happy birthday to me

Woo hoo! Forget about the age, and party anyway! Mom and Dad came for the weekend to help me celebrate, and we've been having a blast. They arrived yesterday morning at 11:00, and we've been going nonstop ever since. Here's the rundown so far:

Friday Noon - Lunch at Big Nick's Pizza
Friday Afternoon - West Side Grocery Store to oogle their amazing selection of cheese, Lincoln Center, Columbus Circle, Central Park, lots of walking, short nap at the hotel, Times Square
Friday Evening - Dinner at the Hourglass Tavern on 46th street - Dad and I had salmon, and I had chocolate cake with a birthday candle for dessert
Friday Night - Beauty and the Beast on Broadway with Donny Osmond as Gaston... Fantastic!
Saturday Morning - birthday gifts (thanks, Katie, Angela, Mrs. v., Mom, Dad, and Granny! Yay for gift cards to Target, Starbucks, and Barnes and Nobel!), breakfast at Kitchenette, visit to the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine
Saturday Afternoon - USS Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum, lunch at a little diner, South Street Seaport
Saturday Evening - Bodies: The Exhibition, dinner at a seafood restaurant on the pier at South Street Seaport - Mom and I shared a bowl of New England clam chowder and a basket of steamed mussels, clams, shrimp, lobster, and crab... for dessert we had coconut creme brule (And it's a good thing we shared all of it!)

All in all, a great day! I had a birthday card from Katherine waiting in the clip on my door when I got home, along with several online well wishes and quite a few phone messages. Thanks, everyone. I love you, too!

Also, congrats to Lucas and Michelle in Shanghai on the birth of Marissa Joy today! She was 8 pounds and 21 inches.

sweetest girls ever

Last night after I got back from the gym, we had a floor meeting about the community kitchen. I hate to admit it, but I wasn't very nice. I spoke up about everything that everyone else has complained to me about. Hopefully the kitchen will be kept cleaner now.

At the end of the meeting, Carol told us she had something in her room from work that she wanted to show us. I thought it was a bit odd, but I followed Jennifer and Jenny to Carol's room. We knocked on the door, and she told us to come in. Surprise! Happy birthday to me! The three of them had conspired together! They sang to me and presented me with four birthday balloons and magnificent, delicious cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery. They're the sweetest girls ever! And they surprised me a little early because they knew my mom and dad would be here through the weekend.

Mom and Dad arrived today, and our sightseeing fun began. More on that later.

Thanks, Carol, Jennifer, and Jenny!

two's

- I went to a resume workshop for educators today. Yes, teachers can have two-page resumes.

- Mom and Dad are coming in two days!

- My two classes tonight were enjoyable, though there was so much reading that I had to skip two other fun events, fellowship group last night and BSF lunch today.

- Honestly, people. Stop setting off the fire alarm! The poor fire department sends at least two fire trucks every time, and it's happening at least once a week - sometimes two times in twenty-four hours! (Yes, for real.)

- Brian called two times this week. He has a job prospect!

- Two other friends called, too - Patrick (who's in Seattle) and Jenn (all the way from China!).

And two things in the news...

- New York City is considering banning cooks at any of the city's 24,600 food service establishments from using ingredients that contain artery-clogging artificial trans fatty acids, commonly listed on food labels as partially hydrogenated oil. Now that's cool! Read about it here.

- Super skinny models have been banned in Spain. That's cool, too! Read about it here.

a day in the life

Alison, Seana, and I went to Little Italy to visit the fair again before it ends on Sunday. I just wanted to have lunch there! This time we went for street food, and we each had a pepperoni and cheese calzone. YUMMY! We also had a fried oreo, just because we were so curious about them. And we were surprised to find that the oreo is quite mushy inside its crunchy fried shell. Doesn't that sound just delightful? I thought so too. Actually, they're not bad! But I don't think I feel a need to buy them again in the future. A one-time experiment/experience was enough.

(These pictures are a combination of ones taken last weekend and ones taken today.)


After lunch, I went to Old Navy in search of a pair of jeans to buy with my 10% off coupon. No luck. Where do you people buy jeans? I just want a nice pair of dark wash, straight leg, NOT SKINNY and not skin tight, with no weird fading, jeans. Is that too much to ask?

