A Wonderful Thanksgiving Break in NYC

It was an AMAZING Thanksgiving break spent in NYC with my family. I miss them so much already, but I know I will be back home spending Christmas with them in only 3 weeks. Time has really flown by this semester. I don’t know how I’m feeling yet about leaving New York and starting my new adventure in Scotland, but I do know that it will be a great experience.

The last update I gave was on Tuesday night and a lot happened after that over break.

Wednesday

I had a meeting with my drama group for our final drama performance. It went very well and I’m excited to get it over with on December 9^th. Haha. After my rehearsal, I met up with my mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law, and uncle for dinner. My dad and sister found a great restaurant called Rouge Tomate. (I would definitely recommend it to everyone living in or visiting New York.) It is located at 10 East 60^th Street. We had a wonderful dinner, played a little trick on my uncle, and just had a great time together. After dinner we walked back to the condo my family was staying in and we just relaxed the rest of the night. (I, of course, watched an episode of Lost before going to bed.)

My soup at Rouge Tomate. Beautifully presented...and delicious!

Bec, Bill, and Mike at Rouge Tomate.

Thursday

Happy Thanksgiving!! When I woke up my dad, mom, and uncle had already left to watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade. I was happy to sleep in and just watch it on TV (even though it was only a few blocks away from us). When everyone got back to the condo we made a wonderful bagel with lox and cream cheese breakfast and figured out what we were going to do the rest of the day. We ended up seeing “The Blind Side” with Sandra Bullock. It was a feel-good movie and we all enjoyed it. After the movie, I headed back down to the East Village so I could get a new set of clothes at my apartment and change for Thanksgiving dinner. From my apartment, I took the subway directly to 96^th Street for our Carmine’s Thanksgiving Dinner. They had a special that included an 18-20 pound turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, vegetables, and all of that other good stuff you usually eat on Thanksgiving. After dinner, we ordered Carmine’s famous Titanic dessert for Uncle Pete’s birthday. I still can’t believe how much we ate that night. Everyone was feeling pretty disgusting after that dinner. Once we got back to the condo, we all just put on our pajamas and rested our stomachs.

BEFORE (notice the huge turkey and full plates of food)

AFTER...we ate a lot!

The Titanic birthday dessert. BEFORE.

And, AFTER.

Friday

Friday was Uncle Pete’s birthday. It was also one of our most filled days of the week. We started off the day walking to Rockefeller Center and watched the ice skaters and crowds of people shopping on Black Friday. I can’t handle huge crowds like that. It was ridiculous trying to walk on the sidewalk of Fifth Avenue. At Rockefeller Center, we took some family photos and enjoyed just being together. My parents and I tried to get into MOMA but the line was down the block. After Rockefeller Center, we made our way to Grand Central for lunch at the Oyster Bar. I had some New England clam chowder and a platter of oysters. SO good! After lunch, everyone took the subway to the East Village and I got to show my sister and brother-in-law my apartment. From St. Mark’s we walked down Broadway to SoHo and picked up some shoes that my mom had on hold at the Camper store. (We also went to the Sabon store where you can wash your hands. I even ended up buying some of their Vanilla Coconut exfoliating scrub.) After a while of walking around SoHo, making a stop at Kee’s Chocolates, and getting drinks at the SoHo Grande Hotel, we ate a wonderful dinner at Aurora. After dinner, Bec found a little bakery where we ate dessert (and laughed our asses off). It seems like we really lucked out with great restaurants and food this past week in NY. We ended the night, again, relaxing in the condo watching TV. I also had to say my goodbyes to Bec and Bill because they were leaving very early in the morning to head back to SF.

Ice skating at Rockefeller Center

Uncle Pete and Dad washing their hands at Sabon.

Mr. and Mrs. Kee at Kee's Chocolates.

Bec eating her Tiramisu (because they were out of chocolate mousse)

Dad, Uncle Pete and Bill up to no good on the subway.

