The Closest Thing to an Afternoon in the South

In honor of Black History month, Gramercy had this awesome program where you could pay just $10 to see Memphis, the Broadway musical.  Even though, midterms are approaching and I have mounds of work, I couldn't pass up an opportunity like that.  Plus, it was great motivation yesterday-I actually got all my required homework out of the way in just a matter of 10 hours.

But anyways, back to Memphis.  Overall, the show was really great. The singers were wonderful and the costumes were beautiful.  I just have one critique...Huey, the lead actor, had the most annoying voice.  For his opening appearance, he walked into a bar, so I just figured he was drunk.  But his accent just stayed like that throughout the entire play.   I'm not quite sure if he was supposed to be a country bumpkin or what, but seriously that gives the South a bad name.  The girl beside, who knows I'm originally from GA, asked me if that was how everyone spoke.  Tsk tsk.

Really though, it was well worth the $10, even though our seats were literally the very last row in the theatre.  It was the perfect way to spend the afternoon.  Plus I got to get a little dressed up, nothing too fancy, but putting on a dress after the blistering chills from this week was such a nice change.  Unfortunately, I completely blew this whole trying to eat healthy kick I'd started.  The theatre was right by Junior's. Their sign says it all:  Most Fabulous Cheesecake and Dessert.

As for the rest of my evening, I need to read a good chunk of Jon Savage's Teenage:  The Creation of Youth Culture.  My goal is to have all my books read for my internship paper before I come back from spring break ( 4 down, 6 more to go).  And of course, it's the Oscars tonight, so I want to catch a little bit of that.  

In Afternoon in the South

In honor of Black History month, Gramercy had this awesome program where you could pay just $10 to see Memphis, the Broadway musical.  Even though, midterms are approaching and I have mounds of work, I couldn't pass up an opportunity like that.  Plus, it was great motivation yesterday-I actually got all my required homework out of the way in just a matter of 10 hours.

But anyways, back to Memphis.  Overall, the show was really great. The singers were wonderful and the costumes were beautiful.  I just have one critique...Huey, the lead actor, had the most annoying voice.  For his opening appearance, he walked into a bar, so I just figured he was drunk.  But his accent just stayed like that throughout the entire play.   I'm not quite sure if he was supposed to be a country bumpkin or what, but seriously that gives the South a bad name.  The girl beside, who knows I'm originally from GA, asked me if that was how everyone spoke.  Tsk tsk.

Really though, it was well worth the $10, even though our seats were literally the very last row in the theatre.  It was the perfect way to spend the afternoon.  Plus I got to get a little dressed up, nothing too fancy, but putting on a dress after the blistering chills from this week was such a nice change.  Unfortunately, I completely blew this whole trying to eat healthy kick I'd started.  The theatre was right by Junior's. Their sign says it all:  Most Fabulous Cheesecake and Dessert.

As for the rest of my evening, I need to read a good chunk of Jon Savage's Teenage:  The Creation of Youth Culture.  My goal is to have all my books read for my internship paper before I come back from spring break ( 4 down, 6 more to go).  And of course, it's the Oscars tonight, so I want to catch a little bit of that.  

Form of Habit

With two papers due this week and midterms quickly approaching, I haven't really left the dorm much this week.  In fact, I haven't really left the 2nd floor study lounge all that much.  The kids I babysit are skiing in Woodstock for mid-winter break.  So, this week's Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoon have been free for studying.   

Each afternoon, I make a huge cup of coffee and head down stairs.  And, each day, I always sit in this one particular chair.   Made of comfy, dark brown leather, it's the perfect distance from the ethernet cable jack.  And, its close enough to the window to let in a little sunlight without leaving an annoying glare on my computer screen.  Plus, there's a small round table for me to put my books on and prop my feet up.    Basically, it's the perfect place to write a paper.  I found my special spot last semester, and each time I have an 8 pager due, I always return.

Last night, I was on a roll; 6 (of my 8) pages were done.  And I was seriously booking through the rest.  All my ideas were mapped out; I could actually understand my outline, and I'd thumbed through my books enough to figure out which quotes I wanted to use.  But of course, hall council had to meet at 8, so I was booted from the lounge.  Sure, I guess I could have gone back to my room and knocked out the rest, but I figured I'd just finish up the last little bit today.  Instead, I  turned my attention to episodes of  Sex and the City, ate eggplant parmesan, and called it a night. 

