Iowa?...Eww...

  The title of this blog is dedicated to the guy whose reaction was just that when I said I was from that speck in the midwest.  Okay, maybe he didn't really say "eww" but there was a groan...as if he even knew where Iowa was?! Please, don't say "eww" unless you can point to it on a map...His answer: "I have a general idea."
  Not. Good. Enough!
  This was the trend of my first day at work.  When I introduced myself I got either, "cool" or "is that like your last name?"  Um, like, no.  But hey I am used to the question by now so no biggie ;)  Lets get to the good stuff.

  Of course I arrived like an hour early because I can't judge trains-not my fault since the stupid F train wasn't running this weekend-but I'd rather be early than late...minus, I did sweat more than needed...but besides the stains I got some financial stuff figured out and walked past Celia Keenan-Bolger, ------------>
who was looking extra Meryl Streep "The Devil Wears Prada" with her bug-eyed glasses that shielded any light from her usually perky-appearing demeanor.  Then I entered the building, rode the elevator until I wandered into work.....
  Having been around a minimum of like 3 or 4 other interns at my last job(s) the new like 12 or 15 was quite the shocker.  Oh and of course I am the newbie, soooo yea! (sarcasmmmmm)  First job of this trip: remembering everyones' name...yeah, good luck me.  But for the most part everyone was super friendly with a hint of that competitive atmosphere smooshed in there.  I got the debriefing of the ways of the office and read through the "need to knows" before actually getting to try my hand at an official project...which lasted the last half of the day.  To say my ass wasn't numb by 6pm would be the biggest understatement I've said...ever.  Thankfully, teamwork prevailed and we got the thing done and were rewarded by *drum roll* being able to leave on time.
  Side Notes:  Subways are still my preferred way of transportation, super efficient (usually) and you only sweat for a bit because they have air conditioning (again, usually).  For anyone who says they get bored here is a liar because seriously walk outside and stare at people.  It is the most fun you'll have outside of having friends...which will be a next step of mine...Make more friends. And stay poor. Don't get poorer...But before I make that rule official I am off to buy a awesome Buffy t-shirt I stumbled upon online.

Thanks for stopping by! Later kids.

Blisters

Day. Two.  What to say, what to say.  For starters how bout: "Ouch" "Ew" "Ah" & "motherf**ker!"  Now I know you wanna know! ;)
  After a mild coma (i slept for 11 hours) I arouse to a shower with little to no water pressure and a breakfast of champions...I had Raisin Bran...After getting into my signature purple attire I walked and walked and walked, maybe have sweated in their a few times, through the lower east side & Soho until I found the subway I needed hopped on that and headed to Time Square for an afternoon with one of the only familiar faces I know here in the city.

To kick off my summer in NYC she and I got tickets to the Tony nominated show "The Motherf**ker with the Hat" featuring Chris Rock & Bobby Cannavale.  Not really caring if I saw it or didn't, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with it.  The audience was loud and interactive, the performances were strong-minus the woman nominated for the Tony...I found her shouts & druggy shakes kind of distracting & not in the theatrical way...maybe she was just having an off day...IDK...anyways, overall it was a great show and I can for see it being done all over after it runs its course here. And last thing...I am not a huge Chris Rock fan, love him in Dogma and that is about it...he usually is too loud and obnoxious for me in his movie roles, but being loud is a plus in the theatre and he was by far my favorite part of the show.
 While waiting for the show my friend and I wandered the busy streets and avoided sunlight (so hooottt!) which lead us to a few interesting experiences.  1.  The asian lady with a talent for clearing her sinuses & 2. The biggest damn cockroach I've ever seen!  The second story is pretty self-explanatory so I will just go into the first one...
  Sitting in the shade by a table in the middle of Time Square, we both were deep in some intellectual conversation aka most likely me chatting away after seeing the multiple True Blood posters and Torchwood: Miracle Day signs, when this little asian women walking with her family meandered past and proceeded to cause my gag reflex to...uh...flex?  But seriously, both my friend and I had to choke back a spittle of vomit after Miss Lady closed one nostril with her index finger and then proceeded to suck all the snot up into her head and then hocked the nastiest loogy into a trash can...I mean at least she spit it into a trash can but come on! NAST!
  This was followed promptly by a visit to the Disney store.
  The show happened after that, and the line was hella long (this is when getting student rush tickets EARLY comes in handy) but while in line I spied something hiding in the shade of the bricks of a building...this thing was the giant cockroach and it was...shudder inducing.  It could have taken on Godzilla...seriously.
  So my day was full of shudders and laughs and ended with a blister covered foot...damn purple shoes I love you so, but you and the NYC terrain don't get along.  Poor feet...Now I am getting ready to pop some drugs to make myself sleep before my first day of work tomorrow! EEEEKKKKKKKKK!!!
 

  Wish me luck!

  Laters

THUNDERDOME Round 2: NYC Style

*Cough-cough-sputter-gasp*

     Oh hey! :)  Sorry I was just drowning in life there for a second...wait what?! Its been like two months since...woah...talk about losing track of time.  I guess what you really want to know is where I've been and what I've been doing that could cause such a lapse in bloggin'!  Okay, okay, let me catch you up...

  Well i finished my semester with flying colors, a train ride home that rivals all accounts of boredom ever written about by me, and two months in the midwest that consisted of iced coffee beverages and self-motivation.  Trust me, going into detail could cause spontaneous combustion and that can be very messy to clean up.  Lets just say I got a good amount of writing done and upped my macho gauge by doing manual labor at a softball field.  Impressive? No, I didn't think so.  But, my friends, the reason I am writing to you right now is because I am back in the land of attitudes.  That's right.  New York City I am back...bitch. 

  Through the wonders of connections and my lovely phone manners (thanks Dad!...also hint the sarcasm) I was able to land a summer internship at Telsey + Company.  It is a big time casting agency for B-Way musicals/plays and dabbles in the world of TV & Film.  As an intern I will be doing interny things like: everything.  

What? Too vague?  I know, but once my first day happens trust me, vague will be thrown out the window to land in the dump below my dorm room.

  Oh right the dorm thing...I am living in a dorm this time round.  So 21 year-old of me, what can I say...The dorm itself is smack dab in the middle of the Lower East Side and is swarming with young adults.  There is a terrace with grass and weeds...be jealous.  

  Having survived walking up at 3:30 in the morning and making it through the mini-clan of Asian children who found it necessary to kick my seat until the vibrations rocked me to sleep and then to be followed by a rather pleasant flight that played 30 Rock and Parenthood on tiny televisions, my travels were-compared to the train-peachy keen.  

  Now, to only confuse security a little bit more, I am gonna go walk around for the fourth or fifth time until i find that moving is overrated. 

 Alrighty than, later folks!   

Book of Billy the War Horse Mormon

Besides my last rant of a post let me catch you up on the awesome.

