That's What She Said

My mom in Central Park

The next day my mom and I woke up and took the bus to the airport - after stopping at Fairway Market, the best supermarket ever! I had a really great time hanging out with my mom, and she proved to be an excellent sight-seeing companion - nice relaxed style like me. I wish she would have had one or two more days in NYC just to being the tempo down a little. I also would have liked to take her through the rest of Central Park - we didn't make it to the "wild" area of the park, nor the north end of the park (one of my favorite areas).

Here is what my mom had to say:

I had the best time in New York and was so lucky to have a free tour guide. I could not imagine having to find all the sites myself. I got to see so much and enjoyed every minute of it. We were non-stop all day and I was lucky to have the perfect weather, I would recommend September as a great month to visit. I loved the Statue of Liberty and had many conflicting thoughts at Ground Zero. If you like shopping there is plenty of that. Times Square was very interesting lots of people everywhere. Central Park was awesome would have liked to gone there for a whole day and walk the entire park, with a dog would be cool. Going to the Top of the Rockefeller was amazing, you could see so much. Anyhow I had a great time and would like to thank Darwin for his free flight and my beautiful daughter for spending the time to show me the sites of New York, it would not have been the same on my own. Also was grateful to have a place to stay for free and the many good eats, thanks to Russel and Erica. Someday I will travel back there if my free tour guide can go.

Wow. I sound like the best guide ever! And I probably am, mostly because I've read Lonely Planet New York City so many times and my head is full of fun and random NYC info.

My mom and I in Central Park

Breakdancing in Central Park

Finally I am having some time to go through my videos and spruce them up a bit. Here is the first one:

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Another excellent weekend! After sleeping in and lounging around the house for a while I decided that i had better get outside and get moving, so I hopped on the train and decided to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met, for short). Again, like all of my other weekend adventures, the museum did not let down!

Check out my photos of the Met on Flickr.

For general admission it is $20, but for students it is only $10 - yes! I've noticed that at museums around here you don't pay for admission. The sales clerks always say, "It is suggested that you make a $10 donation. Is that ok?" This time I asked the guy what would happen if I said that I didn't want to pay $10. He told me that he would just ask how much I wanted to pay and then that is what I would pay. So apparently they can't charge you, but prefer that you make the suggested donation. I think that you can really say that you don't want to make a donation and they would still have to let you in. I would try it, but $10 is nothing for a nice day in a lovely air conditioned building. Update: Yes, you can get in for fifty cents if you want to.

Upon entrance I went directly to the gift shop to get some postcards, which I still need to write on and mail out. I also bought two rocking blue bracelets... well I bought one at the beginning, then another one later when I decided that they would look rad as cuffs. Anyway, after that quick stop I entered that galleries. I started with the Egyptian Wing. It was full of art, sarcophaguses (or sarcophagi, whatever you prefer), sculptures, and actual walls from some of the buildings and tombs in Egypt. The Egyptian Wing was certainly one of my favorite parts of the Museum (along with Islamic, Asian, and Oceanic Art). It still creeps me out a little that we dig up bodies that have been entombed for thousands of years. Seems so disrespectful. I wonder if there will be any creatures around to to the same to us in a few thousand years. Another thing I found interesting were the ancient flip-flops on display. I guess it's true - some things never go out of style!

After the Egyptians came the American Wing....zzzzzz.... snooze. I didn't much like the over the top furnishings and huge beds... there wasn't really much art, mostly just artifacts, I guess you would call them. Early American artifacts. I went through there pretty fast and made my way through Medieval Art and on to European Sculpture and Decorative Art. I went through those two sections rather quickly. Then came a small Modern Art section, which was ok. Next was Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas - kind of an odd group to cluster together, but whatever, it was one of my favorite areas! I took some good photos in that area but when I got home some of the photos were destroyed! I was a little upset over loosing a few really good photos, oh well though, no use in staying upset. Anyway, I thought the Ambrym Silt Gongs were really neat, and really huge! They are one of the largest freestanding musical instruments on earth and can carry sound for miles enabling them to be used for communication over very long distances - even, in some cases, between islands! All of the colorful headgear and costumes were neat as well.

