April 25, 2012
I’m in NYC …sitting at starbucks on 6th and 24th.
Not so unique as there is almost one on every block. My stomach is still churning from my
interview and I’m not sure what is going to calm the butterflies and relay to
myself that it is already over. The city
is interesting to say the least. If I ever thought people-watching was
interesting at byu….then wow am I having a ball here. A rainy and overcast day
makes for my newly purchased umbrella ever ready to cover my new outfit that I
feel semi uncomfortable in. I’ve already
been in and out of gap to buy the cheapest flip flops and change out of my
heels so my new blisters can breathe.
Needless to say my mismatched flip flops actually make me feel a little
more blended in. too bad they don’t fit
in my new purse either so there’s another bag to add to my heavy laden right
shoulder…then left shoulder…then right again….etc etc.
A day filled with meeting important people, seeing important
people, and shaking hands with important people left me feeling a little
intimidated most of the 4 hour interview. I feel privileged of course for the
opportunity. Conde Nast address is 4
Times Square—threw me off a little bit.
Thanks to my iphone I’ve smoothly navigated my way around town…or
city…or big city…or crossroads of the world. The highlight was being able to
meet the Publisher of Self Magazine.
Nice people—I really hope my nerves didn’t shine through too much. Touring the building was good too—the famous
cafeteria lived up to its reputation. It’s huge and exactly like I thought it
would be. I kept thinking that around
the next corner that I was going to see the mean lady on the “Devil Wears
Prada” or fittingly the actor of “cruella devil”…enough puppy skin to make me
think that as well. At the restaurant I
got a menu item that left me still hungry but probably would have broken my
bank account had I paid. What can you say…it was the best fish I ever ate…even
though it lasted a couple bites. Anyway.
It was one of the best lunches and interviews i've had.
I’m taking a lot of pictures…for those who know me, I’m sure
that’s not too hard to believe, although I’m sure I won’t be in any of them…the
only people I feel comfortable taking my touristy pics are the huge groups of
high school students that are doing the same thing. It’s always embarrassing to be labeled a
tourist and it’s definitely not the outfit that takes the label off—it’s a
bunch of other things that I won’t go into. The sounds of ny just sound like
the hustle and bustle of “when do you need that report?” answer “ten minutes
ago”. It’s a hurried life. All the sounds are certainly drowned out by the
smells that are so poignant to my provo sensitive nose…the only recognizable smells
that I’m used to are the hotpocket smell in the talmage building and the smell
of French fries at the malt shoppe. A
lot of my dollars are now in circulation in the hands of the homeless. You try not to generalize, although 80% I
later saw with a beer. This foursome
group on the subway made me reflect a little bit. I liked their music whether it was actually
good or more of a cultural highlight I do not know but I did not feel bad about
appreciating their talents. I was born
with a sensitive heart that way I guess. I definitely wonder why my mom never
realized how cool runs were in nylons as it really seems to be trending.
I’m a lot blonder and a lot more paler than I remembered
against this sea of people. It’s a lot
like Madrid as to the ways everyone is wearing their classy and unique
styles. So different than provo—a lot
less make up…a lot more color (in more ways than one), and a lot less
poof. I wish I brought some classy
shades this trip…not for the fashion, but more for the hiding. An environment “that makes LA look like it’s
Hawaii” I’m told—if that’s true I wonder what boise is…wait no Rexburg…wait no
Mountain Home! The food is good…wasn’t
wanting to throw down too much on the menu items so the local stores luna bars
have kept me going.
Tomorrow I’m meeting up with one of the BYU Professors I
used to work with…she teaches all the fashion classes and sewing at byu. So
happens she took a group here at the same time.
She is definitely the epidime of a ny dresser…and definitely almost an
eyesore to most people at byu. Can’t
wait to come back here with calvin so we can do what we do best…go
‘sploring. I’ve heard of the beautiful
neighborhoods and because I’m a museum junkie I’m sad I didn’t get to do that
either this time…
I’m off to stroll a couple blocks to meet with a few friends
that are here. I told them I want to go
to the best local pizza place they know of so I’ll let you know. Anyway…I will be flying through Chicago
tomorrow and hopefully see a friend.
Can’t wait to get back to my love.
Me and NYC definitely missed him.
Well I just got back from the local pizza place. It was
amazing—the fresh mozzarella was so fresh that it looked like melted
marshmallow. It was good to see my
friends and feel some familiarity in an unfamiliar place. I was modest in my portion, although I felt
like I could’ve eaten the whole pizza.
