NY to DC and my briefing

I was not looking forward to the 4 hour bus ride back to DC. Although I had some work to do, I was eager to be distracted from it, and was glad when the bus driver put in a movie! I was pretty sure it would be a cheesy family flick, since it was a mixed crowd on the bus. I was not-so-pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be a Steven Segal movie. It was pretty violent, and they cursed a lot – which I tried to escape by turning up my ipod – it only partially blocked out the sound of people getting sliced up by swords and beaten to a bloody pulp by Mr. Segal. Not exactly my idea of quality entertainment.

The next movie was just as bad. From what I could tell by my occasional glances to the screen in front of me, this movie was about a group of prison inmates who joined a poetry class. At the end of the movie, they had a party where they were reading their work, towards the end of the party, a huge fight broke out and pretty much everyone died. There was a lot of shanking going on. Again, I was less than impressed by the bus driver’s selection. But at least it kept me focused on my work!

Most of the work I had to do was for my briefing, which was only 2 days away. As I mentioned before, all of the summer associates had to do an hour-long briefing to talk about the projects they worked on over the summer. I got really nervous Tuesday morning, after my early-morning practice run went poorly. I was totally stammering, tripping over my words, and saying the wrong things. It did not bode well for the presentation! I was prepared to get through it, and then return to my office and cry, if necessary.

Fortunately, that wasn’t necessary. The briefing went WAY better than I expected! There were lots of great comments and questions, and a bit of discussion about the recommendations I suggested – it was great! It reminded me how great it is to work in a community that fosters critical thinking and discussion, in a positive way.

With the pressure of the briefing off my shoulders, I enjoyed the rest of my afternoon – and even headed out a bit early to meet a friend for Happy Hour. Cindy is a CGU alumna, she was a few years ahead of me and was someone who was always helpful in giving me advice about the program. Her dissertation defense, was also the first one I attended (she did fabulously!). Now, Cindy works in a great applied research position in DC. I was excited to hear about her transition from grad school to real life – it’s always a good reminder that people do finish successfully!

Goodbye NY!

Sunday morning we really wanted to have enough time to get brunch, walk through Central Park AND have time to spend in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. So we got up relatively early and headed out to one of Ari and Paul’s favorite brunch spots. The place was right near the corner of 112th and Broadway, which is the corner that is home to the restaurant used as Monk’s Café on Seinfeld – well, they used it for the outside shots, at least. Still, being such a big Seinfeld fan, I was super excited when we walked past it.

The place we did have brunch (Campo) was great! We sat outside so that I could enjoy my last hours in New York – it was great! We were enjoying people-watching a little bit too much, though, and ended up spending a little bit too long at Campo, which meant I didn’t have time to visit the Met. We still had enough time to walk through the park and past the Met and it’s beautiful entrance. So, we headed off toward the park.

I think Central Park is one of my favorite places, and definitely a highlight of my trip to New York. We walked through an entirely different part of the park, past a large lake spotted with people in rowboats, past the giant fountain that has been in so many different New York movies… it was beautiful!


We walked out of the park and over to the Met, but the front steps were covered by a giant fence – I guess they are remodeling. :(

We hopped back on the subway and headed back to Harlem to grab my stuff. Ari rode with me to Penn Station, to make sure I caught my bus. It was so great to see her and she was such an awesome hostess and tourguide! I had the most incredible time in New York! It’s not somewhere I would want to live, but I could definitely visit there more often! I can only hope to have the chance to visit Ari again soon!

NY, day 2, part 2

After we enjoyed Hairspray and our awesome backstage tour, Ari and I said thanks and goodbye to Travis and headed back to the subway. We traveled down to South Ferry so that I could see the Statue of Liberty. Honestly, I was a little disappointed. I think I expected it to be larger and much closer to Manhattan. It was kind of small and far away… I think the movies just make it look a little different than it actually is. I’m sure I would have been more impressed if we had hopped on the Staten Island Ferry and rode past it.

There she is - Lady Liberty


After my Statue of Liberty disappointment, we walked through Battery Park, browsing the park vendors and grabbing a pretzel. We jumped back onto the subway and rode into Chinatown. I was really hoping to find a cute (cheap) purse, and Ari was shopping for a clutch, so we spent a few hours shopping in Chinatown. There are a million little shops selling sunglasses, jewelry, handbags, t-shirts – you name it! Most of the owners/salespeople were pretty assertive about what they had to offer. I ended up without any purchases, but I just didn’t find the “perfect” bag.

