an afternoon in central park

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This post is way overdue (like, over two weeks)…but better late than never. Before I started working (when I still had time to do things), Sarah and I spent an afternoon (morning?) in Central Park. We started at the north end (the non-touristy part) and then headed south.

Central Park is an amazing place. It’s interesting that when movies shoot in it, it seems to always be in the same three or four locations; Bethesda Fountain, Poet’s Walk, The Boathouse (all pictured below), and a few other places. But that is just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. There is so much more to see. I could not believe how truly isolate I could feel in such a huge city.
Sarah and I started at the northeast end of the park and wandered across heading toward the Conservatory Garden. Along the way, I realized that all those episodes of Law & Order I saw where bodies were discovered in random places in Central Park could actually be feasible. I mean, there is all kinds of wilderness going on.






We walked past The Pool (yes, that’s the name of this particular body of water). I just loved the Weeping Willows around it. 
When we finally got to the Conservatory Garden, a bridal party was heading in. Thanks to my amazing new lens, I was able to capture this “paparazzi-esque” photo. 
The Garden was amazing…although I can’t wait to head back when the flowers are in full-bloom. The lovely overcast day made for good shooting, too. (I meant to edit the pics now that I am the happy owner of Photo Shop, but I realized that if I waited to do that…this post wouldn’t be happening for about a year, since I have no idea how to use Photo Shop yet).





There were some roses already in bloom…absolutely stunning!

Poet’s Walk.

Bethesda Fountain.

The Boathouse.

View of buildings from inside the park.

happy birthday!

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Today is both my brother’s and my niece’s birthday. I no longer have any siblings in their twenties! (That makes me feel old.) Anyway, they are both fabulous and I’m sad that I could be with them on their birthday, but I thought about them lots today…and at least they get to be with each other (they aren’t from the same family), so that’s fun for them.

I would write longs lists about everything that I love about them, but I’m exhausted, and one can’t read and the other one knows I love him, so instead, here is a video for all to enjoy…just because!

why you should always live your life like you’re a summer intern?

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It’s 2:00 am and I should really be getting to bed. The problem is that my life is just busy. I work all day…and then I play in the evenings. There’s just so much I want to do while I’m here and I only have three months (at least in my mind) to do it all. I have lists and lists of things I want to do, which brings me to why a) I haven’t posted much this week and b) I think everyone should live like an intern.

I spent 17+ years of my life just east of San Francisco and I’ve never been to Alcatraz. How many of us do that? Spend years in a place and never experience it through the eyes of a tourist (ie for all of the great things it has to offer). Now I realize I’m in New York right now, but there are great things to appreciate everywhere. Maybe not as many as there are here, but there are…and the “summer internship” mindset really helps you see those things.

I started taking this approach when I moved back to P-town and it has made the experience much more enjoyable. If you can do that in P-town, you can do it anywhere.

new york vs. p-town

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I know that title may seem like a no-brainer, but there are some things that I miss, I swear.

Things I am loving about New York:
  • Public transportation – until you have lived somewhere where public transit is good–and NY is one of the best (although of all the places I’ve been, Paris may actually win)–you seriously can’t understand how great it is.

  • Good food. Everywhere. But my neighborhood happens to be full of cute little restaurants. (Kelly and I went to this great little restaurant around the corner from my apartment.)

  • People watching
  • Broadway shows – Sarah and I went and saw In the Heights last night (joined by two of my fellow b-schoolers, Allison and Mike). Amazing!!!
  • Central Park – I know you can tell it’s big from a map, but wandering through it, and not just the tourist/famous/movie featured parts, you get a whole new perspective. It’s like a forest in the middle of a city.
  • My besties – I have so missed Sarah, Kelly, and Candice. It’s so fun to be back with them.
  • Photo ops – I don’t ever leave my camera at home. 
  • Walking to my gym – it’s right around the corner from my house.
  • Reading on the subway – because you lose cell phone reception completely underground, I can’t call people. And because I’m not driving, I have plenty of time to read. It’s awesome.
  • The diversity – living here is just incredible. On Wednesday I overheard two men talking about a women (a client – I was at the gym) and one was describing her to the other. He said, “You know, the caucasian woman with the big eyes.” Never in a million years would you ever hear anyone in P-town describe someone as “the caucasian woman” because it wouldn’t mean anything.
Things I miss about P-town:
  • Getting just about anywhere fast – while public transportation is nice, it takes a little more thought and planning.
  • Running all of my errands at once – or another way of putting it, having a car with a trunk. I have to be much more strategic about errand running here because I can only carry so much.
  • Time to talk on the phone – that might sound weird but the combination of traveling underground and being 2 – 3 hours later than all of my family and most of my friends makes for not a lot of communication.
  • Prices – seriously, everything here is more expensive. Everything. 
  • Central A/C – I do have a window unit, but it’s just not the same. 
  • Dryness – it hasn’t even been that humid here, but I do love that I am in control of my own moisture level in Utah. If I want to not be dry, I put on lotion. NYC – no such luck. I’m sticky all the time. 
  • Stealing toilet paper from my dad’s house – and various other goods that I haven’t had to pay for over the past few years. 
  • A washer and dryer that I can use any time, and in which I can leave my clothes while I go do other things.
  • The mountains – nothing quite compares.
  • Target – I have one here, but it’s in the Bronx…which is about 220 blocks north of me. It’s quite the trip.
  • My b-school besties – the consolation there is that they are spread out all over the country right now, so being in P-town wouldn’t really help that.