My Last Weeks in NYC

That's right folks, the end is near. My semester in NYC is almost over and graduation is right around the corner. It really snuck up on me, like so many semester-length experiences have in the past (summers in DC and Alaska, final semester at Hollins writing two theses at a maddening pace, last semester preparing for moving to NYC, etc). Three months seems like a long time and it really is long enough to get a healthy dose of a situation and give you an idea whether it's for you, but generally it just sort of ends suddenly leaving you to say, "what the hell just happened?!"

So last weekend Leigh came to visit me and we went to Boston for an overnight and had a great time. On Monday my team and I kicked our final project into overdrive (some more than others, but I digress) and really started realizing how soon everything was due. We did a lot of writing, talking, even some arguing but ultimately turned in a decent rough draft. This week we have to submit a more finalized rough draft to our sponsor, our professors, and a rough draft of our power point presentation on the same topic. All of this must be done by Wednesday. Commence nervous breakdown!

The thing is that if I were working on my own I'd be done already because that's how I roll. But lawyers work in groups a lot so it's important for us to learn to delegate and produce massive projects as a group of four or five. So I'm sure you can imagine it slows and complicates the process.

In other news, things are going pretty well for me personally. I bought my ticket to fly back to Buffalo. Leigh and I are planning a southern road trip to see some historical sites (Monticello, a few National Parks like Fort Sumter), stop offs are planned for Charleston, Savannah and Jacksonville (to see my brother and his kids) for wandering around and some beach time. The general idea is 1) we need some quality time together before I go west and 2) we wanted to see parts of the south we never got around to while living there before we both end up living out west. 

I've been spending a lot of time with some new friends I met from Long Island. This past weekend they took me to the Hamptons to a bird sanctuary and to see the beaches and huge houses. It was really nice to get out of the city, the weather was gorgeous, and I really enjoyed myself. However, I found it very difficult to be impressed by the Hamptons after being so spoiled with scenery in places like Alaska for hiking and coastlines, Costa Rica, Hawaii, and the beaches of Virginia and the Carolinas. I don't mean to sound like a snob, but I'm much harder to impress since I have been so blessed to travel so much. I only wish that everyone had the chance to see some of the more dramatic places in the world so they could experience the way the beauty wells up inside you and the intense feeling of being so small and insignificant that is at once both humbling and freeing.

Graduation is coming up really soon too. My dad and step-mom are driving up for the ceremony, which nobody really wants to attend but we're all doing it to say we did. Then two days later I'm on a plane to Anchorage, AK to study for the Alaska Bar Exam. I got a job helping to run the class, which is awesome and will cover my rent for the summer. Yay! 

I also got a job working for my grandparents in Washington for the time period between taking the bar exam and leaving for France, which could be any time period from 3-8 weeks, depending on information I won't have available to me until mid June (*sigh* I blame French culture for this annoyance...). I'm hoping my position doesn't start until October but it may very well start September 1, which would be tough both financially and personally, as I really need time to visit the east coast before I fly to Europe not to mention the time I need once I arrive in Europe to get an apartment!

My whirlwind summer plans are set, which is nice so I can just focus on the end of the semester and know that I will have so many great experiences to look forward to. It's all a bit overwhelming, but I suppose if I take it all one step at a time and am mindful of my goals everything will work out alright. 

My time here has been a lot of fun, but I'm not even remotely enchanted with NYC. I never was, really, more curious than anything and wanting a new experience. The school experience fell below my expectations, but I did learn a lot and I got a semester away from Buffalo, which was a nice change. Socially I met some interesting people and experienced the night life, which was a lot of fun but I doubt I could make a habit of it. I've been very lucky to get to live in Manhattan, Spanish Harlem at that, experience the subway, the neighborhoods, the walking, the shopping, the food, the people. Now I'm ready to get back to my roots- smaller cities and towns, cleaner air, less pretentious attitudes, less focus on the material. Basically I want to leave before this place can change me, which I am sure it could eventually do. 

On that note, I think I should get back to my homework...

Boston Abbreviated

Leigh flew to New York City last weekend for the last days of her spring break so we could spend some time together. The first few days I had class and work, so we didn't do much around the city aside from running errands and grabbing a few meals out. The central plan for her visit was  to indulge with a side trip to Boston and get our historical fix by visiting the John Adams Estate. Leigh loves John Adams and, being from Virginia and both eligible for the DAR, we both have a soft spot for Thomas Jefferson and the Revolutionary War in general. 

We caught the 7:30am Fung Wah bus from Chinatown NYC to Chinatown in Boston, arriving in Boston around 11:45am. The bus was kind of crazy because we stopped midway at a McDonalds for bathroom/food breaks and the driver made no attempt to do a head count before pulling out of the parking lots after a whopping 10 minutes there. Thankfully we had time to pee and grab breakfast before the bus left us!