1.)  Billy Elliot.  Not the lovely family movie that drops the F'bomb like it is "the" but the wonderfully adapted stage musical...obviously.  My wonderful Aunt-wonderful doesn't even begin to describe her wonderfulness-bought me and one other friend a ticket.  A super close ticket that cost too much, but hey I am not complaining.  ;)  On the night of the performance me and my term mate wandered to the Imperial Theatre (crowded!) and meandered to our seat.  The show followed the story line of the movie pretty closely, though it had its liberties with rearranging a few events which in the end completely helped the show and made it its own.  The Billy we saw, Alex Ko, was the senior billy (been their the longest) and to our surprise was an Iowan as well!  Represent! Not the greatest singer, but then again Billy Elliot isn't known for his singing, but his dancing was faboosh.  Literally every time there was an intense dance sequence I teared up.  Call me a pansy, cause I do.  Having listen to the soundtrack before and not loving it, Elton John's tunes came to life onstage and worked wonders with the choreography that mixed the teenie tiny ballet dancers with the big square police/miner ones.  To say I was in love with the movement on stage would have been an understatement.  Though the highlight of the night was definitely the uber small but extremely loud stage presence, Cameron Clifford, as Michael.  Billy's cross dressing friend.  He owned the staged, and his interaction with Billy in the end left everyone going "Ahhh" or if you were the girls in the balcony "AAAAAAAAAAH."  Definitely one of the strongest shows I had seen, and probably the show I had the hardest time not weeping at.  

2.  War Horse.  A 3 hour long epic about the relationship between a boy and his horse during WWI took place at the Vivian Beaumont.  With epic, EPIC puppet work I have never ever been so attached to an inanimate object, but those three person controlled horses really got me.  Actual tears were shed, but I didn't feel like a baby because almost everyone in my group cried...and the one's that didn't don't have souls.  You know who you are *glare*  The story was so engaging and the bond between human and animal was taken to the extreme when the Albert loses his horse Joey to the army and goes off to find his old friend.  It is a story that spans over 4 or 5 years and we get in deep in No Mans Land.  Heart wrenching the script was very strong and really upped the stakes to the greatest degree and one always expected the worst...and usually got it.  Though the ending to me was a surprise it still managed to make me sob.  The teamwork involved in the show was amazing, each unit working on the massive puppets breathed together making the animal come to life.  I literally forgot they were even there.  Now I hear Steven Spielberg is whipping this up into a movie.  Hope he does it justice.  Then again this did come from a book so interpretations may be different...I just hope it doesn't go beyond and ruin the relationship at the center of the story.

3.  Book of Mormon.  Now this show....this show...I don't even know where to begin.  I am still on a high from the whole experience.  Almost impossible to get into, my friend and I decided to use our time wisely and go out on the day we knew we had open to attempt to get lottery tickets.  We didn't.  Arriving  early we placed our names in the bucket and waited...and waited...but alas they only had 20 tickets and those went to other lucky winners.  Damn them.  But my friend stayed behind in the "standing room only" line which we heard about randomly from a boy who stood behind us when we tried (and failed...twice) to get rush tickets to Sister Act.  We ended up waiting over 2 hours...and waiting for a chance to obtain two of 16 tickets.  We were 11 & 12 in line!  Tickets were only 27 dollars a piece!  & the view was great!  Sure we had to stand for 2 and a half hours but talk about worth it.  For a show that has been kept under wraps, and that hasn't even opened yet, this buy far is going to win a Tony or two.  With a script that is blatantly offensive while at the same time incredibly intellectual, Trey Parker and Matt Stone have themselves a winner.  By making fun of, while validating Mormonism, the show poked fun at everything by being as raunchy and nasty as possible.  My jaw was on the ground and my stomach-which was digesting some spicy Chipotle-got a full workout because I was laughing so hard.  The music was perfect reminding me a lot of the fabulous Avenue Q (this makes sense since this also came from one of the creators of that show) every song was memorable and got stuck in your head.  From opening to close the audience was in stitches and by the end everyone was completely on board with the message.  By playing both sides and never shoving any specific viewpoint down anyones throat the show was an all out winner.  Now if they would just open and release the soundtrack...

Well that is my show update.  I need to go because the coffee shop is closing soon.  I know I know, I also cut it close.  Time for homework and sleepytime. Work in the morning and then...House of Blue Leaves in the evening.  Seeing my lovely roommates mom work some magic on the stage alongside my beloved Nurse Jackie...Edie Falco.  If I can contain my excitement I will let you know how it is.  But if all you read looks like this---> AS@#&(%Yno84932w0JFOS02048058DNOSuslsofu2jfamg10SS!  Or something along those lines...you know I liked it.  :)  

Later you hooligans.  

One Week. *Cries*

    One week.  That is all that is left.  ONE WEEK!  How I hate those two words.  I mean going home to see my family will be wonderful and there shall be fireworks of happy reunion proportion, but when you get presented with the opportunity to stay and get EXTRA AWESOME experience, the deadline to figure out your life becomes way too stressful.
   Having gotten a taste of the film world, and having bitten off various nibblets of different aspects of the bizz, I may have the option to stay for the summer to expand my experience in the world I adore.  The only trouble is A.)  Many summer internships start like...NOW! 2.) Money...which should be my number one, but I care more about the experience. Is that bad?  3.) Housing...I have none.  These are the problems I face.

Now, the options I have may not happen, two have been axed because of scheduling stuff and the others are still up in the air.  The pay is low to nonexistent.  But the experience is of godlike proportion!  Like major insight into the world I want to be a part of with people who know their stuff.  Completely intimidating!  But so worth it!  I am currently waiting to see what may present itself, emails have been exchanged, calls have been made, messages left and resumes sent out.  But I have one week.  One week to figure this out.  On top of packing, finishing up major homework and ending my current internships.  This is like grade A cliffhanger stuff kiddos!  The things season finales are made of!  Can you handle the pressure?  I don't know if I can.

A Continuation of Man Spider Blog

Picture by a Ms. Ellen Burns

2.  Walked the Brooklyn Bridge...Pretty self explanatory...Though I will say this.  Brrrr!  And.  Crowded! Oh and of coures.  Pretty!

Yeah, that happened. 

3.  Greg Mottola's Paul with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.  I just so happen to be in the second scene (Comic-Con) and right in front of Simon and Nick.  You gotta look for me but I am huge and pasty and definitely there.  Then there is a shot of the back of my head.  Super quick, but I was still nervous getting ready to see myself.  The movie was cute overall, choke full of sci-fi tidbits for all the fanboys out there.  Overall though not my favorite Pegg and Frost movie, but the cast was great and the animation was crazy good.  Plus Kristen Wiig and her cursing...you can't go wrong.  I recommend it fo shizzle.

4.  In a nutshell I got a glimpse at how casting goes down and it was definitely something that piqued my interest.  Possible area of interest in the future?  With my imdb brain?! Possibly ;P

Greenberg. Yeah.

