nyc – Page 3 – Funk Meets A Lady

Week 33: Theraflu, 2014, & A New Job.

Published on January 4, 2015January 4, 2015 by Regina Po1 Comment

[December 29nd – January 4th]

12.31: Oh Hey! I’m back. For good, I promise. Week 31 was mostly me laying in bed near a pool of tissues. Nothing to write home about except my uber exciting Ally Mcbeal marathons. Week 32 got me so excited at the prospect of breathing, I completely forgot I had a blog… By the time this week rolled around whatever hell my body didn’t introduce me with during the 31st week came rolling full force. Needless to say I’m all battled out in the realm of illnesses. I’ve been patiently building a moat of tissues around my bed for the past 4 days, chugging honey water, and thanking my lucky stars this only happens once in a blue moon. I should be feeling better in a couple of days [fingers crossed].

Being sick is not the end of the world, things could be much worse. Too bad it’s my favorite day of the year. Normally, I like to spend December 31st full of flashbacks – the good and the bad – from the year past. I’ll normally go through my photos and read through my journals to see how my inner thoughts have transitioned and hopefully grown. I like to say goodbye and welcome room for the prospect of the new.

Around this time last year (December 2013) I was devastated. For the first time in my college career I had failed to pass a course and unfortunately, it happened to be the last course I needed to get my degree. I got a C minus. The course was evolutionary biology and by far the most difficult I’ve ever taken. I had made plans to move to NYC in February, which were put on hold. I couldn’t believe it. I retook this class (with a different professor) in the Spring semester which pushed my move to May which made for a much smoother move. There was no slushy snow or bitter winds to aide my move. Instead the city welcomed me with sunshine.

It worked out for the best. I didn’t know it last December. I know it now. Things worked out for the better. This seems to be a repeating theme in my life. I can’t speak for anyone else, because we all know life is [no] fairy tale. But I’m one lucky lady.

2014

* Said goodbye to my own oasis in college park. I really loved that little home.

* Graduated with a BS.

* Got to spend time with relatives I haven’t seen since I was 11. It was really nice to have an extended family for a week.

* Celebrated my 24th year by singing my theme song at Big Daddy’s surrounded by great friends.

* Started an Etsy shop.

* Started the first blog I kept up with.

* Packed my life into a suitcase, hugged my parents goodbye, and hopped on a plane to NYC.

* Lived in Washington Heights for 3 months.

* Spent my first month in NYC falling hopelessly in love with the city – dumpling by dumpling.

* Got a job in customer service with a startup called Handy.

* Discovered my dream neighborhood – thinking there is no way I’d ever be able to live here.

* After 2.5 painstaking months of a stubborn search, I found a home in my dream neighborhood.

* Moved into my dream apartment… this process was far more stressful than I could ever imagine.

* Got so incredibly lucky with 2 amazing roomies.

* Landed a new job with Postable.com (Yup! More on this below).

My goodness, this year was amazing.

I have been terrified, anxious, and stressed to such degrees I didn’t think were possible this year. I have also reached such intense highs that I thought for certain I was dreaming.

The biggest lesson I’ve learned from 2014: If something scares me, it’s a sure tell sign I should be going for it.

I end the year on a slightly less awesome note. Alone and sick. Shitty, yes. I have been thinking about the perspective I wanted this entry to have (with me being sick and alone on nye and all) and I had it spun all positively until just about 10 minutes from midnight.

This sucks. There’s really no other way to put it, but nevertheless I just welcomed 2015 with the most optimism I could muster and a toast (my hot cup of Theraflu) to new year. Cheers to the future!

01.02.15: It’s the second day of the year and I’m feeling better. Not quite at 100%, better nonetheless. Well enough to leave the house for the first time since last Saturday and brave the new year weather! It ‘feels’ like 30F outside… not bad. I have no groceries left in the house and I’ve surpassed the helpless state of being to justify ordering seamless every day. I think I’ve finally had too much Pho.

I like to buy groceries at Trader Joe’s. There are a couple small produce stores in my neighborhood including a Union Market, but these are way out of my budget. Plus, I love shopping at TJs… something about it just tickles my fancy. In order for me to get there, I have to take a bus (transportation within Brooklyn is pretty much limited to buses or cabs). I planned out my timing just right with the help of Hop Stop (an app I’ve come to rely on) so that I get to the stop 3 minutes from when the bus should be getting there. Seeing as how my luck has run dry this week, it wasn’t that surprising when I saw my bus zooming by as I was half a block away. It was 4 minutes early! GRRRRRRRRRR. The next bus wouldn’t come for another 20 minutes. I spent about 6 minutes having an inner-thought discussion on whether or not I [really] needed to buy food. Judging from the looks I was getting, my inner-thoughts were audible. I decided the 3 cans of black beans sitting lonely in my cupboard were just not going to cut it.

The same thing happened to me on the way back from TJs… only this time the sweat building up under my coat and the inability to breathe through my nose got to me. I took a cab home.

These next 3 days are the last days of my epic 3 week vacay… which turned out to be one week of awesome sandwiched between 2 weeks of nose blowing and body aching. I’ll take it. I’m going to take it easy — read a book, continue on my Netflix binge, and MAYBE sneak out of the house for some Brunch on Sunday (we’ll see). Since I haven’t really taken any photos this week, I’ve included a bunch of photos from the previous week below (all iPhone photos for now).

