I’ve gone from hurricanes in Florida to blizzards in NYC.  Both of which I can claim are a hell of a lotta fun to play in!

I think the anticipation was the most exciting part of it though.  Everyone sat in their apartments cozy and warm watching the sky gradually change from bright & sunny to a looming grey layer of clouds.  After that, the view from the window was pretty much white.  That continued throughout the night for the next 24 hours.  Mark (a born & raised Florida boy) was like a little boy in the candy shop for the very first time.  24 hours before the storm I had consistent minute by minute update on NYC weather conditions.  (Generally the update was “It’s gonna snow..a lot”) But regardless I was grateful for the reliable updates.  The next morning I had to be to work at 9 am so Mark decided to accompany me on my trek to work.  He says he wanted to make sure I got there safely, I knew he just wanted to play in the snow.  J

The snow was past our knees & at this point in the morning, no one had shoveled their sidewalks yet.  It was abnormally quiet & empty outside.  The thing about NYC is that there is ALWAYS people wherever you go.  This particular morning reminded me of those movies where there was some huge catastrophe & the next morning when the few survivors emerge, the streets are empty and eerily quiet.  It felt like that.  J  Anyway, we dug our way over to the subway stations, & then to work.  Now over in the West Village, the streets are very narrow.  Just enough room for one lane of traffic lined with a row of buildings all connected.  Since the snow had nowhere to go, it just seems to fill up these tiny little roads.  By the time I arrived at work, I (dressed completely in black) showed up to work completely white.  Mark went on to play in the snow all day long, then hang out at our favorite bar “Jimmy’s Corner”.  Mark even shoveled Jimmy’s sidewalk in front of the bar for him which resulted in a couple of shots on the house.  After work I met him @ Jimmy’s and had a fun evening playing in the snow.  All in all, it was a great snow day.

http://www.scribbledthoughts.com/union.htm

So you’d think that moving to NYC and surviving is enough excitement to keep you going for awhile what I say to that is

FOOEY!

I’d much rather move to NYC and 3 months into the process come home from a long nights work to eviction papers.  Turns out you can still get served eviction papers even though you pay your rent in full and on time each month.  In order to pull this off, what you need to do is sublet from a woman that has complete disregard for anyone else but herself who once she receives the rent money, blows it on something other than the purpose the money was originally intended for.  But I’m not bitter, cause had it not been for her complete selfishness & irresponsibilty, we wouldn’t have found this lovely gem of an apartment that I am telling you about today.  So I’d like to say THANKYOU!  Anyway, long story short, we went to court, they granted us two months rent free to find a new place to live.  So initially I was kinda proud of myself for moving to NYC by myself and making it on my own, now I’ve really impressed myself for doing it twice, and BETTER.

So I’m movin to Harlem!!!

Mikki & I are at the realtors office in Brooklyn going over the lease & all of the paperwork, most of it telling you what you can’t do, but I think the most important information I walked away with that day was that…."children can’t fly".  I swear!  They really can’t!  And just in case you didn’t take them seriously, they accompanied the bold statement with a lovely illustration….and it should be noted that on the back was translated in chinese, along with a lovely illustration….appropriately of a chinese baby.

We were laughing so hard we were bawling and I’m sure the realtor was second guessing giving us the keys, especially when we deemed it appropriate to switch pens in between each signature……it was just necessary….I can’t explain why.  🙂

I’ve included a link to Mikki’s website where she’s included some additional pictures of the apartment and she sums it much better than I could even try.

www.scribbledthoughts.com/newapt

Now I know a bunch of you are thinking….Harlem….Hmmm.

The fact of the matter is that we are really living in a great community and Harlem has really turned a corner especially after 9/11.  More and more people are flooding into the area because it’s not as expensive as Manhattan, but SO much more convenient than Brooklyn or other places.  So it’s all good.  As one lifetime Harlem resident so eloquently put it, "if you’re walking down the street and you get shot, it’s because you were into somethin, not just ’cause you were walkin down the street." 

