Freaks and Geeks

So Emily owns a rare copy of the first -- and only -- season of "Freaks and Geeks" which has made it's way round to pretty much everyone she knows.  I finally got my turn borrow it and it was pretty magnificent.  

"Freaks and Geeks" is a short-lived TV show made in 1999 by Judd Apatow (think Anchorman, 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Pineapple Express, etc...) that revolves around the lives of high school teens in Michigan in 1980.  The main characters are Sam - who hangs out with geeks, and his older sister, Lindsay, who has recently deviated off of her track as a perfect student and is now hanging out with the freaks.  The show is chock full of really great actors who have gone on to become pretty famous, especially James Franco, Jason Segel, and Seth Rogen (all of whom have remained pretty faithful to Judd Apatow) and the episodes themselves are great because they cover all of the terrible high school awkwardness but in a way that makes it enjoy and uncomfortable and funny to watch, all at the same time.  Brilliant.

It's one of those shows that developed a cult following AND was critically acclaimed.  Why it was cancelled may forever remain a mystery.

Anyways, good luck getting your hands on the DVD of season 1, it's pretty hard to come by.  Your best bet is to borrow Emily's copy, but I'm not giving it back until I get a cannoli from Arthur Ave...

Kacey's Visit

Before we both start our summer programs and become super busy, Kacey came for a visit.  Here's a rundown of the exciting things that we did:

Wednesday:

• Kacey arrived
  
• We got Starbucks and hung out in the park (there are no Starbucks in CT, where Kacey lives, so usually she gets it like 30 times when she visits, but this was our only visit because it's so ridiculously expensive)
  
• I made a slightly bizarre, but okay dinner (in my kitchen! yay!)
  
• We went and got Rice to Riches, which is this amazing restaurant that only serves many variations of rice pudding (banana, tiramisu, coconut, pomegranate, rocky road, cinnamon raison, mango, chocolate chip, french toast, etc...)
  

• We watched So You Think You Can Dance.  Kacey loved it.  Mostly, she loved Mary's cackling...

Thursday:

• Made brunch.  Thank you, Target, for making Chocolate Raspberry pancake mix.
• We went to Texas.  Texas on Tour, that is.  Apparently, the Texas Tourism people thought that a really great way to boost their tourism would be to embark on a countrywide tour that gives everyone a free taste of Texas, complete with interactive 3-d video kayak tours, videos and trivia games, live musicians, hot sauce, Seaworld animals (which we unfortunately missed) and green screen pictures.  To see Kacey and I "hanging" around with a local Texan bull, click here.  
• We got dinner at Stand, a really great local burger place that serves delicious milkshakes (Toasted Marshmallows, anyone?) and makes their own mayo and ketchup
• Finished off the day with Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, a movie that I love, but that others seem to find as lacking a satisfying plot.

Friday:

• I had a brilliant idea: Brooklyn Botanical Garden!  Unfortunately we missed the full bloom season, but we still got to see a lot of cool stuff.... A japanese garden complete with koi fish and turtles in a pond shaped like the symbol for heart, Shakespeare garden, which features all of the flowers that he ever mentioned in writing, Fragrance Garden, where you get to smell the flowers, Cranford Rose Garden, Rock Garden (lame), Bonzai Museum, among other things. Below is the only picture I took of a black/purple flower.

• Met Carrie for dinner at Pomodoro, this pizza place that is known for their vodka sauce pizza.  It was amazing and I highly recommend it.
• Took a stroll through Little Italy, where there was some sort of festival going on, and Kacey and I had our first ever fried Oreos.
• Finished off the night (and Kacey's visit) with Slumdog Millionaire.  Well, she watched, while I napped...

Ikea!

Maya dragged me to Ikea to help her pick up some furniture for her new apartment.  We stopped by for an awesome Swedish meal of Swedish meatballs with gravy, lingonberry jam, mashed potatoes, and a Lingonberry and Elderflower juice boxes.  Verdict is: Elderflower is better than Lingonberry.  Delish.  

And then the straps on the Ikea bag made really terrible looking bloody bruise marks on my shoulder.  Awesome.

Bumble and Bumble Model Project Take 2

I went to go get my hair dyed (for the first time!) at Bumble and Bumble last week.  

Here is my before shot:

I don't have an after, but that's okay because it looks exactly the same as the before.  Once my hair was all dyed, washed, and dried, my stylist and I were both like, Um we don't see any difference... But then the head stylist came over and was like, Are you kidding me?! It looks so great.  So subtle, but really makes a difference.  

