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celebrity sighting no. 2

Wow, I have had a big week regarding celebrities! Today I was walking around the library at work and one of my friends who is also an intern came in, and I heard her say "where is Perryn?" So I peeked my head around the corner and she said, "Ivanka Trump is on the 6th floor in a conference room! Come on! We're going to look at the "model shop" upstairs..." So of course, I ran along behind!



I have no idea what in the world she would be doing at Perkins Eastman that would require an architect or designer, but that doesn't really matter...I'm just glad we have glass walls in all of the conference rooms on the 6th floor :)

She looks exactly like she does in this picture (I guess that makes sense, since this IS a photo of her) but she has super thin hair. It was in a pony-tail and it was literally as thick as my pinky finger. I guess you can't expect much, though, seeing the hair genes she comes from.

GG, I bet you know who this celebrity is, don't you?!

celebrity sighting


My first celebrity sighting in NYC : Gavin Degraw!!!
(unless you count Taylor Hicks, who was on my plane to NYC when I moved up in May, but seeing as he's from Birmingham, and he performed at a half time show at Auburn this past year, I don't really count that...)

chocolate overload

If you want to experience chocolate at its absolute best, you should plan a trip to Max Brenner's Chocolate by the Bald Man. It is quite the place, believe me...that is, of course, if you like chocolate. The dessert menu all by itself is about 20 pages I think - it's actually bigger than the regular food menu. And the minute you walk in, you feel like you magically been transported to the Willy Wonka factory...

In order to more accurately plan your trip to Max Brenner's, you should check out the menu!

We had a girl's night at Chocolate by the Bald Man on Monday after work to hang out all together before Maggie leaves for her journey across the pond. She'll be in Africa for a month!

Maggie and her Chocolate Lava cake...

Chocolate Mess - for 4

The cup said "Drink Me", so I did.

Me, Pam, LeeAnne, and Carrie - more dessert than I've ever seen!


The dessert after all the damage was done...

lady liberty and yoga

Saturday, along with the machine gun-wearing police at the Time Warner Center was an interesting/fun day. 

There, apparently, was some sort of free Yoga session going on dead in the middle of Times Square. I don't know how everyone else feels, but I'm pretty sure I could never reach maximum relaxation and peacefulness in a place like Times Square...



Then, Saturday night we went on a boat tour around the bottom half of the island of Manhattan. It was really beautiful because it started getting dark by the end of the tour, so we could see the night skyline in Manhattan - and it was so informative with a lot of interesting facts about the history of New York City and America.


Lady Liberty at sunset

Brooklyn Bridge - which was almost twice as long as any other bridge in the world when it was built. It was actually named the 8th World Wonder at one point.

Domino Sugar factory that recently closed. They're thinking of turning the building into apartments!

Night view of a New York City skyline (a little blurry...)


Dinner at the Burger Joint after our boat tour. 
This could be one of the most deceiving things I've ever experienced in New York City. Burger Joint is in the Le Parker Meridien Hotel located on 57th Street and 6th Avenue. You walk into this beautiful grand hotel in an exquisite neighborhood of New York City, then you slip behind a big red curtain and all the sudden you witness a transformation from 5-star hotel to wood-paneled walls with posters and sharpie signatures all over the place. Crazy atmosphere...really good food! 

Riley

In one of my earlier posts, I mentioned that I was dog-sitting this weekend. So, on Saturday, I took a few pics of Riley so everyone could see what an adorable little dog I got to hang out with this weekend - and, Mom, I still reallllllly want a dog! Graduation, maybe?!




