midsummer night's reflections

so it's been a while since i last wrote and much has happened in the span of time that's elapsed...

SUMMER BIRTHDAYS...i have never known so many people born in the summer before this year, so it was awesome being able to celebrate my birthday and so many of my friend's birthdays during my favorite season of the year! it's funny to think, but even though i've now lived collectively in nyc for almost 3 years at this point (33 months to be exact), i've never been in nyc during my birthday in the past, so this was my first nyc birthday. though at points it was stressful to figure out locations for celebrating, i was happy with the outcome and enjoyed a lovely french meal at aoc with my crew and some ping pong and live jazz music at fat cat afterwards. it was also great to be able to celebrate back-to-back birthdays with jessica as she was born the day before me. :)

CONEY ISLAND...the last time i went before this year was when i was probably 8 or 9 when i first came to visit nyc. i came at the beginning of the month to catch the ringling bros circus/nathan's hot dogs for victor's birthday and then later on in the month for the siren music festival with terry-anne. though it was quite the trek to get there (i spent almost 2 hrs getting from my apartment to coney island, riding from one end of the subway line all the way to the other end), i loved the excitement of being there, watching the rides (and daring to go on one ride where i screamed multiple times and had my eyes closed for about 80% of it), feeling the sand in between my toes, and enjoying the sites and sounds of the beach, the bands, and everything close by.

BASTILLE DAY...yeji + jacob threw a french-themed party in celebration of bastille day and thanks to the genius of my roomie, sheila, i was able to pull off a french-inspired outfit complete with a striped tee, pedal pushers, ballet flats, a low side-part bun, a cute yellow purse, and a red scarf tied round my neck. i ate like a queen that night (hats off to y+j for being amazing chefs) and laughed like crazy over some of the funniest stories i've ever heard before.

FULL HOUSE...sheila's bro came to visit from wales and brought along 6 of his friends (3 boys and 3 girls), who stayed at our place for 2 nights. it was fun meeting them lot, learning more british vocabulary (crisps=chips, kutch=hug, dummy=pacifier), and hearing them speak with their british accents.

HARRY POTTER...and the half-blood prince finally came out after much anticipation, and i was among the first in the country to see it as we lined up at 9:15PM to stake our spot to pick the best seats in the ziegfeld to see beloved harry potter and the gang for the midnight showing on opening night. highlights of the night include seeing various people in costume standing in a line that wrapped all the way down our block round the corner and down another block, sitting in a sold-out theatre with 1200 other ppl (it felt like being in a giant living room amongst extended family), and making friends with some strangers sitting in front of our crew who we ended up playing card games with on the sidewalk as we waited for the movie to start.

COOKING...i don't usually have much time to cook or experiment much, but as the summer winds to an end, i've found myself wanting to cook more and have recently made brei, tuna casserole, and breaded tilapia fillets.

MUSEUMS...since the onset of summer, i've been fortunate enough to be able to visit:
• the museum of art + design
• the guggenheim
• cooper-hewitt museum
• the met
• the moma

FREE...living on a student budget is certainly not always an easy thing to do while living in nyc, but thanks to sponsored events and generous gifts from friends, i was able to see the plays, "sweet storm" and "hamlet", the ny philharmonic @ central park, various bands at the siren music festival, artists and their studios during atlantic avenue artwalk, and "iron man" at pier 54.

PARKS...i love being outdoors and i'm especially thankful for the various parks in nyc that allow me to find solace amongst the hustle and bustle of the city that never sleeps. many afternoon naps have been taken at central park during my lunch break at work and there's been lots of hanging out at washington square park.

WORK...much like last summer when i juggled multiple hats to work 4 jobs, i found myself splitting my time amongst 3 jobs this year...2 internships (at carnegie hall and the food network magazine) and 1 on-campus position. i have definitely learned a lot and though at times i feel exhausted by the time i'm done my day running around from one place to the next (tuesdays and wednesdays i work half days at school and CH), i know that it is a blessing to have these opportunities to learn and work and it teaches me the importance of time management and hard work.

VISITS...after missing out on seeing bonnie last year, i finally got to see her and hang out again (it's been almost 2 yrs), and it felt like nothing had changed :) i'm also super glad to have been able to hang out with margaret and julie, friends from beantown, and to have sleepovers with bean :)

MOVIES...i don't think i've ever seen more movies either in the theatre or rented over a summer, but to-date the movies i've seen since school let out are:
1) harry potter and the half-blood prince (not my fave of all the hp movies, but still good)
2) up! (one of the cutest movies to date)
3) milton glaser: the documentary (brilliant man and role model, i might add!)
4) ghosts of girlfriends past (def a bit of a let down, though matt's still cute)
5) revolutionary road (incredible movie that left a great impact on my mind)
6) reprise (an indie film from norway that was not much of my cup of tea)
7) eternal sunshine of the spotless mind (quite the unexpected film)
8) confessions of a shopaholic (no offense, but was not very good)
9) the italian job (excellent movie with an excellent soundtrack)
10) the break-up (quite real and though it was sad, there was still some happiness in it)