Once we got to Boston South Station we had some time to kill so we took the T to the Sam Adams brewery in Stony Brook. The wait for a tour was over an hour and we were pretty tired and there's not much in Stony Brook, so we took the T to Quincy to check into our room early. After walking .6 miles uphill to reach the hotel we found out there was a shuttle to and from the T stop, but oh well. We'd gotten our exercise for the day. After checking in we relaxed until about 4pm and then headed back to Boston for some touring and dinner. The goal of the evening was to walk the Freedom Trail and eat dinner at a really old tavern. 

Boston Commons, and the start of the Freedom Trail. Leigh and I bought a fried dough and a soft pretzel to share because I was getting "hangry" and Leigh can't deal with me when I'm like that. Then we started the freedom trail by following the red bricks on the sidewalk and reading the placards at each stopping point. 

Old City Hall- a nice point on the Freedom Trail. The front courtyard had statutes of Ben Franklin (born in Boston, though a Philadelphia man) and Josiah Quincy, Mayor, Governor, soldier, etc and related to John Adams through his wife Abigail. 

Old Meeting House (I think)- the balcony you see here is where the Declaration of Independence was read to the people of Boston. I think this picture is cool because of the juxtaposition of a really old building against the newer buildings of downtown Boston.

Paul Revere's House near the Italian part of town and literally around the corner from Mike's Pastry Shop. This was the point when Leigh and I admitted to one another that we were exhausted and did not care to walk across the bridge to Bunker Hill. We decided we'd rather have an excuse to return to Boston at a later date for that. 

So we went back to a little alley near Haymarket (easily the most authentic and "colonial" outdoor market I've ever seen) called Marshall St where all the oldest taverns were to get some dinner (fish, chips, and chowder, and Sam Adams beer of course!). After dinner at the Green Dragon Tavern we walked back down to this neighborhood to stand in line at Mike's and got 4 pastries for $10 to chew on throughout the weekend. Good stuff and cheap too! After dinner and pastries we were just about tuckered out, so we took the T back to Quincy to relax and enjoy our nice hotel room. That big soft bed felt amazing after 4 hours on a bus and a full day of touring Boston. 

The next morning we found an amazing place for breakfast in Quincy at a restaurant I can't remember the name of. I had one of the better breakfasts of my life (french toast and sausage, but it was made especially well and came with caramelized banana and strawberries- yum!). Then we walked to the national park office to buy our tickets for the John Quincy Estate and trolley tour. My ticket was free with student ID and Leigh's was $5. It's times like these that I especially love this country. 

We had about 2 hours to kill before our trolley arrived so Leigh and I went next door to the United First Parish Church, not part of the National Park but still open for tours. This is the church where the Adams family has attended since John Adams, or at least the same congregation. The building we toured was built after John Quincy left office. It's a beautiful structure and the pews are original with the one purchased by the Adams family still marked with a brass plate. A local volunteer tour guide told us some stories, disjointedly but with good intent, about the building of the church and the families who attended. Then he took us downstairs to the crypt to see the tombs.

The crypt downstairs at the UFPC. Here John and Abigail Adams are entombed alongside John Quincy and his wife. 

It was at this point in the tour when our very Massachusetts-centric tour guide made reference to Thomas Jefferson by saying, snidely, "not exactly one of my favorite patriots." Leigh and I, standing opposite one another with the tomb of John Adams between us, shot one another genuine looks of horror to hear our statesman and shared historical boyfriend spoken of in any ill manner. The tone in the tomb changed instantly and we excused ourselves at the conclusion of the tour to console one another by reciting all the great things Thomas Jefferson did for our country and western civilization, not to mention being a complete badass and ladies' man.

Leigh and I posing in the United First Parish Church, an active Unitarian church in Quincy, MA where the Adams family attended since John Quincy's generation. Leigh and I were a little upset we didn't know about the church because this was a Sunday and we would have liked to attend a service that morning (especially after seeing the rainbow on the sign indicating they're an open congregation).

The Birthplace- the houses where John Adams and John Quincy Adams were born.

The private library of the Adams family at their Peacefield estate. Easily one of the coolest libraries I've been in, and I've seen some cool libraries in my day, just because it's a private family library filled with books from the early 1700s until more recently, in 14 different languages at that. It also had the original law desk (the tall, skinny standing type with a roll-top) that Adams used when he wrote his defense for the soldiers in the Boston Massacre. I told Leigh I want a traditional law desk one day.

Peacefield- the family used this residence as a summer home from the 1790s until about the 1960s when they gave it to the National Park System for use as a museum. It's filled with original furniture and artifacts from colonial times. It was really cool to walk through and see everything and, honestly, a little erie too.

