Oh, Man Is A Giddy Thing

The class I'm scheduled to have on Tuesdays was cancelled for this week, so I found myself with nothing I had to do today. Based on my experiences in Fall, these kinds of responsibility-free days really only exist in the first part of the semester. They are precious and not to be squandered. So I set my alarm for 8:30 and got up bright and early for a museum day.

It was snowing pretty enthusiastically when I left the apartment, but I was not to be discouraged. I was determined to see The Cloisters, a branch of the Metropolitan Museum on the far north end of Manhattan. The Cloisters are in Fort Tryon park, and house more than 6,000 artifacts from Medieval Europe. I didn't think much of it's being in a park ahead of time, but I probably should have. The paths to the museum were ankle deep in snow, and in many places the snow covered long-standing patches of ice. The Cloisters are on top of a hill pretty far into the park, and it was a steep, slippery journey up. I was determined to make it, and even ended up using hands, feet, and one knee to climb the two sets of stairs pictured here (and got a purse full of snow, which I fortunately remedied quickly enough to avoid any damage).

By the time I got to the top of the hill I had actually exerted myself so much with snow-trudging that I had taken off my gloves, hood, and scarf. Fortunately, it was worth it. The Cloisters were gorgeous, and full of breathtaking rooms. The whole building has been designed to look like the original homes of the artifacts they house (and often things like doorways and windows are from the period). I tend not to take many pictures in museums, since they always fail to properly capture whatever I'm witnessing (and, to paraphrase my professor from last night's class, I'm trying to savor the experience rather than simply consume it). But I feel like this one is worth sharing, at least to give a vague impression of what the museum is like. I'd like to go back in the Spring, because the museum also has gardens that are supposed to be amazing. Of course, today the whole place was covered in snow, which gave the whole thing a borderline supernatural quality (for me at least).

Luckily, by the time I left the museum the snow had stopped, and I found a clearer path down. It was still icy in places, and required presence of mind while walking. But then, pretty much everywhere in New York requires that now. I think my time in high school working in Ye Olde Fashioned helped prepare me for this. At Ye Olde the floors behind the counter were covered in grease, making them randomly slick and borderline dangerous. We even used salt to absorb the grease, the same substance used to clear streets and sidewalks of ice here. So at least I have some practice in maintaining my balance when one foot suddenly slides forward from under me.

In any case, a ticket into The Cloisters is also a ticket into the Metropolitan Museum of Art, so I went there next. At this point all I'd had to eat for the day was a tall nonfat chai from Starbucks on my way to the subway in the morning, so with all the snow climbing and art viewing I was famished. I devoured a salad and pasta in the Met cafeteria, and then decided my best use of time would be to take advantage of some of the free guided tours. The Met has the largest footprint of any building in New York, and at 2 million square feet and 2 million artifacts the whole thing can be pretty overwhelming. I started out with a one-hour highlights tour (which included the actual ancient Egyptian temple - moved when the Aswan Dam was built - pictured here), and then went on a one-hour ancient Greek and Roman art tour. I truly love the Met, and hope to go back a good bit more while I'm here. After all, I barely scratched the surface of all there is to see. After the tours, I spent an hour in my favorite sections - European Paintings and 19th- and Early 20th- Century European Paintings and Sculpture. For your consideration, below are my three favorite paintings I've encountered in the Met (two, by the same artist, are related).

"Diana and Cupid" by Pompeo Girolamo Batoni

"Springtime" and "The Storm" by Pierre Auguste Cot

It All May Be A Lesson For The Hasty Heart To Know

Well, it was a glorious full five weeks in South Carolina. It's where my home is, complete with family, dear friends, pets, and my future husband. Christmas, New Year's, and everything else that happened was fantastic. Packing up and leaving was not easy. But it happened.

So after a night in the sleeper car (best travel method EVER!) I arrived back in the Big Apple at around noon today. I had already made some plans in preparation for my arrival - catch up with Michelle in the afternoon and see Wyatt Cenac (of Daily Show fame) perform stand-up in the evening. Having immediate plans was the best thing for me, I stayed busy all day and managed to avoid being dragged into the homesick mopeys.

New York is mostly how I left it, with a few changes to the landscape.

I understand that snow isn't a big deal to people here, but I just want to gawk and marvel at it. Sidewalks are slippery, big piles of refrozen snow (so, ice) are in patches along the sides of the roads, and dirty slush occupies the most heavily trafficked areas.

I met Michelle at her place, and we went for coffee, walked around, wandered through a bookstore, wandered towards a grocery store, thought better of it, got bagels, and wandered back. It was great to catch up, and the few hours we spent really zoomed by for me.

