night light

allow me to take my foot out of my mouth...

last week was absolutely gorgeous; the weather - divine. this week, eh - not so much. i know i've been bragging about spring in new york, perhaps a little too much... so, here i am... eating my words. for whatever reason, the northeast has been experiencing some "unseasonably warm temperatures." thank you, channel 4 news.

so here's some reality for you. new york city apartments don't always come with a/c units. perhaps the natives think summers are usually mild, so what's the point? however, a lot of apartment buildings have begun to add them, often stressing in their advertisements: "central air and heat ready!" alix and i were lucky enough to have found our apartment building with central air and heat.

yet, one small problem exists.

we can only control the speed; the building gets to decide when the heat is on, or when the a/c is on. so the obvious question becomes - when is the heat on and when is the a/c on?

september 16th - may 14th : heat

may 15th - september 15th : a/c

did i mention it's been unseasonably warm here? 90's w/ 40-60% humidity (depending on the time of day)? surely i can appreciate the necessity of firm cut-off dates; however, a little flexibility could be considered? (yes, yes... i think i hear a small violin playing somewhere...)

as a result, we've been popping open our windows to bring in some cool night air. as i was reading "the developmental process of relational psychoanalysis" (haha, yes) last night, i looked up to see a wonderful little piece of bliss. times square.

honestly, i'm not a big fan of times square. it's madness - all. the. time. i can appreciate that it provides a substantial amount of tourism revenue for new york and overall it's a major big apple icon, but i tend to steer clear of it most of the time. last night, though, (here comes the cheese) it was a gentle reminder of how lucky i am to be here - like a little night-light flickering in the heat.

i'll survive until may 15th. i'll probably be complaining until then, but only to myself. and alix. ;)

an oldie, but a goodie

"it couldn't have happened anywhere...

 but in little old new york." - o. henry

(yes, this photo is legit. yes, i took it on my camera phone. 

and no, i did not crop, enhance, or edit it in any way. seriously.) 

right after alix and i moved out to new york, we were eager to try everything. essentially, we felt like tourists. we wanted to see and do everything big and glamorous. since reaching the six-month point, we've become more passionate about some of the local businesses and events, but we knew this was inevitable. 

however, one experience i will hold onto forever... the east river cruise. nyu offers some pretty sweet events for new graduate students and as a graduate student, alix was eligible to attend. she received one student ticket and one guest ticket for a ride upon a circle line "yacht" to tour the east river. we departed from the south street seaport and traveled "uptown" to view the east side  bridges and the "nyc waterfalls." at the time, the waterfalls were heavily debated, as they were damaging shrubbery and plant-life along the brooklyn shore. so, the installations lasted through october when they were ultimately shut down and removed. we came back "downtown" and circled around the statute of liberty. upon coming around the "lady," we had an amazing view of the financial district: life-changing, really. 

the market

"flowers always make people better, happier and more helpful; they are sunshine, food, and medicine to the soul." - luther burbank

union square is kind of like the mill ave. of tempe, arizona. the large square off 14th street and broadway has restaurants, bars, shops, and often hosts artistic events. for the green hero in all of us, listen up; union square is a mecca.

every monday, wednesday, friday and saturday, union square hosts a green market. essentially, farming groups - big organizations & small local families - come together to offer a variety of wholly organic and traditional foods. the list is endless - fruit, vegetables, breads, spices, wine, flowers, desserts, blah, blah, blah. basically, it's absolutely amazing.


mama meyer had an overnight in nyc yesterday. as per our usual antics, we found ourselves walking through the area. if it wasn't apparent already, spring time had officially arrived, marked by the hundreds of flowers available for sale at the union square market.


get a panoramic view - here.

muny

when alix and i visited nyc in april of last year to visit our schools and do some apartment shopping, we were delighted/terrified/excited/confused by the abundant number of musicians performing their skills in the subway. they would jump on the train just before the doors closed, slam down their boom-boxes, and sing away. some of the acts were more disturbing than others, thus the "terrified/confusion" reaction was included above... however, we quickly found out that although those who jump from train to train are not sanctioned by mta (metropolitan transit authority) to sing for dinero, there is an entire network of people who are registered to perform. but, their acts are more... stationary, as they're assigned a specific location in each subway mezzanine through a program known as "music under new york," or "muny," under the umbrella program of arts for transit. the entire division is devoted to providing entertainment to customers, essentially to make the commute (a whole 'nother issue for east-coasters) more bearable. but, it should be noted, arts for transit is not restricted to music; the mta hosts a variety of outlets for art expression - "the light box," permanent art (including statues, this one at 14th st. & 8th ave), music, posters, and podcasts. 

