A Day in the Life of Erica - New York City Edition

My Blog Has Moved

2010-08-28T08:23:00.000-07:00

I have moved my blog. You can now find updates at http://www.walkwitherica.blogspot.com. Be sure to change any bookmarks you may have.

If you are following me on this blog, please be sure to click "Follow" to stay up to date with all of my new blog posts - and if you are not following me already, then you should be - lol!

Niagara Falls - Canadian Side

2010-08-27T19:44:00.000-07:00

Overlooking Horseshoe Falls

I had heard that crossing the boarder from the US into Canada is like night and day. It may not have been as drastic as night and day, but I could certainly see a big difference. This might be because we crossed from Buffalo into Ontario, and Buffalo is literally falling apart - there are so many abandoned houses and buildings. Nature is beginning to reclaim some of these abandoned buildings. There are trees and plants growing out of the windows and on the rooftops, which is actually kind of cool to see.

"O Canada!"

When we crossed into Canada suddenly everything seemed a little greener. The streets were nice and smooth, and there was no trash on the side of the highway - unbelievable!

After checking in at the hotel in St. Catharines we headed to the Canadian side of the falls. What a difference! From Canada you are able to view the falls straight on, and it is just too beautiful, majestic, and powerful to describe. The spray from Horseshoe Falls keeps the town moist, so the air is refreshing and crisp. The huge plume of mist rising up looks like smoke rising from a brushfire. The birds love it, they swoop in and out of the mist and land peacefully in the water below, no problem. I have been very intrigued with birds lately.

The whole area surrounding the falls was pristine, unfortunately when I took a look on the other side of the railing that keeps tourists back a safe distance there was a bunch of litter. Sad.

Moon over the lit up Horseshoe Falls

Kris got a huge gash in her finger while we were unloading the car at the hotel and it split open while we were at Niagara Falls so Russell and I found the first aid station and took her there. The guy was so helpful and nice, and although I think first aid is free in the US, he did make sure to mention that "first aid, like healthcare, is free in Canada."

At the end of the day we had dinner and then hung around the falls to see them lit up at night. The massive lights shine across the gorge and hit the falls, lighting them up with a rotating array of colors - it is really fabulous! I wanted to stay and watch the fireworks over Niagara Falls, but there were so many people - the streets were packed - that I suggested that we walk back to the car and watch the fireworks from there. This ended up being a great idea. We still had a view of the falls and the fireworks, but didn't have to worry about walking up to the car with thousands of people and since we were already at the car when the show was over, we had no traffic!

After our day of taking in Niagara Falls and a bunch of walking and hiking we were all ready for a good nights sleep - and I love sleeping at hotels!

American Falls and Horseshoe Falls

Whirlpool State Park, Niagara, NY

2010-08-27T09:28:00.000-07:00

I still have so much to write about my trip to Niagara Falls!

My dad and Kris looking out at Whirlpool State Park

After leaving the falls we decided to head to Whirlpool State Park (photos), which Kris had heard was a really great place to explore. Whirlpool State Park is a dangerously turbulent stretch of the Niagara River downstream from Niagara Falls. The massive gorge walls pinch the river, forcing huge amounts of water through a smaller space, which has created dangerous Class V whitewater, including 11 foot standing waves - the largest in North America. Also, because the rapids create oxygen rich water, this area has become the one of the premiere freshwater fishing locations in the country.

Me checking out the jet boats - the only thing interrupting the silence

As for why it is called Whirlpool State Park - well it really looks like a giant swirling whirlpool! The Niagara Whirlpool has125 feet deep swirling waters, which have resulted from the nearly 90 degree turn in the Niagara River's flow (see the map below). The sharp turn was created nearly 4,200 years ago when the erosion and recession of Niagara Falls (which is still happening today, although much more slowly due to human intervention) reached a soft spot in the landscape. As Niagara Falls retreated, it crossed paths with Saint David's Buried Gorge, a pre-glacial, debris-filled river valley, and abruptly began a rapid and violent erosion process, quickly cutting away the soft dirt and stone filling. Geologists estimate that this event took place very rapidly, from a few days to a couple of weeks.

Stairs to the upper/main level of Whirlpool State Park

I love geology!

We went on a hike down 300 feet to the river, then walked along the river for a little while before stopping for a break on a rock at the side of the river, where we watched the Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours whizz by with their screaming passengers. After our break we began the hike back up the gorge, which meant a lot of stairs! Climbing hundreds of stairs is not all that bad when you are surrounded by nature's beauty...

View Larger Map

Bee Sting on the Bottom of my Foot!

2010-08-26T10:41:00.000-07:00

The bees loved the wildflowers where we were slacklining

I stepped on a bee two days ago while slacklining at Lake Erie State Park. My foot was fine until yesterday afternoon when it started swelling. Today it itches like crazy and anti-itch cream is not helping at all. Walking is a real pain.

I've been suggested that I soak my foot in rubbing alcohol - I will try that tonight when I get home. Any other suggestions? A little end piece is stuck in my foot. I think I may have to buy a needle and some good tweezers tonight as well...

Horseshoe Falls, the US Side - Niagara Falls, NY

2010-08-23T20:08:00.000-07:00

Erica in front of Horseshoe Falls

After some slacklining (photos) in front of American Falls it was time to take the pedestrian bridge over the falls to go see Horseshoe Falls. It is really easy to miss the US side of Horseshoe Falls because once you reach Luna Island, which separates American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls, it looks like the path ends - good thing a friend told my dad that once you think the path is over, keep walking. Good thing too because if I was on my own I would have probably turned around and completely missed Horseshoe Falls (well, I still would have seen it from Canada)!

And wow - Horseshoe Falls is amazing! It is so big and powerful, yet peaceful and majestic. I took some time to lay my sarong out, close my eyes, and just listen to the sound of the water crashing down below me. I sometimes like being reminded just how small and powerless I am.

Trashing Niagara Falls

Sadly not even the powerful Horseshoe Falls is immune from being trashed by humans. Right next to the falls there was an ugly plastic bag full of trash. So sad that we manage to put our trash in every place possible. Wherever I go there is trash - uninhabited beaches, middle of the forest, and even the mighty Niagara Falls. There were also cigarette butts littered everywhere - even in Canada, where everything is a little bit more pristine! I pray for the day when cigarettes will be outlawed - or at least raise taxes on those things, cleanup alone must cost a small fortune.

After spending some time at Horseshoe Falls we walked back to the car and started heading towards the boarder - but we first made a nice stop at Whirlpool State Park, New York, which I highly recommend for anyone visiting Niagara Falls.

View from Luna Island. Left side: Bridal Veil Falls, right side: American Falls

Niagara Falls, New York: American Falls

2010-08-22T18:31:00.000-07:00

In front of the American Falls - Niagara Falls, NY

After my family and I spent one night in Buffalo, which is literally falling apart, we hopped in the rental car and headed to Niagara Falls, NY. Although we had heard that the Canadian side is spectacular, we still wanted to see the US side before crossing the boarder.

We first headed to the American Falls. Walking up to the falls and seeing the raging river was awesome. The power of the river and the thunder of the falling water nearly stopped me in my tracks. Of course, since we were on the American side we weren't able to see the falls head on, but we sure could hear them crashing down below us!

Slickline at Niagara Falls, NY

Russell and I saw some trees and decided that the park in front of the American Falls would be the perfect place to slackline, so we took he opportunity to set up the line and take a few photos and some video. Of course a large group of people quickly surrounded us to watch and take their own photos and video... I wonder how many videos of us slacklining are up on youtube by now? Oh and Russell took another jumping photo - this time it's a slackline jump over Niagara Falls!

Besides seeing the American Falls and slacklining at them, I have also learned some interesting facts:

American Falls receives only 10% of the water flow of the Niagara River - the rest flows over Horseshoe Falls.
The flow over the American Falls has only been stopped twice. Once on March 29, 1848 due to an ice jam that occurred in the upper river - this lasted for only a few hours - and again for several months in 1969. The stoppage in 1969 was man made and the idea was to determine the feasibility of removing the large rock pile from underneath the falls to increase aesthetics. In the end it was decided that the cost would be too great to do this.
The crest of American Falls is 130 feet and it has a max height of 110 feet.
This may not be a fact, but in my opinion the American Falls looks better from the Canadian side but sounds better from the US side.

Amtrak: New York City to Buffalo by Train

2010-08-21T19:22:00.000-07:00

View from the train to Buffalo

Russell and I woke up early Thursday morning to ride the first Amtrak train (7:15am) out of Penn Station in New York City heading to Buffalo via Empire Service. The tickets were $56 one-way, but, like always, I did a google search for coupon codes and found a code for 20% off tickets within the state of New York - score! The trip was supposed to take 8 hours total but ended up taking 9 hours because we got stuck behind freight trains twice. I also was under the belief that the Exchange street station in buffalo was the main station. Wrong. We ended up in a really dumpy area. The correct station is Depew Station.

Whenever I take Amtrak from Santa Barbara down to San Diego I always pay the extra $13 to upgrade to first class, which is totally worth it, but this time around I am glad all the first class tickets were sold out. Turns out that the only difference between first and coach on this train is that first class has leather seats. Also, first class is in the dining car, so it smells a little funky. Besides, our coach seats were super comfortable - reclining, more than enough leg room, a foot rest that pops out from underneath the chair (like lay-z boy style), a foot rest under the chair in front of mine, and a table that folds down. I really couldn't have been happier.

The reason we decided to take the train was not for comfort, and definitely not for speed, but rather for the incredible scenery. We went up the Hudson River for a few hours, which was absolutely beautiful, then headed East and went through stunning, bright green forests - that was when I fell n love with New York (as long as I don't think about freezing winters!). If you ever take this route up, be sure to sit on the west side of the train (the left side if facing the front of the train).

I would recommend that anyone going to upstate New York take the train just for the excellent scenery on the way there. That being said, now that I have taken the train and seen the beauty of New York, I will certainly be flying back into the city - the train is practically a day trip on its own and a flight is only 1 hour and 15 minutes.

New Neutrality on The Daily Show, with Jon Stewart

2010-08-18T16:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Russell, Kathy, Kathy's mom, and I went to a taping of the Daily Show. After a two and a half hour wait in line we got into the air conditioned studio and got our seats. Jon Stewart's desk was much smaller than it looks on TV...maybe to match Stewart's smallness.

The guest was Dick Armey (watch the interview here)- some right wing Tea Party supporter and author who was a congrassman as well as a lobbyist - great combo there. He was basically talking jibberish the whole time, like most Tea Partiers. He also was a hypocrite, and prooved himself wrong with his own reasoning a bunch of times as well - again, like most Tea Partiers. I often shook my head - or laughed out loud - in disbeleaf.

