I've been wanting to make sure that I post all of the things I've done. (Will post links when possible, so click 'em!) Saturday: Briefly went to a street festival in Spanish Harlem. Went back to 125th corridor to do some shopping, bought a new dress! Went out with my friend Ryan from Jersey to Megu. Sunday: Attempted to go to a Girl Talk concert in Brooklyn, but was discouraged by the terrible crowd and the ridiculous amount of time between the opening act and the headline. Discovered that Brooklyn is indeed full of nothing but Hipsters, yet ate some delicious pizza at Driggs Ave Pizza. Saw a guy do some cool pizza box tricks. Finished unpacking my room, and explored my neighborhood a bit. Saw all of the ladies in Harlem wearing their Sunday's best. Apparently it's sunny in Heaven, as they all wear huge wide-brimmed hats.
My room and the view from my window. It's lovely to have trees outside!
Went to Pita Pan Cafe in Chelsea before standing in line for free tickets to Asssscat 3000 at the Upright Citizens Brigade theater. Saw Seth Meyers and other SNL writers do improv.
I know this was a very straight forward, fact-based entry; I'm actually tired. I'm off to go sleep in the city that never does. :)
I made it! I now officially live in New York, New York. The bit of time in Rolla was nice, but I was so anxious about my upcoming move that I can't say I truly enjoyed it for all it was worth. Wednesday night i didn't sleep at all, but simply stayed up all night listening to the Theme from New York, New York. You know: "These little town blues are melting away- I'll make a brand new start of it in old New York."
Thursday could not have gone more perfectly. Sleep deprived, I was able to manufacture some Z's on the ride to the airport. My dad helped me unload my three bags, and I was off. The flight was a bit early, and my "guide" Dave was waiting for me when I arrived. We managed to only mildly irritate riders on the M60 bus with all of our luggage, and met my land lord Charles at the house. My room is actually better than I imagined; I have a couch, a desk, a dresser, two closets, a fireplace, two mirrors, and a full-size bed. I'm still not settled in yet, so I won't post any photos of the actual room, but just know that it is adorable.
Dave left to go back to his apartment for the afternoon, so I roamed the Lenox Ave./125th corridor a bit and bought some essentials. The neighborhood is really a very vibrant place. There are ladies listening to Michael Jackson on their stoops in the middle of the day, children playing basketball across the street, vendors selling shaved ice and mangoes at every corner, and delis on every block. I really enjoy just soaking up the energy of the residents and the streets, knowing that I'm about to become apart of that buzzing, alive vibe.
Dave soon returned, though, and took me to the Broadway Show "Burn The Floor." It was quite excellent, and completely free thanks to his generosity. We also got to wander around Times Square for a bit, which was also a very fun experience. I know it's nothing but a "tourist" attraction, but I kind of like the endless masses of people from all over having the shared experience of seeing the same attractions and feeling the same excitement. Although Dave didn't stay for the show, he was a southern gentleman and came back to deliver me to my front porch. Of course he took pictures of the entire experience so that I could "show my mother." Here's me in front of my house on the first night. Notice the pretty flowers to the right. :)Today I stayed around until two, and met up with a friend of a friend to go shopping. We were to meet at the 125th subway stop, so I headed down there around 1:45 and waited for him to show up. I learned two things: 1) It is not easy to find somebody you have never met on a crowded street corner and 2) There is not necessarily any great spot to wait for said person on a street corner. I managed to snag a spot under the Starbucks awning, where I met quite a few interesting characters. I was next to a lady who would yell at other women about how they had "Nappy Hair!" or "You can't get a man with a weave as bad as that!" She was, of course, offering her hair braiding services to passerbys. She did manage to snag a client, so she picked up her chair and left. Her spot was not vacant for long. A minute later, a gentleman carrying a black trash bag stands next to me. He starts muttering "Newport. Newports. Newport." to people as the round the corner. I'm sitting here thinking "Is this guy saying Newports? Like the cigarettes? Can't be" and was making a mental note to look up slang variations on Newport. Ten minutes pass, and someone says "How much?" He tells him said price, and they start making a deal. I scoot over, as this is making me a little uncomfortable. He pulls something out of the sack, and what do you know- it's a pack of Newport cigarettes! I kind of just chuckled to myself, and soon Brad was calling.
We rode the train to the Bronx to shop at a Target. We got off at the wrong stop, but I enjoyed walking the distance, seeing the neighborhood, and getting to know him. I had one mission for the entire day: buy a fan. My room doesn't have air conditioning (it could, but I'm a cheapskate) so a fan is crucial. We saw a few good deals on the way, but decided we would wait until after Target to stop. By the time we finished, we were pretty beat, so we just headed back to my room, then to get some lunch. Luckily I met one of my hall mates whom pointed me in the direction of a discount housewares store on 125th, Gem, and was able to continue my mission. The store was packed full of goods, and was fairly cheap. I managed to buy a fan, and they did the neatest thing. I know I'm from the country, but seriously, I just thought this was so neat: After purchasing the fan, the lady said "Go to the front, and they'll make a handle for you." Thinking "Okay?" I trudged to the front of the store. The guy wrapped twine around the box, and then attached this metal/cardboard hook tot he box creating a perfectly comfortable handle. I triumphantly marched the five blocks home past street corner preachers and bodega groceries to my room.