I spent the rest of the afternoon running errands, came back and took a nap while "watching" a football game, and tidied up my room. Then I met some girls for dinner at a Japanese restaurant.

Oh. And I just HAVE to tell you about my aerobics class the other day. Have you ever been to a step class? You know how the instructors are tiny, little cute women with boundless energy who you wish you looked half as good as? Well, that's not what this instructor was like at all. He (yes, I said "he") was an enormous, buff, black man who looked better suited to be a bouncer at a hip nightclub. Or maybe a boxer. Or maybe one of those big, hot guys dancing in a music video. Mind you, this is a women's gym! So I was more than a little surprised when he walked in! If intimidation is what it takes to get us girls to workout, I guess he's good for that! Yikes!

some things

Something first: Thank you, thank you for your comments. I feel validated! :-)

Something that's harder than it looks: Wearing high heels and standing on a moving subway car. It takes balance, baby!

Somthing that's easier than it looks: Removing a contact, cleaning it, and putting it back in, all while standing on a moving subway car.

Something we really like: Grey's Anatomy. Really. There were at least 30 people in the lounge tonight watching.

Something I've realized: Most of the pictures I've taken in New York have food in them. There's too much good food here. So I've joined a gym.

Something about travel: It takes me 35 minutes by bus to get from 120th on the west side to 72nd on the east side. I go to BSF at a church on 72nd and Madison Avenue.

Something about BSF: Bible Study Fellowship is awesome! Thank you, Jody, for inviting me last year. You all should check it out! This year's study is on Romans. Things to think about this week: Do they know you're a Christian? The Gospel is a command. So what are you going to do about that?

Something about me: As Sarah said the other night, "Now I'm one of those cool people who has people to go out with for dinner after church on Sunday!" Yep. I'm a cool person.

Something about other people: Mrs. v's birthday was yesterday. Lani & Jon had a baby shower on Saturday. Lucas G.'s birthday is tomorrow. Heidi is making plans to visit me. And Angela & Bryson are becoming foster parents.

And something about school: I'm in two classes with a girl who tries my patience. I have one professor who doesn't seem to have much patience, or, for that matter, much organization or forethought. She seems not to know what she wants us to do when she gives us assignments. And I'm in one class that's super hard. Reading Assessments and Interventions. Funny thing is, I chose it as an elective! Sometimes I wish I were in pottery or choir instead, but I know it will be helpful. Even though half the time I don't understand what the textbook is talking about.

mr. mo

Yesterday I picked up a copy of Mo Willem's new book, Edwina: The Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She was Extinct, and I went to Books of Wonder to listen to the author/illustrator read. I also had him sign my Edwina book and my Leonardo the Terrible Monster book (see post from August 25, 2006). The books are dedicated to "Jennifer and Readers..." Cool beans!

Mo's credits also include:
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! - Caldecott Honor Book
Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!
The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog!
Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale - Caldecott Honor Book
Sesame Street (scriptwriter and filmmaker, where he won six Emmys)

pretty please

I know you're out there, people. I need positive reinforcement to keep writing! So, please...

festivals and fairs

I was busy on Sunday!

Alison, Amanda, and I (and another girl visiting Amanda's roommate) left school at 11:00 to go to the San Gennero Festival in Little Italy. It was totally worth the long subway ride! There were 300 vendors, and it seemed to me that most of them were selling food. Fried calamari, Italian sausage, gelato, Italian cookies, pasta, calzones, on, and on. So very tempting! There were also carnival rides and games, and booths selling t-shirts and other paraphernalia with Italian slogans and flags. We went to one of the outdoor cafes for their lunch special. I had cannelloni, and, after walking that off, we stopped for freshly made canoli. Yummy! In contrast to the un-Irish Irish fest, this was quite a cultural event, and I'm hoping to make it back sometime this week!

Next, Alison and I went to a children's bookstore in hopes of meeting Elmo, but apparently the website I looked at was wrong and he had visited last week. So we went to nearby Union Square for the Knit Out and Crochet Event. There were hundreds of people sitting outside knitting and crocheting and modeling what they'd made. We stopped by all the booths to pick up coupons and get some ideas. Then we went to Barnes and Nobel to look for books Alison need for class.

