"We Live in Hard Times, Not End Times"

So, yesterday was the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear in Washington, D.C. And it was amazing! I'm still exhausted from the trip, but it was an amazing time!

Rachel and I left our building at 2 am Saturday to head to Penn Station. We had an event free taxi ride, and a low-drama time waiting for our train (though the police did come through, banging night sticks on columns and making everyone who was sitting on the floor stand up. For no discernible reason). At 3 am we boarded our sold out train and headed south to D.C.

We arrived in D.C. at 7 am, and I was happy to be back. I still have a lot of fondness for the city since my time living there two years ago. We went to a diner (Pete's Diner) for breakfast. It was just what you hope for from a diner breakfast - fast, cheap, filling, and not especially greasy. The decorations were a bit strange; the restaurant had clearly leaned heavily towards an Asia theme in their decorating, but had also gone all out for Halloween. This led to unexpected golden Buddha/cobweb and tapestry/pumpkin combinations. There was also a small Christmas tree on the counter.

After breakfast we met up with my dad and Ali, who had come from Charleston to attend the rally. We headed to the Mall - arriving at around 9 am. It was already pretty darn full! We got a spot in the first block, fairly near the Capitol. If I stood on tiptoes and tilted my head to the side, I could see the stage. I also had an excellent view of one of the giant screens it was being shown on.

Considering how widely broadcast and viewed the rally was, it would seem silly to give a play by play here (though anyone who missed it can watch highlights by clicking here). We did the wave with the Mythbusters, were continuously surprised by the people who came out of the tent ("I didn't know Cat Stevens was allowed in the country." "Ozzy? Seriously?" "It's like a random celebrity roulette wheel!"), and laughed at all of the comedy. To be honest, I could have done with a little less in the way of musical guests - but that's just me. It was a great time, and Jon Stewart's speech at the end was perfect!

Afterwards, the Capitol was completely flooded with people (it seems most estimates are that around 215,000 people attended the rally), so finding a place to sit down and eat was tough. But we desperately needed to sit down and eat, as it had been eight hours since Pete's Diner. We finally flagged a cab, and managed to get to a pizza place on U Street mere moments before other ralliers started clogging the doors. The pizza was excellent, but most anything would have been good at that point.

We had planned to do some touristy stuff in the five hours before our train came - we got in the metro and everything. But even though the crowds had largely dispersed above ground, it was shoulder to shoulder down there. We headed towards Dupont Circle to go see the embassies, and while waiting for the train to take us there we came to the mutual conclusion that we were way too tired. We fought our way back to Union Station, and spent a couple hours alternating between vacant staring into space and wild giggling at not much. We got ice cream from the Ben and Jerry's stand.

Finally, at 10 pm, we boarded the train back to New York. We got a free upgrade to business class, and spent half of the trip dozing. At 2 am we were back in the city, and started trying to flag cabs back to the Village. The first refused to take us, and the second only did after we agreed to pay double on the fare. Both of those things are against the rules in the world of New York taxis, and had I been feeling my sharpest, I probably would have taken their license plate numbers and reported them. But I had been up for 30 hours at that point (and that 30 hours was preceded by a four hour nap, not a proper night's sleep), so I just agreed to pay the extra and let it go.

Today I was still pretty tired, so I slept in and laid low. I gave out candy to the trick or treaters in my building, and did some readings for school. It was incredibly worth it though - the rally was fantastic!

Listen to the Sound of the World, Then Watch it Turn

Wow, this is only my third post in October, and October is nearly done. From ten in September to three in October - I can only assume that all the people I've been told are readings this are worried about my health or think I'm really lazy. What's actually happened is a combination of a few factors has thrown off my previously established pattern of doing things, and it's ended up taking the full month to get back on track.

With back to back weekends filled with wonderful visits (first from my mom and then from Angus), I had three weeks of cramming all my work into the middle of the week. Additionally, my classes started to test me a bit more - a midterm presentation, weekly 2-3 page papers, and a 5-7 page paper that I am even now halfway through have all been dominating the landscape of my mind. Add to this that I am going to the Rally for Sanity on Saturday (!!!!), and that's another week with extra work in the middle of it. I have two more 5-7 page papers to write before Thanksgiving, and once I get back I will start work on a 12-15 page paper and another paper that I currently have no information about at all.

