Jenna from the Block

Alright. So let's talk about some life choices I've been making lately. I need to make better ones.

Friday afternoon, I was checking out a couple of apartments way uptown, and since I was up by 110/116th, I figured I'd stop by Paul's since I hadn't seen him in a while. So I hopstopped it, of course; however, what I failed to do was actually read the directions. Ya see, I knew I had to take the 6 uptown. And I vaguely remember Paul mentioning that it wasn't very far from his place. Mind you, I've never taken this particular train. I've always taken the 2 or the 3 and gotten off of 135th. Well, I glance at my hopstop directions, and double check the stop, because at this point I do realize that the 6 is not the 2 or the 3; thus, it will be a little unfamiliar. 138th. Got it. Check. Paul lives on 139th, so that shouldn't be a problem, right? Wrong-o, buddy. This stop is on 138th and 3rd ave.. in the Bronx. Yeah. So I get off the train and go outside, hoping that somehow I will magically know where to go. Realizing that that wasn't the case, I have an Aha! moment, and remember that I e-mailed myself the directions and that I could look them up on my phone. Yeah, that would have worked out better if it weren't FREEZING outside. I want to say that it was maybe 10 degrees out. So I was trying to use my phone, but the touch screen was just not havin it. It uses heat sensors, of course, and heat was certainly not radiating from my fingers, which were starting to go numb. I couldn't even use my key pad because I couldn't tell how hard I needed to press the buttons. I begin to walk back towards the station (I did some wandering), and decide to head into the Shell gas station. It was lit, public, and warm. And I could really use some hot chocolate at this point. I finally began to warm back up, and I needed to come up with a game plan. I decided to googlemap myself and try to figure it out that way. That, or mapquest, or hopstop. Anything. Luckily. Paul called. He was home from work, and I should've been there by now. "Jenna. You took the 6?! That stop is in the Bronx. You have to cross a bridge." Great. Knowing that anymore wandering on my own, via bus or by foot, would just be a terrible idea, he starts trekking my way because let's face it, I'm no good when it comes to directions. (As Erica's dad would say, "It's not up to par with my other accomplishments.) I asked the pleasant cashier at the register to point me in the right direction of 138th and Grand Concourse, and made sure that this would lead me over a bridge and into Harlem (at this point, you could never be too sure). Now that I had an idea of where the hell I needed to go, I figured I could try to meet Paul halfway. It's a bridge. How could I miss it? (Oh! On a plus side, the cashier only made me pay $1 instead of $1.25 for my hot chocolate. Probably because he felt sorry for me.) In case you're thinking that I somehow managed to screw that up, I assure you that I didn't. I met Paul, and gave him the rest of my hot chocolate. Poor thing.

And so concluded my night's adventure in the Bronx.

And so it begins..

I didn't sleep very well last night. Surprise, surprise. I don't know if it was me being anxious, nervous, excited, or all of the aforementioned. And to be quite honest, my circadian rhythm has been pretty off since before graduation, so that didn't help matters either.

I get ready and step outside and a huge gust of wind about knocks me over and I think to myself, "Great. I'm glad I took the time to do my hair today." I dodge a recycling bin and trash can that Mother Nature hurls towards me, get to Journal Square, and I'm on my merry way.

I'm sitting there, waiting for my stop, and I decide that I am probably the only person on this train listening to Lady Antebellum right now.

I get to my classroom and no one's there. It's only 8:40. Maybe it's still early? Maybe? The other rooms begin to fill up and I begin to get a little worried. Seriously? After all of the sticky notes and the writing out my schedule, and double and triple checking to make sure I have everything just right, did I really get my room number wrong, and am I really gonna miss my first class? Well, the good news is, it's the right room. The bad news is that only three people were registered for that class. Count 'em. THREE! As in, 1-2-3. I knew these classes are supposed to be small, but come on. ANNND the other two don't show up! So it's just me and the professor. Just hangin out. We have a lovely conversation. She goes over the syllabus, then decides it was pointless to go on because either (A) she would have to re-do the lesson when there are more students, or (B) they would cancel that section (which would be just terrible!) and she lets me out early,

So I have a lot of time to kill before my next class. I re-vamp my schedule in one of the computer labs (classes Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays btw. Holla!) then I go down stairs, have one of my yummy snacks and catch up with a couple of friends while I wait. It's finally time to head upstairs, and since classes were switching, the elevators are packed. SO, thinking that I was still in shape or something, I decide that I want to climb up those 11 flights. It didn't matter that I haven't had a real work out in a couple of weeks, or that I haven't done any hardcore cardio in a minute. It's just 11 flights, right? Not ten Gator Mountains. HA! Who am I kidding?! I think it's around the 8th floor that I give up. I didn't wanna get to class seeming like a just ran a marathon! Major reality check!

Second class of the day (sort of), and it's Fashion Drawing. This professor is absolutely delightful. A little scatter-brained. Talks to herself quite a bit. But her accent keeps me entertained, and she loves what she's doing. She is all about making sure we stay inspired. And the other students are freakin' awesome. Especially being in the program I'm in, everyone comes from such unique backgrounds, with crazy histories of their own. It's humbling being around so many people with such different life experiences. More than half of the school is made up of international students. How rad, right?

