Brooklyn Museum & Botanic Garden

Pink Lotus Flower - Brooklyn Botanic Garden

After a nice day at the beach on Saturday, I decided to check out the Brooklyn Museum (photos) and Botanic Garden (photos) the following Sunday. My timing really could not have been better because apparently there was a good sized storm that passed through, knocking down a couple of trees and throwing parts of northern NYC into darkness - well it was daytime out so I guess it wouldn't be darkness, but you get what I'm saying.

The Brooklyn Museum is the country's second largest museum, following the Met, and contains 1.5 million pieces and the largest Egyptian collection in the Americas. It also has an Arts of Africa exhibit, including a few video loops  offering a quick look into African customs, especially those surrounding the masks and costumes. On the second floor there were exhibits for Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Islamic, Indian, and Southeast Asian Art. The third floor was all Egyptian, but I will get to that later. The fourth floor I pretty much breezed through. It was all about fashion and had a bunch of clothes and shoes - no thanks, that is just not my cup of tea. The fourth floor also has some contemporary art, as well as (replicas of?) the interior of old houses that belonged to people who I have never heard of. The fifth floor included exhibits of American Identities and also the visible storage and study room.

Meditation - Brooklyn Museum

What is currently on the fifth floor is what originally drew me to this museum - Andy Warhol, the last decade. It is a temporary exhibit, and honestly I had much higher expectations. This could have been because there were no pieces that I recognized, but it was still very interesting.

Now, back to the third floor - the Egyptian rooms. I learned so much walking through the third floor, reading everything I could. The most interesting thing that I learned, that I had not already known, was about the positions of the statues. There are only about six different poses that you will see in Egyptian statues:

• Standing: One of the oldest poses, developed even before the Old Kingdom but remained popular throughout Egyptian history. Men are shown with their left foot advances and usually their fists clenched. Women are shown with both feet together or their left foot only slightly advanced and often hold objects or have their hands flat at their sides.
• Seated: This pose also dates back to before the Old Kingdom, when furniture was relatively rare, thus is associated with status and wealth. The Egyptian words for "nobility" and "wealth" are actually a hieroglyph showing a figure seated on a chair.
• Scribe: The scribe pose, a man seated on the ground with crossed legs, is usually shown holding a roll of papyrus spread across his lap. Being a scribe indicated the subject's education, and because education was highly valued by Ancient Egyptians, it also showed his prestige.
• Kneeling: This is considered a pose of worship or prayer, which is why most kneeling statues have been found in temples. Very few were made for non-royal people until the New Kingdom.
• Block: This pose almost always shows a non-royal figure, almost always a male, sitting on the ground, knees up, and arms folded to indicate patience. The figure is usually shown wrapped in a cloak on which inscriptions were often carved.
• Shawabti: These are small, shrouded, cross-armed funerary statues. They represent the deceased and were intended to do agricultural work in place of those persons in the afterlife - like little clones.

I am sure that I am flying my nerd flag high right now, but whatever, I think this is interesting stuff!

Stargazer Lily in Shakespeare's Garden

The one thing that I felt torn about was the mummy chamber. The museum is home to four mummies that depict the four main mummification techniques. The mummies, with the bodies still inside, have been taken out of the coffins and put on display (the dressings are still surrounding the bodies, of course). I wasn't sure how to feel about this. Removing the dead from their resting place, where they have been for thousands of years, to put them on display for people to gawk at just seems wrong. I was going to take a photo, but that felt too disrespectful to me. I can understand the argument that putting them on display is for educational and cultural purposes, and it may be better for them to be displayed in a museum rather than having someone else get their hands on them and distribute them in the black market of art, but still, I fell very torn. I would like to take a class on the ethics of displaying ancient artifacts and remains.

Along with human mummies there were also mummies of animals! Animals were routinely mummified in the same way humans were and have been found in the tens of thousands in so-called animal cemeteries at a number of sites in Egypt. Pretty cool, if you ask me.

