our trip, part three (of three): NYC

I NO HEART NYC!!

After being jetlagged and grumpy, we arrived into NYC. It was literally a thousand degrees, taking into account the humidity factor, and we thought we'd died and gone to hell. Justin's cousin Chris (bless his little heart) had taken care of booking a hotel for us, which we were glad to not have to mess with. He got us a double bed, single room on 77th street, not too far away from stuff but not close enough to cost us our arms. What we ended up with, however, is a different story. We had a room with two twin beds, one sink, and we shared a shower and toilet with three other rooms. Essentially we paid $150 for a hostel. Oh, and the AC barely worked. Okay, we got to be light-hearted about that one, shrug it off, say "eh, that's NYC for ya!" and chuckle a bit. We showered and tried to take naps, but as we had been out of the country for a week + we had phone calls to make. That, and we were organizing meeting up with our two friends that happened to be in the city.
This is me and the Beck monster, a friend from Michigan who is now attending NYU. She took us to the village to a fun Mexican restaurant hailed for their margaritas. It was a swell time.

*Later that same night* Becky and Natalie, a friend from Colorado in NYC on a grant for travelling teachers!!
Can you tell Justin is SUPER THRILLED to be hanging out with three girls? We got the tour around to the important spots, including Times Square. Justin and I were exhausted by this point, so we split off from the group to head back to our hostel. NOT BEFORE WE GOT TO TRY OUR LUCK AT THE SUBWAY! It didn't like us, apparently, because it took us an hour and a half to get back to the hostel. We were tired, pissed off, and grumpy by the time we got back; needless to say, we slept soundly.

Day 2
Justin had been to NYC before and got the tour from cousin Chris, so Justin told me we could see whatever I wanted. All I wanted to see were the statue of liberty and the Guggenheim. Once we finally rolled out of bed and had breakfast, it was already early afternoon and the lines for the statue were outrageous. So we settled for, rather than going up in the lady, a ferry trip around her.
It was really a nice ferry ride.
After that we were starving, so we made it to 5th Avenue, where we had some killer pizza and window shopped. I figured by this point that I wouldn't have the time wanted to spend in the Guggenheim, so I settled for The Empire State Building instead. The lines were surprisingly not long and fast moving, so we got to the top in good time. I was doing well until Justin asked me if I could feel the building swaying back and forth, and I was instantly sick. We left immediately.
After that it was nearly 5pm, so we headed to the train station to get tickets to head to Greenwich, where Justin's other cousin Ryan and wife Julie reside in a mansion. We made it up there around 7. They barbecued and we went through, I think, 6 bottles of wine, so not much to report from that, as it is all lost in my subconscious.
The happy couple.
In fact, we were so worn out by the preceding travels that we didn't even go back into NYC. We spent a relaxing two days with them, barbecuing each night and catching up. They are incredibly fun and hospitable people, and it was a perfect way to end our vacation!!

So there you have it, all three parts.
(I can't believe I nearly forgot about this last leg)

here we go

here goes another school year...
i've spent the last week attending meetings and trying to get my very disorganized classroom in order. i guess that's what i get for leaving right after the last day last year for europe and not spending any time there over the summer. it went by too fast to be at school, anyway.
happily i got out of having a freshman class, and instead i have two senior classes. my last-year's-juniors will be none-too-happy about that, as i (GASP) actually make them work! i can only emit an evil laugh....

i'd better get back to giving my room attention...

cool new drink idea

someone should make up a new drink and name it marriage.

that way, i could mosey up to a bar and ask for a "marriage on the rocks."

it would have to be fruity, though. but also stiff. any takers?

this you CAN take seriously

disclaimer:
back in may i posted a short story i wrote about my first year teaching (which has since been removed). apparently someone stumbled upon it and made a stink about it. it was never meant as a serious piece. it was a creatively written piece of satire, playing on the misconceptions and stereotypes of things related to high school.
this story was not meant to be taken literally!
the characters in the story, represented FICTITIOUSLY, are in real life the most caring, compassionate, and kind-hearted teachers i know. they give up their personal time to school/student needs, they are always bending over backwards for colleagues and students, and they care a great deal about actually seeing their kids succeed, which is more than i can say for most teachers these days.
so, to those i unintentionally hurt, i am sorry.
and to those who were offended, realize that this blog is my creative outlet, and as such most of what i write is sarcastic and humorous.
{this is the end of the serious part}

...and this to follow.

it was nice being back in old stomping grounds, northwestern city of fun and mayhem. the year i lived in boise was a strange time in my life. J and i were back and forth a bit, not to mention me getting pregnant in february--it was all quite a transition. it was also my senior year of college and i was writing my thesis, a comparison between master and margarita and faust. to top it all off, i worked 60 hours a week in addition to school and thesis and a great social life. looking back now, i have no idea how i made time and energy to do everything i did. but it was fun.