Stewart also spoke about net newtrality - and the flip-flopping of Google on the topic. Hillarious commentary, yet what he said is both sad and true. This clip made it onto the Huffington Post. You can read the atricle here or watch the video here.

Goodbye Bronx. Hello Harlem!

2010-08-13T10:45:00.000-07:00

West Harlem Piers Park

On Tuesday I moved from The Bronx into the Morningside/Hamilton Heights area of Harlem. People who don't live in New York often say, "Um, isn't that area dangerous?" while people who live here say, "Oh, that's a really nice area." Although Harlem is predominately a black neighborhood it is still very safe. There are kids playing on the streets and people come out once the sun goes down to sit and chat on the sidewalks.

Our new place is really great. It is a one bedroom with a living room, kitchen, and bathroom, on the top (3rd) floor of a brownstone walkup. Right now brownstones are very popular so I am excited that I get to live in one for the next two months. The place is furnished very nicely with all the things that have been brought back from the subletter's travels and the couple's book collection is large and very interesting!

Harlem Home

Our new place is also one block away from Wast Harlem Piers Park - a lovely park overlooking the Hudson River - where Russell and I walk to every day for sunset. There is a path that runs along the Hudson that you can take all the way to the southern tip of Manhattan. This is also the park I walk through to get to work - yes, now I am close enough to walk to work (an easy 1.5 mile walk each way).

Like my Bronx home the subway is only about two blocks away (now I am near the 1 train, rather than the 4 & D). Unfortunately the new stop is not an express train (Bronx had two express trains that stopped by my house). No matter, it is still very convenient and if I need to get somewhere that is far off I can always transfer to an express.

Also, although I am yet to see a delicious place for pizza by the slice, there is a great Italian place down the street as well as a GIANT natural food store called Fairway Market (with free olive samples!).

My new home in Harlem is certainly growing on me!

Breakdancing in Central Park

2010-08-12T16:27:00.000-07:00

Finally I am having some time to go through my videos and spruce them up a bit. Here is the first one:

Slackline at the White House

2010-08-11T20:35:00.000-07:00

Note: I was told by an internet guru that I should break up long posts into several shorter ones. I will try that out for a while. Let me know what you think.

Russell jumps over The White House on the slackline

Early Saturday morning Russell and I made our way to Penn Station to catch a bus to Washington DC for the weekend. On the way to DC we took a bus operated by Bolt. I was a great experience - tons of room, reclining seats, and a hilarious driver. The driver's introduction was super funny and when we took Megabus home (terrible) I was wishing he was there to remind people that the whole bus can hear your phone conversations, and to please refrain from extended chat time.

Erica in front of The White House

After an easy bus ride, Russell and I arrived a half hour early in DC. I called The Quincy, the hotel we stayed at, for an early 11am check in (normally it is 3pm). On our way to the hotel we made a short detour to The White House for some photos. Russell really wanted a photo of him jumping over the White House, so I scouted out two trees where we could set up the slackline for the photo op. We assumed that we would have a maximum of 5-10 minutes before someone would come and tell us that we weren't supposed to wrap things around the trees, so we had to be quick. That estimate was correct; we got in about 5 minutes. In that five minutes I grabbed a great photo of Russell jumping over the White House and some photos and video of me walking the line. Slcaklining in front of the White House - priceless!

Once we took the slackline down we headed to The Quincy to drop off our stuff. The room was excellent, especially considering the fact that I got the cheapest hotel within walking distance of the sights. I am really pleased with The Quincy, for sure.

National Museum of Natural History & the National Gallery of Art

2010-08-11T20:29:00.000-07:00

Knocking on the doors of the Justice Department

Russell and I were thinking about renting bicycles to tour Washington DC, but instead opted to walk everywhere, and man did we walk! First we walked to the bus terminal to see if we could buy tickets there - no, only online. Then we headed towards the National Museum of Natural History but got sidetracked by the Department of Justice building and the National Archives. Eventually we did make it to the Natural History Museum, which, thankfully, is free. The National Museum of Natural History was a total letdown and is not even comparable to the American Museum of Natural History here in New York - of course the one in NYC costs $12, but it is totally worth the cost.

Since nearly all of the museums in Washington DC are free we decided to also check out the& National Gallery of Art, which is home to the only Leonardo Da Vinci in the United States. As an added bonus, the art museum was not filled with cranky children, in fact it wasn't full at all, and it was a nice break from the sweltering afternoon heat. The museum was very nice, although I have to admit that all I really wanted to do was head straight for the modern art section to see Monet, Picasso, and van Gogh. It is interesting, when I saw my first Picasso I wasn't really struck by it, but now his work has really grown on me. The Da Vinci, titled Ginevra de' Benci, was nice, but I think I came in with too high expectations. After walking around the museum for a while we finally made it to contemporary art - where, interestingly enough, I ran into Maryam (a lovely gal from my MA program)! Of all the places to run into someone! Apparently she is doing her internship in DC. Small world.

Russell and I outside the National Gallery of Art

Anyway, this was Russell's first time seeing any paintings in real life and I think he really enjoyed it. His favorite artist was van Gogh, although he enjoyed Monet as well - either great minds think alike or my excitement for the two was contagious. The National Gallery of Art had a lot of Monet paintings, many that I have seen on postcards and calendars, but my favorites were Banks of the Seine, Vétheuil, Jerusalem Artichoke Flowers, and Japanese Footbridge. I also enjoyed Roses and The Olive Orchard by van Gogh, and Harlequin Musician by Picasso. Beyond my favorite painters I also liked Houses in Dresden and Bicycle Race. You can see more drawings and paintings that I enjoyed by checking out my flickr album here.

United States Capitol Building

2010-08-11T20:19:00.000-07:00

Erica at the US Capitol Building

Once Russell and I finished walking through the National Gallery of Art, we walked to the United States Capitol Building. By reading this blog it may not seem like we had walked a lot by this point, but all of these things are pretty far apart, plus that walk to and from our hotel and walking through the museums. In short, we were hot and tired by the time we arrived at the Capitol Building. Of course we still enjoyed it, though. I especially liked the Capitol Building Reflecting Pool and all of the ducks that hang out there. After taking some photos and relaxing by the reflecting pool we headed back to to the hotel for a rest since I knew I wanted to see some sights lit up at night.

Washington DC at Night - Washington Monument, WWII Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and Reflecting Pool

2010-08-11T20:15:00.000-07:00

Washington Memorial

After lounging in bed and watching Ocean's 12, Russell and I headed out to see the Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial and Reflecting Pool.

The Washington Monument is huge - you can pretty much see this giant phallic obelisk (tallest in the world, actually) from anywhere in the DC area. After seeing it at night and during the day, I think it it much more beautiful at night, specifically at twilight.

World War II Memorial

Once Russell and I took a stroll around the Washington monument we headed to the WWII Memorial. This is my favorite memorial. It is so beautiful and relaxing, and looks gorgeous lit up at night. Apparently there were some groups opposed to the location of the memorial - between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial - arguing that it would obscure the view of the Washington Monument in the Reflecting Pool, but really you can't even tell because the monument is so much larger than the WWII memorial. I think it is perfectly located and very beautiful.

Next we walked along the Reflecting Pool towards the Lincoln memorial, eating a mouthful of bugs in the process (the bats were also swooping down for some delicious bugs as well). The Reflecting Pool is also very beautiful at night, more beautiful at night than in the day, in my opinion. The water was still and there was only a few people around.

Lincoln Memorial

I can't say the same about the Lincoln Memorial - it was stunning at night, but there were people everywhere! Camera flashes going off every 3 seconds - probably because the Lincoln Memorial is so beautiful at night. There were so many people around that I just took one photo and left. But Lincoln's hands really are sculpted in the American Sign Language letters of A and L.

Afterwards, Russell and I headed back to the hotel, ordered pizza (total letdown after eating Jerome's all the time), and relaxed our feet in anticipation of another day of walking - the time to Virginia!

Arlington National Cemetery

2010-08-11T20:07:00.000-07:00

Iwo Jima Memorial

The following morning Russell and I woke up, relaxed a bit, then walked to Starbucks (which I have learned only uses milk that is free of bovine growth hormone before checking out of our hotel. Another great thing about The Quincy is that they gladly held our bags for us while we walked to Virginia to visit the Arlington National Cemetery.

I wanted to be sure to see the Marine Corps War Memorial, aka the Iwo Jima Memorial, so we went there first. On our way there Russell and I walked past the Netherlands Carillon, the flowers and pretty and the bells sound nice, but really Netherlands - why did you have to give a gift that is so ugly?

Russell and I relaxed our tired feet at the Iwo Jima Memorial - again I cannot overstate the importance of having a sarong - and after a rest in the shade we continued on our way to the main part of Arlington Cemetery. By the time we made our way to John F. Kennedy's gravesite and instead of going to see more sites in the cemetery we decided to find a nice patch of grass, lay out my sarong, and relax some more. It is always so peaceful in a cemetery and laying down under the low overhanging tree branches swaying in the wind was very calming.

Russell in Arlington National Cemetery

Once we were rested up we decided that we should get moving and have lunch. After reading the Arlington Cemetery brochure, I noticed that they encourage people to leave the paved walkways and walk, respectfully, among the headstones - and that is exactly what we did. I think many people, myself included, think that because there are paths with and chain fence lining them, that you are not allowed to cross into the grassy areas with the headstones, because I didn't notice anyone else leaving the path. It was definitely an overwhelming feeling walking between rows and rows of white headstones.

After we left Arlington, we ate, and headed home to NYC.

Bryant Park, Times Square, and Justin Timberlake

2010-08-11T07:35:00.000-07:00

Bryant Park

Last Thursday I decided that I needed a New York Public Library card, not only to check out books for research, but also to check out a Lonely Planet Washington DC book for our weekend trip to DC. I got the required documents - proof that I either live, work, and go to school in NYC, plus a driver’s license or passport. I went in with a letter from work with the address on official letterhead along with my passport and license. I called ahead of time to make sure this would be accepted and the guy on the phone said it should be fine, but that it depends on the mood of the person working. Sadly, the woman working was very cranky and rejected me outright. Since there was a huge line I decided not to make a big deal out of it and instead Russell and I went to Bryant Park a block away to enjoy twilight and take some nice night shots with my camera.

After replacing in the park for a little bit we walked to Times Square so Russell could see it lit up at night. As we were walking I noticed a huge group of people that were dancing - flash mob! YES! I have always wanted to see a flash mob, but then I noticed a camera and lighting and realized that it wasn’t a real flash mob but a fake one... oh well still fun. I thought that they were filming a Verizon commercial because I have seen Verizon’s flash mob commercial on YouTube before, but then I noticed that there were two people who were the only ones not dancing. Then I realized that the two people not dancing were Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis! They were filming the movie Friends with Benefits. I tried to take some photos but there was a pretty big crowd around. I did get some good video though and will post that up on YouTube sometime soon (update: video has been posted!). Russell and I watched three takes before heading back to the subway to go home.

