Perfect Summer Saturday

It started last night with the company happy hour. It was the last day of the national IT director since he got a position with a new company and as such all the IT workers from the US were flown out to attend the happy hour planned.



Normally the company plans them on Thursdays but this was made Friday which was obviously nice since no one had to work the next day. I looked forward to it all week.

It really lived up to everything I was looking forward to. Usually the office manager gives us all 3 tickets that we cash in for drinks, but not only did they ration off more, but hardly any of the teachers were able to attend, so the one teacher who did come brought along the 40+ tickets for them and shared it with the student services staff. Let's just say that it really made for a wonderfully fun-filled night with all of the staff. Song of the night by far was BATTLEFIELD! I just lovelovelove my student services coworkers! And all my coworkes for that matter.



I woke up in the morning feeling just a little sluggish. I made it to an 11am yoga class, which felt wonderful since it's been a few weeks! I arranged to walk dogs for a friend of mine from the volleyball league while she's out of town. She rents a room from a couple in an apartment in a beautiful West Side location in the 70s with a posh entrance and a doorman. They are two little Pomeranian mixes and I leashed them up and took them out. It was a perfect day! Warm, clear and breezy. I took the dogs to Riverside park, which overlooks the Hudson.





It was perfect! I was in love with New York. After the walk I brought them back to the apartment and fed them and sat in the living room for awhile. The wooden floors and interior reminded me of my apartment in France. It also had beautiful wide windows letting in so much light and breeze with great rooftop views of NYC. I sat in there for awhile enjoying it, it felt so summery.

On the way back to my place I stopped for coffee at a cafe, and then came back to my place. I took a shower, which proved difficult to start since Wolfie still claims the bathtub as his own. I've decided to keep the bathroom door closed now and force him to be around me. It's the next stage in our relationship. He's currently laying on the windowsill behind the curtain. It's now time for some cleaning but it's been such a great relaxing Saturday, the epitome of summer.

You Think You Know A Place...

This morning I got on the wrong train.

It's not as bad as it sounds. I was running late, and I've been running late this whole week so I was really anxious to switch trains as fast as possible. When I got to Columbus Circle to switch to the #1 train, I heard a train, ran up to the #1 platform, and got on.

I was relieved, grabbed a seat, and pulled open the magazine I kept on me for my subway rides. It was awhile before I heard a street name announced and realized that the streets were going UP. I had gotten on the uptown train, and not the downtown train.

There is a pretty big happy hour for my company tonight and I feel like I've never looked forward to drinks so much before!

Meet Mitch

Supposedly, her real name is Michelle.



We met my senior year (her freshman year!) of college. I had just gotten back from France, and she pledged my sorority that year. This was the moment I just knew that we would be friends:

At one of the first pledging events we were playing Two Truths and a Lie. One of her statements was that she was born in Iraq. No one knew her at all and she was keeping such a straight face, and everyone felt racist or bad to bring up the Iraqi comment. Of course it ended up being her lie (she is Egyptian and was born in Fresno) and I just thought anyone with that great a sense of humor was my kind of friend! And she was! I like to think that I had quite the impact on her studying abroad in Sweden.

My senior year we spent lots of time together, did lots of events together. My first year out of college she rallied my sorority to buy a train ticket for me to make it to the Thanksgiving dinner they put on every year. Below is Mitch, myself, my lil sis Adara and another fave sorority sis Keid



In an effort to combat my calling her "Mitch", she calls me "Sterile", which was a derivative of my pledge name, Sterling (also hence the blog address!)

Years later and we are across the country and soon to be across the globe from each other. We just had a Skype date. It's been so long but she made me feel much closer to home and with friends again. She's still funny, still encouraging, still inspiring with lots of great stories, intentions, and a great head on her shoulders always considering the deeper meaning and going one step further. I'm glad we still keep in touch



This one's for you Mitch!

Wolfie!!

Last night I had Wolfie brought over to me. He's just beautiful. He got out of his carrier and walked around a bit, doing that super cautious, low back, giraffe-necked looking that cats do when they're in new environments. I was talking with the lady who brought him for awhile and then we looked over and saw this little number



If you can't tell, that lump next to the penguin is Wolfie under the covers. He ended up staying there until I fell asleep. We fell asleep on the bed together, but on opposite sides since I didn't want to disturb him. When I woke up, he was in the bathtub behind the shower curtain.