The last section of the first floor was the Greek and Roman Art. The art was nice but what I enjoyed even more were the sculptures. They are all so big and beautiful and all with such detail. Just as I do with art work (and sarcophaguses), I like to look at the expressions on the faces of the sculptures, well the ones who still have faces anyway.

After finishing my tour of the first floor I went on up to the second floor where I spent most of my time in the Asian Art area. I especially liked the Ancient Near Eastern Art, Islamic Art, and South Asian Art sections. Upstairs there was also sections for Cypriotic, Central Asian, Korean, Chinese, Southeast Asian, and Japanese Art, along with more American and Modern Art.

Two Cut Sunflowers, Vincent van Gogh

Another area that I spent a lot of time in was the European Paintings Hall. That is where I saw my very first real life Vincent van Gogh painting, who, up until this point, has been my favorite painter with his "Starry Night," (Starry Night is not in the Met, but is at the MoMa, where I will go this coming weekend) but after seeing some Monet I think Mr. van Gogh has some serious competition in vying for the favorite spot in my book. There were two paintings that I absolutely adored, but the descriptions of them were among the photos that never made it out of my camera, so now I don't know their titles or the painter... maybe you can help? You can see them here and here.

Currently, there is Pablo Picasso exhibit going on at the Met. It is quite large and shows many of his famous works as well as many of his lesser known works that he created throughout this life. There was even one, called Erotic Scene, finished in 1982, that Picasso himself disowned and is now on display for the first time ever, well since April 2010. That painting was getting quite a lot of attention and elicited more than a few giggles. I'd say my favorite Picasso painting that is saw was Guitar and Clarinet on a Mantelpiece (1915). I also enjoyed The Dreamer (1932) and Bacchanal with Kid and Spectator (1959).

Erica on the roof of the Met

After spending some time admiring all of the artwork at the museum I must say that I think I enjoy bright, vivid colors but I also enjoy a good neutral colored painting, especially ones with blues (such as Guitar and Clarinet on a Mantelpiece). I also found that I like Pointillism very much.

Once I had seen everything I began heading for the exit when I recalled seeing a sign that pointed to an elevator to the rooftop garden - there is not way I was going to miss a rooftop garden! And good thing too, it was spectacular!!! The Met, you see, is in Central Park, so the view from the roof looks over the park towards downtown Manhattan. What an incredible view and there was a nice breeze blowing - just perfect. I decided that I couldn't pass up the opportunity to have a cool drink on the roof of the Met, because really how often will I get that chance. I put down $12 for a deliciously fruity martini, walked to the edge and stood drinking in the flavors, the view, the breeze, and the wonderful day.

Metropolitain Museum of Art rooftop view

A Walk in the Park

View of Midtown Manhattan from Central Park

Another seemingly never ending day at work, but really I can't complain - nice office, nice people, nice view. Getting tired of going through stacks of documents, but somebody's got to do it, and it is rather interesting I suppose. On the plus side there are nifty projects that I am starting on the horizon.

Betjhesda Fountain's Angel of the Water, Central Park

Anyways, after watching Paraguay kick Japan out of the World Cup I went down to the Clinton Global Initiative's midtown office for Career Day. Since we were the ones who got to ask all the questions, I decided to take the opportunity to ask a few things that relate to what may become my thesis topic. I went there quite excited, but the answer I got to my question was a bit of a let down. I mean, it was a very politically neutral answer, which is good, but boring. I will have to reword it to be more specific and concise, especially if I want to make this question the one question I ask President Clinton.

There was one woman who was very helpful, though - Judy. I had heard that she is a resumé expert so I handed over my resumé and she pretty much tore it apart and restructured it. I love when people who are smarter than me destroy my work and help me produce something better - it's a real learning experience as long as you don't get offended and are willing to take their advice in stride.