police scene: do not cross

Saturday morning, I was meeting LeeAnne and her sister, who was in town visiting, at the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle to grab lunch from Bouchon Bakery (which, by the way, props go to Katherine for introducing us to such a treasure of a restaurant) and then we had plans to head to the Sheep Meadow in Central Park to enjoy lunch and a nice afternoon in the park. Before we went in to get our lunch, we waited outside for a few minutes to see if anyone else came along late that we should wait for. As we were standing there chatting, all of the sudden several (probably 5 or 6) police cars drove up right in front of the Time Warner Center with their lights on, parked in front of the building, and all started getting out of their cars - motorcycles, Suburbans, Impalas...the whole shebang. LeeAnne, Nicole and I started looking around at first wondering if someone famous was about to get out of the car. LeeAnne suggested Lassie. Then before we knew it, the police officers were opening up the back of the Suburbans and getting out bullet proof vests, putting on helmets and masks and then...arming themselves with machine guns! At this point, we started to get a little nervous and began to wonder who could possibly be inside the mall or around the premises. And who could possibly be about to run outside of the mall and open fire on hundreds of innocent bystanders. If you know me at all, you probably know that I'm sweating bullets at this point - about to cry and ready to run as fast as I can. But for some reason, we continue to stand around to see if we can get some insight into what's going on. We all agree that if there is someone inside the Time Warner building, then we shouldn't go in. After a few minutes of debating and gawking at the policemen carrying machine guns, one of the officers walks up to us and says "what's going on here?", in which we let the officer know that he took the words right out of our mouths. Then as we continued to converse, he kindly let us in on the secret, that apparently, this what the members of the NYPD do on Saturday mornings - drive around to random spots in town - looking like they mean business - get out and get all their garb on (including a MACHINE GUN) and "scare the heck out of people." He said, "it's not everyday that you see someone walking around with a machine gun, is it?" You can't believe the looks on our faces at this point. When I asked the officer if there was any cause for concern, he stated "Do you think I'd be standing here talking to you if there was a cause for concern?" Ok, good point officer. But I would also never suspect for law enforcement officers to cry wolf when innocent civilians are involved...hmm, I guess I'll think twice next time I see a police officer carrying a machine gun.
It's a little hard to see, but here is our friend (and I use that term very loosely...) assembling his "outfit"

Mohammed Ali

No, I am not talking about the one who "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee", but instead my cab driver. Tonight I was coming home from a friend's apartment who I am dog-sitting for, and I had the most interesting conversation I have ever had with a cab driver in my entire life. It started when I was trying to hail a cab and Mohammed was, apparently, honking at me to let me know he was available, but he was behind me so I didn't hear him or see him until I turned around. When I got in the cab (a mini-van cab, might I add) he told me that he had been honking at me, but he thought I "didn't like his face or his car or something." I assured him that it had nothing to do with his face, I just didn't hear him honking. Then after I told him my destination, he asked if I was originally from Manhattan...which shows he was already a little confused. And then he asked if I was Jewish, because the skirt I had on reminded him of Jewish and I was quiet like the Jewish...and I have blond hair NOT like the Jewish. So I asked him about that - if my blond hair still made him think I was Jewish - and he said yes, yes. Apparently a neighbor or someone who lives very close to him is Jewish, yet she wears the same kinds of "pretty skirts" that I wear, with the same haircut (and blond) and the same face. Interesting, huh? Then he started telling me how he picked up girls in downtown Manhattan on the weekends who were drunk and hardly had any clothes on - not like me, who was dressed very nicely and prettily, he said. He said girls should be ashamed for the way they acted and dressed these days. I agreed. Then he told me about today, when he was driving, he saw a Korean or Chinese girl (he said he couldn't tell the difference) crossing the street at a crosswalk, looking down at her cell phone, bothering no one, when a guy started talking to her. Mohammed relieved his anguish and disgust by telling me how much it bothers him to see a guy say "*whistle* honey *whistle* *whistle* love you"  to a girl he "has no friendship with or does not know." Even though it is refreshing to hear these things from a guy - at this point, I am about to lose it in laughter in the back seat of this mini-van cab with the convo that I am having with Mohammed. Then he tells me that he has only been outside of NYC once in his life, and that was to go to Colin Powell's office in Washington DC. I got excited to hear this - and enthusiastically asked him how that trip was - then he informed me it wasn't any big deal. Apparently Mohammed is a pretty big deal in Pakistan because his cousin is some high up official there and another member of his family is a pretty big deal there...blah, blah, blah. So, then I start to wonder if he is in any way related to Osama bin Laden? And if Osama bin Laden even came from Pakistan? And why I am not more up-to-date on my current events and world news? Anyway, after this he starts to tell me how he never drank once or smoked once while he was in college and he went to mosque 5 times a week, but he was always denied entrance into events and bars in college, so he drove a cab all the time because of this...blah, blah, blah. Then he tells me that people in New York City do not trust him or always think he is up to something because he tries to make friendships and talk with people in his cab. "See, you talk to me, I talk to you, we make friendship, I don't ask your information, but people still do not trust me. People in New York are not so nice. You are very nice and friendly, and then you will go on your way and I will go on mine. That is my mission in New York City - to make people more friendly and to see that I am not up to something." I told him he should move to the South. Then we finalllllly arrived at the Markle. I told him it had been nice talking to him, and he told me his name was Mohammed Ali - then, he chuckled and said "easy enough, right?" He told me he hoped to see me again in a cab sometime, and God Bless. 

