The Final Eight

May 14th, 2012 by · No Comments · Uncategorized

How can it be that nine months have gone by & I have only 8 days left of my first year of college and in the city?? I went home again this weekend for Mother’s Day, and will be returning to my dorm room tomorrow for the last time…so surreal. Despite the massive amounts of schoolwork I still have left, I’m going to do my very best to enjoy my remaining time at EHS this week.

My plans for my last few days in the city:

And then my time is up, and it’s back to Long Island for the summer! I can’t say I’m excited to leave, & even more than this city I’ll miss the friends I’ve made here, and so this week will be an extended farewell to them, as well.

(Some photos of the Upper East Side that I’ve taken recently).

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Study Stretch

May 13th, 2012 by · No Comments · Uncategorized

I know it’s been a while; forgive me, but the end of the semester is only getting crazier as time goes by. Between papers and finals, however, I have been managing to do some of the things I enjoy.

I recently heard author and neuroscientist David Eagleman speak at Hunter. Considering how much I loved his book Sum, the experience of hearing him address his work and learning more about the intersection between science and fiction were particularly interesting. Eagleman also spoke about the importance of taking a “mental stretch,” or a creative break, to keep oneself thinking straight. Thankfully, there’s been no shortage of mental stretching opportunities in the city. I’ve been making sure to do that all week, and thanks to my extensive library that also functions as my dorm room, night yoga classes, study sessions at Central Park,  and just watching the city go by, I’ve had no shortage of opportunities to get my mind off the memorization of the skulls of early hominins (gotta love biological anthropology). Even the tiniest things, like the artist sketching subway riders on the six train at night and handing out the portraits, serve as a reminder that this is the place to chase your dreams, and although that always involves hard work, it also has to involve some fun.

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Paper Pandemonium

May 5th, 2012 by · No Comments · Uncategorized

I’ve been churning out papers all week with barely any time to do anything but research and type. Thankfully, progress is slowly being made and I’ve been able to complete and hand in a couple papers so far. Aside from hearing a really cool & inspiring neuroscientist & author speak this week (more on that in a later post), the beginning of this week was pure stress.

Thursday, however, after the week’s papers had been completed I treated myself to three of my very favorite things: lunch, shopping (albeit for my sister’s birthday), and yoga.

You can imagine my excitement at finding a vegan food truck in the city last week. I spotted Cinnamon Snail over the weekend and vowed to track it down as soon as possible, and track it down I did. I found the truck in the Flatiron district on Thursday & ordered a delectable seitan sandwich and maple doughnut. Just as wonderful as the food, however, was bringing it to Madison Square Park & eating it as I watched the city go by. It’s the little things that make the big things easier to handle, isn’t it?

After lunch, I embarked on a journey to find the perfect birthday presents for my sister’s 17th. As she’s practically Andie Anderson from “How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” this year it was a Knicks tee & bracelet from J. Crew.

Happy birthday, Faith! Hope your 17th is genuinely the best one yet and they just keep on improving!

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Dancing to Joy Division

April 28th, 2012 by · No Comments · Uncategorized

This has been one of the craziest weeks of the year, school work-wise. As the end of the year approaches, so do term papers and various other assignments, & I have at least 30 pages worth of research papers to write between now and mid-May, not to mention various other projects…let the all-nighters begin.

Thankfully, my friend Alexa & I had tickets to see The Wombats at Webster Hall this Thursday, the perfect opportunity to loosen up, dance, and forget about school-related stress for a few hours. The show was simply fun: the creaky old floor bouncing as the whole crowd jumped up and down, the pop-rock Wombats songs playing at high volume, and enjoying the whole experience with a friend. The highlight of the show was when they played “Moving To New York,” of course.

I’ll definitely be wanting to go back to Webster Hall for more shows, too. It’s a cool old place, standing-room only, renovated but retaining its vintage-y vibe.

