I know, I know, it's been days and days and practically eons since I last wrote. But I swear it's not from lack of stimulation. Rather, there has been an abundance of things to do, places to go, and people to see. And I, in my "throw my self into it" fashion, have spent my last few days doing rather than recording.
Thursday morning I got up early and went uptown for a Mysterious Meeting. Afterwards I reluctantly headed off to my last day of work. On Tuesday night my dinner dates Tom and Kelvin had excused my habit of running late saying sweetly that "I wasn't a New Yorker if I was on time." I didn't have to worry about being mistaken for a tourist on Thursday. Taking the subway to work - from my meeting in midtown Manhattan - when I was late late late put me in a near-zen state of tardiness. But when I finally got to work they threw me a surprise party!
I will be reviewing novels for them all year, and have offered my help for the convention in March. But it certainly won't be the same as coming in to the office each week. In the end, I just hate that I don't get to work there all the time. Everyone keep your fingers crossed that a position will open up for me there!
After work I went back to EHS and there I met up with one of my friends from college, Nickie who lives in Jersey. She is my little from my community service fraternity I am in, and we are very close. We met for dinner and so I could meet her boyfriend, Gregg. The three of us went out to dinner at the Thai place right around the corner from EHS and then we walked on the promenade. After they went back to Jersey for the night, I said my goodbyes to Felix (who was going away on Holiday for the rest of the week). And after all that, around 11:30 I trekked out to china town.
Why would I make the journey way out there, late at night, after a tremendously busy day? For Maria P! You may remember her as the plucky intern at a highly specialized journal which reviews Chicago schools. She had an adventure with a boy on the subway who had a rainbow headband, does this ring any bells? Anyways, I've known her since fourth grade and an encounter due to a stuffed platypus. So of course when she was free to come to visit me I jumped at the chance to have her here.
We had a short night on Thursday and got up early on Friday for a day of museum-ing before drinks with Sara C (for her last day). On Friday Maria and I were scheduled to visit the Forbes Gallery, the Frick Collection, possibly the Museum of the City of New York, and finally the Whitney. All that and more with a special guest appearance by Chris! He was still in town so he joined us for the Forbes Gallery, the Frick collection and a splendid (and super tasty) lunch at Belle Blu.
The Forbes is definitely not to be missed if at all possible. A great museum for anyone who has visitors between ages of 8 and a spry 80! It houses a wide range of small collections, especially interesting are the display which traces the evolution of the game monopoly and the room full of trophies won by people other than the Forbes. The second is described as "a tribute to fleeting achievements." But the museum is a true assortment of interesting artifacts from years past. Plus, and you all know how much I love this, it was free!
While the Forbes was a rocking good time for the whole family, the Frick is one of my new favorite museums! It is housed in the Frick mansion. My friend Sara M, the fabulously astute art historian, compared it to the Isabelle Gardner museum in Boston. Upon reflection I believe this to be very true, similar collections in a beautiful setting. Both museums also take great care to juxtapose the beauty of the artwork with a healthy dose of indoor nature. The Frick has a beautiful fountain and indoor garden in the center of the house.
But a beautiful setting alone can not catapult a museum to the top of my list. Rather, it was the combination of the museum's building and the collection that truly stunned me. My favorite pieces were part of the slew of 19th century portraits on display. I like portraiture the best (especially 19th century works) out of all the types of art as they inspire me to investigate and re-imagine history.
For example, I want to find out more about Miss Mary Edwards whose portrait - done by William Hogarth - is part of the Frick's collection. Edwards was one of the most affluent heiresses of her time. After she had a child with her spend-happy husband, she had the marriage stricken from all records and claimed that it had never happened in order to protect her inheritance for her son. She just brazened out all of the public scorn (because divorce, not to mention cool denial of something that everyone knew had happened, was absolutely unheard of). But, how cool is she??
Post our Frick Collection- Adventure Chris Maria and I had lunch, picked up two suit jackets we'd helped Chris buy earlier that morning, and then went back to EHS. We made it back to the hotel just in time, the sky opened up the moment after we stepped through the door. And I don't think I've ever been happier to arrive at the hotel. There are few things I hate more than being caught in a rainstorm just far enough away from the door to get really wet being far enough away from any sort of dry destination so you are forced to accept the inevitable soaking. But thankfully, this time we weren't caught in the rain at all. Mini crisis averted!
