first post while here!

SO! I'm here!! In RUBIN HALL of NYU. its pretty sweet actually, the location is a very nice and expensive location (greenwich village), i feel really safe here too. I have 2 roomies, Kallie and Dora Lee...theyre my age and super sweet, fun, cute girls (southern accents, im jealous). Our room is....wait for it...NOT air conditioned! its miserable to say the least BUT we just got 2 huge fans so that should definitely help a little. I'm a couple blocks from a really convenient subway so thats pretty awesome. and this area is SO nyc...lots of cheap little stores, shopping, people my age everywhere, street performers, etc etc.

Well anyway, yesterday when I got here i was STARVINGG, so i met up with some of the girls from Missouri State and we got SUSHI!!! (typical, im obsessed). It was amazing and soo yummy...after that we walked around 8th street and checked out some bars around there...there was a cool little pub where the bartender (erica) spit fire for us to stay! it was pretty cool we had a good time there...after that we walked around McDougall Street which I guesss is the hoppin spot to be at night but we realized that it was FLEET WEEKKKKK!!!!!! for those of you who dont know what fleet week is, its basically a few days that the Marines dock in NYC and the boys hit the town for some fun) ANYWAY me and cydney walk into a bar and realized it was FULLLLL of white uniform marine men. sweeettt luck I'd say! We met a couple really nice guys and they bought us some drinks and, naturally, me and cydney drank em and gave them the whole "we'll be right back" excuse and peaced out lol after that we made our way up to Times Square on the subway and snapped some pics...met some people that bought us a couple slices of pizza at Rays Pizza! It was SO GOOD!!! oh my gosh so good...i could eat the pizza here everyday. and its only $1 so there ya go!

After that, I pretty much called it a night and headed back to my dorm. Since today is memorial day weekend, I didnt have to work so I slept a little bit but couldnt fall back asleep after 10 am, at which time I decided to start my day.

Since my room was SCORCHING HOT, i grabbed the laptop and my phone and walked to this internet cafe by my place (its basically a coffee shop that has free wifi). WELLL FUNNYYY STORRYYY the "internet cafe" 's internet was down. sweet life. SO i walked my sorry butt a couple blocks away to ol reliable Starbucks and guess what?!?! you have to PAY for internet there! all those hardworking coffee people in starbucks with their laptop are PAYING for their internet at starbucks. not me. nooo wayyy. Long story short, I found a little place to hang out and cool off for a little bit.

Later I met up with some friends and we went up to Central Park for the day. I swear I walked around for 5 miles and barely made a dent on the place. its ginormous, no joke. sooo big. but every resident of NYC was at Central Park today lol everyone was laying out, it looked kinda funny. I shouldve taken a picture. After a little bit we stopped off at this little coffee place and i got the BEST BLUEBERRY MUFFIN for $1.25 at this place called Nectar Cafe at 79th and Madison. mmmmm omg it was amazing! Then, we headed back to Central Park and laid on a blanket for a while and people watched. I may or may notve fallen asleep for a little bit lol but it was nice. After that, we kinda went our separate ways for some showers and met back up for dinnerrr! Tonight we went to Chinatown and had AMAZING food!! omg it was the best chinese ever! and CHEAP!! like $4 for this HUGE plate of food. Obsessed...definitely taking visitors there.

And now i'm back in my room! I start work tomorrow at 10 am and I gotta get some rest, I'm so tired from the walking! But I will keep updating this dooont you worry!

PS for INSTANT updates, follow me on twitter!! username: ashlipollard

layover

well im posted up in chicago waiting for my nyc-lga flight to take off. must say i feel like this plane is full of people going "home" to NYC... Doing my best to make it look like im going home too...dont wanna be too "tourist-y"...

joe asked me a good question on the way to the airport...he asked "what are you gonna do on your first day in the city?" i had a plan...grab my bag, cab it to NYU, get settled, and meet the girls already in the city for drinks and late dinner...but should i be doing something more? i mean...ive done most of the landmarky things, i think the best way to welcome myself back into the city of dreams would be just to knock a few back with some lady friends (even if not my original crew). these girls WILL be my fam for the next couple weeks, anyway!

well just got me thinking anyway. leave a comment if you think of anything that i should put on my "to do while in nyc list"

love you all! updates soon :)

Pre Thoughts

Well its past midnight so I guess it Saturday. Which officially means I leave tomorrow. Which officially means I'll be in New York City tomorrow. I wanted to write a post on all of my thoughts before I left. You seem I'm a big *feeler*...and I knew I would be overwhelmed with all of the emotions that come with leaving the city/state/people you know so well to venture to the Big Apple for 2.5 months.

Well I was wrong. I feel nothing.

It still hasnt hit me yet... suprising enough.

Granted, I've been way distracted...moving into a new apartment in Springfield was a 48-hour panic attack, packing for this summer was stressful and time consuming, saying goodbyes to old friends that wouldnt be in Springfield when I get back, etc. It just never really hit me.

But now I'm moved in.
I said my goodbyes.
I packed for NYC.
I dont know what sort of thing I'm waiting for to make me realize that this is for real but I know it hasn't happened yet. Maybe when I land? Maybe when I see the skyline from my airplane window?

Either way, I know I'm excited. This summer is going to change everything I know. Every dream, every goal and ambition...It's going to be a challenge I can in no way plan for and I can't wait for it to begin. I know I'm nervous....but then again, for what? I don't see myself failing. I'm a worker...I enjoy working. I have pretty good street smarts, I know not to be alone in the dark and not to get into unmarked cabs. I know a lot of people in the city (relatively). I have family there (shout out to laura..HOLLAA). I have friends visiting. Family visiting. But I guess thats a natural reaction.

Maybe the way I feel is just this: READY. I am prepared and ready for this. I have always wanted to live in NYC. I was just there too so what I've learned about the city is still fresh. I feel comfortable that I am leaving with no unfinished business and that the timing works with me. I have work to do, fun to be had and many many pictures to take.

So here we are. 24 (and a little more) hours until I leave and all I feel is that I. am. READY.

NYC Info

Hello friends and family! Just wanted to let you know that this is the blog website that I will be using to update everyone (since everyone is soooo interested, im sure) on my NYC adventure this summer. I will be broke, busy and overwhelmed but I know i will love every second! Call me, write me, better yet VISIT (if you can), follow me on twitter, skype me, do one or all or nothing but I'll be back in the midwest on Aug 7th and in Springfield on Aug 10. Love you all and thanks for the support!! :)

Address:
Ashli Pollard
Rubin Hall NYU
35 5th Avenue
New York City, NY 10003

phone number is the same

Twitter: ashlipollard

Skype: ashli.pollard

Email: ashlilpollard@gmail.com

thats all :) again i love you guys!