Two posts in one week?! Can that happen?

Yes, it can happen. It can especially happen when you nanny for a living and no one needs a nanny during the holidays. It can especially especially happen when you're snug inside watching a beautiful snowstorm sipping hot chocolate that you got from Santa. I'm noticing that being close to the Hudson and having a great diversity of building height in our neighborhood has led to a curious phenomenon of snowflakes falling up past our window. I think it's being caused by the heavy wind off the river and the fact that there's a big dip in building height right outside our window, so the wind bounces off those buildings and up vertically, taking the snow with it. Either way, it's really odd and lovely to look at, and I've clearly been thinking about it for the last twenty minutes. I realize that other than my christmas horror story (an ear update in a minute) I haven't posted much. I think I've figured out the problem: you see, I have a great many friends who are abroad at the moment doing various things. Two of my best friends, in fact, are in Korea and Guatemala, respectively. Their blogs are filled with international mystery, big adventures, and introspection on an epic scale. I, however, am not really experiencing any of that, because New York has quickly become my home. I don't really feel out of place anymore, I know my way around (for the most part), and I settled in almost instantly. While that's great for life in general, it doesn't make for edge-of-your-seat reading. But I've been collecting little tid-bits of life, and I'll post them for you here whilly-nilly. That's just how it's gonna be. And now for The Tid Bits of Life:

- ear update: much better, thank god. I'll still be using ear drops well into January, but I'm off the Vicodin for pain. There will be embarrassing orange ear plugs in the bath and shower from now on. 

- The snow storm stopped rather abruptly, but the wind continues, so now there are strange mystical white snow clouds being blown off the buildings. I love our view. 

- Sam just came home and showed me a picture on his phone of a sparrow who lives in the 59th street subway station, who he sees all the time. It was drinking from a subway puddle. 

- Sam also just showed me that his crazy boss got him a New York Yankee cap for Christmas. I have explained how he is not allowed to wear it in my presence, but he does not understand my loathing. Yankee caps in my house are NOT ok. 

- I have made a potentially life-changing discovery. Well, dining life changing, anyway. There is a generic chinese food place near our house called "China Sea." We had not previously tried it because there is an almost identical place even closer to us called "Eastern Garden." However, the beef and broccoli from Eastern Garden gave me the worst case of food poisoning in my life, so we're never eating there again. I also can never touch beef and broccoli, and would stay away from all such chinese food places, if they weren't so delicious and convenient. Anyways, back to China Sea. We've never actually seen China Sea, we just found it on the internet and were confused as to how we'd never seen it, so we decided to try it. My friends, here is the important thing about China Sea: dumplings. Glorious, glorious dumplings. Steamed to perfection, filled with tasty pork and fresh herbs, in amazingly generous proportions (10 for 4 bucks!!). I'm talking dumpling heaven. I have become seriously addicted to these things, I haven't even tried anything else from the restaurant. I could go on and on and on about these perfect specimens of dumpling-dom, but I won't, for your sakes. Oh, and here's the weird part: I'm not sure this place actually exists. I've been out to actively look for it, and it is not there. When we have food delivered, they never give us an actual paper menu. I think I may have discovered the secret phone number to dumpling heaven. I feel very privileged. 

- I love our apartment. It's so cozy. People have begun to compliment us on our apartment. I love that, I know it's vain of me, but I do. It even managed to host a twenty person goodbye party for my friend Matt (who, I'd like to point out, was the only person at that party I'd met more than once). Not something I plan on doing again, but I was proud to know it was possible. 

- I love our neighborhood. I always feel safe here, it's pretty, interesting things going on, and as my family found out for christmas, I can find some really strange things in the shops here. I wonder how Steven's "male treasure" tea is working out for him...

- Instant Netflix is the best invention in the history of mankind. Period. 

- I love my friends. Having Berta and Sarah here is really wonderful. And, unlike college, it's not like we're living together in a small compound, it's real life. We don't see each other every day, and when we do see each other, it's genuinely a special pleasure to hang out with them. I can also call in a panic when I have no idea where the heck I am, and they can usually help. 

