The mind is a funny thing; it enhances, reenacts, reinterprets, and, eventually, forgets. As my last few days of summer in the city wind down, I'm becoming more and more scared of the last element, of forgetting some essential aspect of my time here or some random, exciting, unbelievable moment. I wish I had actually kept this blog updated. I wish I had taken more pictures. I wish I had kept a journal. I wish I had kept in touch. I wish a lot of things, most of which are of no consequence whatsoever.

I wonder what I, or any of us, will remember of this summer a year from now, 5 years, ten, twenty? Will I remember waiting in the rain for some sort of tickets, or having adventures with friends? getting stranded on streets I will never see again, or going on endless errands? taking that boat trip or seeing this band play or meeting that person, or what? what translates a memory from being an immediate, visceral event to one of ephemeral weightlessness, to a piece of history?

I guess this is the first time, more than London, more than college, or whatever, what I've realized that this is really, actually my life. It sounds ridiculous, but to finally realize and participate and acknowledge that this is all happening and current and real is kind of a big deal. To know that some things may never pan out, and that others might, or that it doesn't matter either way is an even bigger one.

To accept all of this is the biggest of all.

It may be weird and self-indulgent and overly self aware to say, but to watch the fabric of one's life being changed, and altered, to experience something and think "oh, that was kind of a big deal" is a ludicrous feeling. It's also something I've felt a lot this summer, not in a (hopefully, at least) maudlin way, but in a, I don't know, just a way. To just know that, and see that and feel that, whatever "that" is, has been a bit crazy.

And this may just be me being incoherent because it is late and I am through with work for the summer and I am suffering from the mean reds at having to leave in a few days, but I feel so incredibly weird about all of this. and I'm not sure why.

I feel...happy, sad, vindicated, excited, anxious, loved, lonely, sated, hungry...I love the city, I hate the city, I know what to do, I am completely lost, I just....I don't know.

I feel tired, that's for sure. I feel homesick. But I don't feel beaten, or like I've won anything. I feel like I've gained a chunk of the city, but that it is this maleable, slippery thing that I have to watch and hold because it might slip away at any second.

I feel like I need to live in the present, and not worry about what happened or is yet to come.

I don't know how to do this, precisely, but I know that it is probably necessary if I want to make it back here.

Most of all, I know that I don't want to forget, even though I know it is inevitable and necessary to make room for other things, but it makes me sad. and I think I'm allowed to be sad. I think that's ok. I hope that's ok. so in the words of one of the most inspirational human beings I have come across this summer (and I mean that, in all sincerity):

"One More Night and then I just might/Turn out the light on you."

It's been something, NY. In a good way.

I'll turn the light back on real soon,
sb

So, in Case You Hadn't Noticed...

...I suck at this (please excuse my brief vulgarity, mom). I am a really, really bad journaler/blogger/whatever-er, which is something I regretfully cannot seem to change. Oh well.

So hopefully the tweets have filled in some blanks which I cannot begin to delve into at this late hour, dear reader(s), but I shall try my darndest to attempt to catch everything up, if for no other reason than to have my own record of the ridiculousness that is, and has been, this summer adventure.

The list includes, but is not limited to:

1. Spending the night in Times Square for Tony tickets, meeting some ridiculously cool people, getting tickets, and going to the Tonys

2. Trying to student rush tickets for Joe Turner the night Obama was seeing it and getting interviewed by CNN

3. Random Celebrity Sightings, and The Awkwardness That Occurs When It Happens More Than Once (or More Than Twice, even).

4. Seeing Ben Vereen preach Peace, Love, and the like at Seth Rudetsky's radio show taping

5. Marching in the Pride Parade with Broadway Impact


6. Getting up at 4 am to go to Central Park for GMA's Concert Series with Hair...while dressed as a hippie and carrying a 2 foot+ sign designed by the lovely James

7. A ridiculously amazing 4th of July in NJ (what?) with some wonderfully fabulous new friends,

wherein the Second Most Amazing Fireworks Display I Have Ever Seen occurred.