After my very interesting museum visit, despite the rain, I decided to head to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. Apparently not many people like being out in the rain, but I love it - ahh summer rain! It was great to have the gardens practically all to myself, and the rain stopped after about 15 minutes anyways. I took some really great photos and discovered that I absolutely love lotus flowers! I really wish that my friend Anne was there with me, though - she knows everything about everything when it comes to plants!

I took about an hour and a half stroll through the different gardens before closing time, and then I was back on the train heading home. Oh, and on the train there were these great performers doing dance and acrobatics - video posted below!

Beach Day! (finally)

Ahhhh, finally... I made it to the beach. For someone who loves the beach so much it is hard to imagine that it took me so long to make to the Atlantic!

Erica, Kathy, & Mika at Rockaway Beach, NY

Last Saturday I went to Rockaway Beach in Queens. The beach is the nation's largest urban beach, and it is supposed to be New York City's best. It is difficult for me to see why it is the best beach around since I have nothing to compare it to - well except the beaches of Maui, California, Barcelona, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Mexico, and Brazil, which, by the way, Rockaway Beach sadly ranks last. I am so spoiled when it comes beaches. It is not that this beach was the terrible, just that all of the other beaches I have been to are so nice!

On the bright side, I got to hang out with a group of nice girls (Kathy and her two friends Mika and Emily). Also, the water temperature was perfect for combatting the 101ºF heat. Unfortunately the beach is littered with trash. I could see the water line by following the streak of debris snaking across the beach - luckily there was no trash floating in the water, although Kathy did have to rescue a plastic bag that blew into the water from the shore (woman after my own heart with that move!). I did get a nice tan and although it was not the best beach of all time, it was still pretty great and I had an excellent day!

One of my favorite parts of the day (besides swimming around in the ocean - I am such a water child) was actually the train ride to and from the beach. Despite the nearly two hours it took to get there by train (even though it is only 20 miles from Manhattan, 26 from my house), the A line goes through part of the 26,000-acre Gateway National Recreation Area and 9,155-acre Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, home to a few hundred bird species. The train ride through those areas was very lovely. JFK is also situated near Jamaica Bay and one of my favorite things to do it watch airplanes take off and land, so that was fun as well. Complications have arisen because JFK is so near to the bird sanctuary creating a battle between technology and nature. I'm sure you remember the miracle Hudson River landing by Captain Sully Sullenberger of Flight 1549 - that crash was attributed to birds getting caught in the plane's turbines. As a reaction to the crash, New York City has just given the ok for over 170,000 geese to be euthanized - that is 1/3 of the current population. The city also recently killed four hundred Canada Geese with carbon monoxide in Prospect Park. I agree with State Senator Eric Adams - there is a more humane way to deal with the birds.

But back to the bright side. My beach day the past Saturday was excellent overall. Tomorrow I will update my blog to include my trip to the Brooklyn Museum and Botanic Gardens that I took the following Sunday.

The day I met Bill Clinton

Erica and Bill Clinton

Yesterday I met Bill Clinton. He lived up to all of my expectations - eloquent speaker, friendly, charismatic. I've been told that even when he has a schedule laid out by his aides he will always do what he wants to do. For example, besides the fact that he was late, he was supposed to walk into the conference room from the front door where was would all see him, at which point we were supposed to stand and applaud. In reality he walked in through the back door, and luckily I had been looking back behind me right as he walked in. So he came in, most everyone else unaware, then me with my mouth said, "Well hello there!" I'm sure there are plenty of you out there who have heard this phrase come out of my mouth and know exactly how it sounds. Well in a silent room it sounded quite loud. I got a little bit of a sideways look from him and laughter from Kathy and Kevin, then started applauding while everyone else was in silence. Not quite the planned entrance, but memorable for me nonetheless.

After about 10 awkward seconds of nobody knowing what to do (he walked almost all the way to the front of the room in near silence) everyone else caught on and stood up to applaud him. He then began his talk. He first started talking about an HIV/AIDS conference he just attended. Saying that it was full of good news as well as bad news, which called a metaphor for the world today. I would go into details, but he was speaking off the record, which means I can't get detailed. But what I will say is that my favorite part of his talk was when he said, "The world is not gonna stop spinning and you can't get off."