Then, I went to the Autumn Crafts Festival in Lincoln Center. The items for sale were nothing like the things you'd find at a craft fair in the midwest. Much more high end. There were also a couple of very talented musicians playing live and selling their CDs. When I got to the back of the fair by the food booths, I realized that, although there were probably about a hundred people there, it was very quiet. Then I noticed that I kept seeing arms poking out of the crowd. I realized that everyone was signing! I watched for a while, and I was reminded of a butterfly garden with all the fluttering and constant movement. It was a really neat experience.

I met Megan, Sarah, Noah, Noah's friend Sarah Jane, Cody, and Cody's friend Greg for church at RPC. Afterward we went to a Chinese restaurant called The Cottage. Strangely un-Chinese name, but they had good food and served free flowing free wine. What a bargain! I didn't eat much because I was still stuffed from lunch in Little Italy. But I enjoyed the time with new friends.

See? I told you I was busy! 12 hours out and about in this magnificent city!

not really

It was called the Irish Festival Street Fair, but it wasn't really. There was nothing Irish at all. We ate Italian sausage for lunch, heard Reggae music, bought bags from Chinese vendors, and stopped at booths with sweaters knit in Ecuador. There was nothing Irish about it. But it was fun! Alison and I went together this morning and stayed for a couple of hours. It was an absolutely beautiful day for a street fair! In the afternoon, we went to The Point, a knitting cafe, and drank iced tea while working on our respective knitting projects. I'm finally making some progress!

uprooted by war

An estimated 33 million people around the world have been uprooted and forced to flee their homes seeking refuge. Today Alison, Carol, and I visited a model refugee camp set up in Central Park by the Doctors without Borders organization. It was quite interesting, and it made the reality of the situation sink in. Some things I learned:

* According to international law, refugees who flee their homes and find safety in another country have certain rights, including the right to seek asylum, the right to protection, the right to receive assistance with food and medicine, and the right to a lasting solution. Refugees who seek safety within their home country (internally displaced persons, IDPs) have none of these rights.

*Aid workers seek to provide refugees with five gallons of water per person each day, though in emergencies, each person may only receive one or two gallons. The average American uses 100 gallons of water each day. (These containers hold about five gallons.)
* If ample food is not available, aid agencies may supply BP5 bars for refugees. Each grown man would receive two bars each day, for a total of 1200 calories - the bare minimum needed for survival. We tasted the bars today, and they're very bland, but not too bad. Unless, of course, it were all we had to eat every day for months.

* To protect refugees from disease, aid workers fly vaccines into the countries where they are working. Most of the vaccines must be kept cool, so they are packed in special boxes with insulation and ice packs, and each box has an electronic thermometer that tracks the temperature changes. It's difficult for aid workers to predict which medicines will be needed, where, and when.

* Children under the age of five are at the greatest risk for malnutrition because their bodies are growing and their immune systems are fairly weak. Workers use a band to measure the upper arms of the children to determine the most severely malnourished. They may provide parents with packets of a brown paste called Plumpy'Nut (the packets look like ketchup and the paste looks similar to peanut butter) to feed their children.

After touring the camp, we went to Union Square at 14th Street in hopes of finding the farmer's market, but it seems the weather drove them away before we arrived. So we opted to grab a table at Au Bon Pain and get some warm drinks. Then we visited Designer Shoe Warehouse so the California girls could look at snow boots. Winter is indeed on its way! On the way back to school we stopped at the Garden of Eden grocery store for some fresh fruit, and then finally trekked back to school. We decided to head right back out again for dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant, since earlier in the day Carol revealed that she is Vietnamese-American. She made some great meal recommendations! I ordered pho (pronounced with a short u sound), a noodle soup with beef. Yummy and warm after a chilly, wet day!

remember

In Memory of September 11, 2001

Time changes the heart, but the heart never forgets the memories within.

We remember.

Lord God of peace and grace, lift up those who were left behind. Give us a sense of urgency to share YOU and YOUR LOVE with those who do not know.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Eph 6:12-13

I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1-2

a new york weekend

On Friday afternoon, I met up with Tom, who I went to high school with. He was visiting family back home, but was on his way back to Europe to finish his master's degree. He's stopping through NY for a couple of days to visit old friends. He dumped his stuff in my room, we ate some Chinese dumplings at Ollies, and then we walked around Riverside Park. I hadn't ever really explored there, and it was beautiful!