No one said grad school was going to be easy. In fact, they said the opposite. And, lo and behold, they were being honest. None of this should be taken as complaining. I'm enjoying my classes (mostly), I'm feeling about 20x more confident than I did in the first month I was here (as in, I am no longer concerned they will realize what a terrible mistake it was to let me in and ask me to leave quietly), and I'm definitely learning and growing in new directions. Some of it is stressful, but in a good way. It's good for me that my essays are challenging to write. It's good for me that I don't get all the readings right away. Because if it were easy right off the bat, what would be the point of paying so much money and spending so much time away from my fiance, family, and friends? No, I'm glad that I'm having to work hard and stay busy. But it does mean that I've been having fewer dazzling New York experiences to share with the internet.

Of course, that's not to say I'm not having any. I recently journeyed to Brooklyn with Michelle and Rachel to get what is widely reported as the best pizza in New York: Grimaldi's (the other main contender for the title, Lombardi's, is where Angus and I got pizza during his visit). The key to having these famous New York experiences, as I have said before, is to have them on week nights. I have been by Grimaldi's twice before - both times on a Saturday - and seen lines that stretched around the block. People waiting 3-4 hours to sit down and order pizza. Our wait? About ten minutes. And yes, the pizza was amazing. But it was not a pizza that I would stand in line for four hours to get. I haven't met that pizza yet.

Other news? No, that's pretty much it. School, and I was lucky enough to have some delicious pizza with lovely friends. Saturday is my whirlwind journey to DC for the Rally to Restore Sanity, which I expect will be thrilling, exhausting, and wonderful. And next week, being a new month, seems to hold the promise of classes settling back to a level where they are still my main concern but I have time for others. So expect to see more words from me in the coming month, and excuse an October of only four posts (I expect I'll get the one about the rally in under the wire).

You're In My Heart, So Until Then

So, this week I saw my favorite comedian - Russell Brand - twice. The first time was on Tuesday, when he gave an hour and a half long interview at the New York Times building, followed by a book signing. In my eagerness to get a good seat I arrived an hour and a half early, securing myself the 24th place in line. And since the 23 people ahead of me were apparently people who waited hours to sit in the third row, I sat on the first - smack in the middle. It was great, he was hilarious and the interview was really interesting. During the Q&A a 14 year old boy stepped up to the mike, and Russell Brand went on and on about how he could be the new Justin Bieber before hopping off the stage to give him a hug. At the book signing afterwards I got a copy of his first book (he's touring to promote the sequel) and waited for my signed copy. I give him a lot of credit - he's not sleepwalking through what I imagine is an incredibly monotonous schedule of book signings. He talks to everyone who gets a book, really studying them with an intensity that almost makes you feel self conscious. Then after the book is signed he offers a hug, generally by saying "Give us a cuddle." And he seems to take the hugs seriously, pausing and closing his eyes as he embraces each giddy fan. By the time it was my turn I was feeling quite flustered, and distinctly uncool. I decided to limit my engagement to saying I liked his comedy and moving along.

He signed the book and then fixed me with the intense look and said, "I remember you."

"Seriously?" I asked, surprise sounding a lot like skepticism.

"Yeah. From the audience."

"Right. I was on the first row." My plan to say something nice sprang back to mind, but flustered, I went for the first thing that caught my eye. "I very much like your scarf."

"Thanks. I got it today." He said, and then gave me a hug.

"Also the stand up comedy." I added lamely as I felt the flow of the line pushing me away.

"Thanks very much for saying so." He responded, with what seemed like genuine gratitude.

The next evening, I attended his book signing at Barnes & Noble in Union Square, because my friend Rachel is also a big fan and she couldn't make it to the night before. I had really wanted to see the interview, so I just decided to do both. This was a much different event, complete with an interview with E! (You can watch the video here. I couldn't spot us in it, but there is some footage of the madness we were in the midst of) and attendance by the paparazzi. There was a brief talk/Q&A where he accepted a garland from a Hare Krishna, and engaged in a bizarre back and forth with the bolder audience members. Then there was a book signing. At one point he stopped the line for a good 10 minutes to visit with a little girl in a wheelchair who was hoping to get her booked signed. He signed the book, posed for pictures with her and her parents, and had what looked to be a pretty in-depth chat with her. It was all very sweet.

Rachel bought a book to be signed, so I waited in line with her. When we got to the front she was just as giddy and flustered as I had been the night before. I was giddy, but not nearly as much as I had been.

As her book was being signed she said, "You have great hair." Which he does.

"Thanks!" He said, shaking his hair a bit and happily letting the curls bounce. "You may touch it if you wish."

We did. He gave Rachel one of his zen hugs.

When he looked at me I said, "Oh, I got a book signed last night."

"Where?" He asked. Then without prompting remembered, "Right! First row!"

"Right." I said, accepting my second Russell Brand hug of the week.

