I am (almost) sure that I'll write more detailed posts about this New York trip, probably with photos (I took a few). For now, on this, my last night in NY (for now), I will just say that New York is exhausting. I didn't even do that much; I walked around a lot and went to a few museums and did some shopping (mostly fabric and books), but really there was a lot of hanging out with Kira and not much else. And yet, I am exhausted and very ready to go home. But there are still so many things I want to do in New York! But I don't want to do them now, because I'm broke! And exhausted! And it's rainy! It rained almost the entire time I was here, and it's very hard to convince yourself to go all the way to Brooklyn (I'm staying in Harlem, so Brooklyn really is a trek from here) when it's raining AGAIN. The rain doesn't help the exhaustion thing; you walk around all day, get rained on for at least part of that day, then you wake up the next morning and you're so tired, and it's so rainy, and maybe you'll just go to the Met. And then you go to the Met, and you feel sick, so you have (overpriced, but at least you're supporting the Museum, right?) lunch, and then you feel worse, so you cancel on your friends, but then you're standing by the bus stop on the Upper East Side, and you really don't want to admit defeat and go back to the apartment, but it's rainy and you're sick and SHUT UP MARINA STOP WHINING.
Okay. Anyway. My point is that I am glad I came to New York, and I am glad that I'm going home. And I will have many photos and maybe some slightly more coherent words about New York once I've actually left New York.
Showing posts with label New York. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New York. Show all posts
21 May 2008
07 May 2008
new york, new york
Hey, guess where I'll be next Wednesday?
I didn't actually think about the timing when I bought my ticket, but what an awesome reward for getting through my first semester of grad school. There's a chance I might even get through my first semester with straight As. Not that I care about grades! I am in grad school to learn. Seriously.
Anyway. I started writing a list of things I'm going to do while I'm in the city, but it devolved into complaining about NYU within two bullet-point items. I may still have some unresolved issues there. It's okay though, my plans basically involve hanging out with Kira and also sending out a mass "I'm going to be in the city" email sometime this weekend. I will definitely have plenty to do, assuming anyone remembers me.
In conclusion, today I finished this. You can't tell, but there's another orange stripe thing on the back.
I didn't actually think about the timing when I bought my ticket, but what an awesome reward for getting through my first semester of grad school. There's a chance I might even get through my first semester with straight As. Not that I care about grades! I am in grad school to learn. Seriously.
Anyway. I started writing a list of things I'm going to do while I'm in the city, but it devolved into complaining about NYU within two bullet-point items. I may still have some unresolved issues there. It's okay though, my plans basically involve hanging out with Kira and also sending out a mass "I'm going to be in the city" email sometime this weekend. I will definitely have plenty to do, assuming anyone remembers me.
In conclusion, today I finished this. You can't tell, but there's another orange stripe thing on the back.
13 April 2008
orientalism
1. So I'm writing this paper for my Colonialism seminar. I have to talk about a bunch of different readings, mostly related to education and architecture and display in the later imperial period. That part isn't necessarily difficult--I did all the reading and I basically understand what all the authors are trying to say--but we also have to make a larger argument, and I just have nothing interesting to say. I don't know, I may have figured out an approach, but it's so difficult to write this paper because I just do not have anything interesting to add.
2. I'm going to New York in May. I think I may have already mentioned that, but I bought my ticket today. I'm leaving the week after finals, and I'm staying for eight days. It will be awesome.
3. I'm going to Kentucky on Thursday, for the Midwest Archives Conference Annual Meeting. I'm sort of not sure why I'm going, as it will cost money and I have not even taken any archives classes, and I'm seriously not going to have any background knowledge when I get there. But on the other hand, I'll get to go to Kentucky (which I probably would not ever have done otherwise), and it's not actually that expensive, and I'll probably learn something, and it's always good to make contacts or whatever. Right? I don't know, I'm just hoping I'll be able to buy some quality bourbon while I'm there.