5.  The sunny has slowly been showing its bright face and so have the actors that inhabit NYC.  Thanks to my memory of all things movie related (wish my brain was like this with math or something really useful) in one day I saw not one, not two, but five actors!  And even today I got to see more!  Can i just state for the record that I am one hell of a fan because I do not squeal, gawk or stalk any of these folks.  Just a smile and if they need something I am there to point them in the right direction.  Oh, right...actors...in order of appearance....John Turturro, Kristen Wiig, Amber Tamblyn, Sasha Baren Cohen, Charlie Cox, Dylan Walsh, Bryan Greenberg and Bill Hader.  That was only from last friday till now...woah.  Oh and I totally got to tell Bryan Greenberg I would wash his cup for him because the dishwasher was clean.  Baby steps, baby steps.

Please, oh, please, oh, please! 

6.  Hunting for house/apartment sitting jobs on craigslist/applying for summer housing at NYU.  Got the opportunity to stay longer, and why not!  Would get to go home for a month and a half and then return to the big apple for two months.  I am finally feeling like I am really getting the hang of things here and i am learning so much (sounds corning but it's true) so I want to try as hard as I can, exhaust all my options before settling for Iowa.  Which, in reality is not that bad of a second choice. ;)

Well kiddos that has been my life up to date as briefly as I could put it.  There has been so much more but I thought you would enjoy the supa' fun parts more.  Three weeks left and then I am home.  I can't believe it.  Time goes by when you intern.  Now that's true life.

Spidey Blog, Spidey Blog, don't break your face Spidey Blog.

I really hope that you guys read the title with the theme song in mind because if you didn't you can just cross yourself off the cool list.  Now, if any of you are left on the cool side of things lets catch up shall we?
   What have I don't since you last heard from me?  More like what haven't I done! BAM!  Here's the DL for yuh.
     1.  Shows that I have seen that you may have heard of and may be jealous-or not-of me for seeing:  David Lindsay-Abaire's Good People featuring Frances McDormand & Tate Donavon.  And the one and only...Spiderman Turn Off the Dark.
    2.  Walked the Brooklyn Bridge.
    3.  Saw myself in a movie.
    4.  Interned for a casting director.
    5.  Been in the presence of five, or more, actors in one day.  
    6.  Am currently attempted to be productive while trying to figure out a way to stay in NYC for the summer.

That folks is the Down Low.  Now for specifics.

1.  Abaire's Good People was one of those shows I knew I had to see when I saw that the playwright had a new show premiering with such a wonderful lead actress.  You may know Abaire from his magnificent play now turned motion picture, Rabbit Hole.  His ability to create realistic worlds dealing with rather devastating concepts and weaving in humor and hope into each scenario is something to behold.  And let me tell you I beheld it well.  Student rush tickets for 27 bucks, sat in row G (which is like 7 rows from the front) and saw not one but two actors in the audience.  Zachary Quinto (Slyer from Heroes/Spock from the new Star Trek) was looking mighty fine in his red hat and hipster skinny jeans, and the linebacker that was Kathleen Turner looked exquisite as usual.  *Fun Fact*  Kathleen and I practically chest bumped after the show because it was so crowded...it was awesome.  The show itself wasn't nearly as good as Abaire's previous drama, but it still held its own and McDormand and the small toothed Donavon did superb jobs carrying the show.  Though my personal favorites were the two friends of McDormand's character, the ever so blunt Estelle Parsons and the whippersnapper Becky Ann Baker. Good affective story telling, with a really strong second act.  The ending was a bit ambiguous but that was preferable.

    Spiderman on the other hand...or eight other hands, should have called it quits when the furies (yes, as in the furies from Greek mythology) come out with high heels on every leg to sing about why Arachne (yes that lady who turned into the world's first spider) yells about how having shoes will help her get Peter Parker.  This, my friends, is no joke.  What STOTD did well, they did well. Visually my eyes were gasming right and left, up and down, pretty much all over the place.  *And they should have cause I spent a pretty penny to see this show!*  But, what they did wrong, they took too far.  The music sounded good, the lyrics were HORRIBLE! Peter Parker is a pecker...or something along those lines were put into the bullying song...While my eyes gasmed my ears bled.  But, the rock songs, like "The Boy Falls From the Sky" rocked my life.  The script was poor and all over the place.  So much for any emotional attachment to Aunt Mae or Uncle Ben...they were in it for maybe two scenes.  And when Ben dies...talk about cliche.  "He never knew he loved me!"...yes, that was screamed by Peter Parker...gag me.  But the high notes of it....T.V. Carpio as Arachne blew me away.  Her unique voice and ability to work those eight legs made me wait for her after the show (I did indeed get to talk to her and touch her hand...it's the little things!) Also Patrick Page as the Green Goblin.  Best part hands down.  Too bad he "died" at the end of the first act.  Oh, and the thing you've all been waiting for...mishaps.  Sorry folks, only one, and that was when Spidey rammed his arms into one of the balcony's when he went to perch on it's edge.  Gasps ensued but he was fine.  I think.

See I told you .  Shoes.  I wasn't kidding. 

                                                        Continue Post Via above this one...

Franken-toe

     The days are flying bye! And to some, if not most of the folks on this term, are happy about that...I, on the other hand...am not.  Not that I don't want to fly home see the fam-mostly my dog-and friends and the luscious green of Iowa, but I just don't feel ready to let up my grip on the concrete jungle.
  
     But, less about the sad and more about the happy!

     First off I must congratulate my fellow New York termer (whose name I shall leave disclosed since I don't tend to name most folks on here) of getting into the grad school of her choice. (yes, now you all know that she's a she! though I don't know why you'd assume anything else because unless I didn't tell you, I am the only person on this trip with an outtie instead of an innie.) Not only the first grad school of her choice, but the only grad school she applied too.  And I don't think she got in just because not many people applied this year. ;)  (inside joke.  Gotta keep you on the outside for some of this, otherwise you'd never come back!).

     What else, what else.  Oh two mildly funny stories.  Well, they make me smile but they could fall flat for you readers, so I'll try to carbonate them for you.

      1.)  The Four Preppy White Boys:  At the coffee shop I attend to get online and write these glorious online journal, I had to sit in the presence of four rather snobby white boys.  They were all dressed up in private school get-up, or skipping class get-up because I think I overheard them saying that they were playing hookie, so maybe less preppy and more teenage rebellion was their attire?  Anyways, they sat next to me, and one went up and tried to steal the free sample bucket of goodies the chef had whipped up for the public.  This, my friends, did not go over well.  Getting caught, the boys who sent their lone friend up to steal for them hide their heads as to look innocent, but then the chef came out.  Big, hulky, godzilla-esque the chef in all his glory walked up looked at one of the "innocent" boys and said, "I am not trying to be rude or anything, but you look like that Omen kid." ....dramatic pause....."You mean Damien?" one of the friends asked..."Yeah, that's him." And the chef walked away.  I don't know if it was the chef's subtle insult of practically calling these boys spawns of satan, or just the boys utter lack of response, that I found so amusing but it made my day.  Stupid rebellious prepster kids.
     2.)  The Oscar night catastrophe.  During the Oscars, me and two of my fellow NYC gal pals got together to enjoy a night of movies.  The night was fun, minus the fact that after going to bed for two I woke up to horrible tummy cramps and a body who thought it was ready to get up and start its day, but the Oscars ended in tragedy.  One of the lovely lady's in my room had a bit of a gas problem...Whoever says girls don't fart they fluff...I prefer farts!  Fluffs, are like SBD's only the "deadly" part is literal.  Getting up to find non-existent Oust spray, my friend went into my bathroom, grabbed my shaving cream and proceeded to shoot it across my room.  I only realized what happened when my other friend, who was in the line of fire, sat up with blue-ish white junk all splattered across head.  Not only did it claim the left side of my friend's head, but my desk and dvd case too.  Shaving cream everywhere.  Ps.  It doesn't help covering up fart.