 But, when I went to my favorite spot this afternoon, the rabbi who lives in our building was having a play date with his four little kids. Barbie dolls and tea sets were strewn across the floor.  There was no way I was going to be able to concentrate in there.  With the rough draft of my paper due tomorrow, I knew I'd have to walk down the 3 flights of stairs to the sub-cellar.  It would have to do. I'll admit, it did take me a little longer than usual to complete the essay, but it's all done now with 25 hours to spare. 

Anyways, this whole study spot being taken away thing really got me thinking.  College students are such creatures of habit.  Just like in high school where you'd sit with the same group of kids at the same table each day at lunch, the seat you pick on the start of the semester is yours for the whole 14 weeks.  And people get quite pissy if you try to move.  

The same with food.  Every morning, the very first thing I do when I get out of the shower is fix a cup of coffee. Paired with oatmeal, its my breakfast staple.  And on Thursdays, I always have lunch at the Chinese station at Kimmel.  

Really, I'm so darn predictable and set in my ways. Sometimes I just wish for a little spontaneity.  Maybe this whole changing chairs was a step in the right direction?  Maybe I'm just overanalyzing it? Regardless, a little shakeup in the routine never killed anybody.  

A Fluffy Fixation

So, I have an addiction, and I know the first step towards recovery is admittance. 

 So, here it goes...

To Many and Yet Never Enough

Don't worry it's not drugs or alcohol, or even shopping.  Oh no, my addiction is fluffy and colorful and filled with goose feathers.  Yep, my addiction is throw pillows.  Currently on my bed resides 11 pillows of all different shapes and sizes:

     1 bolster pillow

     2 star-shaped pillows

     3 ball pillows

     4 standard sized pillows

     1 pillow with arm rests

Perhaps you're comparing the number of fluffy linens resting on your own bed to mine;  maybe they're just about equal.  Of course, there's a difference here...I have a twin-sized bed.  Literally, all these fluffy pillows take up half my bed.  And, it's not even like I use them for sleeping; on the contrary as soon as the pajamas come out, they're tossed to the floor.  They're to just big and bulky for actual use, but having them rest on my bed sure does make me happy.  Really, I hate leaving my dorm without making my bed, complete with every pillow in its proper place.

And while I know I already have way to many, it's not like I want to stop this ridiculous obsession. Just this past week the Good Housekeeping Research Institute sent an email announcing free pillows were up for grabs.  Immediately, I hit the elevator button, traveled to the 29th floor, and snagged a Tempur-Pedic Cloud Pillow.  I just checked the retail value, $129, and still I can't believe mine was free.  Seriously, GH may not pay their interns with cold hard cash, but they certainly reward us with all these pricey freebies.    

New York City In February. Spring dress and flip-flops?

Today was such a perfect day in the city.  Not only was the weather a sunny 67 degrees, but finally, after working for Good Housekeeping for almost a month, I got my id badge.  Now, it certainly doesn't look like anything special.  I'm intern 13583, but it's my key to unlocking floors 28 and 29 in the Hearst building.  No longer must I visit the security guard's desk where he'll print me out a daily pass.  Oh no, I have a pass that's good until at least May 31, 2011.  And, I'm sure, Alex, the other intern I work with, will be very happy that she wouldn't always have to buzz me in.  But, besides from getting my id and all, GH was pretty uneventful today.  Our bosses, Libby and Jackie, were away. So Alex and I just transcribed.  For five hours all you could hear was the pecking of keys as we tried to figure out just what exactly that guy had muddled into the microphone.  However, we did have a delicious lunch in the Hearst cafeteria.  It was build your own burger Friday.  Paired with a Starbucks Tazo tea, it was quite tasty, but the $9.80 price tag was a little steep.  We did however get to leave at 3:30 today.  With Monday being a holiday and what not, they wanted to give us a little extra time to enjoy the sunshine.  I certainly wasn't complaining.  

