Firstly, we're both safe!
Secondly, holy wind last night. My neighborhood is at the highest natural point in the city, so I didn't experience the flooding. BUT my building was literally swaying in the wind last night. It was pretty scary.
I took Vinny on a walk this morning around my neighborhood (Washington Heights). I live on the same block at Fort Tryon Park. So here are some pictures of the fallen trees and such(including a partially blocked entrance to the subway terminal.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
#2 and #3: 35 Blocks to Mother Burger
Mother Burger
329 W 49th Street
Between 8th & 9th Aves
Forever 21
(Times Square)
1540 Broadway
Forever 21
(Times Square)
1540 Broadway
Other places we went:
Empire State Building (We didn't go inside this time though)
The Sak (NOT the store!)
Madison Park
Pink Accessories
NYC Public Library Book Walk
Times Square
Today was most certainly a true New York City adventure! We went a trillion places. (Overstatement, yes, but oh well.) We started out on W13th, the street where Karissa's school is and I had to go to the doctors' office. We didn't really know where to go so we just started walking towards Union Square where we stopped at little jewelry places and looked at all the delicious veggies in the farmers market, talked about how much we wanted bakery food but didn't bother stopping to get any!
We were also pretty close to the place where Karissa has an upcoming interview so we decided to walk through it. That had us cutting through Madison park, where people lay lounging and enjoying the REALLY nice weather, there was a man with a guitar, and it was all really chill.
From there, we somehow ended up in the vicinity of the Empire State Building, where we stopped to look in Pink Accessories "For all your accessorizing needs." To say they're not kidding would be an UNDERSTATEMENT. They have any kind of jewelry you could ever think of. In every color. It was so awesome, albeit a tad pricey. $7.50 for a pair of studs? I'm sorry, Deal$ offers the same looking thing for $3.99 and I get a pack of 12.
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| Karissa outside Pink |
Somehow from there we wound up right in front of the Empire State Building, where these sketchy vendors tried to get us to buy tickets to not only the ESB, but for the Statue of Liberty... In the case anyone doesn't know, the ONLY authorized people to sell tickets to get on the Island where the statue is located is Statue Cruises (you can get tickets for that here). Any other vessels are PROHIBITED from docking on the Island. Don't get ripped off.
Well, after that, we decided we were hungry. And we'd already walked like 20 Blocks to the ESB (W34th), so we obviously deserved food. I had had drinks at this placed called Mother Burger at the beginning of the summer and kinda wanted to check out their food. I subtly dropped hints at Karissa that that's where we should eat. (I even offered to pay for a cab!) In the end, we decided we should walk it "wasn't that far". Well, good thing we walked because we got to go to the NYC Public Library book walk together!
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| The introduction to the book walk |
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| Karissa's dinner. Just look at those FRIES! |
After dinner, we walked to Forever 21 and got lost in all the amazingly beautiful stuff. Whoever thought it was a good idea to let the two of US loose in a clothing store is crazy. A lesson learned from shopping in Times Square, if you have to pee... just go to the Marriot. Forever 21 "doesn't have public restrooms" and Disney's were "upstairs, but the upstairs is closed." WHAT does that even mean, Disney store??
All in all it was a fantastical adventure. And we walked 35 blocks all together. We're a powerhouse.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
#1: True Confessions About Kapers, and Bars We're Not Welcome to Pee In
OUR FIRST OFFICIAL ADVENTURE!
Dias y Flores Community Garden
East 13th between Avenues A & B
Lets start with a little background information on Dias y Flores Community Garden, shall we? According to their WordPress page (click on dis link): "[Their purpose is to] provide a green, beautiful, restful, safe, and congenial space for gardeners to garden and for the community to enjoy." They do cool stuff like have community meetings, other functions (such as readings for The New School). And they GROW stuff. And help to give local schools and health clinics to become envolved in the use of the garden. They offer cool stuff like classes for tai chi and yoga, and horticulture, and drawing, and herbal sciences. Seriously though, how freakin cool is this place?!
The rules of the garden soiree are simple: bring something to share. So everyone there read poetry, or short stories, or shared their artwork, or their ICE CREAM MAKING skills. It was really fantastic. Not to mention delicious. The day was full of great conversations, friend making, advice giving, story telling, and the discovery that two very simple things that can make a person happy: "orgasms and kapers."