- My play is coming along very nicely, the first act is mostly done. It's going slower than I thought, but that's a good thing because it means I'm putting lots of changes in. I won't bore you with lots of details, but right now there's a plan to maybe go to Scotland this summer? And do this play at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival? How freaking awesome would that be?!!!

- I'd forgotten how wonderful a working fridge is. Our drinks are cold. WE HAVE ACTUAL ICE. Life is amazing with a working fridge. 

That's all the bits I can think of just now, I was sure I had more than that.... oh well, for another day. Sam and I might try to venture out for a New Years adventure tonight, since our Christmas kind of got ruined by my stupid ear. But the weather, while lovely to look at, doesn't look like it'd be much fun to wander in, so we'll see. There will be thank you cards with pictures in them for all our lovely gifts. It might take till the end of the month, but it WILL happen, I promise you!! 

Love to all

A Christmas Story

Friends, I am writing this under the influence of Vicoden. A great deal of Vicoden. So if it's less than coherent, please forgive me. Why, you may ask, am I on oh-so-much lovely Vicoden? Well, I'll tell you: Santa was not so kind to me this year. 

I've had an earache for about a week now. It wasn't serious until Sunday night, which also happened to be my birthday. We had a couple friends over for dinner, and then Sam took me to see In The Heights (a fab new musical I've been dying to see. It was SO GOOD). However, the combination of the subway ride and the loud music way amped up the pain in my ear, so I started using home remedies on it- hot compresses, tylenols of various sorts, even slightly warmed olive oil (don't judge, the internet said it would work). But the pain just kept increasing, and increasing until Wednesday I couldn't take it anymore. Now a little fact about New York: there are lots of walk-in clinics, which is great, except they're ALL on Saturdays and Sundays. All of them. So I went to the emergency room; I had no other choice, and I really needed the antibiotics. After waiting for four hours, a doctor spent less than five minutes looking at my ear, prescribed some drops, and sent me on my merry way. 

Fast forward to the middle of Christmas Day. I've used the drops three times now, and they haven't been helping. In fact the pain is getting worse. In even more fact, I woke up from a nap crying and shrieking in pain. Sam and I can't figure out if the increased pain is just part of my disease, or if I'm having an allergic reaction. It being Christmas day, none of the phone numbers or websites or any contact stuff I got from the hospital is being put through. I'm still sobbing and Sam panics and calls 911 for advice. They promptly send EMT's (since that is, after all, their main job). Now Sam and I just want to know if this is an allergic reaction or if the pain is supposed to happen. That's all. But the neither the EMT's or the 911 folks will give us an opinion. Not even a carefully hedged one. And thus I took my first Ambulance ride... for an ear infection. No one has ever felt such extreme humiliation. Yes, I was in a lot of pain, but come on, an ear infection??!! I still feel ridiculous. 

And of course, as soon as we get to the hospital, I'm sent right back to the very waiting room I spent four hours in the day before. Unlike last time, I'm shuffled into the ER very promptly and given a bed/waiting area all to myself... which I then spend 6 hours in. Around the 4th hour I see the doctor, a very sweet old asian woman who promptly wanted to switch my drops (no one thought I'd actually had an allergic reaction, but clearly something was going on) and give me pain medication. Great. However, because of some hospital policy I didn't understand, she had to check with another doctor before she was allowed to do this. This man, a stately older fellow with perfectly white hair, thought the lady was insane and insisted that despite my throbbing ear I did not, in fact, have an ear infection: I had a toothache. They proceeded to argue loudly right there in my little bed area, taking turns shoving scopes into my ears, which hurt so badly I started crying again. Finally the small asian woman stood on her tiptoes and shook a finger in the man's face, yelling "This girl clearly in pain! EAR PAIN! You crazy and I will not send her to dentist for no reason! She need new medicine RIGHT NOW!" The man doctor huffed loudly and stalked away, followed by the lady doctor muttering loudly to herself in what I assume was her native language. About an hour later she called me over to the nurse's desk, handed me a prescription for Vicoden, a different brand of ear drops, and the name of a doctor who might accept my insurance who could check me out in about ten days. She patted me on the arm, told me to completely dismiss what the man doctor had told me, and said "Next time you come emergency room in pain, you make sure they give you pain medicine, ok? Make sure this don't happen again." 