On Friday evening, I met Alison at school and we went to the Mets-Dodgers game at Shea Stadium. We met Carl and Katherine there. It was a truly American experience, and a great one at that. Being in China made me appreciate American things like hotdogs and baseball games! (Final score was 0-6.)


On Saturday, Alison and I got up early. Well, early for us. We left school at 9:00 am, went to Dunkin' Donuts for breakfast, and then went to Target. In the afternoon, Seana wanted to go to the park, so Katherine, Alison, and I met her and walked to Riverside. She showed us how to get right up next to the Hudson River, and she told us about her experience swimming around Manhattan in a relay race. We enjoyed people watching, too. In the evening, I went to a praise service at RPC and met some new people. We went out to dinner at a little diner afterward, and I chatted with and got to know more new people. One of them went to college with Jenn, who I worked with in China!

This morning, Sunday, I planned to meet up with Tom for Broadway on Broadway. Unfortunately, we both slept in too late and didn't even get in touch with each other until well after the show had started. I did manage to find the right place and caught the last couple of songs. According to the website, it's the quintessential New York even: 50,000 spectators, live numbers from Broadway shows, celebrity performs, and a big finale with loads of confetti. Martin Short hosted. It really was a great NY event! Eventually I did meet up with Tom, and we had lunch with two other Kansas - one of whom was Rebecca, who lived one street away from me while we were growing up.

This evening I got a call from Johnny, and he was wondering about the church posters I put up last week (which I still hadn't taken down). Johnny, Cody, and Jenny ended up going to church with me at RPC. The singers who did the offering song were ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. I also found Laura, Megan, and Charlie tonight. It's nice to finally recognize and know some people in that huge church.

Good times were had by all!

week in review

Last weekend and the beginning of this week were really busy with volunteering for orientation, attending meetings, seeing friends, and getting ready for class. I'll try to bring you up to speed...

Friday, September 1
I was required to attend the welcome and opening speeches, since, technically, I'm a new student. But I was wearing my lovely baby blue volunteer shirt, so lots of people asked me questions. The opening session lasted from 9:00 to 11:00, but I left early to finish my paper for the reading institute (which was due that afternoon). I also skipped the "concurrent sessions," since I felt like I already knew the important stuff. At noon, I met Alison, Katherine, Seana, and Katherine's boyfriend's friend's boyfriend Carl for the TC Street Fair. Aaron, who I met while he was moving in on Thursday, came by while we were waiting, so he joined us for the afternoon. Friday was the day that hurricane Ernesto blew in with force, so the tents at the fair kept trying to blow away. Not many people hung around outside for too long, but we did use our $10 food vouchers to get some lunch. I had falafel and a fresh smoothie. We then visited the main Columbia campus bookstore, but decided that even their sales didn't make the sweatshirts cheap enough for us. Alison had to leave us for a bit to deal with financial aid, but then she and I met back up to share a Transylvanian treat - a chimney cake. It was dairy free, air baked, rolled in cinnamon and sugar, and delicious! I then went back to my room for a nap and some reading. At 8:00pm I had to be at Radio Perfecto to play "hostess" to the TGIF event. One other girl and I wore our blue shirts, welcomed people, and signed them up for the door prize drawing. The student activities office paid for lots of appetizers, and drinks were happy hour prices until close! 200 people signed up to attend, and close to that many showed up. The line was out the door! I felt like my blue shirt gave me power and confidence, and I talked to lots of people. Unfortunately, I no longer remember most of their names. However, when I did the drawing at the end of the night, I knew all four people whose names were chosen! Cool! Check out the pictures below.




Saturday, September 2
On Saturday morning, which was rainy and gray, I met with a group to visit IKEA in New Jersey. I wasn't supposed to help with this, but I wanted to go just because I love IKEA! We rode the subway to 42nd Street Port Authority, and then took a free bus to the store. I didn't plan to buy anything, but I ended up with a rug, a tray, a pot, and a cheap fleece blanket. When we got to the check out stands, we could smell cinnamon rolls baking. A couple of the girls I met went for those and some coffee. Next time I won't eat first and I'll have their 99 cent breakfast instead! We finally got back at about 2:30 in the afternoon. I was cold, wet, tired, and a little motion sick from the bus ride, so I skipped out on the rest of the activities for the day, but went to a dorm party on the 10th floor in the evening.