Almost immediately after our tour of the Adams Estate Leigh and I took the T back to South Station and caught the 6pm bus back to NYC. The bus ride was incredibly full and uncomfortable but we were in Chinatown NYC by 9:30 pm. Leigh and I had hoped to meet up with a few of my friends from the area but they weren't able to come into the city at that late hour on a school night so we happily headed home. After a very long subway ride we grabbed Halal food from the street cart near my apartment building to eat while we unwound from our trip watching The Reader. The next morning I had class and Leigh left for Buffalo that night on a late flight. 

In all a fantastic whirlwind tour of Boston in just over 24 hours and a fun weekend with Leigh in the City. 

Plush Gun and The Cliks

Not the state the obvious, but I LOVE The Cliks. I also LOVE the lead singer, Lucas Silveira. He's a great singer/songwriter, has great hair and tattoos and is generally a total badass. Anyway, they played the Mercury Lounge last night for an early show. I took my new friends Michelle and Kate, even though they'd never heard of The Cliks. 

The opening act was called Plush Gun. They had a nice house/rock blend sound to their music. Kind of like Fall Out Boy but less commercial sounding. It was a nice surprise to hear a good opening act and the band members were extremely friendly.

Then my lovely Lucas and the girls took the stage. He's even sexier in person, but I digress. I've heard The Cliks live once before and thought they were good, but the venue sucked so I didn't get the full effect. This was a very small venue and I was RIGHT UP FRONT, so I got to fully appreciate the music and the view. Michelle and Kate made fun of me for my crush throughout the evening, but I didn't mind. 

The band played several new songs for an album that comes out in June including one called "Emily." Yes, that made my day completely. Plus they did a great version of "Oh Yeah" that started out acoustic and midway through they plugged in a rocked it out big time. 

The bassist was great too and she and Lucas seem to have a great repoire on stage. 

Oh yeah, and Cindy Lauper and her sister showed up! Cindy is a friend of the band and has actually done a lot to promote them and booked The Cliks on the True Colors tour last year. That was awesome. The crowd went nuts. Cindy and her sister sang backup for a song and did a little dance. 

Cindy again.

Lucas talking to someone in Cindy's crowd after the show. He's really friendly. I talked to him really briefly while he was wrapping up his chords and he was really cool even though I was being an annoying fan ("can I get your picture?!"). 

At the merchandise table the band was doing pictures and selling tshirts. I got a few pictures (this is the only good one) and bought a tshirt. In all a great show and really fun experience. 

The Past Few Weeks

Somehow I have managed to completely ignore a few pictures I took over the past few weeks that I feel are worth sharing.

As I mentioned previously, I went to Buffalo to visit Leigh, Juneau and our mutual friends a few weeks ago. During that visit Leigh took me hiking at Eternal Flame Trail. We failed to find the eternal flame, but I did demonstrate an important survival skill for Leigh's benefit:

This is how to properly drink from a flowing stream while hiking when you forget your water bottle. Clearly this is a very technical skill that must be practiced with care. 

This is Emerson Giselle Lopez McCann, my roommate's cat. She lives in Spanish Harlem with Lorrie and I. When Lorrie is out of town Emmy and I throw little slumber parties. We watch movies in my room and wait for pigeons to land on the fire escape. She's a sweety pie and very talkative. Since Lorrie was out of town a fair amount this past month Emmy and I spent a lot of time together.

One of my very few culinary successes. What we have here is a Tico-Mexi Partfait. It is refried beans topped with gallo pinto then topped with mole-infused white meat  chicken. Yum. I was so proud of my creation that I took a picture!

Last weekend my new friend Michelle invited me to visit her in Ronkonoma, NY on Long Island. I really needed to get out of the city so I happily accepted her invitation. I took the train from Penn Station to Ronkonoma Station. About 45 mins after leaving Penn Station we passed Hicksville, which really only underlines the New York City attitude that NYC is not only the center of the universe, but everywhere else is Hicksville.

French Teaching Assistantship

Yesterday afternoon I received a highly anticipated but also very early email regarding my application to teach English conversation and culture for the French public school system. I didn't expect to hear back until next month, possibly in the midst of studying for the bar exam in Anchorage.

I got the job! I'm moving to the Nice area in the south of France sometime in the fall to work for 6-9 months, depending on my assignment. I haven't received the job details yet but I have been accepted and replied confirming my participation in the program.

So EXCITING!

The job doesn't pay a lot but it's enough to live on and I don't have to work full time so there's plenty of opportunity to make extra money tutoring or something on the side. Hopefully I can find inexpensive housing, that's my primary challenge.

Anyway, this is great news because now I have a tangible plan for the next year of my life and I still get to do some serious traveling. 

Coming back down to Earth- I have a ton of homework to get started on so I should do that now. Counting the days till graduation...

