Day 17: Directional Challenges

If it’s summer, am I still allowed to take a day off?

My two weeks of self-proclaimed laziness have come to an end and as I check my phone’s to-do list, there’s a lot to do before my internship starts in the next week! 

I’m enjoying the weekend as much as everyone around me deserves this 3-day break and rang in Saturday by sleeping till 2p.m. I lazed around and watched TV all day and Murphy’s law would have it that when I finally decided to leave the apartment and go for a run, it started storming. Oh New York City.

The evening started off with taking the Metro in the wrong direction, indulging in a Mac ‘Shroom meal at Delicatessen with family friends and ended with us learning that Google Maps is not our friend after the sun sets. 

Day 16: Close To Home

Friday was casually predictable in the best way. I got on an over-packed Chinatown bus to get back to New York from Boston, slept the whole way and sat through two hours of New York peak hour traffic. 

My biggest accomplishment for the day was finally uploading music to my iPhone in order to not excessively use my limited data to listen to Pandora.

Upon arriving back in NYC, I shifted living locations and enjoyed a Malaysian meal consisting of teh, milo, roti canai and char kuay teow with my brothers friend. 

I’ve basically lost track of time and therefore the excitement of Friday ended with cuddling with my friend’s Aruban dog. 

Day 15: Lobsters and Domes

Thursday was adventurous to say the least and was definitely a day of firsts. 

First time to eat home-cooked lobsters, first time to take the T alone and not get lost, and the first time to successfully sit by the MIT dome. 

The day started off pretty slow but ended up with us racing time. I had a wonderful day hanging out with my rock star cousin who’s graduating from MIT in a week (amazing), meeting up with a high school friend and watching the Hunger Games, again. But the perfect ending was having a magnificently relaxing view of the Boston skyline at the wee hours of the morning. 

Thanks for a great trip Boston, but I’m terribly excited to go back to the busy streets of New York City. 

Day 14: Run Miles

Today could have easily been spent sitting at the apartment all day, doing nothing but watching TV, surfing the internet and talking to my aunt. Predictable? Yes. Boring? No. 

However, we ended up waking up before 11 (First time in a while), eating a scrumptious home-cooked breakfast and spending most of the day outside. 

The weather finally became lovely here in Boston and I had this urgent desire to run and finally start getting back in shape. The running culture and paths in this city was so motivating and the amount of bridges and paths for exploration made it even more enjoyable.

Six miles later, I somehow ended up in Cambridge by Harvard and found myself a mile from about where I was supposed to meet my family. However, I stumbled upon Andy Samberg’s class day speech for Harvard and just sat there, listening. It definitely was the most pleasant surprise. Afterwards, we explored Harvard Square and I was most impressed by the livelihood of the area and it seemed completely different than when my summer program visited it in ‘09. 

A huge bowl of Vietnamese pho later, the whole apartment is asleep before 10p.m.(food coma much?). But now i’m up and awake again and sitting here trying to figure out what to do, thinking about how glad I am that relationships mature and change as we grow up as I reflect upon the past week. 

As much as I love Emory and can’t wait to spend two more years there working with the wonderful people and organizations i’m involved in, I’m pretty sure I love the Northeast and wouldn’t mind living here. 

Day 12: Boston Bound!

In professional settings I can handle conflict or uncomfortable situations pretty well. But when it comes to personal, life situations where I’m not at ease, I run, pretty quickly. I tell myself that if I’m uncomfortable with something, then I have to do something to change it. Most times the solution is a change of scenery - be it going for a physical run, walking with no direction and no sense of time, or actually leaving town for a few days.

I’m trying to get better at coping with uncomfortable situations but it’s definitely a work in progress. My best friend tells me it’s only as awkward as you want the situation to be, or i’m only as awkward as I believe I am, and I remind myself of this whenever a situation occurs. 

This time, I headed to Boston, where I have family and a sense of comfort. The long bus ride, slipping on sidewalks, traffic and the not so pleasant highway scenery was what my Monday afternoon consisted of. Monday evening, however, was a little bit of a different adventure with chicken rice, watching movies based in NYC *(didn’t realize how much i missed the city already), late night walks through Boston Commons and wee-hour rooftop adventures while taking in a breathtaking view of Boston and the Charles river. 

Hopefully this mucky weather goes away soon. 

Day 13: Straight face Rain

I’ve given myself a two week period of pure relaxation for the summer and the end of this time period is approaching soon. After sleeping at my cousins dorm at MIT, we woke up, ambivalent to time and struggled through the rain to an art store and an Indian Buffet (can you tell I love food yet?). 

I headed back to do some reading for my internship, walked around MIT’s super artsy campus and was shown the different buildings where news-publicized events take place (the piano drop and the tetris show). Ultimately, I ended up napping (typical).

Two free meals later (that included an introduction to cannolis) and it was back to bed. I’m sort of in a daze, not really realizing where I am or how far I’ve traveled; but it’s good to be around family and have time to catch up, even though we’re on the other side of the world from the rest of our clan. 