New York City is a city with 8 million people in it. But, with even the smallest efforts, you begin to see, that just because it's big or because everyone in it isn't from the same place, people are still seeking to make friends and connections. No, Mom, I didn't give him my bank account number or invite him in to have dinner with me at the Markle, but it's nice to know that people still appreciate friendliness, even in such a big and bustling city as New York. And just because New Yorkers don't go out of their way to be friendly, doesn't mean they don't appreciate it (or even love it) when someone else does.

And, if I knew how to request a cab driver for whenever I needed a cab, I'd call Mohammed Ali, every single time!

auburn reunited


Auburn NYC girls at dinner @ Benny's Burritos


and this is what they served the chips in...a Chinese takeout carton

wally world

I found out last week that my intern coworker has only been to Wal-Mart ONCE in her entire life...that can't be American?

embarrassing moment: 1


Sunday night after church I was enjoying a nice dinner, good company at an amazing restaurant - the Pier Cafe or something like that. It was on the Hudson River with a beautiful view of the sunset, the river, and the Sunday night "dance night" festivities. Because we were near the water, we were under a bridge - it was either the Westside Highway or Riverside Drive, I'm not sure. So in the middle of a conversation I glance up at the bridge, when all of the sudden I see a bike speeding across the bridge at probably 60-70 miles per hour, or some incredibly unbelievable speed for a bike, with NO ONE riding on it. I kinda freaked out and interrupted the conversation and started pointing at the bridge and the bike zooming past! OH my gosh - look at that bike! There is NO ONE RIDING THE BIKE! My mind is going in a million different directions - how is the bike going so fast? What happened to the person who was riding it? WHY is someone pushing a bike over a bridge and letting it go? The bike is going down hill and picking up speed as it goes down?

.....and then, as everyone is starting to look at the bridge and trying to see what I am pointing and shouting about, I realize what just happened. The 'runaway bike' was strapped to the top of a car that was driving by on the bridge. The true blond finally came out.

I really have been working on thinking before I speak. Of course, I chose not to think before I spoke in a group of mixed company that I mostly didn't know that well.

southern accent = hillbilly

I forgot to mention in my last post, when I was in Brooklyn on Saturday, some of the kids that were there called me over to their table because they wanted to hear my "accent". (I wasn't really sure what they meant by "accent"...but I obliged anyway.) As soon as I told them I was from Alabama, they all erupted into laughter. "What are ya'll laughing at?!" was my next question, which brought even more laughter and a few blank stares...

I asked them if they had ever heard the word "ya'll" before and they said NOO. So, then I asked them if they liked my Southern accent, and they said "hahaha - you sound like a hillbilly." Gee thanks. Then when I inquired further, and asked them how they knew what a hillbilly was, they said they saw it on TV.

I can't decide which hillbilly they thought I sounded most like - Jethro or Ellie May?

the calm after the storm

Doesn't exist in New York City.

This morning I met some friends at 8:15 AM to ride over to Brooklyn and volunteer with the Hope for New York program. It is a organization that is widely supported and endorsed by Redeemer, and it is an outreach program to help the homeless, unloveable, unfortunate people in New York City. So, I went over to Brooklyn and helped serve food to the homeless and needy and other members of the church there, and then mingled with them and ate breakfast to try and get to know them a little better. Pastor Ron of Living Waters Fellowship (the church where this takes place) does all the cooking - eggs, sausage and pancakes - and his wife Anna and a few other ladies help out with the serving details. This is always such a good experience for me because it is so humbling. And it puts me WAY out of my comfort zone (and it's super early to be somewhere on a Saturday morning). However, every time I go, I get the most overwhelming joy from being there. It is such a fun and enriching thing to help people who really need it. And because I didn't grow up doing this sort of thing, it is always really difficult for me to jump right in and "mingle with the homeless people", but New York is bringing me out of my comfort zone in a lot more ways than one, and I couldn't be more thankful.