4. I made a really awesome bag this weekend. After much consideration, I've decided to list it on Etsy, because much as I want to keep it for myself, I also want to keep having money to buy food, and that's going to be difficult since I keep going on trips I can't afford. I'll post a photo of the bag tonight or probably tomorrow, after I list it on Etsy.
5. I can barely write a coherent sentence. That does not bode well for the paper I've been working on for the past three hours!
2. I'm going to New York in May. I think I may have already mentioned that, but I bought my ticket today. I'm leaving the week after finals, and I'm staying for eight days. It will be awesome.
3. I'm going to Kentucky on Thursday, for the Midwest Archives Conference Annual Meeting. I'm sort of not sure why I'm going, as it will cost money and I have not even taken any archives classes, and I'm seriously not going to have any background knowledge when I get there. But on the other hand, I'll get to go to Kentucky (which I probably would not ever have done otherwise), and it's not actually that expensive, and I'll probably learn something, and it's always good to make contacts or whatever. Right? I don't know, I'm just hoping I'll be able to buy some quality bourbon while I'm there.
4. I made a really awesome bag this weekend. After much consideration, I've decided to list it on Etsy, because much as I want to keep it for myself, I also want to keep having money to buy food, and that's going to be difficult since I keep going on trips I can't afford. I'll post a photo of the bag tonight or probably tomorrow, after I list it on Etsy.
5. I can barely write a coherent sentence. That does not bode well for the paper I've been working on for the past three hours!
03 April 2008
this one's for kira
Guess where I'm going in May?
Peaches and Banana are going to be full-grown cats. I don't know if I'm ready for that.
Peaches and Banana are going to be full-grown cats. I don't know if I'm ready for that.
11 February 2008
01 August 2007
nostalgia
Yesterday was my going-away luncheon at work. Everyone seemed genuinely sad that I was leaving. People outside of work seem sad that I'm leaving too; this is all very strange to me. Leaving New York feels sort of like leaving SCC, leaving home, but this time I'm actually sad.
This is from a shoe store in the financial district. I want to go back to this store next time I'm in the city; eventually the scaffolding will be gone, and I'll be able to get a clear shot.
I can't believe that a month from now, I won't live in the city anymore. To those of you who live in the city, I'm warning you now--there's a better than average chance that I'll spontaneously start crying between now and the end of the month. Try not to get freaked out.
This is from a shoe store in the financial district. I want to go back to this store next time I'm in the city; eventually the scaffolding will be gone, and I'll be able to get a clear shot.
I can't believe that a month from now, I won't live in the city anymore. To those of you who live in the city, I'm warning you now--there's a better than average chance that I'll spontaneously start crying between now and the end of the month. Try not to get freaked out.
29 May 2007
disc golf
Let me tell you something about disc golf--I suck ass at disc golf. There was definitely a time when I could throw a frisbee, and that time is not now, because I am terrible at the disc golfing. I did get to spend a lot of time in a sunny, sunny park while figuring out the extent of my terribleness, so at least there's that. (According to Firefox spell check, 'terribleness' is a real word, which doesn't seem right somehow.)
I'm flying back to New York tonight, which is lame times a million. Well, the bars open until 4am, the 24 hour delis, the museums, the beautiful old buildings, the history, the mad amounts of diverse people, the stores, etc, are obviously not lame. But I have to go back to work and back to all the responsibilities that I've been avoiding for the past week, and I'm not really "about" that.
Books purchased and/or borrowed this week:
The Plague - Camus
Ficciones - Jorge Luis Borges
Double or Nothing - Raymond Federman
Commies, Crooks, Gypsies, and Poets - Jan Novak
I'm flying back to New York tonight, which is lame times a million. Well, the bars open until 4am, the 24 hour delis, the museums, the beautiful old buildings, the history, the mad amounts of diverse people, the stores, etc, are obviously not lame. But I have to go back to work and back to all the responsibilities that I've been avoiding for the past week, and I'm not really "about" that.