Saturday

I woke up and Bec and Bill had already left for the airport. My dad and I ended up walking to MOMA because we missed going on Friday. They had a great Bauhaus exhibit that the both of us enjoyed. After seeing Bauhaus, Starry Night, and Monet’s Water Lilies, we grabbed some pizza at Angelo’s (the pizza place right next to the Late Show with David Letterman). We then took a cab back to the condo, grabbed all of my stuff, and took another cab back down to my apartment in the East Village. I said goodbye to the fam and started unpacking from an amazing week spent on the Upper West Side with everyone.

The rest of the weekend (Saturday and Sunday) I spent in Starbucks and at the apartment catching up on the work I hadn’t done over break. Today (Monday) I had my art history class from 9:30-10:45 and now I’m about to head to Starbucks and write my 10-page essay due tomorrow. Woohoo! (I’ve already started it, so I think I can get it done pretty quickly. Besides, it’s only a rough draft that is due at 11am.)

Love you and miss you all!

Love Always,

Jess

A great week so far.

Monday:

In the morning I had my art history class from 9:30-10:45 and that was my only class for the week. The rest of the day I got some work done and then I met up with my mom, dad, and Uncle Pete for the Late Show with David Letterman. I was expecting to see Robin Williams and Ashley Greene, since it was Monday, but I guess they were filming 3 shows on Monday because they can't film on Thanksgiving. We ended up seeing the Wednesday night show with Natalie Portman and Adam Lambert. It was so weird because Dave kept saying "tomorrow is Thanksgiving" when really it was only Monday night. After the show, we went to the Meatpacking district and ate at Son Cubano. After dinner we walked along the High Line for a little while. From there we took a cab to St. Mark's and I got to show the fam my apartment and introduce everyone to my awesome roommates! After the tour we walked around St. Mark's for a little bit and then took a cab to the Upper West Side. I decided to sleep up there last night for a little change of scenery. When we arrived, everyone got in their pajamas, ate dessert, and Uncle Pete and I watched the new episode of Dexter. I ended up staying awake longer than everyone because it was so nice to have a TV and sleep on the 15th floor of an apartment building overlooking the city.

Walking through Columbus Circle, on our way to the Late Show

Knowing the name of this deli allowed me to win tickets to the Late Show

Waiting in line to get the tickets.

Dad, Mom, and Uncle Pete in the elevator going up to the High Line.

Posing in the blue tunnel area of the High Line.

Tuesday:

I woke up to a beautiful view of NYC from the Kolber's apartment. I stayed in bed for a little bit and then took my time doing work, getting ready, and then I finally left the Upper West Side at 2pm. I took a cab from 60th and Amsterdam to my apartment, and then took the subway to work in Brooklyn. As soon as work was over, I got dressed up and ready before heading straight to Times Square for a Broadway show with the fam. We saw "A Steady Rain" with Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig. It was unbelievable! Everyone loved it, and they raised thousands of dollars for a Broadway Cares/Equity Fights charity. After the show, we went to Carnegie Deli to get some Reubens. Dad and Uncle Pete shared one and then Mom and I shared another one. Mom and I didn't get through half of ours even sharing it. It was PILED with meat and cheese. I can't believe I even ate a little bit of it. Bec and Bill joined us at the deli and then we parted ways. Now I'm back in my apartment and everyone else is on the Upper West Side.

Uncle Pete enjoying the view of Times Square after seeing "A Steady Rain"

The Naked Cowboy posing with some girls in the middle of Times Square

Dad and his Reuben sandwich. (I had to take a picture with him in it so you could see how HUGE it is!)

Tomorrow I have a meeting with my drama group and then I'll be meeting up with the fam for dinner.

Love you and miss you all!

Love Always,

Jess

(Part of) The Family Has Arrived!

My family is finally here in NYC and I'm so happy! (Bec and Bill arrive on Tuesday from Massachusetts.) This weekend was mostly just preparing for their arrival (aka cleaning the apartment) and hanging out around the East Village. Last night I hung out with friends at our apartment and then we went out to a bar but didn't stay there for long. Today I had a meeting with my drama group for our final project and then I took the subway to JFK Airport. When I got to the airport, I met up with my parents and Uncle Pete and then we all took a cab to Brooklyn to see Uncle Walter and Aunt Adele. We went to their favorite diner called the Kings Plaza Diner on Avenue U and had an amazing (and unhealthy) dinner. I ended up eating a bacon cheeseburger, but it was SO good. After dinner, we took a cab back to Manhattan, my family dropped me off on St. Mark's, and they continued on to the Upper West Side. I am currently laying on my couch trying to recover from my huge dinner and I am thinking of watching an episode of Lost.