New York Historical Society

View from Bryant Park in midtown

Park Avenue on the Upper East Side.

Carnegie Hill (Upper East Side).

Astoria, Queens.

1.03: It’s snowing. I’m still coughing. The good news? I only woke up once last night. I also discovered Friends on Netflix… by the time lunch time rolled around the snow turned into rain. Bummer. Today is gloomy.

1.04: I left the house today for Brunch with some lady friends in the West Village. A place called Yerba Buena. I decided to skip the brunch cocktails seeing as how I’m still getting better and don’t want to prohibit the getting well process. I really needed this outing… I’ve been stuck in bed for a week and the lack of social contact was getting really old. The meal was delicious (I got some sort of seafood soup) and the waiter was super cute, so all in all the outing was a success.

I’ve started to take more pictures of myself… mainly my outfits. This isn’t a fashion blog, and I don’t really intend on turning it into one, but I happen to adore fashion. One of my favorite parts of living in NYC is that I can finally wear whatever I want and nobody will give a shit. You can never be over dressed. SO, I’m going to catalog more of my outfits since it is such a big part of my living here.

I know I haven’t really kept up with the blog lately and I’m pretty sure I didn’t mention it previously, but I resigned from my previous job at Handy. WHAT?! I know. Hence my 3 week vacay! Come Monday I will be starting a new position as a Jill of All Trades (catchy, I know) with Postable.com. Check them out, you’ll see how perfect they are for me [and I for them]. I feel like I’m starting the first day of school on Monday and uber excited!!

Week 28: Potatoes for Everyone, Dumplings, & an Egyptian Smoke House.

Published on December 5, 2014January 24, 2015 by Regina PoLeave a comment

[This post is coming a week-too-late. I’m still working on getting posts ready in time. I wrote everything on time, but for some reason posting the pictures got the best of my procrastination.]

It’s getting colder. My mood seems to be plummeting with along with the thermometer. Unhappy Regina means Pho for everyone! I have happily sipped on a giant bowl of Pho 3 times this week. In my ideal world, Pho would replace every meal, every day. Including the Turkey. I’m not a big fan. I’d much rather enjoy a bowl of warm bowl of beef broth than munch on dry meat. Just saying.

I decided I should be more visible online – so I joined the world of Twitter. I’ve only made a few posts while researching how to get the best out of it. Twitter is quite the tool.

This Thursday, as all of my US fellows know, was Thanksgiving. The day in America that precedes the greediest day of the year. It’s quite ironic that Thanksgiving is about giving thanks for everything in one’s life… Clearly, for many Americans, this is just a day full of lying to themselves and their families. If everyone was so thankful, we wouldn’t have masses of people lined up and trampling others to buy a toy. Or a TV. Seriously? We might as well call Thanksgiving the Day We Prepare Ourselves to Buy More Stuff. Not very succinct, but I’ve never been good with titles. Some people have actually started shopping ON Thanksgiving. Let’s be clear. Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays (right next to my birthday & New Years). I try to remind myself to be grateful on a routine daily basis so the whole giving thanks is not the allure. Yes, giving thanks is important, but quite frankly if we had a culture where giving thanks didn’t get squished to ONE DAY of the year perhaps we wouldn’t have people trampling others for a freaking iPhone.

On this magical day, I’m able to eat as much food as I [really] want without anyone being the wiser. I’ve mentioned my disdain for turkey (I eat it anyway, thinking ‘this time I’ll actually love it!’), but the other dishes are worthy of seconds. This year, I wasn’t able to afford a ticket home [traveling around this time costs 3x more] so I joined one of my roommate’s family for the day. She is from Long Island. We took the LIRR (pronounced by saying out each letter L I R R – I naively thought it was pronounced leer) and met the most adorable older lady couple on the way. One had short light hair with green triangle earrings that reminded me of the 80’s and a very spunky outgoing nature. The other, wore a black visor over her short curls and a black long sleeve shirt that read ‘Unarmed Citizen’ with another black shirt underneath that read ‘Greed Kills’. Needless to say these ladies had my heart immediately.

Prior to leaving for Long Island, Mary Alice & I made truffle oil garlic mashed potatoes for a group of 30. It was a lot harder than I thought, but success was inevitable. They were pretty amazing.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

11.30: Today was the perfect example of what I had thought my life would consist of constantly. Of course this couldn’t be farther from the truth, but days like today do take place periodically.

Union Square Holiday Market

* Made a couple dumplings stops in the East Village followed by some bubble tea.

* Smoked hookah at an Egyptian Coffee House. This place screamed authentic with the dark and somewhat smokey interior and a handful of Egyptian men hanging out. A couple of men were playing Chinese checkers (?) while enjoying their hookah while another seemed to be dozing off. This was right off of Steinway in Astoria which is filled to the brim with hookah lounges. If you’ve ever walked this street, you’d know what I’m talking about. This hookah spot looked about as far from the other ‘lounges’ as possible. The other spots looked shiny and dark all at once. This spot didn’t have the fancy lighting or seating (the chairs had holes burnt into them), but it was adorned with a giant replica of an Egyptian Mummie at the entrance. We sat there for quite some time, engaging in conversation. I had failed my coffee consumption ritual that morning so I enjoyed my first Turkish coffee here… needless to say my yawns had said their last goodbyes.