anyhoo, alix and i live near port authority, so we're frequent flyers of the "ACE" subway line. this morning, i was lucky enough to hear the musical talent of james graseck (as indicated to me by another onlooker), a classical violinist, near my subway entrance. it's refreshing to see, that although the economy is truly recovering from crippling times, people continue to share their skills with others. even better, the mta hosts these works. and best of all, a lot of these works are designed & performed by a variety of people from all different backgrounds. nice, eh? we've really come a long way.

something similar, and equally amazing: garden in transit.

galavanting at the guggenheim

today, alix was generous enough to have invited me to the guggenheim for the last day of the third mind, american artist's contemplating asia. very interesting. alix, being a master's student at nyu in art administration, has a sweet membership to an art organization, allowing her access to all the cool art museums in the city. the guggenheim is actually a small museum, but the arrangement is quite aesthetically pleasing. the museum invited artist ann hamilton back to the guggenheim to create a completely original art installation to define "the third mind." basically, the installation is a text book carriage, picking up books, icons for eastern literature, from the top floor and "driving" them all the way down to the bottom floor via the ramps. you can see the steel bars that host the carriage in the photo above. every other floor or so, the carriage passes a tahitian bell and rings it. i couldn't stop watching it; it was addicting. 

so the guggenheim is on the upper east side - a totally gorgeous neighborhood. tulips. everywhere.  

you know you're not from the city when...

you buy in bulk.

alix and i have been to costco in new jersey w/ alix's cousin. however, for everyday grocery shopping, we visit "food emporium," which is 4 blocks uptown. (we conveniently pass a firehouse every single time. weird.)

after just a few trips to food emporium, we quickly realized how much we stick out. the true local will often have a small silver basket, picking up a few items... milk, cheese, bread... and that's it. (you know what i'm talking about; the movies are right on point with this.)

oh, no. not alix and lauren. we're not from around here. we see no reason in visiting the grocery story every few days to pick up a few items. instead, we haul our dolly (this photo was taken a few months ago, but you get the idea...) uptown 4 blocks once every week and a half - two weeks to do some major damage.

it shouldn't surprise you, we're graduate students. we're bargain shoppers. yes, we are those silly geese who stand in the yogurt aisle for ten minutes comparing the price of these yoplait... to these dannon... to these light and fit. we can't afford to be frivolous. anyhoo, alix and i made out with some sweet deals this time around. $1.50 for easter sugar cookies?? done.

now, allow me to introduce you to "elena." alix and i haven't been grocery shopping in roughly three weeks, due to our crazy scheduling. so naturally, we went to town. as we scurried up to the register, elena was simply too gracious, offering nothing but rolling eyes and heavy breathing as we continued to load up the rotating black belt. "and you want to split it on two cards? ugh!" so we don't fulfill the stereo-typical new york city market shopper, this i know elena. but you get an a+ for customer service. might i add we bagged our own groceries? (this was an atypical food emporium experience.)

so then, as we make our way up the escalator and exit the front doors, we were thwarted into a mob of people. it's saturday night. in the theatre district. right after the shows get out. we push through the people with our carriage of goodies in tow. pass the firehouse, again? weird how that works out.

to summarize, grocery shopping in the city is always an adventure.

life is good.

"it's like walking into a cathedral... it reminds me that what i do in the world is a valuable and important thing." - mary gordon

today, truly, was a day for the books. smooth and delightful. plus, the weather was amazing. did i mention spring has arrived?

after work, mama meyer met me back at the ol' shoe-box to rendezvous for lunch. (i'm very lucky to have a flight attendant as a mother. i get to see her so often!) i scurried home from work to be welcomed by mama meyer standing in front of my apartment building. we skipped down to europan cafe (mama meyer's fave salad bar and overall nyc hotspot!) we chomped on some mean salads then went on our way. 

last week, i raved to my mother about a fabulous little yogurt shop, 16 handles, recommended to me by alix. (this is not the first [nor the last] time i have mentioned 16 handles.) naturally... she asked "ooh, fabulous! do they have sugar free yogurt?" ga, mother. "of course they do!"

so then, we galavanted down to the lower east side for some frogurt (frozen yogurt) at 16 handles. we were lucky enough to spot an open space on a lovely little bench perfectly positioned right below the spring sun and adjacent to a rustic cathedral. while i will often appreciate nice things - purses, clothes, etc., i've come to sincerely appreciate moments like these even more. guaranteed, i won't remember what color my shoes were, or what purse was in my lap... but i'll most definitely remember the park bench. the spring breeze. the man sleeping on the bench next to us. and bonding with my mother over a cup of frozen yogurt in the east village. after all, isn't that what life is made of?

"isn't this a lovely day?" i asked...