Mom and Uncle Pete

Dad with his Uncle Walter and Aunt Adele

Tomorrow I have my art history class and then the fam and I are off to see the Late Show with David Letterman. (More details on that later.)

Love and miss you all!

Love Always,

Jess

Thank goodness it's the weekend.

Wednesday:

I had my art history class in the morning, then I came back to the apartment to finish researching for my final project in Drama in Performance. As I was researching I got a call from an unknown number. When I picked up, the man on the other line said he was calling from the Late Show. I then remembered that a while back my mom and I had signed up to win tickets to the Late Show for next week. The man told me if I called John, the audience coordinator, and answered the trivia question correctly, I would win the tickets for my dad and I. I found out that my mom got the same phone call and she had already won two tickets for her and my uncle. It was up to me, and I NEVER watch the Late Show. I quickly researched some trivia questions about the show and read a couple articles about winning the tickets, and I called the audience coordinator. He asked me where Rupert Jee works that they visit on the show a lot. I knew the answer because I had just read an article about a woman getting the same type of question. The answer was "Hello Deli"!! He told me I won the tickets for Monday night and my family and I would be able to pick them up from 3:30-4:30 before the show. I'm SO excited and I can't believe I actually got the answer correct. By the time I was done celebrating, I realized I had to meet with my drama group in the library. After our meeting, I walked back to the apartment and decided to relax a little (aka I didn't get any work done on Wednesday night.)

Thursday:

My Sex and Gender class went from 11-12:15 as always and then I had to rush back to the apartment to start my essay that was due today at 12:30. I already had an outline/idea for my paper, the hard part was starting it. I worked at The Bean (a coffee place at East 3rd Street and 1st Ave) for a little while with my friend Emily and I wasn't very successful writing my essay. So, we grabbed dinner at the Dumpling Man and then I went to my real study/homework place (Starbucks) to finish my work. I was finally able to focus and get it going. At around 10pm, my friend from that class, Nicole, joined me to start writing her paper. (We're procrastinators, I know!) When Starbucks closed at 11pm, we went back to our own apartments and finished writing our essays. I was up really late finalizing it so I wouldn't have to get up early to finish working.

Today:

This morning I woke up to proofread my essay a couple more times and then I decided I needed to include a drawing of the island we were talking about and designing in our essay. I must say, I was very happy with how my picture turned out and I'm excited to get feedback on my paper. I stapled everything together, grabbed a bagel to eat before class, and headed to my class. While I was eating my bagel, I saw this girl who looked really familiar walking past me. I have seen her a few times and always wanted to say hi, but I didn't know if I was just making things up. Well, anyway, clearly we knew each other because she stopped to say hi when we made eye contact. I realized that it was this girl named Lexi who I went to Mill Valley Middle School with. She also lives on St. Mark's here in NYC. We exchanged numbers and now we are planning on catching up and hanging out before I leave. After that encounter, I had my Architecture in NY class and we toured around Grand Central, the Chrysler Building, the Ford Foundation building and then we ended at the UN. It was one of my favorite tours and it was a GORGEOUS day today. I'm hoping that when my family gets to NY on Sunday it will still be this beautiful outside. After the tour, I came back to the apartment and now I'm just hanging out trying to get a head start on some more work (and catch you up on my life).

My drawing of Governors Island for my project that I turned in today.

Grand Central Station on a beautiful day with no clouds in the sky and the sun shining bright!

The last building we looked at on our tour. (The United Nations Secretariat Building.)

Love and miss you all!

Love Always,

Jess

Yummm.

