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.......!!