All day I just wanted to come home and see him and spend time with him. Of course not only did I have volleyball today, but I was also on snack/drink duty, so I couldn't skip. (Side note: volleyball was awesome today. Beautiful warm, breezy weather, sunny, with some awesome band giving a free concert nearby that we could hear!)

I came home, Wolfie was in the tub again. I decided to feed him in there since I don't want to push his limits, and he needs to see that I am the one supplying the food!



You might make fun of me now, but when I start writing books on training cats or something and making my millions... you'll be humming a different tune!

Sweet Success!

I can't even verbalize the agony this window has put me through. First with the embarrassing can't-open-gate story with the super, then couldn't open the window itself at all. With the stifling heat and humidity, seeing that window but unable to open it... I felt like that character in Greek mythology who, as his punishment in Hades, stood starving and thirsty knee-deep in water and just below hanging grapes, and, each time he bent down to scoop up water it receded, and everytime he reached for grapes they rose just above his grasp.

I don't know what did it, my determination I guess, but somehow i OPENED IT! It took manipulating, maneuvering, and I'm not even sure I opened it correctly but here it is... wide open letting in sunshine and cool air, making my once stuffy and baking studio a fresh, breezy, open and liveable place to be!



In the words of Johnny Drama....

Victory.

I'm Going to be a Host Mom...

...for cats!

Isn't that great? I happened to come across a foster agency for cats and got in touch with the woman running it. She's crazy. BUT, she approved me! She takes in abused and homeless cats, and I will be a foster home to house and help housebreak the cats until they are friendly and domestic again.

Once the cats are ready to be adopted, I come in with other foster homes and we show the cats at Petco twice a week. If the cat gets successfully adopted, I get a (surprisingly hefty) bonus.

This is the cat I am going to be taking in next week, his name is Wolfie, isn't he beautiful?!



I KNOW everyone says I'm going to be crazy cat lady but EXCUSE ME if cats are way more badass than dogs!

At any rate, I get the company of a cat but no committment, looking forward to it.

The New Trains

Though I did not move too far from where I had been living originally, I have different options of taking the train to work.

Option 1: Continuing taking the #1 train. It's two blocks away, tends to be more crowded

so I've begun taking

Option 2: Grabbing the B or C train from the 103rd St stop 1 block away, and transferring to the #1 train at Columbus Circle.

I LOVE my newfound train route. The B & C hit the same station and platform at 103rd street. It's a lovely walk through a nice parkside neighborhood, where I can jump on a train right away since there are 2 different lines running through it. It's not as crowded, I can always get a seat, and when I transfer to the #1, it's the easiest thing ever: I simply walk up the stairs right where it lets off and I am on the platform for the #1 train, which gets off at 28th street, aka my work's block corner. It couldn't be easier or more convenient.



My gradual mastery of the public transportation system, along with the normalcy of taking it to/from work makes me think I am acclimating

My Stuff

Some people are all into getting new things when they move, or start over, or want a re-do. They want to buy everything new, modern, and matching.

I totally get the attraction, and aside from the financial side, I wasn't at all against the idea of buying everything new once I got to NYC for the fact that it all would be brand new and uniform. Still, in my impoverished state I have been gladly welcoming any and all donations and gifts, and I am finding how much more I love it, and how it makes my place more like a home.

My two beautiful side lamps, given to me by Chrishon, will always remind me of her great style and generosity, and our fun weekend at the cape, when she betrothed them to me.

My sparse and mismashed cups, mugs, plates and pans will always point me to the great coworker I thought was just friendly but turned out to be truly warm hearted and giving, going out of his way on a weekend spent with his wife to drop by some essentials he thought I could use, and even invite me out for a walk with the both of them.

Whenever I cook breakfast with my sweet spatula I'll think of Jayna's rockin' style and radio personality (she dj's at a station in Connecticut on the weekends) and how thoughtful she's been through my whole time of transition!

When I slice my vegetables, I have my two small but great breakfast cutting boards with the maps of Paris and Berlin on them, given to me by one namely great German family who shared their Christmas with me during the best year of my life!