I just treated myself to a WONDERFUL sushi dinner. There is a sushi restaurant 2 blocks away on St. Mark's where all of the sushi rolls are 50% off all day every day. So good! Today I had my Sex and Gender classes from 11-1:145. Then I came back to the apartment, ate some lunch, and watched an episode of Lost. I have never seen an episode before, and now I'm addicted. I just started today at 2pm and now I'm downloading the third episode of the first season.

From 3:45-5:45 I had work at the trapeze academy. It went well and the kids got to do catches, so they were excited about that. I hung out around there for a little while after class catching up with my friend Jay because I haven't seen him for a while. Then I walked to the subway, came back to Manhattan, and decided to treat myself to some sushi. I could feel myself getting into a funk and I really didn't want to have a weird/bad night so I got sushi and miso soup. It was really good (and cheap) and now I'm about to start researching for my Drama in Performance final project.

Me and my friend, Barrett, in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine (or as my architecture teacher likes to call it, St. John the Unfinished)

Walking past the Seinfeld restaurant on the Upper West Side.

My friend, Emily Greene, performing on Saturday night with her band.

Emily taking a break from the piano. She is amazing!

5 days until my family gets to New York City!!!!

Love and miss you all!

Love Always,

Jess

By the way...

I don't think I ever wrote this in my blog, but I was accepted into my study abroad program at the University of Glasgow! I will be studying there Spring semester and traveling around Europe over my breaks and at the end of my program. I'm so excited...and there will definitely be more interesting blog entries coming from Scotland. :-P

XOXO

Jess

Feeling better.

Quick update on the past 5 days:

Thursday:

I had my normal Sex and Gender class from 11-12:15, then worked on some homework before heading to a performance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music with my Drama in Performance class. We saw Quartett which ended up being a beautiful performance even though it was sort of confusing. (CLICK HERE to read more about Quartett.)

Friday:

I went to Morningside Heights with my Architecture Field Study class. We walked through Columbia University and it made me miss Bec and Bill SO much. It was weird being on that campus without them. Had a meeting with my Drama in Performance group to talk about our final project. Then I rushed back home, ate some dinner, and headed to Brooklyn for another show at the Brooklen Academy of Music. Friday's show was in a different theater (the opera house) and we saw a circus show. By far my favorite performance of the semester...soooo amazing! (CLICK HERE to read more about Inside Out.)

Saturday:

I slept in on Saturday, did a bunch of work, and then went out with my roommate, Liz, to our friend's show. Emily Greene, our friend, was performing at Rockwood Music Hall and she was unbelievable. If you want to listen to her songs (PLEASE DO!) go to http://www.myspace.com/emilygreenemusic. After the show, Liz and I went to a hookah bar and then to her friend's apartment. We had a great night and I met some awesome people. It was the night I needed to finally relax and enjoy being in New York City.

Sunday:

I slept in very late again on Sunday. I didn't end up starting work until around 5 or 6pm. I went to Starbucks so I could focus and then Liz joined me around 9:30pm.

Today:

Had my normal Monday morning art history class today. (I got Starbucks before so I could stay awake, and it worked.) After class I had a meeting with my professor about my final paper for his class and a paper that is due on Friday in my Architecture Field Study class. The meeting went well and I feel good about my papers. (Now I just have to start writing them.) I went to Starbucks, of course, to do some work this afternoon at around 3pm. I got back to the apartment tonight around 9pm. Now I'm just hanging out finishing up some work, getting ahead on other work, and listening to Emily Greene with Liz. Hopefully I can get a lot of sleep tonight.

Love you and miss you all!

Love Always,

Jess

Still no relaxing for me.

On Sunday I, of course, spent most of the day in Starbucks doing some homework. I feel like that's all I do here...go to class, walk to Starbucks, do more work, stay there until closing time, head back to my apartment, go to sleep, get very little sleep, and then wake up to start the process over again.

Monday I had my normal 9:30-10:45 class, was tired as always, and then walked back to my apartment. I barely took a nap when I got back (I might have closed my eyes for 30 minutes before I had to wake up), and then I went to Starbucks to finish some readings for Sex and Gender and get a head start on some other work. My friend, Victoria, joined me at Starbucks and then we treated ourselves to frozen yogurt before I had to go back and finish my work.

