New Year, New Adventure, New York

And.... she's back! After what felt like the longest hiatus on this planet... I'm back out of town. And much like I've done for the past 3 summers (and spring semester in Germany) I'm going to attempt to keep all of the craziness recorded here for the interested eye to read.

Where now?  Back to the big city to intern with an accounting firm until mid March! The city that captured my heart during my first visit in 2010.  There's just no place like New York!

I headed to the airport on January 1st with my three amigos! New year, new adventure! Mom drove, dad worked on his new years resolution, and Maia willingly got up at 6:30 am to come with us.  I'm the luckiest.  On the way up we talked about the excitement of going to the airport.  Always a new adventure, always something new.  Except for when you're actually leaving... you know that part still sucks.  Airports are such interesting places.  They are great for people watching... I remember waiting for Maia in Berlin last June... I remember tearing up watching grandparents waiting to see their grandchildren, who clearly lived outside of the country and were coming to visit.  The grandmother was holding a doll, and as soon as her little granddaughter came out, she handed it to her, they hugged, and I could see tears in the grandmother's eyes.  It all brought back many memories of goodbyes and happy tearful hugs that followed our arrivals back home to Uruguay.  As I said, airports are magnificent places, you get to witness overwhelming hellos and sad goodbyes all in one scene.

In my case, I said goodbye to my favorite three and headed off for my temporary home. I have to say, it is wonderful knowing that after all of my fun trips I always get to come home to my three amigos.

So with that in mind, I headed to the city.  My connection in Charlotte was very tight and thanks to US Airways (they told our flight crew the wrong time to report) we were delayed in Memphis.  Oh yes... My friend Matthew, who is also interning in NYC, was pretty chill about it, but the planner in me got the best of me. I went and asked and they put me on the later flight out of Charlotte.  Hey! It gave me an extra hour to have lunch! So that was fine! Matthew, on the other hand, didn't get the flight changed because he didn't make it to the front of the line by the time we boarded.  Turns out.... he still made our original connecting flight in Charlotte.  So much for planning!!! My luggage made that flight too! Just not me.  By the time I got on the next flight and made it to NYC, my luggage had been in the city for a while.  Pretty comical if you ask me!

Once in the city, I called the lady, who I'm staying with and took a cab to the apartment. As I did in Germany, I'm not posting her name, because I don't know if she wants it posted... haha!   So I'm officially a spokesperson for Airbnb.com.  Y'all.... That's how we found the place in Berlin, the place in Edinburgh, in Cinque Terre, in Cork, in Galway, in Dublin, in London, in Berlin (again), in Innsbruck, and in Paris!!! And now again in New York! It's magic the wonderful places you can find when you just trust people's reviews.  The site is made so that people with spare bedrooms can make a little extra cash.  They list the bedroom (or apartment if they do that), specify if breakfast is included, and see what they get! The guests review them and the host reviews you! It's magical.

Thanks to Airbnb, I'm now living in New York, on the upper west side (in a perfect location with Matt Damon and Kevin Bacon living very near my place... oh yeah.. AND TINA FEY), with a perfectly decorated and furnished room and plenty of closet space! The lady I live with is precious! She is an actress, and she also has worked in the catering industry.  She is super interesting and has millions of stories that range from meeting Oprah, to chatting with Blake Lively, etc.  It's so much fun to sit and chat! After I arrived at around 5pm, I unpacked all of my clothes into the lovely closet and rested the night away.  My situation is soooo different from the last time I came to the city to intern.  This is not a college dorm, I didn't have to bring sheets or towels, and the place is homey!!! It has a view and a kitchen!  I LOVE IT!






My first full day in the city was wonderful! I woke up at 9 and my new roommate made me a delicious Irish oatmeal with bananas and maple syrup.   After over an hour of chatting about her life and my life.... I finally decided to get dressed and head out.  Where?  Eh... I just wanted to walk. This city never ceases to amaze me.  The diversity of people is incredible! The shops, the restaurants, the parks... it's breathtaking. So I headed down Central Park West and walked all the way down to Broadway and 53rd, where I went into the theater for Cinderella.  I have been slightly obsessed with the show and the cast members... and after they announced that Laura Osnes would soon be replaced by CARLY RAE JEPSEN, I knew I had to see it before that happened.  So I got the cheapest tickets they had for Sunday's matinee and I figured that would be a wonderful thing to do before work takes over my life.

From there I walked down to Times Square and sat at my favorite coffee shop.. Caffe Bene.  It's like a magical hideaway in the middle of the crazy chaos that is Times Square.... Honestly if work and the theater weren't right there, I would avoid Times Square at all cost... It's like a theme  park! NUTS!  Anyway, I digress. I sat with my coffee for a few hours.  First I realized I was sitting by some Argentinean college students and since their conversation was too intriguing, I had to move ... I was there with a purpose! A book!!! Yes... I said it. A book.   New year... new me! My awesome co-worker/friend Jennifer gave me this awesome David Sedaris book, so I'm loving it!