So then at the end you have to fill out an evaluation form and I rated my experience as a 4, saying that I couldn't tell a difference in my hair color (and neither could my stylist).  When I handed it in to the receptionist, she read it, then got on a phone that was hidden behind her desk and called someone.  The person in charge of the program came up to talk to me about my experience and asked me to send her an email in a couple of days, letting her know if I saw a difference after a couple of washes or something.  I think she was worried that I was upset or something, but hey, it's free - doesn't matter to me!  At least my stylist was really great at doing the whole head-massaging while she was washing my hair... 

Oh summer housing, how I've missed you...

So this entry is pretty much just me getting out my frustration at housing.  If you choose not to read my rambling frustration, I won't be offended.

My dorm, Water Street, closed forever at the end of the school year, so my roommate Allison and I decided to live together at another NYU dorm, Carlyle Court on Union Square, during the summer since we had both had terrible experiences with non-NYU roommates last summer and were hoping to avoid that again.  So we thought we would get put into a double studio apartment.  How wrong we were....

Friday: We move in.  And get put into a quad (2 people in a private room, 2 people in what used to be a living room but is now a bedroom).  I asked Olga the building manager to switch us to a double and she said no.  I went to our room and found out Allison and I were in the common room, even though no one else was there.  I went back to Olga and asked her to switch us to the private room, which she begrudgingly did.  Then, Allison met our suitemate who was apparently a little upset  that she was in a quad and in the common room.  So I went back to Olga again and asked her to switch us to a double.  She told me to come back on Wednesday

Sunday: This is what our kitchen looked like, thanks to our charming and considerate suitemate. All of this is her stuff and we couldn't even get in the kitchen to use it.  So I spent a lot of money eating out.  Boo.

Wednesday: We go and talk to Olga as she requested us to do.  She tells us to send her an email (which we had done before we even moved in when we were requesting to be roommates and she never responded).  So I sent one.  No response.

Thursday: Still no response.  Allison sends an email.

Friday: Still no response.  We visit Olga's office again only to find out that she is gone.  So we speak to her assistant who is very nice and understanding but can't do much other than call Olga.  She also tells us that they aren't really giving studio doubles out, except that they just moved our 4th (and nicer) suitemate into a double. 

Saturday: Still no email response.  Mom sends Olga an email too.  Oh, and did I mention that it's 80 degrees outside and our air conditioner hasn't been working since we moved in? Awesome, so glad that I'm paying extra for a dorm with air conditioning.  

Sunday or Monday (can't remember): We find out from Olga's assistant that our request was for a double, and we are in a double within a quad, so our request has been fulfilled.  I go to summer housing and complain about Olga, only to be told to call someone on Tuesday and speak to him then.  

Tuesday: Allison and I visit Olga again and this time she is there.  After pretending to not know who we are (not possible, we have been bothering her too much), she suddenly remembers that the reason we wanted to switch was because of our suitemate, who has since moved to a single. We tell her that that is just one of many reasons why we want to move out.  She promises to look later that day and see if she can find us a double, though apparently it doesn't look too good because there are a lot of rooms closed due to renovation.  Allison's mom calls summer housing 3 times, bothering them and telling them to make sure that Olga changes our room.  In the late afternoon, Allison and I get an email from her saying that we've been switched into a double and to please move in by Thursday at the latest.  We move that night.  Victory is ours!  

I will miss these views though...

Sorry, that was long and rambling and probably unnecessary...

YayYayYayYay!

Washington Square Park was reopened last week after a year of being under construction.  The fountain was working, children were playing, dogs were running, it was wonderful.  And let me tell you, it was so much more enjoyable knowing that the fountain was perfectly lined up with the arch...  

I think phase 2 involves closing the east side of the park, which should happen fairly soon.  Hopefully it will all be finished in time for my graduation next spring, when they somehow manage to squeeze all of the grads and their families into the park.  Not quite sure how though...

Thanks for pasta, Dad!

Emack and Bolio's featured in Time Out New York

The ice cream store that I work at was featured as a stop on "The All-Ages Walk" article in Time Out New York (a popular weekly city-specific magazine) this week.  Of course, in her normal fashion, my boss got mad at pretty much everyone that works for her because of their interaction with the TONY staff (be it because we didn't get their card or because she wasn't there when they took pictures, which was somehow our fault or... the list goes on and on.....).  Anyways, in the end it all worked out and there's even a picture of Robin, my boss, handing Jenn, my coworker (who is posing as a customer) a scoop of ice cream.  Note: my boss does not usually smile that much, especially not at Jenn.

