Winter is rolling in here in the big apple with wind chills that make your nose red, your ears burn, and your hands too cold to pull out of you pockets. Yes, it sure is almost December. Happy Thanksgiving everyone, I hope you all had a lovely holiday! I sure did. Here are some highlights and things I am thankful for this year.
Alex came to New York to visit me and we had the absolute best time romping around the city. We walked through central park as the last of the leaves were falling off the trees, the ice skating rink is in full swing, and all of the petty cabs have blanket-covered passengers. We shopped in SoHo on the infamous black Friday finding that the later the day got, the more people were in the stores. I think the best thing I bought were super discounted gladiator sandals. Gladiator sandals you ask? Yes, gladiator sandals, a winter essential. Not actually, obviously I am not that crazy! Or am I? But no, I am not. They were just INSANELY discounted so obviously I will save them and longingly dream of warm weather and my Christmas vacation in southern California where they will surely be accompanying me. We found a fantastic falafel place with arguably the best falafel in the city. We explored the high line and all Chelsea had to offer while the high line was the most deserted I have seen it since it was about 40 degrees outside. We also kicked ass at cooking our first Thanksgiving feast, and we did not leave anything out! Oh well, except the turkey, but hey I'm a vegetarian! Sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls, cranberries, stuffing, it was all there and it was delicious. Lastly, and most importantly, we went to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. HOLY COW what a dream that was! I could not believe we were there, watching this infamous parade live from the streets of New York. It was pretty unforgettable.
I am so thankful this year for my amazing friends that have kept in such great contact with me as I embark on this journey 3,000 miles away from home. I feel so thankful to be surrounded by such amazing people doing such incredible things, whether it's in grad school, a year in service, or the real world big kid job. I am thankful for my family for supporting me on my journey to New York and being patient as I figure out the time difference with phone calls and skype dates. I am thankful for my apartment and that I had a roof over my head during Sandy and the upcoming freezing winter, that I have heat and power. I am thankful for my education and the opportunity to study at the same school as so many great leaders in history. I am just so thankful in general to be where I am today. I would not be here at all without YOU, yes YOU and so I thank you for that and I thank you for checking in on my blog and seeing what I am up to. I hope that we can skype, text, facetime, email, phone chat, snail mail soon, unless I don't know you in which case it's kind of weird/cool that you are reading my blog!
On that note, I am up to a little bit of field practicum madness. I have been dropped from my practicum at Bellevue because they will not be reopening their doors until February or March. Wow, right? You are shocked right now I am sure. Well don't worry, so was I, but I am much calmer than I was upon first finding out. And for those of you who really know me and know about my practicum mishaps last year than you know that I HAVE to get the best job ever next year right? Because I have put up with all of this craziness?! I sure hope so. In the meantime I am finally moving forward. After weeks, literally WEEKS of frustration they are finally placing me at a new hospital. Tomorrow I go speak with a possible new supervisor who is a social worker at the ER of Bronx Lebanon Hospital. This is great news actually because although it isn't Bellevue, it is in the ER, which is where I really want to be and it is only a 30 minute commute versus an hour! What a bonus!
I will keep you updated on the status of my practicum, here's hoping I love my supervisor tomorrow and can start on Wednesday. In the meantime, wish me loads of luck as I have 6 papers to write in the next 3 weeks until the holiday break and who knows how I can possibly get that all done PLUS do everything Christmas-y in New York possible! I think my priorities are with Christmas I will not lie to you...
Until next time,
-Mandihattan
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Sunday, November 4, 2012
How to: Survive a hurricane
I feel like it's important to update my blog post Sandy, and I feel like I really left you hanging since you might think I am floating down the East River by now. My grandma, who also happens to be named Sandy, is my biggest fan and lover of my blog and so I dedicate this blog to her and Bops.
So I am alive! I made it through my first hurricane disaster, or as they began referring to her at the end as, a tropical cyclone or something like that. To me a cyclone sounds much more terrifying than a hurricane, but maybe that's just me. Apparently Sandy was not warm enough at her core, what a cold-hearted bitch. Excuse my language, but I think it's safe to say that Sandy really is quite the beeze. She destroyed homes, lives, power, subways, etc. She really left no prisoners. But anyway, I made it safely in the Upper Upper West Side, yes that's what I lovingly refer to my home neighborhood as because let's face it no one knows where Morningside Heights is and let's just call a spade a spade, I live in Harlem. Anyway, here's a list of weird things that happened before, after, or during the hurricane that are something to write home about, or something to blog about in this case.
1. Insane amounts of power outages in the most populated city in the country.
2. Subway tunnels are literally (still) filled from track to ceiling with water. Talk about flooding, yeesh.
3. People at home on the west coast knew more about the storm than I did without a television. I also am pretty sure the news scared more people than helped anyone as per usual. Way to go news.
4. I mean I knew about the storm because I looked outside my window, but as far as what was happening besides outside my window, I was at a loss.
5. Hurricanes destroy any and all trees, just snap them right in half.
6. People are a lot nicer in the big apple post-Sandy. It became a friendly time.
7. Trader Joe's had lines literally, LITERALLY wrapped around the building pre-Sandy. People were stocking up for centuries, but seriously then tell me why they were sold out of pumpkin puree? Was everyone making a quickie pumpkin pie before the hurricane? New York is filled with a bunch of pumpkin maniacs! Also, I really just needed wine. There should have been a separate wine line. A wine line. La la la that rhymes and is fun to say hence the repetition. The line for the wine, okay I'm done now.
