Skip to main content

Not Just Visiting

hello from new york!

at the moment, i'm in fresh meadows, queens, but my aunt and uncle will be helping me move to brooklyn heights this weekend. all of my boxes arrived from tucson before i did! that made me extra happy, because i said a prayer the night before my flight, asking God to make this transition as smooth as possible. my luggage was a pound under the maximum weight, and both of my carry-ons went through the security check without problems- my nail filer, tweezer, and liquid foundation were all sitting in one or the other. as soon as the plane landed, i called my aunt; and as soon as i grabbed my luggage from the baggage claim, she called to say they've arrived. we got home around 8pm, and dinner was sitting on the table ready for me. before i slept, i was emotional with gratitude for this whole nyu/nyc blessing, and i feel so much love from friends and family, despite my parents being so far away.

saying goodbye was really hard, although i tried my best not to show it. hugging my cousin goodbye, i had to fight back tears and quickly walk home before they spilled out uncontrollably. also, waving bye to my brother from the car, i tried to not to let him see that my face was getting wetter by the second. my dad's a huge cry baby, so i get my waterworks genes from him, hehe. in phoenix, i got to hang out with ruth like old times. we sat in her room talking for hours, and i didn't realize how dry my throat was until i couldn't stop drinking water when i left. it's amazing how fast time flies. her brother was downstairs with a hundred of his friends who are all grown up too. it's so weird, because i know them all as 10 year olds. i can't believe they're already going to college! anyway, i stayed at bebe's house that night, because she offered to take me to the airport the next morning. hugging old friends goodbye was difficult too, because i don't know when i'll see them again. med school, grad school, different careers, LA, NY.. we're scattered all over the place. now that i'm here though, i'm not sad anymore. i miss home, but i've been looking forward to this opportunity for too long, and my three days here have been awesome so far.

the weather is beautiful, much to my surprise. everyone here keeps telling me that the city has been unusually cool and dry this summer. i was actually chilly early this morning! i arrived on tuesday night, and although there is that three hour time difference, i fell asleep around 11 and slept through the night, snoring as loud as possible. the first day, i opened my boxes, cleaned out some things that don't need to be taken to bk this weekend, and hung up the garments that wrinkle. i like to be organized, but it's hard to do it when i don't have my own place yet. i look forward to getting on my own two feet on sunday night. ooh, that's also the closing ceremony! yay michael phelps u are too cool with your 0.01 lead in the 100m fly.

speaking of my own two feet, i spent the night at carson's after staying out too late last night, and i didn't get home until around 10 this morning. the train to main st/flushing had a signal error right before the last stop, so i got off the subway and walked to main street from shea stadium. it took about 15-20 minutes. the air was cool, the sun wasn't too bright, and my ipod was blasting great music- the walk home turned out to be wonderful. what i do miss is calling people whenever i'm bored, because everyone on pacific time was still sleeping when i needed someone to help me kill some time. carson invited me to this happy hour thing that his school had set up at a bar in hell's kitchen. it was kind of a mixer for the first years that just arrived to mingle with each other, and the fourth years (carson and his friends) wanted a last hurrah before they leave for their individual rotations around the country. he's going to tucson this weekend for three months. why anyone under the age of 65 would voluntarily choose to move to tucson astounds me, but we'll see. i hope he has a good time. obviously he'll be busy, because that town is THE country for old men (and women) who need optical assistance as much as possible. we were at that bar for a good three or four hours before heading to ktown for some dinner at 1030pm. i hear it's normal to eat that late.. on the way home, i ran into google. it was an extremely random but very pleasant surprise. it always feels good seeing a familiar face in an unfamiliar place.

i got my nyu photo id! i got all prettied up for it too, haha. the line was long though, and the subway stations are incredibly stifling, so my curls weren't in tact by the time they snapped my picture. it feels different this time around. i'm not going home after a couple weeks. i'm not just visiting manhattan. i LIVE here! coming out of grand central station, i stared up at the beautiful ceiling. people kept bumping into me until i realize that i had reduced my speedy walking to a slow, california pace. from time to time, i catch myself smiling like an idiot when i'm roaming the city or when i accidentally see the top of the empire state building. eeeep! such a dork :)

well that's about it for now. here's a random tidbit i've been dying to post: during the eight months i've lived in tucson, i saw a lot of cars with broken brake lights. one day i decided to begin adding up how many cars in front of me had only one working light. 28!!! that's like, 3 or 4 stupid drivers per month! yeah, i don't believe me either, but it's the truth.

Comments

Lee Cortez said…
aw this is it! you're really there. how crazy! 5 years ago..we just met...5 years past...we're coasts apart! take care.
Jocelyn Ong said…
-touch nose- x)

i miss you! i'm scared to go next door now...

Popular posts from this blog

Saying Goodbye

i'm sitting in the middle of my bed. it's really comfortable, definitely a lot bigger than my twin mattress. my arms and legs are tired from unpacking, but before i sleep, i wanted to write a little something. around 8pm this evening, we finally pulled into the drive way and opened the door to an extremely excited cody. the ride from norcal was pretty smooth, save the first day when it was raining really hard. yesterday, we spent the night in diamond bar, because 15 hours of straight driving would be too tough on my brother, especially when my mom still has jetlag, and neither of them want me behind the wheel. that reminds me, i going to need to start driving again. yikes. anyway, most of my belongings are put away now, but a lot of my clothes and books are still scattered around the floor, because i don't have any bookshelves or even a dresser at the moment. right now, tucson isn't too different from the bay area in terms of weather. according to my desktop widget, it&

All Things In One

What have I been up to? Home: Living in the South Bay has been a pretty good experience. I didn't think I would like it (compared to the city) or get used to driving, but I very much enjoy speeding down the freeway and listening to the radio every day. Traffic is almost always terrible when I'm on the road, but it's expected. The wonderful part is that I have a lovely place to call home. I look forward to spending time with my house mates, even if it means listening to the three of them play games next to me while I'm text-twisting on my laptop. There are so many different ethnic restaurants around the area. The other night, I had some pretty delicious Malaysian cuisine. It reminded me of my aunt next door in Tucson, and how much I miss her (and her cooking). Work: Many people know from my status updates on Facebook, and a select few have heard the long, agonizing stories of how frustrating it has been at work for the past month. Recruitment for our study has bee

Parallel Characters

King Kong was on TNT over the weekend. I tuned in and loved it just as much as I did when I watched it in the theater. I wanted to write an essay afterward! The relationship between Anne and the ape was so touching, and I enjoyed that they were parallel characters-- she not belonging in his world, he not belonging in hers; both lose the people they cherish, and both protect the other from danger; at many points in the plot, they were bound physically and emotionally to each other.  When they're together, they have that companionship they seek.