Here's the link:

http://newyork.timeout.com/articles/i-new-york/74624/you-asked-for-it-the-all-ages-walk

(ps. our picture is the last one)

Free Coldplay Dowload

For those of you who like the band, Coldplay is giving away a free download of a bunch of their songs performed live at a concert.  Here's the link:

http://www.coldplay.com/lrlrl/lr.html

Yoga to the People

You might be noticing a trend: I'm trying to take advantage of the free things that the city has to offer (don't worry, posts on all of the free outdoor movies that they offer in the summer to come).  My latest venture was to my first official yoga class at a studio on St. Marks called Yoga to the People.  It's free (well, actually, donation based) and they have a couple of locations in New York, as well as in California.  Anyways, it was so hard and I don't actually think that I've ever sweated that much in my life.  My eyes hurt because they were so salty at the end of it and my arms hurt from reaching for the ceiling so many times.  Despite the excruciating pain that I endured, it was really cool because it was a mixed class: mixed ages, mixed yoga levels, mixed athletic abilities - yoga for everyone.  So that was really nice, because it didn't matter if I wasn't doing the poses correctly or if I need to take a little break and just sit on my mat for a little.  

And while I don't foresee myself becoming a yoga fanatic like some people, I do hope to go again, get a little better.  We'll see what happens. 

Celeb Citing #2

Don't know if you can really make it out, but that person in the black with the blonde hair behind the coffee cup is Sarah Michelle Geller.  Yup, Buffy the Vampire Slayer herself, a 90's tv icon, came into the ice cream store the other day.  And for those of you who don't keep up with your daily Perez Hilton, she and her husband, Freddy Prince Jr.  (another 90s teen heartthrob), are about to have their first baby.  She was talking about him when she was leaving.  It was exciting.

Also, in related news, Jason Bateman has come in two more times, though I was unfortunately not there for either of them.  Maybe next time....

Bumble and Bumble Model Project

As you might have been able to guess, haircuts in New York can be pretty expensive.  So what's a poor college student like myself to do? Bumble and Bumble, a hair salon and hair product line, has what they call "Bumble and Bumble University" in the Meatpacking district where stylists who have been with Bumble and Bumble for at least 2 years (they may have been cutting hair at salons before that for many years) come for a 3 day refresher course, where they cut and dye hair.  

I got to be a hair model for them, which basically means that I get a really expensive haircut for free.  It was really easy, I just showed up for their hair model casting call, they checked out my hair, and scheduled me for an appointment.  I was nervous that I would really have no say in how my hair was cut, but they were super great and really were conscious of what I wanted, how short I wanted it, what kind of bangs I wanted, and that my hair was curly.  It was an awesome experience and I will totally be going back. In fact, next week I'm getting my hair dyed (for the first time. eek!) for free there too. 

View of the receptionist's desk:

Waiting area with the salon behind it:

I forgot to take a picture of my hair or of my stylist who was this really great woman from California.  Anyways, I totally recommend it for those of you who are in New York.  They have a bunch of different hair styles that you can choose from.  My was the Razor Bob, which is just hair that's cut above the shoulder with a razor, which is apparently their signature style.  Pictures to come of my cut and color after I get it dyed. Blue.  Just kidding!

Student Council!

So, been wondering who it is that I spend pretty much all of my time with? Well this is (most of) them!

From left to right: Justin, Kristen, Vin, Sharlini, Tyler, Megan, Me, Archit, Pat, Simon, Diandra, Cristina, Dariel, Mason, Noveen, Celia, Dipesh, and Edgar squatting in front.  

Summer's only been here about 2 weeks and I miss them already!

Financial District Fun

Took a second final-study break with Noveen, but this time we just hung out around our dorm.  First we went to the elevated acre, which is this really nice garden and grass area overlooking the FDR that's tucked in among a bunch of skyscrapers.  I image that tons of people come here for lunch during the week, but since we went on a Sunday afternoon, it was pretty empty.

View of the river, overlooking the FDR

After that, we decided to take a ride on the Staten Island Ferry, which is totally free and super nice.  It was crowded with tons of tourists and Staten Islanders, but we still got to feel the sea breeze in our hair after elbowing our way through to the balcony.  

You also get to go right past the Statue of Liberty, which is cool.  And there's great views of Manhattan and the Brooklyn  Bridge.  

After the ride over, you have to get off and get back onto the ferry to get back to Manhattan.  I remember Dad, always full of wisdom, telling me when we took the trip: And that's about as much time as you want to spend in Staten Island...  

Then Noveen made me go to Chipotle and then eat coconut popsicles...  One successful day, check!