Maria and I took a quick nap before heading out for our evening entertainment: free Friday night at the Whitney. Maria and I made plans to meet Sara C after the excitement of The Art of the Summer of Love at the Whitney. Although I didn't really like the art, there were a few pieces in the exhibit that I really liked. I think my favorite was Ecstatic Girl at Poets of The World Even at the Royal Albert Hall. It's a photo taken by Robert Whitaker in 1965 which is just a perfect second of true artistic explosion. Also, we took advantage of the audio guides (that I swear by) and they made the experience much more enjoyable!
After we had traversed the many floors (4) of the Whitney, and I'd been convinced not to buy a shirt - I was hoping to buy one which said "The Whitney." But, no tee-shirt later, Maria and I headed down to meet Sara C at the republik (my favorite bar in union square). After drinks and dinner, in no particular order, we headed back to EHS so we could get a few hours of sleep before sending Maria P back to Mass on the 9:30 Fung Wah.
This was how I ended up shopping in Chinatown early on Saturday morning. It was a beautiful day and I walked shopped down Canal, trying to make some basic plans for my last day in New York. But I managed to essentially cram my entire NYC experience into one day. I started out shopping, then I saw the sites, next I socialized, then I packed all of my belongings into a big blue tin, I had a business-type meeting, and finally checked out of my hotel. But let's back that list up and let me take you through the highlights.
My first stop was the Museum of Sex. This place- if you have any longer than a week in the city - is totally worth checking out. There were three exhibits open, and Kink was fascinating. I had no idea that some people find the idea of cannibalism a turn on, but they do! Although a word to the wise, while normally I am a fan of visiting museums with friends I'd suggest you'd tackle this one alone (or with someone you know extremely well) so that you can move through the exhibits at your own pace.
My second stop was to see Sara M's new apartment in Greenpoint Brooklyn. It is beautiful and I am totally bummed that I only got to see it once while I actually lived in the city. It was also beyond awesome to get to see her dad. I find that the more people talk about moving away, and moving beyond their college-life, the more families seem to matter to me. It's not just Sara I love, it's her entire family. And of course I feel that way about many of my friend's families.
But I suppose it's a good thing that I'm not going to be living in the city over the next year because unlike earlier this summer (when she lived 20 minutes away) or last summer (when she was 7 minutes away) Sara M now lives over an hour away! But the long commute meant that I had time to read on the metro before I arrived back at EHS. When I get back home I will certainly miss not having that built in reading time on the metro and the ever-revolving reading options from work.
Anyways, after getting to EHS I packed up all of my belongings because at 2:30 my dad had decided that he'd come pick me up that evening instead of at around 12:30 the next day. That in itself was an adventure. Considering I doubled my belongings while I was in NYC, and had fewer bags to bring everything back to Mass with, it was no small feat to pack up my life. But I managed to cram every single item I own into either the big blue transportation tin or my GIANT black "dear, I packed the kitchen sink" purse.
Then I took my packed purse, and my directionally challenged self, back up town to Mysterious Meeting Take Two (not going to lie, I just spent two minutes trying to figure out if there was a word for "part" that began with an M, instead I ended up settling on "take" but really - these things alliteration addicts always account for!). I promise you will hear all about the Mystery Meetings, but at some time that it's not two am!!
I made my way back to EHS and was there long enough for staffer Anthony to check me out before my dad called to say he was outside. Then I rolled my New York life (carefully - and precariously - contained in the aforementioned bin) down the hall, down the elevator, and out the front door, with minimal serious resistance. Before I even had time to process it, we had everything in the car and were rolling away from the hotel that was my home for the last three months.
The trip home was the same type of adventure my summer had been. We got lost, stopped for coffee at a shady seeming but ultimately very good exit, I drove our new CRV for the first time, and we arrived back in MA at about 4 am - just like my bedtime before work!
Anyways, it has been a day since I arrived here. As of today I am mostly unpacked, and set up for living here for the next two weeks. But when people ask me about New York, I have one answer for them. "I can't wait to get back." Sometimes this answer doesn't make much sense, for example when they wonder what my favorite museum was. But my answer is the truth. All I want to do is go back to New York, return to the constant stimulation, to the amazing pace of life, and living with fabulous people who live all over the country and I won't see for months.
This past summer was the most affirming summer I have ever spent. I set out to have a good time, learn as much as I could intern-ing for the company of my dreams, and experience this city to its fullest. Although you all may decide differently, I really feel that I succeeded. I took on New York and now I can accomplish anything. But most of all? I can't wait to get back.