This City is Loud

Today I really need to start buckling down with my final projects for the semester or else I am toast. I had class this morning until about noon then I knew I had to complete an assignment for tomorrow's class and make some progress on my group project prior to meeting friends to see a movie later. 

Our class gets our room at SUNY Stony Brook until 3pm, so I tried staying in the room to eat my lunch and start reading. Obviously this wasn't going to work because other groups were having meetings, which is fine, so I finished my sandwich and made my way to 34th and Madison to a public library. This required taking the subway because it was raining and I'm the fool who doesn't know where her umbrella is at the moment, but that's fine too.

Anyway, I get to the library and find a table near the circulation desk and start working. Then I realize that the volume in the room has crept to a dull roar. What the hell? This is a library! I look around giving people my patented "you are so rude" look and realize it's not the other patrons who are disturbing me but the library staff! They are having a little giggle fit over at the circulation desk, then more staff members join in and next thing you know it is taking an incredible amount of effort to focus. At this point the person who is bothering me least is the older, and possibly transient, man sitting to my right who keeps falling asleep at the table.

Determined to rise above and not be curmudgeonly at my young age, I keep working and finish my first assignment. Then a new patron sits next to me. He is another older man who is definitely transient because he had a certain odor. Again, trying to be a decent citizen I plan to rise above, then he gets settled in and so does his odor. I can't handle it, really, so I quickly snap my laptop shut and make my way into the depths of the study room. 

Finally some peace and quiet. I am surrounded by other studious types. Lesson learned: if you want peace and quiet in New York City just keep walking toward the back of the building.

In other news, I've found housing in Anchorage! I will be renting a room from a very kind couple who live near the University for a very reasonable price plus being generally helpful around the house. This is a huge relief for me. Now I have my flight booked, housing settled, and general idea of what my summer will be looking like. I even have some idea of what I'll be doing after I sit for the bar exam: a wild night on the town followed by nursing a hangover then followed by a flight to Seattle to work for my grandparents for a few months. When harvest season ends I'll look into temping to make some more money before going abroad. That's where my plans end, but I figure the details will work themselves out over the next 3 or 4 months. 

On that note, I will now attack my second task for the afternoon so I can hopefully enjoy my movie tonight without feeling guilty about socializing instead of studying.

Weekend in Buffalo

Now I'm going to post something real, rather than a stupid survey. My apologies for that earlier, I was really bored in class (it's tax week...ugh).

Anyway, after receiving permission from my project team I took off last Thursday to fly to Buffalo to visit Leigh and Juneau and spend some time with Buffalo friends. The flight down was very smooth without delays and I even checked a suitcase of dirty laundry to save myself the trouble of a Spanish Harlem laundry day when I returned. 

Buffalo was pretty great. On Thursday evening I met Bianca for Vietnamese food and to catch up. She's always great for conversation and surly comments. I may have even convinced her to come visit me before the semester ends. On Friday Leigh treated me to a Buffalo Sabres v. Toronto Maple Leafs hockey game- AWESOME! The game was very exciting, the seats had a good view of the ice, and Buffalo won 5-3. Fan-freakin'-tastic! On Saturday we chilled out, ran some errands and Leigh cooked me dinner. I bought Juneau a furminator, which she loves, and a yoga mat sling for myself. Then we went to Traci and Chris' new house to have a couples evening for a few drinks and to visit with their puppy Jazz. 

On Sunday the weather in NYC turned to complete shit so my flight was cancelled, so I rescheduled for 6am on Monday (today). That was the only way I could get back to NYC in time for class this morning, which was very important considering I missed last Monday due to illness and Thursday due to this trip. The flight was fine but a little late getting in, then I splurged and took a taxi from JFK to Spanish Harlem to drop off my HUGE suitcase rather than taking it through the subway during rush hour. I made it to class in time, a little dazed but present, then came home and passed out for a few hours. 

The moral of the story is that it's nice to visit your friends and kitty cat, but my attempt to save myself a little money and trouble by taking my laundry home ended up costing me $50 in taxi fares. 

Now I'm back in NYC and I really need to buckle down. I have about 4 weeks to finish my major project, which I've really only just begun this past week. I blame this procrastination on a lack of direction from the powers that be, but that's neither here nor there, I still gotta get it done. 

Emily-ology

Just for fun....

Let others know a little more about yourself, re-post this as your name
followed by "ology".