Inconsiderate Subway Riders

2010-08-05T16:01:00.000-07:00

This morning I was riding the 4 train to work. My stop is early on the line so there are plenty of empty seats, but they fill up quickly as we go along into Manhattan. Once all the seats were filled, a man got on board with his coffee in one hand and a cane in the other. Once the train started moving I saw that he was having trouble holding on to the pole while managing all his things, so naturally I got out of my seat to give it to him (which I very often do for elderly people, very young kids, the disabled, and pregnant women). The guy was maybe two or three steps in front of me (so very close) and as I got up he started making a move to sit down... then out of nowhere a young girl, maybe 20 or 21, made a quick side step in front of him and sat down in my seat, taking it for herself. I was shocked.

I see this kind of stuff, although not so outright rude, happening all the time on the subway. Elderly people and the like are left to stand while young able bodied people kick back and relax. I guess it is survival of the fittest on the train... Of course I can't say that all people are like this, there are always people who, like me get up for others. It is just shocking that the majority of people who fail to give up their seats are is the age range of 18-25. Where did their manners go?

Russell Has Arrived

2010-08-04T10:03:00.000-07:00

Central Park Reservoir

Russell arrived in New York Saturday morning after changing his ticked to an earlier date. Once he got settled in his first request was to see Central Park. I obliged, so we got him a MetroCard and took the subway to the park for a walk, and what a nice walk it was! We started out walking around the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir then headed toward the Great Lawn and the Turtle Pond, stopped to see the kid juggler, then arrived at the southern exit of the park. Once we exited we took a break on a shaded bench and did some people watching for 20 minutes.

After a quick break we continued our walk towards Times Square. On our was we came across the great group of break dancers, I guess you would call them - some did dancing, some did crazy acrobatics. I will post up a video here once I upload it to youtube. After watching the dancers we continued on to Times Square where we saw a huge billboard that had a picture of Mahmoud Ahmadineja, the President of Iran, with a caption reading, "He's not welcome here." It was a poster for UANI - United Against Nuclear Iran. I wonder if people know that Iran does not yet possess weapons grade nuclear capabilities and they have also signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which allows them to develop nuclear power for peaceful

Trinity Church Cemetery

purposes. Yet the US has 5,113 nuclear warheads - and don't even get me started on Israel and its illegal nuclear arsenal - talk about hypocrisy! Maybe we should think about reducing our own arsenal. I mean honestly, 5,113? Do we really need to have the power to not only destroy ourselves and our planet, but to destroy it multiple times over? I am all for a nuclear free world, but come on folks, take a look in the mirror! I could go on, but I don't want to get myself into trouble...

After a short stroll through Times Square, Russell and I headed back home for some well deserved sleep.

Trinity Church

The following Sunday we decided to take a walk through Lower Manhattan. I took Russell on the walking tour I had taken myself on previously. We began at City Hall Park and walked towards Ground Zero, stopping on the way at the Woolworth Building. There is a sign outside that says no tourists allowed in the building, but we ignored it because we wanted to see the famed gold mosaic ceiling - and it was well worth getting yelled at... so beautiful! Next was St Paul Chapel, which overlooks Ground Zero. We sat on a bench in the cemetery for a little break before moving on towards Trinity Church and Wall Street.

Last time I went on this walking tour Trinity Church was closed for the day, but this time I arrived early enough to enter the cemetery and the church. Trinity Church was Russell's favorite part of the day. He, like me, noticed that the headstones were being washed away by weathering and we talked about how life is so ephemeral. There really is no time to waste on negative emotions and feelings. This is one area where we are always on the same page - we both want to live and experience life as much as we can in happiness and joy.

New York Stock Exhange

We also went into Trinity Church. There was some sort of service going on but we stayed in a side room what was surrounded by tomb-looking memorials. The inside of the church (as well as the outside) is done in a beautiful Gothic style with dome ceilings and intricately carved walls ceilings, and statues and wooded trim around the doorways. In one side room, I am sure there is a specific name for it, we kneeled to pray and meditate. It was very peaceful and relaxing.

After leaving the church we walked down Wall Street into the Financial District to see Federal Hall, where George Washington took his oath of office to become our first President, and the New York Stock Exchange.

Staten Island Ferry

Next we walked to Bowling Green to see the Charging Bull statue, when it began raining. Since it was raining we ducked into the National Museum of the American Indian before heading to the Staten Island Ferry house for a free ferry ride past the Statue of Liberty to Staten Island. I must say that the Statue of Liberty is a bit underwhelming. I thought it would be a lot bigger. Once Russell and I arrived on Staten Island we took a little stroll around. I would have liked to go to the huge nature reserve on the island for a hike but we didn't have time. After our quick walk we caught the next ferry and headed back to Manhattan for our appointment to see a place for sublet in Harlem/Washington Heights. The place was really great - in a brownstone, right next to the Hudson River and a great natural shopping market. Today we just found out that we got the place! We will be moving there on Aug 10th until the end of September. Once we saw the place we took a park to a park on the Hudson, laid out my sarong, and relaxed there for a half hour before checking out the super market nearby. After a quick shopping trip we headed back to the subway, which ended up turning into a long walk through Columbia University and NY City College, both beautiful campuses!

Next, we hopped on the subway and made our way home. I slept like a baby after all the walking we did that day!

Trinity Church Cemetery and Russell

Jerome's Pizza, Bronx, NYC

2010-08-04T08:09:00.000-07:00

I really need to dedicate a whole post to Jerome's Pizza. I've become quite the regular at this place by now since it is only two blocks from my house (and cooking for one is so boring), not to mention the fact that they have delicious pizza! I go here at least once a week for a cheese slice (although their white pizza is also very tasty) - to which I add Parmesan, crushed peppers, and oregano - with one garlic knot (also amazingly delicious) on top. In California I used to eat Mexican all the time, but since good Mexican food has been a very rare find, I think pizza has taken its place.

This really is how all pizza should be made - thin crust, with just a little sauce, and not too oily. Also, one slice is just perfect - it fills me up but doesn't leave me stuffed, so I leave still feeling light.

Jerome's Pizza, The Bronx, NY

The fellas that work there are also really great. I think they must really enjoy their job - they are always smiling and in a damn good mood. I must also give this place kudos for doing delivery by bicycle. Hopefully I'll be able to find a comparable substitute when I move out of my place in the Bronx on August 6th - but I doubt I will find anything with the personality and deliciousness of Jerome's.

Brooklyn Museum & Botanic Garden

2010-07-30T21:15:00.000-07:00

Pink Lotus Flower - Brooklyn Botanic Garden

After a nice day at the beach on Saturday, I decided to check out the Brooklyn Museum (photos) and Botanic Garden (photos) the following Sunday. My timing really could not have been better because apparently there was a good sized storm that passed through, knocking down a couple of trees and throwing parts of northern NYC into darkness - well it was daytime out so I guess it wouldn't be darkness, but you get what I'm saying.

The Brooklyn Museum is the country's second largest museum, following the Met, and contains 1.5 million pieces and the largest Egyptian collection in the Americas. It also has an Arts of Africa exhibit, including a few video loops offering a quick look into African customs, especially those surrounding the masks and costumes. On the second floor there were exhibits for Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Islamic, Indian, and Southeast Asian Art. The third floor was all Egyptian, but I will get to that later. The fourth floor I pretty much breezed through. It was all about fashion and had a bunch of clothes and shoes - no thanks, that is just not my cup of tea. The fourth floor also has some contemporary art, as well as (replicas of?) the interior of old houses that belonged to people who I have never heard of. The fifth floor included exhibits of American Identities and also the visible storage and study room.

Meditation - Brooklyn Museum

What is currently on the fifth floor is what originally drew me to this museum - Andy Warhol, the last decade. It is a temporary exhibit, and honestly I had much higher expectations. This could have been because there were no pieces that I recognized, but it was still very interesting.

Now, back to the third floor - the Egyptian rooms. I learned so much walking through the third floor, reading everything I could. The most interesting thing that I learned, that I had not already known, was about the positions of the statues. There are only about six different poses that you will see in Egyptian statues:

Standing: One of the oldest poses, developed even before the Old Kingdom but remained popular throughout Egyptian history. Men are shown with their left foot advances and usually their fists clenched. Women are shown with both feet together or their left foot only slightly advanced and often hold objects or have their hands flat at their sides.
Seated: This pose also dates back to before the Old Kingdom, when furniture was relatively rare, thus is associated with status and wealth. The Egyptian words for "nobility" and "wealth" are actually a hieroglyph showing a figure seated on a chair.
Scribe: The scribe pose, a man seated on the ground with crossed legs, is usually shown holding a roll of papyrus spread across his lap. Being a scribe indicated the subject's education, and because education was highly valued by Ancient Egyptians, it also showed his prestige.
Kneeling: This is considered a pose of worship or prayer, which is why most kneeling statues have been found in temples. Very few were made for non-royal people until the New Kingdom.
Block: This pose almost always shows a non-royal figure, almost always a male, sitting on the ground, knees up, and arms folded to indicate patience. The figure is usually shown wrapped in a cloak on which inscriptions were often carved.
Shawabti: These are small, shrouded, cross-armed funerary statues. They represent the deceased and were intended to do agricultural work in place of those persons in the afterlife - like little clones.

I am sure that I am flying my nerd flag high right now, but whatever, I think this is interesting stuff!

Stargazer Lily in Shakespeare's Garden

The one thing that I felt torn about was the mummy chamber. The museum is home to four mummies that depict the four main mummification techniques. The mummies, with the bodies still inside, have been taken out of the coffins and put on display (the dressings are still surrounding the bodies, of course). I wasn't sure how to feel about this. Removing the dead from their resting place, where they have been for thousands of years, to put them on display for people to gawk at just seems wrong. I was going to take a photo, but that felt too disrespectful to me. I can understand the argument that putting them on display is for educational and cultural purposes, and it may be better for them to be displayed in a museum rather than having someone else get their hands on them and distribute them in the black market of art, but still, I fell very torn. I would like to take a class on the ethics of displaying ancient artifacts and remains.

Along with human mummies there were also mummies of animals! Animals were routinely mummified in the same way humans were and have been found in the tens of thousands in so-called animal cemeteries at a number of sites in Egypt. Pretty cool, if you ask me.

After my very interesting museum visit, despite the rain, I decided to head to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. Apparently not many people like being out in the rain, but I love it - ahh summer rain! It was great to have the gardens practically all to myself, and the rain stopped after about 15 minutes anyways. I took some really great photos and discovered that I absolutely love lotus flowers! I really wish that my friend Anne was there with me, though - she knows everything about everything when it comes to plants!

