Can someone invent the time machine for me--please?

It's the end of my Manhattan stay and I can't believe it. I spent the last eight months anticipating my eventful summer in the city and BAM! Just like that it's passed. Life really does pass by faster as you grow older.

Mom flies in tonight to help me pack up and to hopefully help decelerate/prolong my last forty-eight hours here. (I think our best bet is to just jam-pack ourselves with activities and dessert!) I've missed her SO much. Not to mention, I've always thought this experience would be so much more special if I could spend/share (at least part of it) with the people that mean most to me.

With that said, I couldn't feel any more love and gratitude for the friendships that I made here. I didn't anticipate meeting such great people. (More than that, I would have never guessed that I'd be willing to even give up the golden coast in order to not leave them!) I'm a lucky girl, to say the least. Honestly, it sort of feels like graduation all over again....and we all know how nostalgic and hard that was for me. But I'm learning that that's what life is all about. Chapters and sections. Converging beginnings and endings.

I suppose the most important part in coping with the next transition to my new chapter of life is to remember all that I learned and gained in this. I learned a tremend-stinking-ous ton. About my myself, about people, about community, about education, about business, and about culture. Plus, with the help of the many museums I visited, I now know more about Swarovski crystals, Couture gowns, the American woman, our Founding Fathers, Picasso & Van Gogh, the Japanese culture, ancient Egyptian/Mesopotamian culture, the evolution of weapons and arms, and the Korean Wars, than I ever thought possible. And no, the Museum of (substitute the verb meaning the act of intimate behavior here) was not included in my travels. But you do have to appreciate New York for it--it truly does have a museum or store for everything.

Anyways...here's to saying "bye"....because I refuse to believe in the absoluteness of "GOOD" bye. I'll be back people!


P.S. There's a piece of the Yellow Cardigan in there somewhere.

New York: I love you.

Okay....confession? I think I was destined to be a city girl. 
There, I said it.

All those meals I hated myself for eating super fast...
All those friends that used to get annoyed with my abnormally fast walking pace (especially considering I'm such a munchkin) at the mall...
Never learning to surf..
My tendency to be busy, busy, busy...
Etc, etc.


I now get it. I was born on the wrong coast!




(Let's not talk about the fact that I only have two weeks left.)

The good news? Brooke is coming to visit me tomorrow. I've been planning our itinerary for weeks!

Other good news? I finished the Gossip Girl series....which means Melody now has to watch High School Musical for me.

The icing on my summer cake? I found out this week that after this NY parade, a quick stop in Nashville, and few days in Las Vegas, I AM GOING TO HAWAII! Man, sometimes it all seems too good to be true.

Pneumonia.

No...I don't have it.

Pneumonia. Pneu-monia.

The word annoys me. I read the word and then can't verbally say it aloud because it tends to trick me. (Think Derek Zoolander not being able to turn left) I personally find the pronunciation so misleading.

PNEUAmonia.


Nope, not any better.

As if.

AS IF it doesn't kill me that I'm missing this season of SYTYCD...

AS IF it doesn't kill me that my home is so far away...

AS IF it doesn't kill me that I haven't seen my sisterhood and mission friends in months....

AS IF it doesn't kill me that I'm in the fashion capital of the country and don't have the money for any of it...

AS IF it doesn't kill me that the girls here are twig skinny and I don't have the body for the clothes anyway...

AS IF I don't mind the fact that I haven't had a home-cooked meal in weeks...(ya I know, speaking of body. ha!)

AS IF I don't sometimes miss spending my summer on the beach...

AS IF I don't miss my mom and pops enough...

AS IF all that weren't enough, I had to come across these today from photobooth.

I miss seeing these kids whenever I want.
I miss babysitting them when Ben & Lu go out on the town.
I miss gabbing with Lu till wee hours of the night with tons of homework still left to do.
I miss watching our DVR-ed shows together over cookies and milk (or another dessert of her choosing).
I miss painting her nails.
I miss scorning her for not taking care of her nails and/or showering.
I miss her green sweater.
I miss Cason saying, "Wawa, happy birthday!" even though it was nearly sixth months prior.
I miss that I'm now (literally) missing Luci saying "Wawa" for the first time.












Should I have titled this "I Miss"?

Operation: Chairlift.

A typical work day includes editing and uploading the latest media footage to the network drive, researching various grants and sponsorships, creating yet another Colin excel sheet of sorts, and writing more e-mails than I typical type in a week. I may or may not have left out the (pretty) frequent facebook update checks.....I'm only human.

Sara and I were surprised to walk into work on Friday and find that our sole task of the day was to pick up an office chair. A big, black office chair donated by a swanky financial trade company.



....it was fifteen blocks.



Can you just try and picture that sight for a moment? Doesn't it seem like it would be rather comical, doing it without my much depreciated car at home?

Well, leave it to New Yorkers to take the quirkiness and fun out of everything. They didn't look or laugh once at the sight of two young girls wheeling each other around Midtown. It's almost like no matter what, they've seen far more bizarre around this city.





I think it's safe to say that the chair needs some new shoes.

And maybe.....I do too.



Totally kidding! I say that to myself everyday.

Change For Kids.

That's who I'm working for.
An organization that is devoted to bringing arts, music, and literacy programs back into the underprivileged elementary schools surrrounding the wealthier Manhattan area (like Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens...).

Money to sponsor these programs (as I'm soon realizing), doesn't grow on trees. So I help plan the events that accumulate the Benjamins they need....by researching and booking venues, contacting alcohol companies for sponsorships...you get the drill.

It's been fun! And I definitely couldn't complain when it brought me into the presence of professional skaters, a Gossip Girl, and the Yankees.

Just saying.

But life in the non-profit industry isn't all Disney. One moment I'm basking in the giddy glamour of going to big events and meeting the celebrities that involve themselves with the charity, and the next I'm transporting heavy equipment to and across an unconditioned Harlem school. Batting my sweaty forehead alongside the CEO of the organization puts things into their proper perspective fast, and I now understand the truth about non-profits: they have to do everything themselves. There’s no money to have a janitor or furniture mover, there isn’t even enough money to pay themselves extremely well--that would mean one less student had access to the escape and future presented by an arts and literacy education.

It's been quite the humbling experience, to say the least, getting close to kids that come from families living below the poverty line and seeing opportunity sparkle with the touch of a keyboard or violin presented to them. It's powerful. And I don't think I have ever appreciated music so much.





(Three of my favorite girls: 2nd graders Ruth, Melyanet, and Jada at their recital)

I've also never felt so small. There are so many more kids, schools, and causes that need help and attention....so I'm struggling to figure out where I can play into that equation. 

P.S. Where are my eyes in this picture?? Should we play a game of Where's Waldo?

If heaven...

                                                                                   ....doesn't have Serendipity...


                          ......then I ain't going!


                                                          It's really that good.