***********FOODOLOGY***************
What is your salad dressing of choice? honey mustard or oil and vinegar

What is your favorite sit-down restaurant? I don't really have one, but I always enjoy finding hole-in-the-wall places that provide fun experiences

What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of? curry, seriously, this is my go-to food for questions like this

What are your pizza toppings of choice? pepperoni or goat cheese

What do you like to put on your toast? peanut butter or just butter

***********TECHNOLOGY***************
How many televisions are in your house? one, but it's my roommates and I never watch it

What color cell phone do you have? blue

***************BIOLOGY******************

Are you right-handed or left-handed? Right handed

Have you ever had anything removed from your body? three babyteeth (on different occasions) and a substantial amount of breast tissue

What is the last heavy item you lifted? my suitcase (48 lbs)

Have you ever been knocked unconscious? I don't think so

************BULLCRAPOLOGY**************

If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? yes, it would help me get through my "to do" list before the time comes

If you could change your name, what would you change it to? I wouldn't change my name

Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000? sadly, yes

************DUMBOLOGY******************

How many pairs of flip flops do you own? maybe two

Last time you had a run-in with the cops? a speeding warning two years ago

Last person you talked to? my classmates during a break about 30 mins ago

Last person you hugged? either Leigh or Juneau

**************FAVORITOLOGY****************

Season? summer or fall

Holiday? I'm not really big on holidays, but I'll say Christmas because it's the biggest break in the middle of the school year

Day of the week? one where I get to sleep in

Month? I don't have one

***********CURRENTOLOGY*****************

Missing someone? not really, I keep in touch with everyone I might miss so I don't really have to miss them

Mood? so, so tired

What are you listening to? a corporate tax lecture

Watching? a corporate tax lecture (can you watch a lecture?)

Worrying about? my class projects, fitting my errands in this week, running out of groceries and money this month

***************RANDOMOLOGY*****************

First place you went this morning? shower

What's the last movie you saw? the first 45 mins of the new Indiana Jones movie- it sucked, before that I watched The Duchess

Do you smile often? yes, I'm downright cheesy

Sleeping Alone Tonight? yes

***************OTHER-OLOGY*****************

1)Do you always answer your phone? no

2) Its four in the morning and you get a text message, who is it? probably Leigh, or an old message that didn't show up earlier

3) If you could change your eye color what would it be? a brighter shade of green

4) What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic? no Sonic in New York

5)Do you own a digital camera? yes

6)Have you ever had a pet fish? Yes, I had two, they died.

7) Favorite Christmas song(s): I hate all Christmas music except for hymns

8) What's on your wish list for your birthday? usually something I need but cannot afford myself, or a trip somewhere fun

9) Can you do push ups? a few at a time

10) Can you do chin ups? NO

11) Does the future make you more nervous or excited? mostly excited

12) Do you have any saved text? Huh?

13) Ever been in a car wreck? A few, actually

14) Do you have an accent? I have a mutilated combination of southwest Virginian and western New York/Canadian

15) What is the last song to make you cry? Breathe Me by Sia

16) Plans tonight? lots and lots of homework

17)Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom? um, yes. Enough said.

18) Name 3 things you bought yesterday. I didn't buy three things yesterday, but today I bought a $50 taxi ride, a coffee and a shawarma sandwich

19) Have you ever been given roses? yes, Leigh got me roses when we first met. That was 7 years ago and that was the last time I got roses.

20) Current worry? getting my homework done for tomorrow

21) Current hate right now? no hates, I rarely feel hatred anyway

22) Met someone who changed your life? so many times

23) How will you bring in the New Year? wow, this questionnaire is really old....

24) What song represents you? Depends on where I am in my life and which band I'm really into, but I can always relate to a song

25) Name three people who might complete this: I don't expect anyone to.

26) Would you go back in time if you were given the chance? Mayyybbeee... there are a few times in my own life I'd like to have a do-over, but I'm not sure I"m willing to redo the work too. Maybe it's best to stick with my own time and place and try to do it right.

27) Have you ever dated someone for longer than a year? yeah, two relationships have lasted that long.

28) Do you have any tattoos/piercings? pierced ears (5 holes total) and two tattoos

29) Will you be in a relationship 4 months from now? probably not

30) Does anyone love you? a few people that I know of

31) Would you be a pirate? no

32) What songs do you sing in the shower? I don't sing in the shower. I have a roommate, and my dignity, to consider

33) Ever had someone sing to you? just at birthdays and there was this one time at a hair show with my mom when I was 11 and one of the male models sang me a song. It was really embarrassing.

34) When did you last cry? it's been a little while, I don't remember

36) Do you like to cuddle? most of the time, I am a girl you know.

37)Have you held hands with anyone today? No

38) Who was the last person you took a picture of? I don't remember, probably someone in the hostel in Costa Rica.

39)What kind of music did you listen to in elementary school? whatever my brother was into plus the Jackson Five.

40) Do you believe in staying close with your ex's/prospects? sure, unless it's really painful or they bring out the worst in you.