   There was another story, but apparently all this fart talk has gone to my brain and there went my story. Sometimes I think I need Beano for the brain.

   Besides those fun stories, I walked around so much yesterday that my pinkie-toes resemble the insides of a jelly fish.  Hence the title "franken-toe"...They aren't pretty, but hey I can't say my ass doesn't feel a bit firmer.  So mission accomplished! ;)

  Well I am off to buy some groceries, eat, head to a play, and then a night full of reading! I know, I know, hard life.  And by hard, I mean on my wallet.  So by groceries I mean, as little as possible.  By eat I mean, nibbles.  And my play, I mean a play I didn't get any say in and hopefully will be worth it.  And by reading I mean...well...that's pretty self-explanatory.  So, here is to your night!

Later folks! *skips off into the rain*

With A Big Apple Comes Big Worms.

     Sometimes you just need time for yourself.  Or so I have learned thanks to the big apple.  Though it is said  "an apple a day will keep the doctor away," but living in an apple, a BIG apple, doesn't mean you earn extra awesome points.  Because living in, on, and around a big apple, you are more likely to find the dark mushy spots.  The big apple folks, can be sour.
    Now this isn't me venting, though in reality what is a blog really for? I am merely making an observation.  Sour apple isn't a taste for everyone, personally I love sour.  Tangy sweet with that hit of bitterness that makes you go "Wah!" total A.D.D. in your mouth.  Hence my love for New York.  The city runs on crazy.  You have to be ready to go and be ready for obstacles, because lord knows you are gonna face them.  And, here in lies the problem.  Obstacles, whether they be the people that surround you, or the subway car full of children, obstacles are the worms you hate to find in your fruit.  And let me tell you, I effin' hate worms!  Both physically and metaphorically.  But, thanks to a New York epiphany I have found a way to step around the squishy beings completely.
    When faced with a worm, most of the time, in whatever form it may take, it rarely is there to specifically ruin your day, so leave it be!  If someone brushes up against you on the street, it isn't that they are trying to be rude, it is just that the sidewalks are busy and sometimes people just make contact, so don't take it personally.  I could go on with the analogies but really what I want to say is, don't take anything to heart.  Unless it is directly addressed at you, then the flood gates to your endless snarky attitude can be opened, but if not be a duck and let it slide right off your back.  Aka be water repellent, and eat those f**k'in worms.  If you let the littlest thing bother you, your time in New York is gonna be a rough one.  So take thing with a grain of salt, or however that phrase works, and life will be a lot less sour.

   Though, if the problem is coming constantly from an outside source, and one you can't really seem to escape...remove yourself, or spend as little time as possible around it.  That is something I have learned, and let me tell you this last month I have in NYC is looking a whole lot more exciting.  Though, I may be spending a lot more money than I have I think I deserve to be a little touristy.  So, until my next blog about my adventures I hope my so called epiphany will help you avoid the worms, because it just may happen that you too may be a squirmy critter yourself.  ;)

The Flatulent Pedestrian

I almost forgot.  I promised the story that trumps all.  The story that consists of one signature sound...a sound that even now makes me look like a crazy person shaking with laughter in a corner of a coffee shop.

  The story:  The night was young and my friend Jenni and I, after walking many miles (maybe like 1 or 2) alongside Central Park made our way back from the delicious Shake Shack (the upscale cousin/love child of McD's and Culvers).  Stopping at a corner I saw that little neon white man flashing his perfectly shaped body at me, informing me we should cross.
      "Lets cross the street now so we don't have to deal with it later," I shouted at Jenni mid-jump.  Leaping across the street Jenni and I made our way to the corner only to be greeted in the most shocking of ways.
      The moment we came to a halt this middle aged man (I am saying he was middle aged because all I could see of him was his backside, and it screamed 30/40s) let the loudest fart go.  It was like that deep tuba-like sound with that squeaky end you get when you sit on a woopie cushion.  Aka a human should never be able to make such sounds, but this man accomplished just that.  Loud, deep and harmonious his bottom belch sounded over the car horns and chatter surrounding us literally stopping us in our tracts.
  Hands up in shock, i stood there trying to catch my breathe while at the same time trying not to breath in.  Jenni flung her head into my arm, shielding the soon to be zoo-animal like laughter that was about to be unleashed on the corner.
  With a loud grunt and shifting of his legs, the man didn't miss a beat before hopping across the street to leave us in his crop dust.
   To say we laughed would be rude to whatever we accomplished because laughter doesn't sum it up.  From that corner all the way back to the hotel (maybe a few blocks) tears, snot, and that guttural sound mixed with the high pitched glass shattering shriek or laughter came in waves from Jenni and myself.  We probably looked like drugged college students, which on a New York street is the probably one of the tamest things you'd see.  But, the moral of the story is.
    After eating a cheeseburger, fries and slurping down a chocolate custard shake to ensure a thorough abs workout find a man (or woman) to unleash the beast from behind to get you that toned and defined look.  It works like a charm.  Every time.

The Mother Blog

Time for some real bloggin kiddos!
   To say the life of a lowly intern living in the city via a hotel with little moolah is busy would be the understatement of the universe.  Yeah, the whole verse.  I say that because I think Mars gets better internet connection then I do.  The coffee shop I do all my interwebbing on has little to no wifi at the moment, so trying to download songs on Itunes is like trying to sit through all three extended editions of LOTR.  But, enough of the complaining lets talk about me.  ; )

  These past few weeks have been super duper intense in the show-seeing category.  American Idiot, SNL, and then the handful of plays/musical/dance/art events don't even come close to fitting into two of my hands, so a handful was the wrong choice of wording.  To sum it up, I have been a slave to New York.
 