Tuesday was Sex and Gender...we had a quiz, then recitation, and then I returned to my apartment to drop some stuff off before heading to Brooklyn. I went to work around 3pm and got back to Mahattan around 6:30. Work was good, normal, nothing special. (Sorry I am so boring today, but honestly I have had a boring week.) I got back from work, went to Starbucks (shocker, right?) and wrote an essay for my Drama in Performance class. I feel like I am doing worse and worse on these papers. As much as I read the materials and the fact that I am seeing these performances (and we all have our own opinions) I feel like I can't go as deep into the meaning of the performance as the other people in my class. Everyone always sees these hidden meanings behind every little part of the performance, and I never realize it until I hear everyone talking in class. I also have SO much work in my other classes, that I feel like I can't spend as much time trying to find the symbolism in these performances. UGH! I'm just stressed and I'm hoping that I will have some relaxation time soon (even though that never seems to happen).

Today I had art history and I decided to wake up early to get some caffeine at Starbucks. It helped me so much in class and I didn't feel like closing my eyes once. (It's not that I'm not interested in the material, it's just early and dark in the classroom so it makes me tired.) I came back to the apartment to edit the rest of my essay, then I printed it out and headed to class. My Drama in Performance class was interesting as always, but like I said before, I didn't feel like I needed to contribute anything to the conversation because by the time I would feel like raising my hand, I would've just repeated things people had said.

Now I am back in my apartment, it has somehow gotten to be 10pm and I haven't finished the work I wanted to finish. I'm going to sign off of this right now, start some readings for next week, type up class notes, and then hopefully that will allow me to have some free time this weekend.

Love you and miss you all!

Love Always,

Jess

Relax? What do you mean?

I thought that after my class on Friday I would be able to relax and enjoy my weekend...boy, was I wrong! Yesterday I had my architecture field study class and we got our midterms back. I was very happy with my grade, but now I know what to work on for our final. After sitting in class for a little bit, we made our way to the Upper West Side for our tour. We walked all around and ended up at 79th and Broadway, so at the end of the tour I walked up a block to get H&H Bagels. I've had it on my list of things to do for a while now and I finally got them. I brought back 6 bagels to the apartment and have already been through two.

After I got back to my apartment I had to finish a response for my art history class. After hours of reading and writing, I went to post it online and the website wasn't working. I waited 45 minutes for it to finally work and then as I was about to post it I realized I did the WRONG response. I was so close to screaming at the top of my lungs, but I resisted. Instead, I sent an email to my professor telling him what happened and hopefully he won't mark me down for turning in my other response late. Since I had to do another response, I was forced to cancel my Friday night plans with my friend at Columbia and sit inside all night and do work.

Now it is Saturday and I'm done with my response and trying to post it online and it isn't working! Ugh...why does this have to happen to me?? All I wanted this weekend was some relaxation and so far I have gotten NONE. After I finish this post, I'm going to start some other readings for my Sex and Gender class and then maybe tonight I'll be able to have some fun and leave the apartment. Hopefully I will end up relaxing a little in the next day and a half before another week of school/work begins. Hope you are all having a more relaxing weekend than me so far!

Love and miss you all.

Love Always,

Jess

Almost Friday!

This week has been very intense. Many conversations about life and death, especially after what happened on Tuesday. Yesterday, I had my art history class and then my drama class in the afternoon. At the very end of class my drama teacher had us do a meditation in class. It was called A Meditation on Grief. (This is pretty much the meditation we did--> CLICK HERE.) We had spent the entire class talking about sickness and death and the meditation was very emotional. Everyone had their eyes closed and the entire time I was wiping tears off of my cheeks. I just couldn't hold it in anymore. I spent the entire 10 minutes with tears rolling down my face. At the very end before we opened our eyes I wiped the tears away again and tried to hide the fact that I was so emotional from the meditation, but when I left the classroom I couldn't hold it in any longer. I let out a huge sob and could not stop crying. A few people from my class comforted me and I walked most of the way home with a couple of guys from my class. It was nice to be able to talk to someone else who lost somebody close to them and I just felt very supported.