Books purchased and/or borrowed this week:
The Plague - Camus
Ficciones - Jorge Luis Borges
Double or Nothing - Raymond Federman
Commies, Crooks, Gypsies, and Poets - Jan Novak
24 February 2007
exceptionalism is bad!
I've been listening to PJ Harvey today, which I should really do more often. "The Desperate Kingdom of Love" is such a perfect melancholy song; you should go listen to it right now.
I started reading a book on the subway today, and by the end of the introduction, I knew that it was going to change my life. It's called A Nation Among Nations: America's Place in World History, and I think it's going to be the book around which I organize my academic career. Thomas Bender is a fucking genius.
(nerdy!)
I was on the subway heading towards the Cloisters, which is still my favorite place in New York. The Treasury has finally been reopened; I saw it for the first time today. I know it's cheesy or whatever, but whenever I go to the Cloisters and Fort Tryon Park, I feel like I can breathe, like I can think clearly. For some reason, maybe because the park reminds me strongly of Prague, it's so easy to think about what I want to do with my life, where I want to go from here.
(cheesy!)
In conclusion, there was a homeless dude smoking a blunt on the subway a few nights ago. I have never seen someone enjoy smoking that much. He was smoking for at least five or six stops, he was laying back, smiling and laughing, and when he got up to move to a different car, he stopped on the platform between cars, and holding the door open, he sang-screamed "I feel good! I knew that I would!" and you guys? I believed him.
I started reading a book on the subway today, and by the end of the introduction, I knew that it was going to change my life. It's called A Nation Among Nations: America's Place in World History, and I think it's going to be the book around which I organize my academic career. Thomas Bender is a fucking genius.
(nerdy!)
I was on the subway heading towards the Cloisters, which is still my favorite place in New York. The Treasury has finally been reopened; I saw it for the first time today. I know it's cheesy or whatever, but whenever I go to the Cloisters and Fort Tryon Park, I feel like I can breathe, like I can think clearly. For some reason, maybe because the park reminds me strongly of Prague, it's so easy to think about what I want to do with my life, where I want to go from here.
(cheesy!)
In conclusion, there was a homeless dude smoking a blunt on the subway a few nights ago. I have never seen someone enjoy smoking that much. He was smoking for at least five or six stops, he was laying back, smiling and laughing, and when he got up to move to a different car, he stopped on the platform between cars, and holding the door open, he sang-screamed "I feel good! I knew that I would!" and you guys? I believed him.
13 February 2007
panic!
How to write about snow in New York without sounding cheesy?
(a) All of these fuckers are scared of a little snow; last I heard, this "snowstorm" was going to leave six inches of snow. Six inches is nothing! In Wisconsin, we don't notice anything under a foot. Fucking pussies.
(b) I'm pretty sure I'm going to slip and fall on my ass at some point, maybe even while sober!
(c) I wonder if this means I don't have to go to my internship tomorrow morning?
(d) Tonight, on my break, I walked around for half an hour in the snow, and I felt calmer and happier than I have in days.
Woops, that last one was cheesy! Kill me now!
(a) All of these fuckers are scared of a little snow; last I heard, this "snowstorm" was going to leave six inches of snow. Six inches is nothing! In Wisconsin, we don't notice anything under a foot. Fucking pussies.
(b) I'm pretty sure I'm going to slip and fall on my ass at some point, maybe even while sober!
(c) I wonder if this means I don't have to go to my internship tomorrow morning?
(d) Tonight, on my break, I walked around for half an hour in the snow, and I felt calmer and happier than I have in days.
Woops, that last one was cheesy! Kill me now!
11 February 2007
surprise surprise
I wanted to hate Williamsburg, and I still do out of principle, but among the hate, there is massive love for the Salvation Army right by the Bedford Ave L Stop, the other thrift store with the vintage polo shirts and awesome belts, and of course, the prettiest little bookstore in the world.
