San Francisco - Part 2

Ok, so enough about the flight.

I had an interesting ride from the airport in a very scary van with a man who could not speak English nor apparently read road signs. Don't worry, I'm alive. I just had to remind myself not to be a scary New Yorker a few times when he put SEVEN passengers in the van and gave us no indication in what order we would getting out. Breathe in...breathe out.

Jenn was very kind and took me to dinner and we got to check out part of her neighborhood before I crashed.

Day 1: Friday

• Woke up at 5am, stared at the ceiling for an hour before going back to sleep
• Saw Alcatraz which I thought was very cool and did an excellent job of deterring me from a future in crime
• I saw some rockin' sea lions
• Reunited with Molly after nearly a year
• Went to a Prohibition bar where you need a password to get in. We went in through the library. Password: books
• Went down a SLIDE to get to a bar, only injured myself slightly. We told the slide story several times over the weekend. Jenn and I showed our battle wounds to prove our dedication to the cause.

Day 2: Saturday

• Delicious breakfast at Polkers with Molly's friends
• Walk to the Golden Gate Bridge
• Laying on a hill in the sunshine
• Oktoberfest
• Oktoberfest beer
• Big cups at Oktoberfest for beer
• KU football winning 58-10 (I think)

Day 3: Sunday

• Matt giving us a ride to brunch
• Seeing Roxie Cinema
• Brunch at Foreign Cinema with the Patch brothers, Dave and Jared
• Gourmet Pop Tarts at brunch
• Dave giving us a ride to the Sports Basement
• Falling asleep on the couch at the Sports Basement
• Reenacting the opening credits of Full House at the Painted Ladies
• Walking/shopping with Jenn, Molly and Amy
• Dinner with the same

Now that you know WAY more about the trip than you ever wanted to know, here are the pictures! As I remember specific stories I'll be sure to fill you in.

Many thanks to Jenn for being an amazing host and helping eat all the candy I brought into the apartment...and my snoring that apparently can be heard through walls.

San Francisco - Part 1

The whole time I was in San Francisco I was thinking about blog topics and I think I'll have to type them in several posts rather than one super long post.

The flight to San Francisco was outstanding. I took Virgin America which is a relatively new airline flying between NYC, DC, Las Vegas, LA and San Francisco. If you're going between any of these cities, the flights are pretty affordable and the plane has some very cool features.

The in-flight entertainment center in itself makes it worthwhile. Each seat has its own screen where you can watch TV, movies (for $8 - boo), play video games (with the console in the armrest, chat with other seats (using the other side of the console with qwerty keyboard), and create playlists. There were probably 500 artists and you could select the track or the whole album to add to a running playlist.

All this was great but the COOLEST thing is that you could order food on your screen too. All the typically complimentary drinks were free but they brought them to you any time you ordered them. For some reason I thought this was the coolest thing ever.

Flight to NYC: Same plane. Red eye. I slept.

Trip 1 - District of Columbia

For those of you that didn't know, I am going on two trips at the beginning of October. Last weekend was the first!

I went back to DC to visit some friends that live there and some friends that were visiting. My friend from college, John, and his girlfriend Erin came to DC Metro to visit another friend from college and his wife. I didn't get to see them for very long sadly, but it was a good visit.

Gretch was also in town for the night before flying to MI for the long weekend to visit her parents.

We went to Buffalo Billiards for Happy Hour along with the typical PSB crew and in typical Roxie fashion, I forgot to take a single picture. I lived in the moment, that is until I saw a photobooth.

I pushed Sabrina and Gretchen into the booth (seriously pushed) and we got some very cute shots. Awww. I miss us.

Go Jayhawks!

I've always been an avid KU basketball supporter. It's easy to be a fan of something that has been pretty darn successful for so long. However, our football team has often been lacking in the win column. Throughout college we had losing seasons every year and finally made it to the Tostitos bowl or something my senior year.

For these reasons today is momentous! Guess who is in the AP Top 25 Poll?!?! That's right, the Jayhawks for posting an undefeated 5-0 season so far. The first 4 teams were non-conference but this past Saturday we defeated in-state rival Kansas State (ranked #24). We are ranked #20 in the AP Poll, the first ranking since 1996, yes, 11 years.

The only thing that takes away from this great news is that Missouri is ranked #11. November 24th someone will be watching that game, and by someone, I mean this girl.

Best Concert Ever

For my birthday my friend Ashley (frequently mentioned) sent me a ton of burned CDs of her new favorite artists. We have the same taste in music (alterna rock, singer/songwriter, indie, classics) and there were a ton that I really enjoyed. Then I became obsessed with one of the CDs.