And so I left once more (rescuing poor Sam from the waiting room, where he'd been the last 6 hours), travelled over 50 blocks into the bronx to find the one pharmacy open that late on Christmas day, and at long long last took some Vicoden. I've been on it ever since, and my ear is still not very happy. It feels all plugged and swollen and throbby, but I can't feel the pain, and so I'm content. Hopefully these new drops will start working soon, and I can take a shower (you're not allowed to get water in the ear while the infection is still bad), but I believe the worst is over. 

So that's my first New York Christmas. Not really what I had hoped for... but I really did feel cared for by my doctor, and the pharmacist rushed my order, and the taxi driver was willing to wait for us at the pharmacy, and so I still love this city. In the end, the people came through for me. Oh, and about five minutes ago our new super here at 75 Thayer St. delivered a new fridge!! Ours has been broken since Thanksgiving, so this is truly a Christmas miracle. Hopefully I'll talk to most of you soon once I can hear out of this ear again. 

Merry Christmas, and Love to all!!!

good-ish news

So as many of you know I'm currently surviving on babysitting jobs. I have sat for five different families to date, three of them on a regular basis. The last two weekends has been for the first family I interviewed with here (who waited a month to call me back, btw) and I just found out today that they're in the process of adopting a second child, and when they do they might hire me full time. Considering the length of the adoption process (and I have no idea where in that process they are), this could mean either a full time job fairly soon or waaaay down the line. 

By the way, every job I've worked for this family, the parents have stuck around in the apartment. They don't actually need a babysitter, as far as I can tell, they just don't want to deal with their daughter all day (she is a bit of a brat, but she's from a rich nyc family, they're ALL like that). It's really uncomfortable for me, but they haven't commented on it, so I guess it's normal for them. 

I also had an interview with a temp agency that went pretty well, but I'm not holding my breath as it's a huge agency with lots of applicants with way more office experience than me. But apparently not many people are good with Powerpoint nowadays, and I'm pretty comfortable there, so that was a plus for me. See mom and dad, I have one whole marketable skill! yay!

Oh, and Sam and I went and saw Avenue Q for a big discount, and literally every single person sitting by us, all 360 degrees, had run the new york marathon the day before. It was really creepy... I felt like an unfit island in a sea of muscles. But the show was fun, and none of them had seen it or knew anything about it, so it was even more fun re-discovering the show through their eyes. 

ok, time to crash and fight the cold I feel coming. Love to all! 

ACK!

I'm the worst blogger ever! If I hadn't received multiple messages about it this week, who knows how long I would have gone before updating?! 

Ok, I'm actually about to go have an adventure of some kind (that's what we tend to do, just decide to have an adventure and ride the subway until we find one) so here's a list of completely unorganized thought to quench your collective thirst:

- We may go see Avenue Q tonight, if it's at the half-price tickets booth

- Both small child and I have discovered that Sports Night (an excellent pre- West Wing,  Aaron Sorkin show) being on youtube is a dangerous, dangerous time-sucker. You are warned!

- I MET MANDY PATINKIN! SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAL!!!

- The afore-mentioned legend was starring in the excellent production of the Tempest we saw for Sam's birthday. I miss doing theatre. A lot. Gotta fix that...

- I am currently subsisting on babysitting gigs, and furiously applying  for ANY OTHER JOB IN THE UNIVERSE

- I have a library card now, and I really really enjoy riding the subway with a good novel. It's the best commute ever. 

- Speaking of subways, the other day the driver of the subway I was riding treated us to a 3-stop monologue about the glories of the Metro Transit Authority and how "it's gonna change your life from the ground up! Watch the rainbows!" and everyone on the train gave him a huge round of applause when he finished. love it. 

- I had the incredibly surreal experience of walking through an incredibly impoverished ghetto in Brooklyn, where I was looking for a cheap bowling alley with my friend matt, and seeing gangs of people blocking the street up ahead. It was 11 at night, I'm thinking I'm about to get mugged. We get close, and we see that it is a ghetto... a ghetto of Orthodox Jews. There was loud music coming from the houses, and for three blocks the streets were full of Orthodox Jews just wandering about. It was magical. And really, really weird. 

