TNYA

    I haven't blogged about this for a long time, but I love my swim team here. They are gay, loud, and so much fun. They are easily one of the things I miss most when I leave the city in August.

    When I graduate next year and officially become "retired," I will for sure be joining a gay masters team.

That's all.

*side note, I myself am not gay, but the team welcomes everyone

Photo from 2011 Pride Parade

Weekend Update

I know this is a bit late, but I got slammed with work this week, not to mention, it was our country's birthday.

This past weekend was quite eventful. Friday after work I took advantage of the MoMA's free Friday admittance and walked around my favorite museum. I especially love looking at the extreme abstract art--something about the simplicity of the shapes seems to let my mind release from the past week of work. I couldn't stay long though because it was so crowded that I started to get annoyed by all the tourists and people taking pictures.

I had some friends come over Friday night to get ready to go out and then we headed to the Hudson Terrace for some rooftop dancing. It was a crazy scene: packed with sweaty men and women, dancing, drinking, thumping music, and great views of the water. Oh yeah, and we got sweet glow stick things. The DJ was really good too--DJ PHRESH. (love the spelling). This was my first visit to a rooftop party and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Vodka Sparklers

Saturday morning I woke up early(ish) and headed to Columbia for swim practice--at 9AM it was already hot and humid--not a good omen for the day to come. After swimming I went home, made a gourmet bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich, and then got showered and changed. Ash and I met up with Emma and some of her friends at a place called Pranna. Emma had been here before and was raving about their "Sunday brunch/dance club" and so I had to try it.  Some how, Moe and Emma know this club promoter that gets them into all these trendy places for free. I need to learn how to meet these people. We sat down at a large booth and were immediately greeted with endless mimosas. Then came the food: banana crepes, quiche, salad, french fries, buffalo wings, and more. All free. We ate and chatted for a while and then Ed (club promoter) said we were moving into the next room. This next room was basically a dining room transformed into a afternoon club. There was a DJ playing never-ending pop music and a guy sitting next to him playing a drum? That was strange but also cool I guess. We sat at our new table/booth and were greeted with more mimosas and then waitresses started bringing out bottles of vodka with sparklers. It was like a scene from one of those posh parties that only the super rich go to where they bring out the champagne to you with sparklers. I don't mean to gush or anything, but it was too cool. We danced and drank for the next couple of hours and then all decided to go home and take quick nap.

Dodgeball

We later reconvened for the night at a bar called McFadden's in midtown. One of our friends has a birthday in June, and apparently if you were her friend, you got half priced drinks the whole night. Awesome. It was also "Dodgeball" night at the bar, so all of the bartenders were dressed up as either of the gyms in the movie--the sporadically got on top of the bar to dance to songs and pour shots all around. It was hilarious. The bar played classic songs that everyone could sing along to like Shania Twain, Backstreet Boys, and Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy. Cheesy, but perfect. After a good amount of time there, we headed down to the Meatpacking District and hit up one last bar before calling it a night.

Emma may have spilled her drink...

Sunday was spent mostly indoors since it was oppressively hot. My biggest accomplishment for Sunday was painting my finger and toe nails.

Official Resident

My new room!

Since it has been over two weeks since my last post, I will give you a quick bullet style recap of my past events:

·         *Took the LSAT (and hopefully aced it!)

·         *Have loved staying with the Sutherlands on Long Island

·         *Hated the hour and a half commute

·         *Found a room to sublet in Stuyvesant (Stuy) Town

·         *Got the room and moved in last Friday!

·         *Went out to many bars on the Lower East Side

The amazing sunset on Friday

So, my life has taken a huge turn in that I am now living on the island of Manhattan.  After moving in last Friday, I went to Caroline’s sister's birthday party which was so fun. Her theme was “burgers and bubbly” which was a delicious one for sure. She had Pop Burger cater sliders and had many a bottle of champagne, along with other libations as well.  After the party, Caroline and a couple of her friends from LI and a couple of W&L friends went out to some bars/clubs around town.  All in all, it was a great night.

Will and I on the BK Bridge

Saturday morning, I woke up around 9:30 and forced myself to shower and get dressed. I met up with Will and we took the train down into Brooklyn Heights. From there, we walked across the bridge back into Manhattan. We picked a perfect day because there were clear skies and it wasn't terribly hot. There was also a very nice breeze on the water. The bridge was amazing because you could see just how much work went into its construction. The large brown bricks are beautiful you just don’t see bridges like that built anymore.  We also had a great view of the Manhattan Bridge.  A foreign couple asked Will to take a pic of them which is not surprising, but then the guy pulled out an apple and said, “We want you to take a picture of us in the big apple with our own apple!” They then proceeded to put the apple between them and they both bit in and held that pose for a couple of shots. It was priceless.

