carol.

Hmm, so after I published my last entry describing my Thanksgiving festivities, I went back and read the other entries everyone has since posted and I also want to share what I’m thankful for this year.

• Friends & Family: These people are the ones that provide me with the most and best unconditional support I could every ask for. I know in my heart that if I ever needed anything, there will always be someone there for me. Everyone always comments about how many friends I have and stuff like that, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that every friend is dear to my heart. Just hanging out with some one and knowing them for a short amount of time doesn’t make them a true friend. I consider my true friends the ones that have stuck by me through all the ups and downs I’ve been through; they’re the ones that actually know the ups and downs in my life. In that sense, my best friend is my dad, because I seriously don’t know what I would do without him. My mom is a totally different story. Don’t get me wrong, I love her to death, but for anyone that knows the ridiculous situation that’s going down at home, it’s better for me to stay away, because my presence only causes more frustration and anxiety to strain our relationship. That doesn’t mean I don’t love her though, because I do. And I love my extended family…. every single one of them. Seriously don’t know what I would do without them.
• Stability: I enjoy my life. I feel I lead a very comfortable and happy life. Things haven’t drastically changed that much recently, and that makes me insanely happy. I’m reaching that point where life isn’t about fun and games anymore and I have to starting thinking seriously about where I want life to take me.
• Change: As everyone knows, I enjoy change. Sometimes, it’s what I need to keep my relatively boring life interesting. Sometimes I try to make change for myself, and other times it comes looking for me. Either way, it’s nice to spice things up every once in a while with an exciting new adventure or a change of scenery.
• LIFE: I couldn’t ask for a better situation in life. Despite all the drama and bitterness and complaints I talk about on an almost daily basis, I am genuinely grateful for the life I’m leading. Whether it’s all biological or there is some higher power up there watching over me, I am grateful to be alive and well. It’s time for me to begin appreciating everything I have and learning to enjoy life on a day to day basis and worry less about the (scary) future.

Preface: I tried to upload pictures with this entry but it was a total fail. Maybe I’ll be able to do it by the end of this weekend.

So, Thanksgiving has come and gone and now it’s time to enjoy the rest of my weekend at home. It wasn’t anything too exciting this year. I didn’t get home from school until really late on Wednesday night, because I decided to cook up some dinner for a couple of friends before I left for the weekend. Once I got home, all I wanted to do was sleep, so I basically went straight to my bed once I got home. I haven’t slept in my own bed since the summer, which is mind-blowing considering that I’ve been home quite a few times this semester.

Thanksgiving day was spent traveling to Jersey for dinner at my cousin Evelyn’s house. When we finally pulled up in their drive way, I was blown away. A tour of the house further confirmed that she was living in my dream house (except it was in Jersey). It was huge! at least 6 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms and a beautiful kitchen and overall layout. The best past thought about going to her house for Thanksgiving was spending time with my dad’s side of the family. Normally, all the holidays are celebrated with my maternal relatives, because they live so close by. This year felt completely different though, because my dad’s family is naturally way more calm and serene when they get together. Dinner was prepared by my cousin-in-law Stan and it turned out amazing (shockingly). I never realized how great a cook he is! We spent the majority of the day there, and to pass the time, I was asked to entertain the children. I haven’t seen these kiddies in at least two years and they are just the cutest little bundles of joy; so well-behaved and sweet and cute. Can’t wait to spend more time with them as they grow older. Dinner was really early (around 4pm), and we were back home in New York by 9pm. I couldn’t really sleep but I also knew that I wasn’t going Black Friday shopping until a reasonable hour, so there was nothing left to do but wait.

Black Friday shopping didn’t start until 9am when I finally left the house with my dad to pick up Maggie and Michelle at the mall. They had alreayd been shopping, but I guess it wasn’t as fruitful as they anticipated. We got to Jersey Gardens in no time, because the traffic wasn’t that bad for once. The most exciting part of the day was probably circling around the parking lot for almost an hour looking for a parking spot. We eventually found one that my oblivious dad almost drove my (typicalllll), so we finally got our chance to shop. It was relatively anti-climatic, yet I was still able to spend more money than I anticipated. I got lots of clothes (duh) and more clothes (again, duh!). There weren’t really any sales going on at the stores, and if there were, we missed them because we were “late” or all the good items were not available in our sizes anymore. We spent about six hours there before everyone was ready to pass out in the car during the ride home. I was able to stay away until we had gotten back into Manhattan, but the minute I was back in New York, I conked out and woke up when we pulled up in front of Michelle’s house. Wow, time flew, and now the weekend’s here. YAY!

So here’s a list of things NYU claims you should do before you graduate from here. My goal is obviously to complete as many (if not all) of these before leaving here.