I may be imagining it, but I feel like he gave me a bit of a look as I walked away that said, "It's still cute now, but if you turn up in the next city I'm notifying security."

Of course, all this was but a blip on my happiness radar compared to the join that accompanied Angus coming to visit me for the weekend. He was here from Thursday afternoon at 12:30 until Sunday afternoon at 3:15, and every moment was wonderful. It was his first time in the city, and I did my best to be a good tour guide in the face of adverse weather (rain, heavy wind.. apparently we were on the fringe of a nor'easter). I made sure he got to eat the iconic food (pizza, Katz's Deli, and H&H Bagel), and got to attend one cool event (a reading by Bill Bryson at the Barnes & Noble in Union Square - this place hosts a lot of events!). We did tons of walking around, visiting the different neighborhoods and seeing the famous buildings. Obviously, there's still a lot more for him to see next time he visits. But it was fantastic to be together, though saying goodbye again wasn't easy.

Today I had a five minute presentation for my midterm grade in my Politics of the Gaze class, which was nerve wracking but I ultimately felt good about. I have quite a lot of reading to do this week, but I'm feeling like a pretty capable grad student these days.

There's Nothing Like Finding Gold Within the Rocks Hard and Cold

For the past couple of weeks my friend Rachel and I have had a weekly brunch/outing. First we had brunch at Good Enough to Eat, visited the Museum of Natural History (strange but fun place - as evidenced by the picture of a sea monster they have hanging from the ceiling with no real explanation), walked through Central Park, and had dessert for lunch at Serendipity 3. We had such a nice time, we decided to do something similar the next week - when we had brunch at Norma's and then went for a walk in Central Park. We were huge fans of Norma's, and plan to return in the future - possibly on a monthly basis.

This week though, we're changing it up. We're both huge fans of Russell Brand, so on Wednesday we'll get a meal (probably lunch), and then go hang around Barnes & Noble until he shows up for a book signing. This will actually be my second Russell Brand visit of the week, as on Tuesday I'm seeing him interviewed by New York Times culture reporter Dave Itzkoff at the New York Times Building. So all that should be fun.

Me, being dazzled by brunch at Norma's.

Me, and a very enthusiastic duck statue with a Hans Christian Anderson statue reading "The Ugly Duckling" in Central Park.

In other exciting fun news, this weekend my mom came to visit me! Considering that it's now been a good month and a half since I've seen someone from home (unless you count the barista who I had met once in Charleston), you can imagine how excited I was for the friendly face. We had a fantastic time - we ate several delicious meals (at the Chelsea Market, a coastal French restaurant, Mud Coffee, and an excellent Greek restaurant) saw two incredible shows (Next to Normal and La Cage Aux Folles), walked a ton, and visited several interesting areas. We even tried to go to Strawberry Fields on John Lennon's birthday. We kind of did, but it was crazy packed, and a guy with a screaming toddler on his shoulders elbowed me in the face - which made me a bit cranky about the crowd thing. However, we did have a great time in the rest of Central Park. And Kelsey Grammar was in La Cage Aux Folles, which was an incredibly fun show. It was great to get to spend time together!

This week, or at least for the next couple of days, I've got tons of schoolwork to do. I have a midterm in one of my classes in a week, and tons of reading to do for the other two. And I need to get it all done in the next few days, since Angus is coming to visit Thursday - Sunday (!!!!!!!); I don't think I'll be doing any work then. Fortunately, we get Columbus Day off tomorrow, so I'll have time to buckle down and get ahead of the game. Hopefully.

"You Can Stare Into the Abyss, But It's Staring Right Back"

Today marks one month since I moved in to the NYU apartment (and thus shifting from a New York vacation to New York living). In honor of that, I'm taking a moment to reflect a little what I've learned about life in the city.

*I Don't Like Getting Drinks from Starbucks Anymore*

In Charleston, many of my days were brightened by my favorite Starbucks drink: tall nonfat no water chai tea latte. I loved them, and would take almost any excuse to visit a Starbucks and snag one. But, unlike Charleston, New York is brimming with local coffee shops, almost all of which offer better quality than Starbucks. The food is tastier (pastries and the meals available), the drinks are bigger, and a lot of them seem interested in helping the environment (Think Coffee divides their trash section into compost, paper recycling, and plastic recycling).

But the one that killed Starbucks is Mud Coffee. In every other coffee place, chai tea lattes taste pretty much the same as the ones at Starbucks. But the ones at Mud are amazing. They've left Starbucks seeming bland and too sweet. So now, rather than go to the Starbucks practically across the street, I trot down Broadway to the Mud Truck or head over to the Lower East Side to visit the store. That's not to say I never visit Starbucks. There's one on pretty much every corner, and it's one of the few places in New York where you don't have to be a customer to use the bathroom.