When I drink one of my dozens of cups of coffee a day, I have so many great memories and people in so many mugs: the dark brown one with light blue writings of "coffee" in tons of different languages, bought for me by Cherisse when I went out to North Carolina, after a fun-filled day of driving through the Blue Ridge Parkway and wreaking havoc and photo sessions like we always do... the "California" Starbucks mug given to me by two of the sweetest roommates I've ever had: Pam and Priya who saw me off to New York and gave me a reminder of the state I was leaving behind... the Starbucks "Phoenix" mug from our time at the Giants Spring training games, what a great group that was, tailgating in Phoenix at noon!



I love these gentle and subtle but warm reminders around my home. Even if I don't have the pictures up, these people are still all around me! I can't wait to accumulate more...

[The] Office.

No matter what sort of morning it is or mood I'm in, there are 2 things that make me very happy when I get to my desk:

1. My Urban Dictionary Word of the Day email. I signed up to receive these every day from Urban Dictionary, the online dictionary where people are free to post new words or phrases they use. They always include the word in context and those are always what crack me up the most.

2. My Office desk calendar. For Christmas last year my sister gave me one of those daily tear-off desk calendars that is all quotes from the Office, and everyday I love reading the new one, it always makes me laugh and starts the day out well. You can imagine that by this time in the year I have already gone through tons of great quotes, but for Friday July 16, I just couldn't stop laughing and thinking about it and I have kept it at my desk for that reason and now I want the world to see it:

What is my perfect crime? I break into Tiffany's at midnight. Do I go for the vault? No, I go for the chandelier; it's priceless. As I'm taking it down, a woman catches me. She tells me to stop. It's her father's business. She's Tiffany. I say no. We make love all night. In the morning the cops come and I escape in one of their uniforms. I tell her to meet me in Mexico but I go to Canada. I don't trust her. Besides, I like the cold. Thirty years later I get a postcard. I have a son and he's the chief of police. This is where the story gets interesting. I tell Tiffany to meet in Paris by the Trocadero. She's been waiting for me all these years. She's never taken another lover. I don't care. I don't show up. I go to Berlin. That's where I stashed the chandelier.
-Dwight



Humor keeps me going sometimes.

Groceries!!

I made an impromptu trip to the store on my way home from work today, and I don't even know why. I think it's because everytime I go to the store I already have an agenda and I leave thinking "what did I even get?" and come home still feeling empty handed. I wanted to just go in and look.

I left with all those essentials you just HAVE and don't realize you need until you really need them! I got flour, sugar, baking soda and baking powder, salt, Pam spray, olive oil, honey, peanut butter, jam, pancake mix, syrup, hand soap, disinfectant wipes, and even some meals to take for lunch at work. It only came to $40 too! (That's good right? It seemed good to me...) and I was so proud stocking my shelves, it looks and feels so much more like a home knowing I can bake and cook (even if all the pans are still missing!) I don't know why I'm only getting this satisfaction now, it's been so long since I moved away from home.



My last hurdle in this apartment is going to be my dresser. One of my coworkers (same one who gave me the spatula!) generously offered to let me borrow her Jetta if I needed it, suggesting an Ikea dresser since they're still in boxes and easier to transport. Isn't that so sweet? I'm just still debating if I want to bother with assembling or if I should try to find one with delivery, or what. Once I get this thing it feels like it will be all downhill after that...

Another Summer Weekend

The summer is slipping by in a weird way. It's a little sad. I'm not having the typical fun, free-for-all, crazy summer people always have. I don't have many friends, I'm alone in a new city, in such a primitive situation moving in, I'm almost waiting for the summer to pass, or maybe just the time, so that I'll be settled and up to speed.

This past weekend was the first weekend I actually stayed the night at my studio. I was worried it would feel uncomfortable, or a little scary... but I loved it!! I was reunited with all of my things, and felt SO much more at home! I loved waking up to the brick wall, a kitchen, a full-sized refrigerator, and not even having to put on shoes to go to the bathroom. Even the blue carpet is homely and is the same shade that was in my dad's home in Ontario for years.

The problem is the heat. I'm thinking that I may actually break down and buy A/C. I'm not saying I can't deal with it... but I can't anymore, I don't want to. If it's just a month and a half... and my place is so small, it shouldn't be so bad to run it. And after spending so much of the weekend indoors because I was sick... I think I had heat stroke by the end. I am just tired of all this work, alone, in the heat. But I do so love my place! I even love the neighborhood.