Will and I then walked around the Financial District and grabbed a bite for lunch. We then went back to Stuy Town together because will was actually working on some sort of video recording there. Stuy Town by the way is completely adorable. It is a little village within itself, kind of situated in a park. There is a large fountain in the center of the village and they have bands play on Saturdays during the summer and have a small farmers market every Sunday morning.  After saying bye to Will, Ashley and I (who lives in the building right across from me!), went to the grocery store to do some much needed shopping.  I then went back and rested for a while because my feet were aching from all the walking. 

Later that night, Ash and I got ready to go out and made dinner for ourselves. We cooked a very delicious shrimp and linguine dish, straight out of the bag. We are top chefs. After our 5-star meal, we got dressed and hit the town. We planned on meeting up with some friends at a bar in midtown, and so we took the bus all the way up there, only to realize that I had forgotten my ID… So then we went all the way back home to get my ID, and then all the way back uptown again, only to realize that the bar we met our friends at was kind of lame and disgusting.  So then Ash and I just went back to the Lower East Side and hung out at some of our favorite spots.

Margherita pizza

At around 2AM we were getting tired and began our walk home. There is this place called Artichoke Pizza right around the corner from where we live, but we had never stopped there until Saturday night. We had always noticed the long lines outside but never thought it would be worth the wait. Well, let me tell you, it is worth it. They sell only three kinds of slices (Sicilian, Artichoke and Spinach, and margherita), but they are to die for. The crust is perfectly crispy but not burnt, and the cheese just melts in your mouth. The prices are a bit high at $4/4.50 a slice, but well worth it. They are a good size too. I got the margherita and Ash got the artichoke-spinach and I highly recommend both.  And the place stays open until 5:30 on the weekend so don’t worry about them closing early.

Gay Pride Parade

After sleeping in until 12 on Sunday, Ash and I made our way to the Gay Pride Parade. I saw this amazing display last year, but Ashley was a gay pride virgin, so she was very excited. The usual display of half-naked, ornate costumes, and flamboyant men and women, paraded all the way down 5th avenue. My personal favorite of the parade was the cowboy saloon float, that was jamming to classic country and had one guy dancing with his boots and underwear with such pizzazz; it really got the crowd going.  After watching the parade for a couple of hours, Ash and I had worked up an appetite and so we wandered around in search of some good greasy food. We settled on Big Daddy's Diner and were thoroughly satisfied. I got an omelet with tater tots smothered in chili and cheese and a waffle, with a banana split milkshake to top it off. Another place I highly recommend. We were exhausted by 4 o'clock and so walked back home and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. All in all, a great weekend.

Recap

So, today was day three of my internship and I'm already knee deep in work. I write this post as I ride the good old LIRR home. I'm glad to be busy but staring at two computer screens for hours on end can become quite sedating. I am trying to limit myself to one cup of coffee a day and so far so good.

I am also enjoying the free lunches again! Having fun trying out new places for lunch. Today I met up with Julia for a little bit during lunch to catch up- she is interning with Barney's and loving it. To be honest, I am a bit envious that she gets to work in fashion, but then I remember I'm getting paid and she's not.

Update on my living status: I may have found an apartment on the upper east side! Sage is checking it out for me tomorrow so fingers crossed it is good and has AC! I would be so great to love on the UES...

Back in Action

Looking back at the last post on this blog, I realize that I promised to blog when I returned home from NYC but never did. I will conclude from this to no longer make promises on my blog... We shall see how that goes.

Anyways, I am once again back in the glorious state of New York. Although I had plans to live in Brooklyn, those fell through and I am now staying with one of my best friends, Caroline, at her house in Long Island until I find a new apartment in the city. To be honest, I was quite bummed and very stressed that my BK situation got messed up, but I am trying to make the best of it, and living with Caroline is pretty awesome anyways. Her parents are some of the nicest people I know and her house is never boring to say the least.

I am stressed because the fact that I now have to find new housing in the city has been added to the fact that I am taking the LSAT in just about a week. I have been studying for two months now, and although I feel prepared, the inevitable test-day-nearness-stress is setting in (aside from the fact that this test will basically determine the rest of my life). I have one more practice LSAT to take tomorrow and then all next week is fine tuning.

On a happier note, after June the 11th, I will be done with LSATing and on my flight back to NYC (I am flying home for the weekend because it is my sister's high school graduation (which is a whole 'nother story of craziness), and then I will stay in NC to take the LSAT on Monday), I will be consuming copious amounts of alcohol. Especially since my flight up yesterday was crazy turbulent and that just freaks me out. This Monday also marks my first day of interning with Ehrenkranz and Ehrenkranz again so I am pumped. I loved it last summer and I will love it again this summer because now I know everyone and I am prepared to learn more.

I can't wait for happy hour with my co-workers...

Gosh I love NYC. I can't say it enough.

Washington Square Park 

p.s. if you know of an open room for me in the city, please let me know!