Have you seen that episode of How I Meet Your Mother where Barney explains the concept of graduation googles? Basically, it's the relief and nostalgic feeling one has about a time in their life when it's just about to end, even though the time was completely miserable.
Well, now that my semester at The Times is coming to an end that's exactly what I'm feeling. My boss was swamped with work, so she asked me I've I'd mind leaving work two hours early to go to Sephora's first-ever Beauty Fair. Representatives from some of the most coveted brands where there. Each table passed out this summer's recommended essentials and offered complimentary nail and facial services. Plus, it was in the Hudson Hotel's penthouse loft, so the Manhattan view was spectacular.
As to be expected, there were lots of self tanning products and quite a number of anti-againg creams. These women were pretty funny asking me to try wrinkle creams. At 21 I'm not quite their target audience, but they kept applying the goop to my "crows fee" and wondering why I wasn't amazed with the instant results. Caudalie's grape seed oil moisturizing sorbet smelled absolutely amazing. I grabbed a tube for my massive goody bag.
But the real gems of the event were from Sultra. Made from real human hair, they had non-commital color extensions. There's your typical hot pink and electric blue, but they also had lilac cheetah streaks too. Starting on June 1st, they'll also offer hair mascara! It's tube is similar to the one for your eyes, but the colors it comes in are way wilder. It's the perfect way to try red, blue, black, or purple highlights on for size. Plus, it's water proof, so you'll be able to wear it to the beach and not worry about the colors running. But there's no need to worry; it comes out with a shampoo rinse.
The only problem now is I have way too many products and oh so little time.
Just like with any newscast, NYU Tonight can have its off days. Today was definitely one of them! For starters, our minuscule staff shrunk from 10 to 8. Plus, the prompter wasn't working properly, so Chris and I didn't get to practice with the words on the screen before going live. Although our start time was scheduled for 5, it was more than a half after late. Also, there was a slight mix-up with the director and stage manager. A package didn't run, and we had no idea where to look or what to say. I may be famous for making situations awkward, but there's no getting past on-air dead time.
Nonetheless, the show still had to go on, and stories still had to be written. I ended up writing 9, but here's the one's that matter most..today's top sports stories:
One of the most unlikely players in Major League Baseball accomplished one of the greatest achievements possible---a perfect game. In Saturday's matchup against the Mariners, Chicago White Sox pitcher Phillip Humber faced 27 batters and sent them all packing. It was only his 30th start in the big leagues. Still, he had no walks, no errors by the defense, not even a hit-batsman. Humber joins a short list of 21 pitchers to have ever achieved this feat, all of whom are current or guaranteed Hall of Famers.
The Nets can no longer call New Jersey its home. But Governor Chris Christie says he's not shedding any tears. "It's one of the country's most vibrant cities, and they want to leave here and go to Brooklyn? Good riddance. See you later," Christie said. Monday's 105 to 87 loss against the Philadelphia 76ers was their last ever home game at the Prudential Center. The Nets ranked dead last in the NBA attendance this season but their farewell game had a sellout crowd. After another disappointing season in New Jersey, it's on to the brand new Barclay's Center in Brooklyn for the Nets.
The New York Rangers are in 7th Heaven. In last night's game against the Ottawa Senators, the Rangers re-established their lunch-pail identity, just in time to force a winner-takes-all Game 7. It's not necessarily what the top-seeded Rangers were hoping for when their first round Eastern Conference series against Ottawa started, but they're thrilled about it now On Thursday night, the teams will play in New York at 7pm. It's the first Game 7 in an sport at Madison Square Garden in 17 years.
Team schedules were released last week, but we still don't know who's on the NFL roster. The Indianapolis Colts are slated to make their first selection shortly after 8pm on Thursday For the 3rd straight ear, the draft will run over three days. Thursday will be dedicated to the 1st round only. Friday will host rounds 2 and 3, and the final four will take place on Saturday. Quarterbacks Andrew Luck from Stanford and RGIII from Baylor are projected to take the top two slots.
Six dishes. 90 minutes. And, a secret ingredient. Sounds like the recipe for success. For our last Sports Collateral event of the semester, Kaedyi and I coordinated an Iron Chef Challenge. Here's the video for our event. It'll air on Tuesday's NYU Tonight. Be sure to watch; I'll be the lead anchor too!