Aaaah, sweet relief.
I was almost planning on resting and unpacking this evening, but decided to be adventurous and did my first solo subway ride. I rode down to Lincoln Square in midtown to see a movie, Adam. Despite my mother's wishes, I did ride the subway after ten 'o clock at night. I saw a police officer at every stop, and a few on the walk home . I managed to not get lost-yay!- and had a wonderful gentleman talk to me on the phone on my journey to 130th. :-)
The movie was fantastic, and very fitting. It's about a romance in New York City (where I live now!) and about going out, finding your own path, doing what you love despite the odds (hey! that's me!) In it there was a song by 'The Weepies' that I've heard, but never really listened to. It had a very fitting line, though-
"I can't really say Why everybody wishes they were somewhere else But in the end, the only steps that matter Are the ones you take all by yourself"
I hope you enjoy the music. Rain drops are falling on the tree outside of my window, the temperature is dropping, and my fan is still going. I'm off to enjoy all of the above.
So here it is- my last week on the ranch. I'm having a hard time realizing it. This place has been my everything for the past six months; it's hard for me to remember life before Heifer Ranch. Now, here I am, saying goodbye to my beautiful home in Arkansas.
It's going to be surreal not walking out to see sheep, camels, cows, and water buffalo every day. I will no longer have the opportunity to milk a goat when I please. I'll no longer be able to sit in a hammock to watch the sunset behind the hills.
I know I should be focusing on the things I am going to do.
I am excited about my adventure coming up, really. I'm just realizing more and more how much I will miss ole Arkansas.
The past few weeks have been non-stop.
Everybody is leaving, so we're trying to pack in as much time together as possible. I've said far too many goodbyes to people, and am stressed out that I have to say even more. I know that the next few days will be fun, and I'm trying to enjoy them as much as possible.
A few weeks ago I got the opportunity to go to the annual Jefferson-Jackson dinner. I was able to meet governor Beebe, both Senator Blanche and Lincoln, and a few local representatives. It was a lot of fun, and I'm grateful that some lovely Arkansan felt that I was special enough to buy a ticket for. My friends here on the ranch worked together to make it an almost prom-like experience: Rocky did my hair, and Caby did a photo shoot. Here are the results:
Last weekend I was able to go home to visit my two cousins from California, JJ and Emily. I had a blast with them; they are two crazy cats who never fail to make me smile. Mom, Dad, and I took them on a float trip Sunday afternoon. That was quite the experience- two L.A. kids on the Gasconade in Missouri. It was a lot of fun, and I'm glad I made the 6 hour drive.
Last Thursday I went to this Crazy concert experience in Little Rock. This band, the What Cheer? Brigade! from Providence, RI marches through the streets of towns forming an impromptu parade. We dressed up (the girls as flower children, I in my cat ears) and marched with them to a block party. It was tons of fun; I danced all night. I managed to meet an old volunteer of the Heifer Learning Center in Massachusetts, and talked to him about music, the Peace Corps, and Little Rock. I then met somebody who had heard of (drum roll, please) The Baxter! My favorite movie written by the funniest man in Brooklyn, Michael Showalter. I have loved this movie for years, and have yet to find another who had heard of it. My heart was jumping, and the adrenaline kept on coming all night long. It was cut short after midnight due to a noise complaint, but it was still a night I will never forget.
This past Friday we had yet another going away party, and yet another theme party. This one is called an ABC party (for you old folks, that's an Anything But Clothes party.) It may sound risque, but most people are fully clothed. You wear garments, but you make them out of, you guessed it, anything but clothes. People constructed their outfits out of feed bags, newspapers, boxes, witch hats, beer boxes, inner tubes, trash bags, pillow cases, flowers, rope bags, etc. You name it, we probably used it. We're used to recycling, so perhaps that's why our outfits were so swell. Mei was adorable in a paper crane-adorned feed bag. I opted to use newspapers for a skirt, and then made myself a newspaper dispenser for the Heifer Herald. Sadly my outfit didn't quite hold up in the dance party, but I managed to make it work.
My brother and sister-in-law drove from Nashville on Saturday to visit, and got to see the last bits of my life here on the ranch. I'm fairly certain they had a good time, but one can never know. They were able to meet most of the major players in my life for the past few months, and got to see the beautiful land I live on. We also got to push boundaries- we went "night swimming" and did some high challenge elements (rock wall! eek! zip line! eek!) with my housemate Stephen and company on Sunday. They took me to work this morning, met my supervisors, then went off on their merry way. I'm really glad they visited, and am ecstatic that they're happy; my brother picked a good one.
After they left I got to help pluck chickens at the chicken-chopping station and then said one sad goodbye. Now it's just Michal, (sometimes) Chance, and me in Nearside.