Those playing the home game will have noticed that we did an awful lot of traveling in that time, and may be interested to know that the temperature we were walking around in was 24 degrees Fahrenheit. Which is the kind of cold that freaks me out and usually prevents me from leaving the house (maybe because I grew up in a place where those temperatures can shut down schools and government offices). But the sun was shining, and we kept moving, so it really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Actually, it was pretty comfortable. Possibly because I was dressed like I was preparing to attend the cremation of Sam McGee. I'm not the only one taking tips from the Jack London fashion school. Apparently when the snooty yankees of the past scoffed at my claims to be cold with their "You haven't seen real winter"s, this was the winter they were referring to. And yes, it is colder. But at least there are the supplies to cope with it. Of course, it is supposed to get colder this week - the low tomorrow night is 5!

After I got all my things put away, it was time to meet Kim and cash in our free tickets to see Wyatt Cenac! We met a little early so that we could get some hot chocolate to sip while we stood in line - we got there around 8:15, and it was 9:00 before they let us in the building. Which was kind of a long wait in the cold, but I enjoyed catching up with Kim, and the time went by quickly. And the show was completely worth the chilly wait - Wyatt was hilarious! The show was being taped for Comedy Central, so if they pick the audience I was in (they filmed two), there's a chance we may be spottable when it airs on TV. We'd be good choices, since we did a lot of laughing. All in all, a great first day back.

It's True, Where Ever You Find Love It Feels Like Christmas

So day after tomorrow I'm coming home for the holidays, making tomorrow my final New York day of my first semester of grad school. In some ways it feels like time has gone by quickly. On the other hand, it definitely feels like it's been a long time since I first saw the Statue of Liberty from the Staten Island Ferry. I've been busy, as the stack on the left indicates. That picture is of everything I read for my classes this semester. Every page there, my eyes traveled at some point. Some may have gotten a closer reading than others, but I still think it's pretty impressive. There's some proof it hasn't been all food and frolic, I've been doing the learning.

I've also been doing an awful lot of the essay writing since we saw The Daily Show last week. I'm halfway through my last essay, and although it is not an especially fun one to write, it is coming to me pretty well now. I'm hoping that by the time my feet hit Charleston soil, it will be totally behind me.

But still, it's important to seize those uniquely New York opportunities when they arise. Last night Rachel and I went to the Fifth Avenue area to see the windows that had been decorated for Christmas. They go all out, and some of them really are dazzling. Whole streets are lit up for Christmas, with trees and lights and even music in some places. We started our tour at Macy's (whose themes were "Yes Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus" and "Miracle on 34th Street," hit Lord & Taylor ("Memories of Christmas"), and saw the Rockefeller Center and the Saks 5th Avenue Bubble and Snowflake Show (a coordinated light and music show projected on the side of the building, which was a major highlight of the evening. It was 22 degrees when we left our building at 5pm (in the pitch black of night), and despite my impressive layering it was bone chillingly cold. Fortunately we were able to duck into Rockefeller Center for a hot chocolate and heating break. After that we saw "The Gift Machine" at Diesel, some strangely overly glam mannequins at Henri Bendel and Bergdorf Goodman, a giant star in the middle of 5th Avenue, childlike whimsy at FAO Schwartz (another heating break), televisions at Bloomingdale's, and Marshmallow Love at Dylan's Candy Factory. It was an incredible way to start winding down the first third of my graduate school experience. Here are some highlights:

Macy's from across the street.

Macy's Miracle on 34th Street

Department stores ready to go under the tree.

The one, the only, uber-famous and oh so gorgeous, Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

Inside the children's wonderland that is FAO Schwartz

Bloomingdale's

So unless something incredibly unexpected happens tomorrow, and I don't just get up, go to the library, go to class, and then come back to the apartment to get ready to leave on a super early train to Charleston the next day, this will be my last blog post until I'm back in New York towards the end of January. So far graduate school has been amazing, and I've gotten a lot out of the city. But I know that there's TONS left to get, so be sure to tune in to my further adventures when the Spring '11 semester starts!

Show A Little Faith, There's Magic In The Night

I know it's been a while since I posted, but I do have a good reason. I've been doing nothing but schoolwork, so I had nothing to offer but descriptions of the inside of the library and the experience of staring at books and the computer screen for hours on end. Such is the end of every grad student's semester. I've actually been pretty lucky, I've only got one essay left. It's going to be a lot of work, but I've got a full week with nothing else to work on.