* That evening was chilly so I thawed my fingers while sipping a Cosmo by a small fireplace in the back of a small cafe (Cafe Vivaldi) in the West Village. This place is adorbs… very quaint and lovely indoors with tiny tables assembled in just the right orientation to view the front of the room (they host musicians nightly). One of my brother’s friends performed tonight. A perfect ending to a perfect day.

Week 27: Operation Survive My First Winter & 17 Things I Didn’t Know Before Moving to NYC.

Published on November 24, 2014January 24, 2015 by Regina Po1 Comment

11. 17: I’m going back to my roots and starting to write something here every day. Let’s see how that goes.

Today was hot. Yes, hot!!! You would never know it judging by all the coats and scarves folks are sporting outside, but boy oh boy did I enjoy my cold shower when I got home from work today. Everywhere BUT the outside is toasty, it’s making me feel like I have a fever. I don’t. The home gets super toasty at night time. So much so, that I’m having to not only keep the windows open, but turn on my fan. It’s 38F outside. Something is wrong with this picture. Then there’s the subway. Steamy subway. The minute I walk down the stairs I can feel that first droplet of sweat run down my back. I never thought I’d be complaining about the heat when its in the 30s.

11.18: Scratch what I said about yesterday. Today, I was cold. It’s been a long day filled with a Doctor’s appointment in the morning and a shift ending at 11pm. The 25F (‘feels like’ 12F) was not warmly welcomed. I walked to the subway this morning trying to eat a mochi bean pouch, but instead I looked like I was playing hot potato. I don’t have gloves so, in order to keep my hands warm (unsuccessfully) I passed my mochi breakfast between my hands every two seconds. As one hand grasped onto the chewy dough, the other quickly jumped into a pocket. This went on the whole way to the subway. I should have just waited to eat it there. I literally just shoved half of it in my mouth and decided it was best that I swallow it whole rather than try to hold it with my bare hands. Brr.

My walk to the subway -from- work tonight was pretty miserable, but at least my hands were snuggly placed in my pockets the whole time. When I got to the station, I discovered my train wasn’t running. By that point (after 11pm) I was kind of over all of NY’s shenanigans for the day… i was pissed. I cursed. Outloud. And everything. Until I heard a bagpiper waling some tunes at the other end of the station. When I walked by him, I felt the instrument’s vibration. The lady announcer voice came over the intercom to relay the latest delay. I’m not sure what it was, but suddenly the day’s aggravation and inconvenience just melted. In fact I thought it was funny. I even laughed. Outloud.

11.19: Before moving here (and after) I’ve read many ‘list’ articles associated with NYC. Most of them themed along the lines of… NYC is not what it appears OR Don’t Move Here Unless…. OR You get the point. Well exactly 6 months [today] after living in NYC I’ve decided to make a list of my own.

1. You will get a job. It will not be your dream job. But you’ll get an income.

2. You will not get paid more just because living expenses here are exponentially higher.

3. You will find your dream apartment. It is possible. It is also the hardest thing you will ever do. The process will likely cause you to loose some hair.

4. You will miss home.

5. You stop wanting to walk [everywhere] eventually. You don’t have time for that. It’s also cold.

6. You will spend half of your day going to buy something in specific. Need socks? Better plan the better half of Saturday.

7. You will find people who will help you. Don’t take those folks for granted; there’s not many.

8. You don’t know what rush hour is until you’ve been smushed between the man with poor mouth hygiene, the lady who enjoys dumping her cheap perfume all over her body, and the dumbass tourist who didn’t take off his backpack which keeps smashing into you every bumpy second.

9. You will no longer be the only foreign kid. Foreign kids are everywhere.

10. You will eventually find yourself getting super annoyed with people. Although at the end of day, you’ll still appreciate them.

11. You will not enjoy grocery shopping nearly as much when you have to push and shove to grab that last broccoli, stand in line for at LEAST 15 minutes, & carry the items several blocks from the bus stop while the wind plummets your face and slowly frostbites your fingers. [Having fresh groceries at home is kind of like having a trophy for the Grocery Olympics.]

12. You will not get used to the noise for a couple months. Sleep will come eventually.

13. You will fall so hopelessly in love with the city that you’ll wonder if you’re dreaming. Every. Single. Day.

14. You will gain some weight. No, walking everywhere does not help. The proportion of drool-worthy food to blocks-to-walk is 100:1.

15. You will find most of your friends have online dating profiles. Apparently, unless you jump onboard that train your love life is hopeless. Oh well.

16. You will loose track of time. The time is always running away from you. You have to run faster.

17. You will loose hope that you’ll make it. Just keep going.

_____

11.20: One thing I’m not loving about New York? How quickly the time flies. I’m desperately trying to fill my schedule with more awesome to-do’s but I’m finding it incredibly difficult.

