Visit from Friends!

Last weekend my friend from my hometown came to visit me! She is currently interning for the White House in DC and since it isn't far away and she's never been to NYC before, she came up to visit for the weekend! It was SO nice to see someone from home. Not just Iowa but from my HOMETOWN! We spent the first day in Central Park going to Strawberry Fields,
where they were having a John Lennon memorial because of his birthday so there were flowers and people singing Beatles/John Lennon songs. Then Shannon and I tried to find the Belvedere Castle but had trouble finding it... We ran into the creatively named "Lake" which, as you may have guessed, is a lake. And then we made our way up the big Res, when we realized we had PASSED the Castle! So we trucked back down and found it after finding the miniature Washington Monument. LOL Shannon didn't believe the castle really existed. She was "90% it doesn't really exist". LMAO. But we found it! It was next to lots of baseball fields, exactly where one would expect to find a castle... LOL It was completely random. The only reason it was built was because the guy who was designing Central Park wanted to put a castle in there because he was from England and wanted a touch of "home"... LMAO But there was an excellent view from the castle that overlooked "Turtle Lake" and guess what... There were turtles in there! After the castle we accidentally found "The Ramble" which Shannon and I had no clue what that was but we were trying to find it and did! It turns out it's a nature preserve and it's really, really pretty. I will probably never find it again, but it was cool!
After the park we went to grab lunch in Times Square. I was trying to take her to Junior's, but I couldn't find it so we ate a Au Par. When I had to leave her for a while so I could go to work for a few hours to train. =( But she explored Times Square a little and went up the Empire State Building so she had a good time. After work I picked her up and we went back to my place to just chill the rest of the night.
The next day we planned to walk the Brooklyn Bridge, grab ice cream and explore New York but I was having a heck of a time trying to navigate! First, thanks to me, we got lost on the PATH train because it was the first time I was taking it and I got off at Grove Street, thinking it was Grove Street in NEW YORK because that's what my MAP SAID. But it turns out we were ACTUALLY in Jersey City... Go me. So we wondered around there for 30 minutes because I thought we were in New York even though I told her it looked too residential. HA! I WAS RIGHT! So once we got back on to the PATH and made it to the city I tired to get us to the Fulton Street area, and THANKFULLY my friend Dan decided to meet up with us because I was so lost! We briefly walked through Greenwich before hoping on the subway to get to Fulton and while I was taking us to another subway to get to the bridge, it turns out we were AT the bridge and had I just TURNED AROUND I would have saw it. Wow. Luckily Dan saw us and corrected my ignorance. LOL So we walked across the bridge. It was gorgeous weather. We got to Brooklyn and I took them past Grimaldi's Pizza, where the line was ridiculously long as always, to Brooklyn's Ice Cream Factory which has awesome ice cream! While down on the docks we saw 3 brides, which I swear, EVERYTIME I go there I see brides! Its crazy! But the best part was on our way back to the subway, we saw this: Yup. That's a bridal party at a hotdog stand! It was the funniest thing ever! I was trying to rationalize it in my head and I just couldn't!
Once back in Manhattan, I TRIED to take us to Chelsea Piers and Battery Park but... nope. We ended up in the Financial District and I took them... I don't even know where. But we saw the Irish Famine Memorial which is really cool actually. So the second day was spent with me being lost in the city/Jersey dragging poor Shannon around. I felt so bad! I need to brush up on my navigation skills before my next tourists come!

Earlier this week my friend Rachel came down from upper New York to take my headshots for me. I hadn't seen her in awhile so I was so excited! I ended up meeting her a lot later than I wanted to because I ended up working later I thought and had to get my haircut first, but we went to Central Park for photos. We found out that we both have the same car! I had to drive into the city and miraculously I found a parking spot next to Central Park and we passed my car on the way in, and she told me we have the same car! Love it. But anyway, she took 170 some pictures for me which I REALLY appreciate and can't WAIT to see! I know that I'm going to have a hard time choosing which ones to make my headshots but that's better than hating them and having to settle! After a few hours in the park and me trying to find the castle again (I failed) we headed back to my car and on the way we passed JERRY SEINFELD!!! He was wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, but it was totally him! He was my first celebrity encounter on the streets of New York! I met Haylie Duff, Ashley Greene, and Kelsey Grammer at their shows, and Wilson Heredia (Angel from the original RENT and the movie) at his agent's office, but this was the first "OMG I SEE A CELEBRITY TRYING TO BE INCOGNITO encounter! Unfortunately Rachel didn't see him, so I don't have verification. =( But I know it was him. It had to be... I'm 90% sure.

