as celine dion said it, its all coming back to me now

so 3 weeks in and i feel very much adjusted to this place. so much so, that im not even too wowed by it anymore. example..




my attitude the first time i was here:
WHOOOA!!! LOOK AT THOSE BUILDINGS! SO OLD AND BEAUTIFUL! SO MUCH HISTORY! I WANNA SEE THIS AND THAT AND EVERYTHING! WOW TAXIS! SO MUCH WALKING!! SO MANY COOL RESTAURANTS!! THIS PLACE IS AWEEESSSOOOOMMMEEE!!!!

my attitude now:
skyscrapers? theyre everywhere. and they block the sun and create wind tunnels.
the architecture? its all gorgeous but i dont really have time to appreciate it all...
landmarks? once youve seen em once theyre not so exciting
taxis? theyre loud obnoxious and they smell...and can kill you
the walking? tiring. and i miss my car.
the restaurants? still cool but who are we kidding, im addicted to my food...


isnt this sad? I'm in New York City and these things have become so out of my attention range that I dont even notice them anymore. These gorgeous buildings, monuments, etc. have all become just a background to me. This city, as I told my mom today, is just another city. It functions all the same. People are working, going to school and living their lives. It's just like any other city to me now and I guess it's maybe because I'm getting used to it or because some of the glamour has kind of been depleted after being here for a while but it really is just like any other city...just bigger...and older...and stinkier...and this is seriously how i've been seeing things...

-----UNTIL-------




I met up with an old friend of mine, Kelly Williams (pictured above), who is in town for 5 days with her boyfriend (also in said photograph)! They've never been here and got in town right about when I was getting off work so I told them I'd meet up and show em a fun place for dinner and show em the basics of the city.

It really reopened my eyes to how freakin kickass this place is. WHAT HAVE I BEEN THINKING??!! THIS IS NEW YORK CITY!!?!? ...just like any other city yeah RIGHT!

It was a very refreshing experience. They saw things that I haven't noticed in the longest time...they saw the little sights I now overlook, they were amazed by people and sights that I had forgotten, they were intimidated by the grandeur of the city that i now wake up to everyday in ease...

they were so blown away and I totally remembered how that felt. I stole this quote from, duh, lindsay schallon and I will share it will you guys:

"There are roughly three New Yorks. There is, first, the New York of the man or woman who was born here, who takes the city for granted and accepts its size and its turbulence as natural and inevitable. Second, there is the New York of the commuter--the city that is devoured by locusts each day and spat out each night. Third, there is the New York of the person who was born somewhere else and came to New York in quest for something. Of these three trembling cities, the greatest is the last--the city of final destination, the city that is a goal..." -E.B. White, Here is New York

Kelly and the man friend, reminded me of the reason I am here. Dont get me wrong, I'm still workin hard and trying my best to everyday try something different and meet as many people as I can. But I've lost the sparkle. The...look-up-at-the-empire-state-building-with-your-jaw-dropped-saying..."wow"...type of it factor. But they brought a little bit of that back to me.


What I've tried recently:

-Shake Shack! Delicious cheap burgers, amazinnnggg fries! 45 minute wait in line but totes worth it if you ask me.

-Grappa....if you've never tried this, do it once and never again. It's a very very very strong italian desert wine and i personally thought it was horrible. However the italian guy who brought it to the office (he was visiting from our Italy office) and say that we needed to "Drink to LIFE!" at 11am thought it was the most amazing liquid on the planet. Will I ever have it again? No. But its something I can now say i've tried.

-South Street Seaport Riot: SOOO! Maybe you heard, maybe you didnt. For those who didnt, I witnessed quite the uproar here the other day. There was a free concert hosted by Paper Magazine and the 2 artists coming were Hanson (I was actually way super excited) and DRAAAKKKEEE (again, if you dont know, hes huge right now...and hot)!! Well this got people pretty pumped and they planned on having it at the S. Street Seaport which is just a huuuuugggeee boardwalk/pier with a bunch of shops and restaurants. They expected 10,000 people to show up and more than double (yes that means over 20,000) showed up and caused a little bit of a scene. People were on balconys sliding down the awnings of shops below and falling through, throwing benches off the restaurant balconies, throwing chairs, utensils, glass cups, etc. pushing people to the front of the stage to the point where people were ducking to the ground so as not to get hurt...a little ridiculous. Well long story short, the NYPD deemed the venue unsafe and shut down the whole production... :( sad face. no free drake show. but a crazy sight nonetheless!!



This picture just shows like 1/8th of the crowd...craziness...I caught the tail end of it...ps. I bet these guys are thinkin "yoo..GTL? Whats goin on, ya know?"




Monday-Thursday is always a little boring for me...work til late, dinner, shower, and then it's not too long til im off in dreamland. I'm doin my best to find some fun after work things to do. For instance, one day this week I hung out in union square and another night I went to a local pub and watched the NBA finals with my roomie! See ...(picture below) ! Not completely boring :)


Joe visits next week (yayyyy!) and then right after that I go to Boston with j-town (aka my sister), then Laura Schmaltz is coming in town (hopefully with Lisa), and then Emma and Leah and then 5 days after that, I'm home! Times about to really fly!! I'm so excited to play tour guide!!









I love you all! Dont hesitate to tell me when these get boring!