41) Are most of the friends in your life new or old? sort of new, my old friends are usually far away

42)Do you like pulpy orange juice? yes

43)What is something your friends make fun of you for? being short and nerdy

A lawyer, a doctor and school teacher

The last few days have been kind of rough, mostly in a physical sense. I made plans to go out with some new friends in Brooklyn on Saturday night. Through a series of events the plan changed and we found ourselves at Henrietta Hudson in Greenwich Village. As one of my new friends described it, this is the ultimate lesbian hookup bar. It's the "take me home and bite me" bar- whatever that means. 

Cutting to the chase, nobody took me home or bit me. I actually found the crowd there to be full of miscreants and party girls. The music was good and it was a better time than I've had at most bars, but I just wasn't feeling it. At one point in the night one of my new friends, who teaches English in Long Island and her friend is a pediatric neurologist, was aggressively stared down by a rather scary woman. Later we were joking about what would have happened if there had been a fight. The school teacher said, "well we have a lawyer, a doctor and a school teacher here and she's probably recently released from prison. I think the cops would give us the benefit of the doubt!"

I had 4 or 5 drinks over the course of 2 or 3 hours then went home on the subway. I woke up the next morning feeling like I'd been hit by a truck. What I thought was a very odd hangover (because I've never been truly hung over unless I had nearly drank my weight in alcohol the night before) turned out to be the beginnings of a relapse of the 2 week illness I had just prior to leaving for Costa Rica.

Anyway, I had made plans to do some work for my cousin on Sunday, so I struggled through that trying to stay awake and not cough on everything. I'm pretty sure after about 3 hours in his house he was ready for me to take my germs back to Harlem. I gave myself about 12 hours to sleep it off hoping to attend classes today, but when I woke up this morning that just wasn't going to happen. I slept until about noon and then started forcing my sore muscles to move, my eyes to focus, etc.

I blame living in NYC, riding subways, having people's germs all over me all the time, breathing nasty air, etc for these illnesses. Everyone in my class is or has been very ill since we've moved here and it's only been about 6 weeks! This only underlines my point that NYC is not a place for me to live long term. Even if I did want to share a small living space with 8 million other people, I wouldn't want to be sick all the time. 

So it's been a rough couple of days, hopefully the worst of it is over because I have a busy week. Tomorrow I have an important meeting for school and then a party to go to late at night (Bloc Party After Party!!!). Then Thursday morning I'm flying to Buffalo for a weekend with Leigh and Juneau and quick visits with B'lo friends. I have been promised a home cooked meal (yay!) and a Sabres game (double yay!) in addition to sleeping in a real bed and hugging my kitty cat. So I'm pretty excited about this upcoming visit.

Back in the saddle

It took me almost this entire week to come down from my traveling high and get back into the swing of things with school and life. For example, I got home late Friday night and did not do my really disgusting (i.e. smelly) laundry until Sunday afternoon. It took me more than 24 hours to mentally prepare myself for a laundry day in Spanish Harlem after having been completely relaxed and happy for a full 7 days. 

Alas, I am back in the real world but I think the break was really, really good for me and very much needed. Before I went away I was eating terribly, not exercising and not really enjoying my time here or even trying to. Since I've unwound, cleaned my room and prepped myself for the rest of the semester I have already been cooking more (meaning the food is quite a bit healthier), started attending yoga regularly, and have forced myself to get out of the house and attempt to be social on a few occasions. Plus my schoolwork is finally starting to go somewhere and I've just realized today that I am, in fact, graduating from law school in a matter of weeks!

St. Patrick's Day is supposed to be really fun in NYC. There's a parade, tons of Irish ex-pats and "Irish" (meaning they think they're Irish but they're actually Americans) people alike to celebrate. Being a fan of the color green, foreign accents and good parties, I was pretty excited about the holiday. I missed the parade due to having a class at that time, but did a mini pub crawl on my own starting around 3:30pm. I went to two Irish bars in Murray Hill, both of which were disappointing, then hit a standard bar near NYU that was a little better but still not worth staying long. 

One bar in Murray Hill, Failte, is supposed to be the best Irish/Whiskey bar in Manhattan. If that's the best then I can't imagine the worst bar! I've been to Failte twice now and feel that I can safely say that the beer is mediocre and over-priced, the patrons and bar tenders lack personality or a real sense of a good time, and the bar itself rests far too heavily on being an "Irish bar" to have personality- thus it has no personality!  The place doesn't even have proper seating to hang out with friends or meet new people, so everyone just sort of stands around not talking to one another looking uncomfortable. In the end a room with whiskey on the shelves playing Flogging Molly over the sound system does not an Irish bar make. Needless  to say I won't be returning to that bar but my classmates have told me that a nice chill place to check out for a good beer selection is a place called Perfect Pint. 