New York Bar Scene... You're Better Than I Thought!

I went to my first bar this weekend. And by that I mean the first time I've gone to the bar scene in New York City. It was for Carolyn's 25th surprise birthday party that her boyfriend, Ronnie set up. We went to a bar called Turtle Bay Tavern. It was $40 all-you-can-drink, SUPPOSEDLY top shelf but... I don't know if it was for sure of not because I was drinking Malibu and Cokes all night. There was a line but it didn't take too long to get in. I was afraid that Carolyn was going to see me and her other friend in line, but she walked right by us listening to her headphones. LOL
So we get in and go to the back where Carolyn's party is waiting. Ronnie was able to coax her to come out because it was actually Ronnie's friend, Brian's birthday. I was afraid that Carolyn wouldn't show up... but she made her way to the back and we all yelled surprise and sang Happy Birthday. (Brian sang it to himself. LOL) She was surprised and very happy. =) I was afraid I was going to feel "left out" because I don't know most of Carolyn's friends from her PT classes, but her sister Marie was there, and she's so much like Carolyn I can talk to her easy. I also knew a few other people like Jose, Brian, and Cory, but not well enough to hold a conversation. So Carolyn said hi to everyone and Ronnie brought out a birthday cake for her. (This kid went all out! Flowers, balloons, a birthday cake, planning a surprise party... me thinks he's in love. LOL)
After all the conversing, we heard there was a dance floor on the second floor so Marie and I headed up and Car was to follow. The music was great! The bar was PACKED! Somehow Marie was able to squeeze her way in and order drinks for us and then we went up on the balcony because there was more room and it was cooler up there. Car and Ronnie met up with us after a few. The BEST part was when a bartender "BIG RICH" got up on the bar and started dancing to one of the songs.
I cannot remember the song... It was an older rock song but I feel in love with him at that moment! LMAO. He was a bigger guy, so I was automatically physically attracted to him, but then when he got on the bar to dance... That did it for me. <3
After a few songs Carolyn wanted to head back down, but it was too warm downstairs so we headed BACK up to the dance floor. It had cleared out a little and the music was still rocking so we were dancing by the bar. Another bartender got up on the bar and climbed to the balcony and hung upside down then walked across the girder...
It was insane. Two songs later girls started dancing on the bar and the bartenders were encouraging it! It was crazy! One of Carolyn's friends, Anton got up on the bar to dance with them, but they took him down because he was a guy. LOL Then, somehow, Marie and Carolyn were on the bar dancing! I thought they went up for drinks and next thing I knew, they were on the bar! It was hilarious! THEN they started dancing with MY FUTURE HUSAND "Big Rich"! LOL I was so jealous. =)
All-in-all, the bar was awesome and even though my friend Dan didn't show up, I had so much fun and better yet, I know Carolyn had a blast at her surprise birthday party. =)

What I Love About New York

New York is unlike any city in the world. Here are some things about New York that make it unique that I love:
- Seeing a business man in his suit & tie walking a miniature wiener dog during his lunch break
- So much yellow!!! (Yay taxis!)
- You can wear whatever you want and no one thinks anything of it. You actually find something about it to be cute, no matter how crazy looking it is
- How different each section of New York is. Soho is so different from Midtown, which is different from Harlem, which is different from the Upper East Side which differs from the Upper West Side, which is nothing like the Financial District... and each of these places are so close to each other! I know IMMEDIATELY when I go from Chelsea to Union Square to Greenwich. It's bizarre and cool at the same time.
- The tunnels are so cool. My fave it Park Ave tunnel. It looks so old and creepy, and then you pop up right in front of Grand Central Station, which is the coolest site ever! The first time I did that I gasped.
- A lot of people have dogs, and a lot of places allow you to bring your dog to work! =)
- The old buildings are just so freaking cool to see. And then to see them next to newer skyscrapers... it's awesome
- The lights of Times Square. Even at night it looks like daylight even at night.
- The parks are so nice. Maybe it's because there isn't a lot of "greenery" in the city, but I love seeing the parks. It's so tranquil.
I went to Bryant Park the other day with my friend Carolyn at night, and there's an open field were people were just laying around and reading because there is a light from of the building shining into the park like bright moonlight. It was so cool!
-Watching a traffic cop keep a car from making a turn by standing in the way, then walking along the side of the car so it couldn't turn around him until it was out of the intersection. It was the funniest thing ever! I was more than willing to stay through my greenlight to watch this!
- Motorcyclist weaving in and out traffic. It's scary and so awesome at the same time. I actually prefer to WATCH the OTHER motorcyclists do this, rather that I be the one to do it.
- The syncronated movement of taxis switching lanes is like a magical dance. Its incredible how they don't run into each other as they all switch lanes together.
-Ice Cream trucks are located every few blocks, along with Falafal trucks, taco trucks, smoothie trucks, the occasional waffle trucks and the sacred cupcake truck. (The cupcake truck is rare. You never know where it's going to be...)