"oh yes, it is. life is good," she said. 

you said it, mama. you said it.

the way i see it

im obsessed with starbucks. mama meyer thinks it's "the emperor's new clothes," and betsy won't drink their coffee unless it's fair trade. i know, i know. i do, however, take pride in supporting my local coffee shops - the cupcake cafe, the coffee pot, and the vendor outside john jay. it's truly quite pleasant to sit inside an independent coffee house and enjoy a little home-cooked brew. nonetheless, every now and then (and perhaps more often than every now and then...), i spring for a grande-six pump-non/fat-chai-with-no-water. naturally, it stings the pocket book a little. knowing how much i'm paying for rent in my midtown shoe-box, i indulge in my favorite menu item a little less than i used to... (sister renamed starbucks to "fourbucks" because every drink rounds out to about that amount. it seems more like "fivebucks" on the east coast.)

so then, i have a few things to share. 

thing 1: i have a theory. i don't like cigarettes. (gag.) however, i have come to appreciate the seasoned smoker's argument... "it has something to do with the hands... my hands must be kept busy..." or even... "it's a social thing... i only smoke when i'm in groups and other people are smoking too..." (yes, very insightful...) living in phoenix, ask me how often i walked around town? 

zip. 

sure,  i walked to campus - the distance from structure 7 (oh, structure 7. i miss you. eh, not really...) to my first class was... 10 minutes. tops! of course i exaggerated this to my parents and relatives... ;) but, i never felt the need to keep my hands busy... until now. 

i spend a lot of time walking around. it's the thing to do here... i walk to the subway, to class, to the bars, to friends apartments, yada, yada, yada! and oh yes... my hands get bored. of course, shoving a cup of 5bucks in my hand seems like a legitimate cure... (every now and then, i'll catch myself in a death grip with my cell phone and ipod) but is it? caffeine, like cigarettes, is highly addictive. after pumping back my grande, i feel energized and happy, rawring to go until my next fix. and oh-my... could it be... an addiction? perhaps.

and as for the social scenario, that flies too. in-between classes, i'm all too jazzed about swinging by 5bucks (not really swinging, i have to leave campus to go there...) with my gal pals and grabbing my fave coff-tail. (coffee-cocktail... coff-tail? no? ok.) it makes sense, yes? 

of course, there are a few kinks in my hypothesis... when rendezvous-ing in phoenix, i'll swing by starbucks, pick up a chai, and drive on my way - no hands about it. eh, i'm still working out some things...

ok, thing 2: an admission... this post started as a call to action, a challenge for myself. i am in love with the "the way i see it" quotes on the sides of 5bucks cups. they're interesting; they spark debate, as intended by their creators. essentially, i appreciate their motives and they're usually pretty insightful.

*sparking conversation*

"in the tradition of coffee houses everywhere, '5bucks...' ahem, starbucks, has always supported a good, healthy discussion. to get people talking, 'the way i see it' is a collection of thoughts, opinions and expressions provided by notable figures that now appear on our widely shared cups." - straight from the 5bucks website. 

i'd like to come up with my own... "the way i see it." this might get interesting... (or not?)

until then... here is my favorite. 

"the irony of commitment is that it is deeply liberating - in work, in play, in love. the act tears you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around with rational hesitation. to commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life." - anne morriss, "the way i see it, #76"

p.s. i stumbled across an interesting perspective on starbucks. check it out - here.

pinwheels for sale

"it's spring fever. that is what the name of it is. and when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!" 

- mark twain

really, i must spread a little spring-time cheer. as a phoenician-at-heart, i truly enjoy those toasty days (perhaps more so since migrating east), but spring time in new york has ignited something divine in me. 

i left work - stressed out of my mind - ready to head home and study for the plethora of activities i have next week. i whipped out my ipod (naturally) and decided the weather was nice enough to skip the subway and walk home (20 minutes, perhaps?). i shuffled through my "martha's vineyard" playlist (a selection of songs i'd like to put on repeat while i'm spending summers at my beach-home in martha's vineyard one day in the not-so-distant future) and stopped at donavon frankenreiter (really, who else??), quickly humming along. i turned down 9th ave...

"nice enough?" pff. hardly. it's gorgeous today. the breeze picked up just ever so lightly to have swept my hair off my face and caused my jacket, which i left unbuttoned, to swing open. test, paper? what test? what paper? i was lost. completely, totally, irrevocably lost in spring time. i refused to go home. what in the world should i do to avoid any hysterical activities, like homework, to ruin this totally wonderful moment? (a little dramatic, i know.) so i snapped a few photos of the blossoming trees (pictured above) and made my way down 9th ave. i decided coffee and reading would be ideal. i picked up some light coffee (still recovering from the oh so fabulous food poisoning of some sort...) and parked myself in the urban village, a gorgeous little nook/artisan mecca on 49th street between 8th and 9th ave, loaded with people thinking the same thing i was... "spring time is officially here." 

upon finishing my cup o' joe, i packed it up and headed home, finally admitting my homework should begin to take priority, but not before stumbling across my favorite childhood blast from the past. 

a few months ago, i saw a little girl grab a pinwheel from the bicycle shop uptown a few blocks. i don't know if they were free, but little girl's mom didn't stop her daughter from swiping the knickknack. naturally, little girl became bored and shoved the pinwheel into a patch on the sidewalk. and so it still stands, but today - fluttering in the spring breeze. 