I loved that statement because that is how I feel about life. Life is a ride where you can't just decide you don't like it anymore and hop off, and when it is your turn to leave, the world will still keep spinning. So all we can do now is make the most of our lives, move forward one step at a time, do the best that we can do, and be grateful for every bit of it.

Kevin, Erica, Bill Clinton, & Kathy

After his talk we went into a Q&A session. I submitted a question but it didn't get the most votes - oh well. I think the best question came from the very small group of high school interns. They asked something to the extent of, "Looking back to when you were our age, what was the best piece of advice you received?" He sat for a little bit and thought. It was the first time I had seen him stop for a beat and really ponder. He then went on to tell us three stories from his pre-teen and teenage days. All three of them involved teachers - which is where I have to point out the value of teachers, not necessarily for the value of their teaching, but for those golden nuggets of wisdom and advice that they drop, often unknowingly, which, if you catch, will be carried with you for the rest of your life.

I won't recount the stories here, but I will tell you what he calls, "The best advice I have ever received and have ever given."

• Never be afraid to fail
• Everyone wants to feel beautiful
• Always do what you love

Never be afraid to fail. This makes sense. He has this Abraham Lincoln photo with a list of all of his failures, and there were many of them, and at the bottom is ends with, "Elected President of the United States" (something similar to this and this). He explained that even if there is a huge chance of failure (he related it to failure in the eyes of the media) but there is a chance to at least make progress towards success you should go for it, because that progress will mean something to somebody.

Everyone wants to feel beautiful. He explained that just like you or I, everyone else has the desire to feel beautiful, to feel important. He explained that this is why he will walk way out of his way in a huge crowd, with secret service trying to move him along his way, to go and shake the hand of a person in a wheelchair who can't make it to the front of the crowd - because that person too wants to feel beautiful and acknowledged just like everyone else (and from what I hear he does this all the time to the discontent of the secret service and his staff who are trying to keep him safe and on schedule). He said that this is also why you have to really listen to what people tell you. Get to know where they come from and learn about their culture. This in not only to make people feel like they have value but it is also to be able to create solutions that make people feel like you have listened to and incorporated their hopes, wants, and desires.

Always do what you love. People often concentrate on their weaknesses rather than their strengths. This is not how it should be. Usually you are good at what you love and this is where you should focus your efforts - not on how to improve you Chemistry grades, but on enjoying and further exploring the American Literature you love, for example.

The great thing about his advice is that I feel that I already incorporate all of it into my life - so I think I am on a pretty good track.

After Q&A came photo time. Pretty much we got lined up and walked one by one to take a photo and have a short chat. I told him my name and told him that I am a Clinton-Orfalea Fellow. He said, "Nice to meet you," we turned smiled and I was on my way. But Kathy, Kevin, and I asked if we could get a photo of all of us to send back to the Global Studies Program and Paul Orfalea. We were supposed to leave the room directly after taking our photo, but I lingered, and got at least two secret service men telling me hey you need to leave.. to which I replied, "Just hold on." I doubt they hear that very often. I later apologized for sounding so rude - they just laughed, so I don't think it was a big deal. We also got to chat with President Clinton about Paul Orfalea for a little bit and "what a great man" Paul is.

And then like that it was over and I was back on the 4 train on my way home. What a great experience.

Queens Walking Tour

Globe at Flushing Meadows Corona Park

Today after having a lazy morning I picked myself up out of bed and headed out to Queens for the first time. I decided to take Lonely Planet's advice and take the 7 Train from Grand Central. Also called the International Express, it takes you along a national "registered historical trail" riding above ground level through the longtime immigrant neighborhoods of Sunnyside (Romanian, Turkish), Woodside (Irish), Jackson Heights (Indian, Pilipino), Corona Heights (Italian, Peruvian, Colombian, Ecuadorian, Mexican), and Flushing (Chinese, Korean). For me the highlight of the train ride from Manhattan into Flushing was going past 5 Pointz, considered to be the world’s “graffiti Mecca,” where people from around the world come to paint colorful aerosol artwork on the walls of a 200,000-square-foot factory building.

