Chrissy's Blog

My sister, boyfriend, and I wanted to do something Christmas-like for sister’s last day in the city. Ice skating in Rockefeller Center was a natural choice. It was already decorated for the holidays with the massive tree waiting to be lit. This is the opulent Swarovski Crystal star that they put on top of the tree every year. Unfortunately, ice skating at Rockefeller Center is apparently close to $30 a person. We headed down to Bryant park where there is also a skating rink. Our luck was not good this day, as there was a line around the corner to get in. Not all was lost, though. We bought souvenirs at a cheesy shop, visited the main New York Public Library, and played Bananagrams over delicious cocoa at a small cafe in Midtown.

My sister! I had taken her to City Hats the day before. It’s a hat shop that I walk by on my way to work. I’m always tempted to buy a hat. I get sick of wearing the same old bandannas at work all the time. But I just don’t like the way I look in a hat. I always feel silly. But my sister sure looks cute!

I obviously stole this from my sister. But I forgot to take a picture this day! I’m really slacking off at this. I feel as thought I am moving into hibernation mode. This happens to me every winter. I basically just want to spend all my time curled up in a blanket alternating between napping, watching movies, reading, and eating. This is definitely not what I should be doing. I am homesick for my family, my friends, my Reno, my Seattle. But, now, I’m in New York City. I should be getting involved and exploring all the opportunities here, or I am never going to like it here. I am aware of this. But, in the winter, it is so hard to push oneself.

Anyways, my sister was visiting for the weekend. We stopped at some novelty shops in an alleyway by Think Coffee. We found some great animal mittens. This one is a cow. My sister bought be monkey ones the following day.

The night before the big Thanksgiving parade, Macy’s has an event in the Upper West Side where people can see the balloons being inflated. It was insanely crowded with police blocking off subway exits and streets for blocks around. It took us a good half hour before we were in viewing range. The most interesting part of our night was on the walk home where we saw a group giving out free hot chocolate. They were carrying signs and wearing t-shirts saying “Jews for Jesus.”

It was a pretty run-of-the-mill day, but when I came home, there was a care package from our friends Drew and Danguole of Reno. It was such a great surprise. We ate a ton of delicious cookies and watched “The Jerk.”

Travis went out with some co-workers. So I drank beer, ate pizza (lots of it), and watched Law & Order SVU.

Boyfriend and I took a pleasant Sunday stroll through the park to the west side where we went to the Natural History Museum. Mainly we wanted to see the Imax movie “Hubble” and the dinosaur bones. We ended up spending the entire day there. It was fun AND educational!

An uneventful day. I took this picture before going to bed. I suppose this picture is for anybody who wants to see my New York apartment. Basically, just my mom. Our little railroad apartment. The picture is taken from the bedroom. You can see the living room, the entryway, and the kitchen. Beyond the kitchen is our bathroom. It ain’t much, but it’s home.

For dinner we went to Hummus Kitchen down the street. Boyfriend got a kebab, and I got a delicious falafel. Since it was a wild and crazy Friday night, we splurged and got hot apple cider with brandy.