Today was finally our day for The Daily Show, which was wildly exciting. Rachel, Michelle, and I got brunch at Norma's first - which was fantastic. I'd eaten there once before, so I knew how good it would be. But still, it was dazzlingly good food. Norma's is in Le Parker Meridien, a fancy hotel that at this festive time of year has a display of very impressive gingerbread houses. This years themes was "Movies in NYC," thus this excellent King Kong gingerbread house. There were also houses for West Side Story, Ghostbusters, Big, and Stuart Little. It was very cute, and smelled fantastic.

After brunch, we walked to the Daily Show Studio, which is way off to the west side of Midtown. The neighborhood is full of car dealerships, and we passed the CBS Studio on the way. Fortunately, you know you've arrived once you're there - there's a many stories high picture of Jon Stewart that says "The Daily Show. For Larry Flynt's Hustler Club, go one block down and take a right." I'm sure those are legit directions, but fortunately we were in the right place.

And we were the first ones in said place.

We got there at about 1:50, three hours before we would get in the doors, and about five minutes before the next people in line did. And yes, waiting in line for three hours in the super freezing cold (it was probably about 33 degrees at the warmest point of the day) has its downsides. Specifically red noses, numb feet, and other feelings of discomfort. But the time passed pretty quickly - after a little more than an hour Alex, our fourth, joined us. She held our place in line, and Rachel, Michelle, and I were able to go to Starbucks for hot drinks and a break from the cold. When we walked in and the warmth of the heat hit us, I exclaimed, "Guys, let's live here!" It was that good.

Not too long after we got back, they checked our names off the list and handed out our tickets. After going over the rules several more times (turn off your cell phone, no pictures in the studio, etc), we got to go inside. We went through the metal detector, and were corralled into the waiting room. After hours standing outside, and having the rapid temperature change from icy cold to the stuffy heat of the waiting room we were feeling pretty ragged. But of course, as soon as we saw the set we were absolutely giddy. The desk is significantly smaller than I thought it would be, but otherwise it's what I expected. The studio is big for a live show - it seats around 200 people (though it still feels small when you're in it).

We were seated in the exact center of the third row - good seats. After everyone was settled the warm up guy came out to get everyone in a good mood. He had everyone cheering and yelling, and joked with people in the audience. After he was finished Jon Stewart came out. Of course, the crowd went nuts. Everyone was really excited. He took questions from the audience, and was (of course) very funny. Some guy asked him where he would recommend the audience go for drinks afterwards. Jon said it had been years since he was a "gat about town" and asked the guy where he liked to go. When the guy said, "Well Rudy's is always good" Jon interrupted with, "What? Rudy's is a shithole. That place is still open?" Then he turned to the audience and said, "People, I beg you, do not follow this man after the show. You will get arrested... and chlamydia."

Of course, I wanted to ask a question. How could I get that close and not get an interaction? I spent most of the day trying to think of one, and nothing came. Fortunately, about 15 minutes before the warm up guy came out, I thought of mine. So at my turn I asked, "Have you read any of the academic books that have been published on The Daily Show? Like college students are assigned as textbooks?"

He kind of laughed and looked down. "No. No I haven't. I think it's awful that students who pay money to go to schools are forced to buy them." I kind of expected that. He's always pretty self effacing on the cultural significance of his show.

"I had to read one for an undergrad class." I said.

"Really? You did? What class?"

"It was a class on the news media."

"What college?" He seemed intrigued.

"The College of Charleston. In South Carolina." At that point I was concerned he would make a South Carolina joke. But he didn't.

"Really?" He sounded confused. "That's a good school. That's like a respected institution. Wait, you know what it is? Colbert's from Charleston, so they're just trying to work him into the curriculum."

Then my friend Michelle asked what his favorite Springsteen song was (Thunder Road). Apparently it was the first song he taught his son. After a few more questions, he started the show.

It's actually amazing how fast the show goes by live. It was hilarious, and seeing it live was an amazing experience. Even though it went quickly, it was absolutely worth every second of waiting.

PS - Thanks to Rachel for taking the pictures!!

'Tis The Season To Be Jolly And Joyous

Well, Thanksgiving is over, so I guess it must be the holiday season. At least, that's what the decorations of New York are telling me! People who live here seem to love complaining about Christmas in New York - that it's crowded with tourists - too crowded to see anything. To them I say phooey. New York is always crowded. If you want to see things, you just have to go at slightly unusual times (this theory has yet to fail me, though it will be tested when I set out to go ice skating in Rockefeller Center under the Christmas tree next week).

I had an amazing time being home for Thanksgiving. After an hour it was like I had never left Charleston. Coming back was kind of tough, it's pretty cold here and (compared with the warmth of family, home, pets, and fiancé) kind of lonely. Of course, I do have friends here. Wonderful friends, who are amazing to spend time with! But it's not my home, and right now everyone (including me) is way to busy finishing all of the semester's work to be social on anything like a regular basis. So today that combined with a foot injury that's preventing me from running (following up with Sports Medicine doc on Friday), made me a bit gloomy.