1. See a Broadway show
2. Run a lap on the rooftop track of Coles
3. Read the Washington Square News
4. Take a nap in the Kimmel Center
5. Take a walk through Central Park
6. Hug John Sexton
7. Drink Coffee at Starbucks on the Square
8. Go to a Commuter Luncheon on a Tuesday
9. Buy movie and concert tickets at Ticket Central
10. Walk through a movie shoot on the street
11. Kiss the Bobcat
12. Ride the NYU Trolley
13. Take a course at Coles or Palladium
14. Read a book in Washington Square Park
15. Meet “Albert”
16. Attend a student performance
17. Work an unpaid internship
18. Visit the Wasserman Center for Career Development
19. Learn the name of an NYU Public Safely Officer
20. Set-up and use your NYU email
21. Join at least one listserve
22. Obtain an article of clothing that has “NYU” on it
23. Participate in a Community Service project
24. Meet your Student Senator Rep
25. Learn to do your laundry
26. Meet at least one undergraduate in each NYU school
27. Participate or cheer in NYU “Tear It Up!” events
28. Attend Violet Ball
29. Eat shortcake at the Strawberry Fest
30. Participate in AIDS Walk NYC
31. Attend a career fair
32. Buy a book from a street book vendor
33. Spend time with a professor outside of class
34. Take a Speaking Freely class
35. Ride the Staten Island Ferry
36. Go to a museum on free days
37. Go to President’s Welcome and Picnic
38. Use your NYU ID to get NYU and student discounts
39. Explain the Bobcat to non-NYU folk
40. Climb the rock wall at Palladium
41. Go to the top of Bobst Library and look down at the spiky floor
42. Go to an NYC street fair
43. Attend Grad Alley
44. Attend a culture event at Lincoln Center
45. Learn what CMEP stands for
46. Check out a book from the library
47. Talk to a Dean
48. Learn about five famous NYU Alums
49. Use Blackboard
50. See the Reality SHow
51. Be a tourist for a day
52. Use the Broke Student’s Guide
53. Visit Columbia University
54. Memorize the numbers for Public Safety and the Wellness Exchange
55. Shop on Canal Street
56. Ice skate at Wollman Rink
57. Visit the Union Square Farmer’s Market
58. Ride the subway
59. Go to the top of the Empire State Building
60. Find a famous landmark or location from a movie or television show
61. Visit another borough
62. Attend a Sexton Town Hall Meeting or Dinner
63. Attend Welcome Week and Back to the Square events
64. Attend a lecture or performance at Skirball Center
65. Ride the elevators in the Silver Center
66. Learn about the history of NYU
67. Read the Student’s Guide
68. Eat falafel from Mamoun’s
69. Get a slide of pizza from Pizza Mercado
70. Partake in the fair of Dojo’s
71. Help a tourist with directions
72. Go to a Yankee’s game
73. See a celebrity
74. Watch an NYC movie and count the number of places you’ve been to or recognize
75. Proofread a friend’s paper
76. Show off the campus and Village to a family member or friend
77. Try a different ethnic cuisine
78. Take advantage of Summer and Winter Restaurant Weeks
79. Go to an NYC parade
80. Visit the Health Center
81. Apply for a scholarship or grant
82. Use your Campus Cash
83. Watch $2 films courtesy of the Program Board’s Film Series
84. Watch NYU-TV
85. Listen to NYU-Radio
86. Learn the Alma Matter
87. Vote
88. Study Abroad
89. Take a break from studying at the library and watch a movie in the Avery Fischer Center
90. Take the subway to a neighborhood you’ve never visited
91. Get out of the city for a weekend
92. Go to a historic walking tour of an NYC neighborhood
93. Play with toys from FAO Shwartz
94. Rent a rowboat in Central Park
95. Picnic in Fort Tryon Park and visit the Cloisters
96. Eat hot dogs from Gray’s Papaya
97. Attend the San Gennero Festival in Little Italy
98. Go to a filming of the Daily Show, Conan O’Brian, or Letterman
99. Get your name in the Washington Square News
100. Attend a free concert in Central Park
101. Earn your degree

(73/101 completed)

So i’m sitting on a couch inside the silver building (the main building for the college of arts & sciences, also by home basically for the past semester). My calc class got out early as usual and I’m just sitting here doing nothing until my next class at 2. And when that ends, I can’t even celebrate the arrival of the weekend because I still have lab tomorrow. Boo. But maybe I’ll still go out and have some fun tonight. So yesterday, I registered for classes & I can already tell you now that I’m screwed for next semester. I’m still still trying to deal with the fact that I’ll be taking 4 classes, and 3 of which have labs and recitations. That means a whooping total of 7 different classes during the week. Shoot me now. Only highli……

—-Ok. This is now 3 hours later because my iPod died while I was typing all that out. Thank goodness the program saved it though. My life is full of fails.