Once I got to the end of the line in Flushing I hopped off the train for a quick stroll through Chinatown before hopping back on to head to Flushing Meadows Corona Park, a 1225-acre park built for the 1939 World Fair. When I arrived, by a happy coincidence, I stumbled upon a huge Colombian Independence Day festival. There were so many people and everyone was wearing the Colombian colors of yellow, blue, and red - much more vibrant than America's red, white, and blue. I wanted to have some food there but the lines were just too long for me and the vegetarian options were limited.

Colombian Independence Day at Flushing Meadows Corona Park

Once I walked through the park and festival I jumped back on the train for a couple of stops until I got to 103rd St-Corona Park (Corona named after the suburb, not the beer - but for all I know the burb could be names after the beer) for a long walk down Roosevelt Ave. This stretch of Roosevelt (I walked for 50 blocks) took me through the Hispanic center of Queens. Everything was written in Spanish and many of the people did not speak any English at all. That was fine by me though, I practiced my Spanish - "Quiero agua, por favor."

After 30 blocks Roosevelt was supposed to turn from Hispanic into Indian. At this point I saw maybe 3 Indian shops, and one Arab shop. It seems as though the Hispanic area has expanded since Sept 2008 when the Lonely Planet New York was last updated, right in the midst of the Great Recession. Anyways, I kept walking for another 20 blocks for no apparent reason, although I am glad I did - I ended up finding a store that was selling sweet Rip Curl board shorts for only $5. I bought Russell 2 pair since most of his are pretty torn up.

Walking down Roosevelt Ave., Queens

After fifty blocks of walking I was ready to get back on the train and headed to Manhattan and Grand Central. Once in Grand Central I discovered where the whispering room is located. There were a bunch of people trying it out. I can't wait to have visitors around to try that with me... I also ate my dinner at Grand Central - delicious Indian food. My favorite part was the potato somosa with chuntey. Delicious! After eating my dinner I grabbed a super mini vanilla cheesecake to take home from the Magnolia Bakery. After that, I headed home.

Oh and the cheesecake was delicious!

A map of my Queens walking tour:


View Queens Walking Tour in a larger map

MoMa - Museum of Modern Art

Study for Luxe, calme et volupté, Henri Matisse

Today after cleaning Ziggy's litter box I went to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa, for short). This is the third museum I have visited, but I definitely did not save the best of the big three  for last. Actually, I'd say that I visited them in my order of preference - the Museum of Natural History, followed by the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met), and lastly the Museum of Modern Art. I love the natural sciences and anthropology, so it mades sense the the Museum of Natural History was my favorite. The Met is a mix of anthropology and art, so it was a nice middle ground. But the MoMa... maybe I just don't get modern art. I didn't find the MoMa very striking. Of course there was some beautiful artwork that stopped my in my tracks, but there was a lot of work that left me scratching my head wondering, "So this is what they call art?"

Luncheon on the Grass, Pablo Picasso

The MoMa does house van Gogh's Starry Night, my favorite painting (well one of my favorites, now that I have been introduced to Monet and others). Besides being a New York icon, seeing Starry Night was one of the main reasons I wanted to go to the MoMa. Although I feel that Starry Night and van Gogh's other painting, Olive Trees, would have fit better at the Met.

The MoMa also had a bunch of Picasso's. I must say that Picasso is growing on me. I like all of the shapes and colors - I can search his paintings for however long I want and always find something new that I hadn't noticed before, this is especially true of his sketches.

Street Food

One exhibit that I especially liked was one called "Rising Currents: Projects for New York's Waterfronts. This project basically re-envisions the coastlines of New York and New Jersey around New York Harbor in an attempt to put forward new ideas that would transform the harbor into “soft” infrastructures that promote good ecology, and in the future, will help prevent New York City from being inundated by rising sea levels. The plan comes is a five part solution and is actually very ingenious, if only there was enough political might and public interest in getting a project like this going. My favorite solution was Oyster-Tecture. Basically the plan is to suspend a matrix of nets below that water that will hold native oysters. There will be spaces between the clumps of oysters for sea life and for people to scuba dive, swim, and snorkel. Eventually the oyster clumps will become mini islands that will be connected by walking paths for the public to enjoy. The oyster islands will not only act as a recreational area for the people of NYC, but will also act as a storm barrier, causing waves to break up and prevent large storm surges. You can see a mini version of the plan in the photos I took.