- I miss Whitman. Not all of it, but college life is pretty sweet.

- Our freezer is completely broken, and our fridge is slowly following the path of demise. Our super, Zef, who was so great when we were moving in, has apparently forgotten how to answer the telephone. This is worrisome. 

- As it gets colder, we're discovering that the main way our apartment is heated is through a single pipe located in our bathroom, which has some kind of steam pressure valve thing that loudly hisses out what we're assuming is heated air of some kind every now and then. It smells like a yeasty, honey bread dough, and really creeps me out.

- I think we have all the furniture we're going to buy! Now all we need are some plants and a few decorations for the wall, and it'll really feel like home. Pictures soon. 

Ok, that's all the thoughts I can muster right now, hopefully I'll never let the updating slip this long again. If I do, however, just badger me! It's the best way to get things done.

Love to all!

*sigh* once again I have failed at posting pictures, the order is still funny. At least the text is all in the right place though!

Anyways, sorry it's been awhile since we updated, life's been kind of hum-drum... searching for jobs, eating, sleeping, mild socializing. Nothing too exciting. But we went to Central Park for the first time the other day, and THAT was definitely blog worthy. Plus I took a ton of photos, and what else am I really going to do with them? 

Ok, we entered the park around 72nd street, and found ourselves in the midst of a giant celebration of John Lennon's birthday. This was very confusing, until we realized what part of the park we were in:

and then it all made perfect sense. The rest of these pictures are in an incredibly random order because I fail at blogging.

This is a beautiful concert stand in the middle of the mall, which runs down the middle of the bottom end of the park. I wanted find out when I could hear an orchestra play there, but I was unsuccessful in my quest

This is Herbert the squirrel. While Sam and I were relaxing on a hill overlooking what we were pretty sure was either a tv show or a movie filming (big lights, cameras, etc.), Herbert got very upset that we were in his prime nut-burying area and proceeded to haunt us for the next several hours. I think we were all friends in the end, though.
See! Doesn't it look like they're getting ready to film something??
This fountain was my main reason for wanting to visit the park. The Bethesda fountain has been in so many movies, including Angels in America, which is really important to me, so I was so excited to see it in real life. Oh, and Jesus got baptized here in Godspell. Isn't she beautiful?? Although the pigeons roosting on her arm kind of ruin the affect a little...
My first view of the lake! wow. 
oooh, this was fun, in the middle of the mall there were all these statues of literary figures, and I took way to many pictures because, as you all well know, I am fascinated by both literature and sculpture. Here are some highlights:
Shakespeare, looking very mad at me for daring to snap his picture.
Columbus, although I'm not sure how he qualifies as a literary figure.
Robbie Burns, the tragic Scottish poet. 
Look at the amazing trees on the mall, it's like they have snakes for branches sometimes
This was actually the very last stop before we went home, at FAO Schwartz. I think you all know who they are. Go Legos!!!
General Sherman and a friend marked our exit from the park onto 5th Avenue
These statues were all in or around the Central Park Zoo. Allow me to introduce:

Disgruntled Goat!

Freaky Tongue Bear!

And Balto, a dog who apparently saved a village and stole Sam's heart away from me. Blast you, Balto!!

Well that ends our incredibly out of order journey. I hope I didn't make your brain hurt. Look out tomorrow for a more words-oriented update!

Love to all

Wow

Tonight, once again on a whim and because of a discount price, Sam and I saw our second broadway show. And don't get me wrong, I'm not dissing the first time, but sometimes some broadway is just plain more awe-inspiring than other broadway. 

We saw Gypsy. With Patti Lupone. We were in the 3rd row of the mezzanine... I could have touched that big beautiful honker of a nose she has. I won't even go into what a deal we got financially, but it was sooooooooo worth it. 

This was the first time I'd ever seen a real broadway legend in person. This woman... I used to sing along to her version of "Anything Goes!" in the mirror with my hairbrush. I have a movie of her playing Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd. I have never seen anything like this performance, it was so powerful my teeth hurt. I mean, sometimes people are overrated as performers, and sometimes legends are legends more for their personality than for their talent, and I used to think Lupone bordered on both of those statements. But there's nothing like seeing it first hand to make you eat your words. It was a dream come true, everything I used to imagine a broadway show was back in Seattle listening to show tunes and imagining I was there. And now I am! 