Or, maybe this is better never than late? :x

So this story is just a tad late, but i’m sure (absolutely sure) that most of you haven’t heard this yet, especially if i haven’t seen you in the past couple of weeks (COUGHCOUGH, youknowwhoyouare). For those of you who don’t know, my Halloween was pretty much short lived. I spent the majority of my day studying b/c i had a huge midterm that following monday, so I was only allowing myself to go out Halloween night. The entire night got started at a decent time, around 8PM. My roommates and I started getting into our costumes and pregaming and the like. Nothing to serious, just some relaxed fun with some wine and mixed drinks. I myself only had about 4 shorts of smirnoff mixed in with my ice tea (my fave drink). Lots of people started coming by, but we finally decided that it was time to begin our night of party hopping (around 9:30ish, mind you), so we leave Gram and head toward the Greenhouse, where one of our close friends is having a party at her dorm.

We decide to walk the 20-some-odd blocks there, and everything’s fine. We’re on our merry way and gawking at all the outlanding costumes that people have on. When we get there, we encouter our first problem. My roommates Jessy and Lindsy had a friend staying with us for the week, but she didn’t sign out of her dorm, so she didn’t have any form of photo id on her to get signed into the dorm we were heading to. Lindsy decides to stay with her downstairs, while the rest of us head up to make a quick appearance before going to the next party.

While we’re up there, Jessy gets a call from her friend (the one who couldn’t get into the dorm) saying that Lindsy has gone missing. Jessy’s busy at this point taking care of Elisabeth (first signs of more trouble), so i run down and go with their friend up and down the street looking for her and calling and texting her. No luck. Apparently, she had just gotten up and left the lobby without saying anything, and her friend assumed she had gone out to puke or something… not disappear. After about 10 minutes of frantic panic, she finally calls me back and says that she wasn’t feel well so she had decided to go home and was already on 16th street. She insisted on me not going back to the room to make sure she was ok, and me in my semi-sobering up stage agreed because she swore to call me back within 10 minutes once she got back home same.

I stayed in the lobby with their friend, and as we waited for our core group to come down, everyone else started to leave the party too. That’s when we found out that my other roommate, Elisabeth, was passed out in our friend’s bed. Apparently, she was very tired and wasn’t feel too well and Jessy was upstairs taking care of her and would be down soon. We waited a little while longer and she finally did, and we decided to head over to the next party, which was at a dancer’s apartment near Alphabet City. By this time, the group had dwindled down to a couple of dancers and just a few of us that weren’t. And, Lindsy still hadn’t called me back yet at this point and it was much more than half an hour after she left.

When we got to the dancer party, it was very awkward, because I barely knew anyone there aside from the people I came with, so I stuck with my friend’s girlfriend the entire time I was there. The next sign of trouble was when our friend broke down crying about her ex-boyfriend from about a month ago that she was trying to text. We, of course, were trying to keep her from doing it. Nothing worked, so all we could do was comfort her as she cried. Quite a depressing situation, but I felt really bad for her at the time, even though I didn’t know the details of their relationship or their breakup. Finally around 12:30 (yes, all this took play in the span of approximately 3 hours), I decided to leave the party and walk back to my dorm… alone.

Yeah, looking back on it, that probably wasn’t the smartest idea, but I was legit worried about Lindsy at this time because it was going on almost 2 hours since she last called. So I called my dad as I was walking back and Michelle also happened to call me at that time too (thank goodness), so I wasn’t completely alone per say if I were to get into any trouble or anything. Of course, during the walk home, I run into every conceivable person I know on the face of this planet and they’re all lecturing me about how I shouldn’t be walking by myself that night, even though I was completely fine. Ehh, at least they cared enough to lecture me.

By the time I got home, I was a frantic mess. When the elevator doors opened on my floor, the first bad sign was the pile of saw dust next to our room door. Uh oh. I fumbled for my keys and quickly got in. I saw that her stuff was all piled on the couch, so it made me feel slightly better knowing that she had gotten home safely. I saw the light was on in the bathroom, so I thought that perhaps she had passed out in there. Nope, but there was quite the mess. Next, I checked our room, and that is where I finally found her, half in bed, half not. I quickly got her tucked into bed so that she could start recovering.

Then I called my dad and broke down myself into an emotion mess as I relieved all the stress and tension that had been building up for the past week. It got messsy. I just let everything out and was cry for over a good half hour on the phone with him and all he did was listen and try to calm me down by telling me to watch the World Series game on that night. Thank goodness he doesn’t care about what I tell him or pass judgment on me, because that would have been the last thing I needed that night after such an exhausting couple of hours. It just felt so good to let everything out that by the time I was done venting, I was too exhausted to go out again, so I got ready for bed because I had to get up early for volunteering the next morning anyway.

So yeah, there’s my halloween night wrapped up into a short narrative. Sorry it was so long. This is the bajillionth time I’ve told it, but I just decided to give you guys the bare minimum details. Didn’t want you to think I didn’t have interesting stories to share. And sorry that I haven’t been writing in this as much as I would like. These past couple of weeks have been hectic. But more writing will be coming, just you wait and see ;)