This morning my Dad came to visit & we did what has become our usual yoga-lunch (5 Napkin Burger today)-Stogo-Trader Joe’s routine. It’s a clear, beautiful day & it was really nice to relax downtown and catch up with him. Now it’s time for me to hit the books again. :( Maybe I’ll bring my work to the park to make it more bearable?

Enjoy your weekends!

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Keepin’ It Touristy

April 27th, 2012 by · No Comments · Uncategorized

As my time at the 1760 3rd Avenue residence is, very sadly, drawing to an end, last weekend my sister & I decided to have one more Scanlon sister weekend in the city. We had only one day together, so we decided to do one the the very touristy things we’d both wanted to do for some time: visit the Empire State Building.

First, though we enjoyed the sunny Saturday as we walked all the way from Penn Station to the dorms. Most of our walk we went through Central Park, where it seemed the entire city of New York was spending the afternoon: couples getting married, a huge group of roller bladers, little kids creating bubbles as big as they were. After the 60-some odd block walk, we were feeling pretty hungry, so we made our way to Tiffin Wallah, an Indian restaurant with the hugest, most delicious dosas ever.

Faith & I decided to visit the Empire State Building at night so as to get a view of the city lit-up. After making it up 86 floors and through airport-level security, we arrived at a sight I will never forget. The city seemed never-ending, lit up as far as the eye could see. The windows of each building were tiny, the taxis smaller than Hot Wheels. Even through binoculars it was difficult to imagine all the millions of people, so tiny, in such a vast place. When you’re on the street in the city, you tend not to think of what it all looks like from above, but after visiting the Observation Deck, I can’t help but to. One word of advice to anyone planning to visit: don’t look down until you’re ready to leave. Faith learned this the hard way.

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On Broadway

April 23rd, 2012 by · 4 Comments · Uncategorized

It’s been hailed as a work of art and received rave reviews from critics and audiences, and it certainly didn’t disappoint me. I saw Death of a Salesman on Broadway through one of my classes on Friday night, and would say it’s the best piece of theater I’ve ever seen (shocking, I’m sure, considering it starred Phillip Seymour Hoffman). I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the show since I saw it. This gets a bit depressing, sure, but goes to show what an incredible performance, and, obviously, play, it was: funny in places, jarring in others, mesmerizing throughout, and haunting even now.

Death of a Salesman was the first Broadway show I’ve been to this year, and certainly made up for the lack of others. The bright lights of Time Square outside the theatre, spotting John Hamm in attendance, and a performance one could see only in New York added up to create an unforgettable night. Just another reason to love going to school in New York City.

By the end of the show most of the audience was in tears, many sniffling away and some even sobbing. After breaking the spell cast upon us, a few of my friends and I went to a nearby diner, where we sat until the wee hours of morning.

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Great Day, Great Lawn

April 19th, 2012 by · No Comments · Uncategorized

Today was one of those perfect days. The weather was sunny and clear, a perfect median between yesterday’s cool weather and the 90 degree weather we had earlier this week. One of my classes was cancelled (I love this part of college), so I had my whole morning free.

I spent most of the day out & about. I made my first trip to Long Island City this morning for a website start-up internship (which I totally got!), and am really looking forward to exploring the area and the internship: gaining experience in a social media/design field, meeting other college students with similar interests, and spending time in the city even though I’ll be living on Long Island.

After returning from Long Island City, I grabbed my copy of The Hunger Games “Othello“ for English class and moseyed on down to Central Park, where I plopped myself on the Great Lawn and did my reading. Watching teenagers toss frisbees, little kids play baseball & softball, and moms chase frisbees as I lounged on the green grass and soaked up the sun, I couldn’t help but feel super lucky. It’s great to stumble upon fun, quirky new places in this city, but some days nothing beats passing your time in an absolutely iconic place.

This week flew by and I am so ready for the weekend!

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Spring Break, Part II

April 16th, 2012 by · No Comments · Uncategorized

My friends Jaimie & Brittany were in the city Saturday & Sunday, so I had them stay Saturday night at my room and we ended up getting to spend a whole bunch of time exploring the city together. Once Jaimie & Brittany mastered the city’s subways and buses and returned from the convention they were attending, we began our own little excursions.