11.21: Today I bought socks. And snow boots. I am officially [less] scared of the upcoming winter. I also bought a hat and some gloves. Perhaps my fingers will stop feeling like icicles every time I leave my home.

Everyone I’ve spoken to seems to have their own secrets to surviving winter. I think I’ll just have to wait and find out my own methods. Something tells me the sauna, ice-cream, & Sex & The City re-runs will be key (along with those snow boots).

11.22: No pictures this week. I keep intending to do it, but somehow time just slips by me. I have several personal projects that need my attention, and somehow photos have gotten pushed towards the end of the line. Which should not be the case. I’m working on this.

[Quick iPhone shot on my way to work.]

Aside from getting to see my parents for a short while (layover at JFK), my day was spent nursing and re-nursing a hangover. Thanking the internet gods for seamless.

Week 22: Two Broads & a Renoir.

Published on October 19, 2014January 24, 2015 by Regina PoLeave a comment

The only interesting thing that happened to me all week – besides the usual [ crammed subways, unpredictable weather, & beautiful fall foliage] – was a conversation that I happened to eaves drop on at the Met. I’m kind of broke (and by kind of I mean really)… brunch and fancy speakeasies are freaking expensive. Going out on the town (or brunching it) will run you more than a couple pretty pennies. With that said, I was a little frivolous with my budget in the first part of the month (something I’m usually really good with managing) and am now having to tone it down.

The most exciting thing that happened to me all week was when I sat on a bench in the middle of the Renoir room in the impressionist section of the Met for 20 minutes. When visiting the Met I like choosing one painting that tickles my fancy at that moment, finding a nearby seat, & soaking in the art while observing others [observing]. Normally, I experience a period of incredible fulfillment followed by a strange sense of hostility; watching others pass by some of my favorite pieces without so much as a heartbeat. Once I’ve gotten over my dumb ego I experience a period of boredom… this is usually where my inner monologue really picks up. Anyway, it’s not normally a note worthy outing. This time, however, I got extremely lucky. I sat right next to a couple of elderly ladies who chose the same bench to perform their gossip hour… the conversation was obnoxiously entertaining. The lady closest to me (maybe a foot and a half) was as prim and proper as they come with a lovely lilac silk bow wraped about her gray-ish golden hair. At age 75 (?) her posture was better than mine. The other not-so-prim-or-proper lady was very clear about the fact that she had the only right opinion in the most brilliant Brooklyn accent I’ve heard yet. I don’t think she intended on being quite as loud as she was, but I could hear her in the room over. I’m guessing her hearing aid wasn’t working. The two broads paid no mind about the curly haired lady sitting next to them and carried on with their focus on Gilbert and Mary’s newest grandbaby and Sue’s poor decision making skills – all as if they were sitting alone on the stoop of their Brooklyn brownstone. I especially enjoyed their remarks on gay marraige – I was preparing myself for a series of outdated and ugly statements, but was rather surprised when Marge (I named the red head) said ‘What the hell are they waiting for? Marty and Ben have been lovers since the day they met, even Ma didn’t try to argue those two.’ Marty & Ben must have sparked Marge’s memory because that took her on a rant I’m not sure I was able to follow. I waivered in and out of their conversation as I followed (visually) folks walking past one of history’s greatest gifts as though it was the latest movie poster.

All in all those 20 minutes fed me more than the rest of the week’s lunches and dinners combined. I’ve slowly found myself slumping into a funk [and not the groovy kind] lately… my trip to the Met was exactly what the groove master order (by ‘groove master’ I mean me). I did some other fun things this weekend… pickle day (3 blocks of ALL things pickled… I ate my weight in salt and loved every single second), Central Park, & a Halloween inspired ladies evening (Hocus Pocus was just as perfect as I remember).

I’ll try to make my next post a little more interesting. Here are some pictures from this week… all taken with my iPhone… I’m too lazy to caption, just use your imagination.

Happy Fall 🙂

Week 21: Forecast Fiction, Opera, & BRUNCH.

Published on October 11, 2014January 24, 2015 by Regina PoLeave a comment

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m constantly in shock in regards to how long it has been since I landed in NYC… the time is flying. In the off chance you have no idea what this blog is about… Here is my first entry in NYC.

10.9: The weather is becoming frequently bipolar. The changes are getting more drastic as summer welcomes fall; although somewhat reluctantly. I’ve learned to ignore the forecast, a fiction I choose to humor myself with in the mornings.

Don’t get me wrong, this fall weather is unbelievably refreshing. After living in a climate that consisted of varying degrees of hot (fucking kill me hot, everything sticks to me hot, two weeks of I can finally walk 10 feet without sweating warm, & an additional couple weeks of sweater weather) I have never loved walking around outside as much as I do now. Fall is my new favorite time of the year; although I could do with a nice consistency every now and then.

My knee hurts. I feel like an old woman. Hopefully several sauna sessions will do the trick.

After enjoying an insanely calming sauna sesh at the gym tonight I decided to forgo my stoop and take a stroll around my hood. While drooling over people’s incredibly beautiful brownstone homes my ears hooked onto a trio of gentlemen playing something similar to one of Django Reinhardt’s tunes. An upright base, a guitar, and a mandolin. A trio of harmonizing voices over 70. The sheer gold curtain managed to shield from view just a small portion of the gold wall-papered living area tastefully adorned in vintage framed maps. The giant bay window was left open, it was only right that I stood under to soak in the joy streaming from within. It wasn’t awkward at all.

