You just have to laugh.

This is Part Two of my previous post.
It'll be short and sweet.

It's gotten worse, as evidenced above. The light is hanging by a thread from the ceiling.

Meanwhile, outside of my apartment door...
People are locked in our building. This kind tenant who deemed herself as "handy" because she's an RN had to use her screwdriver to get these poor people out of the apartment to go to work late.

Really, I can't help but laugh at this whole situation.

My apartment has turned into a rain forest....Walking into the kitchen, a mist instantly hits your face. How peaceful.
I've found a new use for pots and pans since I don't cook. Kevin will be doing the dishes.

Anyway, maybe I'm deliriously tired...But laughing is healthy and it's a good way to cope with this crazy apartment.

True Life: I'm officially a New Yorker.

To the outside world, living in New York City seems like it would dream come true. They see it in the movies, they've seen the luxury apartments (or they've seen the ghetto). But when I tell them I live in New York City (as a middle-class New Yorker not to mention recent college grad) I fit in none of the above "dreams".

I'll say it. I live in an over-priced apartment that's probably from the 1950's. When I signed my life away via a year-long lease, the "management" (a landlord who looked like he'd been baking out in Florida for too long on one of his plethora of vacations) handed me a paper warning me of the risks of lead poisoning. I dealt with the mess and the scariness of the ground floor apartment, all because it was in a great location. That's what New Yorker's look for: location. Who cares if it's a crap hole, as long as you can get to work in 15 minutes it's golden. I dealt with the mix up of getting my keys too early and walking in when the old tenants still lived here (the management's mistake). I lived through getting my superintendent fired for making sexual advances on me. I continue to deal with the car accidents that happen outside of my window because I live next to a tunnel exit.
And now I'm attempting to live through this:
No, not attempting to live with Ramen as my main meal (as you can see), but above, above that you can see a huge gaping hole adjacent to a large droop in the ceiling due to a leak. What you don't hear is the water dripping. What you don't see is the numerous pots and pans I've had to put in the kitchen, as well as the huge chunks of ceiling/lead paint all over the counter and floor.

This mess? Ever-growing.
The Superintendent? An escape artist. I see him, and then I don't. He disappears like a magician and fails to let me know what's going on.
Did I mention I've never painted my walls yellow before?
A masterpiece on our ceiling, almost.

This isn't a "poor me" post. This is more of a, "this is real life as a grown up in NYC and it sucks" post.

I sure hope that others that live in New York don't have the bad luck that I've been having.

A related question....How can I get out of this lease?!?!

Inception-isms

It's the day after Christmas.

There's a blizzard outside.

I took a picture of Kevin in the middle of a busy street right outside of our apartment, the Queens Midtown Tunnel Exit.

Guess we had dreamt of a a White Christmas one day late.
It's still snowing. Blizzard of 2010 in New York, NY.

Inception-- If you haven't seen the movie, it's mind-blowing. I have seen it only once...Months ago when it was in theaters. But let's get to the point here. The soundtrack is amazing. I found an app on my iPhone- Inception, the app. It uses the soundtrack of the movie (Hans Zimmer), and shapes it to your life. It uses the microphone on your phone headphones and the GPS. It takes your location/time/sound/surroundings and makes them into your 'dream world'. I'll be brutally honest-- It feels like you are tripping on some kind of drug. But then you realize it's music that's making you feel that way...Just the mere sound around you; it heightens your senses. Every step you take, you feel it. It's just really fascinating to me. That's the meaning of music to me. The kind that you can relate to makes you feel the most. You don't just hear the music, you feel it.

That's my rant for today. I love music. Thanks, Mrs. Stewart (circa Kindergarten through 6th grade) for helping to make it such a big part of my life. Kudos to teachers and their impact that they have on children......It lasts forever.

Undecided.

After three days of working in a row, I figured I would update this masterpiece.

I'm sitting on the 'couch' with Kevin (aka his bed), having a stay in night...for now at least. I need it.

Work is..Work. I'm just not sure if I like it that much anymore now that I'm on the night shift. I find solace in getting food delivered at 2am to the hospital. Not healthy. On my days off, I get nothing done because all I want to do is sleep. For example, take today. I was supposed to drop off laundry. Yes, drop off to get it done because I'm too lazy to carry it 1 block and 2 avenues to a place to do it myself (but it's so expensive, ugh). I couldn't drag myself out of bed for that. It feels like depression, but worse because I actually want to be up doing things instead of sleeping until 6pm. But my body needs it.


Did you know that if you're lying sideways, watching TV, there is a part of your brain that adjusts your vision and "turns" your point of view? That's awesome. Watching Arrested Development right now.




/End previous rant. That was last week. This is today.

Today, I celebrated Christmas with my Grandma, Aunt and Chinese food. It was quaint, but it was my life. It wasn't the Christmas I wanted, but the Christmas I will remember as my 23rd Christmas on the face of this earth. We ate, got stuffed with more food, and then I was forced to take home more food. Italian Grandmas are the BEST (I say this as my stomach is hurting to the extreme).

On New Year's I will be in Utah. How does New Year's work in Utah? It doesn't even go in sync with the ball dropping in NYC. It will be a different experience for sure. My first New Year's experience in a different time zone...Not to mention with a boy in a different time zone. Yikes. New York is WORLD eastern time. End of story.
Guess I'll end this post with pictures from my last trip to Utah....It was loverly.