                                                            
               These are some of the kids who come to the free breakfast on Saturday mornings.

Then after our trip to Brooklyn, I came home and crashed for about 4 or 5 hours. It was rainy and stormy, and I had only slept 5 hours the night before, so I decided it was the perfect afternoon for a nap. Usually I hate taking naps because of the way I feel when I wake up, but this was just what the doctor ordered. I slept for about 3 hours until I was awakened by the loudest thunder I've ever heard. I don't know if it's that I'm on the 8th floor here and I'm closer to the clouds and thunder or what, but I have never in my whole life heard thunder so loud. So I continued to lay in bed for a while, and then after the weather calmed down a little bit decided I wanted to venture out for some dinner. I thought since the weather had been so intense, the city would be nice and calm...and maybe even deserted. I was way off - hence the title of this post. People running everywhere. Taxis honking. People yelling. It was just as hustle and bustle as ever. So I went down to Union Square and had dinner at my favorite deli - Toasties. I sat at a table in the back by myself (completely thrilled to be sitting in a restaurant eating by myself) and watched the news. It couldn't have been more enjoyable. Then I decided I would go to Barnes & Noble in Union Square and check out a few things, read a few books for a while. So I did this and while I was in B&N, another torrential downpour overtook the city. I waited around for a little while to see if it would pass, and then all of the sudden I had an overwhelming urge to be out in the rain. (If you know me, you know I hate to get dirty and wet and my absolute LEAST favorite thing about New York is walking anywhere when it's raining...) I'm not sure why this came about, but it just seemed very peaceful and calming, so I left the bookstore in one of the hardest rains I've been in in a while...and I intentionally walked through every single deep puddle I passed on the way home and was completely soaking wet when I finally made it to the Markle, and I loved it.

And, as I walked 5 blocks home, I finally found the calm of the storm in New York City. But as most things are here, it was a little different than normal - the calm came during the storm, not after.

convo with the Markle dining hall worker

Markle dining hall worker: Hello.

Me: Hello. Umm, I'll have fish and new potatoes..annnd, um, that's all.

Markle dining hall worker: That's all?

Me: Well, actually, I guess I'll have some broccoli.

Markle dining hall worker: Yes, you have to have your vegetables.

Me: You're right. At least that's what my mom always told me (smile)... thank you.

(About 2 minute pause of no talking.)

Markle dining hall worker: Where you from?

Me: I'm from Alabama.

Markle dining hall worker: Ohhhh, Ala-bomb-ah!

Me: Yeah! How could you tell I wasn't from around here?

Markle dining hall worker: I want to go to the Ala-bomb-ah some day! Anywhere that is South, I want to go! I hear the people are so nice there.

Me: Yeah, they are! You should definitely go visit.

Markle dining hall worker: I want to eat there. Some fried chicken. And mashed potatoes.

Me: Yeah, it's so good. If you go there, the food is really good...you're making me hungry for Southern food.

Markle dining hall worker: I not eat at any restaurants. I just go to someone's house and eat something they cook. I hear people just take you into their home and cook for you.

Me: Yeah, they will! People love doing that kind of thing in the South. And the food is so great.

Markle dining hall worker: Yes, I walk down the road and say 'I want to eat someone's food who will cook. Take me into your house and cook food for me.' (with a very big smile on his face)

Me: Oh yeah, people in the South are so nice. They would definitely love that!

Markle dining hall worker: Ok, have a good night. See you later.

Me: Ok, bye.


I always seem to have some interesting experiences when people find out I am from the South...


me and 'Big Bob'


Evidence of the photo shoot I had at the Big Apple BBQ Block Party
(yes, I realize this is clearly not the best picture ever - but I know the GG's and Anna Curl will love it!)