City Adventures, Volume 2

Oh wow. It was SUCH a good weekend! So many interesting things happened! This week went by so fast at work...I think it was because I was looking forward to this weekend!

I rode the bus in again...Aubrey and I had planned to meet near the New York Times building around 11am. I got there a little early, so I was waiting for her, people watching...what I do best! First, this lady handed me a flier for a church...the front says "You are Special." Next, this guy came up...crazy eyes, crazy walk, crazy everything...and started talking to that lady and pointing towards me and talking about a "young girl." I couldn't understand anything he was saying because I'm sure he was wasted, so I immediately took out my phone and pretended like I was deep in conversation with whoever was on the other line...which was no one. He started walking my way, slowed down as he got to me, and when he saw that I wasn't hanging up the phone or making eye contact, he kept walking. After that, this lady came up to the guy sitting next to me who was just finishing up his cigarette. In her hand, she had the bud of a cigarette that I am 98% sure she picked up off the ground, and she asked the guy for a light. He looked so disgusted and frankly, I was too.

Aubrey came and met me and then we went to her place to drop my stuff off. She lives in the ghetto. No. Joke. I'm not going to lie...I was nervous! Clutching my purse! Her apartment building made me laugh! Her apartment is really cute, but the rest of the building...not so much. Let me paint a picture for you. You walk in and there's an Indian rug in the entrance way. We first took the stairs to go up to the fourth floor. We get up there and the entrance beam to get to the apartment doors is crooked. The hallway smells like weed. And there is rap music blasting from one of the other apartments. The tri-fecta, basically. Let's just say I was incredibly excited for our sleepover at her apartment! :)

We took the elevator back downstairs. Let me just tell you that I haven't smelled something that bad in a long time. I can't even describe what it smelled like to you. Just eww. I was already scared that the elevator was going to get stuck in between floors because it was created circa 1913 and there were what looked like claw marks on the ceiling as if someone had gotten stuck once or twice before. We walked down the street to catch the subway. On one of the corners, there were a few black guys. They started talking to us...asking us if they could hang out with us for the day. We told them that we were going shopping in SoHo and they were more than welcome to join us. He said, "Nah, I got plans girl..." and then proceeded to say something about how he plans to "mess" with the "po-lice" a little and he included something about a duchess and his boy bringing him something...just as our walk light turned on, his boy showed up and so we parted ways. He also told us that if we were ever looking for him, he is always hanging out on that street corner. Aubrey and I immediately decided that we needed to be friends with him...if anything, so that we could have a bodyguard to walk us home from the subway if we're ever out after dark!

We get on the subway and ride it, and after we do, we have to walk around the station and look for our connection...it was a small trek, but as we were walking, we were entertained. There was a guy in front of us with his headphones in. Aubrey and I were talking and I was kind of looking around and then I saw his head bobbing. I didn't really think anything of it and then I saw his arms go up and back down...and then came the infamous air guitar! It was sweet...he was just walking along playing his air guitar and occasionally his air drum set. On our next subway, we get in, minding our own business. At the next stop, 6 guys squeeze in...and I mean literally SQUEEZE...there were two guys holding the doors open with all of their strength to get their last guy in. All of a sudden, they are making an announcement to everyone and wishing everyone a wonderful weekend because of Mother's Day. And then came the song. I was SO excited. This lady next to Aubrey looked disgusted and said, "Oh gosh..." and immediately turned her headphones up. I mean, I know I don't have to listen to the people on the subway every day for most of my life, but I am pretty sure if I were going to live in New York for the next 20 years, I would STILL get a kick out of the people who choose to make their living singing on the subway! I mean, how could you NOT laugh at that and enjoy it?! These guys had harmony and an original song, too! Aubrey and I had that song stuck in our head for a long while after that ride!

We got in to SoHo and finally decided which way we wanted to go in. We ran across this random guy on the sidewalk. He told us that he was in charge of getting 25 good looking girls together for a salon promotion. He said that he only had 4 certificates left. It was $60 for $400 worth of services. With this certificate, you get: an image consultation, shampoo massage, deep conditioning treatment, precision haircut, blowdry, style, and finish, color consultation, skin analysis, European mini facial, lip or eyebrow wax, manicure or 15 minute shoulder massage, complimentary beverage, 50% off your next haircut for me or a friend, and 30% off other services. It was a good deal, but we were really skeptical. I mean, this random bald guy came up to us on the street dressed in a t-shirt with a blazer over it telling us that he was a celebrity doing PR for this salon. He did NOT look like a so-called celebrity. Can you blame us for being skeptical? So he asks us if we watch Sex and the City and we say no and he says that apparently the guy that owns this salon and does the image consultation was on an episode...Fred Nardi. Who knows...anyway, we were still pretty unsure about the whole thing and I feel like he sensed it because he told Aubrey and I that he would give us both of the certificates for $30...and a $40 ticket of admission to his comedy show for free. (Score! Haha!) We felt like we could handle that...$400 worth of services for $30. Deal. Now we just need to figure out if it is real. I didn't want to get scammed out of $60, but $30 isn't horrible...plus it's a HUGE deal if it is legit! Aubrey is calling the salon tomorrow to make an appointment for two weeks from now, so we shall see!