*Eye Contact with Strangers is Always Incorrect

When I tell people that in Charleston we commonly make eye contact with other people on the street, people think it's strange. They imagine we go around staring at each other or something. Well, we don't, but we also don't go to the extreme lengths to pretend no one else is around that New Yorkers do. I've mainly noticed this when I go running. When you're running in Charleston and you pass another runner, you generally make eye contact and give the other one some kind of nod or wave of acknowledgement. Not so here. It actually took several weeks for me to stop expecting it, but I've learned to put myself in the imaginary tunnel everyone else seems to be in.

*I am a Braver Runner

Another running related story, but when I took up running at home, every time I wanted to go I would drive the 15-20 minutes to Hampton Park, the nearest place with safe running trails. The idea of running down the sidewalk seemed crazy to me - I didn't want to get in anyone's way, I was afraid of looking silly, etc. But here everyone feels entitled to the space they're in (whether they should or not), and you'd have to do something really silly to stand out. As a result, I'm totally comfortable heading out the door and down the sidewalk whenever I feel like the exercise.

The Hudson River Greenway, about a ten minute run from my place

*I Completely Hate Taxis Here

They are insanely aggressive on the road, they go way too fast down my street, and they honk way too often. I have ridden in them twice since I moved in here; one trip ended with tears, and both ended with nausea. I go to great lengths to avoid them. This is limited to New York - my taxi experiences in other cities (D.C., London) were quite pleasant.

*Eating is an Ordeal

New Yorkers eat out for every meal. This isn't really an exaggeration, or a statement about how crowded restaurants are at all hours (during the week waits are minimal to reasonable). But without cars and with tiny kitchens, New York is not a city that favors cooking. As a result, most people eat everything on the go, stocking their kitchens with the barest of snack food. I enjoy cooking, but getting groceries is tough when you have to either walk back with your load or choose your items online. As a result, I swing back and forth between dealing with the arduous task of acquiring supplies and caving to the convenient and delicious on the go food. This is something I'm still struggling to get a grip on, but I think my love affair with the Chelsea Market will help me find more stable balance. Maybe next month.

*There's Always More

Even though I walk everywhere (almost) and I make a real effort to see and do a lot, I simultaneously feel like I'm getting a handle on it here and that I've barely scraped the surface. I'm not sure you could really take advantage of everything New York has to offer even if you devoted your life to it.

Sometimes I feel like I'm part of it all, and other times I feel like I'm peeking into a strange world from the outside. Overall I'm enjoying all the new experiences a lot, and I'm very happy to be here. It can all be a bit tiring though.

"In a New York Minute Things Can Get a Little Strange"

New York gets really crowded on the weekends. I guess that's to be expected - tourist roll in, and the teens and young adults from the surrounding areas flock to the trendy bars and restaurants. As a result, I have decided that I'm best served by doing all my schoolwork on the weekend, and having my free time during the week. Thus I avoid crowds and long lines when I visit the cool places. Really, it's a genius plan. I just need one or two other people to convert to it, since at the moment I do all my cool week activities alone, and have to disrupt my work on the weekends to socialize.

On Saturday I finally went to the markets that I've been meaning to go to - Union Square Greenmarket and the Chelsea Market. The Union Square Greenmarket is a farmer's market that takes place four times a week in nearby Union Square - famous as one of the best in the country. It was pretty impressive (Saturday is the biggest day), but I think in the future I'll go during the week when it's less crowded (See how I think?).

We have a farmer's market - one I'm quite fond of - in Charleston, so maybe that kept me from being too giddy about the Union Square experience. But we don't have anything like the Chelsea Market: a permanent market in the old Nabisco factory where the Oreo was invented. Parts of it still feel and look an awful lot like an old factory, and other bits have the flavor of a high end mall sneaking in. There's a shop run by a local dairy where you can get your milk, eggs, etc or buy a milkshake made with their farm fresh milk and ice cream. There's an Italian market where you can get lunch or browse the international meats, cheeses, and other ingredients. There are many bakeries, and several restaurants serving farm fresh food. I bought Spanish goat cheese and plum preserves from the Italian market. This is one of my new favorite places.

That evening I got dinner with my friend Rachel. We decided to head for Little Italy, since she was in the mood for "cheesy comfort food." However, we did not count of the Feast of San Gennaro. The Feast of San Gennaro is an 11-day festival held every year on Mulberry Street in Little Italy. Historically it is rooted in Catholicism and collecting money for the poor. These days it is more focused on free refill pina coladas (and allegations of mafia connections). Yes, we stumbled straight into New York's most popular party that night.