Now, with my extra 2 hours, I should have gone to Bobst to watch a movie for my Jewish Studies class.  But instead, I just took some me time.  I found this absolutely adorable crafts store called Lee's Art Shop, Inc.  Located at 220 West 57th Street, it stretches 4 floors!  And,it even has Vera Bradley, so I was able to soothe my new wallet cravings.  After I came back to the dorm, I worked on a paper for a while, and am heading off to City Grace in a few minutes for Sing a New Song.  I have to write an article about it for my journalism class, so I'm sure I'll be posting about it tomorrow.  Oh, and I almost forgot.  I got the March 2011 issue of Good Housekeeping from the kitchen today as well.  I haven't quite had enough time to digest it properly but Valerie Bertinelli resides as our cover girl, and from the few articles I'v looked at, it looks like it's going to be a pretty promising read...of course, they always are.  Oh yeah, one last thing. Can I just say how much I love working under the literary editor.  We get free books daily, and because they usually weren't requested, us interns get first dibs.  Today, I grabbed the Ballerina Cookbook.  The cover has a picture of pointe shoe shaped cookies.  How could I resist? 

A Little Bit of Everything (And it all Happened Today)

Sorry, I know this is a little
hard to see, but it says
Merry Christmas

Tale #1-So, I love Christmas just as much as the next gal, but come one people Christmas was 53 days ago.  It's officially time to take down the wreaths, red bows, and Frosty-the-Snowman inflatables.  I mean, I thought I was a little behind with my Valentine's wreath still hanging over the kitchen table, but by no means can I even compare to these folks.  And, I'm sure these were also those people who were the first to put their decorations out too, probably skipping Thanksgiving altogether jumping straight from orange and black to red and green.

Tale #2-On a slightly more puzzling note, today I was mistaken for a 2nd grader.  That's right, at 20, both a student and teacher thought I was 8.  First off, I was sending on a park bench waiting to pick Oliver, my second grade heartthrob, up from school.  Completely minding my own business (actually I was super engrossed in Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique but that's a different blog for a different day, so any-who) I got up from my seat to greet him, when this teacher comes up to me and says, "What are you doing out of line? Is your parent here yet? Did you shake hands with your teacher to let them know that you'd left the group?"

For a second there, I didn't realize she was talking to me, but she was looking me dead in the eyes expecting me to answer.  "Um, I'm actually not an elementary student," I answered, "I'm Oliver's babysitter.  I'm here to pick him up and take him to a piano lesson."

"Oh, so sorry for the confusion. I guess I just thought, with you being there and um;" at this point, her words began to drift off as she abruptly turned around.

Wow, I thought, didn't quite realize I was channeling the second grade look today but whatever.  However, a few minutes later a second-grader snowball fight broke out.  Even though I was standing with all the other babysitters, I repeatedly found myself being plummeted with slushy balls of ice.  The first few times I thought it was kind of funny.

Maybe, Olie told his friends to hit me with their snowballs.  We'd agreed it was perfectly find to throw snowballs in my direction as long as they were aimed bellow the belt.  But then, Oliver walks over and asks, "Hey guys, that's my babysitter.  She's not in second grade."

"Oh sorry. She just looks so much like us," on little boy called back.

Really, twice in one day.  It's not like I'm 4 feet tall.  Granted, I was sitting down the first time, and I guess you could say my outfit of blue jeans, a brightly colored sweater, and ponytail were channeling the quintessential second-grade look.

Tale #3-So after spending 45 minutes in the Brooklyn Public Library, I went to pick Oliver up from his piano lesson.  As I was waiting in the wet room, I noticed a magazine you wouldn't necessarily expect to find in a cool Williamsburg apartment...Men's Journal.  Cover stories include "How to Pick the NCAA Winner" and "Nascar's Greatest Drivers."  And while I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to find this magazine on my dad's desk, it seemed slightly out of place in a hipstery, Brooklyn neighborhood.  Perhaps I'm being to narrow minded here, but it just seemed a little odd in my opinion.

So, that's it. Nothing too exciting to report today. 

Just 3 random occurrences I felt needed to be documented.  

The Cubic Zirconium of Romance

Valentine's Day is the Cubic Zirconium of romance; it's the yappy-dog-that-fits-in-a-pocket-book of holidays.  And, for any single gal over the age of 10, it's the least day favorite day of the entire year.  Unfortunately, I have class and work today, so I must leave my pajamas behind and brace the super scary world of cute couples.  And, if you ask me, the only way that this day will even be the least bit tolerable will be if I drown myself in red velvet cupcakes and sugar cookies piled high with pink icing.  