I took about an hour and a half stroll through the different gardens before closing time, and then I was back on the train heading home. Oh, and on the train there were these great performers doing dance and acrobatics - video posted below!

Beach Day! (finally)

2010-07-28T20:14:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh, finally... I made it to the beach. For someone who loves the beach so much it is hard to imagine that it took me so long to make to the Atlantic!

Erica, Kathy, & Mika at Rockaway Beach, NY

Last Saturday I went to Rockaway Beach in Queens. The beach is the nation's largest urban beach, and it is supposed to be New York City's best. It is difficult for me to see why it is the best beach around since I have nothing to compare it to - well except the beaches of Maui, California, Barcelona, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Mexico, and Brazil, which, by the way, Rockaway Beach sadly ranks last. I am so spoiled when it comes beaches. It is not that this beach was the terrible, just that all of the other beaches I have been to are so nice!

On the bright side, I got to hang out with a group of nice girls (Kathy and her two friends Mika and Emily). Also, the water temperature was perfect for combatting the 101ºF heat. Unfortunately the beach is littered with trash. I could see the water line by following the streak of debris snaking across the beach - luckily there was no trash floating in the water, although Kathy did have to rescue a plastic bag that blew into the water from the shore (woman after my own heart with that move!). I did get a nice tan and although it was not the best beach of all time, it was still pretty great and I had an excellent day!

One of my favorite parts of the day (besides swimming around in the ocean - I am such a water child) was actually the train ride to and from the beach. Despite the nearly two hours it took to get there by train (even though it is only 20 miles from Manhattan, 26 from my house), the A line goes through part of the 26,000-acre Gateway National Recreation Area and 9,155-acre Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, home to a few hundred bird species. The train ride through those areas was very lovely. JFK is also situated near Jamaica Bay and one of my favorite things to do it watch airplanes take off and land, so that was fun as well. Complications have arisen because JFK is so near to the bird sanctuary creating a battle between technology and nature. I'm sure you remember the miracle Hudson River landing by Captain Sully Sullenberger of Flight 1549 - that crash was attributed to birds getting caught in the plane's turbines. As a reaction to the crash, New York City has just given the ok for over 170,000 geese to be euthanized - that is 1/3 of the current population. The city also recently killed four hundred Canada Geese with carbon monoxide in Prospect Park. I agree with State Senator Eric Adams - there is a more humane way to deal with the birds.

But back to the bright side. My beach day the past Saturday was excellent overall. Tomorrow I will update my blog to include my trip to the Brooklyn Museum and Botanic Gardens that I took the following Sunday.

The day I met Bill Clinton

2010-07-23T20:31:00.000-07:00

Erica and Bill Clinton

Yesterday I met Bill Clinton. He lived up to all of my expectations - eloquent speaker, friendly, charismatic. I've been told that even when he has a schedule laid out by his aides he will always do what he wants to do. For example, besides the fact that he was late, he was supposed to walk into the conference room from the front door where was would all see him, at which point we were supposed to stand and applaud. In reality he walked in through the back door, and luckily I had been looking back behind me right as he walked in. So he came in, most everyone else unaware, then me with my mouth said, "Well hello there!" I'm sure there are plenty of you out there who have heard this phrase come out of my mouth and know exactly how it sounds. Well in a silent room it sounded quite loud. I got a little bit of a sideways look from him and laughter from Kathy and Kevin, then started applauding while everyone else was in silence. Not quite the planned entrance, but memorable for me nonetheless.

After about 10 awkward seconds of nobody knowing what to do (he walked almost all the way to the front of the room in near silence) everyone else caught on and stood up to applaud him. He then began his talk. He first started talking about an HIV/AIDS conference he just attended. Saying that it was full of good news as well as bad news, which called a metaphor for the world today. I would go into details, but he was speaking off the record, which means I can't get detailed. But what I will say is that my favorite part of his talk was when he said, "The world is not gonna stop spinning and you can't get off."

I loved that statement because that is how I feel about life. Life is a ride where you can't just decide you don't like it anymore and hop off, and when it is your turn to leave, the world will still keep spinning. So all we can do now is make the most of our lives, move forward one step at a time, do the best that we can do, and be grateful for every bit of it.

Kevin, Erica, Bill Clinton, & Kathy

After his talk we went into a Q&A session. I submitted a question but it didn't get the most votes - oh well. I think the best question came from the very small group of high school interns. They asked something to the extent of, "Looking back to when you were our age, what was the best piece of advice you received?" He sat for a little bit and thought. It was the first time I had seen him stop for a beat and really ponder. He then went on to tell us three stories from his pre-teen and teenage days. All three of them involved teachers - which is where I have to point out the value of teachers, not necessarily for the value of their teaching, but for those golden nuggets of wisdom and advice that they drop, often unknowingly, which, if you catch, will be carried with you for the rest of your life.

I won't recount the stories here, but I will tell you what he calls, "The best advice I have ever received and have ever given."

Never be afraid to fail
Everyone wants to feel beautiful
Always do what you love

Never be afraid to fail. This makes sense. He has this Abraham Lincoln photo with a list of all of his failures, and there were many of them, and at the bottom is ends with, "Elected President of the United States" (something similar to this and this). He explained that even if there is a huge chance of failure (he related it to failure in the eyes of the media) but there is a chance to at least make progress towards success you should go for it, because that progress will mean something to somebody.

Everyone wants to feel beautiful. He explained that just like you or I, everyone else has the desire to feel beautiful, to feel important. He explained that this is why he will walk way out of his way in a huge crowd, with secret service trying to move him along his way, to go and shake the hand of a person in a wheelchair who can't make it to the front of the crowd - because that person too wants to feel beautiful and acknowledged just like everyone else (and from what I hear he does this all the time to the discontent of the secret service and his staff who are trying to keep him safe and on schedule). He said that this is also why you have to really listen to what people tell you. Get to know where they come from and learn about their culture. This in not only to make people feel like they have value but it is also to be able to create solutions that make people feel like you have listened to and incorporated their hopes, wants, and desires.

Always do what you love. People often concentrate on their weaknesses rather than their strengths. This is not how it should be. Usually you are good at what you love and this is where you should focus your efforts - not on how to improve you Chemistry grades, but on enjoying and further exploring the American Literature you love, for example.

The great thing about his advice is that I feel that I already incorporate all of it into my life - so I think I am on a pretty good track.

After Q&A came photo time. Pretty much we got lined up and walked one by one to take a photo and have a short chat. I told him my name and told him that I am a Clinton-Orfalea Fellow. He said, "Nice to meet you," we turned smiled and I was on my way. But Kathy, Kevin, and I asked if we could get a photo of all of us to send back to the Global Studies Program and Paul Orfalea. We were supposed to leave the room directly after taking our photo, but I lingered, and got at least two secret service men telling me hey you need to leave.. to which I replied, "Just hold on." I doubt they hear that very often. I later apologized for sounding so rude - they just laughed, so I don't think it was a big deal. We also got to chat with President Clinton about Paul Orfalea for a little bit and "what a great man" Paul is.

And then like that it was over and I was back on the 4 train on my way home. What a great experience.

Queens Walking Tour

2010-07-18T19:09:00.000-07:00

Globe at Flushing Meadows Corona Park

Today after having a lazy morning I picked myself up out of bed and headed out to Queens for the first time. I decided to take Lonely Planet's advice and take the 7 Train from Grand Central. Also called the International Express, it takes you along a national "registered historical trail" riding above ground level through the longtime immigrant neighborhoods of Sunnyside (Romanian, Turkish), Woodside (Irish), Jackson Heights (Indian, Pilipino), Corona Heights (Italian, Peruvian, Colombian, Ecuadorian, Mexican), and Flushing (Chinese, Korean). For me the highlight of the train ride from Manhattan into Flushing was going past 5 Pointz, considered to be the world’s “graffiti Mecca,” where people from around the world come to paint colorful aerosol artwork on the walls of a 200,000-square-foot factory building.

Once I got to the end of the line in Flushing I hopped off the train for a quick stroll through Chinatown before hopping back on to head to Flushing Meadows Corona Park, a 1225-acre park built for the 1939 World Fair. When I arrived, by a happy coincidence, I stumbled upon a huge Colombian Independence Day festival. There were so many people and everyone was wearing the Colombian colors of yellow, blue, and red - much more vibrant than America's red, white, and blue. I wanted to have some food there but the lines were just too long for me and the vegetarian options were limited.

Colombian Independence Day at Flushing Meadows Corona Park

Once I walked through the park and festival I jumped back on the train for a couple of stops until I got to 103rd St-Corona Park (Corona named after the suburb, not the beer - but for all I know the burb could be names after the beer) for a long walk down Roosevelt Ave. This stretch of Roosevelt (I walked for 50 blocks) took me through the Hispanic center of Queens. Everything was written in Spanish and many of the people did not speak any English at all. That was fine by me though, I practiced my Spanish - "Quiero agua, por favor."

After 30 blocks Roosevelt was supposed to turn from Hispanic into Indian. At this point I saw maybe 3 Indian shops, and one Arab shop. It seems as though the Hispanic area has expanded since Sept 2008 when the Lonely Planet New York was last updated, right in the midst of the Great Recession. Anyways, I kept walking for another 20 blocks for no apparent reason, although I am glad I did - I ended up finding a store that was selling sweet Rip Curl board shorts for only $5. I bought Russell 2 pair since most of his are pretty torn up.

Walking down Roosevelt Ave., Queens

After fifty blocks of walking I was ready to get back on the train and headed to Manhattan and Grand Central. Once in Grand Central I discovered where the whispering room is located. There were a bunch of people trying it out. I can't wait to have visitors around to try that with me... I also ate my dinner at Grand Central - delicious Indian food. My favorite part was the potato somosa with chuntey. Delicious! After eating my dinner I grabbed a super mini vanilla cheesecake to take home from the Magnolia Bakery. After that, I headed home.

Oh and the cheesecake was delicious!

A map of my Queens walking tour:

View Queens Walking Tour in a larger map

MoMa - Museum of Modern Art

2010-07-17T20:43:00.000-07:00

Study for Luxe, calme et volupté, Henri Matisse

Today after cleaning Ziggy's litter box I went to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa, for short). This is the third museum I have visited, but I definitely did not save the best of the big three for last. Actually, I'd say that I visited them in my order of preference - the Museum of Natural History, followed by the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met), and lastly the Museum of Modern Art. I love the natural sciences and anthropology, so it mades sense the the Museum of Natural History was my favorite. The Met is a mix of anthropology and art, so it was a nice middle ground. But the MoMa... maybe I just don't get modern art. I didn't find the MoMa very striking. Of course there was some beautiful artwork that stopped my in my tracks, but there was a lot of work that left me scratching my head wondering, "So this is what they call art?"