The singer's name is Sara Bareilles (Bah-rell-is) and she is AMAZING! I decided to check if she had any shows in NYC and was disappointed to see that she was opening for Jon McLaughlin at the Bowery Ballroom but that they were sold out. Luckily I spotted the little note saying that there were still tickets to see Sara at The Music Hall of Williamsburg (in Brooklyn). I figured my friend Nicole would go with me because she really likes Sara too + apparently Brooklyn is where we go to see music.

She is even more phenomenal in concert than her CD shows. I swear, her label must have tried to tone down her vocals because she was fantastic. Her between the song banter was hilarious. About her song Fairytale, "this song started out as a joke with my friends. The princesses need some attitude. What would it be like if the princesses were drunk."

My favorite tidbit came from Ash, again. I told her that my favorite intro was when she was introducing her song "Love Song". She said, "God I love you guys" then muttered quickly under her breath into the microphone, "but I don't love the people this song is about." I thought she was just talking about an ex. I told Ash the story and she started laughing. She said do you know what she was referencing?

Apparently, her label told her, "we want a love song for your album." She felt kind of pressured to write a love song when she wasn't in love, wasn't feeling it. The chorus for this song:

I'm not gonna write you a love song

'cause you asked for it

'cause you need one, you see

I'm not gonna write you a love song

'cause you tell me it's

Make or breaking this

is that why you wanted a love song

'cause why you asked for it

'cause you need one

And as a refresher, what did she call this song? That's right, Love Song (this links to the song that's on her site). When listening to it, you actually think its a love song and its her biggest hit so far from this album. Seriously, hilarious. We have all decided, we would totally be friends.

This is turning into the longest blog ever. Anyway, what you should take away from this is that you should definitely go see her if she's playing near you and you should buy her CD if you don't have it already. She's opening for Maroon 5 this fall so I have a feeling she's going to be a big deal and the days of $12 tickets to see her will be over.

Pain Infliction

Ok, for those who do not know me well, I have a particular skill for injuring myself regardless of what I'm doing. Most people would call me a "klutz". I prefer the term "proximity challenged". I run into doors or door jams minimum once per week and often fall UP the stairs. If the numerous scars on my hands, knees, elbows, shoulders and legs aren't proof enough you should check out a blog I did last December from when I landed on my shoulder after dancing into my living room with very padded socks. Yes, it's still stiff.

Anyway, I did something I think only I could do to myself. While putting on an elastic headband to wash my face this morning guess what I did? That's right, I accidentally let go of it approximately 2 inches from the side of my face. So, has anyone ever snapped a rubber band on your arm? Yeah, think that, but thicker AND ON YOUR FACE. Yeah, it is safe to say I yelled a few words most people don't hear first thing in the morning. There is no welt or even lasting pain but seriously, do yourself a favor, and be rid of elastic headbands. Ouch.

McCarren Park Pool

The new iPod commercial featuring Feist (you'll know her by the fact you can't get the song out of your head) reminded me that I needed to blog on this topic.

One, Two, Three, Four
Tell me that you love me more
Sleepless, long nights
That was what my youth was for

Ha! See, now it's in your head.

Anyway, I went to a Feist show in Brooklyn with my friend Nicole and the venue was unlike any I've ever been to. I didn't know what to expect going to a place called McCarren Park Pool. I Google'd it and saw that there was, in fact, a pool at McCarren Park but there wasn't a lot of room around the pool.

The GA seating/standing room was IN the pool. The pool of course was empty so it's not like we were treading water, but it was still bizarre. Apparently this pool has been empty for years and just this year they decided to turn it into a concert venue. It's actually perfect if you think about it, the pool gradually gets deeper so there is a nice gradual slope so if someone is standing in front of you, you can still see. We actually were sitting for part of the show. Sitting at the bottom of the pool.

And guess what they yell at the end of the concert. Yep, "Everyone out of the pool!"

Room Shift

I had been getting a little sick of my bedroom setup so while the living room is empty (I'm between roommates ) I rearranged my room tonight.

Note to self: beds are heavy and you shouldn't try moving them yourself. I didn't hurt myself or anything but it was not the most enjoyable experience.

So not sure whether I LOVE the setup yet but basically I consolidated all 4 square feet of walking space into one area rather than spread out. I could do a jumping jack if I so desired!

Ok, I actually wrote most of my intended posts in one sitting so you don't necessarily need to watch this space. I'll try to be better about blogging though. :)

Happy Belated Anniversary to ME!