I guess you could say this is my "I hate Valentine's Day" post.  This is the one day a year when you feel like a complete Debbie-Downer for admitting that you had love, but I just don't care!  Why can we just go back to the good ole days of elementary school where every person in the class received Valentine's card?  I certainly miss those cute cardboard papers. 


Manhattan is the capital of people living my themselves.  Pop culture constantly writes of the hard-charging carer girl who gets her comeuppance, either violently or dying a slow death by late-night memo and Chines takeout. It's the city where independence is celebrated; at least 364 days a year. It's that pesky 24 hour span-Valentine's Day- that gets the city is a dizzy.  Thanks to this one day of dread, twenty-somethings everywhere are wondering if they should trade in their little black dresses for a litter box and catnip.  Am I called to a life on singleness?  And all because of conversation hearts and overpriced teddy bears...well, I'm taking a stand. I'm here to say celebrating alone is actually much more rewarding.  Really, I don't need a man to buy me a box of chocolates and cheap red roses.  I'm perfectly capable of dropping into Duane Reade and picking of a box of Russell Stovers if it fits my needs.  

The Dark Side of Chocolate

Twenty-seven million people are enslaved today, announced the Not for Sale state director, Diedre Mars, at Friday night's screening of The Dark Side of Chocolate.  The documentary follows a team of journalists who investigate how human trafficking and child labor in the Ivory Coast fuels the worldwide chocolate industry.

After a stressful week of writing papers, reading French fairytales, and deciphering Heidi Klum's Good Housekeeping interview, the only thing I wanted to do on Friday night was put on comfy pajamas and crawl into bed.  But, my friend Kate-Marie (yes, she too has a double name) was hosting a chocolatey event.  I was in desperate need for a good story for a Valentine's article assignment and figured writing about fair-trade chocolate might be an interesting spin.  Little did I know that the film would pull at my heartstrings so severely.  

Just this Valentine's Day in the United States, the chocolate industry is expected to net $1.5 billion dollars.  Unfortunately, it comes at the cost of 12-15 year old children being ripped away from their families, sold into slavery, and forced into a life of poverty.  For only 230 euros, plantation farmers are able to purchase these children, who have been deceitfully promised a life of fair wages.  As I watched the film, a feeling of helplessness overcame me.  Preteens are constantly exposed to pesticides as they traipse around African forests carrying machetes and oversized loads of cocoa beans.  

Make sure you notice the
Fair-Trade Logo! 

The proof is in the film footage; each day at least 10-15 children are illegally smuggled into the Ivory Coast. Nonetheless, authorities adamantly deny child trafficking.  

So, what can we do to insure this atrocities no longer occur?  Well, being a consciousness shopper definitely helps.  The purchases that you make every day have an effect. Researching who you buy from matters. It's one of the easiest but most powerful actions we can make.  Sure, it's frustrating that fair-trade chocolate has to be so expensive, but with buying fair trade chocolate, consumers receive excellent products, plus the peace of mind that they are addressing poverty, preserving the environment, and promoting an end to child labor.

Fair trade chocolate is available at Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Fresh Market and other speciality stores.  A white chocolate with strawberries Divine bar will run you about $5.50.  I know it's pricy, but well worth it; and did I mention that it's super super tasty!  

What would you do for $3,000?

On Mondays and Wednesdays I have 75 minutes to kill between Modern American History and Journalistic Inquiry, so the time is usually spent grabbing an omelette and printing out reading material in the Weinstein computer lab.  

Today, I had over 100 pages of French fairytales to print out, so I knew I'd be at the machine for quite a while.  Well, of course just as I swipe my card and am charged $3.50, the copier jams.  And so, I had a rather awkward conversation as I waited for the mutilated paper to be removed. I just couldn't resist sharing it with y'all....

When I walked in the printing center, the girl at the front desk was filling out a questionnaire.  It looked pretty officially (not like one of those stupid quizzes that will tell you the name of your 5th child or anything), and with RA interviews wrapping up this week, I just assumed it had something to do with that.  Then, all of a sudden, one of her friends walks in and asks her what she's doing. 