This week’s lineup:

*Put up my ‘headboard’. It’s cricked… just like me. After making the 3rd whole in the wall I decided to just let it be. I’m not perfect, neither is my headboard.

*Enjoyed a night out at a real speakeasy from the 1920’s (The Backroom) in the Lower East Side.

You had to walk through this underground tunnel to get to the speakeasy. The band played swing tunes and I’m fairly certain the folks getting down had a few swing dancing lessons in their day. The interior was really beautiful [gorgeous wood molding, giant chandeliers, & gold wall paper] and I drank my sour whiskey from a giant tea cup.

* Enjoyed a day off on Tuesday by cooking Brunch for Tina [notice that Brunch is spelt with a capital B] & a night at the Opera with the Roomies.

Cucumber, grilled corn, browned onions and garlic, scallions all mixed into a fresh Haas avocado. You don’t even know. (if you’re going to try this, don’t forget chili peppers and a pinch of dried mustard)

I made some crispy (toasted on the stove) corn quesadillas with spicy red lentils & cheese inside to go with the guac.

Sea salt & white truffle olive oil soaked edamame.

Shakespeares Sonnets. Not exactly the Opera I was expecting (there was no actual ‘opera’ vocals), but amazing visual and conceptual design (the lighting alone makes me want to see this again).

I wore makeup for the first time since freshmen year in college. I felt like an alien form of myself.

10.11: It’s Saturday. It is also the first day since moving here that I honestly feel cold. I wore my floor length wool coat to Brunch today. I wore this coat one time in Orlando and felt ridiculous. Today, I just felt cold.

Home Updates:

It’s Saturday night. I have a headache from the unlimited mimosas at Brunch so I decided to stay home… write a few things down and catch up on my Pushkin biography. As much as I enjoy going out with friends and living out my 20s in style, I gotta say… I really dislike going out on the weekends. Counter intuitive? Nope. I really enjoy socializing and soaking up a great conversation with a stiff drink (or two) in hand, but going to just about any bar in Manhattan or otherwise on a Saturday night you’re almost guaranteed complete lack of space and conversation. I have no desire to shout at someone trying to understand if they just said ‘I love this place’ or ‘I hate butterflies’ … what do these have in common? I wouldn’t be able to hear either. Will I ever go out on a Saturday? Yes. Will I continue to complain about the noise? Yes.

Note: Going out for live music is all too different, the need for conversation is replaced with groovy tune enjoyment.

10.11: Today was a perfect Sunday. New Zealand cuisine for Brunch (and an unfinished game of chess) with Miss Chelsea & Casey, followed by a brief tour of the Brooklyn Flea down the street, classical piano at Wash sq., a delicious mango lassi and a trip to East Village Cheese (it was everything I hoped for and more) with a new friend triggering my forgotten love of historic art heists & forgeries. Happy Sunday.

I’ve been thinking about my dreams. I’ve had many dreams and ideals that I thought I wanted for my adult self throughout my life; many of which I threw away (for good and bad reasons). One of my earliest dreams (aside from being a ballerina) was to become a writer. I remember writing a story about Mr. & Mrs. Pencil who got robbed of their eraser hats (I was in 3rd grade; ok?). I was a tiny Regina, but I still remember feeling so proud when I got to read my story in front of the class. I immediately fell in love with stringing words together. Riding in a car one day shortly after and having someone ask me what I wanted to do ‘be’ when I grew up (something grown-ups ask WAY too much of). I was excited to tell the person that I wanted to be a writer and immediately crushed when they bluntly informed me that ‘writing’ is not a practical occupation. I honestly remember my heart breaking. I was wondering the other day… what if I didn’t throw out the idea of becoming a writer when I was a kid? What if I held on to it and practiced while growing up? My writing is nothing short of poor grammar, cheesy cliches, and incorrectly used vocabulary (some of which, I’m fairly certain are made up words). I’ve had several other ‘dreams’ and passions along the way, most of which I let run their course. Some of which I’m still progressing. Writing, however, never stood a chance. It’s never too late to practice.

If only I knew then that practical occupations are just as much fiction as today’s weather channel’s forecast.

I feel so lucky.

Week 20: Molly in Transit, Miss Jenny, & My Roomies.

Published on October 5, 2014January 24, 2015 by Regina PoLeave a comment

It’s Sunday… I’m just now coming up to write something. I woke up to 48 degree weather and immediately armed myself with two sweatshirts.

Papaya dog at 2am. Cheese & Sauerkraut.

This week: (in no order)

– work — Getting easier all the time.

– Both the roomies joined the gym so now I’ve got buddies. Did I mention there was a sauna?

– I got frozen yogurt delivered to my home. I’m not proud of it.

– Bowery Hotel made me feel like I was back in the time of good taste and classy cocktails. (http://www.theboweryhotel.com)

– $13 huge bowl of Ramen. Worth it. Best Ramen I’ve had so far at Ramen Misoya.