Luncheon on the Grass, Pablo Picasso

The MoMa does house van Gogh's Starry Night, my favorite painting (well one of my favorites, now that I have been introduced to Monet and others). Besides being a New York icon, seeing Starry Night was one of the main reasons I wanted to go to the MoMa. Although I feel that Starry Night and van Gogh's other painting, Olive Trees, would have fit better at the Met.

The MoMa also had a bunch of Picasso's. I must say that Picasso is growing on me. I like all of the shapes and colors - I can search his paintings for however long I want and always find something new that I hadn't noticed before, this is especially true of his sketches.

Street Food

One exhibit that I especially liked was one called "Rising Currents: Projects for New York's Waterfronts. This project basically re-envisions the coastlines of New York and New Jersey around New York Harbor in an attempt to put forward new ideas that would transform the harbor into “soft” infrastructures that promote good ecology, and in the future, will help prevent New York City from being inundated by rising sea levels. The plan comes is a five part solution and is actually very ingenious, if only there was enough political might and public interest in getting a project like this going. My favorite solution was Oyster-Tecture. Basically the plan is to suspend a matrix of nets below that water that will hold native oysters. There will be spaces between the clumps of oysters for sea life and for people to scuba dive, swim, and snorkel. Eventually the oyster clumps will become mini islands that will be connected by walking paths for the public to enjoy. The oyster islands will not only act as a recreational area for the people of NYC, but will also act as a storm barrier, causing waves to break up and prevent large storm surges. You can see a mini version of the plan in the photos I took.

I also liked the Tree of Wishes - a gift from Yoko Ono. You write a wish on a tab with a string then tie it onto this small tree. I wished for a peaceful end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine and for the end of the war in Afghanistan. Neither are likely to happen any time soon, but one can hope. Maybe Obama will pick up Newsweek magazine this Sunday featuring a cover story by Richard Haass called "Rethinking Afghanistan: We're not winning. It's not worth it. Here's how to draw down in Afghanistan."

Radio City Music Hall

After the museum I took a walk through Rockefeller Center and the diamond district. I wonder if people are aware of where some of those diamonds come from and the circumstances in which they are obtained.

I also had some street food today. Generally street food is pretty great, but today the rice was only ok, the falafel was really dry, and the salad was tasteless. What a letdown. Oh well. I always am thankful that I have the ability to have food whenever I want it.

Also, I have met flickr's photo limit of 200. I am thinking of migrating to Goggle's Picasa. Has anyone tried out Picasa?

Brooklyn Bridges falling down... wait. no. That was the London Bridge

2010-07-15T21:34:00.000-07:00

Erica in front of the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan

After my trip to the Met last Saturday I really wanted to go to another museum, but decided to save that for this upcoming weekend. Instead, I decided to go shopping for some new sneakers. I didn't bring and sneakers with me to New York, only sandals and work shoes because my shoes were getting pretty old and they were starting to be uncomfortable. Plus I had no room in my bags! Leaving New York will be fine because I am going to mail my mom all of my work clothes and shoes - hopefully I will make it down to just my big backpackers bag.

Saint Paul's Chapel

Anyways, I took the 4 train down to Century 21, that great store I have already mentioned that has name brands at super discount prices (not that I am a brand snob, I just like a good deal). The store is right next to the 9/11 site (where an 18th century ship was just uncovered) and the train dropped me off in front of St. John's Chapel. The last time I went there, during my walking tour, the cemetery was closed. This time, however, it was open so I took a stroll through the graves, many of whose names have been wiped clean from hundreds of years of rain. Funerals and burials have always seemed so odd to me. Spend a nice chunk of change on the funeral, plus a shining casket as well as a headstone, just to have the new casket buried under dirt and the headstone wiped clean of all traces of you name and any other information. I think funerals are obviously for the people that have been left behind - so they have a place to mourn and a place to come and remember. But after a generation or two, sometimes even less, headstones just become a part of the scenery and eventually they go back to the rocks and dust that they were made from, just like the bodies that lie beneath.

It was also an odd feeling being in a cemetery the overlooks ground zero. I can't put my finger on why that is, and I can't describe the feeling I had either - peaceful yet unsettling may be the best was to describe it...

Panorama of the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan

After walking among the headstones (which by the way people were giving me odd looks because I didn't stay on the path, but isn't that what a cemetery for?) and relaxing on a bench I decided to get moving and headed to the store for some shopping. I went straight to the shoe section - very difficult to find, by the way - and you wouldn't believe it! They had WOMENS athletic shoes in my size! This is the first time this has ever happened to me! They, of course, did not have any dress shoes in my size but just the fact that they had athletic shoes in a size 12 was incredible! Now I own my first pair of shoes that are designed for a women's foot, which also meant that I could buy a color that is generally characterized as girly - bright pink! I always get blue shoes from the men's department, but I finally got to buy a pair of pink shoes! They are not all pink - then I would just look like a clown with how big my feet are - they are mostly grey but with pink detail. Now I have a brand new pair of pink Nikes. Unfortunately, the day after I bought them I read this article about Nike burning tons of rubber scraps per day from their factory in Indonesia (who knows how often is occurs elsewhere). Sad. I wonder if they know how many things scrap rubber can be used for?

The Brooklyn Bridge

After shopping - I also bought a few other things - I started to head back to the subway and decided to walk a a station a bit further away by City Hall Park. That station is also near the entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge. Rather than going home I decided that I should just walk across the the Brooklyn Bridge, one of the oldest suspension bridges in the US - and off I went. By the way, always walk first then shop - otherwise you are just stuck walking with a giant bag of stuff!

It turned out to be a good decision to take that walk because it was just beautiful - the view of Manhattan, the view of Brooklyn, the weather (the clouds were stunning and there were lightning flashes over Midtown), and the water of the East River below. As I was walking across I noticed a park down below in Dumbo (Dumbo = down under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass, oh New York and all of its acronyms) and decided that I would try and make my way down to it. I found the park, which was really easy considering that it was on the waterfront, and the view was spectacular! Right in between the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge. Also, a wedding ceremony was also being set up - what a nice day for a wedding.

Down in DUMBO - view of the Brooklyn Bridge & Manhattah Btidge

I took a little break on some rocks then headed to the subway to try and make it to Lombardi's - the first place pizza was introduced to America. After walking in circles I finally found the place. My expectation was that I would be able to just walk in and get a quick slice, but no. Lombardi's is more like a sit down place, and there were a lot of people waiting outside for a table so I just walked right past - that will be somewhere I go with my Mom and Matt when they come for a visit or with Russell when he arrives.

I took the long train ride home and grabbed a bit to eat at a local diner, of which I had higher expectations. Too bad it was a letdown. Oh well, at least the shake was good, very small, but good nonetheless. The rest of the night I hung out at home with Ziggy the cat.. one day I will have to write a post about how awesome Ziggy is!

Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Skyline

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

2010-07-13T21:24:00.000-07:00

Another excellent weekend! After sleeping in and lounging around the house for a while I decided that i had better get outside and get moving, so I hopped on the train and decided to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met, for short). Again, like all of my other weekend adventures, the museum did not let down!

For general admission it is $20, but for students it is only $10 - yes! I've noticed that at museums around here you don't pay for admission. The sales clerks always say, "It is suggested that you make a $10 donation. Is that ok?" This time I asked the guy what would happen if I said that I didn't want to pay $10. He told me that he would just ask how much I wanted to pay and then that is what I would pay. So apparently they can't charge you, but prefer that you make the suggested donation. I think that you car really say that you don't want to make a donation and they would still have to let you in. I would try it, but $10 is nothing for a nice day in a lovely air conditioned building.

Upon entrance I went directly to the gift shop to get some postcards, which I still need to write on and mail out. I also bought two rocking blue bracelets... well I bought one at the beginning, then another one later when I decided that they would look rad as cuffs. Anyways, after that quick stop I entered that galleries. I started with the Egyptian Wing. It was full of art, sarcophaguses (or sarcophagi, whatever you prefer), sculptures, and actual walls from some of the buildings and tombs in Egypt. The Egyptian Wing was certainly one of my favorite parts of the Museum (along with Islamic, Asian, and Oceanic Art). It still creeps me out a little that we dig up bodies that have been entombed for thousands of years. Seems so disrespectful. I wonder if there will be any creatures around to to the same to us in a few thousand years. Another thing I found interesting were the ancient flip-flops on display. I guess it's true - some things never go out of style!

After the Egyptians came the American Wing....zzzzzz.... snooze. I didn't much like the over the top furnishings and huge beds... there wasn't really much art, mostly just artifacts, I guess you would call them. Early American artifacts. I went through there pretty fast and made my way through Medieval Art and on to European Sculpture and Decorative Art. I went through those two sections rather quickly. Then came a small Modern Art section, which was ok. Next was Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas - kind of an odd group to cluster together, but whatever, it was one of my favorite areas! I took some good photos in that area but when I got home some of the photos were destroyed! I was a little upset over loosing a few really good photos, oh well though, no use in staying upset. Anyways, I thought the Ambrym Silt Gongs were really neat, and really huge! They are one of the largest freestanding musical instruments on earth and can carry sound for miles enabling them to be used for communication over very long distances - even, in some cases, between islands! All of the colorful headgear and costumes were neat as well.

The last section of the first floor was the Greek and Roman Art. The art was nice but what I enjoyed even more were the sculptures. They are all so big and beautiful and all with such detail. Just as I do with art work (and sarcophaguses), I like to look at the expressions on the faces of the sculptures, well the ones who still have faces anyways.

After finishing my tour of the first floor I went on up to the second floor where I spent most of my time in the Asian Art area. I especially liked the Ancient Near Eastern Art, Islamic Art, and South Asian Art sections. Upstairs there was also sections for Cypriotic, Central Asian, Korean, Chinese, Southeast Asian, and Japanese Art, along with more American and Modern Art.

Two Cut Sunflowers, Vincent van Gogh

Another area that I spent a lot of time in was the European Paintings Hall. That is where I saw my very first real life Vincent van Gogh painting, who, up until this point, has been my favorite painter with his "Starry Night," (Starry Night is not in the Met, but is at the MoMa, where I will go this coming weekend) but after seeing some Monet I think Mr. van Gogh has some serious competition in vying for the favorite spot in my book. There were two paintings that I absolutely adored, but the descriptions of them were among the photos that never made it out of my camera, so now I don't know their titles or the painter... maybe you can help? You can see them here and here.

Currently, there is Pablo Picasso exhibit going on at the Met. It is quite large and shown many of his famous works as well as many of his lesser known works that he created throughout this life. There was even one, called Erotic Scene, finished in 1982, that Picasso himself disowned and is now on display for the first time ever, well since April 2010. That painting was getting quite a lot of attention and elicited more than a few giggles. I'd say my favorite Picasso painting that is saw was Guitar and Clarinet on a Mantelpiece (1915). I also enjoyed The Dreamer (1932) and Bacchanal with Kid and Spectator (1959).