Nuyoricans Poetry Slam

As part of my creative writing class, we had to go to some sort of reading - poetry or short story.  Noveen and I went to the Nuyorican which is this really cool bar that was the first place ever to do poetry slams.  By the time we got there it was standing room only but for the second half we got a spot on the balcony.  The show started off with two slam poets just doing a couple of their own poems and then after that the actual slam started.  Pretty much, if you want to be in the poetry slam, you have to send in a video clip and they'll select you if you're good enough.  Then, they randomly select 5 audience members to be the judges.  My favorite poet of the night was this girl from Brown who had one poem about how she's in love with Philip Seymour Hoffman.  It was really funny.  Unfortunately though, she didn't win.  If only they had picked me to be one of the judges...  

I've never been to a poetry slam before but it was really great, because there's such a larger emphasis put on word play and rhyme, as well as the motions that go into the poetry.  You don't just stand there, stiff as a board, and recite your poem.  One guy actually did breakdancing while doing his poem, which I thought was incredibly fitting way to describe how the genre fits within the realm of poetry...  Anyways, hopefully I'll go back another night.

Our view from above:

Brooklyn Adventure

I decided to do a little final-studying procrastination and take a trip to Brooklyn with Mary and Noveen.

First, we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge.

View of Manhattan and Mary.

More Manhattan.  You can probably see my dorm in this picture.

And then we got Grimaldi's Pizza which is famous and there was a super long line.

And we ate it at the Brooklyn Bridge Park

And then to top off our dinner adventure, we got some ice cream (Shh, don't tell my boss...)

Delicious!

And the sunset walk home.

Bagel Fest

So a school tradition that had been forgotten was resurrected by Student Council this year: Bagel Fest!  Basically, it's just an opportunity for students to get free bagels and for us to get feedback from students/inform them about upcoming events and initiatives/meet other students.  It's been super successful, as free food tends to be and we're definitely doing it again next year. (*Though for those of you NYU students, it has been switched to every other Tuesday from 10:30-12:30)

Our 2nd to last bagel fest was by far the craziest and the Dean's gave us free coffee, which was awesome.  Here's a shot of the action:

Relay for Life

Relay for Life, a charity event that raises money for cancer research was held in our gym this past April.  I was team captain for Student Council along with Mary and we came up with an awesome theme: Western.  We ended up raising over $2,500, which is more than Student Council has ever raised before, so thank you so much to all of you who donated!  The entire event itself raised over $140,000, which is ridiculously awesome.   

Walking our banner around the track

You're trying to fundraise while you're there too, so one of our ideas (stolen from a friend, I will admit) was Jail.  $1 to put someone in jail and $1 to get out.  Unfortunately, we realized a little too late that we didn't actually have any brawny people to jail people or to keep them there...

Birds-eye view of the event. 

Our table with some student council people.

Our beautiful banner that I convinced Aleja to paint, even though she's not in Student Council.  Our slogan was "Cancer: I don't wanna see you around these parts no more!"

Whoa, that's a tiny computer...

CELEBRITY CITING

Today at work, I served Jason Bateman (Juno, Arrested Development, Hancock, etc) and his super adorable 3 year old daughter ice cream at work.  It was awesome, possibly the most exciting thing to happen to me all week.  For those of you who care, he ordered a scoop of no sugar added Caramel Pecan and a scoop of no sugar added Moose Tracks (vanilla ice cream with a chocolate fudge ripple mini peanut butter cups).  I'm calling that the "Jason Bateman  Special" from now on.

Ahh, I think this was potentially the best celebrity citing I've had yet. 

NYU iPhone Class

Wow, sorry I've been so bad at keeping up with this, but I knew that would happen towards the end of the year... Anyways expect a giant outpouring of posts to be coming soon, now that school is about over.

I recently discovered that NYU has a new class called "iPhone Programming" that was offered this semester in the Computer Science department and basically, the point of the class is to teach you how to create apps for the iPhone (slightly unrelated, but still equally cool is the fact that NYU is offering a major next semester that is devoted to video games and making them and stuff...).  The final project is to create your own app and some of them look really amazing.  I've already checked for them on iTunes, but they're not up, though I'm hoping that after they present them next week, they'll be available.  

I've included the link for you right here, but just wanted to mention my favorites:

iHungry: This one is by far my favorite.  You enter the food items that you have in your fridge/cupboard and the app will give you recipes based on those ingredients.  Also, you can store a list of staple items, like butter, sugar, etc...  I want this app.

NYU Courses:  check the availability of classes, reviews of the professors, and even map out where the classes are going to be 

CityInsider:  It's like Urban Spoon, for those of you who have the app, which recommends different places to eat.  The difference is that this app will tell you where to eat based on what restaurant has the best deal.

iNYUBus:  Gives you the NYU bus schedule plus tells you where the closest stop is based on your current location.  This would have been so helpful this past semester...

Who Is It?:  This looks like the game, Guess Who? but for your phone.