We made our way from Chinatown, through SoHo, window shopping while we walked. Our destination: Little Italy. I really wanted to have dinner in Little Italy – Yum! So we walked down Mulberry Street to where the cobblestone streets are cordoned off and restaurants and vendors spill from the sidewalks into the streets.


We walked from restaurant to restaurant, trying to pick a place. My only criteria were that it be outside and that we not have to wait too long for a table. Almost every place had outdoor seating, and almost everywhere had a hostess stationed right at the street, trying to “encourage” people to patronize their restaurant. In some cases, we were a little put off by the hostesses, and chose not to eat there because we were feeling a little bullied! We ended up at a great little café, seated next to a very “boisterous” group of older adults. We both ordered the gnocci and a glass of Riesling, and both were fantastic! I love great Italian food! After dinner, Ari and I bought gelato from a little booth on the street (another great Italian treat!) and headed home to regroup. On the way, we made a quick pitstop at Times Square, so that I could join the tourists in visiting such a famous site. I couldn’t visit New York without stopping there!

Times Square

At Ari’s place we met up with her roommate, Paul, who joined us in a venture to the Upper West Side for an evening out. We decided to make it a little belated birthday celebration, since I had a relatively quiet birthday dinner. It was so much fun! We even stopped by a late-night pizza joint and grabbed a pie to take home. This super-sized pizza had the largest slices I have ever seen! HUGE! And tasty! :)

Hairspray and Central Park (NY Day 2)

Saturday morning Ari and I dragged ourselves out of bed and headed out to Broadway. Ari has a friend in the cast of Hairspray who told us that they hold a raffle for discounted front-row tickets for the Saturday matinee. We met up with Travis at the theater and all put our names in the drawing. Wouldn’t you know it – Travis’s name was called first! And Ari’s was second! The third name they called was this boy who was about 10 and was on crutches. When they called his name he shrieked like a 3-year old girl and shouted, “I won! I won! I’ve never won anything in my whole life! I can’t believe I won!” It was adorable to see him so excited! He kind of reminded us of Tiny Tim because of the crutches and enthusiasm for life’s little joys.

After we secured our cheap tickets, we walked a block or two to a small diner for brunch. We grabbed a booth by the window, which provided endless entertainment during our meal. New York is really a great place to see a million different kinds of people!

We wandered back towards the theater, said goodbye to Travis, and walked up the street to Columbus Circle and one of the entrances to Central Park.

I LOVED Central Park! There was a crowd gathering down on one of the grassy patches – I’m not sure what they were protesting (we couldn’t read their signs from so far away), but Ari and I decided that it was something related to protecting natural habitats. We wandered through the park, past a playground, some softball fields, a carousel, and lots of people enjoying their Saturday.

Central Park

We stopped at Sheep Meadow, a place where people lounge and sunbathe that has a great shot of part of the skyline - a reminder that this peaceful park is in the heart of a busy city. It was a beautiful day, so there were a lot of people enjoying the weather!

Ari and me at Sheep Meadow

It was about time to head to the theater for the show, so we made our way back through Central Park. I was excited to see the play, and when we walked up to the front row, we realized we would be extremely close to the stage. In fact, there were a few times during the show that I was afraid someone would fall into my lap, or drop a prop on me, or spit on me while shouting (ew!). Fortunately, none of those things happened, but we were very close. The show was great! Ari’s friend was great, and there were a lot of relatively famous people in the cast (more info at http://www.hairspraythemusical.com/hairspray_home.php).

The best part was definitely after the show. Ari and I got to go backstage for a little tour with Travis! We got to see the sets, the wardrobe and hair rooms (they have over 100 wigs!!!), the props, and we even got to meet Tevin Campbell and George Wendt! Travis walked us out, past some of the cast signing autographs for waiting fans, and we thanked him profusely. He really helped make my New York trip memorable!

New York state of mind (day 1)

No big surprise that I was late getting to the bus – I knew I wouldn’t miss the bus, but it was much closer than I would have preferred. As it turns out, I was glad not to get onto the bus until right before we left because I was trapped on it for much longer than I expected. The bus ride from DC to New York is about 4 hours, and I thought by leaving at 2 on a Friday I would beat some of the traffic. WRONG! Our 4 hour journey ended up taking about 6, and we didn’t stop for a bathroom or leg-stretching break until after about 5. It was frustrating not to have any idea how much further we had to travel or when we would take a pit stop. And let me tell you, I was definitely ready for the bathroom break!