There was also never ending wine in Sesame Street Dixie cups, beer, and a lot of ice cream. And after a serving or two of each, one obviously would need a restroom. So a small group of us headed over to this bar, the name I can't recall right now, and walked to the back to use the bathrooms. The other two went first, and Karissa and I stood outside waiting, the owner/ manager/ resident short latino man came over to tell us how "rude" we were for not asking if we could use the bathroom. "Did you ask anyone? It's just polite. It's just good manners. This restroom is only for customers you know. It's just good manners." So we quickly hurried up and got out of that place and went back to the garden.
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| Karissa being beautiful and reading some amazing words. Photo courtesy of Ananya Sundararajan |
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| The walkway into the garden |
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| Discussing Emily Dickinson with Eddie |
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| Kevin in the tree |
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| Kevin making home made ice cream. He learned how from Ice Cream Jim, you know |
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| New friends :) Abby & Maryanne |
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| More of Kevin in the tree |
Saturday, September 1, 2012
New Yorkers
It's official! Janyce has a job and finally has moved all of her things! Karissa has started school and moved all of her things!
WE'RE NEW YORKERS!
:)
WE'RE NEW YORKERS!
:)
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Friday, August 3, 2012
25 out of 88 Museums in Manhattan
Okay, so in the very SLIM chance you didn't know, I work at a museum (Springfield Science Museum to be exact) and I'm OBSESSED with museums. One of the reasons I chose NYC is because of it's amazing museum population. There are 88 museums in Manhattan and although I'm completely confident that Karissa and I can make it to all the libraries (because we're superstars) EIGHTY EIGHT museums seems like much. You'd need a whole day for each (if not more), which means 88 days. SO I'm going to narrow it down to the top 25, based on stuff that Karissa and I would actually do. I mean, come on, what are a writer and a preschool teacher going to do in the Museum of Police History? Or the Mossman Lock Museum? (Legit, it's a museum full of locks!) So here are my Top Twenty Five Museum Choices:
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| The Hayden Planetarium at the AMNH |
- Museum of Modern Art
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- American Museum of Natural History
- Museum of Sex
- Chelsea Art Museum
- The Cloisters
- Children's Museum of Manhattan (We might have to find some kids for this one! So it's worth some definite bonus points!)
- Ellis Island/Statue of Liberty
- Fusion Arts Museum
- The Guggenheim
- Hayden Planetarium at the AMNH
- The Jewish Museum
- The Jazz Museum in Harlem
- International Print Center New York
- Museum of the City of New York
- New Museum
- Neue Gallery New York
- New York Public Library for the Performing Arts: Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
- MTA New York Transit Museum
- Rose Museum at Carnegie Hall
- Rubin Museum of Art
- The Skyscraper Museum
- The Studio Museum
- The Theatre Museum
- Whitney Museum of American Art
Visit Every Library in Manhattan Equals Bonus Points
So Janyce and I will be posting our 150 Things we must do while in NYC with our imaginary friends soon, but I, of course, must first add a list of every public library in Manhattan that I will visit (and drag Janyce along with me) as well as The New School's libraries. Obsessed with books. It's fine.
New school library
Fogelman Social Science and Humanities Library 55 West13th Street, New York, New York 10011
More like a big computer lab with books around it. But, Karissa does have $150 worth of printing, so she must visit this anti-library sometimes. And they have all MAC computers, which was a big adjustment from Elms PCs.