My coworkers are also being awesome! Over the weekend one of them came by with some overstock stuff from his parents house upstate and I scored 2 drinking glasses, 2 beer mugs, a small cooking pot, 3 coffee mugs (even though I have no shortage of those in my stuff in California!), 4 small ceramic plates with small matching cups. Then today, my coworker gave me a housewarming present... it was a black silicone spatula in the shape of an electric guitar! Isn't this so sweet? This is exactly it:



So far through this whole process I can say that I am learning patience. And I have also discovered some strength. How deep. Everyone check the comments to see what Ronnie will come up with to combat that

East Side + My Place On The West Side

Ronnie really wants me to blog about the following, so I will, because he's the best (read: only) friend I have out here :) :) :)

We met up when I got off work on the posh midtown East Side at some cafe with a Spanish name Ronnie said incessantly that I couldn't remember, so I referred to it as "Don Juan van Pedro-san Cafe" and decided we were going to eat. The thing with Ronnie is that he loves this little finder app on his phone so he always wants to look up "Asian buffet" restaurants that we walk around forever looking for, and it looked like it was going to happen again.

Me: "Ronnie, I don't feel like walking all over the city again!"
Ronnie: "But I thought you said you wanted to lose weight!"

Right after he said this, a girl in front of us instinctively not only turned around to look at us, but gave me the most obvious once over ever!! I don't know why it was so humiliating but I just couldn't believe that girl had the nerve to look me up and down like that, in front of both of us, at the mention that I wanted to lose weight! Ronnie got a huge kick out of it, and I got a huge kick out of the next hour.... when we were finally sitting down eating at our Chinese restaurant and Ronnie made the comment that he "is neutral! I AM SWEDEN!"

(Note: Switzerland is the neutral one...)



Here's a nice picture of Swedish Royal Family that I guess Ronnie is apart of. I actually have this exact picture on a postcard that I bought when I was in Stockholm, I was so tickled by all the Royal Family pictures

* * *

This morning I moved out of my air conditioned room and am now officially in my studio! My bed was delivered earlier this week and tonight will be my first night sleeping there. It feels a little strange, just because it will be my first night, and I haven't spent so much time there. I hope it starts to feel like home soon. There is just so much that I need! Like a dresser, shelves, a mirror... right now my clothes are just piled in a corner! The problem with getting stuff is threefold...

1. Money. I need to be patient and accumulate things slowly
2. Delivery and transportation... if I buy it off craigslist from someone, how do I get it home? If I buy it online, I need to be home to accept the delivery
3. Assembly. It's hard putting stuff together! Especially all by myself!

I just really need to be patient. If I ever thought that I lived "on my own" before, this is such a wake up call! I really am the only one dealing with the landlord or super, buying furniture, carrying things up 4 flights of stairs, assembling by myself in stifling heat, etc. Sometimes I just want to give up and find a sugar daddy

Without internet at the new place, I find myself out and about in the city more (at a Starbucks now!) and not refrigerating in my room. We meet again every day, New York City!

It's Official

I'm sick. I woke up with an awfully sore throat, but I did feel okay enough to make it into work. I made tea and put a whole lemon's worth of lemonjuice in it. But now I feel achey, feverish, and blah.

My last day at the residence is July 17th which means starting this Saturday, I am officially in my new place, with no A/C! Aaaaaah!

On the Verge of Sick!

Today I felt a little homesick towards the afternoon. It's been overcast and gray, and I was just mentally tired and exhausted from work, and I really feel like I'm getting sick. I got that itch in my throat that starts it all and it seems to be getting worse. Chills, hot flashes, sore throat, aches and pains. And inbetween my moves and being here, the thought of getting significantly sick makes me realize how alone I am and I'm a little worried about it. I hope I don't get sick but who knows.

Once this move is done and I get a little more settled I'm looking forward to going back to yoga and having my routine down.

Summer Rain

I used to think that it was such a ridiculous stereotype that "it never rains" in California (southern California especially). I mean, I recall plenty of storms, thundering rain that left mud, puddles, and having to eat and play indoors at school enough times. Of course it rains in California!