Once I got to Bleecker St Bar near NYU I was at least able to get a $4 beer and watch some soccer. That was at least entertaining. I was headed home by 6:30pm, a little tipsy and generally disappointed. I've decided that St. P's in Roanoke, VA is more fun than here and that's REALLY saying something. I'm learning that, as my classmate put it, NYC is a very co-dependent city. You really can't just head out for an evening on your own and expect to meet friends or even have a good time. This is a city where you make plans with a group and entertain one another throughout the night and generally fail to mingle with others or meet new people. 

This begs the question, how to New Yorkers get laid? If the social scene discourages co-mingling of groups of friends or just being outgoing to others at bars then I guess those New Yorkers who do manage to date are meeting their dates through friends or online services??? This realization is giving a whole new meaning to the saying "the loneliest place on Earth." It goes without saying at this point that I'm finding that NYC is just not for me. I need a city where people are comfortable talking to strangers and becoming friends, where random acts of socialization are encouraged, where newcomers are helped to feel like part of the community rather to find their niche if they dare. 

So I guess I'll be moving to Alaska.....

Just for fun...

A few more Costa Rica pics:

These were taken at the lookout above town. 

Playa Jaco Bay and Nicoya Penninsula in the background

Playa Jaco Bay at sunset

Costa Rica's slogan is "Pura Vida" but this one works just as well, at least at Las Camas Hostel anyway...

the Backyard Bar in Playa Hermosa has a great ladies' night on Wednesdays. They have a few really sexy Costa Rican girls dancing to keep things going while the sunburnt gringos get trashed and dance to slightly outdated American music. It's a lot of fun though... If I'm not mistaken I shared a cab home with the guy in the hat and the new love of his life (they met that night I believe). They made out in the cab the whole 10 minute ride back to Jaco. As Claude said, "the seemed to be very close..." haha!

I went ahead and uploaded about 30 pics to my gallery so feel free to peruse those as well...

OK, enough about Costa Rica. Time to get back into the real world. Maybe I'll have something to share from NYC in the next few days. 

Costa Rica 2009

I flew from JFK to San Jose, Costa Rica on Friday March 6 REALLY early in the morning. I landed in San Jose around noon, took a shuttle to Costa Rica Backpackers hostel and started making plans for my week in country. I paid for my shuttle and three nights at the hostel up front in cash because I was told if I didn't I would lose my reservation for the other nights. Moments later the tourism guy at the hostel has explained a kick-ass way to backpack through the cloud forest, see a volcano and wind up at Playa Jaco in time for my reservations at another hostel. The only problem is I've already paid for three nights in San Jose andthe hostel doesn't allow refunds or for you to transfer your money for other services like food at the cafe or shuttles. They gave me credit toward my final night in Costa Rica for Thursday the 12th, so that was good, but I was out the $12 for the third night I'd paid for. Basically CR Backpackers is a hostel factory- a huge company owns the hostel which is good because the grounds are really nice but bad because they're not very flexible.

That evening I shared a room with two women about  my age from Montreal named Lisa and Adrielle. They wound up booking the same type of plans as I had, so we basically spent the weekend together. The next morning we left at 6:30am for a rafting trip on the Rio Pacuare, which was awesome (for any serious paddlers who may be reading this, please don't judge me. I simply don't have the technical skills to kayak in CR yet and just wanted to get out on the water.). 

Lisa and Adrielle on the boat.

After a long day of rafting we took a shuttle to La Fortuna, home of the volcano Arenal and several amazing hot springs. I was so excited to hike a volcano and then chill out in some hot springs but Mother Nature simply wouldnt' have it. The rain started before we got to our hostel in La Fortuna, so we just relaxed for the rest of the evening. I decided that, regardless of Adrielle and Lisa's plans, if the weather was nice the next day I would stay in La Fortuna for the volcano and hot springs. The next morning we awoke to thundering rain, so we decided to use it as a travel day instead. We booked a Jeep-Boat-Jeep transfer to Monteverde for 8:30am and made our way into the cloud forest.

A very full boat. 

Some scenery from the boat, it was rainy then too.

While in the second "jeep" (it was actually a taxi style van with 4WD to handle the undeveloped roads) the driver made a 20 minute stop at a little shop with a cafe so we could grab food, hit the ladies' room, etc. While there Lisa and Adrielle recognized some younger girls also from Montreal who they knew through a friend. Next thing we know our group of three is a group of 6, which was even more fun. The 6 of us found Hostel Tranquilo, which is run by the cutest young family in Monteverde and had an available dorm to take over. The hostel owners booked zip line canopy tours for the Canadiennes and a hike in a nature reserve for me (I don't do zip lining). 

I met a very nice group of four older English folks who were on an all-inclusive style vacation. They hiked behind me rather slowly, but at one point they caught up to me and offered to take pictures of me in the forest. The hike had a series of hanging bridges to view the canopy from, which was amazing. It was a little bit wet, but no more so than some hikes I went on in Juneau last summer, so I was fairly content.

