NYC - Day 2

This was probably my favorite day in NYC. We woke up to a little bit of drizzle and light snow. Jason had the day off, so the three of us decided to go to lunch, then head for somewhere warm...the American Museum of Natural History. But to get there, we decided to walk through Central Park. It was a very long, but BEAUTIFUL walk.

I used Jason as a windbreak. It was a VERY cold breeze!

The Central Park ice skating rink

After our very long day, we went to a delicious New Year's Eve dinner at a little Italian restaurant around the corner from Jason's apartment. After, we decided to walk off our food by heading toward Times Square, just so we could see how large the crowd was of crazy people willing to stand around for hours to watch the ball drop. We ended up getting much closer than we thought we could and, with two hours to go, made the decision to join the other crazy people and watch the ball drop. The next morning, I heard on the news that it was the third coldest NYE in NYC since like 1869. I BELIEVE it! But, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I think we're all glad that we did it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NYC - Day 1

It's been more than a month since my trip to NYC, so it's about time that I write about it! I flew out on a red eye flight and arrived in the Big Apple around 6am. After a quick, and yes crazy, cab ride to Jason's appartment in Midtown, Katie and I headed out on a hop-on hop-off bus tour of the city. I have to say, this is the BEST way to see everything in a very short amount of time. We had a blast! It was a bit chilly riding on the top part with no roof, but we had the best view and saw all the sites. And we were only yelled at by two tour guides for talking too much!




Central Park

Times Square. We even saw where the ball was going to drop the next night and if you look at the picture below, you can BARELY make out the 2009 that lit up at midnight.

My first official NYC meal was of course a slice of pizza! Actually, we had a hot dog on our way to the pizza place. We just couldn't resist.

Brooklyn Bridge

World Trade Center construction site

NY Stock Exchange

Grand Central Station was actually one of my favorite sites. Not only was it busy and exciting, but it was beautiful. I could stay there all day!

My Apologies

I've been getting several complaints about me not updating my blog lately. I'm so sorry to disappoint everyone!

Katie, who is in law school now, says she needs something to read when she takes a break from studying. Of course, she SHOULDN'T be taking a break from studying because finals are coming up, but she reminded me that I haven't made the announcement that I'm going to New York City for New Year's with her! Her boyfriend, Jason, lives there now and they've been generous enough to invite me to stay with them for a few days over the holiday. I can't tell you how excited I am! I've never been there and I can't wait to see it all decorated for the holidays. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and post them when I get back.

We had a get together a couple weeks ago with the gals I used to work with; Priscilla, Alison, Julie, Hilary and Ann Marie. I miss these girls so much! We always have a good time when we get together. Lots of laughs, a few drinks and plenty of catching up. My picture died halfway through the night, but here are a few pics.

Pressreleaseitis

Pressreleaseitis (n) – A rare disease contracted primarily by Public Relations Specialists in the field of real estate. Symptoms may include, but are not limited to; irritability, nervousness, hives, headaches, writer’s block, twitching, sudden outbursts of cursing and/or tears, double vision, coma-like states while staring at computer screens and death. There is no known cure. Symptoms tend to alleviate slightly between the hours of 5:00pm and 8:00am, though avoiding texting, personal emails and letter writing to relatives is highly recommended during these hours since activities are considered “writing” and could further aggravate writer’s block symptoms. Patients are encouraged to rest, avoid computers, stare out windows and drink coffee as often as possible. More severe cases of Pressreleaseitis tend to be found in Public Relations Specialists with less than six months of experience who have an ever increasing list of press releases to write. Press release templates have been found to help patients lessen their symptoms, though redundancy may lead to madness. While not medically proven, the use of thesauruses is widely believed to help avoid redundancy and said madness. As cases worsen, patients are encouraged to find the humor in their disease and write comedic passages to share with coworkers—or take a long vacation.

From Boot Camp to Evening Gowns

Busy, busy, busy. A lot has been going on the past few weeks and whenever I log on to write, I am always way too tired to write more than a few sentences.

Sylvie and I (pictured here in less painful days) joined a boot camp this past week. It's one hour, three nights a week for three weeks. Let me tell you, it's tough. We do a lot of running, a million squats and lunges, weights, obstacle courses etc. I was really sore after the first night but then I think my body just went into shock after that and now I feel nothing. I have to do a little workout today to get ready for another round tomorrow night. Phew! We're hoping we're going to be really tone by the end of it all. Sylvie jokes that she'll be able to open jars with her legs. I think that sounds about right.

In other news, we went shopping for bridesmaids dresses for Juliana's wedding yesterday. She and Matt are getting married in May, so we figured we'd better start looking for dresses. Little did we know it would take less than 1 hour to find the one! And all of us bridesmaids actually agreed on the style. I thought it was a mini miracle. Here's what it looks like:

All of us maids - Jessica, Sarah, Me and Kristen. There's one more girl, but she lives in San Diego and couldn't make it for the fashion show. But, reports say she likes the dress too :)

Already??

I was just in the grocery store and I heard...are you ready for this?...wait for it...wait for it...Christmas music! Seriously! I was reaching for a package of turkey and I paused because I heard something strange over the radio but I couldn't quite make it out. And then, I heard it...Jingle Bell Rock!

I was shocked. Appalled. Is today not November 2nd? We still have 53 days until Christmas! And you know they probably started playing it yesterday, the day after Halloween.

For the rest of the time in the store, I kept searching people's faces for the same bewilderment I was feeling. It wasn't until I was in the check out line that I heard a girl ask her mother "are they playing Christmas music?" And her mother said, in utter disgust and to my delight, "yes they are."

Have you ever...

...been sneezed in the face by a parakeet? Let me tell you, bird boogers aren't fun.

It's the perfect end to a very odd day today. Everything started off fine, but it all went downhill starting at about 2:00. Not bad downhill, just awkward downhill.

I'm now going to go watch "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" which I rented more than a week ago. Maybe it will help me feel more normal.

Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival

Carolyn and I went to the Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival this past weekend. It wasn't quite what I expected (more Halloween crafts) but it was still pretty fun. Of course the highlight was the gigantic pumkins. And the delicious pumpkin roll with cream cheese frosting :) Mmmmmm. Then we went to Poplar beach and spent some time admiring the beautiful ocean. I'd never been to HMB before. They have a really great stretch of beach! Probably the best I've experienced in Northern California. Every beach I've been to is rocky and the water is gray. Bleh. Here are some highlights:

Great Minds Think Alike

Sylvie and I showed up to work wearing the same dress one day last week. What are the chances? I think we've been spending too much time together. Our coworkers thought it was quite funny. I, however, chose to wear my sweater all day.