– Beer Pong in the back yard of an UWS apartment. (I didn’t play… still not something I’d expected to see).

– Drunks on the subway. (I never noticed how many intoxicated individuals rode the subway at 2am; until now. Also, I thought calling for Molly was unique to music fests… I was wrong.)

– Another trip to Target and Marshalls… I would love to say this was the last. It’s not.

– JENNY. (After mentioning the need to take a picture, I forgot to take a picture.)

– Our fridge is leaking.

– Fridge is getting fixed.

– The nook is starting to come together… kind of.

– Sunday Brunch with the roomies. It’s been a while.

– Found another local farmers market on our walk home from brunch. Bought some lavender.

All in all this week was great. After the horror stories of Craigslist roommates, I felt certain I was going to hit the jackpot of all crazies. Thanking the apartment gods instead; my roommates are the best.

Week 19: Intellectual Hiatus, Brooklyn Bridge, & a Suana.

Published on September 29, 2014January 24, 2015 by Regina PoLeave a comment

It’s mid-late September. The summer has come and gone. I can’t believe I’ve lived in NYC for over 4 months. WHAT?! Every day (I really mean this) I find myself shocked with where my life has brought me. I cannot explain how happy I am that I made an impulse decision to move here. I’m not where I thought I would be by 24. I’m not working my dream job. What the hell is my dream job? I’m not making the big bucks. I don’t get to vacation every day and I’m fairly certain I’m going to have to stick to a diet of quinoa with beans for the next couple of weeks. I can say with absolute certainty that I would not be quite as happy if I had made any other decision. All of my impulses and rash decisions (these make up the majority of my decisions) were based on my gut. My gut knows whats up.

9.25: It’s getting cold outside. I don’t think it’s gotten below 55 F quite yet, but I’m already terrified. I’ve been prepping myself mentally and physically (do you think I’ve subconsciously been putting on weight to prepare for the winter?). I’m not feeling great and the nights of hot tea and 30 Rock re-runs have already begun. I haven’t gone out in over two weeks (whaaa??), but at least I’ve gone back to the gym. Today was dreary and wet outside. And chilly.

I’ve got to start taking better care of myself.

9.27: It’s Saturday. This week was as smooth as my right cheek (I’ve got very soft skin). The last few weeks have been a true test on my patience and I’ve made it out alive and sane. And not sick (mostly). I have recently abandoned my intellectual hiatus from real-world current events by starting to read the news a bit here and there on weekend mornings. Every now and again I’ll sneak in a soul-crushing article on a break, but c’mon… baby steps. I’m still not even close to caught up on most important issues. I’m also not, by any stretch of the imagination, implying that by reading the news I’m stopping capitalism from swallowing up our natural resources while finding the cure for a virus that turns people into viral human fluid fountains and simultaneously preventing grumpy old men from having authority over my body . I’m just saying, I’m excited to find out how much the human race has shit on the world since I stopped reading the news (about 8 months ago ).

On another note. I got a library card! FINALLY! I had [get library card] on my checklist of things to do for MY FIRST WEEK here. Almost 5 months later… I did it! I needed proof of residence — I ordered a fan, what more proof does one need, really? I discovered a market on my walk to the library – did I mention its like a 7 in walk?! – thats just outside the front steps.

My first two books: 1. The Bowery A History of Grit, Graft, and Grandeur 2.Pushkin

I’m already not a fan of The Bowery book… not very well written. I am enjoying the Pushkin biography quite a bit! For those of you not of Russian descent, Pushkin is a huge literary figure from the 1800’s. He was a poet. A darn good one. So I am told. That is all I know so far… also that he is a household name in Russia. Dare I say kind of like Shakespeare?

If you’re reading this and you didn’t know I was Russian, you don’t know me very well… and if you don’t know me, I’d like to know how you got to reading this? Leave a comment, won’t ya?

I also walked the Brooklyn Bridge today. The views were epic, but the crazy amount of people walking the bridge was a HUGE turn off. Here are some of the photos… I’m too lazy to edit any of them and the lighting was crazy inconvenient so deal with it.

*oh Hey! That’s me!*

*That guy on the left had the most epic Brooklyn accent.*

9.28: I had joined a gym earlier this week. It has a sauna. 5 Month ago Regina would kill present Regina for the amount of money I’m spending to go… but its less than 1 minute walk away and did I mention they have a sauna? Today I cleaned up a bit, fixed my shoddy dresser (I used glue… lets see how long this lasts), finally picked up the lights from my floor and used a hammer and staples instead of duck tape to hang them… I also ran some errands which always take a million times longer on the weekends.

I’m making plans to explore my hood a bit more next week and I think I’m getting a special visitor [WHO can it be?!]. I’m also making plans to go to the Met Opera (SO excited for this). Hope you have a wonderful next week!

Week 18: Building a Home & the People’s Climate March.

Published on September 21, 2014January 25, 2015 by Regina PoLeave a comment

My week in a nutshell: Ordering furniture never-ending-hell, IKEA still sucks and I hope it burns in a fiery hell that smells similar to freshly cleaned non-synthetic material, decorating makes my insides sing jolly songs, & the People’s Climate March was epic. I also realized that most of my thinking is done on a train and I’ve mentioned this before, but I’ll mention it again. I LOVE riding the subway.

