Thursday, November 27, 2008

Monday, November 24, 2008

Friends!



On Saturday night I went out to a swanky little bar down in Williamsburg to meet up with one of my best friends that I grew up with in south Florida. It was soooo wonderful to see Chad and our friend Milan. Even though it has been years, we still got along the same as we had while we were in junior high school. My little brother's friend Liz (pictured above) came also. She lives in Williamsburg, too. Everyone is in New York!

Despite the freeeeeezing weather coming home that night, I had such a wonderful time just GETTING OUT and seeing other human life forms besides the customers who walk into my store each day. I got home pretty late that night and then woke up at 7am the next morning to go get my mom at the airport.

I'll write all about our adventures from yesterday as soon as I get some food in me. More to come soon...

Friday, November 21, 2008

Brrrrr....


Today went well despite the FREEEEEZING weather!! 32 degrees! We haven't even reached the low of 27 tonight! Goodlord! This morning on my walk to the train, I couldn't decide whether my skin felt like it was freezing or burning. Such a weird sensation. My stepmom is sending me gloves in the mail and my mom is bringing cold weather supplies! I can't WAIT! I'll just have to stock up like crazy on winter accessories. I really thought that I could handle it but I've very quickly realized that I definitely don't have the right kind of gear to comfortably handle such low temperatures. And to think...it's just going to keep getting COLDER! It's not even snowing yet!!

Although today was longgggg and I have been secretly a teenybit bummed about the not-so-great work-related news from a few days ago, I was still in high spirits as usual! I always try to follow the same advice that I give my staff. Whatever is bothering you, just leave it at the door. The...er...pink...door. P was in a great mood today also, despite the freezing weather and her batteling through the last leg of a cold that she caught from me last week. I think we were bouncing off of eachother for a little bit and we both had some good quality sales. The majority of the day went by quickly and I was pleasantly surprised to see that we sold quite a bit! With the quieting traffic flow (Thanks to you, Wall street and the Stock Market!) it's been a struggle to keep moral high and the sales increases coming. Today was pretty uplifting and I remain confident that sales will increase as it gets closer to the holidays.

I can picture Keith saying, "blah blahhh blahhhhh" at this very moment! Haha! Sorry guys! It's hard to find other things to talk about during the week when all I do is go to work each day. My days off are usually when the eventful things happen. I am pretty excited about next week, though. I have to work tomorrow but on Sunday I'm going to venture out to JFK to pick up la mia madre from the airport. I'll have Sunday, Monday and Tuesday to spend with her, as well as turkey day! I'm excited to seeeeee her, it's been far too long since we've spent time with one another. And guess what...after she leaves on the 29th, it'll only be a few more days until Nicole, Kate, Robby and Matt get here. WHOOHOO!!!!

Despite the hard times with the economy and the uncertainty of our future, I remain so very grateful for all of the positives in my life. I am so lucky to have a supportive family, an amazing group of friends, my semi-warm jacket, such a wonderful job and the opportunity to live in such an inspiring and incredible city. Life is good.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Like my mom always says....

..."I've never been in a car accident but I'm sure I've caused a few!" Her mantra was definitely repeating in the back of my head during my driving adventure yesterday.


I haven't driven a car in four months...so you can imagine how terrified I was to have to drive on the freeway in NEW YORK CITY of all places. Not only was I driving in the scariest place ever but I was maneuvering a U-HAUL with no side or rear windows (!!!) through back-to-back traffic!! Dear God! My arms felt like jello the entire time. It didn't help that I was also somewhat still drunk off of NyQuil from the night before. My game plan was to venture to Ikea before driving to my old apartment to load up boxes but once I turned the truck on, I was way too scared to drive down to Redhook. Instead, I decided to just drive to my old apartment (I had to take the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, ahh!!), pack up my stuff and get it to Queens without killing someone in that beast of a vehicle. Greeeeeeeeaaaaaaaat success! I did it! Even while batteling the awful weather and my cold-ridden nose and throat, I was able to move everything by myself and return the U-haul in one piece. On a side note, it was so strange to see what New York looks like from above ground! I traveled the same route that I do on the subway, but from above you really get to see so much more of the area you live in. I wish I could go back to take pictures of the cemetaries that I passed and all of the old buildings in Williamsburg, but alas, I won't have a car again for quite some time. Anyway, after the U-haul experience, I took the train down to IKEA and bought as much as I could carry. I decided to sit down and eat some lunch while I was there. When I looked out of the window near my table I was able to see a pretty-close-up view of the Statue of Liberty!