After I returned to my apartment, I had to get some work done so I tried to forget (or at least push away for the time being) all of the emotions that I still needed to get out. I feel like I still need to cry just to make myself feel 100% but it will take a little time. Last night I wrote an essay for my Sex and Gender class while everyone was out on the streets celebrating the Yankees victory. I heard so many people banging drums, playing music, and singing "We Are The Champions." It was a loud night.

This morning I had my Sex and Gender class, had my usual coffee and conversation with friends at Starbucks afterwards and then I came back to the apartment. I tried to get some work done after I got home but then I had to run off to a play in Brooklyn tonight. We saw a crazy show called "The New Electric Ballroom." The location of the theater/warehouse was beautiful. Right by the Brooklyn Bridge and near the Manhattan Bridge. (The neighborhood is called DUMBO, which stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass.) I can't even explain what this show was about. There was nudity, peeing, faces being shoved in cakes, and many other bizarre moments. If you was to see more about the show, CLICK HERE)

After the show, I hopped on the subway back to Manhattan, got a slice of pizza with my friend, Stephanie, and then we went back to her apartment. We did some tarot card readings with her roommates and then I realized it was 11:30 and needed to head home. I just got back to my apartment and now I'm going to get in bed! Hope you all are having a good week so far. I'm so happy it is almost the weekend. I can't wait to actually relax a little and not have to worry about midterms.

Love and miss you all.

Love Always,

Jess

A depressing day.

Last night I spent hours in Starbucks like always doing my readings. Liz, my roommate, ended up joining me around 9:30 or 10 and then they closed at 11pm. This morning I had Sex and Gender from 11-12:15, and then I had recitation from 12:30-1:45. However, we thought we wouldn't have recitation because an NYU junior committed suicide this morning, at 4:30am, in the library. Supposedly there have been a lot of suicides at NYU and a few of those have occurred in the main library. (CLICK HERE for the NY Times article about today's suicide.)

The library was open though, so we still had recitation in the library. It was very weird though walking through the atrium when someone had just committed suicide there 8 hours earlier. But I want to stop talking about this because it is such a horrible topic.

Anyway, I got back to the apartment, had some lunch, and then headed to Starbucks (like always). I finished an essay and now I'm back at my apartment with Liz, and I'm trying to get in bed soon. Hope you all had a better Tuesday than I did.

Love and miss you more than you know!

Love Always,

Jess

Done with my midterm.

So, it is 12pm and I am done with my Art History midterm. I feel sort of confident about it (I know I missed one date because I accidently switched the dates of 2 churches, but that it only a minor detail). I will have no idea how well I did for a little while though.

Anyway, Saturday night my roommates and I just walked around St. Mark's and the East Village looking at everyone's costumes. They were AMAZING. Both of my roommates were feeling sick, however, so they went back to the apartment at around midnight. I had spent so long doing my makeup that I needed to stay out a little longer, just so it would be worth it. I ended up meeting up with my friend, Emily, from my Sex and Gender class and then I walked to my other friends' apartment before heading back home. It was about 2am when I left their apartment, but an hour was knocked off so I ended up getting back to St. Mark's around 1:15am. Below are pictures from Halloween!

Liz (Flower Child) and Emma (Twitter) before hitting the streets.

Me with my creepy zipper makeup on St. Mark's.

Me and Erica (another Flower Child)

My makeup at the end of the night...it even scared ME to look in the mirror!

I woke up Sunday morning to do all of my studying for art history. I have a great new way of studying where I send in the pictures to Walgreens, have them print all of the pictures out, and then I write the names, dates, and all the info on the back. It is fast and easy! I stayed up late studying and then woke up this morning to take the exam. It went by really quick, and I am so happy it's over. Although, now I have to go to Starbucks to do my normal hours and hours of reading for Sex and Gender. (I couldn't do any of the readings this past weekend because I was focused on art history every day.) Hopefully by at least Thursday I'll be able to relax and celebrate being done with midterms/work.

Love you and miss you!

Love Always,

Jess