Boys are... Lame

Lemme catch you up on my dating life:

So I joined Match.com when I first moved here to New York because I was interested in dating and I wasn't sure how I was going to meet anyone, so Match.com seemed like a legit way. So about a few weeks into it I a guy, Tom, messaged me. We started texting back and forth. He's from Long Island, 24, finishing his last year as a cinema student at Huntington College in New York... so I was like, "Okay. We have a lot in common".

FIRST DATE: It. Was. So. Awkward. LOL We didn't really know what to say to each other. I kept trying to keep the conversation moving but I could only think of so many topics before my brain went, "Fuck this! Let him find someone to talk about!" LOL Our first date was a movie (Last Exorcism) and then dinner at a diner in Astor Place, where the awkward conversation took place. We actually said "Yeah" about 10 times in a row. No Joke!

So I just figured we would probably just be friends because I didn't feel a connection/spark. So I invited him to a game night at my place with my friends. He didn't stay long since it's about an hour to 2 hour drive between here and Long Island (depending on traffic). And he ended up leaving at the perfect time, because 5 minutes after he left, my friend Carolyn started to vomit. LOL

We hung out a couple of times with my friends, by catching dinner or going to UCB. Finally I decided to hold his hand since he seemed to like me but didn't seem to be making any effort, but he responded by caressing it, which was nice, so I'm like, "Okay. He likes me." And then he drove 3 hours through tornado weather to see me, so Carolyn thinks he likes me. LOL

About 2 weeks into our "dating" I went over to his place for the second time to watch Supernatural with him, only this time, instead of watching it in his basement, like we did the first time, we went into his bedroom because that's where his TiVo was... So I was awkward because we only just kissed a little before and now we were on his bed... And of course the only way to be comfortable was for both of us to play down on his twin bed... LOL *sighs* Which lead to us making out and the removal of some clothes... WHICH IS BAD BECAUSE I didn't even know how I felt about him at the time!!! But the conversation of sex came up and he said that he didn't want to have sex until there were "feelings" which I'm assuming he meant the feeling of love, but he didn't say it, and I agreed. I've had meaningless/unemotional sex. It's not as good as sex with someone you have feelings for. So I was relieved to hear that Tom wanted to wait. But he warned me that he would probably pressure me into it because he's good at screwing things up. Which I thought was cute that he was nervous about screwing things up because that meant that he intended for us to got somewhere and not for us to just be... fuck buddies? I mean (as lame as this is going to sound) he made plans to see Harry Potter with me in November, which freaked me out because that eluded to commitment and I have a fear of commitment...

A few days later we went to another movie (Catfish) and it was like I was dating another person! He was a lot more chatty and relaxed and funny and I really liked it! He was always close to me or touching me by holding my hand or having his arm around me. It was really cute! I liked this "new" Tom. When I commented it on, he said it was because the first couple times we got together I was seeing his "representative", which cracked me up! I had never thought of it like that before! When you meet new people, you (tend) to be on your best behavior and don't show the real you aka "You send your representative"!

The nest week Tom came over and made dinner for me! He made homemade chicken parmesan, which was really good. But it was so weird and awkward because 1) I didn't know what to do while he was cooking. I was just standing around like an idiot, and 2) when we sat down at the dining room table to "have our romantic dinner", my roommates Justin and Alex were 5 feet away watching "The Waterboy" and could hear everything. LOL So they felt awkward, I felt awkward, I'm betting Tom felt awkward. LMAO Good times. After dinner, Tom and I went to "The Town" in the next city over, but got lost on our way back! LOL I thought it was hilarious because it's kinda a sketchy area but you can't turn around, and we didn't have a GPS so I didn't know how to get us back to my place unless we turned around. LOL So we drove a good 5-10 miles out of the way so we could turn around and get back on the NJP. I thought it was a fun adventure. I'm not sure what Tom thought. But once we got back to my place we went into my room to fool around. Things progressed... Talents were shared... And things were denied.


