1st celeb sighting was in North Carolina...while boarding the flight to LaGuardia I immediately recognized Sharon Lawerence...the actress who played Dennis Franz' wife on NYPD Blue and who had an affair with her best friend's son (played by Brian Austin Greene) on a Lifetime movie! She was on our flight...not in first class but actually 3 rows behind me...people were very rude, just taking pictures of her while she was trying to find her seat...I refrained. But here is a picture I found on the internet!
Well, I may have made a mistake when I first bought my ticket (I thought it was a 7:00am flight...turns out it was a 7:00pm flight) but it turns out that flying into NYC at midnight is pretty darn cool. Looking out over the city lights was awesome and the moon shining down over the city immediately put that song in my head....if you get caught between the moon and New York City...anyway, it was great and of course the place was jumpin'! My cabbie got me to the apartment by 12:30am so all was good.
My new friend, Chris, was waiting for me and we stayed up late talking like we were at a slumber party....turns out her family was skeptical too about us sharing the apartment before her departure to Europe but it was actually the best thing! We woke up on Sunday morning and went to her gym for a "definition" class...my thighs and glutes are screaming today :) She is a member of the gym were Elaine met John Jr. on the Seinfeld episode....VERY nice/upscale...I have a week pass that I intend to use. We showered and dressed there and then hit the city big time....bought a subway/bus pass and went straight to Harlem to see the Apollo and the Michael Jackson memorial wall...even got to sign the wall...from there we went to Bank Street College which is the college I am attending then on to Chinatown...opposite ends of the earth. When we arrived in Chinatown she was somewhat upset that no one asked us if we wanted to buy anything...turns out the police had just done a sweep so everyone was on the down low...but not to worry within 5 minutes we were approached by a young asian women with the hook-up for Coach....we followed her for about a block and a half at which point we began following a young man who escorted us to a rolling Coach Warehouse! We hopped into the back of the vehicle with blacked out windows and an automatic light that came on when the doors closed...all very clandestined and I'm sure illegal! But I got a great deal on an over the shoulder small bag...great for NY! From their we went to Times Square and had a piece of the best cheesecake I have ever had....can't remember the name of the restaurant but I can get back to it! Strolled through a street festival and was sad because I was full...they had every imaginable food on a stick you can think of and I LOVE food on a stick! We hopped on a bus and went back uptown to our neighborhood...a quick stroll through Pottery Barn and then I went to Central Park to finish my book while she went to mass....lying (or laying...not sure which Robie) in the park reading was just too much fun! After mass she met me in the park and we went for a walk, people watching adventure....had a beer at the boathouse, watched people play with remote control boats on the lake and had a 10 minute massage before heading to the Emerald Inn for a beer and cheese sticks! It was a long day but very informational and I feel really comfortable with my location.
I was going to upload pictures to give you an idea of where I am living but my computer is not cooperating....1/2 block from the W69th street exit of Central Park, that's close to Tavern on the Green....rumor has it that Robert De Niro lives on the same block just caddy corner from my apartment...I'll let you know if that is true!
Monday started a little hectic...Chris needed to get up at 5:15 to make her flight....she didn't hear her alarm and woke up with a start at 6:15! She was up and out the door in a flash...hope she has a great time in Europe! I went on and got up to shower and fiddle around then caught my bus to school....have been here ever since.
Was a little nervous but after orientation I am feeling much better! Have a lot of work ahead of me but I'm no further behind in my reading than anyone else in my program....there are 7 of us first year students....4 for creative writing and 3 for art! All women and very nice! Again, I am so thankful for the school system that I am in and after hearing where everyone else comes from and I happy to be from the South!
I will keep you posted periodically and I will add pictures to Facebook and the blog if the computer will quit being so finicky (Jessica loves that word)! I think I am headed to Coney Island on Saturday and then will be back in the city to catch the Macy's Fireworks over the Hudson River....hope everyone has a safe and fun Fourth of July!
Much love!