After a couple of hours, I realized it was starting to get dark, so I headed back uptown.  Decided to walk the 40 blocks and enjoy the crisp weather.  I stopped at Columbus Circle at Whole Foods and purchased some food for lunch/dinner and then continued the walk to my precious apartment.  Once there, I lounged around and chatted with my roommate/landlady. She recommended the movie "the Apartment," which is the story that the musical Promises,Promises is based on... sooo naturally I watched that on Netflix.  Then her friend brought over some of the movies nominated for the Golden Globes, so she told me we could watch them whenever...


Then we started talking actors... priceless. It's funny to hear an actor talking about an actor.  They are so knowledgeable! Then... we talked about TV shows... and then SCANDAL came up.  I revealed my recent obsession with it and she said she was caught up as well. (GREAT SIGN, we are going to get along just fine!) As we started talking about it, she realized that she was one episode behind... so naturally we sat around and watched it! By the end of it, she went into her room and took out seasons 1 and 2 of Entourage.  It is apparently another good TV series that she recommends I watch.  Since a blizzard was about to hit New York and I don't start work until Monday, I accepted! Then... she gave me a book! (The Talented Mr. Ripley)... WOW! What is up with this!?!?  For those of you that don't know... I am the WORST about reading. I do it if I have to or if I really get into a book.  I hate putting a book down because I won't pick it up again on purpose. Sooooo... either I read it in one sitting or I force myself at some point to pick it up.

Right now--- the following are still on my list to read:  (if you're going to judge, stop now... there's no need for negativity, I'm aware of my standards).

• The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde)
• Happily Ever After: The Life-Changing Power of a Grateful Heart (Trista Sutter --- yes she was the first Bachelorette, yes I love the book, yes stop now if you're judging)
• Holiday on Ice (David Sedaris -- almost done with the last pages, soooo funny)
• The Longest Ride (Nicholas Sparks -- got it for my birthday in October, started it to escape my sometimes depressing thesis research and found that it deals with a man's story concerning the Holocaust... So I put it down and now need to get back on it)
• The Talented Mr. Ripley (Patricia Highsmith) 
• The Fault in our Stars (John Green) 

So... where was I? Oh! I went to bed watching Entourage (instead of reading).

Friday morning I woke up to about 4-6 inches of snow.  So I made the conscious decision that I would make lounging my day's chore.  My landlady/roommate/new friend was supposed to go nanny, but due to the snow, they cancelled.  So... we lounged.  In the morning, I laid in bed and watched backstage interviews of Broadway stars... then I made a delicious salad for lunch.  At that point she asked me about my thesis... which led to about an hour explanation... poor woman!  Then she started telling me about all the fancy events she catered.  It's unreal! She showed me clips of the movies she was in too! So cool!!!

 Then... she went out for popcorn and we started the movie marathon.  First up: 12 Years a Slave.  Talk about hard to watch! Wonderfully done, but sooo sooo hard to watch.  Halfway through the film, we took a break.  She started a marinara sauce and I made us salads.  As the marinara sauce simmered, we ate salads and watched the movie.  Then another break, some ravioli making, and we returned to finish the film with some wine and delicious goat cheese and roasted tomato ravioli!    Next... Blue Jasmin -- Woody Allen.  GREAT movie! Also not a light film like my usual picks, but it was lighter!


After the movies I headed to bed thinking she was going to bed too! Instead we ended up talking about traveling and slave trade in Rhode Island.  Apparently the documentary Traces of Trade is a must see (historically speaking). After about an hour and a half later, she headed to bed and I started writing.  It was a perfect snowy lazy day! I'm so thankful that I didn't have to go to work.  I know that next week the temperatures will be lower and it will be painful to get out, but I can enjoy it for now! I am so lucky!

I am so happy with my living situation! And I have a new friend, the cat, it is perfect.

Ok, I think I'm done.  I'm sorry for the length, but I hadn't decided whether I would blog this semester... so I was a bit behind.  I have concluded that blogging might not be regular or specific these months (since it is predicted that I will be working from early morning to late nights and sometimes Saturdays), but I will make an effort to stay updated!  I'll make sure to keep up of my days in my new gratitude journal and on my lazy days I'll share the highlights.

 ---- Oh, for those of you wondering what a gratitude journal is... refer back to the books I'm reading.  Trista Sutter's book gave the idea of keeping a journal where every night you write 5 things you are grateful for.  Like things that happened, you remembered, etc.  I love it so far and I'm hoping to keep it up!!!

Ok, I'm really going to bed now, good night!