Plus, before anyone starts passing judgement, the so-called "luxury building" that upscale people like Katie Holmes apartment is located, lives a resident that throws dung out the window.  Literal poo.  I know, I was there when they called the NYPD to file a complaint.   Just so you know, you’ll be exposed to that level of class no matter how much money you pay for rent.

So now you will walk away with two gems of information from reading this today…Even rich people aren’t above throwing poo & babies can’t fly.

I had quite the crazy day yesterday….

I begin my day by going back to the Devachan Salon for a photo shoot for a magazine about Curly girls & whatnot (I still have yet to find out exactly what magazine and the article itself) But they called and asked if I would be a part of the shoot & I agreed.  I show up to the salon and they tweak my hair, then send through a whirlwind of "wardrobe" & "makeup".  Then it’s my turn to shoot.  I’m sitting on the stool in the studio with one person tweaking my hair, another person touching up my makeup.  It was fun.  Then they had me change necklaces and when I was held my hair up, the photographer was like "Now wait a minute!  We have to get some shots with the hair like that"  So they put a box full of bobby pins in my hair which is why it is like it is in the pictures to the right.

http://naturallycurly2.com/curlscene/entry.php?id=458&entrytype=articles

After the shoot, I booked it back to work which is located right in the heart of the Gay Pride Parade festivities.  It started out relatively calm but as the day progressed, the sidewalks got more and more conjested and the people got more and more crazy/drunk/naked.  But regardless about how you view the issue, the vibe all around was so positive and everyone was just festive and happy that they had a day to celebrate their lifestyle.  I was able to get some great pictures that you can see to the right, but the disclaimer is that they are of the "Gay Pride" festivities, so viewers be warned.

Me & my co-workers also had a good time harassing all of the police officers who would come into the gym to use the restroom.  When one of them would walk in, we’d entertain ourselves by saying "we know that’s just a costume you’re wearing for the festivities, your not really a cop."  They couldn’t arrest us for harassment ’cause they needed our bathroom so it was good times.  They even let us put an APB out for "Roach" one of the officers my co-worker thought was cute, and "Arugala" (that’s the nickname we gave him, tho his real name is similar, we just got it wrong at first and decided we liked that one better) agreed to be our on site photographer for us.  So all-in-all it was a really fun day topped off with a bang (several actually…a great fireworks display)  Who knew you "Gay Day" could be so much fun!

So I’ve decided to keep a running tally of the celebrity sightings I’ve had here in NYC.  You can see my list of photos to the right.

So one day last week, I decided to go with my roommate Jen to a hair appointment at this place called "Devachan Salon" which is founded by a Lorraine Massey who is one of the most acclaimed experts specializing in curly hair.  (I’ve attached a picture below so you can see why) It’s a hair stylist academy so you can get your hair cut free of charge so the students have someone to practice on.  Being that the place prides itself on specializing in curly hair, any of you who know me know that fate brought me to this little nook in NYC.  So Jen who had gotten the haircut on a previous appointment, loved it so much she was back for highlights.  After the colorist is done, being that they are still training, they brought Jen over to Lorraine to show her the finished product.  Lorraine tweaked it a bit and gaver her approval and immediately spotted my hair and started playing around with it.  She then asked if I would be willing to be a hair model for a day cruise boat show they were doing Monday morning.  I immediately said yes which set the wheels in motion.  I was back in the salon the next morning for some highlights to even out the blonde which I had humbly put in myself before, and they gave me some products to used so I’d be ready come Monday morning.

Monday morning rolls around and this whole crew of beautiful fashionable Devachan Salon stylists & me board the Atlantica, which is basically a fancy restaurant that floats.  I stand awkwardly while everyone sets up, unable to turn down any of the hors d’oeuvres the waiters offer me as they pass by (it’s against my nature to say no to free food) so now I’m awkward & chubby.  Finally the boat is off, coasting up and down the west side of Manhattan on the Hudson River.  It was beautiful.  My part in the whole hoopla was to get my hair cut by Lorraine Massey herself in front of nearly 300 hairstylists from around the NYC area displaying the proper way to cut curly hair.  (Even though it was in front of 300 people, it was the least stressful haircut in my life knowing I’d like the finished product considering who was cutting it)  All in all, the show was a success, I was able to relax and I enjoyed the next two hours talking, mingling, & taking in the beautiful Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty, finishing it off with some yummy cake.  I included some pictures of my new haircut and highlights to the right if you wanna check’m out.  I’m not sure if you can really tell the difference from the pictures, but I’ve gotten tons of compliments since.