Third and last class of the day. This one is small. Goodbye auditorium classes! Only seven of us. Fashion Industry: Marketing. This is probably going to be my least favorite since it's not a studio class, and one of the tougher ones because of the professor's expectations. But she is all about us owning who we are and making sure we learn how to market ourselves, and I can't wait to learn about everything she has to share with us.

Okay. I need to run or something. Because in case you didn't infer from a couple of paragraphs prior, I'm adding something to my list of things to conquer: Those eleven flights of stairs!

BK Bound

As I may or may not have mentioned, it's been a long week. To make me feel better, I got in touch with one of my friends, Nick, to stunt. So we had this whole arrangement. We'd meet at Penn, where his friend, Rich, would pick us up, then we we'd head to a gym in Brooklyn to stunt. We meet. Rich is running a little late, which is not a problem. We only have all day. Then, he calls and says his car just got hit. So that put a little dent in our plans. (No pun intended.) Nick, who I met while working the Macy's Parade, is not so familiar with this gym in Brooklyn, but we decided to take the train and just cab it the rest of the way. We take the 3, then try to catch the 2, but it was taking much too long. So we head out, look for a taxi or a service car. No luck. Fortunately, I turn around and, how about that. It's the Brooklyn Museum. By this time, I was over stunting, and instead we end up checking out the museum. I felt bad, of course, Nick came from a bit aways away to throw me in the air, and probably didn't enjoy the museum as much as I did. (It was on my list of things to do, so it worked out for me just fine.) Rich eventually came to pick us up. His car is in not so good shape. His window wouldn't even go up. Anyways, we grab dinner in the city at this sweet, little Japanese place and just hang out. And the day turned out to be quite alright.

And the moral of the story is: Everything always turns out fine. And besides, it's NY, so how can you really go wrong?

Oh, and two more things:
(1) The exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum right now is "Who Shot Rock & Roll". It was closed by the time we got there, but if you're down to see it, I'll be taking another trip that way. It's "suggested contributions" too, so that's a bonus.
*Side note: The Brooklyn Botanic Garden should be pretty sweet by spring time.
(2) While waiting for Rich at Borders, I found this deck of cards that I had been completely enamored with since I first spotted it on my first trip to NYC way back when. It's not just any deck of cards, mind you. It's "52 Adventures in New York City". Tell me this isn't absolutely perfect for me. I'm excited.

Speed Bumps

Yesterday was not a good day. I'm not going to get into the details, but it was so frustrating. It was certainly a stomp my feet, pouty, huff and puff, I want nothing more than to throw a temper tantrum sort of day. But even in the midst of all of the confusion and chaos, on our drive from Harlem to Chinatown, I looked out the window and it was all the reminder I needed. I stole a glance at the Brooklyn Bridge and the Pier at Southstreet Seaport and took a deep breath; I was in New York City. And I thought to myself, "Man. I'm just happy to be here." I got back to the place I'll be staying in the meantime, and unfortunately, things didn't get much better. Nothing was going right. So I decided to just stop and go to sleep, because tomorrow's a new day.

"Just because today is a terrible day doesn't mean tomorrow might not be the best day of your entire life. You just have to wake up and get there."

Yup. That pretty much sums that up.

So while today may not have been the best day of my life, it was a glimpse of this new one I'm starting. Today was orientation, and I am absolutely stoked. Hello, New York. I hope we become best friends.

Strange Sightings

There's something to see everywhere you turn. Here's something out of the ordinary, even for the seasoned New Yorker: Paul and I were on our way back to Harlem and the trains were just running entirely too slow. The platforms and the cars were a little more crowded than usual. Sardines. And one man was so desperate and so determined to get on this particular train that he hopped in between two cars (where they connect) and decided to just stand in the doorway and hold on. What a nut.

Let's Hear It for New York

First full day in the big city, and I am lovin' it. But let's re-cap day 1's adventure, shall we?

01/13
First off, poor Peiwu. He had no idea he had signed up for lugging around a 50 lb suitcase all across NYC. It was certainly an adventure, from JFK, to Paul's work in the Financial District, up to Harlem, and back down to East Village to look at an apartment. Most of my first day was dedicated to that. And as for that apartment.. great price, great location, but iffy conditions. I suppose you get what you pay for though. Decided that the search would resume the next day.

As for today, my first full day, the search continued. Had a few leads, and stumbled across a nice little place steps from Union Square. So close to school, and room for you to visit =) Not ideal, but it'll do for now.

Still just settling in, and just waiting for it to hit me. Yanno, that I'm actually in New York City. I'm sure this northern winter is gonna smack me in the face soon enough! So far it hasn't been so bad. Mother Nature's been on my side lately. Cold when I was in Florida to prepare me for the move, and warming up the north to make the transition seamless. Maybe? Or maybe I just bring the sunshine.