Then Friday night came... I wasn't feeling the best when I left but I wanted to see Tom because I had been thinking about him a lot. But the further I went, the worse I began to feel. Eventually I had to pull over somewhere in Queens and pull into a McDonalds because I was so dizzy and felt sick to my stomach. I was about 30 minutes way from Tom, but I had been driving for close to an hour because of traffic and the stop and go plus the lights really made me feel sick. He offered to come and pick me up but I felt bad about that and I didn't want to leave my car in some random place in Queens so I drove the rest of the way. When i got to Tom's we sat on his couch and watched Supernatural, which was really cool because the dark helped my headache and Tom was there to his arm around me and rub my temples and he made me feel better. Then for some reason, he decided we should move to his room... So whatever, we did. And we end up making out again, but... *trying not to laugh* I was having monster heartburn on top of whatever else I was feeling, so I was having these throat noise/burp things happening... It was SO frickin embarrassing! I can't believe he was still trying to kiss me and make out with me when all these weird noises were coming from my throat! So I was really embarrassed but he didn't seem to care. But things progressed... and I denied... but then I started to feel weak because of what he was doing and... things happened that shouldn't have happened because I wasn't really ready for it. *sighs* I totally shouldn't have let it happen. I wasn't emotionally ready for it. I didn't expect it to happen, but my bff Dave told me I was stupid for thinking that Tom really wanted to wait because "guys are horny and God gave us 2 heads but only enough blood to work one at a time". LOL So... I don't know how Tom feels about what happened. I know that as soon as it happened I regretted it and wished that I had waited until we were ready. And I know that as soon as it happened I shut down emotionally and wanted to leave immediately after it happened, but instead I just laid there in his bed thinking, "Okay. When would be the best time to leave without him thinking I'm runaway... which I am". LOL So I left about 15 minutes later since "that temptation was over". (He actually said that after it was over. I believe the exact words were "Well, now we don't have to worry about that temptation" or something like that...)

So now I feel like Tom got what he wanted all along and I have no idea how he feels about what happened because WE DON'T TALK!!! The most we say is "How's your day?" Like no serious conversation has ever passed our lips with each other. I don't know if he's not comfortable talking to me, or if he's a private person, or what, but because he doesn't share, I'm not sharing either, which is really weird for me because I'm used to being able to talk openly to whoever I date, which I really value, but I don't feel like I can talk to Tom, which sucks because my bff Alex wants me to talk things out him. But instead, I've just been avoiding him. LOL Way to go me. take the 14 year old approach. I'm not answering a lot of his texts (which is our ONLY form of communication), I haven't asked about when we're going to see each other next, and I actually told him that we probably won't see each other for a while because of his job, my new job, and his school. He seemed disappointed... I guess?

UGH! I CAN'T FIGURE THIS KID OUT! I haven't met any of his friends so I can't snoop that way and he's not close to any of my friends to talk to them about what's going on so I'm lost! I think he likes me, yes. How much? I have no freaking clue! How does he feel about having sex before there were "feelings"? I have no freaking clue! Alex my roommate told me I should tell him that I don't want to have sex anymore because I'm not ready. He thinks he'll understand because he's seen Tom with me and thinks Tom really cares about me. Alex my bff told me the same thing about telling him I don't want to have sex again until I'm ready but how the hell do I bring it up?!

Gotta love Casting

So today is a day when I know why I want to be a casting director. =) Today they are casting for a commercial Halloween spoof of Geico, and grown men have to scream like little girls and weep. It's the funniest frickin thing!!! Because these are big guys that they're bringing in and then they "get scared" and scream. It's absolutely hilarious! I don't even have to be in the casting room to appreciate it, but it's even funnier watching them react!!! They curl their hands around their mouth and contort their faces... I have to cover my mouth to not ruin the takes! And watching the casting director give direction to get the best performance out of the actor is something I really like too. I WANT to do that. I want to know that I chose the actor for the client to see, and then I directed them to give the best performance they could, so then they could land the job. As a casting director you get the chance to work on several different projects and direct several different skits. It would be so much fun! I even like the office work involved (from what I've seen). I'm fairly certain THIS is what I want to do with my life. At least for now. LOL