Airborne

Currently, I am sitting in the last row, in the middle seat, of the plane on my flight home to San Francisco. They have a free trial for internet on this flight, so I am able to update my blog now. I just talked to my sis on video chat. It is so weird that I am able to video chat and talk to people while I'm airborne, flying across the country.

Last night I spent the night packing up my room. It looked so empty and depressing without all of my photos and colorful bedding, but it was only a couple nights without that. A few people came over to say their goodbyes last night and then this morning I saw a couple more. I, of course, was packing up until the last minute before I had to hop in a cab. I almost didn't even get to say goodbye to Emma because she was out of the apartment. When I hailed a cab on St. Mark's, outside my apartment, she came running up to me and I got to give her a big hug goodbye. I really can't believe it's over. But I'm starting a new chapter and I'll get to update all of you on my travels in Europe and life in Scotland.

Love you all...and see you soon!

Love Always,

Jess

I'M DONE!

FINALLY!!!! (And, yes, I do need all of those exclamation marks. haha.) I am done with all of my finals and work and now all I have to do is pack, pack, and pack some more. I went on a bunch of errands today and I'm finally able to be in the apartment and pack up my room. It's going to be so sad to leave New York, and I was already feeling upset about it this weekend...but I have a huge adventure ahead of me. I'll keep you all updated. My flight leaves tomorrow afternoon for San Francisco. I will be home for about a week, and then I fly to Scotland on December 31st.

Love and miss you all...but see you soon!

Love Always,

Jess

ROAD TRIP

This weekend has been amazing so far. Yesterday I had my architecture final at 12pm, and I guess it went okay...at least I knew the buildings. I feel like I could have done better, but at least I'm finished and I can focus on other important things going on in my life. Monday I have my last final, in Art History, and then I fly home to San Francisco on Tuesday afternoon. After my final, I went to the NYU bookstore and used my $75 gift card that I received for being the notetaker in my Sex and Gender class. I finally bought the NYU apparel I wanted. After my little shopping spree, I walked back to my apartment and started packing. I had to take down ALL of my posters and pack up all of the jackets/shoes/random stuff that I brought from Smith in the beginning of the semester. At around 6:30 or 7, my friend Jay (aka J-Bird) from trapeze picked me up and we started our road trip. I had to bring all of my stuff back to Smith because I didn't want to pay for shipping it across the country. The trip was about 3 and a half hours, stopping for gas and food on the way. When we got into Northampton there was snow on the ground and I was so excited to be in a familiar place. It was also weird though because I completely removed myself from Smith College this year, and I had to be back on campus for less than 24 hours.

We stayed at the Autumn Inn down the street from Smith and while Jay did his work in the hotel, I went to Smith to empty my suitcases out in the trunk room of my house. My boxes were still all there (even though some where on the complete opposite side of the room) and I even used a couple of extra boxes that weren't being used. When I walked into Cushing, my house at Smith, I saw some familiar and some new faces. I called my friend, Jessica, and told her that I was in the trunk room. She came downstairs and we caught up with each other's lives, and she even helped me move some of my boxes. After I was done, we went up to her room and just hung out for a little while and talked. My other friend, Olivia, came and joined us as well. It was so nice seeing them and it made me realize how much I miss my friends at Smith. New York was always so stressful and busy that I could never really take a step back and communicate a lot with the girls in Northampton. Hopefully next semester I'll have more time to keep in touch and maybe even have some Skype dates with them!

The view from our room at the Autumn Inn

After hanging out in Cushing for a little while, Jay picked me up and we headed back to the hotel. He went to sleep because he needed rest for a trapeze show they were having the next day. I stayed up, watched some TV, and studied for my final. We woke up at 8:45 and left the hotel by 9:45 after grabbing our complimentary breakfast to go. On the way out of Northampton, we stopped at the Campus Center of Smith College and I got to see my best friend, Alex, before her final. Jay and I were rushing to leave for New York, so I had to say a quick hello and then hop back in the car. We were rushing because there was going to be a big snow storm coming through NY and we didn't want to get stuck in it while driving. After a 3 hour drive, right when we got onto St. Mark's at my apartment it started snowing. We were VERY lucky we didn't hit a lot of traffic.

Now I am making flashcards and studying for art history. It's going to be an indoor kind of night tonight. The snow has stopped for now, but starting at around 6pm, we should be getting many more inches.

