Trick or Treating in New York is a whole new ball game for me.
While walking (strollering) E. and N. i saw a new version of trick or treating. Here is what i was told happens, an apartment building has a list of private apartments which will allow/want trick or treaters to visit, then the kids can go to those places OR those who want can add candy to the big pot out front in the lobby and kids will just go door to door.
The other place kids trick or treat is at some stores. I saw this in France a few years ago, but i could never imagine doing this in a big city...so different. Kids walk from a hair salon to a clothing store trick or treating. I also heard about some streets shutting down and there would be a halloween block party. They have MORE candy and face painting and all sorts of crazy fun things for kids. It's very different, but functions!
Although E. and N. are to little to trick or treat they aren't too little to dress up and show off how cute they are at the Washington Square Park kids fest, or whatever that madness of kids was called. So many adorable costumes (on little kids...adult stuff i'll tell you about later). Some kids i saw were the regular, princess, bugs, animals, but there were some super cute ones like the ewok ( who was the height of an ewok and walked like one too, that was because his legs were tiny and he was probably wearing a diaper), there was also the kids (no older than 5) dressed as KISS, along with their parents of course, but totally funny! It's always great seeing the little kids dressed in really creepy costumes like realistic monsters or George Bush (who dressed up that kid!).
So Halloween is a big freakin deal here, all the alter egos come out and it gets so confusing...is that person in costume or is that truly them. A bunch of my friends and i went to the Halloween parade...hundreds and hundreds of people line the streets and also can line up and "star" in the parade!! It took so long for everyone to come up the parade route that we left early (it was 10:30pm by then, started at 8pm...got there at 6:30pm for GREAT!! spots).
As for the adult costumes people get really creative...1)the farmer in the dell-dressed up as farmers in Dell boxes) 2) paris hilton in jail-yeah hehe 2) Katie Holmes clones (chanting and being possessed)with tom cruise "presenting" them. 3) The claw-the arcade game that had toys that you never actually win 4)oh Wizard of Oz made out of metro cards (subway cards)...this has turned into name all the costumes, but in case you'd rather i can send you the link to my photos.
I love Halloween and could go on about this forever, but i'll end it here, so much more to write about.
xo
S.
ps: i went as a flower ie: a shrub as some really great guy decided i should be instead.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Random things
Things noticed in NYC:
1)The dog of choice in NYC is the Boston terrier and pug. Yes all the other small dogs exist, but i have seen so many terriers/pugs it's a matter of time before some movie star has one and the popularity explodes. Beware...Lilo, Hollywood Ebola or dingdang Brit could wreck it for us all!
2) xmas has started...about 2 months early! Radio City Music has started promotion for the Rockettes Christmas spectacular and while Target has not whipped out the xmas decorations (Halloween is still in full fledge there) drug stores are putting up Christmas TREES and garland! Oh and my favorite, a commercial with a very subtle playing of xmas carols. SERIOUSLY, WHAT is with retail here!!
1)The dog of choice in NYC is the Boston terrier and pug. Yes all the other small dogs exist, but i have seen so many terriers/pugs it's a matter of time before some movie star has one and the popularity explodes. Beware...Lilo, Hollywood Ebola or dingdang Brit could wreck it for us all!
2) xmas has started...about 2 months early! Radio City Music has started promotion for the Rockettes Christmas spectacular and while Target has not whipped out the xmas decorations (Halloween is still in full fledge there) drug stores are putting up Christmas TREES and garland! Oh and my favorite, a commercial with a very subtle playing of xmas carols. SERIOUSLY, WHAT is with retail here!!
ah progress
Progress is being made! A couple of days ago i was called ShaNNon...for most people this is normal, but for little E. it deserved a celebration. Praising and dancing and singing ensued because that's what you do for a pre-two year old when they finally pronounce the name of their nanny right (how am i going to celebrate when she FINALLY "goes" on the potty?). E.is very funny, i call her my little copy cat. She will repeat anything you say more than twice randomly a few minutes later. Exhibit a)Shannon and E's mom discussing the doctors office: "that poor kid was coughing so hard i thought he had tuberculosis"...2 minutes later..."tuberculosis, tuberculosis...hehe, tuberculosis". exhibit b) E's mom talking to Shannon and E "E. what does shannon say" E. " pardon me, pardon me". So it turns out i'm a really polite person...yeah well now i'm teaching a two year old how to say pardon me, but just not in the right context...oh well, soon enough.
Adventure of last week
Adventure of the week, riding the subway with a rat. So i don't generally choose to ride the train with a rat, but during rush hour it really has a way of clearing up some space on an overly crowded subway car. Story: Work is at West 14th street, at West 23 a bunch of people and a rat get on board. There was a lot of screaming, running around and jumping on seats (while the train is in motion) as the rat decides to walk the length of the train and then park itself under a newspaper by the seats directly across from me. When the train stopped at the next station a large portion of the passengers jumped off, i stayed on...i could see it and it was pretty scared of all the screaming and not moving anywhere. I had nothing to worry about. Then for the next 80 blocks any person who got on the train was told about the rat...amazingly it did get more crowded near the end of my train ride...and the rat, couldn't see it when i got off. Did it get off without anyone noticing, or is it riding the New York rails for the rest of the night?
