New York City... Center of the Universe

Well, I have finally arrived! New York is great so far… The trip here was exhausting. Thankfully, Eric let me sit by the window, so I was able to get some sleep, but it was not good sleep… It was the miserable kind when you know you are not sleeping well. Then, when we got to the JFK airport, we had to try and gather our shuttle group, which was kind of hard because there were some people in it who I had never met before, so I didn’t really know who I was looking for. Then two people tried to get into our pre-reserved shuttle… which made things chaotic because the luggage didn’t fit… Anyway, those two people ended up having to take a cab. It’s their fault, really. I am pretty sure I sent them all e-mails to see if they wanted to share a shuttle…

Anyway, we finally got to the International House after some heavy traffic. Then we had to wait FOREVER until one person checked us in one by one. After getting checked in, and getting my International House ID, I headed over to my room, which is small, but not any smaller than my room at The Promenade.

International House is interesting. First of all, it is a mixed residency hall (not to be confused with dorms). There are both men and women on the same floor, which is already different than how BYU housing is arranged. Secondly, I live on the 8th floor, which means I have to wait for about 20 years before I can get in the elevator. I House is way uptown, almost near Harlem. It looks cool from the outside, but it is pretty old. It’s not bad though. The 1 train is only two blocks away, and it is a safe neighborhood.

The first day there, we did a group scavenger hunt through NYC. We saw things like our work places, Broadway theaters, Times Square, Grand Central Station, Chrysler Building and the New York Church of Scientology (really…but alas, Tom Cruise was not there).

The next day was the first day at work. I have to take two trains to get there. I work on the 12th floor at the Young and Rubicam offices. I am working with their Hispanic advertising team. It is called the Bravo Group. It is fun so far, but I haven’t been given any real assignments yet, and I am hoping that will change really soon here.

So far, I’ve been through Central Park, the Museum of Modern Art, Serendipity 3 (remember the movie with John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale?), and Hairspray. At the Museum of Modern Art I got to see a real life Monet--- The water lilies… I didn’t even know that’s what I would see! I also saw pieces by Mark Rohtko, Jason Pollock, Pablo Picasso, Cezanne, Rousseau, Renoir, Kandinsky, Seurat, and VAN GOGH!!! (I saw the original Starry Night!!!). That was great and all, but nothing compared to when I saw original pieces by Andy Warhol (The Wall of Campbell’s Soup cans) and Roy Lichtenstein. I was so excited, I almost cried. No really, it was kind of pathetic actually.

Andy Warhol's REAL masterpiece

So far, my favorite activity was going to see HAIRSPRAY! We got our tickets an hour before the show and got second row seats... It was so good! Norm from Cheers played Edna Turnblad. After the show, we got to meet the cast. Here are some pics:

Miss Motor Mouth Maybelle herself... I guess this actress is super famous and has been on the Fresh Prince a lot... Shame I still don't know who she is.

I can hear the bells... Well, don't you hear them chime? Yes, ladies. That is Link Larkin himself (But in real life his name is Constantine and he is Greek).

Tracy Turnblad!!! Well, her real name is Marissa, but she is not the same Marissa who is on Dancing With the Stars, who was, in fact, the original Tracy Turnblad.

Her mom says she's not allowed to prespire, and int he movie, her mom condems her to a diet of saltine crackers and Tang... Can you guess who?

The BYU girls I hang out with often... Left to right: Rebecca Erekson, Rachel Harrison, Irasema Romero, me, Sharlene Mataalii

Little Inez Stubbs

Real New York hot dogs at Gray's Papaya. They do have really good papaya juice!

Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village is under construction, so this is the best shot we could get.

My camera has been out of batteries, but I just got more, so I will put more pics up soon...

More later!