Dad, if this is playing when/if you and mom come to visit, you have to see it. I nearly called you at intermission to geek out, I was so excited!

Ok, time for sleep now, I suppose.

Love to all!

First Job Interview!!!

So Amy had her first job interview today! It was with a children's puppet theatre called The Shadow Box Theatre (shadowbox.org, I think). It went really, really well. Turns out the woman interviewing me also founded the company forty years ago, she's pretty cool. They work a lot like Whitman, very hands on and collaborative, with everybody doing a little bit of everything, from front of house to tech stuff to performing! I might have to go back and have a performance audition, which makes me nervous as performing is one of my weaker skills nowadays cuz I'm so out of practice. But if I may say so myself, they seemed pretty darn enthusiastic about me, so perhaps I won't have to do that. 

To be honest, the woman who technically interviewed me, the founder, was a little hippy-dippy for my taste (and this is me we're talking about, so you can guess just how hippy-dippy that is!!) but I felt really connected to all of the other production people I met, like the Assistant Director and the Technical Director and the head stage manager (who was an intern two years ago, most of their permanent hires start as interns!!). It felt like they were really on my team and kind of pushing me as their choice, but the hippy-dippy lady was being cautious. Which makes perfect sense, really. They said they'll let me know next week, but I'm feeling good about my chances!

The only bummer is that they're a super-non-profit theatre, so all their interns make NY minimum wage (5 bucks an hour, yuck) for about 20-25 hours a week. There will definitely need to be a second job involved, but because their work is all during school hours (a lot of their main business is school tours) the second job will have to work around that. Oh being a grown up... so exciting and yet so complicated!

Love to all

ps--

I nearly forgot!! This morning they SHUT DOWN THE SUBWAY!!! There was no A-train, and I was standing there waiting for 45 minutes before they bothered to tell us. I would have definitely been late if I'd tried to make it on the bus or walked to another subway, so I had to take a cab to my interview. I use the term "cab" lightly... the weather was horrible today, and the two guys in the car who picked me up were definitely just taking advantage of the increased number of people who needed cabs. I rode next to a car seat, and I WAY overpaid, but I was so worried about missing my first interview I couldn't think of anything else to do! Chalk it up to experience, I suppose. 

First broadway show!!!!

So yesterday Sam and I decided to go explore downtown for the first time because the Equity Fights Aids Broadway Flea Market was happening, which is basically a day where they shut down a huge chunk of 8th Ave and Shubert Alley and have a flea market/theatre celebrity auction to raise money for Aids  research. It was the biggest street fair I've ever been to, and it was all theatre related!!! I wish I'd had my camera, there were these guys in leiderhosen chatting with drag queens... classic. But on a whim we went to find the TKTS booth, which is this tiny little stand that sells half price tickets to broadway shows on the day they're performing, and a guy handed us a discount flyer for the musical [Title of Show] .... yes, that's actually its name, I'm not trying to be clever. So we went! 

Lemme tell you, we could not have picked a better show for our first outing. It's autobiographical, and the four stars of the show also wrote it, did all the music, and are basically just playing themselves. About two years ago they decided to write a musical about themselves writing a musical, and it's just been growing ever since till they finally made it to broadway. So for us it was two theatre nobodies who just moved here watching a show that starred theatre nobodies playing themselves who made it to broadway just by being themselves. Confusing, yes, but also very inspirational! 

Other small tidbits from life here so far:

- The New York Public Library, Inwood branch, has really really bad internet. 

- Chinese food is cheap, delicious, and they always deliver! Plus it's mostly meat and veggies, so not too horribly bad for you (shhhh dad, I don't wanna hear it.)

- Times square is ridiculous and intimidating, but broadway theatres are small and lovely! 

- People who complain about the price of groceries in New York clearly don't live near hispanic food markets. 3 loaves of fresh baked bread for  a buck and a half?!