Sunday, September 3
On Sunday morning I volunteered to lead a group for TC's Amazing Race. It was a scavenger hunt around Manhattan. We had to follow clues, collect souvenirs, and take pictures. My team was eighth to leave school, and we were the second back! We didn't win for time, but we won a $75 gift certificate for one of the souvenirs we brought back - a rock from Rockefeller Center! It was so much fun to see new places, but we were absolutely exhausted when we got back! There was an ice cream party in the afternoon, which was good since we didn't stop for lunch during the race (from 11:00 to 3:00). In the evening I met a couple of new girls to go to church at RPC. I had put up posters with all the other orientation posters inviting people to join me, and the two girls took me up on the offer! Check out pictures from the Amazing Race below.



Monday, September 4
I volunteered to lead a group to the Caribbean Day Parade in Brooklyn. It was all the way at the end of the 4 subway line - far, far away... We left school at 9:00 and rode the subway for about an hour. The neighborhood was, well, not exactly Johnson County. There were hundreds of police, and I wasn't sure if we should feel good because they were there to protect us or scared because of what their presence implied. It was kinda funny to be in the all-black neighborhood at a Caribbean parade with about thirty new students, some of whom were white and most of whom were fresh from Asia. We really stood out! One of the Chinese girls wanted to know if there was a Starbucks nearby, so I asked a policeman. He got a bit worried about us, and told us not to go looking for one and to get back on the subway when the parade was done. It was actually funny. :-) I felt completely safe, don't worry. Most of the parade was political candidates, and none of the fun Brazilian carnival stuff I was expecting. Some in our group spotted Hillary Clinton, and that was about as much excitement there was by 1:30. I left then, hoping the students would be able to find their way back, and return to TC.

Jenn, who I worked with in China, ended up staying in the US for an extra week. At her urging, I decided to skip the Tuesday meetings, and she drove into the city to pick me up for a sleep over at her mom's house in Nutley, New Jersey. The drive was beautiful, and it was nice to get out of the city. We sat in her backyard by the pool and caught up on one another's lives. In the evening, we visited a pet store so that I could meet a puppy Jenn has fallen in love with. Then we stopped at Blockbuster and rented End of the Spear, about five missionaries in South America. We walked in to town for dinner at a little steakhouse, then watched the movie back at the house. Sleep overs are fun!

Tuesday, September 5
Jenn and I ran errands around Nutley, including cashing a postal money order so she could pay for Dave's Chinese Visa in New York City. Then we took a public shuttle to the city and went to the Chinese Consulet. We went to Barnes and Nobel so Jenn could stock up on books to take to Beijing with her, and then we visited my dorm room. Our time together ended with a delicious lunch of New York pizza at a restaurant near school.

After Jenn left, I visited my advisor at TC and she confirmed that I'm in the right classes for the semester and that I will be able to finish by May! Yay! Then I started the process of hunting down textbooks.

Wow. No wonder I was so tired! I was really busy, but I had a ton of fun. Now I'm back in the swing of classes, with two on Wednesday night and one on Thursday night. Today I have to visit student accounts and hand over a few thousand smackaroos. Perhaps I'll stop back by the blog later tonight to let you know how I spent the rest of my Friday.

the cookie that says "new york"

I had my first black and white cookie today, a decidedly New York experience, and a delicious one at that! A black and white cookie is, in fact, more like a flattened cupcake with a thin layer of sugar frosting on top. Cookie convenience with cupcake taste! According to Jerry Seinfeld (episode 74), the key to eating the cookie is to get a little black and a little white in each bite. Yummy!

I started classes again yesterday, and the professors have me sufficiently concerned about the workload. However, the first sessions were actually a bit boring. Housekeeping and introductions, per usual. I am excited, though, about what I'll be doing in the courses, particularly in one about techniques of assessment and intervention in reading.

I know I'm quite far behind in my posting, and my plan is to catch up on last weekend tomorrow morning before this weekend technically begins! Rest assured, all is well.