Thoughts on LA vs. NYC

Typical.

Okay, so me and Patricia both set our alarms for 11:30. We planned to go to the Met for the afternoon, come back relatively early, eat dinner here, then go to the grocery store.

We overslept. Until 4 PM. Woops.

So we spent the day/evening lying in bed making faces and noises at each other and laughing and being bored. We finally made it to the grocery store, heated up leftover Chinese, then watched a marathon of Futurama. I fell asleep at 9 (don't ask me why) and Patricia woke me up at 10 and now we are outside at 10:40.

Yeah. No adventures today, but tomorrow is CENTRAL PARK, and we are stoked. Waking up at 7 AM! Yes, be amazed if we actually accomplish this.

At least we ate some Dunkin' Donuts. That's cool.

Manhattan One Street at a Time... First up: BROADWAY

Last night I passed out reading at 1 AM (only 10 in CA). This is amazingly early for me in the summer, but makes sense considering the only sleep we had gotten was 4 hours or less on the airplane. This morning we got up at 10, took showers, and headed off to the metro stop, which is conveniently located just around the corner. 

We got off at Bryant Park without knowing, so that was a pleasant surprise. It was lunchtime, so it was very crowded and took us a while to find a table to sit at and drink our coffee while I examined a map and tried to figure out how to get to Broadway. Well, I did figure it out, and we set off, only to realize a couple hours later (walking all the way, I might add) that the Theater District is actually north of where we were and not south.

Shit.

We found a metro stop and took it to Rockefeller, which is really close to Broadway. Then we bought tickets to Rent, ate a hot dog (OH MY GOD THEY ARE AS GOOD AS EVERYONE CLAIMS), took a cab from 43rd street to 41st for $3 (don't question us), walked around aimlessly, ate pizza (ALSO JUST AS GOOD AS EVERYONE CLAIMS), and then sat on the steps in front of the Nederlander Theater on 41st for about an hour waiting to be seated for Rent.

We could have done more in the 3 hours between buying the tickets and seeing the show, but after our several mile walk down Broadway earlier in the day, our feet couldn't take it. Let's just say I wore the wrong shoes. Meh. But hey! You know you're in a magical place when burning feet can't ruin anything about the day.

New York City is everything I thought it would be. The buildings are all made of brick or stone. They have amazing windows and even fire escapes (we thought this beautiful building with revolving doors and huge windows was a 5 star hotel, only to discover it was a Macy's. whoa.). Everyone honks, ambulances get stuck in rush hour, street vendors yell, and everyone walks very fast (except tourists) and sometimes people cross the street when they shouldn't.-- Pretty much, even if the red hand is up, if one person steps off the curb, the crowd automatically follows. A car will hit one person, but probably not 15.

A special moment occurred when a foreign woman thought we were locals and asked Patricia where 6th was. (We were already on it). We felt proud.

Creepsters abound, of course. Among the sleazy comments we got were: "I like your legs. They're sexy." "*inhale* ahh....sexy sexy....." et-cetera.

Then on the metro ride back to Queens a Creepo McCreepster started hitting on me. The conversation went something like this:

"Hi, how are you doing?"

"Fine."

"Just get off work?"

"No, just spent the day in the city."

Please, Patricia get me out of this...

"Manhattan?"

"Yep."

Ew ew ew ew ew.

"What's your name?"

"Amy."

We still have 5 more stops till we get off!

"Where do you live? You live here?"

"Yeah. Queens."

"Oh, I live by Queens."

"Mhm."

"Are you going to the Terminal?"

What's the Terminal?

"No."

"Where do you get off?"

No answer.

"I get off at 71st, then I take the R."

"Oh."

Here Patricia chimed in when I looked at her desperately with "Je ne comprend pas." YES. A way out.

"Where are you from? Italy?"

"No."

"Spain?"

"No."

Patricia-"Je ne comprends pas."

"Oui. Je sais."

I then focused all my attention on Patricia as she, looking lost and confused, asked me numerous questions in French and I pretended to explain things to her in French. Of course, we were just using simple phrases over and over, but it worked. Sort of.

Then, "Do you have Myspace?"

"No."

"Facebook?"

"No."

"Email?"

"No. I have a boyfriend, sorry."

"Oh, ok."

Me and Patricia continued our fake French conversation and I thought it was over,

Then, "Just as a friend, can I email you?"

"No."

Finally, our stop! We booked it out of there.

My god.

Other than that, the day was great! Central Park tomorrow, and when my camera and Patricia's camera cord arrive in the mail, pictures will be up. And hopefully videos when I have the energy to upload. There are some really good ones, so get ready. (Thanks Mom and Dad!)

Goodnight, lovelies.

P.S. We are no longer sharing a twin bed. Now you don't have to feel sorry for us.

Stealing Internet and Sharing Beds

We made it, kids. Me and Patricia are currently sitting behind the house on a bench in order to use the internet. Yay for thievery! And Patricia's stubbornness when she heard there was no internet. After roaming around for a few minutes we found salvation.

So here's the lowdown: We live in a basement with 2 women, one of which is Patricia's distant cousin. We will be sharing a twin-size bed for the next month (!) and taking the subway into downtown every day. It's a 30 minute ride, but we got month long metro passes so we can get lost as much as we want and won't have to pay extra as we ride buses and trains aimlessly around town trying to find things to do.

Tonight we saw the Rockefeller Center and strolled down Broadway. It is kind of crazy, what with street vendors and cabs honking and everyone trying to pass each other and tourists taking pictures left and right.

I think eventually we'll feel at home.

Tomorrow me and Patricia plan to see a matinee of RENT (hot dogs for lunch before hand) and then pizza for dinner! Other than that, no clue. We have plenty of time to figure things out, luckily.

The adventure has begun. Pictures will come soon, with any luck.

Love to all!

Happy Birthday to me!

Pack Mules

I've never packed for a month-long trip before and I don't want to forget anything I may want at some point during the 4 weeks. I feel like I need not only the basics (jeans, shirts, socks, underwear), but also this jacket and that purse, and such-and-such jewelry, and will I need a nice dress and shoes, and what if we go clubbing? How much room should I leave for shopping? Do I even have enough money for shopping? What if it gets really cold? How hot will it be on an average day? Swimsuit? Sunscreen? Scarves? Gloves? Candy Cane costume?

If anyone has a gun, now is the time to send the bullet my way.

(I was kidding about questioning the candy cane costume... I am certain that this is going in the suitcase.)

4 Days and counting.

Pride

So me and Patricia are off to New York in exactly a week(!). We haven't planned, haven't packed, and have no idea how we're going to avoid getting lost, but hey. Summer is the time for spontaneity.

We'll be staying in Queens with her cousin, in a basement apartment. I've been told there will be internet, so I am bringing Alfred (my macbook), and will hopefully not have to drag him off to Starbucks whenever I need some free wireless internet. Because I know you all will be dying to hear about all my adventures, and well, let's be honest, I will be dying to type on and on about myself every day. Win-win situation.

I guess the long hours standing at the circulation desk in Leavey Library at USC pretending to work but not really working have finally paid off! I have about $900 saved. Let's just hope that's enough for the whole trip.

(Did I mention we are living there for a month? We are.)

I can't wait to see Central Park, Times Square, Broadway, the museums (Museum of Sex, anyone?), and hopefully Conan and a show or two on Broadway! According to Regis and Kelly, at a special spot in Manhattan, students with valid ID's can get broadway tickets for $25. I am so there. Lion King, here I come!

In other news, today I slept in till 3 and have since done... nothing. Absolutely nothing. C'est la vie!