Sunday's
In my living room i have a great set of windows that face north which actually receive light (unlike many of my friends and most people of NY). My street, which is a two way street (most streets of NY are one way hoping to relieve congestion), is great because when i lean way out of the window i can see part of the Cathedral St. John the Divine. It's absolutely gorgeous, even if it's going through mass renovation due to a fire in 1997 (they finally raised enough money). Every day they chime the hour, but on sundays they do it up really nice and the bells play gorgeous music which drift into my windows while i'm "writing" my papers. As i write this it actually feels like fall, i have beautiful light reflecting off the building across the street and i hear the bells playing. Ah Sundays in New York, quite possibly the best day of the week.
http://www.stjohndivine.org/
http://www.stjohndivine.org/
Getting it all started
Email sent:Oct. 15
Hello from one of the newer residents of New York's Morningside Heights/Upper West Side,
If you don't have time to read this, know this one thing...i'm doing great and loving it here in New York!
School is amazing! The basics: I'm at Bank Street College of Education doing my MSc in Child Life. I'm so happy to be doing what i really want as the longer goal. My program is pretty small (16 fabulous women...not a lot of men in Child Life overall). I have 3 masters classes a week, medical aspects of illness, child development and my core Child Life class. All really interesting and setting lots of ground work for the next two years and the future. There is quite the mix of people in my classes, from all over the U.S. (i'm the only canadian) and a bunch from New York area (originally). I get along really well with them and i'm really glad to have such a great network of people because there is no doubt that what i'm pursuing is going to be emotionally challenging...these ladies will be an immense support to me.
Surprisingly school hasn't been as busy as i expected (although i've been told that it's just a break before next year!), so i've started working as a nanny. I take care of a 22 month old, E, and her 2 week old brother N. It's been a while since i did the baby thing, but i'm loving it. They are such good kids! She listens so well, makes me laugh till i cry and is really trying to get my very long name down in one mouthfull. So far i'm Shamman. She'll get it! I also find it so fascinating to see them develop along with my child development textbook (is that crazy of me, haha).
So i've been doing a lot of exploring of the city, and the city night life as well...kinda feel like i'm back in undergrad again (getting a redo??). This is a very crazy city...tons of people and it's NEVER quiet out. I have found this city to be very safe and people are very very friendly. There are so many people around and all of them (so far) have been so nice! A lot of people have said it's the 911 thing, but i think that people are inherently nice and New yorkers get a bad rap. This is not to say that i'm not keeping my wits about me. I'm being smart about where i'm walking and who i'm with...i'm a smart girl (this is a message to my family if you're not noticing :) I love your concern for me, i'm okay!
New York is hard to explain. It's very easy to get around and generally very fast thanks to their amazing transit system which is overall pretty reliable. But it's a vast city...incredibly vast. I realized this last night when it took my friend and I an hour and a half to get to the Lower East side (SoHo) from Upper West side (Oh and just so you get a bet of a better idea of the distance...it's over 130 block trip) for $2 dollars via the subway, but then a cab home was only $25 (and 25 minute ride)...not so much but that would be $50 to go both ways...would have been a very pricey night for us. It's alllll worth it though. New York is so much fun!! Always something to do and people to do it with.
Interesting things to note about the big apple
1) lots of delicious apples in the city...farmers markets take place all over the place
2)First and only celebrity sightings (that i know of)...Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler. For those not obsessed with Law and Order Special Victims Unit those names will mean nothing. I may have taken E. walking towards the set just to see if i could see anything, which i did! I am a horrible nanny! BUT if Elmo or Dora were filming anything i would have walked her that way too...am i redeemed?
2a) Brad pitt was filming his newest film a few blocks away, but i didn't get to see him, just lots of trucks
Also Lucy Lui in the Cashmere Mafia...check it out to see my 'hood...lots of filming around my area!
2b) if you've watched You've Got Mail know that i live a few blocks from basically every shot in that movie...they love the upper west side...so beautiful!!
2c) Seinfeld's "Tom's Restaurant" is just up the street...such good brunch and open 24 hours...and they milk the seinfeld thing for all it's worth (way to go them!).
3) great street meat/food. I never thought i'd ever say this because generally i don't eat that stuff...but here it's just so great, you can't help yourself! Lebanese, greek, new york...name it it's sold on the street...so yummy!
4)Rodents...yes i see them all the time. NEVER in my apartment thank god. Two days ago i experienced both a rat and mouse within a few seconds of the other. I couldn't believe it but mice are actually very very small in comparison. Rats are ginormous here!!! sick sick sick...seriously not joking the size of a small chihuahua...BAH GAG yuck!
5)New york accent i believe is actually a spanish accent. I have had to use my spanish so much since i've arrived...mostly listening to know i'm not getting ripped off, but occasionally to be clear about misunderstandings. English is not even close to being the most commonly used primary language.