8. Helping out with work-related things...Throwdown, anyone?


9. Central park adventures, Shakespeare in the Park, Thunderstorms in the Park, Creepers in the Park...you name it in the park.


so much more, too, and more to come...just wanted to provide a quick list. Please, ask me about these and I will tell you more...or wait another month for an update on here.

just kidding.


No, but really though. It could legit be a while. No promises.



if you are reading this, I love you.

sb

Hair at Macy's - 5/27/09 from sarah b on Vimeo.

I'll catch this up this weekend

I promise, mom :)

sb

First Adventure(s)

SO I'm in NYC. I'm typing this sitting on my (slightly sketchy) red couch in the (hardwood floored) living room of my pretty pretty apartment in Herald Square. I did indeed sleep on this lovely couch last night (as James suggested) as I have a ridiculously high top bunk and no logical way to reach it...a step stool/ladder will be purchased today so as to prevent this quandary in the future.

The trip was rather uneventful, except for a wonderful section where we were right inside the clouds...that was pretty cool, I must admit. When I got to the airport, I took the shuttle that Dad said "Takes you right to Herald Square"...right. It took me to Grand Central...and then to Penn Station via sketchy van transfer. Penn Station was only like a 2 or 3 block distance from the apartment building, and despite previously planning to hail a cab for that short block of time due to my massive luggage, I was so eager to get there that I thought "oh, it's not so bad...I'll just walk." SO I did, lugging a suitcase the same size as me and an overstuffed bag that without fail pushed into every person I so much as glanced at.

Finally, at long last and with sweat dripping, I arrived at "Herald Towers Luxury Apartments." There were flags. It was pretty cool. I walked in and asked the doorman how to check in, and he sent me to the twelfth floor to what I assumed was an office for NYCintern...well, it kinda was. There was no answer when I knocked so I called the number I had been given and the guy said he'd meet me there in a minute...so I stood in the hall of the "luxury apartment building" and waited with my luggage and sweaty-ness. I looked real classy, let me tell you.

So the guy gets there and takes me to my apartment, where my roommate Lisa and her mom are doing some much needed cleaning of windows and such, which was awesome. We now have sparkling clear windows to view our patch of Herald Square from. Lisa is from Canada, and is interning at Country Living Magazine. Our other roommate, Maggie, has yet to arrive, but left us a note saying she would be here soon.

After I unpacked, Jonah and James met me at the apartment and we went off to have an adventure or two. After a quick stop to buy my metrocard, we headed to an icecream/frozen yogurt place called 16 Handles in the village:It's like a DIY Ice cream bar that has (you guessed it) 16 different flavors of awesome, and you get to add whatever toppings you want as well and pay by weight...so really, you can do whatever you want. it was delicious.


Next we walked around Tompkins Square Park and ate our concoctions. After that we walked through the village some, then moved on to Times Square, where we had heard no cars would be allowed. It was pretty car-less at some points, but not completely, so we were kind of confused as to where the "no cars allowed" rule really applied.

We then walked all the way to the Upper East Side, where we stopped in at the Apple store:




Finally, we ended up at Dallas BBQ, for a quick bite and some ridiculously delicious margaritas of varying colors (Mine was orange, James and Jonah's were blue).

We called it a night pretty soon after that, and I came back to the apartment sure that I could run in a Duane Reade nearby (there's like 4 of them just on my block, it seems) and grab a toothbrush and toothpaste. No such luck, because apparently Memorial Day translates to No Drug Stores are Open day, and I finally had to trek all the way to the Empire State Building (not too far, but certainly far enough) to a Walgreens which, thank goodness, was open. I guess it must have to do with the red white and blue of Duane Reade versus the Green of Walgreens equaling less patriotic? Who knows.

Anyway, I finally got home where Lisa's mom had to let me in, as my key wouldn't work (which I felt super bad about, ps) I crashed, as I said before, on our nice red couch.

oh wait. AND I discovered that I didn't actually know where I was supposed to report this morning for work. So there's that. wish me luck, as I try and figure it out!

phew. NYC. oh my.

sb

Tomorrow at 3:50 pm

I head to:

and then:

And then:



And all kinds of adventures. stay tuned.

xx
sb