Thirty

Thirty. 30. 3-0. Treinta. The age doesn't really bother me, but saying it makes me cringe. I've got to get used to that! Or, lie and continue saying I'm 29 for a few more years!

My birthday ended up being pretty good. At work, they got cupcakes (what else?) and all sang to me, which is always hysterical in my office. They all sing in a different key and start in at a different time-- I had never been on the receiving end to just listen, but it truly is so funny!

After work, I went with Joy, a couple of people from my growth group, and a couple other girls to dinner at the Boat Basin Cafe. It is a restaurant on the Upper West Side and is right on the river. We ate outside and it was a really nice atmosphere. Food was good, nothing fancy. Fun place to remember for a casual night out!

From dinner, we headed to John, my old supervisor's, apartment. There was a going-away party for him on the roof. His roof-top had amazing views of the city! There were a lot of people there, so it was fun chatting and meeting new people. I have never before been to a party that was busted by cops, but now that I'm 30, I can say I have! The cops showed up on the roof and were crazy!! Long story, but basically they said we were throwing things off the roof-- which we weren't. We're a bunch of church-going adults. These cops could not have found a more mellow party. But, it was fun anyway. We were on the roof for quite a while and after the cops came we headed down to John's apartment and hung out on his patio-- which was really nice and a rare thing in New York. It didn't offer any views, like the roof did, but it was nice.

From John's party, we went to this awesome place called "Marie's Crisis". Along the way, one of the girls drug me into this restaurant called Veniero's...it's all desserts and they all looked amazing!! She insisted on getting me something for my birthday and kept telling me how great everything is! Upon her recommendation, I got a strawberry shortcake type thing and it was really good! So, then on to Marie's Crisis...it is a small piano bar where everyone sits around the piano singing together and all they play is Broadway showtunes. I really liked it!! I've always liked the sing-along piano bars (at least the ones that don't turn all trashy), but this was a different twist! Although I recognized a lot of the songs they sang, there are not many showtunes that I know the words to, but it was fun to listen to everyone else. My friend Joy is an excellent singer and she knows ALL those songs. Most the people there were really talented so it was just fun to listen to everyone else.

All in all, it was a very good birthday!

Opera in the Park

Last night we had a picnic in the park followed by an opera performance. There were TONS of people there and we were far, far away from the stage. Too far to see at all and even the sound wasn't so great where we were sitting. So, we chatted the whole time and enjoyed the opera as background music. It was awesome! I even got a bit chilly for the first time in months....I guess fall is on the way!

So, for those who don't know, Friday is my birthday...the BIG one! Yes, I'm turning 30. I'm not really looking forward to it. Actually, birthdays don't really excite me too much anymore. But, I'm not one of those girls who is freaking out about being 30...I'm really comfortable with myself and where I am in life, so it doesn't really bother me. However, this week it has started to bother me just a little bit. I think that's due mostly to the fact that just about everyone I meet here seems to be about 5 years younger than me...that's really starting to get to me. I don't quite get it either. Everyone tells me that people marry later here...so where are all these single 30-somethings? Actually, where are even the married 30-somethings. I had plenty of friends in Dallas who were my age. In fact, almost all of my closest friends were older. I can't quite figure that out. I guess my church is just really, really young and I'm beginning to wonder if I like that too well.

I'm not really looking forward to spending my birthday in the city...it's just making me miss my friends a lot. I do have plans, but I will save that to share the details with you after-the-fact. Spending my birthday with people I don't really know well and who I'm not quite yet comfortable with totally being myself around just doesn't sound nearly as fun as spending it with good friends who know me well. It'll be okay...I'm not really throwing a pity part for myself. I got a HUGE box from my mom/sister today, so opening that is something to look forward to! And two of my high school friends (actually, we date back to elementary school!), Jessica and Maggie (and maybe more...Kelly, Kate, Ambie....any chance you're able to come now??) are coming in just 2 weeks as sort of a celebration of all our 30th birthdays, so I think I'll really feel like I'm celebrating then!

Random Thoughts

I didn't do so well at getting to my new thing last week, but I think I'm overdue to blog. Here's some thoughts on what I did do and also just random stuff about living in NYC:

• Friday I got the day off. Yeah! For some reason Nelson (the pastor) gave us all the day off. Completely unheard of. Anyway, it was SO nice!! Joy and I decided to spend it at the FREE Central Park pool again. I decided to try to run there with my backpack on-- in it was my towel, swimsuit, a bottle of water, a heavy lock for the locker, etc... Basically, the running with a backpack on didn't go so well, so I walked. All the way up from where I live below the south end of the park to the very tip top, about 3 miles. I got to see a lot of the park I hadn't seen before, so that was nice. I was basically on the west side the whole time...I need to do it again, but over on the east side.
• Saturday I got to attend another roof-top party. Joy had a housewarming party, but we spent a lot of time on her roof. It was great fun!
• I worked the first 3 services at church yesterday-- they were short on people and needed someone to lead the counting teams after each service (fyi...we count the offering). So, I did that. I don't mind helping out the occasional Sunday when I'm needed. In fact, I kind of enjoyed it!
• As I walked through the park Saturday, I saw the longest line of people who had obviously been camped out there for hours. I was running late, so I couldn't stop to figure out what was going on. Later, I learned that they were in line for FREE tickets to Shakespeare in the Park. Apparently there is always a long line for those plays and you have to get there by 6AM and they don't start handing out tickets until 1pm. Then you go back that night to see the play. Meryl Streep is actually in the one that is playing right now..."Mother Courage". So, that's an extra draw. A girl I know waited on Saturday for tickets, but they didn't get there until 7:00 and didn't get any. They're going back this weekend, but earlier. Each person can get 2 tickets, so she said I could have one! I feel bad taking a ticket and not waiting in the line, but if she offers again, I'm going!
• People smoke marijuana like crazy in this city. I smell it all the time just walking down the street. When I first moved into my apartment before I bought my air conditioner, I had to sleep with my window open. I woke up about 3 times a week to the smell of pot coming in from one of the other apartments....lovely.
• I haven't done laundry since I got here. See, most apartments have no washer/dryer...there's just not room. Mine actually has a community washer/dryer in the basement. But, the basement creeps me out and something about doing my laundry there seems dirty. Plus, before I moved into my apartment and was living in the temporary places, I got used to dropping my stuff off at the Chinese laundromats. I'm spoiled!! You drop it off in the morning and it's ready to be picked up on your way home. I've decided that it's not much more expensive than doing it myself once you add up all the quarters it would take for the washer, then the dryer, plus the cost of buying detergent.
• I wrote a blog a while back about my job/office environment. I didn't mention the view from my window. I'm really the only person in the office who can sit at their desk and look out the window, just because of the way my desk is situated. The view is of the Hudson River and it is awesome! The water is really blue and on the other side of the river it's green and lush looking. There are always boats on the water. I've been told that the cruise ships sail right past there, but I haven't see one of those go by yet. It's really nice, though! At least until about 4:45 when the sun starts coming in and it gets really, really hot and there's a glare on my computer...I'm not complaining, though!
• Tomorrow night is Usher's debut in Chicago on Broadway. I hope to be by the theatre about the time they let out to see if I can catch a glimpse of Usher and maybe some other famous people who show up for his premiere.
• Before stalking Usher tomorrow, my Growth Group is having our end-of-summer party. We're having a picnic in the park and at 8:00 the Metropolitan Opera is performing there.
• I found out today that Lance Armstrong is running the NYC marathon this year. I'd been thinking about getting involved in volunteering for the marathon, but now I definitely want to so I can catch a glimpse of Lance!
• I have friends visiting in just a little over 2 weeks and that starts the steady flow of visitors I am expecting through the end of the year. I am SO excited and know that this will mean new adventures and experiences...and much more to blog about for you readers!

I Can Blog Again!!

I've been internet-less for most of this week and unable to keep up with my blogging! I'm glad to be back on!
My trip last weekend to Dallas was excellent-- too quick, but really good. My flights going and coming were delayed for various reasons. I was supposed to get there around 9:00 on Friday, but it ended up being more like 1am-- yuk! But, the good news is that I got an email this week from American apologizing for the delay and saying they were adding 7,000 miles to my AAdvantage account!!! Have you ever heard of such a thing? I spent most of the weekend with family and just a couple of hours at the pool and lunch at Chick-Fil-A on Saturday with some girlfriends. Ryder's party was a big success! All the kids who came especially seemed to have a good time. Since it was a 70's party, a lot of people dressed up. I know you're all dying to see a picture of Ryder in his afro, so here you go!
















I threw together an outfit very last-minute. I got some bell-bottom jeans from a thrift store here in NYC and bought one of the retro-looking tops The Gap currently has right now. Then, I did little braids that wrapped around to the back and were tied with a bunch of long ribbons. Here's some more pics....one of me with my mom and sister, one with my sister and Brian, who had good costumes, and one of the birthday cake, which was incredible (a lady who is married to one of Brian's co-workers made it!)















I have not done too well at keeping up with my "1 new thing a week" promise. I was actually pretty sick last week before leaving for Dallas-- some sort of stomach virus. I spent 2 full days in bed (or the bathroom) and didn't feel much better the other days. So, I got absolutely nothing accomplished that week! This week, I did a little better. Last night, I went with a group to bowl at Chelsea Piers. I had been wanting to see Chelsea Piers, so I was glad to go. It's a neat area with different things to do. There were HUGE yachts docked there and I was very intrigued by them all. I am dying to go back and try out the driving range there-- you can hit from 3 different stories and are hitting out towards the water. Bowling was fun- I was pretty much middle-of-the-pack score-wise and that was okay with me!
Today, I was going to meet Joy to lay-out on her roof-- the weather this week has been AMAZING! The humidity is gone and it's been about 80 all week. Joy called this morning and had remembered the big pool we'd seen in CP a while back and she had the brilliant idea to go there instead of her roof. What a good idea! The pool was not crowded at all and was really nice and clean and it is FREE! The people who work there have a lot of rules and yell at you a lot, but now that we know the rules, it should be an all-around enjoyable experience next time!