i stayed with curt & gigi, who were my home away from home.many of bottle of vino were cracked open with them, and i spent many a night sleeping it off on their amazing couch. they were very excited to spend time getting to know soren better, as they are her godparents.

i anticipated only seeing, besides curt & gigi, two of my friends from yore: kris (whose wedding i went up for) and elton. most everyone else i spent any time with before had promised me they were moving away, and so i sincerely expected them to be gone. not so. i ran into every single person that said they'd be leaving boise behind. and none of them had any tangible plans for moving yet. i also got to see my friends from college, both of whom i don't keep up with nearly as much as i'd like. the twenty or so minutes we spent together were great.

idaho was good for me musically.
living where i live, it is rare that i have opportunities to hear new good music.i do have a few outlets that keep me updated to some, but i know a lot of other music passes me by. happily, two of the people i ran into that were suppoed to have left boise in their dust were always good sources for new music, though i didn't always necessarily agree with them on what is good or otherwise.
enter jake. jake got me the coolest job i had in boise (working at the flying m cafe) when i was a freshman in college. he had a crush on me, but it's good we never dated because, as he so aptly put it, we would have killed each other. besides our debates about how it's absurd for women to be kept from holding positions of authority in the church (he was them involved in the church of christ, i was then more involved in feminist issues), we always talked music. so when i ran into him at the neurolux and he pulled up a chair and a pen and paper, i thought he was going to get my contact information. what he really wanted to know, however, was what bands i'd heard of lately so he could make me a mix. the mix goes as follows:
joann newsom
album leaf
antony & the johnsons
the frames
my morning jacket
broken social scene
i can make a mess like nobody's business
tom waits
the gossip
death from above 1979
refused
muse
the music
camera obscura
leanard cohen
the mix was a nice alternative to my ipod on the return journey. jake did end up getting my contact info later, but the point is that it wasn't as important as a mix.

enter derek. derek is a friend who works at a record store. he was a great contact for me in boise, because, not only was he up on all the new stuff, but he frequently gave me his employee discount. i had set aside a little stash of cash from waiting tables this summer for the specific purpose of buying music there, and i am ever so glad he had not left boise as planned. derek is a great guy aside from the job with perks--very fun and sweet. we frequented the neurolux for drinks and dancing; but who can say no to 50% off used, 25% off new cds? not i! he came in with a stack of music for me to sample, and i spent a good two hours doing just that. some he introduced me to are:
gin palace
i am kloot
aveo
efterklang
gerling
chk! chk! chk!
cruiser
and many more, but those i enjoyed most.
now at least i have some lists to work off of, and i definitely have my homework cut out for me.


kris and marcus' wedding was beautiful. it was on a rooftop, and soren and i both danced until 11.30. i honestly thought she'd pass out at 8, but she became the life of the party (aside from the bride and groom, of course). people i didn't even know were asking to dance with her because she's just that good. she certainly does not get that from her dad. it was a really lovely time, and there again i ran into so many people i knew.

it was a great week, and soren was a great travelling companion. she didn't ever get too fussy or unmanageable; the trip in the car was effortless, and everyone enjoyed her.

goin good

it's lovely being back in boise, city of trees. although, it is a million degrees here. i've actually run into more people than i expected to see...obviously when they told me two years ago they were moving on and out of this town, they weren't too serious about it. which is good for me, because i was glad to see them.

curt & gigi's daughter had her baby 6 weeks early while i was here. i got to witness the nurses and doctors in action, as well as her, an unprepared, uninformed mother about to give birth. it was a sad, sad sight. having a baby is a beautiful thing ALWAYS, and i'm not talking about the actual way it looks, i mean the idea. taking that statement literally would be kinda silly. but what i really want to talk about is how horrible the nurses were! they just run the show if you don't put your foot down. they had no consideration for amber and the fact that SHE was the one about to have a baby, not them, and that she probably had a much better idea of what was comfortable for her body. they barked orders; she obeyed. they refused to let her eat anything, although she hadn't eaten since the day before anyway. wouldn't you think if she was about to go through strenuous labor she might need some fuel for the ride? of course they whisked her baby away from her immediately and stuck him on a hot-plate. he has to stay there for 2 weeks, even though he has been proclaimed fine as a preemie. and she isn't protesting. it would be nice to see women more informed and taking more action to protect their bodies in cases like these. i wish there had been something i could have done to encourage her in that aspect; but she doesn't even know me, so it would merely have been intrusive and horrible timing.

today is kris' wedding. i'm pretty excited about it, but unfortunately i won't be able to stay late and consume too many drinks. we're set to drive off tomorrow around 8 am, and i don't want to be a wreck in the car. my daughter is already getting to the end of my patience, though it should be noted how wonderful she has been until now!

when i return there will be pictures and stories galore.







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