Tupperware Bandits

We join our hero as she gathers her things diligently, carefully, ensuring she's got it all and balancing her way out the door...

So I gathered up my dishes and to carry them down the hall to wash them. There are two fire doors I have to open and walk through to get to the kitchen, so I have to balance all this stuff really carefully to be able to manage all this. Unfortunately there was some water on the floor I didn't see. Out go my feet; up go my hands, and flying go the dishes. It was a mess. It was totally one of those banana peel cartoon moments. (Shut up, John, I can hear you laughing from here.) Anyway, now that my dishes are all in pieces, there is no need to wash them. Grr...

So, I decided that I should make a trip to Ikea. I've never been, and they have really good stuff like this for super cheap. I texted my friend Kate, who I was meeting with later that night anyway and we decided to make an adventure out of it.

Neither of us had been to the Ikea here, so I looked up directions...Brooklyn!? What!? Ug, fine. So nearly an hour later we arrived at our train stop. (Hindsight says, don't try to leave Manhattan on a Monday night at 5ish...ever!) The lady at the booth told us where to go to catch the shuttle for the Ikea. Their website said it ran every half hour and was right outside the train station.

"Go out this exit and through the park. It stops down there," she said curtly, vaguely pointing behind her. So, we followed her quasi-directions and found ourselves wandering down a street next to a park. Overall, it seemed kinda sketchy. So, with no sign of the shuttle in sight, I made the executive decision to hail a cab...screw it-it's better to pay $10 for the cab than get mugged or worse.

When we finally got to the store, I was amazed. Ikea, if you've never been, is like a Sam's Club on CRACK! It's HUGE!! It's got everything! It's crazy. We got lost in the store. Their maps are so oversimplified. It seems like you turn one corner and you're in the next department. LIES! You snake around 8-9 turns and then find a door marked "shortcut" and never know how you got where you are, nor how to return. And then, it still wasn't where we needed to be! Out of desperation we asked someone for directions. Once we finally got to the correct location (after a ride in a HUGE and rather sketchy elevator), I found the jackpot...tons of plain, drab, fairly ugly dinnerware for CHEAP! Bowls for .78? Yes, please! (Mind you, during all this wandering and chaos trying to get to the store and around it, Kate says, "Why didn't you just order this online?" Omg, really? I'm a retard!)

After finding, finally, what we'd come for, we realized that it was dinner time and had always heard about the famous Ikea meatballs. We decided to give it a try. They were surprisingly tasty. I mean, for store food, not bad, and reasonably priced (for being a captive audience).

On our way back through the ridiculous maze to get out, we stumbled upon some tupperware containers. This made our nights. $3! OMG! I love this place. :D So, both of us getting a set, we made our way to the checkouts. What? No bag? You mean, I have to wander around the city carrying plates and bowls and tupperware? Ug! I'm a moron. OK.

We got the shuttle this time, and headed back to the train. We decided to watch where it dropped us off to see if we were even in the right place to begin with. We were not. The MTA lady had pointed us in completely the opposite direction of where we needed to be. Thanks a lot. But, we were here now, blue dinnerware and all. Wandering through the station, a cop asked us what we were doing carrying all that stuff. He kinda sounded like he was gonna check our receipts to make sure we hadn't stolen them...really? Cuz it's so easy to smuggle bowls and plates out like this!? Grr. Then he just made fun of us. Gee, thanks, helpful.

Once we were finally on the train, we could relax. It had been quite an adventurous night. Then, as we approached our stop and were getting up to get off, the train door closed in our face. What!? Really? Yup. That just happened. So we had to get off at the next stop and walk through Harlem with arms full of porcelain dinnerware and tupperware. Yeah, we're cool. :D

We finally made it home, and let me tell you...the cereal today tasted so much better out of that damn bowl. haha. And Kate is pretty excited about her tupperware, too.

Yay Ikea v-card turn-in. :D

Very Thankful

Although Thanksgiving was yesterday, I vote it's never too late to be thankful. So, I figured I'd write about it.

This year, I am very thankful for the many blessings I've been provided. I have many friends and family that love me very much and that give me an opportunity to love. I am healthy, and have a nice home and food. I am safe and warm, thanks to the many others that sacrifice for me. I am thankful for those that keep me safe. I am thankful I was able to travel home safely (un-frisked! :D) and be with Patrick and our friends, Jim and Nicole (and baby Riley).

I am a very blessed woman, and for that, I am thankful!

Long silence...

Hello all,

I know it's been a while since I've posted. That's because I've been a boring Grad Student. :) After Patrick left, it's been a crazy few weeks.

Last weekend, though, I was able to go down to Baltimore to visit my uncle, aunt and two cousins. It was a great time. Alex, the older cousin (13), was in a play Saturday night. It was fantastic. It was an original play called Once Upon a Game Show. They were all different fairy tale characters and were on a game show like The Dating Game. It was very cute. Alex was to play the part of Doc (7 dwarves) and a stagehand for the game show. However, the day of the performance, one of the kids got hit very hard in the head at his soccer game and was unable to perform. So, Alex picked up his part, too. He ended up playing all 7 dwarves plus the stagehand. He was great! You could never tell that wasn't his original part. He did so well! I'm very proud of him.

The whole weekend was very nice and relaxing. Unfortunately, I picked up Tom's cold (he's 10 now!) and brought it back :(.