So, shockingly, I didn't make a big deal about my NY/Harris anniversary on my blog on the actual days so I'll make a big deal about it now.

It's my ANNIVERSARY! I've officially lived in New York a year as of 8/27 and I've officially worked at Harris a year as of 8/28. Some people think that I should consolidate the days and just pick one. Well if anyone knows me they know that I like to celebrate as much as possible.

Since my friend/coworker Viv and I share our anniversary I baked a delicious chocolate cake (recipe courtesy of Gretchen). It was seriously sooo yummy.

Star Spotting 5 1/2: David Bromstad

Some people might be more excited about this Star Spotting than others. I happened to watch his show once last Fall (I think) and honestly the only reason I recognized him was because his enormous tattoo peeking out from his t-shirt.

I saw him in nearly the exact same place I saw Kevin Spacey and about 2 blocks from where I saw Elijah Wood.

Spring Street is HOPPING!

To the Theatahr

I caught a few Broadway shows in the past month courtesy of some amazing friends and guests.

In early August I attended Grease with the Amos family who was in town from Kansas City. I had no idea but Danny and Sandy were selected on a reality show. Sarah filled me in while we were waiting for the show to start so I wasn't completely unaware. I really enjoyed in and behaved myself and did NOT sing aloud though incredibly tempted.

When Alicia came to town we got tickets at the tkts center at South Street Seaport (had never been there either). Tkts has discounted tickets the day of the show. The seats are usually pretty good though its not guaranteed that you'll get to see the show you want so you have to go in with some options.

We went to The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. I have to say they get the award for best incorporation of the audience into the show. The seats actually look like they're bleachers in a school gymnasium. It was a really cute show and I recommend it to anyone with parents in town. There are some potentially embarrassing parts but nothing like Avenue Q.

Blog Attack!

So I wrote down all the things I have been planning to blog about so I'm going to try to take care of those in the next coming weeks. Watch this space.

I AM A NEW YORKER!

What makes me say this you ask? Is it...

• That I've been living in New York almost a year? No, according to most, you're not a New Yorker unless you've been living in NYC for ~4-7 years (depends on who you ask)
• That I received my New Yorker renewal? Nah, I've been reading the New Yorker for years.
• That I've eaten my 1000th bagel. Sadly, no. I enjoy the NYC bagel but at the rate of nearly 3 a day, I'd be as big as a house.

NOPE!!! I was invited to join a synagogue today. I have never been more flattered. The only way I can think that I got this is that I joined a Jewish community service organization which I greatly admire and they gave this synagogue my address. The invitation is lovely, complete with an envelope for the high holy day reservations.

I don't think I will be taking them up on their offer but I'm so flattered. Sigh. I heart New York.

Pros/Cons of Working Remotely

Yesterday New York City had effectively what could be considered a "snow day". I listened to NPR while getting ready like every morning and they said the 2,3 subway lines weren't running because of the heavy rains and flooding earlier that morning (of course I didn't wake up and knew nothing about it). I thought, "that's fine, west side, whatever". It's not all that uncommon for the subway not to be running.

I get to my subway stop at 86th and Lex (4,5,6 line) and I know as soon as I step off the bus that there are WAY too many people milling around the entrance. Once I walk up, I find out that those trains aren't running either. So I decided to get back on the bus to the west side to catch the C line to get to work but no one seemed to know if it was running.

I get to the west side and the C isn't running and the bus stops are overflowing with people. At this point I realize that I should just work from home and schlepped the x miles back to my apartment.

Several of my friends who couldn't get to work, and couldn't work from home pretty much had a snow day and drank mimosas for lunch. Some others were determined and took 3-4 hours to get to work via several modes of transportation. So, net net. Great that I didn't have to spend half the day commuting, but bummer that I didn't have a mimosa for lunch.

One additional thing to point out, New Yorkers were being sooo chill about the situation. Yes, there was minor grumbling about why the city/MTA/whomever can't get it together to pump the water out of the tunnels but overall everyone was very nice. Several people were offering their bus/subway maps to strangers, and commiserating about the situation.

My Birthday Events

My 26th (ouch) birthday was a COMPLETE success.

Sabrina, Sean, and Sean's brother, Bill came up on Friday night and we headed out for some fun downtown. We hit McSorely's bar (one of the oldest bars in NYC), then a few random bars in the East Village. However, when 1:15 rolled around I determined it was time to head to Barnes & Noble a few blocks away to pick up my copy of Harry Potter when I got some fancy glasses.

