am and all...
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2
After waking up around noon (something I haven't done in a VERY long time) and while waiting for Kelsey to get out of rehearsal, I adventured to Duane Reade (which is like CVS or Walgreens) to get some essentials. When she was done we met in Bryant Park, grab some salads and enjoyed the sunshine. Kelsey needed a book from the Drama Book Store so we adventured to find it... and it was closed. So we walked home through Times Square because oh it's at the end of our block - what! Yeah, it's pretty crazy how close we are. It has it's pros and cons (pro: cops every where all the time so when you're walking around at 3 am you feel a little more safe, con: tourists, EVERYWHERE).
We stayed in for dinner and watched Dexter and Homeland, which I'm pretty sure is going to become our Sunday night routine. It's awesome!
MONDAY, OCTOBER 3
My first day by myself in the city. I adventured to Trader Joe's. And man oh man, this Trader Joe's is HUGE compared to the one I use to go to in SB. After getting some basics I tried to get home via the subway... which turned into an adventure, of course. Being new to this city and still trying to figure out the subway system, I couldn't find the uptown trains at the stop I got off at. So I walked from 21st St to 34th St. While it was quite the walk to do with 2 bags of groceries it was still fun to see a part of the city I had never been to. At 34th St I was able to find the uptown trains and got home just fine. Feeling silly but whatever. After I put my groceries away I napped. Again. As I would many more time that week. For dinner I decided I should get some New York pizza. So I walked up the street to Rays. And boy was it delicious!
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4
Dom had the day off so she and I decided to adventure to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. OH. MY. GOD. I was blown away by everything that I saw and the fact that I could see it for as little as I wanted to pay!! I love pay what you want museums!! We saw so much and I'm sure it was only the tip of the iceberg. It was the perfect day to go, the air was crisp and it drizzled a little bit. Gah, I can't wait to go back!
After several hours we went to Dom's boyfriend's grandmother apartment on the upper east side to get Dom's coat. Another OH. MY. GOD. I've never really wanted to marry an incredibly wealthy person until I was standing in that apartment. They have a view of Central Park. Ugh. It was beautiful.
Then Dom and I decided to walk back down to Midtown (where I live). Along the way we stopped at FAO Shwartz and saw the giant piano from Big, walked down 5th Ave and all the designer stores, and then were sucked into the H&M... I can't explain how much I love this store. And I needed a cold weather coat. I ended up walking out of there with not one but two beautiful and warm coats... it happens. haha
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5
I ventured into the West Village to apply to a few bakeries/cafes that Kelsey had been telling me about all week and to visit Kelsey at her job. I applied at this place called Bonsignour on Jane Street (super cute) and at a place called Doughboy on Hudson. After dropping off applications I found my way to Kelsey's Cafe, CC's Cafe. It is adorable and they make the best soups. Win K.Foltz!!
I hung out there for a bit, enjoyed an iced coffee, and then headed to Trader Joe's to finish stocking our kitchen. Made it back to our apartment on the subway, no problem :)
I gave a virtual tour of the apartment to my Aunt Katy via Skype and chatted with her for a bit. It was good to talk to her and get an update. My family is the best.
And then Steve Jobs died.
:(
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6
I spent the morning researching how I could possibly get a toe in the door in this business. And then I decided I needed to get out of my apartment and get to know the city. Right as I was about to walk out my door I got a call from the manager at Bonsignour. We set up an interview for the next day :)
I decided I needed new headphones for my iPhone since I couldn't find the ones that came with the phone before I left. So I walked up 5th Ave, past Radio City Music Hall, Rockafeller Plaza, the entrance to the Rainbow Room Observatory and up to the 5th Ave Apple Store.
There was a huge memorial in front of the store for Mr. Jobs. It was pretty moving. There were people and news crews everywhere. Now, I don't know if that huge store is always crazy busy or if Thursday people decided they needed as many Apple products as they could possible afford, but it was a mad house. I finally found the headphones I needed, paid for them, and walked to the entrance to Central Park. I sat on a bench for a bit and people watched. That was fun! There are so many interesting people in this city. I love it.
I decided to walk down 6th Ave to get home so I could get a better idea of my part of town. It was a good day.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7
I made a point to get up at a normal hour so that I can get off west coast time and fully adjust to this time zone. I took the subway to the West Village for my interview at Bonsignour and I start training on MONDAY!! Marisol, the manager, is starting me with an 8 hour training shift. I'm really excited about this place. It's very similar to Anna's in that they work the line the same way and have a lot of regulars, but less pastries and more breakfast meals.
After my interview I walked to Dunkin Donuts for a celebratory coffee and donut. I really need to go on an adventure to find a quality raised donut, none have been anywhere close to as good as Anna's donuts. So I took my coffee and donut to Washington Square Park, found a bench in the sun, and read. For a few hours. It was amazing. I love how many parks there are in this city. I walked back to the subway and went home for lunch.
I decided to keep with the park theme of the day and walked up to Central Park to see all the places you see in movies. I walked past the giant rocks, down the lane of trees and benches, and to the fountain.
There were so many wedding parties and engaged couples taking their pictures there. It was fun to watch. I stayed there until it started to get cold, then ventured home, stopping by Starbucks to get a Pumpkin Spice Latte to warm myself up. It felt and tasted like fall :)
After dinner Kelsey and I got pretty and went out to the East Village to meet up with some of her friends. On our way to the first bar we saw a film crew set up on a street that we almost got an apartment. We decided it was a big deal and not a student film so we stopped to watch. We watched Edie Falco throw something into a dumpster, then dumpster dive for said object, then climb out and keep walking down the street. We decided we should start watching Nurse Jackie.
We stopped at a bar called Common Ground, talked to some financial guys about acting and how much they hate their jobs. It was fun, a few of them were cute, only one was creepy, the rest were nice. Then we met up with some West Point cadets Kelsey knows at a bar called Professor Thom's, another chill bar. We hung out there for a bit then took a cab up to a club called the Cellar. It was pretty cool. The DJ was horrible but we danced for 3 hours anyway. It was so much fun!! :)
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8
Kelsey had to work, so I lazed around for a bit then went to visit her and get some coffee. I ended up hanging out there until she got off work. We got some soup to take home (I can't even beginning to explain how good this soup is, you just have to experience it for yourselves). We both passed out and woke up around 9, thinking it was the next morning. haha
That's when the cabin fever set in. We decided we needed out. So we got ready for a relaxing girls night out. We went to a bar in Midtown called Valhalla. I'm in love with this bar. It has a great vibe, reasonable prices, lots of beers on tap, AND really good pumpkin ale! :) We decided to find another bar and that where things got creepy. Every place we went to/every time we stopped to figure out where we wanted to go next these creepers came out of no where and didn't understand that "No, I'm not going to give you my phone number or go to this club with you" really meant no, get away from me. So Kelsey and I decided that we would get a pizza and beer and have an dance party in our apartment. This was the best idea ever. We got some Ray's Pizza, some beer from the deli across the street, and danced until we were tired.
It was a great way to end a very creepy evening.
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