...Now I'm starting to understand what they mean. It's July and yet New Yorkers still carry umbrellas with them just about everywhere. Afternoon rains, or evening rains following a day of clear skies and intense heat has happened a few times every week. All day today it was cloudy, with enough rain in the afternoon to be considered pouring at one point. This is the middle of July!

I grew up with no such thing as rain in a month that wasn't without a doubt considered winter. On top of that, you could tell if there would be a chance of rain once you woke up. You knew when rain was coming and you could plan for it. It's so weird now!

I don't mind at all, it's a nice break from the monotonous sunshine of California that was actually driving me crazy at the end. I just still haven't processed the idea of carrying an umbrella and the possibility of rain on any given day. In comparison to this, of course it never rains in California

Viva Espana

With my paycheck waiting for another 2 weeks, overcast and raining weather, and downtown trains between 125 and 96 not running, just about all of my tentative weekend plans were ruined. I spent a lot of time in my room just reading, sleeping, and some cleaning. I still live in the dorm room since I don't have a bed in my studio yet.

Saturday afternoon though, I met up with Ronnie at Columbus Circle, where we went to the Time Warner mall. Impressive view but poorly set up. Just a few wings either way so you have to walk back and forth to get anywhere.



We ate dinner at an Indian place after a few failed attempts to find some Asian bistros near Times Square, and then went to Kmart so I could buy curtains, because I just couldn't comfortably move into my studio without a curtain over the exposed window. We spent a lot of time looking at the fabrics and colors and another woman nearby looking ended up talking to us about her whole apartment scheme and what I was doing and more or less told me I was crazy to want burgundy curtains with wood furniture and to get taupe or the striped browns and greens. I was glad when she left, we call her Cynthia because she had a huge rose tattoo with "Cynthia" written underneath it on her upper arm.

Afterwards we went to my studio and Ronnie "helped" me install the curtain rod and put the curtain up. Then we played 3 or 4 rounds of MadLibs, one of our favorite past times.

Today was going to be even more uneventful, until I got a message from my friend Marco. He was a Swiss student at the San Diego school that I was pretty good friends with, he was part of a group of us that went up to Santa Barbara for a weekend, and he was here in New York visiting! We met up on the Upper West Side and found a bar to get a drink in and watch the final Spain v Netherlands game. At halftime we left just because it was so crowded and we couldn't sit and we felt lazy. We picked up some snacks from a grocery store and went to his hostel's lobby with plenty of chairs, tables, couches, TVs and people around and watched the rest of the game. Marco was for Spain and I never could make up my mind, but after seeing all the dirty play and yellow cards from Nederlands, I was going for Spain. I'm still pretty indifferent, but honestly, I have a secret reason to be for Spain!



It was so fun to meet up with Marco. I love all the friends I make from all over the world and when you say goodbye it has to pass your mind that maybe you'll never see them again, but then you do! Marco is on his way to Boston but is then coming back to New York at the end of the week, when we're going to try out this happy hour at a taco place near Times Square. Below is a picture from Santa Barbara from last summer. Marco (to the left of me) and Fabian (to my right) were both Swiss German, and Elena (in pink) is Italian.



I just like relaxing on Sundays since Mondays are so crazy at work and we all have to show up before 8 o'clock to prepare as opposed to the 9 o'clock start time of the rest of the week. So I'm trying to watch Seinfeld when the internet works, read, and relax. When this double paycheck comes in, I'm pretty worried I'm going to end up binge spending it on coffee and chocolate, the only things I can think about right now!



Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.......!!

First Encounter With The Super + Surprise!

There was thie awful huge gate over my fire escape window that neither me nor Ronnie could actually open. This little latch just would not budge when we tried to push the gate open. With how hot it was (and just wanting to have access to my place anyway!) I wanted to be able to open the window to get a breeze going, since I could only open the one by the kitchen. I called the super the help with what I figured could only be a painted shut gate, and he wasn't available until the next day (yesterday).