Saturday during the day we took in a Yankee game where the "New Yankee" hit his very first homerun. It was great to see how everyone in the stadium gave him a standing O and how excited he was. Awww, New Yankee.

Saturday night we hit Stout to hear my favorite Irish band Scythian play. They were outstanding as usual and I think everyone had a great time. Check out my Flickr Page for pics from the last couple weeks, including my birthday.

From these pictures, I've determined there is a strong correlation between number of drinks I've had and how much I hang on people in pictures. Need to work on my bar posture. I have a goal for my 26th year! Hooray!

4th of July...Finally

Ok, since I'm laid up in bed sick, I figured this might be the optimal time to, 1) catch up on my quest to watch all of the SATC episodes, 2) finally upload my pictures from July 4th-present, 3) update the blog.

Yay! July 4th! My friends Jodi, Nicole and I decided to attend Nathan's Hot Dog eating contest to see the match up between Kobayashi and the U.S. favorite, Joey Chestnut. This seemed like SUCH a New York thing to do so we headed off to Coney Island to check it out.

As I'm sure many of you saw from the ESPN coverage, there were thousands of people there so of course we couldn't see. However, when we could see, we wished we couldn't. Seriously, gross, but we were so glad we went. Even when we waited 45 mins for a Nathan's hot dog. Delicious. Joey Chestnut broke the former record of 59 1/2 hot dogs by 6 1/2 hot dogs! It was impressive. You can see the picture of us at the contest below.


Not surprisingly, guys LOVE that we went to the Hot Dog Eating Contest. Thought I'd throw that out there for all the single girls out there. Competitive eating is a great pick-up line.

Um-buh-rella, ella, ella

Random rant: I hate people with golf umbrellas because if they are of average height, you cannot get around them on the sidewalk. I desperately want a golf umbrella so I can walk without getting wet.

I think I'll just pick up some golashes and deal with my little umbrella rather than self-loathe.

Bypassing the 4th onto J.Crew

Ok, so I really need to blog about my July 4th adventure and since I haven't posted pics yet I'm going to go ahead and skip it then come back to it later.

Ok, J.Crew story. I have a lovely strapless beach embossed dress that I got from J.Crew 2 years ago. After washing it (as the label directed) I noticed that something was poking me. The boning on the dress had come out of it's sleeve and was stabbing me in the waist. Now, this is not all bad as it corrected my bad posture whenever I began to slouch, but not the most enjoyable experience.

My friend Nicole, a former J.Crew employee said I should take it back and see what they could do. So I finally got around to doing this on Friday. They said they could give me the current sales price which of course I thought...$5. I will deal with getting stabbed if all I was going to get was $5. Shockingly, the sales price was $69.99 so I figured, I could get a new one online (they no longer have them in the store).

Today I finally went online to purchase the dress, and due to sales and discounted pricing the dress was only $47. I know it's dumb, but I feel guilty about J.Crew's poor system and taking advantage of it. I've decided the free shipping and extra t-shirt are my birthday present.

This actually worked out because I got the dress in a different color/size so it's like a present.

The Beach

I don't need to go away for the weekend to go to the beach, I can just hop on the LIRR (Long Island RailRoad) which I have decided to start calling by it's phonetic spelling.

Saturday 4 friends and I went to Robert Moses beach which is the first beach on Fire Island. Admittedly, it took awhile to get out there (about 1 1/2 hours) but it was absolutely beautiful. It was probably 80 degrees, white sand, sunny. Gorgeous.

We even had a pretty good time on the train and on the way back we picked up a 6-pack and had Happy Hour. I think will be the first of many trips to the beach this summer. Next time I'll remember to put my memory card back IN my camera after uploading pics. Then I can share the beauty with you all.

Note: I, of Scandinavian descent and pale skin color that makes makeup counter ladies smirk, missed several spots when applying the SPF. Of course the around the ankle area, unreachable back area and around the swimsuit areas were most notably missed. Loose clothing for days...

See you Soon

So, maybe I frequent some places in my neighborhood a bit much. I realized how often today when I show up at Yummy Sushi and the woman asked me how I was doing and when I left, said, "See you soon!" Yeah, you probably will.

I also regularly go to Eastside Grocery around the corner from my apartment. It's actually a bodega, where you can pick up whetever you need if you're in a hurry. Friday night I stopped in there to get a big water for the beach on Saturday and finally asked the name of the guy who is ALWAYS behind the counter, Mohsen. Tonight I was craving some ice cream so went around the corner and he remembered my name, and I his. Then when I left, "See you soon!"

I really like my neighborhood.