sitting in the airport, trying to stay awake. i have gotten a total of five hours sleep in two days, which is nothing during school, but it pains when you have actually been getting decent rest for awhile. I was excited to possibly be able to see the sunrise while i am sitting here, but i have a feeling that i may miss it...again...mainly because i have no idea what direction the window i am in front of is facing. and we all know my track record...

listening to the wicked soundtrack, which i bought on sunday, and my play count reveals I have already listened to it 20 times. i am one of "those people."

hard to believe i am actually leaving this city, and do not know when i will return. last day of work was great; my co-workers made me a card with Napoleon Bonaparte on the cover—amazing—and some of us went to a jazz club in the west village afterwards.

sunday i went to chelsea piers and went to the pier converted into a netted driving range. talk about beautiful: watching the sunset over the water and NJ. i am a terrible golfer. as nick put it, "you probably took twice as many swings as i did."

checked an extra bag and was slammed with an $80 charge. for future reference: DO NOT OVERPACK for co-op.

i am going to nap now.

life's wicked-good

I FINALLY SAW WICKED! my co-workers wanted to get me a goodbye gift, and felt sorry for me losing all the time with the Wicked lottery, so they surprised me with a ticket! 7th row, right in the center, you really couldn't ask for a better seat. i was sitting there, in awe of the set, and two minutes into the show, i started tearing up a bit. probably because i was so excited and consumed with the aire of the theater. my heart was flooded, and i was clay in the hands of the cast. and after the show, i sat in my seat, and soaked up the moment. P.S. I loved it.

i recommend la maison du chocolat. received some as a gift, and i am under it's dark spell.

Saw "Jersey Boys" on thursday, which was a different breed of musical than wicked, and also wonderful! i totally lucked into that ticket. usually they are sold out days ahead, but i just walked up to the box office, and hour before the show, and they had an extra discount ticket!

going to go to the park, take a stroll, and try to stop by the whitney and guggenheim. it is sunny and beautiful. i might skip the coat.

what's the story! morning glory!

Got off work early today to go to a taping of the Late Show with Letterman, which was a riot. Brian Regan and Jaime Pressley were guests, and I was chosen to be second row because of my energy and my LAUGH! I knew it would pay off to be loud and obnoxious one day. as i waited in line, i was humming the Ed Sullivan song from Bye Bye Birdie, since Letterman is at the Ed Sullivan theater. (Ed Sullivan! Ed Sullivan! I'm standing in line in Ed Sullivan!) The show airs Friday night, check it out!

Unfortunately, time with Dave meant no life group.

weekend update:
–had my first try of ethiopian, and liked it!
–tiramisu at la lanterna in the west village. think smooth jazz, low light, and fireplace comfort, all in an exposed brick secret
corner. talk about amazing.
–dim sum in chinatown
–got my first massage ever
–black sesame, almond cookie, and ginger ice cream from the chinatown ice cream factory
–shopping, and i bought an amazing vest for $10. i will not describe, i will leave you in textile suspense
–saw "stomp" on sunday at the orpheum. i got no rhythm, but they sure did!
–got hot chocolate from Max Brenner: Chocolate by the Bald Man (i have seen this place a couple times, and finally caved)
–moma design and color exhibitions. There was a honeycomb vase made by bees in that shape (from flower pollen, to bees, to vase, to flowers again!)

got my tea for free tonight. it pays to be friendly, even in this place.
tomorrow marks my last week in new york. i got a lotta livin' to do... (bye bye birdie reference)

asdf

things i've done lately:
–got lost, followed, (and scared) in harlem, but i am good now.
–had my first bible study
–walked the brooklyn bridge
–explored DUMBO (Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass)
–saw "hairspray"
–strolling through Central Park
–went to the grand re-opening of the Plaza
–toured Morgans museum library (think rich NY, Pierpont Morgan, JP Morgan). Asked the guard how you get to the high tiers of books. He exclaimed, "You have to call Spiderman to get it for you" in complete seriousness. I laughed, much too loud a decibel for the library, but we both got a kick out of it. Then he showed me a secret staircase! Real live CLUE!
–I am keeping a Lion and Lamb calendar for March with my co-workers (March goes in like a lion and out like a lamb). I think some of them are starting to get a glimpse at the real Linds now, the crazy odd side that you can't hide with heels and a pencil skirt.

city tidbits and appreciations:
–i enjoy playing "I Spy" for rats in the subway

NO MORE TIME! Starbucks is kicking me out. ciao.

i have been pondering a shutting down of the blog, but I have some things to relay, and I apparently have no will power.

It is a beautiful NY morning, soon to be afternoon. People are loosely bundled; we're all eager to feel the warm spring breeze creep into our jackets. It is sunny! I won a free drink today at starbucks for knowing that C.A.F.E. is a starbucks acronym for Coffee and Farming Equity, their socially responsible guidelines for purchasing coffee (I saw the question posted and searched out the answer; I am my mother's daughter). The guy next to me is talking to himself about good and bad cholesterol.

My time here in NY is waning, and in effect, I am starting to see the little glories of the city again. Let me list them for you:
–the whoosh of the train, and how your hair becomes unruly, and you feel a little like a model
–how well-read and informed you feel (because you are constantly surrounded with information)
–commuter shoes
–honking and yelling composed into a streetside symphony
–coming up from the Canal street station into another world; toto, i don't think we're in Kansas anymore (chinatown)
–getting so involved in your iPod music that you start dancing down the street, but WHO CARES.
–being a "regular" at the Variety café, having small talk with the bagger
–the way umbrella-sellers come out of the woodwork
–fur-covered sidewalks (coats that if sold could feed a small country, their dogs, and their dogs' coats)
–seeing the whole spectrum of social and ethnic groups living together on 23 square miles of land

well, that was fun. i am leaving now. out to live what i write about. ciao.

Over the past few weeks I have really been pondering what the co-op term is supposed to amount to. Are we supposed to mesh ourselves into society, and then rip ourselves away like a stubborn band-aid? Or remain a prolonged tourist, and live life only for "I was here" photos? I admit, I am still not comfortable with the idea of being comfortable here, but I don't want to feel displaced everywhere I lay my head anymore.

With the encouragement of friends, I volunteered at a homeless shelter in the East Village this morning, serving breakfast to over 400 people. i have never shaken so many cold hands in a row. One Chinese woman told me I was beautiful. I teared up a bit, seeing this mass of people flowing in, for the food, but also for the warmth and the chance to break. Everyone was allowed to have as much food as they wanted, but as the breakfast was about to end at 11, they just weren't making anymore food. How do you tell someone no when they ask you for food? And how about when they are 10? Or how do you tell them, I'm sorry, we are closing; you are going to have to go back in the cold? Emotionally wrenching. Met some people from my church through this, though; I am becoming interlaced into my church. It has only taken a cumulative four and a half months.

Went to the Deitsch gallery today to see Stefan Sagmeister's stuff before it was dismantled tonight, and he was there. Can't believe I had the guts to do this, but I asked him how he could consider some of his installation pieces "design" when they were not working towards the goals of the client (recap: this is the Grammy-winning, famed graphic designer whose lecture I attended on tuesday, and I, the lowly midwest graphic design student, am questioning him as a designer). He said, "That is a very good question," and proceeded to explain his reasoning, which I somewhat agreed with. I was just glad he didn't publically denounce me.

Went to the Ingo Maurer gallery, the FIT museum to see the Madame Grés exhibit, the Horst P. Horst photography exhibit at the Forbes gallery, and unsuccessfully tried to win Hairspray and Wicked tickets.

Saw this 10 year old kid staked out behind some steps in Soho, and he was pummeling passerbys with snowballs. When I witnessed his first sneak attack, I laughed out loud so hard, I got a little attention myself, but it was amazing. He was glad I was amused.

quick highlights

Mostly just started this quick post to relay to the world that they are playing the Pee-Wee's Big Adventure song in starbucks right now, where he jumps on the bar in the giant white platform shoes, and the "satan's helpers" decide if he is that cool, they shouldn't kill him.

A group of foreigners broke out in dance today on the train, to.... Cotton Eyed Joe! Only thing cooler would be a group who broke out "Santa Fe" from RENT.

Went to a Jonathan Harris lecture today at the Apple Store. Conclusion: there are designers out in this world, in New York even, that have a drive beyond their own ego. Check out his Bhutan and Whale projects on his website [www.number27.org?]

Found an amazing graffiti wall on the corner of Spring and Elizabeth in Soho. I want my sister to come back so that I can do a senior picture by it. Or Kris' fashion.

Pinkberry. Nuff said.