CHECK
LIBRARIES IN MANHATTAN
115th Street Library
203 West 115th Street, New York, NY 10026-2403
(212) 666-9393
(212) 666-9393
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Fully accessible
125th Street Library
224 East 125th Street (near Third Ave.), New York, NY 10035-1786
(212) 534-5050
(212) 534-5050
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Partially accessible
58th Street Library
127 East 58th Street (between Park & Lexington Aves.), New York, NY 10022-1211
(212) 759-7358
(212) 759-7358
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Partially accessible
67th Street Library
328 East 67th Street (near First Ave.), New York, NY 10065-6204
(212) 734-1717
(212) 734-1717
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Fully accessible
96th Street Library
112 East 96th Street (near Lexington Ave.), New York, NY 10128-2597
(212) 289-0908
(212) 289-0908
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Fully accessible
Aguilar Library
174 East 110th Street (between Lexington & Third Aves.), New York, NY 10029-3212
(212) 534-2930
(212) 534-2930
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Fully accessible
Battery Park City Library
175 North End Avenue (at Murray Street), New York, NY 10282
(212) 790-3499
(212) 790-3499
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Fully accessible
Bloomingdale Library
150 West 100th Street (between Amsterdam & Columbus Aves.), New York, NY 10025-5196
(212) 222-8030
(212) 222-8030
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Fully accessible
Chatham Square Library
33 East Broadway (near Catherine St.), New York, NY 10002-6804
(212) 964-6598
(212) 964-6598
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Fully accessible
Columbus Library
742 10th Avenue (between 50th & 51st Sts.), New York, NY 10019-7019
(212) 586-5098
(212) 586-5098
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Fully accessible
Countee Cullen Library
104 West 136th Street (near Lenox Ave.), New York, NY 10030-2695
(212) 491-2070
(212) 491-2070
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Fully accessible
Epiphany Library
228 East 23rd Street (near Second Ave.), New York, NY 10010-4672
(212) 679-2645
(212) 679-2645
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Fully accessible
Fort Washington Library
535 West 179th Street (between St. Nicholas & Audubon Aves.), New York, NY 10033-5799
(212) 927-3533
(212) 927-3533
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
George Bruce Library
518 West 125th Street (at Amsterdam Ave.), New York, NY 10027-3407
(212) 662-9727
(212) 662-9727
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Fully accessible
Grand Central Library
135 East 46th Street (between Lexington & Third Aves.), New York, NY 10017
(212) 621-0670
(212) 621-0670
Open today from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Fully accessible
Hamilton Fish Park Library
415 East Houston Street (near Avenue D), New York, NY 10002-1197
(212) 673-2290
(212) 673-2290
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Partially accessible
Hamilton Grange Library
503 West 145th Street, New York, NY 10031-5101
(212) 926-2147
(212) 926-2147
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Fully accessible
Harlem Library
9 West 124th Street, New York, NY 10027-5699
(212) 348-5620
(212) 348-5620
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Fully accessible
Hudson Park Library
66 Leroy Street (off Seventh Ave. South), New York, NY 10014-3929
(212) 243-6876
(212) 243-6876
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Inwood Library
4790 Broadway (near Dyckman St.), New York, NY 10034-4916
(212) 942-2445
(212) 942-2445
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Fully accessible
Jefferson Market Library
425 Avenue of the Americas (at 10th St.), New York, NY 10011-8454
(212) 243-4334
This gorgeous library, complete with a tower and spiral staircase, is right near Karissa's school. Favorite library in the city so far!
CHECK
(212) 243-4334
This gorgeous library, complete with a tower and spiral staircase, is right near Karissa's school. Favorite library in the city so far!
CHECK
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Fully accessible
Kips Bay Library
446 Third Avenue (at E. 31st St.), New York, NY 10016-6025
(212) 683-2520
(212) 683-2520
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Fully accessible
Macomb's Bridge Library
2650 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Blvd. (between W. 152nd & 153rd Sts.), New York, NY 10039-2004
(212) 281-4900
(212) 281-4900
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Partially accessible
Mid-Manhattan Library
455 Fifth Avenue (at 40th Street), New York, NY 10016-0122
(212) 340-0863
(212) 340-0863
Open today from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Fully accessible
Morningside Heights
2900 Broadway (at W. 113th St.), New York, NY 10025-7822
(212) 864-2530
(212) 864-2530
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Fully accessible
Muhlenberg Library
209 West 23rd Street (near Seventh Ave.), New York, NY 10011-2379
(212) 924-1585
(212) 924-1585
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Fully accessible
Mulberry Street Library
10 Jersey Street (Between Lafayette & Mulberry Streets), New York, NY 10012-3332
(212) 966-3424
(212) 966-3424
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Fully accessible
New Amsterdam Library
9 Murray Street (between Broadway & Church St.), New York, NY 10007-2223
(212) 732-8186
(212) 732-8186
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Fully accessible
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
(917) 275-6975
(917) 275-6975
Open today from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Fully accessible
Ottendorfer Library
135 Second Avenue (near E. 8th St. - St. Marks Place), New York, NY 10003-8304
(212) 674-0947
(212) 674-0947
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Riverside Library
127 Amsterdam Avenue (at W. 65th St.), New York, NY 10023-6447
(212) 870-1810
The closest library to Kelsey and Karissa's apartment. Very small and not very cozy. But, we did sign up for our library cards here!