A few dishes, bathroom mats, pots and silverware later, there I was in our new apartment! I am so happy! I've been unpacking all day. I can't wait until Kate, Robby and Matt get here. I was bummed yesterday when I found out Keith won't be able to make it in December, but he'll get to come in January for a while, so that's one more thing to look forward to! Goshhhhhh I feel SO much better. This apartment is gorgeous and I finally have a HOME!!!! My mom gets here next Sunday, the two of us will have fun decorating and organizing. Whooohoooo.

Another perk to this apartment: I was able to hack into one of my neighbor's wifi connections. Who makes their password "password" ?! Score one for Tara!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Tiny frustrations

I was in a perfectly good mood when I walked through the door of this apartment tonight. I almost skipped out on the gym today but while we were closing the store down P talked me into keeping my four-day streak up. I came home pumped up and feelin' good, I showered and am now squeaky clean and I just chowed down on some healthy veggies and an apple. But a-las, there has been a tiny blunder to my good mood! Of COURSE I couldn't have a night of peace and happiness. My annoyance level is riding on high now that this couple who is subletting one of the rooms here has come home. This couple consists of a tall lanky blonde girl from LA and a south american tennis pro. The two of them are nice, HOWEVER, they are constantly fighting and to top it off the girl ALWAYS tries to talk to me. This is only a bad thing because of two very important reasons. #1 She drraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagggssss on conversation about the most mundane things, "Oh, is that a granny smith apple? Yeahhhhhhhh I like apples too. I like red ones...i think. Yeeeeeah. Apples, they're great. I meaann...hey do you like other fruits?" Point number 2 is that she says each statement as if she's asking a question. At first I thought maybe she just was a little confused but now I think it may be some kind of speech impediment. So that last sentence would read something more like this: "Oh, is that a granny smith apple? Yeah I like apples too? I like red ones...???!? I think?? Yeahhhhhhh. Apples, they're greatttt. I meeeann, hey do you like other fruits???!?" But to get the full effect, you'd have to raise your voice up about three pitches and talk reeeeeeeeallly slowwwwwwwwwwwwwlyyyy and have a HUGE amount of uncertainty in your tone.

Imagine a couple, one of them with a whinnnnyyyyy drawwwwwwwwwwwn out voice of confusion fighting with a Spaniard with a very thick spanish accent who talks very fast and angrily. Now imagine them fighting about why he only bought two bottles of soda at full price when she gave him a coupon that was three for $2. That is what I'm experiencing right now. It's ridiculous.

Where is a tape recorder when you need one????!

Where is an ipod when you need one?!?!!?!? Good riddance!!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Homesick

Such little things can trigger my emotions so quickly. A song, a smell, a random thought. I'll be completely fine one minute, the next I'm a wreck. I often experience these moments where I'm suddenly having emotional flashbacks of where I'd be right now if I were still in Austin. Sometimes I miss the normalcy of my old life in Texas. I miss my family, my boyfriend, my friends. For some reason I often miss the boring, predictable routine of Austin life. However, if there was a magical portal outside my door that would drop me off back in front of our little white house in Austin, I wouldn't trade what I have right now with what I left behind. I just wouldn't trade it.

I just wish there was a way that I could incorporate both the old life of Tara with the new life of Tara to create one complete LIFE.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

A week and counting...

...until I move into the new apartment that I'll be sharing with Katie-Kate. I really can't wait. I CAN'T WAIT! It will feel absolutely amazing to have a home to call our own. I finally feel like I will have a part of this huge city to claim as Tara territory. No more of this "bouncing around from here to there" stuff! There are so many things I am looking forward to doing once I move in, like begin cooking and preparing more fresh foods for myself, decorating, exploring the neighborhood, the short trainride to work...whoohoo!