Erica on the roof of the Met

After spending some time admiring all of the artwork at the museum I must say that I think I enjoy bright, vivid colors but I also enjoy a good neutral colored painting, especially ones with blues (such as uitar and Clarinet on a Mantelpiece). I also found that I like Pointillism very much.

Once I had seen everything I began heading for the exit when I recalled seeing a sign that pointed to an elevator to the rooftop garden - there is not way I was going to miss a rooftop garden! And good thing too, it was spectacular!!! The Met, you see, is in Central Park, so the view from the roof looks over the park towards downtown Manhattan. What an incredible view and there was a nice breeze blowing - just perfect. I decided that I couldn't pass up the opportunity to have a cool drink on the roof of the Met, because really how often will I get that chance. I put down $12 for a deliciously fruity martini, walked to the edge and stood drinking in the flavors, the view, the breeze, and the wonderful day.

Metropolitain Museum of Art rooftop view

Hallelujah - it is not a bed bug!

2010-07-12T20:58:00.000-07:00

Today as I was talking with Russell on Skype I saw a little bug crawling across my bed. I flicked it away thinking that it was a tiny spider then realized that it may have been a bed bug!! Gross! I have been a bit paranoid lately about bed bugs because two Abercrombie stores were shut down in New York recently and since that made news more and more stories about New York's bed bug problem have been coming to light. I went shopping yesterday and when I saw the bug today I thought that I may have brought home a bed bug with me.

Luckily, I didn't actually flick the bug away like I had attempted (I searched the floor for five minutes for that thing!) but rather just grazed it then put my roasting computer on top of it, which I think may have been what killed it. So I have the little bug in tact, he was not squished. First thing I did was think, "Yes this is a spider!" - a phrase that I never imagined myself thinking. The I counted the legs: Arachnida - 8 legs, Insecta - 6 legs. Crap, this one has 6 legs...it is a bed bug. Panic sets in and I scour the bed for more, none. Lift the bed to look under, none. Check the wooden frame, none. So I get online to do some research and bed bugs are rare to spot - that is a plus for me since this little guy was out in the open. Then I see photos that match exactly what this one, now in a plastic container, look like. The photo is titled "bed bug." Damn.

Enter stage 2 freak-out.

But I couldn't find any other photos that matched the description of my specimen for confirmation, so I did more research. I started to calm down with the more information I found that did not match my situation. No bed bug droppings, no bites (of course if this were a bed bug that hitched in yesterday he may have just now made it from the other room where my clothes are to the room I sleep in).

Spider beetle - not a bed bug

Finally I came across a website that told me, with photos, what bugs are commonly misidentified as bed bugs - and there was my guy! And it was not a bed bug!!!!! What a relief. I confirmed this with a quick google search for "spider beetle." Here is a photo that I took of the beetle. ---->

What was crawling across my bed was a stray Spider Beetle. They do not bite, and do not feed on humans at all. What a relief! I've heard so many horror stories about dealing with bed bugs. I am still going to keep my eyes open, though, for any signs of the little creatures - mostly out of paranoia...

One good thing to come out of all of this: I now know how to check for a bed bug infestation - an excellent skill for someone who likes to travel as much as I do.

PS: Posts about my weekend outings to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and my walk across the Brooklyn Bridge are coming soon, hopefully tomorrow.

Yes, it's hot - but I'm still enjoying this city!

2010-07-07T18:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, despite the record breaking heat, Kathy, Kevin, and I went out to dinner with the Mohantys (two professors from our graduate program) who are in NYC visiting family. We went to this AMAZING Thai restaurant and with five people you end up trying a little bit of everything! I usually get curry and pad thai but this time I also got to try papaya salad (green papaya, carrot, string beans, tomato, peanut, and lime juice), crispy whole red snapper topped with sweet tamarind chili garlic sauce, panang curry, yellow curry, pad thai with squid, and something else that was delicious but I'm not sure what it is called. Then Mano ordered a desert of sticky rice and mango, which sounded really strange, but is incredibly delicious! What a great night - excellent food with wonderful people!

Professors Manoranjah & Bidyut Mohanty, Kevin, Kathy, & Erica

People have been asking me about the heat wave that has settled over the East Coast - yes it is hot, but I have spent a few summers in the tropics and I grew up where the thermometer can reach over 115ºF so for me it is hot, but definitely bearable. Last night I had to run the air conditioner for the first time because it has been difficult to sleep when it is so warm and I really wanted a good nights rest (I only used it to cool the room then shut it off and turned on the fan). The gal I am subletting from also gave me a good tip before she left for France - sleep with frozen water bottles wrapped in cloth. I did that last night and it works really well! I will probably do that again tonight, although the breeze has kicked in and the temperature today was only in the 90s. By Friday it will be back in the 80s. One thing I do love about the hot weather is that the sorbet people come out and sell small refreshing cups of it for only $1. It is a perfect cool down treat to take down into the sweltering subway tunnels (the trains have air con, though).

I am still enjoying work. Right now I have 3 projects, well the third one starts tomorrow. They are keeping me busy, but I like it that way. Kathy and I are still working on the new filing system, I am running an online test forum that I created (which I think is starting to come along quite nicely), and tomorrow I start doing some research - basically finding ways that the same amount of money can reach more people with HIV/AIDS (value for money). It is shaping up to be a good summer and a good internship...it is true what they say, internships are what you make of them, and I plan to make the most out of this opportunity.

Fourth of July Weekend

2010-07-05T13:00:00.000-07:00

Empire State Building

Saturday I took myself on another walking tour. I started at Union Square Park where there was a farmers market. I had to wheat grass, which I later regretted because it gave me a terrible stomach ache. And I got that stomach ache while waiting in line to get a shake from the famous Shake Shack in Madison Square Park. The line was incredibly long and by the time I was set to order I was feeling sick and cranky. Then when I got the chocolate shake it was a total let down! I didn't even finish a quarter of it - what a waste of time and money! I did take a little nap under the shade trees in the park until my stomach felt better, then tanned a bit in the sun before continuing my walk.

While walking I came across two sample sales. I had read about sample sales in my Lonely Planet book and have always wanted to check one out. What they say about sample sales is true - there are some serious designer clothes in there for 70-90% off. I was so tempted to buy something, but I remembered reading the Lonely Planet warning: don't buy something just because of the label and the cheap prices, you need to really like it. For example, I found a dress that was $1,500 originally, discounted to $135. Good deal, right? Well, one hundred and thirty five dollars is a lot of money for me no matter how you look at it, so I put the lovely dress down and walked out. Maybe I will go to another one again sometime - it can be fun trying on a bunch of fancy clothes.

Times Square at Night

Next I headed to the Empire State Building and decided to catch the sunset from the top. I have heard that the lines are insane but I saw that people were flying through so I took my chances and went in. Unfortunately the line that was moving quickly was the security line and once I passed that I saw that it would be at least one hour of waiting to get to the top. Then I remembered reading that if you buy you ticket online then you can pass the line. So I got out of line and decided that I would just wait for another day when I could buy a ticket online.

Times Square

After leaving the Empire State Building I took a walk down 5th Avenue and did some window shopping at all the fancy stores. Then I realized that I was near Times Square so I headed that way to see it lit up at night, and man was it lit up! It is like day time there with all of the lights! I walked up to the top of these bleacher-like stairs that are lit up with red lights and hung out there for a while taking in all of the lights and people (there are many more people there at night than during the day). The as I was heading to the subway I noticed someone was playing one of the public pianos that have been set up throughout the city for anyone to play. The guy who was playing was great! He could play any song and sing along as well. People would shout out songs and he would just do his thing. Everybody was clapping and singing along too! It was so much fun! I stayed there for at least an hour listening to him play.

Times Square Piano Man

Once the piano man had to leave I decided to leave a well, so I headed to the subway to make my way home and go to bed. It is difficult sleeping when it is so damn hot out. At night it doesn't get an lower than 75ºF - that is the coolest it gets! Oh well, better get used to it. I hear it only gets worse in August.

Yesterday, the 4th of July, I headed to a waterfront park to view the fireworks. I am not really one for crazy drunken people so I came to this park where there was only limited access and mostly families. I got a great spot on the lawn, had some frozen lemonade, worked on my tan, and came close to finishing Freefall. I had to get there early to get a good spot before the closed off the park, after which they begin finning up the street behind the park. After relaxing in the park for 5 hours the show started and it was beautiful! A bunch of fireworks being set of simultaneously across the water for a half hour. The show is supposed to be America's largest and it is nicknamed "The Golden Mile" because boats set off fireworks for one mile along the Hudson River.

Hudson River Sunset

After the show was over I busted out of the park as quick as I could while other people were still packing their things. I am so glad that I am a light packer. All I brought was my purse with a book and camera and a sarong tied to the strap. Plus, one person maneuvering through a HUGE crowd is much easier than when you are with a group, so I made it out rather quickly and got onto the subway before the trains started to get too full. That was definitely the most people I have seen on the streets in my life though. Everywhere I looked there were people - and I wasn't even in the thick of it!

It was another hot night and I slept terribly. Luckily today I don't have to work so I was able to sleep in, but that means that I am not going to the beach this weekend. Ah well, maybe next weekend!

Get here early if you want a spot on the grass

Times Square

2010-07-02T20:21:00.000-07:00

Times Square is "for Erica"

Today I made it to Times Square! We got off early from work today, so after going ot eat lunch at a French restaurant and watching Ghana score the 45 +1 minute goal I left for Times Square very content (too bad Ghana lost, I was really rooting for them). Anyways, I got to Times Square and there were so many people. People, cars, lights - everywhere. The ultimate symbol of capatilism. I would bet that there are a lot of countries out there that don't use nearly as much energy as Times Square does to keep everything lit up all day long. This is not to say that I didn't enjoy myself today, because I did, that is just not a place I would want to frequent. The next time I go back will probably be to buy a broadway ticket if I decide to see a show - they have automated booths there where you can buy tickets 50% off - but the line is horrendous!

I was very amused by the "For Erica" sign I discovered. Well, it wasn't really a sign but I happened to be coming down the escalator while shopping when I noticed my name. What a perfect angle I stumbled upon! It is like New York saying, "Here you go Erica, this day is for you, enjoy!"

Where is Erica? Click here to see.

After the amazing for erica photo I headed towards a store called Loft to shop - the whole store 50% off, yes! - and noticed that I was up on the jumbo screen! So I took a photo of that as well. See if you can find me (hint: I am wearing a green shirt and jeans -or- click here to see). I must admit that that jumbo screen setup Forever 21 has is one of the best works of advertisement I have ever seen. They get hundreds of people stopping to look up at the screen, which rests above their store and has a giant 21 on it, so now people know what store it is associated with. Then people start pointing so more people head over to see what's going on. Everyone is taking photos. And now with facebook, twitter, blogs, and instant uploads with cell phones, I am sure that the hundreds of people who took a photo of themselves up on the screen (myself included), put those photos online - hello free advertisement, and lots of it. So smart! Whoever thought of that better have gotten a raise.