  Woke up this morning after a lovely night of cops and mouthy drunk people...Story:
      - After watching a lovely episode of Ugly Betty (aka the show that describes my life in NYC, only not really but kinda) I started listening to Ipod, trying to force myself to sleep.  Sounds of people on the street, not to mention my extremely annoying heater was clanking and spitting like the little brat it is when all of a sudden the screams of a very angry individual overpowered my music and attacked my eardrums.  "Motherf***er" etc and so forth came screaming from down the hall.  Of course being the horror savvy person I am, thoughts of Quarantine and The Shining slipped into my mind.  Turns out a very drunk-or cracked out-lady couldn't get into her room and she was yelling at her door which wouldn't open because it wouldn't accept her credit card...Yeah, she was using her credit card as a room key.  Well, after the nice Hotel man tried to tell her this she started threatening him using the same beautiful language as earlier.  He called the police and left her to wonder the hall.  Of course she came down to my and my friend's room and hearing/watching her through a peep hole was just too horror movie esque for my liking.  Police show up and she says she is staying in my room...well, I shot that rumor down as fast I as could.  To sum it up, she got into her room after tears where shed.  Cops left and I had to pop and Tylenol PM to get visions of the pink coat swearing woman out of my head.
 
 Work has been going swell.  I even asked to pick up more hours from one of my internships! So no more free mondays for me.  Sleeping in will be a thing of the past, but it is okay because I think I should be getting the most out of my New York experience.  Another experience I got to have was celebrating a birthday via eating cupcakes at work with the headhanchos and my favorite Ellen Chenoweth.  Loveliest lady ever and her assistant and secretary are equally as wonderful.  To be able to work around a group of such wonderful ladies is quite the treat for this mere corn-fed Iowan.  Cupcakes aside, the folks liked to comment on my new "Hurt Locker" look.  Buzzed my head.  It was time for a change, though i didn't think through the whole New York being breezy and my head being a cold magnet.  So as butch as I am feeling (which isn't a super strong feeling) my newly acclaimed haircut doesn't warm my temples like I had hoped.
   Been reading lots of great scripts, none of which I can tell you about but just trust me when I say there are some talented folks out there.  Hopefully one day I will have enough motivation to write something equally as satisfying.
  
    -Note to all:  When eating please for the sake of keeping me from throwing up, eat with your mouth closed.  The guy across from me likes to smack his food even when he doesn't have any bits in his mouth...Music turning on.....NOW.

  Saw the magnificent Geoffrey Rush live in Diary of a Madman.  2 hours of pure Rush turned out to be one, if not my favorite, New York theatre experience.  Flamboyant with the comic timing that only a seasoned actor could have, Rush owned the stage throughout all his monologues working in perfect physical humor and using the audience to his advantage.  He made the show light and fluff, which made the ending so much more awful.  Can't say it ended well for Mr. Madman.  Plus his female costar who made the random appearance, gave Rush a run for his money.  Even though most of her lines were not in English her intentions were clear and her physicality on stage always raised my lips into a playful smirk.  Amazing performance.  Amazing show.  It was a double rainbow of a show.

   Dance events are crazy here in NYC.  But one thing I have found to be consistent is that feeling of feeling fat will affect even the fittest of people in the audience.  Dancers just have something we normal folk don't.  Hence my undying attraction to them...you're a dancer? *swoon* But, the real treat about one of these events was seeing our awesome teacher Patricia dance it up in Walter Dundervil's Candy Mountain.  A artsy concoction of fruity pebbles beats and interpretative dance moves.  Like a mix of theatre and movement with a hint of a acid trip.  There was lots of skin too.  A lot.  I'll leave your imagination to wonder.  ;)
                        Oh and ps.  Flamenco dancing = like River dance but sexy.

   Art exhibits down in Chelsea is kind of like taking a journey down the gutter of one's mind.  First is the innocent and simple.  A room with a light fixture that moves when you ride a bike. Then comes the more mature paintings and photos.  Then that exploring stage which consists of work made out of metal pins or found objects.  Then finally adulthood in all its graphic glory via Japanese erotic artwork.  Beautiful and yet oh-so-graphic.  A true awakening of the mind and energy.  Seeing those woke me up and instantly made me wanna take a shower.  So many fluids...*drifts off into a nightmare*  Ahhhh!  Highlight of Chelsea though...all the dogs! So manny puppies!  So much love! PUPPY LOVE! *begins to talk like a baby* Sweet'ems, oh sweet poochies...etc and so forth.  That was real dialogue spoken by me every time a pug walked by.  True story.

   My lovely Aunt flew in from London Saturday, and i got to spend some quality time with her.  If you were wondering where my love for all things cinema came from, she would be the culprit.  Also she is the reason I landed the internships I did, so gotta give shot out her for that.  She took me around the wonderful shopping areas of Soho and 5th Avenue.  My style may not be New York chic-aka if I am a man means dark dark dark! Dark skinny jeans tucked into or around fancy boots.  True, most look good in this attire, but I though being an individual was a big draw about NYC.  I will stick to my colored shoes thank you very much.  Sorry, back on track now.  Shopping and many chats later she flew off to NOLA for some movie mumbojumbo.
  
         Sidenote:  Girl just dropped 40 dollars.  So i picked it up and handed it to her...barely got an audible "thank you."  It was more like a Sloth grunting.  New York, where manners don't matter.


   So visit upon visits, buzzed hair and additional work hours later I am off to do laundry.  And possibly off to find a play I have to read for audition stuff.  Can't say my life is too boring I guess.  All it needs now is Scott Pilgrim visuals, a decent and diverse soundtrack and one of the following.  1.) An ass-kicking action scene with me as the winner. 2.) Choreographed dance sequence 3.) Slow motion fashion walk scene.  or 4.) Insert your own scene for me.  ;)

   Well, folks I am off.  Keep it creative!

Pics and descrips.

Here is my attempt at updating you via photos of my life since the last time you skimmed over this blog.

Popped my Broadway cherry.  American Idiot aka Green Day Musical...not my first choice, but only having to pay 27 bucks for a show I was down.  And boy did I get down with the G-Day! Amazing and head banging crazy.  Loved is an understatement.

My bestie Jenni won SNL tickets and she was nice enough to drag me along.  Watching Russell Brand and the whole gang perform live, not to mention to see how they whole show works off camera was drool-inducing. I got a thorough abs workout that night.

Outside waiting for SNL stars I spotted the adorable Kelli Garner (Bully, Lars and the Real Girl, G-Force, Dreamland, Going the Distance) and called her over for a picture.  May or may not have been the highlight of my night...no, it was.  We bonded, I told her I see her face everyday on a poster at work and complimented her minty fresh breathe (it happened).  Yes I classify that as bonding.

Alice and Me in Wonderland.  She got me in size, but I got her in colorfulness.  Oh, just take note that it was kinda chilly out hence the awkward face.  Model pic?  I think not.


Well kiddos and seniors *wink wink* I am off to visit with my Aunt who just flew in.  I promise if I ever get wifi back I will update my blog via words-more my forte then visuals and subtitles-but for now this is the best I can do.  Just to give you a taste of what you have to look forward to....

The Farting Pedestrian Story.  Classic.  It will be dramatic and worth it.  I swears it! ;)

Later.

Internet, Internet I love you...