After work I went to the new place, called the super and waited for him to come over. (Mentally noting how I MUST get curtains! My only view are brick walls and my neighbors windows which are oh-so-close!) The super came over, he was pretty young, sounded maybe Eastern European? And you know what he did? He walked over to the gate, to that sticky latch... and LIFTED IT UP. Problem solved. It was so humiliating. I had to explain a million times that I was not from NYC and I had no idea. He didn't seem upset at all though, I think he was laughing. I must have looked so pathetic though. I mean, no furniture, suitcases with clothes everywhere, one lone fan in the corner, and all I had to do was lift UP. At least he was nice about it!

In other news, I got a great surprise from the HR department! Apparently some confusion with my payroll (they say I didn't submit my hours!) and so I didn't get paid, and now I can't get paid until the NEXT pay period where I will get a double paycheck. GREAT. Just threw my life savings at the apartment, now I'll be living off of WHAT?! for the next two weeks, and say goodbye to those curtains and furniture for the time being. I'm just so irritated with the whole thing, it's such a bad time for this to happen. Something tells me I'll be eating a lot of spaghetti.

What doesn't kill me makes me stronger!!

"Heat" Wave

Many people have been hearing about the "Crippling Heat Wave Blanketing the East Coast" (as one news article put it). Now I'm NOT saying that it is not hot. It is. And it's humid so it's thicker and heavy. But STILL... cry me a river!!

It's really NOT that bad. I mean, I grew up in Riverside. With no A/C. I played school sports in triple degree heat. My summers were spent in my bathing suit, eating popsicles, in and out of cold showers, laying wet washcloths on my forehead, trying to built forts in front of an open refrigerator. Soooo a few days of heat that has once cracked 100... they're all just wimps around here!

To be fair... I was at Cape Cod last weekend at the beach (which was so fun but I left my camera at my friends house in Boston!) and during the week I'm at my work in the air conditioning... but I still go outside, I still feel it! It's the worst when you're in the steaming, stale tunnels of the subway. That's the worst. But it's underground and temporary.

YES it's hot and I will suffer without A/C in my new place but NO, it's nothing I haven't dealt with before. Grow up New York, try the desert for a change!

Reality Setting In

Move-in day was awful. In the end, I got two loads taken over to the new place. Each trip took a little over two hours to complete. I'm halfway inbetween all the moving. It was just too tiring. And now it's weird being divided between my two places. I can't wait to just be totally moved in somewhere. I think it will help to get a bed and wardrobe or something. The closet I have is TINY and I would only be able to hang up a few jackets or so. My clothes are scattered on the floor!

I found myself dragging my feet a little with moving into the new place once I was there. I don't know what it was. Suddenly I felt really lonely. I kept wanting to live alone, and the thing was, in my current room I really did feel as though I was all alone, rarely saw anyone, was in my room a lot, etc. But I guess it was more comforting than I realized because I REALLY feel alone in the new place, and it felt kinda scary too.

I haven't met any of my neighbors yet, but on the way up I did see two of them leaving. They were a couple dressed for a night on the town and looked about my age. One door has a Bible verse trinket posted by the peephole. So I live ina young, religious building, how perfect!

If anyone fears that I may not have their physical home address, please email them to me so I can send you all updates!!

Moving Day. (Sucks).

What an awful, awful day to move. My coworker that adopted my rat told me that he died this morning. It's hot outside, I've got a raging headache, the number 1 train isn't running this morning, my new place is on the 4th floor of a walk-up only building and I'm doing it all by myself. I just don't have the energy for this anymore, and I've only taken 1 trip so far. How is it possible anyway, that I came with 2 suitcases and yet it's taking so many trips to pack up?? I really am going to miss the air conditioner around here, need to get a fan for my new place, but that's last on the list after actually getting moved in!

A few weeks ago I made plans with a friend for the 4th of July weekend to spend it at the cape. (I actually had to double check and make sure that yes, "the cape" is Cape Cod). So tomorrow right after work I'm taking the train up to Boston and meeting my friend who lives there and then we're driving to the cape for the weekend. I'm excited for it, but it also means today is really my only shot at moving. I hate to sound so melodramatic (Ronnie is going to love this) but I just feel like crying.

In some better news, here are some pictures of the place, pre- any moving in really

This is the hallway from my door



This is "the room"



This is exposed brick I'm so proud of!



Here is the kitchen area from the room



A whole great view, and through there you can see the tiny little bathroom!



Maybe I will be able to share more pictures once I'm settled and decorated, it'd be a before & after that I could sell to Home & Garden!