I really, really want to go back to that bookstore. And I really, really want to convince my parents to open a bookstore just like it.
29 January 2007
battlestar gallactica=awesome
Actual exchange between me and the deli guy earlier tonight--
marina: [puts 24oz of Pilsner on the counter--shut up, i had a long day]
deli guy: [rings up beer, puts it in bag]
deli guy: for you? [points to beer]
marina: ...yeah
deli guy: [smiles big, giggles] ahhhh, crunk!
...the deli guy called me crunk. I'm not even sure what to say, but somehow that seems significant.
marina: [puts 24oz of Pilsner on the counter--shut up, i had a long day]
deli guy: [rings up beer, puts it in bag]
deli guy: for you? [points to beer]
marina: ...yeah
deli guy: [smiles big, giggles] ahhhh, crunk!
...the deli guy called me crunk. I'm not even sure what to say, but somehow that seems significant.
18 January 2007
winter
It was snowing a little bit earlier; just a little. Mostly it was rain, but there was a little bit of snow.
17 November 2006
dammit!
I was doing well, so very well, and then bam! No posts all week. I'm sure all two of you missed me tons.
(Speaking of which, I know there are at least four or five of you that check this on a regular basis, and yet none of you dirty bastards ever leave comments. Leave a comment, dammit!)
All right, in an act of contritition for my lack of posts, today is all about stories. The first one is mostly a cut-and-paste affair from g-chatting with Kira, because I am that lazy. I would wait until I have time to write it up and make it "good," but if there's anything I've learned this week, waiting until I have time to write something "good" means never writing anything at all. Whatever.
The second one, which I will almost definitely remember to post sometime later this evening, will definitely not be a transcript, at least not a transcript of g-chatting.
me: yo
are you going to be around tonight?
Kira: yo
no
me: :(
how do i do a crying one?
Kira: aww
hey did you see your box?
me: i did
right after i thought to myself, "i wonder if that box came yesterday?"
it was like magic
Kira: wow
me: also like magic!
oh i have the best story
and you understand nyu geography so it will be funnier to you than it was to my mom
Kira: okay
me: so i was walking to think coffee on mercer to get coffee before going to the library
(where i am now)
Kira: okay
me: so i'm on west 3rd and mercer, and i see a bike messenger go around the corner, apparently almost hitting this old guy who was talking on the phone, sort of standing in the street
and when i say old guy, he was probably late-40s and definitely had a long island, construction-worker vibe
Kira: okay
me: so the old guy starts yelling at the bike messenger, and the bike messenger is like "you were in the street dude"
Kira: right
me: so the guy hangs up the phone AND STARTS CHASING THE BIKE MESSENGER
so i watch as their little idiot caravan heads up laguardia towards the park
as they turn onto west 4th, heading east, i was like "aww i can't believe i'm going to miss the beatdown"
Kira: teehee
me: so i continue walking east on west 3rd, pausing briefly at that little park between the library and the stern management building, hoping i'll see them on west 4th, but i didn't
i had basically given up on finding out what happened, unless of course the old guy really kicked his ass and it was on the news
Kira: lol
i can see this
me: so i get to mercer and turn the corner
AND THE BIKE MESSENGER IS ON MERCER
at the corner of west 3rd, standing over his bike
and the old man is like halfway down the block
he chased the bike messenger around the fucking block!
Kira: lol
me: so i stand there, and i see them make truce signals, and the old guy walks up to the bike messenger
AND THEY FUCKING SHOOK HANDS
Kira: wow
that's insane
me: and then just started having a discussion in the street
i see this, and i started laughing, but i had to force myself to stop because i was standing like six feet away from them
Kira: of course
me: i walked into think coffee, got my coffee, came out, and they were still talking!
i wanted to walk up to them and be like "dudes, seriously, that was the best thing i've seen all week"
(Speaking of which, I know there are at least four or five of you that check this on a regular basis, and yet none of you dirty bastards ever leave comments. Leave a comment, dammit!)
