Posts tagged ‘Central Park’

Hanging Out

Saturday was a BEAUTIFUL day! I mean, pure gorgeousness! There wasn’t a drop of rain, and the clouds in the sky were big, white, and bright! So of course, meeting up with some friends in Central Park was a fantastic way to spend the day.

Normally, I would bitch and moan about the behavior of the D train. It didn’t run express along Central Park. It literally stopped at every Orange Line stop between 125th and 59th. I didn’t even care, though. It was going to be an awesome day!

Jackie and I met up with Jake and Jen on the rocks in Central Park (the place by the swings). We just sat and hung out there for a couple of hours, talking, laughing, reading…

Jackie read “A Good Man is Hard to Find” out loud and we talked about it for a bit afterwards. This is one of my favorite short stories, because it’s so unexpected. Maybe I’ll share my essay on it from college (if I can find it…).

Eventually, we made our way to church on E 89th, and then to the Guggenheim afterwards.

It wasn’t my favorite mass because I spent a lot of time praying for patience. One of the parishioners kept responding a few seconds early…with the old mass responses (so “And also with you” instead of “And with your spirit”). It was definitely driving me crazy. Also, I felt like we were running a marathon with how quickly we were saying the Act of Contrition and the Creed.

The Guggenheim was interesting, but all of the ramps were closed, so only the Annexes were open. That, of course, was a little frustrating because the whole point of going to the Guggenheim is to casually stroll the ramps and admire the artwork (at least, that’s the point in my mind). We did have fun commenting on some of the different pieces. There was an “Udder”ly beautiful painting of a cow that Jen “steer”ed us to because it was so “Moo”valous.

When the Gugg shut down and kicked us out, we strolled to the 4 train to head home together, and ended the night with Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and tater tots.

October 1, 2012 at 12:00 pm 1 comment

Farewell NYC, See Ya in 18 Days!

Today is tragically sad and awesomely happy. Today is the day I leave NYC, hence the tragically sad. Today is also the day I go back to California to visit family and friends before heading to Chicago for Orientation, which makes it awesome.

Over the past several months of living in NYC, I have realized that I really like it here. I REALLY LIKE IT. I sort of knew that I would, but I was still surprised at how much happier I am in big city NYC. Now, I do have, as Jack Kelly (always have to have a Newsies reference) says, a big strong door to lock it out. But I think I’d even like it if I didn’t and struggled more. NYC has so much life, and so much diversity. There’s always something going on, and I never really feel bored except when I make myself stay home and get chores done. And then I’m bored because I’m all worn out from doing stuff all day that I don’t have the energy to leave at night. Also, the 1 hour+ subway ride is far from fun late at night.

I love the theatre district (aka Times Square). I love the 86th street, Lexington Ave area. I love Central Park. I love the East Village and Greenwich Village. I love Hell’s Kitchen. New York is filled with all of these wonderful things that I like.

NYC has Schmackary’s, aka the best cookies in the world despite my student’s claims that Insomnia has the best cookies. Schmakary’s is delicious and not too expensive. They have cookies and cream cookies. They have ice cold milk. They make ice cream sandwiches out of the cookies right in front of you if you want one.

NYC also has Newsies The Musical on Broadway. And I can go see the show whenever I want for a mere $30. Even if Newsies were to go on tour, that wouldn’t be the case anywhere else in the world. Now, most of you probably understand the importance of Newsies being in NYC for me. I’ve been waiting for this musical ALL MY LIFE. I loved the movie, and dreamed of the day it would finally be on stage. I move out to NYC for my volunteer program, and suddenly it is. My dreams are coming true. I love every single cast member in this show. Anytime I try to figure out who my favorites are, I suddenly end up with a list in alphabetical order of some 36 different people (there are 36 people in the cast). I love seeing the show no matter who’s on. I get excited when I get to see Jack Scott and Michael Fatica go on. I hope I will one day be able to see Caitlyn Caughell go on. I regret that I never got to see Maddy Trumble go on. Basically, Newsies is a happy place for me. I get days of happiness out of a few hours in the theatre.

NYC has lots of delicious ethnic food, and I can go try it whenever I want. Sometimes its hard to find someone to go with me, but I love that the option is there.

I love that I can go to Central Park and wander around for hours or sit and watch softball.

I love NYC.

Sometimes, I miss home. I miss small-town Petaluma, CA. I miss my sisters. I miss my parents. I miss my grandparent I miss my aunts, my uncles, my cousins. Sometimes, I miss college. I miss smaller Moraga, CA. I miss my friends. I miss my professors. I miss my jobs. I miss my classes. I miss the campus. But I don’t want to go back to either of these places forever. Not that I want to stay in NYC forever, either. I don’t know about that yet. But what I do know is that as much as I love my family, and as muchas I enjoyed my college experience, I’ve moved on for now. I definitely want to go back and visit them. I want to spend time with them, and remember my college experiences, but I’m not the person I was when I left California a year ago. A lot has changed. I’ve had some pretty crazy experiences. I’ve grown a lot. I’ve developed different ideas and passions.

So leaving NYC is sad for me. At the same time, it’s exciting because I get to go home and visit with everyone and tell them all about my life, which for sure makes them really happy. But when I leave NYC, I leave a little part of my heart here, in this big city that never sleeps, with the intention of coming back for it at some point.