This is from my last trip to Utah. My eyes are demonic. But we made some cool gingerbread houses.

What a cute guy. What not-cute gingerbread houses. Just kidding :)

So not artistic...Me, that is. Yikes.

And, it's almost 4am. Goodnight, World.

Graveyard Shift.

I just finished my second night shift. I'm going back in in two hours to start all over again.

It was quieter, but not by much. By the end, I was drunk off of tiredness. My nurse manager came in at 8am and told me that I'm not supposed to be working nights until next week (even though I was on the schedule for nights, plain and clear). What a mix up, what a sad letdown to know that I could have had one more week of day shift glory. However, I am to continue on nights this week.

I'm going to Utah tomorrow night for the weekend. I can't wait. I'm pretty sure this is my fourth trip in three and a half months. I will be making a trip to see the Temple Square Christmas lights for the first time ever, so excited! I've heard it's beautiful.

I'm reading a new book, "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett. I have made it to page 65. It was on my list of "to-reads" but the library I go to never has the good books. I decided to look at the books on display, and much to my surprise a copy was available. Thanks, Kips Bay library. First time you have ever made me happy. What a dreary library it usually is. I found a quote in the book that I really like.
It reads "Cause that's what prayer do(es). It's like electricity, it keeps things going." I think I should remind myself that everyday. I don't pray nearly enough. Due to a recent tragic circumstance that happened in my home ward and then reading this the next day, it's reminding me that prayer is of importance and I tend to forget that. Both of these were reminders, one tragic and one uplifting. Needless to say, the family affected at home is in my prayers.

Anyway, off to work and the life of a grown up. Expect an update next week of Adventure #4 to Utah to see this one tall guy that I think I like a lot. A lot a lot.

Lucky.

I'm back in New York City.
I was pretty sad to leave home, and even sadder to be on a bus for 3 1/2 hours. But despite that, it gave me some time to just reflect. It sounds so lame, but I was watching the sun set (at 4:30pm, ugh) outside of the bus window, and I realized how happy I am. I am so lucky: Lucky to be alive, to have a great family, a wonderful significant other, to come from a great home town, and to hav a job. I think coming home this weekend rally humbled me and made me realize that I sometimes take things for granted. I really am a lucky girl. Spending time with my family members was amazing. They make me who I am.

On the bus, I was listening to Sufjan Stevens radio on Pandora. I swear, it was the soundtrack of my life.

I'm having a date night with myself tonight. Takeout (Indian food), movies, cuddling up in bed...Getting ready for my first night shift tomorrow night. Eek.

Anyway, that's all for now.

This is Home.

Current City: Horseheads, New York.

My Hometown.

A few days ago at work, I was thinking about how I will not be spending Christmas with my family. I then realized I have not visited home since August. This is the longest I have ever gone without making a trip home. It's been four months, and I guiltily didn't even think twice about it until a boring day at work. I hadn't seen my Mom in four months, my Dad in three months. Suddenly, I was so home sick. I wanted my Mom and Dad. I wanted familiarity and comfort. I think that's okay sometimes. When I'm old and grey, I know there will be days when I want my Mom and Dad. So, right on the spot, I decided to spend my 3 day weekend home. I looked up bus ticket prices (so expensive) and embarked on my journey.

I was like a happy little kid when I first saw my Mom pull up at the bus station. I thought I was going to cry, but thankfully didn't. I've missed her. We drove back to the house and as soon as I walked in, I smelled home. I have heard from someone/somewhere that scent can be the one sense that most often brings back memories. It does it for me. I saw my dogs and my cats, and immediately I felt good. Sitting with my mom just catching up and talking about adult things was surreal. She made me dinner, both one of our favorites, and we relaxed. Girls' Night with Mom is an invaluable time. You take advantage of it up until when you don't live at home anymore and realize how much you miss it. We got in our pajama pants and just spent time together. It felt really good to spend time with her. Doing nothing but chatting and relaxing with my Mom is one of my favorite things ever.

There's just something about waking up to a cat purring in your ear (creepy-sounding, but true). I used to think it was the grossest thing in the world that my mom had four cats and three dogs (it's narrowed down to three and two), but looking at my camera I obviously must enjoy it. All of my pictures so far are of my dogs and cats. I swear, they really do remember you. Much to my Mom's dismay, I decided to put ribbons on all of their necks. Sadly, I woke up this morning to see that most of them had clawed them off. Bummer.

This place, this home is one place I will always find comfort in.

(pictures to come)

Anyway...Tonight I'm hoping to decorate my Mom's tree with her. It'll be a blast I'm sure!!

I went to Jackson's for Thanksgiving in Utah. In short, it was great. His family made sweet potatoes so I had a little taste of home, and the food was delicious. I may have had seconds or thirds...

We always have such a fun time together. We are huge nerds and I love it; we are always laughing together. Sadly we didn't take any pictures. But, I will be there next weekend, and if pictures aren't taken at that time, I owe each of my blog readers a million dollars. That said, I WILL be taking pictures. I swear he exists. Where else do you think my big smile comes from?