"Oh nothing much," she replies, "just filling out a form so I can be an egg donor.  I really want that new Coach bag, and it pays $3,000. Why not?"  

Her friend and I just kind of stands there, speechless.  Did we just hear her correctly? Is this NYU sophomore really going to sell her eggs to a complete stranger for a designer handbag?

As I stand there trying to pick my jaw up off the ground, she turns to me and asks what I think about it.  

"Um, yeah, I don't know," I mutter.   

The copier still isn't fixed; I promise I'm not just evesdropping for no reason.  So, I listen to this girl call up her mom and ask her all these ridiculously personal questions about her family's medical history. 

"Oh crap; dad only has his associated degree. If they don't pick me because of his stupid educational mistake, I'm gonna be so pissed!" 

"Ok, so Grandma died of a stroke. Maybe we'll fudge it a little, and I'll just put down that she died of old age." 

All of a sudden, after I'm completely invested in this girl's life, the computer-tech guy fixes the copier, and 100 pages of The Great Cat Massacre sputter out.  I'm forced to leave the printing lab and ponder.  By no means am I condoning this girl's decision here, but if she was at least going to use the money to, oh I don't know, maybe pay back her student loans I could possibly see some justification. But come on, for a bag? 

So, this whole conversation really got me thinking; is this really what the world has come to?  

1) Has our commodity fetishism taken hold of our lives so deeply that we're willing to put ourselves in danger and possibly risk our ability to have children in the future just so we can have the latest it item?

 2) Do we really need designer babies; what ever happened to the good old days when a baby would be born and then (and only then) would a parent even know if it was a boy or girl? Now, we have to genetically design our kids to be a super geniuses with  blue eyes, standing at 6'5". 

I brought this whole incident up to a few of my friends in class.  And,  I was informed that on the second page of each addition of the Washington Square News (NYU's local), is an add for sperm donations as well.  Sure, they'll pay you $1,200, but would you really want a little you running around without your knowledge?  

I guess everyone just thinks we're desperate college kids who'll do anything for a little cash. 

Warmer Weather brings Alarming Assignment

Just as my roommate Jen says, these last two days have been spring teasers. For the first time in weeks, I was able to leave my dorm without weighty winter wear.  No winter boots here; just cute beaded blue flats for my feet.  Maybe the groundhog was right, and we will have an early spring?

Of course the beautiful weather did bring one downside.  As I walked into my journalism class, my professor told the class it was the day for our first timed writing assignment.  Our class of 12 had only 30 minutes to wander the Village streets asking passer-byes if they would continue to read the traditional newspaper even though media growth is aimed at electronic reading devices.

Just so you know, the results were split.  50% of polled New Yorkers were adamantly opposed towards turning to the computer.  One NYU professor even said, "Newspapers are now more important than ever.  I love the smell of the older generation. I'm keeping mine in print."  Of course, he did happen to say this as he was tapping away on his Blackberry.

In total, my article was only 6 lines.  Sure, it wasn't my best work, but the assignment did help me get over my fear of walking up to strangers on the street and having a conversation.  I'm approached 10 people in New York City, and no one bit my head off.  Everyone I approached was super friendly and willing to talk. Thank goodness!

Mommy Makes a Trip to Manhattan

To celebrate my 20th Birthday, my mom left Macon for a few days and made the trek to the Big Apple.  Although her Thursday flight had a two hour delay, she safely made it to My City, luggage and all.  I had work in the afternoon RALI interviews that eventing.  So, we weren't really able to catch up on all the latest gossip until I arrived back at the hotel that evening.  We indulged in delicious Chinese food from Suzie's, watched Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice, then called it a night.  Both of us were exhausted and in need of a peaceful evening in.

Picture from For the Love of Duke

In search of the perfect prom purse for Becky, Friday was spent wandering about the city. We had lunch at the Macy's Cellar and creepily stared at shoppers from the Starbucks cafe.  We shopped at Anthropologie, where Mom bought me a cute dress for Becky's graduation party.  And, I found a girly, navy frock to wear for Good Housekeeping. After walking for hours, we took a cab to Lincoln Center.  The New York City Ballet was performing 3 pieces at the David Koch Theater:  Mozartiana, The Magic Flute, and For the Love of Duke.  Absolutely beautiful and incredibly graceful; those are the only words that could even begin to describe the performance.  Although our seats were in the nosebleed section, the $20 tickets were well worth their price. 