The canopy is really beautiful and the cloud forest is full of the most intensely green plant life. I really enjoyed this hike and, after two days of sitting in rafts or vans it was great to really stretch my legs. 

(Trisha, Lisa, and Ashley)

That evening the six of us went the Tree House restaurant in Monteverde, which was a cool place that had a massive tree growing through the middle of it. It was pretty pricey at about 10,000 colones per person, but it was our last night as a group so we decided to make it into a party. 

Alicia, Adrielle, and me

The next morning the six of us were all heading to the Pacific Coast, but I was going to Jaco and everyone else was going to Santa Teresa on the Nicoya Penninsula. We all had to make our way to Puntarenes though, where they would catch a ferry and I would catch a bus down the coast. We split a taxi for the 2 hour drive at about $20 per person, which is a lot more expensive than a public bus but also more comfortable and safer, so it was worth it in the end. The views on the way were spectacular and our driver was kind enough to pull over on occasion to show us iguanas and particularly impressive views. 

 Once we got to Puntarenes and said our goodbyes I bought a ticket for Jaco for 1,800 colones (about $2.50). Puntarenes is pretty much a ghost town anymore and there's nothing to see but the water and the sun, but that was lovely after 4 days of rainy mountains. You can actually see the Nicoya Penninsula in this picture past the pier.

Jaco is fantastic and really hot all times of the year. I arrived in the town via bus by 1pm and made my way to Las Camas Hostel, a new place opened by some Hungarian ex-pats about a year ago. They're a really nice young couple and they run the place with pretty much no rules. The decor is wild and there are tons of hang out areas, including the roof with a barbeque. First order of business when I dropped my bag on my bed was to ask the hostel owners for a surfing lesson. They set me up for 1pm the next day with a small company they know of. The lesson went surprisingly well, considering my lack of athletic ability particularly when trying to stand up on a moving object. I rode three waves from crest to shore without falling by the end of the 2 1/2 hour lesson. The next day I rented a board and went surfing during high tide and again at mid tide around sunset. It was amazing. I hope to continue surfing when I have the chance.

Everyone who stays at Las Camas is usually really cool and it's easy to make friends. Within a few hours of getting settled I had met a bunch of undergrads from various schools and a few "older" travelers like myself (meaning not undergrads, so it's a pretty broad category) just looking to chill out at the beach. I shared a room with three surfer types from Florida State who were really fun to hang out with and met others throughout the week. 

Erin, Stephen and Juan from Florida State. Really nice kids. We shared my rented surf board after there's broke in half at Playa Hermosa. I was really thrilled when they said I surfed extremely well for someone who had just learned the day before. Plus Stephen and Juan were kind enough to grill some Mahi Mahi I'd bought at the Pescadoria because I don't know how to use a charcoal grill. 

One night the hostel owners took the lot of us up to the lookout where you can see over the whole town and across the bay to the Nicoya Penninsula. The lookout is an old structure that's really beautiful, it was either a restaurant or a mansion at one point. Either way it's now a great place to sit and drink beers with new friends. After the lookout we took over a local restaurant in town and had casados. It was a really fun night. Later some folks hit up some of the bars and gawk at hookers and the like, but I was pretty beat from my surfing lesson so I hit the hay. 

My last night in town we ate fish off the grill on the roof of the hostel and then piled into taxis to go to Playa Hermosa for a party at a beach front bar called Backyard. It was a really cool place with pretty good gringo music, really sexy dancers keeping things going and free admission and drinks for women. The line to the women's bar was really long so I didn't drink much, but it was still really cool because the back of the bar opened onto the beach and there was a bon fire going. Things got a little out of hand at a few points, but in all it was just a good time. 

Claude from Lille, France managed to get a really drunk Costa Rican guy to take our picture. Later these kids from Virginia swarmed us and made him speak French then found out I was from Virginia and thought that was SOOO COOOl (they were really, really drunk). At one point we got stuck babysitting one of the guys while he threw up on the beach, not fun, but luckily he was OK and eventually walked out on his own. 

Our group stayed until the bar closed around 2:00am and then we cabbed it back to the hostel. I must say it was a great way to spend my last night in Jaco, which was probably the highlight of my trip. The beach was fantastic, I tried a new sport and met a lot of new friends. I was very sad to be leaving, especially with such beautiful weather and knowing I have so much school work waiting for me. By the time I left Costa Rica I had invitations to visit Montreal, the South of France (I met a girl who is moving there in June on my way to the airport and we hit it off very quickly), to meet up with my new friends from Florida and a lawyer I met from Boston. Plus I now know I have to return to Central America to see Panama, volcanos, and more natural wonders that I just coudn't fit into a week long trip.