We continue our little journey down the streets of SoHo when I spy a sheet...yes, a bed sheet...with 5-6 purses and wallets sitting out on it. There was a van near them and a guy that was looking all around, paranoid-like. Well, I've wanted a Chanel purse for about 5 years now...so bad. It just so happened that there was one sitting out on the sheet. I was positive it was a knock-off and so I asked the guy if I could look at it. He picks it up and hands it to me and I start examining it. He looks at me and then says sternly, "Keep it low! Keep it low!" Confused, I lower the bag away from my face and turn it over in my hands. Meanwhile, this guy is still looking around in all directions, which is really creeping me out. Somehow, the bag made it's way up too high again, and so the guy said again, "Keep it low! Keep it low!!!" I ask him how much it is and he said, "Umm...$65." I looked back at the purse and then he said, "I have this matching wallet too. I'll give you the wallet and the purse for $65." I look at Aubrey to see if she thinks I should do it and he takes the purse out of my hands, takes the newspaper out, and puts it in a white mesh bag and grabs for my money...all the while looking around. At this point I am POSITIVE that he stole these and he was looking around for the cops. I was so close to asking him why he was being so sketch! I didn't even tell him I would buy it, but I was buying it before I knew what was going on. I stuffed it in the bag that I had, scared that I might be arrested. This guy was making ME paranoid! I really didn't even get a super good look at my purchase because I was constantly being told by this sketchy guy to "Keep it low! Keep it low!" (Turns out I am REALLY happy with my random purchase. The wallet is so nice...I'm pretty sure they are both completely fake Chanel items...but they look legit...no misspelled words so oh well! It still looks good :) The purse's silver on the zipper pulls are a little worn...and today at church I noticed that one of the straps of my purse is broken. A piece of leather was coming up and it revealed some tape. Yes, the strap was breaking and so this guy TAPED it back together with packing tape. I mean, he could have at least used black electrical  tape! Good heavens! Oh well...I think the guy that fixes all of my other purses at home can sew it together somehow...)

We went to H&M and went SHOPPING! I love that store so much! I got 3 cute shirts (professional looking because I need to improve my wardrobe for my student teaching/real teaching) and some hair things. I was expecting it to be a lot more expensive than it was. I would have been completely content getting all three shirts I got in every available color! I really wanted to go inside Scholastic (the future teacher in me) and fell in love with the store! Stephen was even having a birthday party upstairs! I really wanted to join him, but decided against it! That store seriously was so cool! I'm definitely going back sometime and looking so I can purchase a few items! We tried to go in to Louis Vuitton, but the doors were locked..? I think they saw us coming and new we wouldn't drop $1,000 on a purse and so they locked us out. We also went inside Prada...once we started looking at the price tags, we decided that we should not touch ANYTHING.

After we finished going in stores that we could not afford to buy a keychain from, we went up to Grand Central for a second to take pictures and then decided to go up to Times Square and watch Iron Man 2. By that time I was too tired to shop there and didn't want to spend any more money! On the subway to Times Square, in walks a lady with a CD player on a little trolley. She says, "Ladies and gentlemen, for your listening pleasure, I will be your subway entertainment this evening!" You can only imagine how excited I was! Then she turned on her music and she was walking up and down the subway car looking for money. People sure are crazy, but I love it! So much! Which brings me to another crazy lady...Aubrey and I saw this really ridiculously dressed man walking on the street. He stopped near us, so we decided I would stand and Aubrey would pretend to take my picture. So this lady walks up, cigarette in hand...probably on some kind of drug(s). She starts talking to Aubrey and she said, "You wan' my pictcha on yo' phone?" Aubrey politely declined (even though I'm pretty sure she secretly did) and then the lady asked if she could see the picture Aubrey took of "me." Luckily, the picture didn't turn out. This lady then proceeds to ask Aubrey and I for some cash and we say we have none. Lies! After meeting our new friend, we head to the movie theater. We had planned to see the 6:20pm showing, but when we got up to the counter, both of our cashiers told us that there was an "RPX" showing at 7pm. They said that it is comparable to an IMAX experience and that it was only about $5 more. We said sure why not. They told us that we should be back at 6pm for the show. We walk around for about 15 minutes and then head back to the theater and wait in line. We had Jambas in our purses that we had just bought, but my purse was a little crowded because it contained my contraband purse, so my Jamba was awkwardly in my purse. OF COURSE the ticket taker asked me to open my purse! Of course! I told him that I had forgotten that it was in there and that I would throw it away. Lies again! The garbage can was a ways away from him and he was too busy taking tickets, or just didn't care enough, to notice that I did not actually throw my Jamba away. I had to go to the restroom, so Aubrey waited in line for the both of us. When I got back, I saw this lady with yellow bracelets, and she had about 6 left. I asked Aubrey what that was all about and she said that the theater was giving the first 50 people in line free Iron Man 2 t-shirts. Aubrey and I were numbers 49 and 50! Sweet! The finally let us head upstairs to the theater and they gives us our shirts. We look at each other and just know that they are going to be huge...like most give-a-ways. We look at the size and it says extra large...then we open it up and it's a TINY extra large...not even a woman's extra large...comparable to in between an adult small and adult medium! We get inside the theater and find a place to sit...we sit down on THE MOST comfortable movie seats I have ever experienced! A) They were leather. B) They were tempur-pedic. C) They were the best decision Aubrey and I have made yet! Some radio announcer guy got up to introduce the theater...apparently we were the very first showing in that theater! Also, the sound system in there has 273 speakers all around...they said it is the best sound system in the nation right now! It was amazing!