70 & sunny

"home is a place you grow up wanting to leave, and grow old wanting to get back to." 

- john pearce

my trip home to phoenix this week was the perfect re-charge, exactly what i needed to plow through the rest of the semester. of course, i set-up a rigid plan for myself, expecting to finish up a paper, a presentation, blah, blah, blah. who was i kidding? i was on vacation. in an effort to summarize my wonderful week, i've developed a short list of memories - absolutely divine! 

• oregs with my gal pals (and boy pal). if you haven't had the bambino salad from oregano's, make it your next order. you'll thank me. ;)
• game night. catch phrase = totally ridiculous, uncontrollable, out of this world fun. it reminded me of high school, in a good way. 
• massages at massage envy with sister. francisca was my masseuse, such a pleasant lady!
• pedis with sister and mama meyer at "happy nails." my nail chipped later that night, but i got in some great tabloid reading!
• daily "rendezvouses" with my gal pals. 
• a sweet reunion with the munchkin. i'm already wanting to plan my next trip to see her. 
• shopping. oooh-so-much shopping.
• brunch at t.c. eggingtons, truly a tradition. 
• moments with my dad - always an adventure.
• reunion lunch with danes & brie. pita jungle is never a disappointment. 
• "oh my!"
• little black dress + little cheetah print heels + dance floor = :) indeed, :)
• reunion dinner with dawn & larame.
• thursday at iguana macks. 
• saturday at rula. high school reunion. 'nuff said.
• easter sunday. :) 
• food poisoning? mmhmm. cool.

upon reuniting with friends and family, i was asked all the familiar questions. 

"how's new york?"

"cold and fabulous!"

"do you like your classes?"

"love them!"

however, i seemed to blunder every time i was asked...

"do you want to move back to phoenix after you graduate?"

"yes, no. i don't know."

not much of a response, i know. i miss phoenix. but will two years in new york be enough? too much? it's hard to tell. i curse the snow, the rain, my heavy pea-coat, my disgusting b.o. after a humid day, the outrageous prices at the grocery store, my outrageous rent (that in and of itself), and not having cable... but, i love the seasons, my wide range of scarves, my little shoe-box apartment, my door-men, my school, my friends, my room-mate, the coffee-shop around the corner, and yes - not having cable. but as the months pass and i become more comfortable with my manhattan routine, i appreciate the little things i have here - just as much as i appreciated the little things i had in phoenix. 

life is good here. and that is the truth. 

so then, here's the scoop: 

since i hardly introduced my new blog at all, i've decided to end with a little dedication.

"cuethesunshine" is meant to capture my inquiry. it's meant to reflect my experiences - good and bad - in new york. it will be a testament to my time here and ultimately become a record of how i'll choose my next step - here, or there - wherever there might be. perhaps you have some insight to share, a little... ahem, sunshine, to offer... :)

(it rained today in ny, but the trees are starting to blossom.)

sweet reunion

how amazing is it... 2.5 months have passed since i last saw her and baby kate has changed sooo much. she's running! running. track-star status. she's talking. she waves. she grabs for cell phones... (pictured) if you have the guts to pass it over to her, she'll press a few buttons and then put it up to her ear and start to laugh. plus, she's totally infatuated with grandma's jewelry. i've already promised to purchase her first designer handbag, which naturally perpetuates huffs, puffs, and rolling eyes from my brother-in-law.

truly, i was devastated when i walked in and she didn't recognize me, but miraculously she warmed back up to me quite quickly. we cuddled on the couch for a few minutes before bed-time. as a twenty-something stuck in student-status, i'm terrified of children. the whole idea of having kids is absolutely ridiculous. but this girl makes me think, in time, it would be a pleasant experience. thank you, baby kate, for enlightening me.

city cinema

"we are the movies. and the movies are us." - david ansen

this weekend, alix and i saw "duplicity" at the city cinema in the east village. it started off simply as a trip to "16 handles," a totally amazing yogurt shop down on 2nd ave, but turned into a mini adventure. we walked into "theatre 1" to be completely shocked by the light fixture in this original art theatre. the movie sucked, but the atmosphere made the evening well worth it.

orchid show

"the earth laughs in flowers." - ralph waldo emerson

yesterday was "orchid show" day, perhaps the perfect day to spend in a sun dress and sunglasses... roaming around gardens of orchids. after a lovely brunch composed of sangria-itas and omelettes, we took the "d" train uptown to the bronx and walked 8 blocks to the new york botanical garden. it was exactly what i imagined - orchids everywhere. my photos hardly do justice to their beauty. the weather was divine and the company even better.