It's ironic that I'm a little disappointed in leaving this house considering how isolated I've felt living here since September. Now that we have all of these friendly subletters who have taken the places of my original roommates, I come home and everyone actually takes the time to talk with one another. I think it's because we are all transients from other cities trying to find our place in New York. One of the girls in particular is very nice and so intelligent. We've had some great conversations and she's always excited to peek through my closet to gawk at my Betsey wardrobe, haha. We're going to try to organize a roommate dinner before we all move out this month. It's strange knowing that the probability that we will all stay in contact is very slim. I've realized that this city advocates such short-term relationships. You meet people for short periods of time and then you go your own way, unless they make some kind of huge impact in your life and you feel a friendship is worth dedicating time to. And then maybe three years down the line you'll be walking in Union Square and run into a familiar face..."Hey, I think I used to live with that girl three years ago!" but you still choose not to wave or say hello. It's strange that in a city where you crave the company of a friend so badly, it's difficult to maintain relationships with people. I feel like the lifestyle and culture in New York makes it really trying to form bonds with people for a few reasons. For me anyway, I'm not fortunate to have an extremely lucritive career where I work very little while making mass amounts of money. I think that many New Yorkers are in the same boat....we spend so much time working to make enough money to live here. The money that we have left over is used to go out and enjoy how marvelous NYC is, grab some food here and there, and maybe if you're lucky you'll meet some people while you're out. But I find that the little time you have left over to spend for yourself after a hectic work week is precious. It's invaluable. And while you want to invest that time in making friends and meeting people, you selfishly want to save it for yourself. It's the only time you have to recuperate from living in such an all-consuming place. And the vicious cycle continues... you're exhausted from work and excited about your days off. Once those days come around you just want to get out and DO something. At that point, you're a little lonely but you'd almost rather do something on your own so you can just have time for yourself to do a little self-reflection, but after spending TOO much time alone, you crave the company of others. By that point, it's Monday again and you've got to wake up early to catch the train so you can make it to your job on time. It's a vicious, vicious cycle. Like a good friend of mine visiting from out of town this week said...it takes about a year to get used to the city, it takes about two years to make friends and by year #3 you're ready to move on from New York to find a life of normalcy elsewhere. At this very moment, I'm enjoying the city immensely, even after all of the long work weeks, loneliness and solitude. We'll see where I'm at in three years.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

New York was buzzing today. It felt like everyone just had a little more skip in their step than they had yesterday.

I'm so excited that I was able to experience such an epic part of history last night. 

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Runner's high

I left work around four yesterday because I was feeling pretty under the weather. The girls said I looked really flushed and I could feel my throat verging on the threshold of soreness as soon as I woke up that morning. My supervisor said I could leave early, which I rarely ever do. It was especially difficult to leave early on a Saturday. However, I was struggling to be productive and wasn't getting anything done because I was feeling feverish, so I headed home. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow and I woke up around 10:00 this morning feeling a bit better. My throat still feels itchy but I think the fever disappeared. Thankgoodness. I drifted in and out of sleep for a few more hours and then decided to get up and try to run some errands. I threw on three layers of clothing - Tights, Boots, a black sweater dress, a green paisley scarf and my black wool coat. It was cold today, around 45 degrees, so you could only imagine my surprise when I walked outside of my house and witnessed something I'd never seen before....HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of people running down the street...with very little warm clothing on! I had no idea that the New York City Marathon was going on today. But yes, folks, it definitely was...and it happened to be passing through Brooklyn at the very moment I stepped outside. I can't tell you how cool it was to see tons of people lining the streets, praising and yelling inspirational words to the running men and women (and how people could run 20-something miles in this weather with only tank-tops and shorts on, I have no idea!) People lined the streets for miles clapping and holding up signs, balloons, banners and handing out water. They were just normal New Yorkers who came out in the cold weather to spend their Sunday cheering on and encouraging the runners. I walked a few blocks down to the Bedford Avenue area because I could hear music coming from that side of town. There were bands set up on each street corner providing entertainment for the people passing by.

I stayed down there for about thirty minutes or so watching all of the different kinds of people run by. Many of them either had their names written across their shirts or had flags, patches, pictures etc. of their country of origin. It was so neat!! I kept thinking how bummed out I was that I had no one to share the experience with.

As always, I'm sorry my phone's camera is SOOO terrible...but here are a few (super-low quality) pictures I managed to snap while I was down there!

Dear Santa,

For Christmas I would really love a digital camera. Possibly one with more than 1 megapixel. Although I am extremely grateful for the crappy camera that is imbedded on my phone, I believe a REAL camera would do my blog so much more justice.

Thank you. Tell the elves I say hi.

love,
Tara




(Go Longhorns!!!!)



Hope everyone had a happy Halloween!

Taken at Central Park
Related Posts with Thumbnails