Time has flown by! I've had so many visitors (Thanks guys, you've made the past few weeks fabulous!!) and i'll have a few more in the next few months i'm glad people are coming to see the city before it turns to ice. I can't believe that Halloween is in a few weeks and then American thanksgiving, yikes! And fall just really hit the city last week...the 28/90ish degree temperatures were getting a bit ridiculous, even for a summer girl like me.
Anyhoo, this has grown to a great length, but i wanted to update you all.
keep in touch
xo
Hello from one of the newer residents of New York's Morningside Heights/Upper West Side,
If you don't have time to read this, know this one thing...i'm doing great and loving it here in New York!
School is amazing! The basics: I'm at Bank Street College of Education doing my MSc in Child Life. I'm so happy to be doing what i really want as the longer goal. My program is pretty small (16 fabulous women...not a lot of men in Child Life overall). I have 3 masters classes a week, medical aspects of illness, child development and my core Child Life class. All really interesting and setting lots of ground work for the next two years and the future. There is quite the mix of people in my classes, from all over the U.S. (i'm the only canadian) and a bunch from New York area (originally). I get along really well with them and i'm really glad to have such a great network of people because there is no doubt that what i'm pursuing is going to be emotionally challenging...these ladies will be an immense support to me.
Surprisingly school hasn't been as busy as i expected (although i've been told that it's just a break before next year!), so i've started working as a nanny. I take care of a 22 month old, E, and her 2 week old brother N. It's been a while since i did the baby thing, but i'm loving it. They are such good kids! She listens so well, makes me laugh till i cry and is really trying to get my very long name down in one mouthfull. So far i'm Shamman. She'll get it! I also find it so fascinating to see them develop along with my child development textbook (is that crazy of me, haha).
So i've been doing a lot of exploring of the city, and the city night life as well...kinda feel like i'm back in undergrad again (getting a redo??). This is a very crazy city...tons of people and it's NEVER quiet out. I have found this city to be very safe and people are very very friendly. There are so many people around and all of them (so far) have been so nice! A lot of people have said it's the 911 thing, but i think that people are inherently nice and New yorkers get a bad rap. This is not to say that i'm not keeping my wits about me. I'm being smart about where i'm walking and who i'm with...i'm a smart girl (this is a message to my family if you're not noticing :) I love your concern for me, i'm okay!
New York is hard to explain. It's very easy to get around and generally very fast thanks to their amazing transit system which is overall pretty reliable. But it's a vast city...incredibly vast. I realized this last night when it took my friend and I an hour and a half to get to the Lower East side (SoHo) from Upper West side (Oh and just so you get a bet of a better idea of the distance...it's over 130 block trip) for $2 dollars via the subway, but then a cab home was only $25 (and 25 minute ride)...not so much but that would be $50 to go both ways...would have been a very pricey night for us. It's alllll worth it though. New York is so much fun!! Always something to do and people to do it with.
Interesting things to note about the big apple
1) lots of delicious apples in the city...farmers markets take place all over the place
2)First and only celebrity sightings (that i know of)...Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler. For those not obsessed with Law and Order Special Victims Unit those names will mean nothing. I may have taken E. walking towards the set just to see if i could see anything, which i did! I am a horrible nanny! BUT if Elmo or Dora were filming anything i would have walked her that way too...am i redeemed?
2a) Brad pitt was filming his newest film a few blocks away, but i didn't get to see him, just lots of trucks
Also Lucy Lui in the Cashmere Mafia...check it out to see my 'hood...lots of filming around my area!
2b) if you've watched You've Got Mail know that i live a few blocks from basically every shot in that movie...they love the upper west side...so beautiful!!
2c) Seinfeld's "Tom's Restaurant" is just up the street...such good brunch and open 24 hours...and they milk the seinfeld thing for all it's worth (way to go them!).
3) great street meat/food. I never thought i'd ever say this because generally i don't eat that stuff...but here it's just so great, you can't help yourself! Lebanese, greek, new york...name it it's sold on the street...so yummy!
4)Rodents...yes i see them all the time. NEVER in my apartment thank god. Two days ago i experienced both a rat and mouse within a few seconds of the other. I couldn't believe it but mice are actually very very small in comparison. Rats are ginormous here!!! sick sick sick...seriously not joking the size of a small chihuahua...BAH GAG yuck!
5)New york accent i believe is actually a spanish accent. I have had to use my spanish so much since i've arrived...mostly listening to know i'm not getting ripped off, but occasionally to be clear about misunderstandings. English is not even close to being the most commonly used primary language.
Time has flown by! I've had so many visitors (Thanks guys, you've made the past few weeks fabulous!!) and i'll have a few more in the next few months i'm glad people are coming to see the city before it turns to ice. I can't believe that Halloween is in a few weeks and then American thanksgiving, yikes! And fall just really hit the city last week...the 28/90ish degree temperatures were getting a bit ridiculous, even for a summer girl like me.
Anyhoo, this has grown to a great length, but i wanted to update you all.
keep in touch
xo
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