I also liked the Tree of Wishes - a gift from Yoko Ono. You write a wish on a tab with a string then tie it onto this small tree. I wished for a peaceful end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine and for the end of the war in Afghanistan. Neither are likely to happen any time soon, but one can hope. Maybe Obama will pick up Newsweek magazine this Sunday featuring a cover story by Richard Haass called "Rethinking Afghanistan: We're not winning. It's not worth it. Here's how to draw down in Afghanistan."

Radio City Music Hall

After the museum I took a walk through Rockefeller Center and the diamond district. I wonder if people are aware of where some of those diamonds come from and the circumstances in which they are obtained.

I also had some street food today. Generally street food is pretty great, but today the rice was only ok, the falafel was really dry, and the salad was tasteless. What a letdown. Oh well. I always am thankful that I have the ability to have food whenever I want it.

Also, I have met flickr's photo limit of 200. I am thinking of migrating to Goggle's Picasa. Has anyone tried out Picasa?

Walking Across the Brooklyn Bridge: Downtown to DUMBO

Erica in front of the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan

After my trip to the Met last Saturday I really wanted to go to another museum, but decided to save that for this upcoming weekend. Instead, I decided to go shopping for some new sneakers. I didn't bring and sneakers with me to New York, only sandals and work shoes because my shoes were getting pretty old and they were starting to be uncomfortable. Plus I had no room in my bags! Leaving New York will be fine because I am going to mail my mom all of my work clothes and shoes - hopefully I will make it down to just my big backpackers bag.

Saint Paul's Chapel

Anyways, I took the 4 train down to Century 21, that great store I have already mentioned that has name brands at super discount prices (not that I am a brand snob, I just like a good deal). The store is right next to the 9/11 site (where an 18th century ship was just uncovered) and the train dropped me off in front of St. John's Chapel. The last time I went there, during my walking tour, the cemetery was closed. This time, however, it was open so I took a stroll through the graves, many of whose names have been wiped clean from hundreds of years of rain. Funerals and burials have always seemed so odd to me. Spend a nice chunk of change on the funeral, plus a shining casket as well as a headstone, just to have the new casket buried under dirt and the headstone wiped clean of all traces of you name and any other information. I think funerals are obviously for the people that have been left behind - so they have a place to mourn and a place to come and remember. But after a generation or two, sometimes even less, headstones just become a part of the scenery and eventually they go back to the rocks and dust that they were made from, just like the bodies that lie beneath.

It was also an odd feeling being in a cemetery the overlooks ground zero. I can't put my finger on why that is, and I can't describe the feeling I had either - peaceful yet unsettling may be the best was to describe it...

Panorama of the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan

After walking among the headstones (which by the way people were giving me odd looks because I didn't stay on the path, but isn't that what a cemetery for?) and relaxing on a bench I decided to get moving and headed to the store for some shopping. I went straight to the shoe section - very difficult to find, by the way - and you wouldn't believe it! They had WOMENS athletic shoes in my size! This is the first time this has ever happened to me! They, of course, did not have any dress shoes in my size but just the fact that they had athletic shoes in a size 12 was incredible! Now I own my first pair of shoes that are designed for a women's foot, which also meant that I could buy a color that is generally characterized as girly - bright pink! I always get blue shoes from the men's department, but I finally got to buy a pair of pink shoes! They are not all pink - then I would just look like a clown with how big my feet are - they are mostly grey but with pink detail. Now I have a brand new pair of pink Nikes. Unfortunately, the day after I bought them I read this article about Nike burning tons of rubber scraps per day from their factory in Indonesia (who knows how often is occurs elsewhere). Sad. I wonder if they know how many things scrap rubber can be used for?

The Brooklyn Bridge

After shopping - I also bought a few other things - I started to head back to the subway and decided to walk a a station a bit further away by City Hall Park. That station is also near the entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge. Rather than going home I decided that I should just walk across the the Brooklyn Bridge, one of the oldest suspension bridges in the US - and off I went. By the way, always walk first then shop - otherwise you are just stuck walking with a giant bag of stuff!