Clouds over Times Square

After a quick stop at Loft, where I got some rally cute linen capris, I headed back to the subway - a labyrinth in this part of town, by the way - and headed home. One of my favorite things to do, still, is ride the train and observe all of the flavors of people in New York. It is also a good time to thrown some calming music onto my trusty ipod (today it was Thievery Corporation) and focus on my breathing. So relaxing. Then I came home and had my favorite end of day snack - chopped avocado with Italian dressing. It is too bad that even my salad dressing has corn syrup in it... damnit! That stuff in inescapable! Really, start paying attention to that.

Now it is time to enjoy the three day weekend!

Times Square panorama

A Walk in the Park

2010-06-29T21:24:00.000-07:00

View of Midtown Manhattan from Central Park

Another seemingly never ending day at work, but really I can't complain - nice office, nice people, nice view. Getting tired of going through stacks of documents, but somebody's got to do it, and it is rather interesting I suppose. On the plus side there are nifty projects that I am starting on the horizon.

Betjhesda Fountain's Angel of the Water, Central Park

Anyways, after watching Paraguay kick Japan out of the World Cup I went down to the Clinton Global Initiative's midtown office for Career Day. Since we were the ones who got to ask all the questions, I decided to take the opportunity to ask a few things that relate to what may become my thesis topic. I went there quite excited, but the answer I got to my question was a bit of a let down. I mean, it was a very politically neutral answer, which is good, but boring. I will have to reword it to be more specific and concise, especially if I want to make this question the one question I ask President Clinton.

There was one woman who was very helpful, though - Judy. I had heard that she is a resumé expert so I handed over my resumé and she pretty much tore it apart and restructured it. I love when people who are smarter than me destroy my work and help me produce something better - it's a real learning experience as long as you don't get offended and are willing to take their advice in stride.

Central Park, New York City

After Career Day Kathy and I headed to Central Park for a afternoon walk. Luckily it wasn't too hot or humid out. It was just perfect for a walk. While we were walking we saw this boy juggling and doing Chinese yo-yo tricks, and he was actually really great! After stopping to watch him for a bit we continued on out way until we go to the Bethesda Fountain with the Angel of the Water sculpture. In front of the fountain there was this guy making giant bubbles and nearby a small choir was singing beautifully. I could have sat there all day it was so relaxing and wonderful. The best part was when a bubble popped over my head, splashing me with bubble ooze. Kathy started busting out laughing at me and the next thing you know she takes an unexpected bubble to the face! Instant karma - ha!! I happened to capture it on video - I think it is pretty hilarious! After spending quite a while watching the bubble man and listening to the choir we moved onto a nicely wooded area and saw a bunch of squirrels and raccoons. If it wasn't for the sounds of the city I could have easily forgotten that I was in New York City. One thing that I found awkwardly stunning was the contrast between the trees and greenery of the park and the towering buildings nearby peeking over the horizon. Beautiful and disgusting at the same time.

Bethesda Fountain, Central Park

Night at the Museum

2010-06-28T21:32:00.000-07:00

Erica in the Hall of Rocks and Minerals at the Natural History Museum

Well I didn't really spend the night at the museum, but I did go to the American Museum of Natural History, where the movie Night at the Museum was filmed, and spend a good part of my day there yesterday. I heard a little boy tell his mom, "Mommy, I want to spend four days here!" Kid, I couldn't have said it better myself. Maybe it is because I could totally geek out while I was there, because I absolutely loved it!!! I spent so much time reading every informational placard around, especially within the Biodiversity Hall, the Cullman Hall of the Universe, the Hall of Planet Earth (geology), the Hall of Human Origins, and the Halls of Minerals, Gems, and Meteorites. I literally spent four hours total in those halls alone then had to rush through everything else in only and hour because the museum was closing.

Going through the different animal halls was nothing that spectacular - a bunch of stuffed animals pretty much. I would rather see them in a zoo, or even better, in real life (well only some of them, others are quite dangerous). The different cultural areas were great as well, but I didn't get to spend as much time in them as I would have liked. Going through the Mexico and Central American Hall I noticed that there were miniature models of the ruins I recently explored this past Christmas in the Yucatan. There were a bunch of people taking photos with the mini replicas, and it made me wonder how many of those people will ever have a chance to see them in real life. I felt very privileged at that moment. My favorite cultural area, though, was the Hall of Asian Peoples. I love all of the colors and art, especially out of India as well as the Buddhist culture - it is all just too beautiful. Walking through there brought back all of my desires to travel through and experience Asia.

Easter Island Head, aka "Dum-Dum"

One area that was moving was the Hall of Biodiversity, which really was about how badly we are screwing the planet and ourselves - cultural extinction, mining, over fishing, deforestation, invasive species, groundwater depletion, on and on. Basically it is there to alert the public to the critical role biodiversity plays in sustaining life as we know it, and to the ecological crisis we are now facing. Sad that I was literally the only person that stopped to read a single line, for everyone else it was just a walkthrough to the Hall of Ocean Life and the giant blue whale. Ignorance is bliss. I can't blame people for wanting to speed through to see the blue whale hanging from the ceiling in a massive hall. The blue whale is largest known creature to ever live on planet Earth, even larger than the dinosaurs. Sadly, the blue whale is now an endangered species and their numbers are dwindling below 2,500, whereas before whaling there were over 275,000 of them spread throughout the world's oceans.

Blue Whale at the American Museum of Natural History

Soon the blue whale may be joining the extinct dinosaurs and only its bones will be on display for future generations. Unfortunately for me I did not have much time to study fossils of the dinosaurs on display since I had only 15 minutes left until closing time and I wanted to make it to take a photo with Dum-dum (you remember, "Dum-dum want some gum-gum"). I did end up making it there right before they started kicking stragglers like me out.

Globe in front of the Trump Tower

Trump Tower

After the museum i went for a little walk around the streets of Manhattan in search of some delicious sushi. There were a few places that I saw but the all looked super fancy so I passed and resolved to go grocery shopping once I got closer to home instead. As I was wandering down the street towards who knows where a swarm of hundreds of motorcycles came charging down the street. At first it was total chaos with the drivers swerving in and out of traffic but eventually there were too many close calls that traffic just came to a halt (I have some video here). After that little show I continued my walk and ended up at the Trump International Tower in front of Columbus Circle. From there I headed down into the subway, where there were these fellas playing some odd musical instrument (video). If anybody knows what this instrument is called please let me know, it sounded beautiful. After a short wait I hopped on the train for the ride home.

Lower Manhattan Walking Tour

2010-06-27T18:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I took myself on a walking tour of lower Manhattan, you can check out the path I took on the map below. Click on the markers for photos and a description.

View Lower Manhattan Walking Tour in a larger map

Tour of the United Nations and more!

2010-06-25T22:13:00.000-07:00

Erica with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (cutout)

Well Professor Clémençon's class has paid off... I toured the UN headquarters and was able to answer a few of the questions the tour guide asked about the functions of the UN, the Millennium Development Goals, the nations with veto powers, etc. Also, President Clinton's personal assistant came in to talk yesterday and I was able to appreciate her remarks about the snails pace the UN works at. But really, the tour was great and I saw many interesting things and some very beautiful artwork.

Street fair with Kathy

After the UN tour Kathy and I stumbled upon a delicious Mediterranean place, called Crisp, for lunch - if you are ever near the UN headquarters or the Empire State Building I recommend eating there, it's on the corner of 43rd & 3rd. In front of Crisp there was a little street fair going on. I wish I would have had more time to look around because there was some really beautiful jewelry, but I had a meeting at work that I needed to get to (which actually ended up getting canceled, ah well). The fair was in front of the Empire State Building, though, which was my first up close view of the building. Eventually I would like to make it up to the top to check out the view, although I hear the line to the top can get mighty long.

Grand Central Terminal

To get back to work in Harlem I caught the subway from the Grand Central Terminal, and to be honest I imagined it would be a little bit more grand. Still, it is very lovely inside and there were soo many people coming and going - pretty astounding. But my favorite part of Grand Central, by far, was the ceiling. The ceiling of Grand Central is baby blue with the constellations of the night sky strewn across it. The artist, Paul Helleu, painted the zodiac backwards when he was inspired by a medieval manuscript that showed the heavens as they would have been seen from outside the celestial sphere, although some say it was just the painters mistake. I didn't notice many people stop to look up and admire the ceiling, but it is beautiful nonetheless. I'd like to go back when Russell arrives to test out the Whispering Gallery.

After another wonderful day at work, while walking to the subway, I came across a Michael Jackson celebration - one year anniversary of his death. Thriller was playing and there was a children's dance troupe dancing in the middle of a large crowd. I was in the back and couldn't see a damn thing, but one fellow started to bust a move and he ended up being pretty awesome! Too bad I only was able to record the end of his routine (see the video here). Regardless, I love hearing Michael Jackson music whenever I can, and when there are people dancing and singing to it on the streets it's even better!

On the subway ride home I finally got the courage to record some subway bongo drummers (video). I've noticed that drummers are the most common sight to see riding the trains here, although I have also seen dancers, singers, and guitar and accordion players. The bongo players are my favorite, though, because they always say, "This is to make everyone's ride a little bit better and to put a smile on your face." And you know what? They always do put a smile on my face. I'd like to start recording more of the talented people I see on the train, but it is always just a little bit awkward pulling out my camera because you never know when someone might get offended - not everyone wants a video of themselves up on youtube!

Tomorrow, err today by now, is the weekend and I plan to get more NYC exploring in while I can. Maybe a museum visit finally?

An Earthquake? In NYC?

2010-06-23T20:13:00.000-07:00

LOL! Today Kathy and I were sitting in the office meeting with our boss when we both felt the building shake, looked at each other and said, "Dude, was that just an earthquake? I think we just had a little earthquake." Our boss didn't feel anything and when I asked if NYC gets earthquakes he said no... But I guess he was wrong because I read the news tonight and the Ontario, Canada earthquake was felt all the was down here! Us Californians always know an earthquake when we feel one.

Read the article here.

Time for Work, and a Bit of Play

2010-06-23T19:12:00.000-07:00

View from the office

Yesterday was my first day working at the Clinton Foundation - and it's pretty cool. I am working on the top floor next to President Clinton's office, although if you keep up with the news you will know that he is currently in Africa. My office overlooks central park, which is really great. I have an office one floor lower as well, but without the view.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to write much about what I am currently doing since it involves confidential matters regarding the President and his work, but I can still write vaguely about my days there.