So, suffering through this cold has been icky, but then Monday night I got food poisoning on top of it. I was sick all night. It was terrible. But, I have a very sweet friend here that happened to be around when I was in the bathroom and nursed me. She has checked up on me making sure I'm ok. Thanks, Tomomi! I'm feeling much better today, though. My cold is starting to break up...yay!

And tomorrow...I GO HOME!!! I'm sooooo excited for Thanksgiving! Patrick and I are planning to do some skiing, and spend Thanksgiving up in the mountains with our friends Jim and Nicole and baby Riley. I'm quite excited. :D

So, with that, I'll leave you. Happy Thanksgiving, all!

Such a fabulous week!

I had an amazing week! Patrick came this last week (Wed-Tues), and it was amazing. We had so much fun, and I got to be a tourist in my own city, which I love!

Wednesday was a bit tumultuous as he was delayed getting out of Denver. We had yucky storms here, so they wouldn't let him leave. Once he finally did arrive (making up nearly an hour of delays and arriving on time), he had to wait in the lobby until I finished class. Poopy, I know, but couldn't be avoided. So, after class I ran to the dorm where he was waiting. He was engrossed in his phone playing a game, and I think I scared him when I tackled him. Hehe oops. Then we went for o so yummy sushi....mmmmm. We were both so starving that it was gone before we'd realized we'd eaten. :)

Thursday was our first day to explore. We had to be back in time for class, though, so we decided to get an early start. We went to the park (Central Park, that is) and walked around. We started in Columbus Circle (the bottom west corner) and wandered through. It was fantastic. The leaves were at their peak. It was absolutely beautiful. Magical! When we made it across, we found this fabulous new thing...it's called "Wafels & Dinges." I guess that's German for "stuff." Anyway, it was fantastic. It's a cart selling waffles. YUM! Anyway, they also had this new spread. It's like peanut butter but has no nuts and tastes like graham crackers. It's called Speculoos (I think he said it was Belgium); google it...pretty tasty! So I had a waffle and Patrick got his shady hot dog, you know, a hot dog from a street cart vendor. He's been wanting one since he was here this summer, so at 10:30 in the morning, he finally got his shady dog. haha. It was pretty good, too.

After finishing the park way earlier than expected (since we got such an early start), we decided to wander down to Dylan's Candy Bar. It's like the FAO Schwarz of candy. It's three floors and packed with candy. HUGE! After purchasing way too much sweetness, we wandered. Having not really planned much of this week (purposely keeping it open and relatively free), we had nothing to fill the time. We meandered down the street thinking of places to go and things to do. Then we passed this old publishing house. They had an exhibit of the history of their publishing open to the public, and it was free. Neat. So we went in, and Patrick got his fill of reading random things. :) Then we decided what to do!

We caught the train and made the trek.

After about and hour and a half, the train made its last stop. Unfortunately, the conductor's announcement was so garbled (big shocker) that we didn't understand it and get off. So, we rode back a ways, caught another train, and went back to where we should have gotten off. Now we were there. CONEY ISLAND!!! It was a bummer that it was pretty much closed for the season. The amusement park wasn't up and most of the shops were closed, but the Nathan's was still there (of course), and yes, we had [another] dog. We walked the board walk, braving the crazy wind. And enjoyed the air. By then it was time to head back so I could make it in time for class.

After class we had a nice dinner of Ethiopian food with my friend Ali.

Friday was our day to explore downtown. We went to ground zero and then over to Wall Street. We finally found the bull (this summer we had been so close, it's frustrating to think we missed it). We went into the Federal Building where Washington was inaugurated (right across from NYSE). It was a small museum-like exhibit of the history of that building. It was pretty interesting. Patrick was totally into it. He loved all the reading. Then we caught our train.

We headed to Connecticut. After our long ride, we finally arrived in Hartford. Patrick finally got to meet Amanda and her fiance Matt.We headed to Connecticut. After our long ride, we finally arrived in Hartford. Patrick finally got to meet Amanda and her fiance Matt.

Saturday we woke up early, and the four of us headed up to Boston. It was glorious! We did the entire Freedom Trail. It was so much fun. Lots of walking, but lots of fun. I think the best part (for me) was Bunker Hill. I learned a lot, even though I'd been on the FT so many times before. I think Patrick's favorite was the USS Constitution. It was great.

We headed back to CT after a long hard day and enjoyed.

Sunday, after coming back to NYC, we lounged a bit and headed to church. Overall, it was a pretty relaxed day, full of rest, and a much-needed break.

Monday we planned to go to the Met. Patrick was super excited. I think this is what he looked forward to in NY the most. Sadly, however, it was closed. Apparently it's common knowledge that many museums close on Mondays. Oops. So, instead, we wandered the park some more. Afterwards, we decided to head down to Rockefeller Center. It was neat. They already had the ice up and skaters were having a blast. We watched for a little bit until Patrick noticed our next destination: the LEGO store. It was so neat. :D

Then we went to our last tourist spot of the day: Chinatown. I'd never been. It was really neat. But at the same time, it was really frustrating. It's really a weird feeling to be completely illiterate. But, we had a really tasty dinner. Yummmmm

Tuesday we got up super early and made our last attempt at the Met. We had a short day because Patrick's flight and my class made us be home by 3. So, we did a speed-art tour thru the Met and enjoyed as much as we could. We'll definitely have to go back and really take the time needed next time.

Overall, it was a great week, and I had a fantastic time! I can't wait to go home for Thanksgiving, especially for the SKIING!!!