Okay, I am gonna try and get you all up to date as fast as humanly possible as I race against the clock.  You see I am sitting in the same damn coffee shop, no eye candy in site, and they are closing soon.  If only my computer and my hotel would just have a little makeup session this wouldn't have to happen, but the love life between one technology and another is a sensitive thing...AH! Updating. Begins. NOW!

     1.)  Saw my first piece of New York theatre that blew me out of the water.  It even dried me off and left me all warm on the inside.  Matthew Lopez's The Whipping Man a play about jewish slaves on the eve of the end of the Civil War and their relationship with the son of the man that owned them.  Now, if only that description did it justice.  Layered with rich religious information as well choke full of devices placed perfectly by the author, this play was perfect in every way of the word. Set, character, story line, even the open ending was perfect.  My first theatregasm.  OH, and they cut a leg off onstage! Bloody good!
   2.  Went to the ballet.  I couldn't stop singing the lyrics from "At the Ballet" from A Chorus Line...now if only I enjoyed it like I enjoyed A Chorus Line.  Ballet, tights, masses of muscle and all it still didn't thrill me. Stop the yard is more my kind of style. ;)
   3.  Saw my first opera! That's all. Ugh.

   4.  Internships are going at full blast.  Doing the usual lowly intern stuff, coffee (a real task still, people kill for that stuff!) running errands, but I think slowly but surely I am making friends with my coworkers.  Whipped out a Heathers reference and wouldn't you know it that movie was one of the office managers favorite movies.  And why wouldn't it be?  It rocks the mean girls genre to the maxi pad! Total bonding happened I think, which is good because she seems like a fun person.  That is kind of how I am basing my days now.  If I do all my errands without getting mugged or lost (the latter happens every so often) and if I get a laugh or smile out of the people around the office then the day turns from okay to goooood.  Oh did I mention I got assigned a book! A 241 page book to read and do coverage on for my friday internship.  Totally intimidated at first because 1.  It was nonfiction (not my thang) and 2. 241 pages?! Fast reader I am not...specially on nonfiction books about mennonites.  But guess what, the book is HI-effin-larious and I want to be the authors best friend. Now just to finish it.
  5.  Best. News. Ever.  Well in two parts.  One, my bestie Jenni just found out she won SNL tickets.  For this saturday! Russel Brand is hosting *happy dance* And Jenni is flying in and staying with me! Gonna be a regular old Urbandale party in my single! Then on Sunday, right after Jenni leaves my theatre-sista from college is coming to stay with me for a few days as well.  And she has lived in the big apple before so can you say Par-tay!  Because I can. ;)
   I have been in the city for a total of a month and one day! Crazy! I feel like I haven't even gotten out to really see all of it yet.  And by all I mean at least some of it, cause all is like a lifetime of walking.  To say I love it here is an understatement, and maybe with a stroke of luck I can land a summer internship.  One that pays!  Work and money.  What a life!  We shall see.  We shall see.  Till next time, here's to hoping my internet works in my room next week.  Later Yo.

Updating from my igloo.

Hey y'all-yes, I said "y'all"- I swear the Arkansas is rubbing off on me.  Damn you neighbor, damn you!!!  Sorry, I get sidetracked very easily, which is why writing at this coffee shop is such a challenge.  Oh?! You wanna know why I am stuck at a coffee shop?  Well, let me tell you!
   As of, oh lets say Friday or so, my computer decided it was full and won't accept anymore wifi-sandwiches.  Well, Hotel Belleclaire wifi-sandwiches.  I can go anywhere in the city and get quick wifi access, but not in the place I live.  It is rather frustrating, but I am not alone in my suffering. My neighbor and pal, Britt-or Brittch as I like to call her-is dealing with the same disease I am.  The hotel literally hates us, her more so then me.  They've had a flooded bathroom-like Jumanji style-and a cockroach in their bathtub. The only thing I deal with besides internet is that my room is mucho chilly during the day and deathly caliente at night.  I literally lose weight in my sleep.  That hot...sexy right?! *angry face*
   As for my life, it is a whirlwind of snow, interning and walking through slushy NYC.  Aka LOVE.  My internships are pretty stellar, super intimidating but oh-so enjoyable.  Whoever said New Yorkers are rude may have exaggerated a little cause most everyone I work with is pretty baller.  Ugh! Yes baller! As in awesome, cool, legit.  *insert words that make me sound cool and part of the "in-crowd"*  But, seriously I really like the folks I work for, so my weeks are pretty hectic but full of colorful folks that make the work worth it.  Though I did look like a buffoon the other day when I made coffee and it appeared *emphasis on APPEARED* to be made by someone who doesn't know how to work a coffee machine.  But, I went back and showed how I went about making the coffee, and I did everything right! But, the machine needed cleaning which was why it was acting so weird.  BUUUUUT what made it so horrible was that this moment happened when a movie director was waiting for coffee...So I made a great first impression to him...He shall remember me as the boy who ruined coffee, when in reality it wasn't my fault.  Oh well, it is all just split espresso now.
   Whoah, did you notice i start my two main paragraphs with "As"! My creativity is lacking...must be all this snow....Getting back on track...My life in a few bullet points.
    - Saw Alan Rickman and Fiona Shaw (Harry Potter Party!) onstage.  *drools*
    - Witnessed my first "horrid" show in New York.  Super repetitive interpretive dance show...an hour and forty minute dance show...oh the same moves/music.  This A.D.D kid was unhappy.
    - Went to the MET and realized what my heaven should look like.  Rooms full of old European paintings...or just artwork in general.
    - Did laundry at a laundromat for the first time.  Fun. Fun.

I must run. This iced coffee i ordered is too bitter and I need some milk to sweeten the thing up. Later yo, hopefully I will be back soon.  Or soonish.  I think the "ish" is more likely ;)

I'd much rather be at Rydell High then at stupid Mckinley ;)

       New York is a whirlwind...well, maybe the better metaphor for this land of skyscrapers and seedy underground would be a hurricane...or blizzard...or God's toilet...No, wait, I know...I am living in Glee. Everyday I have slushies thrown on me from the most unsuspecting of places.  The street corners, window ledges, children kicking the street corner slush, you name it; if there is slush it will make its way on me.  Anywhozzle, the rest of my week revisited.

    1.) Tango Inferno: There is only three words that come to my mind when I reminisce about this dance extravaganza, and that's: Hot, Hot, and you guessed it-Sweaty.  Well, sweaty comes from the hot which was produced by the 5 couples intertwining body parts at hyper-speed.  The live music was phenomenal, the singer was major blah-great voice, slowed down the pace, and was too cocky for his own good-and the dancers were out of this world...and Italian. Again, the hot scale rises up to extreme.  Great show, I feel like I need to workout for the rest of my life and it is still beyond me how no one got their junk wrecked when legs and other appendages were flying up, down and in between things.  Mind = blown.
  