Once a week we have speakers come in for the "brown bag lunch" series. Yesterday a fella came in to talk about Advance. He pretty much told us about the intense amount of planning and coordination that happens before a president, presidential candidate, celebrity, etc., arrives at an event - from where (s)he will land to who will greet them, where the press will be, backdrops, lighting, sound, EVERYTHING - and it seems like there is A LOT of planning that goes on. In addition, they have to conduct walk-throughs to get timing and coordination right. The main point I got out of the talk was that the Advance team is basically trying to set up a scene where the media will be able to encompass the moment in a single photo or camera shot. I thought it was all very interesting.

10,000 people in Central Park practicing yoga

After work Kathy and I met her pal Mika at Central Park (yay! I finally made it to Central Park!) where there was a MASSIVE yoga meet-up. Over 10,000 people were meeting to get a free yoga mat, and some extra goodies followed by a yoga session on the great lawn. The line (well, there were multiple lines, actually) wrapped through the park out onto the surrounding streets. Unfortunately you had to have a print-out ticket to get the free mat. Mika had a ticked, so she waited in line, which ended up being unnecessary because I just stepped into the front of the line and was handed a free mat, water bottle, and bag - even without a ticket! SCORE! So now I have a real yoga mat! And although it started raining (I left went the rain arrived) the event did manage to break the world record for the largest registered yoga class.

On another note, my feet are pretty torn up. I bought really comfy shoes to wear to work, but when you end up walking miles a day it can add up to some major blisters - it's actually not that bad, only two blisters and they are already healing up. On the bright side, my legs are looking mighty fine from all of this walking, plus all of the stairs I take to get to and from the subway. Brazilian bikini here I come!

Turtle Pond in Central park

Also, the food here is really great! There are street vendors selling deliciously ripe and freshly cut fruit on every corner uptown near my work. I plan to have some every day after I leave the office. And fruit here is even cheaper than in California! I bought a giant box of scrumptiously sweet strawberries (how about that alliteration!) for only $1.50, when in CA it would have been at least $4 or more.

Suffice to say that I am having a great time getting to know New York. I really enjoy it here. One of my favorite things to do is watch the demographics change on the subway as I make my way through the city. By the time I get to my stop I am usually the only white person on the subway car! --Don't worry, I feel very safe, and people are extremely nice. I live in a residential area with a lot of families around-- And it is amazing how many people speak Spanish here. I have never seen so many non-Latinos speaking Spanish in my life! I really am loving it here right now, but I don't think I would want to be here for the polar winter. Spending the summer here, I think, will be the perfect amount of time.

Goodbye Chelsea. Hello Bronx!

2010-06-21T21:04:00.000-07:00

Today I packed my bags, left Chelsea - an area that I adore, by the way - and headed to The Bronx, where I'll be living until early August. Kathy (friend, classmate, and fellow CGI-er) was nice enough to accompany me on the subway ride there to drop off my stuff. After I officially moved in, we headed to Williamsburg so Kathy could deicide on a space for her, which didn't work out - thankfully, in my opinion.

Afterwards, we headed to a pizza parlor to eat and watch Spain vs. Honduras - how beautifully Spain plays! - then headed to Prospect Park. This time my goal was to make it to the lake, because the last time I was there I was dead tired and could barely lift my feet to make it to the metro stop. After waiting for over a half hour for the bus (we wanted to ride through this highly orthodox Jewish community, rather than go under it), but after two scheduled busses failed to show up, we cut our losses and hopped on the metro instead.

Erica & Kathy in Prospect Park

Once at lovely Prospect Park we took a nice walk to the southern end to find Prospect Park Lake and a gaggle of giant geese! People were relaxing on the grass in the shade, families were barbecuing, others were fishing (catch and release only). I laid out my sarong under some nice shade trees next to the lake so we could enjoy the breeze and cool off a little. Of course, I did a couple of sun salutations and a few minutes of meditation. Again, there is never any silence in New York City, although I am getting rather good at filtering out the sounds of the city and picking up the sounds of water, wind, and birds.

After relaxing for an hour or so it was time for the long ride home. That is the only problem with living in the Bronx - it is a little bit out of the way. Oh well, that just means that I will need to spend some time getting to know what this area has to offer. The map shows that I am surrounded by parks, the New York Botanical Gardens are only 6 blocks away, and I believe there is a zoo somewhere around here as well. Plus, I actually enjoy riding the subway. It is a nice time to observe the people of New York. It is a time for thinking and a time for clearing my mind of all thoughts. The subway is also where I plan to get a lot of reading done. I need to start thinking about my thesis, begin research, and make a dent in my reading list. Right now I am reading Joseph Stiglitz's book, Freefall, which I really enjoy (thanks Aashish!) - three more chapters to go, and I think these three will be the most interesting.

Tomorrow I start work. It should be fun, but if we don't have to stay the whole day I'd like to go to the Museum of Natural History so I can totally geek out! Oh, and tomorrow I'll be rooting for Mexico and Argentina!

Prospect Park Lake

An Impromptu Trip to the Park

2010-06-19T21:00:00.000-07:00

Erica walking in Fort Tryon Park

Well I've found a place to live! I was supposed to see another sublet today, but was late by 45 minutes. Parts of the main line were under construction and for a person who just got here yesterday compounded by all of the train redirects, a 40 minute ride turned into an 80 minute ride. By the time I arrived the guy was gone. Obviously events happened that way for a reason, so didn't get upset, I just made the best of it and walked two more blocks to visit Fort Tryon Park, which I had been wanting to see anyways.

And what a beautiful park it is! Fort Tryon Park has paths winding through the forest, with beautiful views of the Hudson and New Jersey. At the top there is Fort Tryon, which houses The Cloisters - a branch of the MET. Unfortunately it closed at 5, too late again. Still, the walk up to the top was very enjoyable and on the way down I actually met a lady who was walking her three dogs, she reminded me of my mom - they were all dogs that she had rescued. Plus, I found a nice grassy area where I was able to lay out my sarong (I can never overstate the value of sarongs), do a few sun salutations, meditate, and pray. Nice and relaxing, even though it is difficult to escape the sounds of the city - I doubt there are any silent spaces in New York City.

Fort Tryon

But back to what I started with. I decided to sublet the first place I saw - the one with the cat in The Bronx. It is a great deal - two bedrooms (yay! visitors will have private space and a bed!), close to the subway, and it is in a house rather than in a building with close quarters. Of course this house has apartment buildings like that surrounding it - sort of like in the movie "Up" - but at least there is a buffer. Tonight, in Chelsea, the air in my room is vibrating due to the heavy beats coming from downstairs, so I'm sure I will appreciate that buffer zone between the buildings and the house. Oh well, city noise is all part of the experience. Besides, I came prepared with earplugs and I have a window fan/aircon unit to drown out the sounds of the city that never sleeps.

And with that, I am off to watch the Daily Show online (I have placed my name on the ticket wait list, btw) then to bed. I really need readjust my sleep schedule.

World Trade Center

2010-06-19T19:10:00.000-07:00

Ground Zero construction site

Actually my title is a little bit misleading. When I tried to geo-tag my photos "World Trade Center" did not show up - Ground Zero did. Soon, the Freedom Towers will stand there.

Future palns for Ground Zero

I expected my experience to be a little bit more overwhelming, but being at ground zero really didn't live up the expectations I had. I felt no emotions, at least at first. Maybe because the site was covered by a blue lining and there were cranes and construction material everywhere. The holes are still there, although they are difficult to see with all of the obstructions. They will become a part of the planned memorial, which in my opinion looks like it is going to be a really great memorial, the best I've seen. Water will cascade down into the holes where the towers used to stand and the names of the people who died there will surround them.

After leaving ground zero I walked to the World Financial Center, which gives the best view of ground zero. Then took a walk in Battery Park, along the Hudson River. Here is where the NYPD memorial is (you can see it in my flickr photo stream, if you wish). There was also an air show going on over the water - it was a nice break sitting under the shade trees watching the show.

After leaving the park I went to the 9/11 memorial museum - that is where the emotions came flooding in. Walls covered with missing people flyers. Photos, videos, and quotes. A massive timeline. Twisted metal and debris. Overwhelming.

My favorite part of the museum was the hall of 1000 cranes, modeled after Sadako Sasaki's 1000 cranes of Hiroshima.

Hall of 1,000 Cranes

"Please treasure the life that is given to you.

Please experience all the things that I could not experience in my life. I entrust a small heart of compassion (omoiyari) to all of you.

It is my belief that me small paper crane will enable you to understand other people's feelings as if they are your own."

~Sadako Sasaki, 1955

I hope this quote was included to remind everyone not only to remember those 2,995 people lost on 9/11 but to also the 4,410 US troops killed in Iraq, puls the 316 non-US troops, the 141 journalists, and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians killed - not to mention all those lost in the ongoing war in Afghanistan. To understand the Other....

I have arrived!

2010-06-19T02:55:00.000-07:00

First NYC taxi ride

After leaving Sacramento on a red eye, I finally arrived at JFK at 6:30am (3:30am CA time) and took a cab to the studio I am staying in for three nights - in the heart of Manhattan - and crashed for an hour until I got phone call reminding me that I was supposed to be looking at a place to sublet. So, like a zombie, I headed to the metro for my first ride of many. I bought a 30 day unlimited ride pass (subway and bus) for $90 - which will save me in the long run considering I will have to make at least 2 trips per day at $2.75 each, plus I plan on knowing all of New York while I'm here. After grabbing a subway map I was off.

The metro here is really fun! There are a lot of interesting people who perform on the train and in the stations. There were two ladies who sang beautifully - next time I'll have to record them.

After seeing The Bronx sublet (very nice, and big for visitors!!), which includes cat-sitting in exchange for cheap rent, I headed back to Chelsea for some sleep - until I got a text reminding me that I was supposed to see another sublet, this time in Park Slope, Brooklyn. What a nice area Park Slope is! Shade trees lining every street and beautiful buildings right out of the movies. Another nice sublet, again reduced rent in exchange for cat-sitting.

Park Slope, Brooklyn

The sublet was only five blocks from Prospect Park, so I decided to talk a walk there since I've heard it is very beautiful (the designers of the park, who also designed Central Park, said that it was their best work ever), and it didn't let down. I found a quiet spot surrounded by trees and bushes to sit down and meditate, but after five minutes I nearly fell over from sleep so I decided to head "home" to sleep in a bed. After nodding off a few times on the subway I finally got home and slept - like a rock - from 5pm until 4am this morning.

Today I am heading to northern Manhattan to see another sublet, this time without a cat. While I'm up there I will probably take a walk through Inwood Hills Park along the Hudson River and maybe head to Central Park as well or the World Trade Center site since it is pretty close to where I am currently staying.

I'll be updating this blog regularly throughout my stay in New York and beyond. If you have gmail, twitter, etc, you can easily follow me to stay up to date.

Tchau, Erica