Day 9: Tea & Cathedrals

Today was definitely all about exploring. The afternoon started off with us visiting St. Mark’s Place to pick up costume pieces and eat Vietnamese food (quality Asian food outside of Asia, yay!) before I went my own way. 

I spent the day walking around the city, enjoying the sights and just being really grateful for this opportunity I have. I settled down at a tea shop just beyond Union Square called Argotea. They had a wonderfully unique selection of drinks such as Sangria flavored tea and Jasmine Tea-mosas.

As I took my time at the tea shop, I looked on my bucket list of things to do in the city and had an awkward amount of time between then and dinner. The only thing possible to see was St. Patrick’s Cathedral up on 51st and Madison. Strolling up to the cathedral, with an over-rated but obligatory pretzel in hand, I walked for about an hour to get to the Cathedral.

While there, there was a wedding practice going on but it was still full of tourists even at 6pm. With beautiful architecture and a serene atmosphere, I spent over an hour there just walking around and contemplating my summer and decisions I had made.

The night ended with good Thai food and visit to my future apartment with my future summer roommate. All in all, a pretty solid day. A lot can happen even if you wake up after noon ;) 

Day 11: Madison Square Eats

After a late night return on Saturday, Sunday was the most casual Funday. After another night of couch surfing, I woke up and strolled up town, trying to take a different path every time. I slowly made my way to Union Square, and then on to Madison Square Park, where I had planned to meet a friend for Madison Square Eats.

Along the way I found some great treats - a 4 for $1 dumpling store on Clinton Street and a Ukranian Street Fair. The one thing I love about this city is that there is something always going on if you desire to look for it. Something new, something unique.

After finally making it to Madison Square Park, my next goal was to find a free wi-fi coffee/tea shop in the city. I did not realize this would almost be an awkward/impossible task. Alas, I caved in to the reliable internet at Starbucks, after only 5 days and worked on my trip to Africa while I people watched. 

I met up with a high school friend at 5p.m. for dinner at Madison Square to try out the food market. I feel like as we get older, we learn to communicate better and learn to be on the same page, regardless of how much time has passed since we last spoke. It was a lovely evening hanging out with my friend as we ate, laughed and just talked about life and our identities while exploring The Strand Bookstore, a high tech Wholefoods and different parks. 

Our meal for the night ended up being tiramisu, fresh strawberries and lovely delights from Madison Square Eats: meatball sliders and two fried risotto balls (1 savory and 1 sweet) from Arancini Bros (highly recommended mouth watering experience). I wish I took more photos of the delicious food, or could remember the names of the stalls. I might just have to return. 

The night ended with a late night walk and hanging out at a cafe with a new friend. Pretty solid day of discovering. 

Day 8: New York, New York

So today I spent my first summer day in New York. It was wonderful. Being back in a walking city, with skyscrapers and constant buzz was incredible. It’s been a while since I’ve walked this much. 

In true summer style, I didn’t wake up until after noon. Grabbed lunch with some friends at a great location across the street and then headed back to clear my emails (…..can’t escape for too long). I took the afternoon off and just went for a run along the east side of the island. The running culture here is great and I feel like morning runs might be the way to go.

Afterwards, I, of course, hit up SOHO. Yes. Walked into the first shop wearing a pair of broken sandals, and I came out with a new pair. Done.  

Picked up some house accessories as payment for my current living situation then headed out to the NYU/Union Square area to hang out with an old friend. We grabbed dumplings, bubble tea and helped her clean her dorm room out. It’s great how time doesn’t really affect some relationships. 

It has been 24 hours and I have successfully avoided taking the subway. Walking might just be the way to go, as long as I have GoogleMaps. Can’t wait to see what this summer holds! 

Day 7: Off we go!

Back to the airport. DFW is one of the most complex yet well structured airports I have ever been too. It’s also one of the slowest security lines i’ve ever had to witness. Wheels up and 3 hours later i’m in New York City :) We flew over the whole city while landing at La Guardia and it was beautiful. Arrived at my friend’s place, baked slutty brownies, explored the wonder that is Clinton Street and just chilled.

Discovered this app called LemeCam, kind of addicted. Thanks Kyle.

Day 6: Southlake

Pool, sun, dogs and a comfortable home. Spent the day outside, napping and was probably the first time I got on my laptop in days. Explored a little more of downtown Dallas, at another level. I can kind of see why people don’t want to leave Texas. Another falling asleep on the sofa while watching TV and hanging out kind of night. 

Day 5: DFW

We headed back to Dallas and of course, stopped at IHOP - pretty staple food for a pretty predictable day. Techno, sleep, highways and finally left the condo to be social. 3 locations, 4 days. 

Day 4: Austin

When I look back and think about what we did that whole week in Texas, one word comes to mind: nothing. And for once in my life I think i’m okay with that. As my best friend said, this is the one time I don’t have to be stressed or consistently on over-drive. No coffee, no tea, just sleep. 

We lay out on my friend’s balcony which is one of the most peaceful places ever. With a sofa and another hammock, we were there from noon till midnight. The neighbors probably thought we were crazy, but at the end of the day it’s summer.