2.)  Dueling Pianos.  Like for realsies.  One of my fellow New York termers landed a playing gig in the basement of a comedy club called "HA!"-creative, I know- two men played requested songs by overly drunk adults on a stage with a impressively loud sound system.  My friend improved it up on the violin, worked the stage and my eardrums.  It was a crazy good time, though I think the age difference in folks was apparent when good old 80's tunes that I knew the chorus to-that's being generous-would come on and the pot-bellied drunkards would hoot, holler and slobber along with it.  Then when they played N'sync and my friends and maybe two other random girls got all jazzed and sang-and mimed-the dance along with the songs while the "older" drunks got more drunk. It was a hella good time.

3.)  A day on the town with Kendra.  A good old Coe, dare I say it...alum *gasp* as well as New York term alum came by for a afternoon and took me and my friend out on the town.  As an experienced New Yorker she took us to Hells Kitchen were we wondered until we came upon her desired spot...Vynl.  It was all disco balls and records, to say I felt like I was at home would have been an understatement.  (To understand that last comment you should now that my family has a tendency to use Saturdays to clean the house while blasting disco tunes) It was crazy fun and the bathrooms were themed, so I drank to the point of bursting just to go visit on.  I wanted to go into the "Dolly" themed one, but alas that was taken, there was Cher, Nelly, and Elvis.  I chose the king.  A bathroom dedicated to the one and only, I was even serenaded by Elvis tunes.  Glorious.  After that we made our way over to Rockefeller Center and wandered into the NBC story...I wanted it all!  Right where I walked in I saw a shirt that said "What the Frak" and my heart pooped itself out.  A whole area dedicated to Battlestar Galactica...I nerdgasmed to say the least.  Buffy shirts, Dr. Who, Community, The Office...SO. MANY. OPTIONS.  It was glorious and a real struggle to not leave with a t-shirt.  Or toaster.
P.S. 30 Rock isn't filmed at Rockefeller Center, so don't get your hopes up.  That's all I am saying, and I am saving you tears.

4.)  Gruesome Playground Injuries at 2nd Stage.  It was a preview show by one of the writers of season three of Nurse Jackie (my favorite show on TV at the moment) and it featured Pablo Shreiber and Jennifer Carpenter.  Yeah, that Jennifer Carpenter from Dexter and Quarantine...but more importantly...White Chicks. It was a rather depressing play that followed a non-linear timeline jumping years in two peoples lives each showing their relationship through scars.  Rather gruesome and well done.  I can't say I overly enjoyed myself because it was one of those shows that just ate at you, leaving you with hope but the kind thats like "AHHH you're almost there" but I wouldn't change a thing about the show.  The set was GORGEOUS! Small, white, with water filled boxes that made up the floor-lighting up to give various affects.  The walls held secret compartments and was adjusted to make benches and whatnot.  Super cool...The acting was great, the actors jumped from ages 8 to 18 to 38 all in a span of 80 minutes.  Talk about pressure/talent/a workout! The music was stellar, odd but appropriate somehow.  Loved the lighting and I am curious to see what critics will say once it opens on the 31st.  Oh, embarrassing moment of the night.  So, this rather handsome man came and sat with a lady friend in the row in front of us, after the show when we all got up to leave I said "Well I can't say I thoroughly enjoyed myself" meaning that the show left me with a uncomfortable feeling in my stomach but totally not meaning I didn't like it.  Well, the guy was in front of me and when I said that he turned around.  I felt rather awkward.  Later that evening, I went and looked up the writer, Ravij Joseph, and he may or may not have been the guy in front of me...Opps.

         So yeah, monday I spend all day inside because I felt/fell like caca...Stupid friend getting me all sick...blah.  So currently I am battling a cold which is whooping my butt-but I shall silence it for a bit tonight with the magical elixir known as Niquil.  I had my first day of work today, only 4 hours, hopefully I can add more on once I work my other two internships.  Having rarely ever used Excel I must say after 4 hours of fiddling with it, I made a pretty mean Production Schedule lineup.  Now off to pop the phantasmic green pills and then a 8 hour day of work! Wish me luck!  *steps in puddle* Gosh darn it!  ;)

Subways, Sauce, and Sweat(ing).

Mission Numero Uno:  Finding a decent source of wifi.  I've been on the hunt for the right spot in my hotel but it constantly keeps moving and it is a major workout when one goes wifi-hunting.  Anywhoozle how bout an update!
     I've been in New York almost a week now.  At about 8 p.m. tonight the bells will ring and a celebration with me, myself and I will commence for I have survived a week in the real life Minotaur maze.   The minotaur being the various beings/obstacles in New York.  The big momma being the subway...tis an evil underground dragon that one.  But, I have almost tamed it, though the hardest part is finding your baring once you go above ground.  Thank god for my trusty weapon known as Mapquest.  Slays all my demons.  So far I have:
     1.)  Walked a good distance through Central Park.  My gluteus maximus will be maximusing it to the max once i get home.  Unless...
     2.) New York Pizza gets me first.  I have never had pizza like this before. It's like a rad drug trip without the illegal substances!  And it all starts with a bite!
     3.)  Went to the MoMA.  Museum of Modern Art to be exact.  My teacher wasn't lying when she said we would need to eat a hearty breakfast if we were going to make it through the museum.  I personally only made it through a few floors without a hearty breakfast and I was in metaphoric tears by the end of it. Well, at least my legs were crying. The museum was cool though, some major pieces of art that induced many "ooohhhs" and "ahhhhs" and the occasional "wt waahhh?" If you want a visual and physical workout go to the MoMA.
     4.)  Finding inventive ways to say "No I don't want to go to a comedy show" in Time Square.  Being the nice midwestern person that I am...I found it difficult to just say "no" to the street venders.  But, after being talked to and followed 10 times my friend and I had to resort to new ways to avoid them.  I just said "no" while my friend had a more inventive answer.   Vender: "Do you like comedy?"  Friend: "No I hate it." or "No habla ingles."  or made up jibberjabber.  Venders aside Time Square was drool inducing.

    5.)  Saw Pants on Fire's Metamorphoses at The Flea Theatre.  The best of Edinburgh Fringe, this play full of young wonderful actors mixed Ovid's myths with WWII history and kept the underlying theme of chaos intertwined in everything they did.  I personally didn't know what to expect when I walked into the theatre.  It was small, you had to walk through the set (which consisted of a few flats and props) but once the show started and the first humorous moment was issued it was a laugh-infested ride.  Ungodly *ahem godly comic timing mixed with super effective-and intense-set movements the play was such a great starting point for my New York theatre adventure.  Thumbs way up.