But none of that is any good reason to stay gloomy, so I went to the Chelsea Market for some groceries and hot chocolate. I got to see some of the before mentioned decorations, including some very impressive lights inside the market. It definitely lifted my spirits. And despite the moratorium of running, walking is still allowed, and that is definitely one of my favorite things to do in New York.

So I took today to ease back in to the feeling of the city, and it was worth the extra time. Tomorrow I have to really throw myself in to finishing this semester's work- which means writing my two final papers. A 12-15 page review of three books and a 20 page paper drawing on at least 5 articles from the syllabus. Not easy, and definitely time consuming, but certainly not impossible. Plus, I'm seeing the Daily Show live next week, and am still planning to hit as many of the holiday high notes as I can.

"If You're Wondering If I Want You To, I Want You To"

Things have stayed pretty busy for me, and most of the time I'm either reading for school, writing for school, or thinking about how I really should be doing one of those two things instead of whatever I am doing. But we did have a mild break in the cold weather - for almost a week the daily temperature was in the high 50's/low 60's, which was really nice. Though it does look like it's about to get cold again.

Last night I went to Ippudo with Kim and Ji-Sup. Ippudo is Japanese restaurant that was highly recommended to me. They specialize in ramen, but (obviously) not the freeze dried noodles and powdered flavoring on which many college students sustain themselves. No, it appears that proper ramen is a noodle soup, available in a wide variety of flavors.

That's my ramen, the only vegetarian one they offer. The soup is soy sauce based, and in addition to the noodles there are numerous vegetables, seaweed, and a big lump of wasabi on top. I respect wasabi, and thus put most of it to the side. It was great, especially considering the cold temperature outside.

Yesterday, I went for a run in Central Park, and then walked the four miles back. It was a beautiful day, but even two degrees colder and it would have been too cold. So I probably won't have too many more opportunities to do that this season.

"It's Been Minutes, It's Been Days, It's Been All I Will Remember"

On Saturday I made plans with friends to see the New York cast of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, but it was sold out when we got there. Fortunately they perform every week, so we'll try again before too long. On the way back we stopped at the Waffle Cart (it's what it sounds like) for a waffle cheer up. I ordered a waffle with chocolate sauce, but accidentally dropped it on myself before I got to eat it. Michelle and Rachel both shared their waffles with me, which took the sting out of the situation. But there isn't much to take the sting out of the dry cleaning bill I'll be paying when I pick my coat up on Friday (except for the fact that I got a great deal on the coat in the first place). This has been an opportunity for me to exercise my skills at layering sweaters against the bitter cold, and they have performed admirably.

In spite of my failure to see Rocky, I have managed to spot two creatives I love very much - David Sedaris and Stephen Sondheim - this week at my local Barnes & Noble. I do love that it is a pit stop for all the best authors. Michelle went with me to see David Sedaris, who was absolutely hilarious. He read to the crowd from his new book and his diary, then took questions from the audience. Stephen Sondheim was in the format that Lewis Black's was, an interview with a friend of his. I would have gotten a signed Sondheim book, but apparently at 80 he doesn't much feel like signing hundreds of books. Ah well, it was incredibly worth it. And I will say that one of my favorite things about New York is that of all the celebrities I've seen at Barnes and Noble (Russell Brand, Bill Bryson, Lewis Black, David Sedaris, and Stephen Sondheim) Sondheim easily drew the biggest crowd. The people of New York have spoken, and they love the composer of musicals most of all!

Aside from that, I've been pretty occupied with my classes. I'm halfway through an essay now, and I have two more to write next week. I've started looking at pretty much everything from a graduate student point of view. For example, Michelle mentioned to me that she thought female Disney villains were more frightening than male Disney villains on the whole, and I've been engaging in villain analysis in my free time. This is what I posted on her Facebook earlier today:

"By the way, in my continuing examination of Disney villains, I have developed a new theory in which The Little Mermaid is actually a retelling of the story of the Garden of Eden, where Ursula is Satan (operates by contracts, lives in the deep, imprisions souls, etc), King Triton is God (long white beard, all powerful, quick to anger, but truly loves his children), and Ariel is Eve (coveting the knowledge/experience she does not have). Obviously it's a different perspective on Eden and it needs some tweaking, but I thought it was important to tell you so that when you get back from Canada and have to come pick me up from the asylum, you'll be able to explain my ravings and get me out."

That's right - giant nerd, right here. And I'm not sorry.