Nothing beats ruining an entire day of healthy eating like a delicious slice of cake, especially if it's homemade! Welcome to yesterday...after a long day of classes and work, I met up with Jamie and Joanna around 9:30 for a good ol' fashion baking party. We set out to make something a little exotic, Japanese Strawberry Shortcake. It's the desired dessert for Japanese Christmas parties (and apparently college girls too)!
We eat Big pieces of cake at 80 Lafayette!
Sponge Cake:
-3 eggs, separated
-1 whole egg
-50 g flour
-5 g oil
-pinch of salt
-1/2 tsp vanilla
-handful of strawberries
Directions: For starters, preheat your oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit and line an 8x8 pan, or a cake pan with Pam Spray. Whip the egg whites until really frothy. Add in the sugar, and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Beat the egg yolks, whole egg, flour, oil, salt, & vanilla until totally combined. By this time, the batter should be yellow. Mix a few spoonfuls of the egg whites into that mixture,
just to make it lighter and easier to fold the rest of the whites into. Fold the rest of the egg whites into
it, making sure to fully incorporate them. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Let the cake cool and get started on the whipped cream.
Stabilized Whipped Cream:
-1 1/2 cups of whipping cream
-1/2
cup of sugar
Directions: Whip the cream and sugar to stiff peaks.
Assembly: Level your cake, and split it into two layers--or originally bake the layers in two separate pans. Put
a very thin layer of whipped cream down, and place the cut, sliced, or
chopped strawberries down. Cover the strawberries completely with more cream. Put the top layer on then ice the top with cream. Eat immediately or let chill in the fridge until you're ready to serve.
Beware, this is no quick dessert, but it's pretty easy to make. Around
midnight (after the final strawberries had been added) we grabbed our
plates and sat down to sample. It started off at just a slice, but we
ended up devouring the whole thing right then and there!
Our Finished Product
Even though I had an 8am class this morning, I feel no regrets in staying up so late. I've known it all year, but last night it really hit me that Jamie and Joanna will be graduating in just a few short week. I'm so excited for their post-grad plans, but I'll certainly miss them! Who else can I bake cakes with, listen to K Pop, and discuss my future plans of marrying an Asian? They're seriously such great girls! I'm just glad we made a pact to meet in Boston-where Joanna's exciting dietician job will be taking her-and make another Japanese Strawberry Shortcake come the fall.
But there's still a little time left before this semester ends. As for next Thursday, it looks like we'll be making Lemon Cheesecake with Blueberry Sauce...can someone say YUM!
You know you're a straight girl at NYU when you spend your Friday night with Drag Queens.
For my friend's 21st birthday, she wanted to do something besides the typical go-to-a-bar-and-get-drunk-because-it's-my-birthday thing. So after a nice dinner, we went to Boots and Saddle on Christopher Street. All I can say is beautiful. It's the perfect adjective for their four ladies. Dawned in sky high heel with hair weaves and caked on makeup, they were certainly working it. Starting at midnight, Yuhua Hamasaki and the ladies performed pieces from artists like Nicki Minaj, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, and Madonna. Can you ask for anything more than in a Friday night than a two hour dance party of gay men and straight girls jamming out to fun, pop songs? I think not!
Obviously, it's not the place to go if you're hoping to meet your future husband. But girls at NYU should know better. Their four years of college are less about finding boyfriends and more about having gay best friends. And the best part of spending an evening at a gay bar...you wont have to worry about skeezy guys asking for your number.
Step right up folks, and witness the wondrous world of Mister Adam Wallacavage...
During my latest day of interning for The Times, I came across this photographer/sculptor/interior designer and all around maker of weird and wonderful things. Adam Wallacavage is a self-taught Philadelphia based artist who makes insane chandeliers inspired by organic sea life. He's discovered the perfect balance between the beautiful and the grotesque. He's turned the design world upside down, ditching the stuffy candelabras you'd find in your grandma's dining room to lavish looks for the wild-at-heart seeking a life less ordinary. His colorful, iconic octopus pieces are so energetic; it's easy to imagine one squirming to life and wrappings its tentacle over your shoulder.
Adam's also received quite a bit of press for his home decor, which came about in much the same way as his famous fixtures of light. Filled with his crazy chandeliers, finds from thrift stores, and random pieces of art from friends, Adam's house has become sort of an artist commune for the residents of Philly. In a room inspired by Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leauges Under the Seas, portholes line the wall and a giant squid rests on the coach. Heck, Katy Perry's even posed in his kitchen for a fashion story in Living Proof Magazine. But don't take my word for it. Browse through these pictures, and tell me what you think!