All right, in an act of contritition for my lack of posts, today is all about stories. The first one is mostly a cut-and-paste affair from g-chatting with Kira, because I am that lazy. I would wait until I have time to write it up and make it "good," but if there's anything I've learned this week, waiting until I have time to write something "good" means never writing anything at all. Whatever.
The second one, which I will almost definitely remember to post sometime later this evening, will definitely not be a transcript, at least not a transcript of g-chatting.
me: yo
are you going to be around tonight?
Kira: yo
no
me: :(
how do i do a crying one?
Kira: aww
hey did you see your box?
me: i did
right after i thought to myself, "i wonder if that box came yesterday?"
it was like magic
Kira: wow
me: also like magic!
oh i have the best story
and you understand nyu geography so it will be funnier to you than it was to my mom
Kira: okay
me: so i was walking to think coffee on mercer to get coffee before going to the library
(where i am now)
Kira: okay
me: so i'm on west 3rd and mercer, and i see a bike messenger go around the corner, apparently almost hitting this old guy who was talking on the phone, sort of standing in the street
and when i say old guy, he was probably late-40s and definitely had a long island, construction-worker vibe
Kira: okay
me: so the old guy starts yelling at the bike messenger, and the bike messenger is like "you were in the street dude"
Kira: right
me: so the guy hangs up the phone AND STARTS CHASING THE BIKE MESSENGER
so i watch as their little idiot caravan heads up laguardia towards the park
as they turn onto west 4th, heading east, i was like "aww i can't believe i'm going to miss the beatdown"
Kira: teehee
me: so i continue walking east on west 3rd, pausing briefly at that little park between the library and the stern management building, hoping i'll see them on west 4th, but i didn't
i had basically given up on finding out what happened, unless of course the old guy really kicked his ass and it was on the news
Kira: lol
i can see this
me: so i get to mercer and turn the corner
AND THE BIKE MESSENGER IS ON MERCER
at the corner of west 3rd, standing over his bike
and the old man is like halfway down the block
he chased the bike messenger around the fucking block!
Kira: lol
me: so i stand there, and i see them make truce signals, and the old guy walks up to the bike messenger
AND THEY FUCKING SHOOK HANDS
Kira: wow
that's insane
me: and then just started having a discussion in the street
i see this, and i started laughing, but i had to force myself to stop because i was standing like six feet away from them
Kira: of course
me: i walked into think coffee, got my coffee, came out, and they were still talking!
i wanted to walk up to them and be like "dudes, seriously, that was the best thing i've seen all week"
08 November 2006
i'm only happy when it rains
Sonia and I went to the Bronx Zoo in the rain, and it was seriously pretty awesome. We got ridiculously wet, and every time we went into a building to dry off, it would be raining harder by the time we left, but I bought some cow socks and some giraffe socks, and I saw a pygmy marmoset AND a gueron AND a really sad, wet grizzly bear, so it was pretty much awesome.
Today's GRE word of the day is tyro, n., beginner; person lacking experience in a specific endeavor: "They easily took advantage of the tyro.
Today's GRE word of the day is tyro, n., beginner; person lacking experience in a specific endeavor: "They easily took advantage of the tyro.
23 October 2006
disgusting
New York is really trying its hardest to get rid of me. Last night, I tried not to scream like a pathetic girl as a rat ran down the subway platform, getting within six inches of me. Disgusting. Then, as I was walking from the subway station to my apartment, I had traveled not even half a block when a rat ran from a pile of trash on the curb to the disgusting little alley between two buildings, almost tripping me. Then! I got back to my apartment safely, managing not to actually step on any diseased rats on the way, which was great, but as I was checking my email and getting ready for bed, a loud horrible noise scared the crap out of my cats and startled me. But guess what garbagemen? You can collect the garbage in the middle of the night, make as much noise as you want, you can't wake me up! I have to work the night shift, so I'm never in bed by 1am anymore! New York: 2, Marina: 1.
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