After the movie, we headed back to the ghetto to sleep. By this time, we were FREEZING because the wind was blowing and it was dark. We told ourselves that we would be prepared the next time and bring jackets! We were really hoping that our friend from earlier was at his street corner, but no such luck!

Aubrey's window kind of sounds like it is WIDE OPEN even though it is completely closed. Needless to say, that night Aubrey and I fell asleep to the calming sounds of car alarms, rap music, people yelling at each other, and the gusts of wind hitting her apartment complex. So soothing! (We had such a big day that I pretty much fell right asleep anyway!)

We woke up and both of us commented on how the wind was blowing so hard all night. We got up and ready to go to church and left. While we were walking around NEITHER of us had on a jacket again and we were freezing. Apparently we hadn't learned as much from our experience the previous day as we thought we had! Going to church on a subway is just weird. Not to mention that there was NO ONE around at all on the subways we took. It was such a difference from practically going to 2nd base with someone the day before because it was such close quarters! (Mom, Dad, I'm just kidding!) Church was alright...no cute guys though, so we're going to try a different ward next time to check it out! :) We went back to Aubrey's and changed and then went back to the subway. This time we walked by our friend's street corner. There wasn't anyone out and about, so I'm going to be honest in saying that I was a little disappointed. As we were nearing the corner, we heard a noise...there was a window rolling down on a gold car. The windows were tinted pretty dark. Our friend slowly started to appear and said, "Hey girls! How was SoHo?" We told him good and that he missed out and he said, "Don't worry girls, I never forget a face!" Good or bad? You be the judge.

We went to go see the LDS Temple and walk around Lincoln Center (we looked everywhere for Juilliard and it just so happens we were literally standing directly underneath it...we figured that out AFTER we walked a few blocks looking for it) and then went to Columbus Circle and Central Park. We stayed on the west side of Central Park, so we didn't really go through it all. We did, however, have the lovely privilege of seeing the roller-skaters. There were some crazy good skaters and some, well...crazies. There was this guy skating around (did I mention he was wearing HUGE parachute pants?) with 3 plastic nalgene-type water bottles on his head...he went to get another of those and then a regular plastic water bottle, but couldn't get the 5 on his head to stay. There was this lady in a belly shirt that wasn't doing anything at all...some old guy in an entire Under Armor outfit (the pants were Under Armor SPANDEX),  and there was a crazy guy with no skates just bouncing along to the music. And that was all he did. It's apparently the newest dance move...Aubrey and I are getting really good at it!

I am pretty sure that this bike belongs to the gentleman with the parachute pants...the seat...or whatever that is...looks like it is made from the same material as his cray pants!

After Central Park, we went to Best Buy because we both needed new headphones and then went to catch my bus. On our way, we saw one of the Trump towers and took a picture :) We had to go back to her apartment to get all of my stuff. There was a basketball "game" going on in the middle of the street...some older guys had joined some kids that were out and about when Aubrey and I had left. I was joking around saying that we should play and I was scouting out which team I'd be on...totally joking, and I was only talking loud enough so Aubrey could hear. I was playing around with her and I said, "Who wants me?" as in on their team...then we got closer and we walked by and one of the spectators said, "Hey, beautiful..." We didn't look at him and kept on walking and then one of the guys that was playing saw us and said the exact same thing to us...needless to say, I didn't want to be on anyone's team and we started walking faster. Our friend wasn't on the street corner that he claimed to always be on, so that was a disappointment! We need protection! Anyway, the bus ride home was pretty boring...no crazies! :)

Next week we might have some friends come and visit us, so we are thinking about being HARDCORE tourists...with the I {heart} NY t-shirts and the Statue of Liberty hats and everything...which should be fun! :)