This time, I’ll be back in 18 days. Yes. I started my countdown before I even left the city. I’ve been watching for a few weeks how long it would be until I’d be back in NYC. That’s how much I love it here. That’s how happy I am here, and that’s why leaving is such sweet sorrow.

Until then, NYC will be down one small person, and probably won’t even notice. But that’s okay, because I’ve got at least another year to make a real name for myself here, and I want it to be a good one.

So, NYC, I bid you adieux!

 

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July 12, 2012 at 12:00 pm Leave a comment

Newsies Softball June 28, 2012 — Doubleheader How to Succeed & Million Dollar Superstar

We had a mini Fansies meet-up in central park today. Caroline, Jordan, Adam and I were all hanging out at the Great Lawn to watch our Newsies play some killer softball.

This was the week for make up games, and everyone had two rainouts to make up for. Newsies played How to Succeed on GL Field 5 at 11:30. It was a tough game, and more Newsies slowly started to arrive for the second game as the innings passed. When Tommy Bracco showed up, he saw Bres’s cooler and asked “Who’s cooler is that? Can I throw a cannoli in there?” (Oh Italian boys…). Brendon Stimson showed up and proceeded to keep his backpack on before Evan Kasprzak came up to him and said, “Man, you’ve been here for an hour. You can take off your bag now.” Despite these respites of humor, the game was a nail biter, going to the 11th inning with Newsies lost at the last minute.

Their second game was on GL Field 4 against Million Dollar Superstar, a team consisting of folks from both Million Dollar Quartet and Jesus Christ Superstar. This game had a lot of runs happening, and at one point Jeremy Jordan hit a foul, and made it all the way home before anyone told him. Don’t worry. He got another homerun (on an error) in later after which Aaron Albano commented, “That was alright. I mean, it’s no Christian Bale…” Newsies won the second game.

All in all, it was a great day to watch some softball and cheer on the men and women who dance and sing and act their hearts out eight times a week.

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June 28, 2012 at 12:00 pm Leave a comment

Looking Inside Yourself.

Over the last few weeks, and especially the last few days, I have taken a look at me. I mean, I have been really delving into what makes me who I am, and how I can improve myself in different ways.

Central Park, Manhattan, New York, USA

One of the first things I realized, was that I need me time. I take some time to myself, but I need a different type of me time. I need to go on an adventure alone, or try something new alone. I need to embrace my independence as a woman of the 21st century, and really experience some of life. I don’t know what all of this means yet, but I know it needs to happen. I’ll probably start with taking the time to go out on my own this weekend. Central Park might just be calling my name! Maybe I’ll wander the High Line, or visit Astoria. All I know is I need to go out on my own and take in some sights.

I also realized that I want to exercise. Yes, exercise. I want to do something that makes me feel good, something that works as a killer stress relief, something that can really beat the anxiety and frustration out of me. This deep desire led me to the cruel but wonderful Jillian Michaels 30 day shred. I wrote about this late last Friday, and I started the workout on Sunday. It’s brutal. It’s painful. It’s tough. But when I’m first done with my workout, I feel so accomplished, so it’s all worth it. About an hour later, I realized how much pain I was in. My upper-back was sore, and the front of my thighs were burning every time I walked up or down stairs…not a good thing when you live in a city that is built up and down. So I called my dad. I explained the pain I was feeling to him, and what stretches Jillian Michaels had recommended that I didn’t think were working for me. We talked for a few minutes and came up with some alternative stretches that I feel more, and I’ll be incorporating them into my cool-down tonight. Hopefully, that will help, and I’ll be a little less sore tomorrow.

Another thing I realized is that there are some things that I do that I later realize aren’t the best choice, and I decide to try to be better and not do it next time. Sometimes, it works, and I do improve. But there are somethings that are still a huge struggle and I don’t quite manage to keep up with it. For example, I realized that the breakfasts I was having weren’t doing much for me. They didn’t make me feel better and healthier like I hoped. So I tried a green smoothie. I used Linda Wagner’s recipe from her blog (you can read it here). I really liked it. It tasted good, I felt better. But I got lazy, and couldn’t get myself to make it every morning. And I didn’t always remember to put the ingredients on the shopping list. So I started making excuses. But like I said at the start of this blog,

people only fail when they do something along the lines of quitting for good. Taking a break is one thing. Totally fine. Heck, even if it’s a twenty year break, it’s still fine. The problem arises when you are too scared to come back to a project and it keeps you away.

So I need to keep taking my own advice, and even when I struggle with some of this stuff, I need to keep going and not give up. I need to be strong, and so do you! Because, as Davey says in Newsies,

“Now is the time to seize the day, stand down the odds and seize the day. Minute by minute, that’s how you win it. We will find a way, but let us seize the day. Courage can not erase our fears. Courage is when we face our fears.”

And so,  I need to face my fears of failure, and stand up and try to “Seize the Day.”

May 8, 2012 at 9:30 am Leave a comment

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6 Months of Newsies on Broadway!

Seeing the show to celebrate!September 28th, 2012
It's been SIX GLORIOUS MONTHS!!!! How about at least six more?
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