First we did some shopping, a less-than-ideal occasion to break in a new pair of espadrilles, I discovered (this would seem fairly obvious to most). Jaimie and Brittany enjoyed Shake Shack for the first time, and I hobbled away from 86th Street with more than blisters; I picked up the dress pictured below for an awesome price.

Jaimie & I

After a tiny bit of rest and quite a bit of makeup application, we made our way down to the West Village. When it comes to eating out in the city on the weekend, it often seems you can either get a reservation at a pricey restaurant or face a rather long wait for a table where you’ll feast on a enjoy a reasonably-priced meal. We opted for food within our budgets, and decided upon Benny’s Burritos (by 9, the wait at the Meatball Shop, our other option, was 2 and a half hours). We placed our name on the list for an hour and a half (worth every minute) wait and then puzzled over what to do in the mean time…

Brittany, Jaimie,& I

These are the times you stumble upon hidden gems, my friends. And so we did. Across the street we found Bee Desserts, and soon found our way out back to the the most absolutely beautiful outdoor dining area. There are no words for the ambiance this space had. The small patio, shadowed by trees, lit by candles, and decorated with little statues, felt like it was were anywhere but Manhattan, and 90 minutes flew by as we sipped tea, patiently awaiting burritos across the street. Benny’s was delicioso, as usual, but I might say the best part of that portion of the evening was discovering a little oasis in the midst of a bustling city.

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Spring Break- Part I

April 12th, 2012 by · No Comments · Uncategorized

After a beautiful Easter, I’m back in the city. When not working and putting a dent in my homework, I’ve been doing some of my very favorite things: visiting museums, eating delicious foods, and attending as many yoga classes as possible.

Monday night, my friend Emily & I met up for a trying yoga class and then headed over to Union Square, where we drank juices and watched the people of New York (and the Occupy movement) make their way around the park. It was such a peaceful night, and just warm enough to sit outside. At one point, Emily said, “This is what I always pictures living in New York being like,” and I couldn’t have said it better myself. Nights like that are one thing I hope spring will bring more of.

Yesterday, I had the day completely free, & after my longest run since taking running back up, I spent the afternoon at the International Center of Photography. The museum might be small, but they manage to fit enough pictures on their walls to keep one busy for hours and hours. I stayed until closing, entranced by the amazing works, particularly the Magnum Contact Sheets books on display. Ah, the joys of being a museum member.

I then met up with friends for a delicious meal at a Korean BBQ restaurant. I had bibimbap, a signature Korean meal, & the restaurant provided us with a sampling of about eight other delicious Korean staples, such as kimch, daikon, and kabocha. The food was so delicious and much different than my usual fare, and I was in heaven.

not my picture (from icp.org)

appetizers!

All in all, break is going even better than I’d hoped it would.

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Spring Break Beginnings

April 7th, 2012 by · No Comments · Uncategorized

As I feel my time in the city come closer and closer to  n end, I feel the need to fit as much into a single day as possible. Yoga, meeting friends for tea, and long walks are squeezed into my daily schedule as I try to soak in as much New York City as possible before I go back home for the summer. This gets a little crazy when papers are due and there’s Kant to be read, but I spent this week making the most of every moment.

This week, bestselling author Tea Obreht came to speak at Hunter, and after hearing all about her creative process in writing her novel, The Tiger’s Wife and seeing what a funny, down-to-earth person she is, her book has been added to my to-read list. I love that everywhere in the city are opportunities to meet and hear from talented, successful people such as Tea.

Aaaand Spring Break has arrived! Can’t wait to visit museums, have one of my best friends stay over, take yoga classes every day (or attempt to), and maybe even rent some bikes and take a ride through the park. The possibilities are endless! I’m currently working at home for Easter and hard at work catching up on missed episodes of New Girl and baking for my family’s bake-off tomorrow. This vacation stuff is exhausting.