8. Bellevue Hospital (also known as my field practicum) is a biohazard as of now. It lost power, doctors and nurses were carrying patients down hundreds of flights of stairs to ambulances to other hospitals. Bellevue is currently closed and has millions of gallons of water in their basement after backup generators failed during the storm. MILLIONS. Bellevue does not have running water and toilets overflowed. TBD when I return to practicum. Srsly. This is not a drill, this is my luck with field practicums. BOO SANDY.
So I survived and you can too next time a hurricane rolls through your town, which I sincerely hope it doesn't for your sake and your house's sake, and your public transportation's sake. And now, a quote from my favorite mayor in the whole universe, Mayor Bloomberg.
“Our climate is changing...And while the increase in extreme weather we have experienced in New York City and around the world may or may not be the result of it, the risk that it may be — given the devastation it is wreaking — should be enough to compel all elected leaders to take immediate action.” -Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor of NYC
I think that he is a pretty amazing mayor seeing as he is an Independent and has been mayor for 10 whole years, WOAH 10 years! And he is basically just nailing life as a mayor. Let's also give credit to Governor Christie who also kicked ass fighting Sandy. Way to go leaders of the East, way to keep us safe!
In other news, I literally do not know when I will be returning to work at Bellevue, they say maybe 2-4 weeks, so we shall see. I will keep you updated. In the meantime, stay safe out there friends! Apparently we're in for another storm this weekend, oh boy! But on the bright side, one of my favorite people is coming to visit this weekend, Beth! Yay Beth! So I get to have some Seattle time in the big apple with the lovely Beth! A blog post about our adventures to come.
Oh also, I do not have school this week because of Election Day. So guess who's going to be glued to her computer all day Tuesday? This girl. Here's hoping that Jay Inslee wins, gay marriage is approved, marijuana is legalized, charter schools go to hell, the seawall gets built, and oh yeah, Obama gets another 4 years. Awkward, now you know what I voted for! But this is my blog and I'll do what I want to and shoot I will cry if I want to depending on the results of Tuesday.
All is fair in love and elections,
-Mandihattan
So I am alive! I made it through my first hurricane disaster, or as they began referring to her at the end as, a tropical cyclone or something like that. To me a cyclone sounds much more terrifying than a hurricane, but maybe that's just me. Apparently Sandy was not warm enough at her core, what a cold-hearted bitch. Excuse my language, but I think it's safe to say that Sandy really is quite the beeze. She destroyed homes, lives, power, subways, etc. She really left no prisoners. But anyway, I made it safely in the Upper Upper West Side, yes that's what I lovingly refer to my home neighborhood as because let's face it no one knows where Morningside Heights is and let's just call a spade a spade, I live in Harlem. Anyway, here's a list of weird things that happened before, after, or during the hurricane that are something to write home about, or something to blog about in this case.
1. Insane amounts of power outages in the most populated city in the country.
2. Subway tunnels are literally (still) filled from track to ceiling with water. Talk about flooding, yeesh.
3. People at home on the west coast knew more about the storm than I did without a television. I also am pretty sure the news scared more people than helped anyone as per usual. Way to go news.
4. I mean I knew about the storm because I looked outside my window, but as far as what was happening besides outside my window, I was at a loss.
5. Hurricanes destroy any and all trees, just snap them right in half.
6. People are a lot nicer in the big apple post-Sandy. It became a friendly time.
7. Trader Joe's had lines literally, LITERALLY wrapped around the building pre-Sandy. People were stocking up for centuries, but seriously then tell me why they were sold out of pumpkin puree? Was everyone making a quickie pumpkin pie before the hurricane? New York is filled with a bunch of pumpkin maniacs! Also, I really just needed wine. There should have been a separate wine line. A wine line. La la la that rhymes and is fun to say hence the repetition. The line for the wine, okay I'm done now.
8. Bellevue Hospital (also known as my field practicum) is a biohazard as of now. It lost power, doctors and nurses were carrying patients down hundreds of flights of stairs to ambulances to other hospitals. Bellevue is currently closed and has millions of gallons of water in their basement after backup generators failed during the storm. MILLIONS. Bellevue does not have running water and toilets overflowed. TBD when I return to practicum. Srsly. This is not a drill, this is my luck with field practicums. BOO SANDY.
So I survived and you can too next time a hurricane rolls through your town, which I sincerely hope it doesn't for your sake and your house's sake, and your public transportation's sake. And now, a quote from my favorite mayor in the whole universe, Mayor Bloomberg.
“Our climate is changing...And while the increase in extreme weather we have experienced in New York City and around the world may or may not be the result of it, the risk that it may be — given the devastation it is wreaking — should be enough to compel all elected leaders to take immediate action.” -Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor of NYC
I think that he is a pretty amazing mayor seeing as he is an Independent and has been mayor for 10 whole years, WOAH 10 years! And he is basically just nailing life as a mayor. Let's also give credit to Governor Christie who also kicked ass fighting Sandy. Way to go leaders of the East, way to keep us safe!
In other news, I literally do not know when I will be returning to work at Bellevue, they say maybe 2-4 weeks, so we shall see. I will keep you updated. In the meantime, stay safe out there friends! Apparently we're in for another storm this weekend, oh boy! But on the bright side, one of my favorite people is coming to visit this weekend, Beth! Yay Beth! So I get to have some Seattle time in the big apple with the lovely Beth! A blog post about our adventures to come.
Oh also, I do not have school this week because of Election Day. So guess who's going to be glued to her computer all day Tuesday? This girl. Here's hoping that Jay Inslee wins, gay marriage is approved, marijuana is legalized, charter schools go to hell, the seawall gets built, and oh yeah, Obama gets another 4 years. Awkward, now you know what I voted for! But this is my blog and I'll do what I want to and shoot I will cry if I want to depending on the results of Tuesday.
All is fair in love and elections,
-Mandihattan
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