A rare break in the crushing flow of revelers

That's not to say I'm sorry we hit at prime feast time. It was definitely an experience. It was an amped up, bigger better version of everything similar I've seen. (Which is admittedly not much. The Azalea Festival? The Fair?) Sure, there were stands that sold funnel cakes and deep fried Oreos. But there were also massive steaks roasting over open flames and fresh high quality food being fried up in street stands. We got an outdoor table at one of the restaurants (from which the above picture was snapped), and enjoyed watching the waves of people go by as we ate our food.

Sunday I took a lunchtime break from my studies to attend a multicultural potluck lunch with Mario, Ji-Sup, and Dong-hyung Kim. We all contributed food that represented our cultural heritage, so I brought macaroni and cheese and deviled eggs. I felt a little vanilla when those were compared with the South Korean and Philippine dishes. But I guess I didn't need to. Mario, who'd had deviled eggs once before, was thrilled to see them, and raved to Kim about how "exotic" they are. Similar response to the oven baked macaroni and cheese, which was rewarding. Of course, I was much more excited about trying their food. We resolved to do it again as a dinner soon.

"This Autumn in New York Transforms the Slums into Mayfair"

I've had a sort of odd week in New York City life, marked by confusion, mistakes, and spur of the moment decision making. In a good way.

First confusion first - every time I enter Central Park, I am inevitably lost. Since I never go when I have to be in a hurry, it's not really an unpleasant way to be. I wander through, thinking I'm heading west (while actually heading in any other direction), and discover all kinds of new things.

Sir Walter Scott? What are you doing here?

I'd had no idea the people of New York were such fans of Ivanhoe until I encountered this Sir Walter Scott statue. He was across from Robert Burns, and near William Shakespeare and an unlabeled Indian with a dog. Why? 'Cause. In Central Park, I feel like Alice in Wonderland. "Wait, there's a carousel there? Where did this jazz quartet come from? Does no one else find that girl doing Cirque du Soleil style hula hooping strange or interesting? Ok, fine, I'll just continue going West (North)." Really, the only way to be sure I've got my bearings is to leave Central Park, and thus return to the orderly grid of New York streets that I'm becoming quite familiar with.

Spur of the moment choice? My decision to visit the New York Stock Exchange and the Charging Bull statue. I had been watching a tv show on Netflix (Dead Like Me), and it completely bummed me out. Hardly surprising since - as the title may have suggested - death is a pretty major focus of the show. So I decided to go for a walk to cheer myself up, and the New York Stock exchange was the perfect distance away. I admit, this was also more out of a sense of duty to New York sightseeing than actual interest. I figured I go, I'd see them, I'd take my pictures, and I'd have it done. And I was at least half right. I did get my New York Stock Exchange picture, with the Wall Street sign in the frame and everything. It was right across the street from where George Washington took the oath of office. (Thanks to my time in DC, I already knew that Washington was the third capital under the Constitution - preceded by Philadelphia and New York. However, I had not known that George Washington was sworn in on Wall Street, so that was kind of a fun surprise).

The Charging Bull is actually not on Wall Street, but further down Broadway. And it's impressive, but not impressive enough for me to fight through all these people for a good picture. I still count myself as having seen it though.

Yesterday I went to lunch at an Ethiopian restaurant with a few girls in my program, and Rachel and I got coffee at Mud - my favorite coffee place by far. Then, I decided to walk to these two stores that sounded interesting, and were four miles away. So I headed up Madison Avenue.

Passing Times Square, I realized I was at the right time to try to win cheap tickets to Wicked in the lottery, so I tried. I lost, but didn't mind as it's not much trouble and I'll have plenty more opportunities. I bet not as many people show up in the dead of winter.

So I continued up Madison Avenue, and (finally) got to the first store of interest... and it had gone out of business recently. Darn. Another 10/15 blocks and I get to the second store of interest..... which closes at 7. I got there at exactly 7, and they were extremely closed. Oh well.

So I start to walk back (I am now 74 blocks from my apartment, and kind of tired). I considered taking the subway, but it was a beautiful night and the streets were packed with tourists, so there was really no reason to. I switched over to 5th Avenue, which I prefer to Madison. At around 34th Street (only 30 blocks from the goal!), I passed the Empire State Building. And I thought to myself, "Why let the evening be a total bust?" So I went to the top of the Empire State Building.

It really was a breathtaking view, and the fact that a thunderstorm started about 30 seconds after I got out on the deck did not diminish the experience. It may have made it cooler. And it did motivate me to take the subway for those last 30 blocks.