One evening on my way home from work the train was packed pretty tight… and as the train swayed the passengers [involuntarily] followed. I realized of all the places in this city that I feel like I belong the most to the [sometimes short-fused, mal-showered, and caffeine-addicted] amazing NYC family is on the train.

Ordering furniture sucks. Although the delivery went ok this time, I had loads of fun trying (unsuccessfully) to carry the 100 lb box up 3 flights of stairs. What the hell is an elevator?! I just ended up opening the box downstairs and carrying pieces up in chunks. That, too, was loads of fun (am I using too many commas?).

Putting together a poorly constructed piece of furniture is unbelievably entertaining. Better then playing with legos! With legos everything fits, it’s WAY more fun when the pieces don’t match. So. Much. Fun.

I took these pictures while we were still fresh with optimism. Thankfully Megan was there to help. Otherwise I’d still be dresser-less. I ordered this dresser from Overstock.com after reading reviews that it was well-made. The reviewers must have supplemented their sanity with quite the concoction of alcohol and carelessness. Mimosas were had, but clearly not enough for me to forget the amount of fun this was.

I’d show you the finished product, but 2 screws were missing and now I’m 1 drawer down. I’ll be fixing this issue soon. We also put my wall decal up… with some hardship… it is now in 2 pieces.

I hung my mirror. It’s pretty heavy. I hope it doesn’t fall. I’ve also covered the seating cushion in the living room with a cloth I purchased today… the home is coming together.

Since September began I’ve had not much else on my mind except for moving. Making my new place a home has been overwhelming me and I’ve decided to take a breather. I’ve done little of anything else (except for the lovely evening I had this week at my friend’s new UWS apartment)… so next week I’m definitely going to do some exploring.

Then there was the whole gathering of some 310,000 people from around the world. It was inspiring to see so many people rallying to raise awareness to the importance of action against climate change. History was made. I was able to capture some of the experience in photos, but I also got some neat video which I’ll use in my soon-to-be-edited NYC clip.

Week 17: The Angry Inch & My New Home

Published on September 11, 2014January 25, 2015 by Regina Po2 Comments

Last week (because of a premature post) I didn’t tell you about my first Broadway Show (since moving). My friend Chelsea and I went go to see Hedwig & the Angry Inch with Andrew Rannells. He was amazing. It was amazing. I was super bummed that I didn’t get to see Neil Patrick Harris, but this version was pretty incredible! I’ll definitely have to catch NPH in his next Broadway venture.

9.10. Whoa. This week has been about how far my buttons can be pushed. In all honesty, worse things have happened in the world so I don’t feel I should go on and on about my relatively meager issues… I’m fairly certain it wouldn’t be very entertaining to read through anyway.

All in all, I’ve learned that I never -ever- want to move again. I mean it. Maybe if I have all of my things already in one place and just hire some strong folks to carry all of said things up and down stairs it wouldn’t be such a pain in the ass. In my case, I’ve had to order and re-order and order again only to miss the shipment by being at work. Even ordering things from the internet is harder here. Convenience shot out the door when I moved in the first place.

With that said… I’VE MOVED. Hallelujah!!! I have a home. And it is BEAUTIFUL. Once my roomies and I have somewhat settled we’ll be able to fill the apartment in quite nicely. I love decorating almost as much as I love shoes. [Almost] My bedroom should be fairly finished within 2 weeks or so. I’ll be posting pictures of the homey-er version soon.

I took the following photos at night… before writing this post just to get an idea of the space.

Yes, my room is window-less. The only downfall to this scenario. I’m very creative… I’ll make it work.

My neighborhood is as pleasant as it gets. It’s adorable in just about every sense of the word and I’d like to get my camera out and about sooner than later, but for now this picture will suffice.

On another note, until I go get my Brooklyn Library card [WOOOHOOO] I’ve been borrowing bookings from Chelsea. Most of my reading is done on the train.

I don’t recall ever reading this book in school. I came across it on Chelsea’s shelf and went at it. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long… I’m re-reading it for the 3rd time right now. I keep having this feeling every time I’ve finished it that I missed something important.

I know I’ve been saying this quite a bit lately… but I’m determined to get something quality on here sooner than later. Next weekend (September 21st) is the Climate March here in NYC and I’ll definitely be there. Hope to bring you some photos of the events. I’m also going to stop writing the post in one sitting. I’ve always been a 5 drafts kinda gal.

All this week I’ve been carrying around a bunch of this negative energy… mainly because I was exhausted from jumping hoops and getting physically exhausted (Did I mention moving here is no joke?). I’ve had help. A bunch of help from really great friends that I’m not sure I could have survived the past month or so without.

But almost every single day on my way back from work riding of the Manhattan bridge into Brooklyn I’ve had this overwhelming joy fill me up. Every day the trigger was something different. Monday it was the beautiful brunette sitting next to me chatting away in a language I couldn’t begin to pin down the origin. Another day it was the elderly couple sitting quietly side by side reading the same newspaper. Every single time I could literally feel my spirit lifting.

I feel so lucky.

Week 16: 4 flights of stairs, Intoxicated Tacos, & A Tattoo.