Upon getting back to the apartment I’m staying in…(it was about 10)…I
was invited by my cousin’s girlfriend to join her in a local jazz bar in
harlem. The mantra I seem to be living
by lately is that there is a fun way to
live life, and a not fun one way to life life—you choose. So I did…the subway
is a lot better than the public buses of course. What I didn’t realize was there was a 20$
minimum that you had to pay on food. At
11 o’clock at night I was hardly feeling like it. So between an appetizer and a dessert I was one dollar off of 20. The appetizers
that would’ve have made it equal to 20 were all out. Because I am now a college grad, I was trying
to make all the computations I could to add up to 20 without getting a full
entrée. No such luck…unless I bought a drink.
I ended up getting a think of buffalo wings…a thing is much more like a
bucket….a huge bucket…and I ate three. I
also got a dark chocolate mousse with fresh whipped cream and a strawberry. A relaxing
time with some good jazz music was definitely a great end to my exhausting and
exciting day.
I think my perfume wore off during the first public transit
I was on today…but hopefully my deodorant is still keepin’ up. I’m sure if it
wasn’t I’d blend a lot more in as well.
As I’ve read over these previous paragraphs I can’t believe
how dry and mechanical I sound. oh well- journalings ya know. I now sit in the large Chicago o’hare airport. I was supposed to meet my friend who goes to
law school here but apparently a 2.5 hour layover is not enough to beat the horrible
traffic. It turned out good that I
didn’t leave because apparently my gate switched and thanks to the feeling that
I couldn’t pick out one Mormon looking person that I got up and asked. It so happened to move to entirely different
terminal and the one I just walked what it seemed 45 minutes from. Luckily my navigation skills have been pretty
sharp and practiced so finding the free shuttle back to the C terminal from
which I came wasn’t bad. I’ve had a
sweet tooth on this trip, but I don’t seem to mind as the familiar “I’ll start
tomorrow ring” has repeated about 5 times today…so I guess I will—
This morning I woke up and got all of my things together. I wanted to see a little more of the city and
go by the temple before I left. Again,
got out google maps and found the route to the temple and then from there to
the LaGuardia airport. Things wouldn’t
be so bad but my internet on my phone hasn’t been working properly
unfortunately. My brother jeff
recommended magnolia bakery to me which happened to be just down from the
temple. A very cute bakery. Light and bright and I didn’t mind the
thought of me eating a cupcake for breakfast, especially with the title
flourless chocolate cake with a vanilla bean merengue. It was amazing…I made sure I just stopped at
one. Thinking I should probably grab
some lunch and burning a lot more extra calories trunking my bag and purse
around, I stopped at a place called nanoosh that was a hummus bar. I got a really great hummus wrap with a side
of quinoa salad. It was delicious! Fresh and not greasy which my stomach
definitely appreciated. Loved walking to
all of my favorite stores like zara and burberry—more for the eyes and not for
the wallet of course.
I was also standing in line getting a sample of yummy
popcorn and I noticed a distant relative.
Well my mom’s cousins but I had never met him. Because most of my social ques have been
somewhat confused along the way from provo to times square I asked if his last
name was Sheffield. It was! I was so
proud of my networking skills that I feel I acquired coincidentally from the
Sheffield side of the family. I guess
since I asked I will never have to wonder.
I also saw Elizabeth smart In the same line and consider the Chicago
ohare airport to be a small world
Now off to the good ole’ SLC to see my husband. I can’t wait! I’ve missed him a lot and hate
not sharing these cool experiences with him.
Just another trip we'll have to take together J we are anticipating a lot of
roadtrips next week between Boise, Mesa and then to charlotte so I don’t count
my traveling days over yet, but I hope I can get over my sweet tooth before I
meet with the 20 gas stations we are sure to visit.
It’s interesting that I was so enveloped in the fashion
realm as I do not consider myself a fashionable person. Quite a contrast to my high school years
where I lived in boys basketball shorts.
Funny thing is I really wish I had them on instead of these suit
pants. Maturity I guess although I still
don’t know what that means in my 23rd year. There is definitely something to be said
about experiencing NYC alone. I felt accomplished
that I didn’t have any real problems navigating my way around. I forgot what parent I got my good sense of
direction from. I hear both of them say
that. It was definitely fun soaking it
all in by myself. I feel like I’ve
learned a lot.
Again, greetings from the cities
this is where i had the lunch for half of interview.