- Dollar stores here are more like really cheap outlet stores. We have bought, to date, all of the following at the dollar store: pots and pans, dishes, an 11 piece king size comforter set, window blinds, real glass glasses, four book shelves, and all of our cleaning supplies. After we get our first paychecks (someday, oh someday...) I plan to buy rugs, lamps and mirrors there as well. 

Today we're going to explore the park more and then see our first movie with my friend Matt, who is a film student at NYU. Ironically, we'll be seeing Battle in Seattle, a documentary about the WTO riots. It's not cheery, but we couldn't resist the seattle connection. 

Love to all!

Arrival

So, here are the last couple of days...

We arrived at JFK at about 6:32 local time, about half an hour early.  We got a taxi and proceeded to 75 Thayer St.  On the way the cab driver pulled over to a Dunkin' Donuts for like ten min.  Two min after he had left it became obvious that he had double parked.  After four min. of sitting the lady we were trapping wanted to leave and honked angrily for the next six min while we sat there awkwardly.  We eventually found our new home and got all our stuff in to the vestibule.  We were supposed to meet the building manager at about 8:00.  We met the super at about 8:20 and he had not been told that we would be moving in on that day.  He turned out to be a really cool guy.  His name is Zef.  He is an older Jewish man and is incredibly nice and helpful.  He let us know that the building management lady would be arriving at 10:00.  So we got to put our stuff in the apartment, then we went and got breakfast and explored the neighborhood.  Eventually the building manager showed up and  had the walk through, which took about 35 seconds because we had already seen the apartment via photo tour.  We were then told that we would have to go all the way to Great Neck Long Island to sign the lease.  I'm too tired to finish this story right now.  The rest of this story will have to wait for another day, when I am able to steal someone else's internet access.  Or until we get our own internet access.  TTFN.  Ta ta for now.

We're here!!

PS-- Ok, I don't know how to rearrange the order of things once I've added/written things, so this post is backwards. I'll try not to let it happen again, but I make no promises! So scroll down to read it in order, or proceed normally at your own peril!

So that's our situation, there will be many more updates where that came from, love to all!

This is the park at the end of our block, which also has several stages! It's like they knew we were coming...

Our front door makes it look like we live in a hotel. Go us!

The lobby/exit of our building. It's a prewar building, like everything else in the neighborhood, so the whole place looks classy, woot!

Our bathroom, please note the weird placement of the showerhead and the four faucet system, two for the shower two for the bath. It's interesting.

The kitchen! There is NO COUNTER. ANYWHERE. There is a fridge on the opposite wall, but still...

We have this fire escape outside one of our windows, and it goes to the roof, yay! We can have roof parties!

This is the main room! It has two closets, two windows, and this bed is very, very temporary, thank goodness!

We've finally arrived! It has been an epic, epic saga. Sam's going to post the story of our first couple days in just a minute here because I, to be honest, have already moved on to much I LOVE our apartment and our neighborhood!!!!! so beautiful! I'm going to attempt to put a whole buncha bunch of pictures, but I'm having a great time. I have already reunited with my best friends, and it's like we never left each other. At the moment we're hanging out with our friend Berta and blatantly using her for her internet (thanks bert!) but once we have our own it will be job application central. Ok, now for pictures, I hope...

So close!

Just a few days left! We're still struggling getting all the new paperwork requirements into the new landlord (we're at 35 faxed pages and counting!). It's frustrating, but we'll survive.

Ok, that's all for now, just didn't want to forget to post all the happenings!

love to all

First Post!

Hello friends and family, just doing a first post to see how this thing works. Not much adventure to report since we don't leave for two weeks, obviously...

oh! We do have an address (pending final confirmation). We've sent in the paperwork and everything (by the way, 22 page faxes are very expensive). We've bought a bed. I had my infamous shopping spree. I'm not sure there are any more ways for me to spend all my money before I leave, but I'll probably find a few.

Click on/paste this link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&q=75+thayer+street+new+york&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&resnum=1&ct=title


to see our new building and neighborhood! A google map will show up, and you can click the little box that says street view at the top of the map to get a rotating picture of my corner! (if the link doesn't work, go to google maps and search for 75 Thayer street, New York).

Love to all!