It turned out to be a good decision to take that walk because it was just beautiful - the view of Manhattan, the view of Brooklyn, the weather (the clouds were stunning and there were lightning flashes over Midtown), and the water of the East River below. As I was walking across I noticed a park down below in Dumbo (Dumbo = down under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass, oh New York and all of its acronyms) and decided that I would try and make my way down to it. I found the park, which was really easy considering that it was on the waterfront, and the view was spectacular! Right in between the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge. Also, a wedding ceremony was also being set up - what a nice day for a wedding.

Down in DUMBO - view of the Brooklyn Bridge & Manhattah Btidge

I took a little break on some rocks then headed to the subway to try and make it to Lombardi's - the first place pizza was introduced to America. After walking in circles I finally found the place. My expectation was that I would be able to just walk in and get a quick slice, but no. Lombardi's is more like a sit down place, and there were a lot of people waiting outside for a table so I just walked right past - that will be somewhere I go with my Mom and Matt when they come for a visit or with Russell when he arrives.


I took the long train ride home and grabbed a bit to eat at a local diner, of which I had higher expectations. Too bad it was a letdown. Oh well, at least the shake was good, very small, but good nonetheless. The rest of the night I hung out at home with Ziggy the cat.. one day I will have to write a post about how awesome Ziggy is!

Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Skyline

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

Hallelujah - it is not a bed bug!

Today as I was talking with Russell on Skype I saw a little bug crawling across my bed. I flicked it away thinking that it was a tiny spider then realized that it may have been a bed bug!! Gross! I have been a bit paranoid lately about bed bugs because two Abercrombie stores were shut down in New York recently and since that made news more and more stories about New York's bed bug problem have been coming to light. I went shopping yesterday and when I saw the bug today I thought that I may have brought home a bed bug with me.

Luckily, I didn't actually flick the bug away like I had attempted (I searched the floor for five minutes for that thing!) but rather just grazed it then put my roasting computer on top of it, which I think may have been what killed it. So I have the little bug in tact, he was not squished. First thing I did was think, "Yes this is a spider!" - a phrase that I never imagined myself thinking. The I counted the legs: Arachnida - 8 legs, Insecta - 6 legs. Crap, this one has 6 legs...it is a bed bug. Panic sets in and I scour the bed for more, none. Lift the bed to look under, none. Check the wooden frame, none. So I get online to do some research and bed bugs are rare to spot - that is a plus for me since this little guy was out in the open. Then I see photos that match exactly what this one, now in a plastic container, look like. The photo is titled "bed bug." Damn.

Enter stage 2 freak-out.

But I couldn't find any other photos that matched the description of my specimen for confirmation, so I did more research. I started to calm down with the more information I found that did not match my situation. No bed bug droppings, no bites (of course if this were a bed bug that hitched in yesterday he may have just now made it from the other room where my clothes are to the room I sleep in).

Spider beetle - not a bed bug

Finally I came across a website that told me, with photos, what bugs are commonly misidentified as bed bugs - and there was my guy! And it was not a bed bug!!!!! What a relief. I confirmed this with a quick google search for "spider beetle." Here is a photo that I took of the beetle. ---->

What was crawling across my bed was a stray Spider Beetle. They do not bite, and do not feed on humans at all. What a relief! I've heard so many horror stories about dealing with bed bugs. I am still going to keep my eyes open, though, for any signs of the little creatures - mostly out of paranoia...

One good thing to come out of all of this: I now know how to check for a bed bug infestation - an excellent skill for someone who likes to travel as much as I do.

PS: Posts about my weekend outings to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and my walk across the Brooklyn Bridge are coming soon, hopefully tomorrow.

Yes, it's hot - but I'm still enjoying this city!

