Chrissy's Blog

This is the first week going full-time at my new job. It’s horrible, almost unbearable. I try to not think about it when I’m not there, because it stresses me out enough as it is. To sum up my frustration though, I work 12 hour days without a break, my boss is rude and treats me like an idiot child, I’m so busy and overloaded with things to do I want to cry, and nothing is ever good enough for this psychopathic dentist. This was my Tuesday. I left work at about 8:30. I was standing on the subway platform feeling down when I thought I felt something wet. My water bottle had exploded in my purse, soaking it and the right side of my body. It was not a happy day.

My beloved Robot necklace that my sister gifted me shattered! I grabbed my headband in the bathroom so I could wash my face. Tragically, the necklace was resting atop. It shattered on the tile floor. I was so sad. I thought about gluing it back together, but it just wouldn’t be the same.

I wanted to see “True Grit,” and a friend of mine recommended viewing it at the Ziegfeld in the Upper East Side. It was an awesome experience. The theater is ornately decorated in red velvet with crystal chandeliers and large elephant statues, reminiscent of when it meant something to go out to a movie. Once you buy your ticket, you head down a hall to ascend the grandiose stairs. At the bottom of the stairs is a man who upon seeing you announces “Welcome to the Ziegfeld! Enjoy your film, and have a happy new year!” There is only one screen in the theater but the room is huge. There were plenty of other people there, but no one had to sit near anyone else. It was a classic movie-going experience. I loved it, because going to the movies is still an event to me.

Happy New Year! I love having someone to kiss at midnight. I love that that person is Travis.

For New Year’s Eve, we considered doing the whole Times Square thing. But with the way things went with the Rockefeller Tree Lighting and the Macy’s Parade, we didn’t want to be caught in a crowded group of strangers. There were also announcements that there was no alcohol, no purses, and no backpacks allowed into Times Square for security reasons. No champagne on New Year’s? Instead, we followed the advice of our seasoned New York friends and found a party out in Brooklyn. We didn’t really know anyone other than one of Travis’ co-workers, but everyone was so friendly. It was good to be out on New Years. The party was BYOB, and when we arrived we were directed to stick our drinks in the snow in the backyard. Genius!

I now work around the Southeast corner of Central Park. I am in a sea of expensive retail and five-star hotels, so I have to journey pretty far to find a decent lunch. Believe it or not, this day was actually a sunny day, but it is sometimes rare to be able to catch the rays in the shadows of these giant buildings. It reminds me of the Planet Earth episode about Jungles, where all the plants and creatures on the jungle floor are desperately trying to get their piece of sunlight to survive.

La Marzocca! Let me tell you , this is one hell of an espresso machine. This one actually sits in the basement of Think coffee and is used only for training purposes. It was my second to last day at Think, and I was definitely starting to get sad. I had a lot of fun and met a lot of great people. I was not ready to leave them all behind.

We went and saw the Rockefeller Christmas tree before they took it down. It was huge! Surprisingly not their biggest ever though. We were still amongst a crowd all taking family pictures in front of the tree. Again, most of them were not Americans. Sometimes it is strange to live in the second most popular tourist destination in the world. I’m often in a crowd or a subway car with a ton of foreigners who think of everything as novelty when it’s just our day-to-day lives.

THE BLIZZARD!! I have many thoughts on this situation. First of all, it wasn’t that bad. The newspapers and the uppity made it seem like we survived a natural disaster. I do think it was the right thing for the mayor and the governor to issue statements asking people to stay home until the storm passed and the roads could be safely clear. But calling it an emergency weather state? Isn’t that a bit ridiculous. It’s December. It’s the Eastern Seaboard. Is this really the first heavy snowfall these people had ever witnessed? By reading the headlines you’d have thought that it was the Apocalypse.  In fact, one headline called it the “snowpocalypse.” The other thing that bothered me was the whining that went on for days and days after the fact. This is a picture I took driving through New Jersey. By the time we got to Manhattan, most streets were cleared, and we were even able to order take-out. (We tipped the delivery guy very well.) This was the day immediately after the storm. I kept thinking how quickly everything got cleared up. But we are STILL hearing about the “failure” of the city to clean up. What do these people want? It had been one day! People were up in arms that it took three days to completely clear the roads.  I can distinctly remember an equally bad blizzard in Reno about a year ago. The roads weren’t plowed for over a week. I remember bulletins asking everyone to check up on their elderly neighbors who weren’t able to get out of their house to get food. Maybe it’s the whole Western Frontier thing, but people on the West Coast are a lot tougher than these city-folk.

On a happy note! Our car got stuck in the middle of the freeway. Travis got out to push, and before too long there were big trucks stopping by asking if we needed help. As I watched these strangers shovel our car out of the snow, I had a sweeping feeling of the good that is in mankind. People in New York make it a habit of being assholes all the time, but in reality, if someone nearby really needs help, they are always willing to lend a hand.

We headed back into D.C. to do some more touristy things, like see the White House, the Capitol Building, and Dorothy’s slippers! Something about D.C. makes one patriotic. When we were walking through the Smithsonian American History Museum, I couldn’t help but be really proud of my country. I mean we had Lincoln, whatta guy!