Love you and miss you all. (See you in THREE days! Oh no...I have to pack!)

Love Always,

Jess

On the seventh day of Hannukah

...my true love gave to me: 7 noodle kugels, and blah blah blah you know the rest.

I would love to write more than a few sentences tonight but that looks like it's going to be impossible. I'm still in the library (it's almost 1am) and I'm studying for my architecture final that I have tomorrow at noon. eek! Goodnight to all of you!

Love and miss you all!

Love ALWAYS,

Jess

On the sixth night of Hannukah

...my true love gave to me: 6 pickled herrings (umm...okay?), 5 bowls of chicken soup, 4 potato latkes, 3 pounds of corned beef, 2 kosher pickles, and lox, bagels, and some cream cheese!

Last night was the BEST last dinner I could have had with everyone here in NY. We all went to curry row, to a restaurant covered in christmas lights. The restaurant was awesome, we ended up having around 14 people, and they told them it was my birthday. After the restaurant, we all left and played with a parachute on the streets of New York. Liz, my roommate, had done an art project for one of her classes where she painted a quote on a white parachute and filmed people playing with it in NY. So, she brought the parachute to dinner and we all sat inside the parachute in the middle of the sidewalk. It was hilarious because people were walking by and had no idea what was going on. (Two random people came into the parachute as well to see what it was like inside.) We ran down the street with the parachute and went to our friend Pete's apartment. We had a great time just hanging out at Pete's and, at the end of the night, I said my goodbyes to everyone. So sad!

Waiting outside the door before walking into the restaurant.

Inside the restaurant... CRAZINESS!!!

Me and Liz

Emma and Pete talking over Brian

Everyone under the parachute on the sidewalk in NY.

Now, I'm studying for my architecture final that I have tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Love and miss you all! (Home in 6 days!)

Love Always,

Jess

On the fifth night of Hannukah

...my true love gave to me: 5 bowls of chicken soup, 4 potato latkes, 3 pounds of corned beef, 2 kosher pickles and lox, bagels, and some cream cheeeeeese!

I did have a bagel with lox and cream cheese today (even though it wasn't from my true love on the first night of Hannukah)! haha. At 11am, I had my Sex and Gender final and I think it went pretty well. I felt good coming out of it, so I hope it shows in the grade. After my final, I went to my last Starbucks date with my friends in the class, Emily and Victoria. So sad saying goodbye to everybody. I really can't believe the semester is over. It FLEW by! After Starbucks, I came back to the apartment, got ready for work, and headed to Brooklyn. It was my last day of work with KidFly. It was a great day at trapeze. The kids got caught and I even got to fly after class (even though I was wearing jeans). I decided to stay for a while after work, write an essay, and type up some class notes for my Architecture final on Friday. The fly team was practicing, so I got to watch them while writing. I'm going to miss Streb Trapeze Academy SO much! It was a great semester here in NY and I got to do what I love every week...work with kids and fly on a trapeze. After ordering dinner with the fly team, I headed back to the city. After I got off the subway, I walked to my friend Victoria's dorm (which is a block from my apartment) and I ate my dinner there that I never ate at trapeze.

Now I'm back in the apartment, typing up some more notes and then making flash cards. Tomorrow I have class from 3:30-6:10 to watch more final performances for my Drama in Performance class. Then, my friends and I are going out for a "Goodbye Jessica" dinner. haha. (I can't believe it's all over!!!) I'll post pictures later this week.

Love and miss you all...but I'll be home in 7 DAYS!

Love Always,

Jess

On the fourth night of Hannukah

...my true love gave to me: 4 potato latkes, 3 pounds of corned beef, 2 kosher pickles, and lox, bagels, and some cream cheeeeeese.

Today I turned in my final paper for Art History. I searched everywhere for a color printer and tried to send myself the word document, but nothing worked. ugh! Anyway, right now I'm about to study for my Sex and Gender final that I have tomorrow at 11am. Oh yeah, did I mention I pulled an all nighter last night? yuuuup. In the library, doing work until around 6am, walked back to my apartment where people passed me on the street and said "Good Morning," and then I watched the sun rise as I continued to do work. I took a 3 hour nap today, but that really wasn't enough. I need to study for this final and then get to bed soon.

Love and miss you all! (Home in 8 DAYS!!!)

Love always,

Jess