Yesterday, despite the record breaking heat, Kathy, Kevin, and I went out to dinner with the Mohantys (two professors from our graduate program) who are in NYC visiting family. We went to this AMAZING Thai restaurant and with five people you end up trying a little bit of everything! I usually get curry and pad thai but this time I also got to try papaya salad (green papaya, carrot, string beans, tomato, peanut, and lime juice), crispy whole red snapper topped with sweet tamarind chili garlic sauce, panang curry, yellow curry, pad thai with squid, and something else that was delicious but I'm not sure what it is called. Then Mano ordered a desert of sticky rice and mango, which sounded really strange, but  is incredibly delicious! What a great night - excellent food with wonderful people!

Professors Manoranjah & Bidyut Mohanty, Kevin, Kathy, & Erica

People have been asking me about the heat wave that has settled over the East Coast - yes it is hot, but I have spent a few summers in the tropics and I grew up where the thermometer can reach over 115ºF so for me it is hot, but definitely bearable. Last night I had to run the air conditioner for the first time because it has been difficult to sleep when it is so warm and I really wanted a good nights rest (I only used it to cool the room then shut it off and turned on the fan). The gal I am subletting from also gave me a good tip before she left for France - sleep with frozen water bottles wrapped in cloth. I did that last night and it works really well! I will probably do that again tonight, although the breeze has kicked in and the temperature today was only in the 90s. By Friday it will be back in the 80s. One thing I do love about the hot weather is that the sorbet people come out and sell small refreshing cups of it for only $1. It is a perfect cool down treat to take down into the sweltering subway tunnels (the trains have air con, though).

I am still enjoying work. Right now I have 3 projects, well the third one starts tomorrow. They are keeping me busy, but I like it that way. Kathy and I are still working on the new filing system, I am running an online test forum that I created (which I think is starting to come along quite nicely), and tomorrow I start doing some research - basically finding ways that the same amount of money can reach more people with HIV/AIDS (value for money). It is shaping up to be a good summer and a good internship...it is true what they say, internships are what you make of them, and I plan to make the most out of this opportunity.

Fourth of July Weekend

Empire State Building

Saturday I took myself on another walking tour. I started at Union Square Park where there was a farmers market. I had to wheat grass, which I later regretted because it gave me a terrible stomach ache. And I got that stomach ache while waiting in line to get a shake from the famous Shake Shack in Madison Square Park. The line was incredibly long and by the time I was set to order I was feeling sick and cranky. Then when I got the chocolate shake it was a total let down! I didn't even finish a quarter of it - what a waste of time and money! I did take a little nap under the shade trees in the park until my stomach felt better, then tanned a bit in the sun before continuing my walk.

While walking I came across two sample sales. I had read about sample sales in my Lonely Planet book and have always wanted to check one out. What they say about sample sales is true - there are some serious designer clothes in there for 70-90% off. I was so tempted to buy something, but I remembered reading the Lonely Planet warning: don't buy something just because of the label and the cheap prices, you need to really like it. For example, I found a dress that was $1,500 originally, discounted to $135. Good deal, right? Well, one hundred and thirty five dollars is a lot of money for me no matter how you look at it, so I put the lovely dress down and walked out. Maybe I will go to another one again sometime - it can be fun trying on a bunch of fancy clothes.

Times Square at Night

Next I headed to the Empire State Building and decided to catch the sunset from the top. I have heard that the lines are insane but I saw that people were flying through so I took my chances and went in. Unfortunately the line that was moving quickly was the security line and once I passed that I saw that it would be at least one hour  of waiting to get to the top. Then I remembered reading that if you buy you ticket online then you can pass the line. So I got out of line and decided that I would just wait for another day when I could buy a ticket online.

Times Square

After leaving the Empire State Building I took a walk down 5th Avenue and did some window shopping at all the fancy stores. Then I realized that I was near Times Square so I headed that way to see it lit up at night, and man was it lit up! It is like day time there with all of the lights! I walked up to the top of these bleacher-like stairs that are lit up with red lights and hung out there for a while taking in all of the lights and people (there are many more people there at night than during the day). The as I was heading to the subway I noticed someone was playing one of the public pianos that have been set up throughout the city for anyone to play. The guy who was playing was great! He could play any song and sing along as well. People would shout out songs and he would just do his thing. Everybody was clapping and singing along too! It was so much fun! I stayed there for at least an hour listening to him play.