Published on September 4, 2014January 25, 2015 by Regina Po2 Comments

I promise, I haven’t jumped ship. I have started and failed to write too-many-a-blogs. I’ve just been somewhat pre-occupied with NYC torturing me a little bit. Just a little.

9.4: I’m currently sitting in a coffee shop in Park Slope. Steps away from my soon-to-be-if-all-goes-as-planned home. Yes. HOME. As of today, I’m technically without a bed to call my own. An air mattress just doesn’t count. I found the perfect new place in the perfect neighborhood, but as I’ve mentioned the process of finalizing a place here is much like pulling teeth – it seems like it takes forever (I’ve been dancing this find-a-home dance for 2 months) and all the while theres this agonizing headache. At this point, I’ve placed in my application and just waiting to get approval so that I can put down a deposit. I CANNOT wait. I’m still in a slow boiling panic mode… what if I don’t get it?!? I’ve been graciously accepted as a new home guest by my friend Chelsea. She also just moved into a new place – a studio. I can’t believe how much of a pain this whole process is.

Moving in general tends to be a bitch. Moving in NYC is torture. After renting a Zipcar Chelsea and I packed up the car and took two trips from upper upper Manhattan (Wash Heights) to Brooklyn (Park Slope). I think we were in pretty good spirits until the second trip of 4 flights of stairs. Did I mention we’re on the 4th floor? No elevator. I got my workout and then some. Thankfully Chelsea’s boyfriend helped us, but don’t be fooled… I’ve never been so sore.

Then there’s the whole thing where the was no AC. You see how my shoulder has a lovely glisten to it? That’s sweat. Lots and LOTS of sweat.

Last night was the first night I’ve had AC since we moved Monday. The AC was brought over by the movers on Tuesday and had broken on the way over… after 2 hours at your friendly (not) Best Buy we were finally able to get a replacement. Contrary to the numerous videos on youtube providing How-To’s on installing a window unit – it is NOT that freaking easy. I still couldn’t install everything properly, but at least there was SOME air last night. Hallelujah.

All in all this past week or so has been a lovely headache after another. It will ALL be worth it if my soon-to-be-home will actually be my home. If all goes well I move in a couple of weeks. Cross some fingers for me, please.

You know my favorite part of Park Slope?

I get to walk to the Subway in the midst of the cutest freaking place on Earth. It feels SO homey.

On an unrelated note… As I’ve been going through this long and frustrating process I started to pay attention to things that NYC has that Orlando didn’t. Difficulty in finding a place being one of them. I’ve also noticed how terrible customer service can be here and nobody cares. I was expecting less smiling faces on the streets, but even the one mall (it was really weird to be in a mall) in BK had some seriously grumpy employees. I also wanted to share my Terrible-Taco experience I had a couple weeks ago that I didn’t get to blog about…

I don’t want to get anyone in trouble or put any ‘bad’ reviews out into the internet world (not that anyone reads this) so I won’t say the name of the establishment, but one Friday night a few weeks ago I was really hungry. As per usual. And I was out with some friends going towards the Lower East Side… we decided tacos were in order so we stopped at a favorite spot of their’s… A tiny closet-like space with a counter and space behind it for the dude to make the tacos. When we got there the place was bumping with bass (good sign?) and tunes I could definitely get down to. The dude behind the counter looked very friendly… a bit too friendly? He was unmistakably intoxicated. Not drunk, no. No… this must have been a creative combination of drugs. He took something like 45 minutes to make tacos that should have taken a maximum of 10 minutes. He would grab a paper plate and likely forget what he was doing so he stood there for a minute or two and then continue making pit stops in-between the beans and the meat. With intermittent face contortion and slurring of words the dude finally made our tacos (with the exception of one which must have slipped his mind). The food was not bad… pretty tasty, until I found a pebble in my taco. Not a tiny little dust pebble. A pebble of about 1.5 cm in diameter. Thankfully I didn’t bite down hard… Honestly I just wanted to let it go. Speaking with someone THAT intoxicated is impossible… their comprehension skills (whatever is left of them) are non-existent. Anyway, my friend insisted I should at least get my money back… so we attempted to do just that. The dude was nice, but astonished… I can’t be sure what he really thought as I’m inclined to ignore a conversation with anyone incapable of producing full sentences. In the end of the back and forth I got $5 out of the $9 I paid. I’m fairly sure he thought he gave me everything.

The surprising thing to me… people were still coming to this taco spot. They clearly saw how f*cked up this guy was. A guy that would be making their taco. And they still flocked our way… they didn’t even care that I had a pebble in my food. If this happened in Orlando, the popos would be there in 5 minutes and the place would be shut down. As terrible of an experience this was, I kind of loved it.

_____________________________

So as of today we still don’t have wifi at home and I forget when Chelsea said that will go in so I’m not sure when I’ll get the chance to write before the week is over. And since I have barely written anything in the past month I want to make sure to post this early.

Here is a photo of Chelsea and me celebrating our arrival to the neighborhood.

In case you were wondering wtf is that on my arm… I got a tattoo. And I love it. Mom, if you’re reading this stop reading now. I’ll give you some space. K Thanks. Have a great week everyone!

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: