sunburns, bugbites, itches... oh my!

Hola! Here I am! in the big apple....

But can I start by pointing out that my great friend Jessie is by far the best clog- uhh blogger in all of bloggerville. good job jess!

Ok, so I'm sitting here at my desk, which has, in the last couple of weeks, become very familiar to me. A comfy chair and a computer dating back to 1995 really pulls the whole "intern" look together. Mom and Dad moved my in about 2.5 weeks ago, and I was scared to death. Not only did I have to figure out the grid of streets that make up New York City, but I had to move into a strange apartment, sleep on an air-mattress, cook my own food, start a new job, and find some new friends as well as contact the old ones. I had no idea how all of it was going to fall into place, considering I didn't have much time to figure it out. Walking into my new apartment, I was shocked at the thick layers of dirt and grime everywhere. It was bigger than I had expected, but I had completely forgotton that the girls living there had quite possibly the busiest lives known to man. They were never actually in the apartment unless they needed to get some sleep, so it had not been cleaned or decorated. The white walls closed in on me as I realized my parents were going to leave soon and I'd have to survive on my own.

I quickly decided to take action, run my subway routes to and from work, find the nearest (and cleanest) market nearby, and clean every corner of that filthy apartment. I needed to feel comfortable before I could feel at home in any sense. After all of these measures were taken, I was finally feeling like I could handle it all. It wouldn't be so hard... if you arrive at the wrong street, turn around and go the opposite way. I mean, they are numbered after all. Ever since then, I've been taking each day at a time. Things that seemed impossible have become much easier and I've been getting together with my favorite people from school pretty often.

Not long after I arrived, it was my birthday!! The birthday I have been looking forward to all my life. THE birthday. Luckily, it's the day before a holiday so I didn't have work that day and decided to sleep in as much as possible. Unfortunately it was only until 9am because of the lack of curtains covering my huge window. I woke up refreshed, took a long shower, and made a delicious breakfast while watching weeds on my computer. I was completely relaxed - just what I needed. Later on, Alix came all the way from philly to celebrate and we took a short shopping trip. Around dinner time, we gathered at Johnny Utah's for a nice dinner and a couple of drinks. It was just me and my 3 best friends whom I love SO MUCH!! As we ate, Amanda got a secret text that she showed everyone but me. There was a surprise! An hour later, my 5 best guy friends from school showed up and I could not have been happier! I hadn't seen them since december, so it was a really great present. We all attempted to ride the bull and then proceeded to bar hop all night.

At one of the bars, we met this really silly 30-something couple from Minnesota. The woman was a jolly elementary school teacher and the man had a legitimate mullet. They bought me a drink and we talked for a while. As we mingled around the room, the couple became nervous around 4am and decided it was time for us to go home. They escorted us all out of the bar, and put us in a taxi. She had a short chat with the taxi driver and sent us on our way. It was both strange and the funniest thing ever! Afterward, we decided to go to the diner right by my apartment. I unknowingly ordered a sausage and tomato omelette while porreca ordered a plate of pickles. In that diner we saw a very sparkly dressed woman (who I think was wearing a sparkly fanny pack?), and laughed about it for a longg time. We scarfed down our food and passed out in my apartment. I love my friends so much! Thanks for throwing me the best birthday ever!