Oh, and BTW, we have a new addition to our dysfunctional little family.  He is a little tuxedo cat so Mikki decided to name him Jeeves.  He’s a complete spaz-monkey, and as much as Punkass was the definition of "stupid-happy" Jeeves has outdone himself resulting in Punkass seeming to calm down quite a bit.  But he’s a great kitten.  I love him & he’s free entertainment.  I included some pictures of him too.    

This last week was probably one of the best weeks I’ve had in the big apple since I first arrived.  Mark, my boyfriend, came to NYC for a conference and just happened to squeeze some time out of his busy schedule to make sure I had the best week ever.  I talked to him on the phone and decided to meet him at the hotel he would be staying at….nothing fancy, just the Algonquin.  He says, “see you in a few…I’ll be the one in the yellow cab” just as 10 yellow cabs in a row drive past….funny.  He showed up and it was like we were never apart, and I got to meet Matilda, the famous Algonquin cat. 

          While we hung out we actually fit a bunch of stuff into the small time we were together…..all apparently coming to fruition whenever Mark would mention it…..couple of examples:

          As we are walking around Time Square Mark is saying how he hopes he sees a celebrity before he goes back home.  Wouldn’t you know it, Rupert from “Hello Deli” and Biff Henderson from the Dave Letterman show are standing outside the Ed Sullivan theatre in between tapings of the tonight show along with several members of the CBS orchestra. 

          Then we start talking about the Naked Cowboy who I have yet to see since I’ve been in the big apple, what-dya-know!  Naked Cowboy was in the middle of Time Square putting on a show. 

We found a little bar to call our own called Jimmy’s corner.  Jimmy is the owner of the bar and an old boxing trainer.  The theme of the bar was boxing and though I’m not the least bit into boxing, the atmosphere in the bar was very comfortable.  Mark was finally able to settle down to a nice Sam Adams after a long day of conference meetings and spilt the entire beer before the first sip.  Jimmy refilled his drink free of charge and was very gracious.  We are definitely going to stop back there next time Mark is in town. 

We also made a stop at the famous Magnolia Bakery (picture below) where we shamelessly stood in line which stretched out the door and around the corner for a cupcake.  The shop is so tiny that it requires a guy at the door to supervise the amount of people going into the shop letting several people in at a time.  Mark noted that he didn’t understand how a guy could act so macho as a bouncer of a cupcake shop.  He had a point.

          Mark also included a couple of laugh-your-hiny-off hilarious moments.  While walking through the hoards of people in Time Square, we paused for a moment to take a picture and I stood idly by while Mark proceeded to walk away with a group of strangers putting his arm around the girl on the end…only seconds later abruptly turning around with a look of sheer mortification, realizing he’d got the wrong girl (only because she said, “..uh, I think you have the wrong girl”) after he quickly made his way back to me, she remarked “Don’t worry, it was nice.”

          The other moment that still makes me laugh out loud every time I think about it is when we were lugging his two suitcases from the subway train to the turnstiles and I mentioned how I don’t know how to get through these turnstiles with the luggage without getting stuck.  “Oh, I just shove my way through them.” Mark boasts as he starts through the turnstile with his large suitcase consequently getting jammed inside the turnstile displaying the most ungraceful & raucous show eventually resorting to clumsily leaping over the bar to free himself and yank out the suitcase.  After I recovered from the gut-splitting laughter I looked at him, “you were saying??”  Seconds after, another subway passenger walked through the door in the gate directly next to the turnstile.  Such sweet irony.

          All in all, it was an incredible week.  It was nice to enjoy the city with someone and I do view the city in a new light.  I added some new pictures from Mark’s visit so check’m out if you like. 