Central Park, New York City

After Career Day Kathy and I headed to Central Park for a afternoon walk. Luckily it wasn't too hot or humid out. It was just perfect for a walk. While we were walking we saw this boy juggling and doing Chinese yo-yo tricks, and he was actually really great! After stopping to watch him for a bit we continued on out way until we go to the Bethesda Fountain with the Angel of the Water sculpture. In front of the fountain there was this guy making giant bubbles and nearby a small choir was singing beautifully. I could have sat there all day it was so relaxing and wonderful. The best part was when a bubble popped over my head, splashing me with bubble ooze. Kathy started busting out laughing at me and the next thing you know she takes an unexpected bubble to the face! Instant karma - ha!! I happened to capture it on video - I think it is pretty hilarious! After spending quite a while watching the bubble man and listening to the choir we moved onto a nicely wooded area and saw a bunch of squirrels and raccoons. If it wasn't for the sounds of the city I could have easily forgotten that I was in New York City. One thing that I found awkwardly stunning was the contrast between the trees and greenery of the park and the towering buildings nearby peeking over the horizon. Beautiful and disgusting at the same time.

Bethesda Fountain, Central Park

Time for Work, and a Bit of Play

View from the office

Yesterday was my first day working at the Clinton Foundation - and it's pretty cool. I am working on the top floor next to President Clinton's office, although if you keep up with the news you will know that he is currently in Africa. My office overlooks central park, which is really great. I have an office one floor lower as well, but without the view.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to write much about what I am currently doing since it involves confidential matters regarding the President and his work, but I can still write vaguely about my days there.

Once a week we have speakers come in for the "brown bag lunch" series. Yesterday a fella came in to talk about Advance. He pretty much told us about the intense amount of planning and coordination that happens before a president, presidential candidate, celebrity, etc., arrives at an event  -  from where (s)he will land to who will greet them, where the press will be, backdrops, lighting, sound, EVERYTHING - and it seems like there is A LOT of planning that goes on. In addition, they have to conduct walk-throughs to get timing and coordination right. The main point I got out of the talk was that the Advance team is basically trying to set up a scene where the media will be able to encompass the moment in a single photo or camera shot. I thought it was all very interesting.

10,000 people in Central Park practicing yoga

After work Kathy and I met her pal Mika at Central Park (yay! I finally made it to Central Park!) where there was a MASSIVE yoga meet-up. Over 10,000 people were meeting to get a free yoga mat, and some extra goodies followed by a yoga session on the great lawn. The line (well, there were multiple lines, actually) wrapped through the park out onto the surrounding streets. Unfortunately you had to have a print-out ticket to get the free mat. Mika had a ticked, so she waited in line, which ended up being unnecessary because I just stepped into the front of the line and was handed a free mat, water bottle, and bag - even without a ticket! SCORE! So now I have a real yoga mat! And although it started raining (I left went the rain arrived) the event did manage to break the world record for the largest registered yoga class.

On another note, my feet are pretty torn up. I bought really comfy shoes to wear to work, but when you end up walking miles a day it can add up to some major blisters - it's actually not that bad, only two blisters and they are already healing up. On the bright side, my legs are looking mighty fine from all of this walking, plus all of the stairs I take to get to and from the subway. Brazilian bikini here I come!

Turtle Pond in Central park

Also, the food here is really great! There are street vendors selling deliciously ripe and freshly cut fruit on every corner uptown near my work. I plan to have some every day after I leave the office. And fruit here is even cheaper than in California! I bought a giant box of scrumptiously sweet strawberries (how about that alliteration!) for only $1.50, when in CA it would have been at least $4 or more.

Suffice to say that I am having a great time getting to know New York. I really enjoy it here. One of my favorite things to do is watch the demographics change on the subway as I make my way through the city. By the time I get to my stop I am usually the only white person on the subway car! --Don't worry, I feel very safe, and people are extremely nice. I live in a residential area with a lot of families around-- And it is amazing how many people speak Spanish here. I have never seen so many non-Latinos speaking Spanish in my life! I really am loving it here right now, but I don't think I would want to be here for the polar winter. Spending the summer here, I think, will be the perfect amount of time.