I know, I know....I'm slacking!

Hello Blog!

Do you feel neglected? I'm sure.

Going into my fourth week here, everything is really starting to accelerate. My classes have been requiring a lot more time and focus, and I've been busy making friends and hosting visitors. Since it's been a while since I've posted, I'll give you the overview of the past week or so.

After my dismal yet comical birthday disaster, my roommate Cat decided that a do-over was in order. She offered to take me out and show me some of her favorite places in the city for a post-birthday celebration, which I really appreciated. It seems the roommate I thought I was least likely to get along with has turned out to be the most friendly and welcoming. After some internet searching, I realized that last week was NYC's Restaurant Week where all the great four and five star restaurants in the city offer pris fixe menus for super cheap during the lunch and dinner hours. We made reservations at what looked like a trendy steakhouse called the Kobe Club after viewing photos of celebs like J.C. Chasez and various British hipster songbirds lounging around at the bar. We made the reservations for 10:15, hardly late by New York standards, and after class, I ran home to get ready. Hanging on my door was a card and a bottle of champagne that Cat had bought in honor of the celebration (how nice!). We toasted the evening with Valerie and Kelley, although they couldn't come with us to dinner, and then Cat and I headed over to the restaurant. It WAS trendy. Purple light washed over smoothe black and silver surfaces, beaded curtains fell from doorways, and interesting art adorned the walls. Directly above the main dining room hung a collection of swords pointed straight down on the diners (a detail Martin would NOT have appreciated, I thought), and we got a nice table a little ways away from the danger. Our meal was...in a word....divine. We had beef cheek ravioli, Kobe beef with caramelized onions and applewood smoked bacon, and fresh berries with vanilla creme. It really felt like a celebration, and it didn't do a number on my wallet, so overall, it was a delightful evening.

A few nights later, I had dinner with Vicki, a close college friend of my aunt Holly's. She literally lives five blocks from me, so I walked over and saw her apartment. It was encouraging to see that a single girl could afford a nice apartment in the city! I'd heard otherwise. We had a great dinner at a near-by Thai restaurant that was delicious, and it was so lovely to have conversation about my family with someone who actually knows them! She was so warm and interesting, and I really felt closer to home, just having someone to mull over my experience with. We planned a second outing for next week--Wicked at the Gershwin theater! Can't wait for that.

The next morning, I made my way over to the Met to meet Sarah's friend Justin who goes to GW with her, but is originally from New York. He was waiting for me on the steps outside when I arrived, and we went in together. At first, I was nervous, and felt like I was talking too much, but we found a comfortable pace as we walked through the museum. We had both been before, so we didn't feel too bad about talking while perusing the artworks. He was totally charming, interesting, and funny, and we had a great time talking about music and art. We had lunch in the Met's overpriced cafeteria, and laughed about Sarah and her beautiful, energetic, and sometimes crazy self. We walked across the park (Central Park, that is) afterwards, starting on the East Side of the city and ending up on the West Side just as it started to rain. Thunder clapped overhead, and lightening lit the sky, as it so often does on summer afternoons here. I watched as all the natives ran around with umbrellas and newspapers lifted over their heads, and giggled a little as I got soaked. I guess that's one advantage to being a West Coast-born out-of-towner. I don't mind the rain at all.

That weekend, my friend Marshall came to visit, and I was going crazy with excitement by the time he arrived. He took the Chinatown bus I had braved when I traveled to DC a few weekends earlier, and because it WAS the chinatown bus, he arrived around 3am on Friday. After sitting up nervously all night, it was nice to hear that his bus had arrived and he was on his way to my place via taxi. He called when he was in the lobby, and I ran down to meet him. We were so excited to see each other, and he looked different. All that manual labor for his uncle had bleached his hair a little, and he looked tan. I took him upstairs, and gave him the world's shortest tour of my suite (there's not much to show, you know). We stayed up and talked for a while, and he told me about his crazy chinatown bus experience. It seems everyone who takes that bus has a story to tell. His involved having dinner before the ride with the Czech ambassador to the U.S., and sharing a cab with some club-goers after being dropped off. The next morning, we woke up pretty late, but managed to salvage the day by packing in a ton of sight-seeing. We saw Times Square, Fifth Avenue, Rockefeller Center, the MoMa, AND went to a comedy show that evening. Marshall had never been to the city before, so it was all very new and exciting for him. It was nice showing him around and seeing his awe at everything. It made me realize what a fabulous place I live in.

The next morning, we had pastries at a cute Hungarian Pastry shop down the street, and headed over to Central Park and the Guggenheim Museum. Again, it started to rain while we were in the park, and we stopped a park employee as he drove by on his golf cart. "Do you have any extra garbage bags?" Marshall asked. When the man graciously gave them to us, we fashioned two ponchos out of them by ripping holes for our heads and arms. They were perfect! Then we walked around the park with no problem, keeping our clothes dry, but still enjoying the rain. We finally arrived at the Guggenheim and saw an amazing installment of feminist art by Louise Bourgeois highlighting the dichotomy between femininity and the domestic sphere of influence.

Later, Marshall met up with some friends from home while I worked on homework back at the dorm. We met up again around 10:30, and all headed over to the Empire State Building to get a view of the city at night. The elevator moved pretty slowly up the 86 floors to the top, but my ears popped the whole way up nonetheless. We stepped off the elevator and onto the platform to take in the amazing view. Before us, we saw a panoramic view of the city at night. It sprawled out in front of us--the West Side, the East Side, Battery Park, SoHo, Greenwich Village, the East River, Brooklyn, and New Jersey. It was beautiful.

The next morning, Marshall woke up super early and got to his bus, and I spent the rest of the day on homework.

It was lovely having a friend from home in my space in New York. I felt a little closer to home with him around, and it was nice to be myself without explanation.

My friends from high school, Jordan and Sarah, are visiting this weekend, so I'll have another fabulous opportunity to share this city with loved ones from home.