So I had an entire day with nothing to do and I was getting a little claustrophobic constantly being surrounded by people and skyscrapers so I decided to go to the Central Park Zoo.  It was a great idea, I feel so refreshed!  The most I’ve felt at home since I’ve been here actually.  The are a bunch of pictures posted to the right you can check out.  On my way over to the zoo I walked past Trump Tower & went inside (the place is friggen awesome btw) and then the plaza where I took a picture of the "going-ons" which I think, tho I cannot be certain that they were filming an "Apprentice" movie.  Like I said, I couldn’t be certain, but there was a group of women standing in a group in business suits and a group of men standing in business suits and then a limo pulls up with a man wearing a nasty looking mop on his head with a blonde woman and a man standing next to him where they go and talk to the two groups of people, then he left with the man & the woman in the limo.  If it’s not the Apprentice, it doesn’t look like it’s gonna be anything great.  I took pictures.  Enjoy!     

So I was walking down 54th street to a potential new job I may have and there was a gathering of people along a red carpet and I come to find out it was the premiere for "Kingdom of Heaven".  The pictures posted with this blog are not ones that I had taken, but I just wanted people to see how close you are day to day with these huge events that are normally just seen on TV. 

I saw Seth Green today on 44th & 6th.  My first celebrity sighting!  Well, I did see Sam Champion the NYC weatherman who occasionally helps cohost on Regis & Kelly because his studio is right behind theirs, but because everyone knows who he is, I thought Seth Green was worth mentioning.

I have been getting a lot of questions from my friends and family about my roommates and what are they like and what not, so here is a little tid bit to give you a bit of insight….

Jen (1st pic) is from Missouri and is getting married in September. She temporarily is working part time @ Starbucks and gave me a free bag of Starbucks coffee. At that point I knew I was going to get along here just fine. 🙂 She has a cat named Lucy who is slightly anti-social, but I’m slowly working on getting into her good graces.

Mikki (2nd pic) is originally from Louisiana and works full time as an office manager among many other things for an electric company in Manhattan. She has a hilarious site called scribbledthoughts.com. She has a male cat named Punkass Bitch. He is the true definition of "stupid & happy". He’s a great cat. there is this pile of crates that goes up to my ceiling and randomly throughout the day he’ll race into the room and scale the crates about halfway and just hang….and hang…..and hang. Basically he just likes to play all the time with anyone who will give him the time…….usually that ends up being Lucy, the unwilling participant.

I lucked out with these roommates.  Moving into a city like this, or any city for that matter, you never know what your going to end up with, but I am definitely happy with the results!

So today I had yet another unique NYC experience!  I was walking home from Crunch Gym, one of my new jobs here in town, and all of a sudden, directly to the right of me, a cabbie hits a bicycler with his cab!  No worries, the bicycler got right up and luckily was somewhat thrown from the bike, but the bike was not so lucky and was wedged underneath the front of the cab.  Immediately the bicycler confronted the cabbie who got out of the car immediately to make sure the man was alright.  I called 911 and reported the accident and waited for the police to arrive.  The bicycler was screaming at the cabbie who was on his hands and knees trying desperately to unwedge the bike from underneath the car, who yelled back at him.  The bicycler wanted the cabbie to buy him a new bike, the cabbie said he couldn’t do that because he worked for a company and there were insurance technicalities.  The cabbie was asking for my help to un wedge the bike while the bicycler was yelling at me not too.  ALL THE WHILE people were gathering and grouping and watching and VIDEOTAPING & TAKING PICTURES!  Such CRAZINESS!!!  Well, the police showed up, and they managed to coerce the cabbie into forking over $50 for the bike and everyone went away slightly fazed, but calm. 

As for the NYC weather!!!  I was sitting in my apartment when I heard this thunderous wind pounding outside so I look out the window and the trees pounding back and forth and poor little rollar-bladers holding onto a nearby fence for dear life.  So I did what anyone would do…I went out and played in it….but only for awhile because the wind was INSANE.  I got pictures of the Hudson River from across the street for everyone to enjoy.  🙂

So this is my little site!

Check out all of my recent NYC pictures to the right.  Hope you all enjoy!

To all of my friends and family, I miss you and love you all!

Sarah