Times Square Piano Man

Once the piano man had to leave I decided to leave a well, so I headed to the subway to make my way home and go to bed. It is difficult sleeping when it is so damn hot out. At night it doesn't get an lower than 75ºF - that is the coolest it gets! Oh well, better get used to it. I hear it only gets worse in August.

Yesterday, the 4th of July, I headed to a waterfront park to view the fireworks. I am not really one for crazy drunken people so I came to this park where there was only limited access and mostly families. I got a great spot on the lawn, had some frozen lemonade, worked on my tan, and came close to finishing Freefall. I had to get there early to get a good spot before the closed off the park, after which they begin finning up the street behind the park. After relaxing in the park for 5 hours the show started and it was beautiful! A bunch of fireworks being set of simultaneously across the water for a half hour. The show is supposed to be America's largest and it is nicknamed "The Golden Mile" because boats set off fireworks for one mile along the Hudson River.

Hudson River Sunset

After the show was over I busted out of the park as quick as I could while other people were still packing their things. I am so glad that I am a light packer. All I brought was my purse with a book and camera and a sarong tied to the strap. Plus, one person maneuvering through a HUGE crowd is much easier than when you are with a group, so I made it out rather quickly and got onto the subway before the trains started to get too full. That was definitely the most people I have seen on the streets in my life though. Everywhere I looked there were people - and I wasn't even in the thick of it!

It was another hot night and I slept terribly. Luckily today I don't have to work so I was able to sleep in, but that means that I am not going to the beach this weekend. Ah well, maybe next weekend!

Get here early if you want a spot on the grass

Times Square

Times Square is "for Erica"

Today I made it to Times Square! We got off early from work today, so after going ot eat lunch at a French restaurant and watching Ghana score the 45 +1 minute goal I left for Times Square very content (too bad Ghana lost, I was really rooting for them). Anyways, I got to Times Square and there were so many people. People, cars, lights - everywhere. The ultimate symbol of capatilism. I would bet that there are a lot of countries out there that don't use nearly as much energy as Times Square does to keep everything lit up all day long. This is not to say that I didn't enjoy myself today, because I did, that is just not a place I would want to frequent. The next time I go back will probably be to buy a broadway ticket if I decide to see a show - they have automated booths there where you can buy tickets 50% off - but the line is horrendous!

I was very amused by the "For Erica" sign I discovered. Well, it wasn't really a sign but I happened to be coming down the escalator while shopping when I noticed my name. What a perfect angle I stumbled upon! It is like New York saying, "Here you go Erica, this day is for you, enjoy!"

Where is Erica? Click here to see.

After the amazing for erica photo I headed towards a store called Loft to shop - the whole store 50% off, yes! - and noticed that I was up on the jumbo screen! So I took a photo of that as well. See if you can find me (hint: I am wearing a green shirt and jeans -or- click here to see). I must admit that that jumbo screen setup Forever 21 has is one of the best works of advertisement I have ever seen. They get hundreds of people stopping to look up at the screen, which rests above their store and has a giant 21 on it, so now people know what store it is associated with. Then people start pointing so more people head over to see what's going on. Everyone is taking photos. And now with facebook, twitter, blogs, and instant uploads with cell phones, I am sure that the hundreds of people who took a photo of themselves up on the screen (myself included), put those photos online - hello free advertisement, and lots of it. So smart! Whoever thought of that better have gotten a raise.

Clouds over Times Square

After a quick stop at Loft, where I got some rally cute linen capris, I headed back to the subway - a labyrinth in this part of town, by the way - and headed home. One of my favorite things to do, still, is ride the train and observe all of the flavors of people in New York. It is also a good time to thrown some calming music onto my trusty ipod (today it was Thievery Corporation) and focus on my breathing. So relaxing. Then I came home and had my favorite end of day snack - chopped avocado with Italian dressing. It is too bad that even my salad dressing has corn syrup in it... damnit! That stuff in inescapable! Really, start paying attention to that.

Now it is time to enjoy the three day weekend!

Times Square panorama