Eventually, we made our way into New York, and through the Lincoln tunnel. We drove a bit through Manhattan as we made our way to Penn Station. I was so excited to see so many well known places for myself! My friend Ari met me outside the station, and we hopped on the subway to her house in Harlem. Her apartment was way bigger than I expected – with hardwood floors, a river view – it was a great place!

We dropped my bags off, freshened up, and headed out to a cool lounge in the West Village. Two of her friends were there, and it was nice to relax and people-watch, although the music was a bit too loud to really talk. We danced a little bit (the DJ was playing some great music!) and eventually decided it was time to grab a bite to eat and call it a night. We walked around a bit, heading to one of Ari’s favorite late-night pizza joints. There’s nothing like a 2am slice of New York pizza! I really felt like I was having the New York experience!

Only in New York can you buy a pair of sunglasses at 2 in the morning!


After our snack, we grabbed a yellow cab and headed back to Harlem. I’m sure everyone knows this but me, but apparently in New York there are two kinds of cabs: yellow cabs and gypsy cabs. Now, I had heard Lenny Briscoe on Law & Order talk about gypsy cab drivers, but I didn’t really know what that meant. Ari explained to me that yellow cabs are owned by the company and are metered like a “normal” cab. But gypsy cabs are independent cabs and just charge you a flat fee for driving to your location. If you are a local you can get the hang of how much it costs to taxi places, but if you’re just visiting, the gypsy cabs can totally overcharge you. Anyways, in Virginia and anywhere else I’ve taken a cab, it seemed like there were lots of cab companies, so having only one “regular” taxi company was a little weird to me. Fortunately, Ari knows her way around, so the few times we did take a gypsy cab, she was able to negotiate a fair price.

Rand Slams!

Monday night we had one of our last softball games. I am really glad I got the chance to play! It really gave me a chance to meet co-workers I probably wouldn’t have met otherwise. The only downside was that we usually didn’t finish playing until well after 8pm, which means I don’t get home until well after 9pm. By that time, the bus doesn’t run as frequently, I don’t want to walk home because it’s dark, so I tend to shell out the $10 to taxi home. Tonight I forgot to plan ahead (i.e., have cash), so I ended up paying the taxi driver with 6 singles and two-fifty in change. He didn’t get much of a tip, but at least I had enough to get home!

Here is a picture of the awesome Rand Slams (that’s us in purple)



Friday at work was a short day for me, because I was headed out to New York to visit my friend Ariana. To make things even better, there was a special event at work, the San Gennaro Festival. I’m not sure what it was for exactly, but we basically had an Italian themed luncheon and time to relax and chat with coworkers. The food was delicious, and it was nice to talk with some of the softball team players off the field. Softball was definitely a great way to meet people!
(more on NY in the next post)

american art and portraits

I decided that with my Sunday I would visit the Smithsonian Museum of American Art and the Portrait Gallery, which are housed in the same building. I metroed over to Chinatown and had lunch at 5 Guys burgers – a place Amy had called an east coast version of In N Out. The ingredients were fresh and the food was relatively well made, but really, no one comes close to an In N Out burger.

After my lunch, I walked over to the Museum. The setup is a bit weird, since literally half of the building is American Art and the other half is Portraits – rather than having one floor of each. But it offered a bit more variety as I wandered out of one and into the other. I found that, for the portrait gallery, I really appreciated the photographs the best. I know that a painting of Lincoln is just as old as a photograph of him, but something about seeing history captured in a photograph is really cool to me – it almost seems more real to me to see in a photo. The portrait gallery also has an exhibition of portraits of celebrities and athletes throughout history that I particularly enjoyed. The American Art half of the museum was interesting, too. There was an awesome exhibit on Hip Hop music, with incredible painted portraits of some of the most celebrated Hip Hop artists. There were a few murals that were so beautiful, and there were some excellent black and white photos of Hip Hop artists on stage – very artistic. I was really disappointed because the O’Keefe and Adams exhibits were both closed for renovation. I was looking forward to seeing some more of O’Keefe’s work (there were a few pieces in the National Gallery), but I was most excited to see the Adams photographs in their collection, and was totally bummed. :(