CHECK
(212) 870-1810
The closest library to Kelsey and Karissa's apartment. Very small and not very cozy. But, we did sign up for our library cards here!
CHECK
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Fully accessible
Roosevelt Island Library
524 Main Street, New York, NY 10044-0001
(212) 308-6243
(212) 308-6243
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Fully accessible
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
515 Malcolm X Boulevard, New York, NY 10037-1801
(212) 491-2200
(212) 491-2200
Open today from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Partially accessible
Science, Industry and Business Library (SIBL)
188 Madison Avenue @ 34th Street, New York, NY 10016-4314
(917) 275-6975
(917) 275-6975
Open today from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Fully accessible
Seward Park Library
192 East Broadway (at Jefferson St.), New York, NY 10002-5597
(212) 477-6770
(212) 477-6770
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Fully accessible
St. Agnes Library
444 Amsterdam Avenue (near @. 81st St.), New York, NY 10024-5506
(212) 621-0619
Relatively close to Karissa and Kelsey's apartment. Two floors, cozy seating, still a bit crowded and lacking nooks.
CHECK
(212) 621-0619
Relatively close to Karissa and Kelsey's apartment. Two floors, cozy seating, still a bit crowded and lacking nooks.
CHECK
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Fully accessible
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018-2788
(917) 275-6975
This is the main NYC Public Library. Janyce, Shelley, Kelsey, Lindsay, and Karissa stumbled upon SantaCon here!
(917) 275-6975
This is the main NYC Public Library. Janyce, Shelley, Kelsey, Lindsay, and Karissa stumbled upon SantaCon here!
CHECK
Open today from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Fully accessible
Terence Cardinal Cooke-Cathedral Library
560 Lexington Avenue (at E. 50th St., lower level), New York, NY 10022-6828
(212) 752-3824
(212) 752-3824
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Partially accessible
Tompkins Square Library
331 East 10th Street (near Avenue B), New York, NY 10009-5099
(212) 228-4747
(212) 228-4747
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Fully accessible
Washington Heights Library
1000 St. Nicholas Avenue (at W. 160th St.), New York, NY 10032-5202
(212) 923-6054
(212) 923-6054
The Washington Heights Library is projected to reopen in spring 2013 after a major renovation.
Webster Library
1465 York Avenue (near E. 78th St.), New York, NY 10021-8895
(212) 288-5049
(212) 288-5049
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Fully accessible
Yorkville Library
222 East 79th Street (between Second & Third Aves.), New York, NY 10021-1295
(212) 744-5824
(212) 744-5824
List from http://www.nypl.org/locations
Okay so it's a lot of libraries. It's fine. Janyce and I are superstars so we can obviously do this.
Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
We R Who We R.
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| This is what we looked like at our college graduation. Don't we look Scholarly? |
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| This, however, is what we look like on a general daily basis. |
Those are our faces. We're pretty spectacular, if I do say so myself. We both graduated from Elms College with degrees in English & Education, and we're both continuing on to grad school in New York City :) Knowing we'd be close enough to still spend oodles of time together, we've decided to create a list of 150 of the coolest things we do in NYC. We're talkin' Museums, bars, food places, concerts, plays, shows of any kind, libraries, parks, whatever. The COOLEST stuff we do will be documented here on Karissa & Janyce's 150 Things To Do in NYC. So stay tuned. :)
These are our friends' faces. They're amazing people, but unfortunately live too far away to be regulars on this list of 150! *Tears* BUT we've come up with a plan: We will make cut outs of our friends to take with us wherever we go! Then we'll all be together all the time! Let us introduce: Katie, Kaylee, Lindsay, and Shelley!
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