If your like me and want to know what inspires Adam, click here or check out his blog, Monster Size Monsters. His book (named after his blog) contains crazy cool portraits and is also available on Amazon.com
As Soon As We Get Comfortable in Our Chairs, It's Time to Switch Jobs
Today, I was quite the news junkie. Not only was it my second week as anchor for NYU Tonight but also my first go-round as the noon news correspondent for WNYU, our radio station. So, here's today's top stories that I reported on:
Rick Santorum has officially suspended his campaign, saying he wants to devote more time to his daughter Bella who suffers from a rare genetic condition. "This presidential race is over for me, and we will suspend our campaign effective today. But we are not done fighting," Santorum said in today's news conference. Santorum was Governor Mitt Romney's top opponent. His exit clears the way for Romney to take the Republican Party's nomination, even though Romney's only secured 60% of the delegates needed to win. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Representative Ron Paul remain in the race, but neither has shown to be a viable alternative to Romney.
Today, Syria was set to start pulling troops out of towns and cities, paving the way for a ceasefire to start 48 hours later. But last night, a military bombardment of a town in central Syria killed 35 people, dashing the prospects of a UN-brokered truce to take hold. Troops and rebel forces also clashed near the country’s border with Turkey, and a cameraman for Al-Jadeed television was shot dead in northern Lebanon. According to the Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister, the April 10th deadline has become void.
North Korea has invited international journalists into the reclusive country to witness the launch of what they say is a weather observation satellite. But, South Korea and the United States counter, believing the satellite launch is more likely a thinly disguised test of long-range missile technology. The three-stage rocket is set for takeoff in mid-April. Its launch is timed to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of North Korea’s founder Kim Il Sung.
The special prosecutor investigating the shooting death of unarmed Florida teen Trayvon Martin has ruled against using a a grand jury in the case. The motion means Prosecutor Angela Corey's office alone will decide whether to charge shooter George Zimmerman with the crime. The case has captured national attention because of race and Florida’s controversial self-defense laws. It's fueled public demonstrations across the country, including one on Monday that temporarily shut down the Sanford
Police Department in the town where the shooting occurred.
Wall Street continues to slump for the fifth straight day. Today, the Dow Jone's Industrial Average fell almost 220 points and was on pace for its third triple-digit decline in four trading sessions. Some analysts view the pullback as a buying opportunity, while others see it as the start of a long-awaited correction. A Reuters poll from Monday shows most major Wall Street banks expect anemic growth in the US job market. They believe the economic recovery will force the government to undertake another round of monetary stimulus.
Whew; know that the hard news has been presented, here's today's top sports stories:
The Miami Marlins will be without a manager for the next five games. The team's suspended Ozzie Guillen for comments he made in which he expressed admiration for Cuban leader Fidel Castro. This morning, Guillen apologized to the City and says he respects the Marlin's decision to suspend him. He's not concerned about the salary he will loose in the process, saying repairing his relationship with the Cuban-American community is more important.
Baseball season is officially underway, and our New York teams are doing better than expected. Don't look now, but the Mets are one win away from matching the best start in franchise history. Tonight they play the Washington Nationals in hopes of matching the 5-0 record set in 1985. And for the first time since 1973, the New York Yankees have averted a 0 to 4 start. The Yankees opened the season with three straight looses before defeating the Baltimore Orioles 6 to 2 last night.
Lamar Odom may be returning to the basketball court sooner than we think. On Monday, he was deactivated from the Dallas Mavericks, and it's too late in the season for the Lakers to sing their former Sixth Man of the Year in time for playoffs. But, these technicalities didn't stop Odom's former Lakers' teammate Metta World Peace from devising a plan to see him wear purple and gold. He suggests Odom be a ball boy for the Lakers this season and then next year return to the court.
We bring you their scores every week, but the NYU Athletics is attracting attention for their actions off the court in this latest video.
The video encourages LGBT athletics to know it's possible to not only come out to their team but thrive in their sport as well. The captain of the men's volleyball team, Jay Hayes started the initiative. He is openly gay and wanted to share his story. The video was released yesterday, in conjunction with NCAA Division III Week.
As to be expected, there were lots of self tanning products and quite a number of anti-againg creams. These women were pretty funny asking me to try wrinkle creams. At 21 I'm not quite their target audience, but they kept applying the goop to my "crows fee" and wondering why I wasn't amazed with the instant results. Caudalie's grape seed oil moisturizing sorbet smelled absolutely amazing. I grabbed a tube for my massive goody bag. 