On Saturday morning, we had a relaxing morning at the hotel. I tried to catch up on some reading, and mom planted crops on Farmville.  We left the hotel to make our two o'clock showing of The Lion King.  Last year, we saw the fabulous Mary Poppins, so our expectations were quite high.  Of course, they were matched!  We weren't watching people dressed in zebra print; it really seemed like the cast were actual animals.  Plus, my grandmother, Ma, had given us fabulous seats for our birthdays...exact middle on the front row of the mezzanine.  Dinner was had at TGIFriday's.  And, we ended the day with cupcakes from Crumbs bakery and a showing of Charlie St.Cloud.  However, the funniest thing happened when I told Mom we needed to make a trip to Gramercy so I'd be able to grab clothes for today.  It was already 8:30, and we were 15 blocks and 4 avenues away from my dorm. So her suggestion was just to buy a new outfit. So, that's just what we did. We used my GAP gift card on a new shirt, and my Victoria Secret's gift card on 5 for $25 pink panties. 

My Favorite Book 

Unfortunately, today was her departure.  Before she left, we drank coffee and read my favorite book, The 12 Dances Princesses.  Ever since I was a little girl, we'd always read it on special occasions-birthdays, graduations, 1st days of school, etc.  

She just sent me a text saying she safely landed in Atlanta.  I'm proud to say, no tears were shed as I saw her cab drive away.  I know I'll see her in about a month for Spring Break. I'm just so glad she was able to leave the family for a few days for a visit! 

No Longer A Teen

So, I'm going to be completely honest here. This morning, when I woke up I completely forget it was my birthday.  I took my shower, made my cup of coffee, and ate my oatmeal before I even looked at my phone and saw that my inbox was filled with well wishes.

An 8:00am recitation section insured my early departure from Gramercy, where I literally skated down 3rd Avenue on my way to Modern American History.  All the streets were iced over thanks to last night's freezing rain, and I missed the 7:36 bus by milliseconds.

Cutest Card Ever!

Classes were nothing out of the ordinary.  Just a normal day as a NYU sophomore. Sure, my grandparents called to wish me a Happy 20th, but really the day wasn't really all that different until I went to work.  Now, 3 days a week I'm a babysitter for these super sweet kiddos in Brooklyn.  Well, when I went to pick up Oliver the first words out of his mouth were "Happy Birthday Ashley. How's your day been? I made you this Birthday card." Olie's only 7, and I'm sure his precious handmade creation took him no longer than 5 minutes to make, but it's truly something I'll always cherish.  Scribbled in red ink on a hot pink background, his birthday bulletin is just so darn cute.  Then, when we got home from piano lessons, he and his sister Sophie handed me the most beautiful bouquet of flowers-seriously adorable!

At 6:30, I was off to to ALPHA celebration supper at City Grace.  ALPHA is a 10 week introductory course to Christianity, and I'm one of the leaders for the college group.  When I first found out the beginning banquet fell on my big day I was a little peeved. Here I am beginning my twenties at a church event .  What a bad attitude I had.  In reality, I couldn't have asked for a better night.  Pastor Steve had the best one liner ever and I can't help but repeat it...Jesus is like the meat and potatoes in our lives.  He's the only one who can really fill us up.  Seriously, how great is that?  It's just what I needed to hear.

When I got back to the dorm, I checked my facebook account.  I can't believe I had over 100 birthday wishes.  Y'all are just oh so sweet.  I have such amazing friends, and it's days like this when you really grasp just how blessed you are.  I know this sounds nerdy, but all those people took time out of their busy schedules trying to make my day special, and I just want to thank them for that.

Tomorrow morning, my mom arrives in the Big Apple. Then, the real birthday celebration will begin.  I mean sure my day's been wonderful, but its just not the same without her.  I'm sure I'll be writing about all our NYC adventures in the days to come.

But anyways, now I'm twenty.  I heard the groundhog didn't see his shadowed, so we're supposed to have an early spring. I just hope this old wives tale is true. I'm really starting to miss my flip-flops.