I heart NY

This week in NYC has been an absolute blast. I'm pretty sure I’ve done more in the 7 days I've been here than I did in the 2 months that I lived here a few years ago.

While in the Big Apple, I...

Played the tourist role and saw every tourist site to see.

Was mistaken for a local :)


Met with the admissions counselor for the masters program at Columbia.

Walked through Central Park


Danced through Central Park

Spent a day eavesdropping on peoples conversations on art during a day in the Metropolitan
Museum


Went to David Letterman taping

Ran into Tina Fey and Steve Carrel on the street


Battled tendonitis in my left foot... and lost.

Went to Times Square


Sat in a beach chair on Broadway

Went to the top of the Empire State building for time number 3.


Walked every inch of the city.

Bought the cliche I Heart NY Shirt.


Ate biscotti and espresso in Little Italy.

Visited my old stomping grounds at Alvin Ailey


Found a Trader Joe's (surprise surprise)

Took a jazz class at Broadway Dance Center.


Pictured myself living in the city

Saw 3 rats.


Went to Rice to Riches and had chocolate hazelnut rice pudding

Laughed constantly with my dad and brother


Exercised patience with my dad and brother

Walked the Brooklyn Bridge


Was soaked by a down pour while walking the Brooklyn Bridge

Got up every morning for a daily jog to Starbucks, all of one block away.


Saw Andrew Bird and Calexico in concert at Radio City Music Hall

Walked into Macys, saw the crowd and walked right back out


Spoke French with our concierge at the hotel

Hung out at a local bookstore with my brother one night


Made friends with the produce guy on the corner of our neighborhood

Got yelled at by a guy whose perfume I didn’t buy in China Town


Bought perfume 5 dollars cheaper at his neighboring store. Booya!


Learned how to whistle with my two fingers...


Lost the ability to whistle with my two fingers and got light headed trying to retrieve the skill


Laughed


Cried (not really but I was sad when we had to leave)


Had the most fantabulous vacation ever.

Thank you.. yes, you.

I'm still baffled by this whole blog community and how supportive everyone is on here. I feel like I've connected with some genuine souls and made honest friendships. So, I just want to thank ya'll for your supportive comments to my ever so dramatic gre post! Some of the comments really helped me to reframe my thinking about the whole situation and have hope that even if I don't raise my scores the 3rd time around, life will still work out okay.



The results of my test along with reading a blog post by a great friend on here got me to thinking about acceptance and self image. I feel like a chameleon. I adapt to the people, their personalities and places I'm around. Along with the recovered weight, I've gained much better self insight but sometimes I still wonder if i'm being "me" or if i'm being who I wish I was. I know all the people that I want to be like and feel I've taken bits of their personas and incorporated them into my own but if those were taken away, i'm not sure if I know who I am or if I'd even like it.



Kim's blog post which is based off of Carrie Arnold's post (that sounds like the whole "my brother's girlfriend's ex-mother in law's neighbor's manicurist" type reference) mentions that "accepting who we are often involves accepting who we are not". With that said, here's the truth.

• I wish I was the typical straight-A perfectionist but in reality, I will study for hours and still get a B when it comes to tests.
  


• I'd love to be able to pull off trendy hair styles like the whole braid deal going on right now but I just dont think it looks right on me.
  


• I'd like to throw my hair up in a pony tail, grab some lip gloss and be ready in ten minutes but it truth, I like to sit down in front of the mirror and take my good ol' time getting ready. It's my "me" time.
  


• I wish I was as enthusiastic about yoga as the rest of America but it bores me. I even fell asleep once in a 5 am yoga class.
  


• Be the real me even around guys that I actually like. Seems like the true version of myself that let's go and isn't self conscious only comes out when it's someone whose reaction I dont care about.
  


• I would love it if I loved jogging but truth is that I only love it when there's something on my mind and when i've completed the jog. I have absolutely no interest in accomplishing a marathon of any sort.
  

Maybe it's important to incorporate others' attributes into our own... It gives a sense of what I want to strive for and stepping out of my little box.. i think.

However, one thing I have confirmed is that I am a city girl at heart. I am in NYC all week on vacation and having the most amazing time. With that said, I'm off to keep exploring the city! Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!!!

Daily Gratitude:
1. I am 3000 miles away from my desk job.

2. I met with the admissions counselor for Columbia's Neuroscience and Education Masters program and they said the GRE isn't required for their program.

3. Hanging out with my dad and brother in NY has been the most fun experience in a long time!

4. I have a great roommate and mom babysitting Kiki while I'm gone.

5. It's on Tuesday :)

Fail.

Studied for the GRE.
Failed the GRE.
Feeling like I have no clue what to do if I can't get past this stupid exam.