     6.) And lastly, though it should have been the first thing I wrote about, my home...Hotel Belleclaire.  Or "Home Base" as I call it.  The sign says "HB" so home base...eh-eh...yeah not super creative but it makes me feel closer to being a superhero, or being in a never-ending game of capture the flag.  It is a beautiful space with faulty wifi but an array of colorful inhabitants.  Writing from my stoop I have witnessed:  Hilarious Irish men walking around smacking each other-oh so manly-and one likes to sing Enrique Iglesias.  A super friendly aid who when told the floors he had just cleaned looked beautiful, he said "Oh.  Thank you.  You're beautiful too!"  These are only the tip of the iceberg!  I can't wait to see what else awaits beneath the surface...aka in the lobby ;)  My single is super nice, i have wood floor...i can't complain.
            My adventure is only beginning, hopefully i come back in one piece...but, if i don't i hope the scars I receive at least come from fun stories! ;)

Unstoppable. You know that train movie. Only not really.

The story of two semi-adults on a 20-some hour long train ride.   *In this instance "ride" could be loosely used or is recommended to be omitted and replaced with "adventure."*  To start let me just inform you that I have never, in my life, taken the train before.  Before this moment every time I thought of traveling on a train all that popped into my mind was the moment in "White Christmas" where the four main characters sing "snow. snow. snow. SNOOOOWW!" in the dining car and what not. Let's just say being stalked by a "child of the corn" was not what I had planned into the equation of train travel.
     I arrived at the train station in little small town Iowa, as in the station hadn't been remodeled since the late 1900s.  It was me, some amish folk, and a few other stragglers waiting for their love ones.  Anyway train came, found my friend and was whisked away.  I must say if I didn't have two huge pregnant-looking suitcases I would love train travel. Easy-peasy and lots of foot room! The train from Iowa to Union Station, Chicago was lovely.  Quiet-well minus the giggles of myself and my travel buddy-cool scenery and the best "dinner car" announcer.  We the passengers were known as, "America" and every time this feisty man made an announcement it went a little something like this...
                                                 *Read this with a swagger-filled southern dialect*
      "Alright America, we got a little bit of orange juice left for you.  Okay America?  The dinning car is closing in an hours so come get your breakfast America."  Though my absolute favorite was when he apparently made an error while reading..."Alright America, we have a Rebecca party of two and an Adam party of...oh...uh-oh...uhhh...."  It was unfortunate that my time as "America" had to stop when I was demoted to "stupid traveler" when I entered Union Station.
       Union Station.  I was prepared for a bright open station with redcaps everywhere, but that image I had in my head was far from right.  For my travels I packed two major bags, like I could fit myself and a small child inside one of them, but I can roll them.  My friend on the other hand brought many little bags, with one that was heavy and couldn't roll very well.  Well, since we aren't experienced cross country travelers we had imagined there would be help after we got off the train.  We were wrong.  Union Station when the train pulls in is pretty much underground (did not expect that) so it was super well lit, and there was no one to help.  To say moving from the outside to inside was frustrating was an understatement.  Once we found our way to the waiting area, which was a sea full of angry, sick-you name it kind of people-we were told (quiet forcefully) to get out of the isle by the most lovely lady ever *hint the sarcasm*  Finding a spot would have been easy if the space they put everyone in was more open and less like a bomb shelter.  Long story short some nice lady moved around and we were able to sit down.  Then begins the 6 hour wait.  On this wait here is what happened in a nutshell:

                1.)  Stalked by Malachai.  You know the scary red head from Children of the Corn.  Though to be honest his getup was more like this kid-------------------------------------->
his features looked like Malachai (the evil redheaded adult killer).  Oh, and he talked like Forrest Gump.  This is not me being mean, just me describing to you in the simplest way possible our stalker.  He came around every 10 minutes and would watch us.  No joke. Like full on stare.  We realized this when my friend an I were playing with Photobooth, taking stupid pictures of ourselves, and I turned the computer towards my friend and guess who was standing in the background...yup, it was exactly like a horror film.
              2.)  Watched various people get their luggage stuck in the new-age lockers.  Lockers that read and respond only to your thumbprint.  Well, this sounded like a nice idea but apparently the locker had a plan of its own, rebelled and ate the peoples' luggage.  It wouldn't respond to their thumbprints and they had to resort to calling this beastly man who looked a little like an Eastern European version of Shrek, but had the personality of mean Ogre.  One girl who was gonna miss her train went up to him, nicely and asked for his help telling him she needed to get in line.  His response, "Yes lady, everybody has to get on the train.  So I just need you to be quiet-"  and that was when I stopped listening because the nice girl-who had awesome chained heels-had only said one thing and he shut her up.  Evil Ogre.  This happened again and again, it was like a soap opera.  Intense, just needed music.
            3.)  The invasion of the arsty awkward dancing family.  A rather earthy looking mom and her two, possibly twin, daughters sat across from us towards the end of the trip.  The two girls who I thought were in their upper teens-based on their fashion sense (i was wrong)-sat in front of us on their kindles fighting over book ratings.  Then the odd one who stared got up and sat on the ground and began to doodle what appeared to be very unfortunate looking trees.  Later they got up and danced around-very gracefully-but awkwardly in the middle of the station.  Come to find out from the feeble attempt of the other less awkward girl-this one wore a see-through shirt!-to flirt with a 25 year old.  He lost interest when she revealed she was 15.  But, the two girls had never gone to school, they just read a lot teach themselves and go to a dance conservatory.  I learned this all from one sitting.  Lucky me.  There was a lot more to them but I had to zone them out because they started to make me nauseous.
           Then my train ride to Penn Station was long as hell, but a nice one.  Favorite memories-or just memories-of this ride are:
            1.)  Antoinette.  The lovely older lady who sat across the isle from us.  She was from Long Island and she was a godsend on the train ride.  So nice and fun to chat with.  Got lucky sitting next to her.
            2.)  Waking up at 6 something in the morning to see the apocalypse outside and wishing I had Viggo Mortensen with me.  It was soooooo foggy/white/snowy outside I thought I was in the movie "The Road."  Even Antoinette woke up and shrieked, "DO YOU SEE THAT?!"  Yes, yes I did Antoinette.
            3.)  Train stopped for immigration people to come through with their gun-clad belts asking everyone what country they were born in and yadadadada.  It was strange and unfortunate for the asian family sitting a few rows behind us because they got interrogated.  Profiling?  I think yes.
            Yes, these are the memories I have of my 20-some hour long train ride.  Penn Station was heaven compared to Union Satan.  We found help, who found us a cab, who got us to the hotel super fast.  New York has been pretty amazing (the pizza?! The tastegasm i'd waiting for).  I shall keep you informed on my adventures to come.  Till then...I am on the hunt for a decent Wifi connection ;P

Remodeling in duh House

Hey boys and girls and whatever else is out there,  I am back after a long long long-did i mention long?- semester.  Sorry I didn't post more but here is/was the dealio: my schedule devoured my social life which seeped into my blogging time which resulted in lack of posts.  There was a lot more to that, but I thought a brief description would suffice.  Right now I am in the midst of whipping up a new blog dedicated to my semester abroad in New York City. That's right hims and hers, I am off to the big apple and this here blog will soon be my daily journal of my adventures.  But, for right now, I am getting this blog's hair did.  ;) See you in a few.