Carmen, Rain, and Brooklyn

So last night...our group traveled a few subway stations away to see Carmen performed at the Metropolitan Opera. This was by far our fanciest shindig, so all ten of us were dressed up. Actually fun to see us in our prettiest dresses. Unfortunately, no photo was snapped due to the fact the opera finished around 11:45 PM and some girls were ready for bed!

Overall, the opera was good. Definitely a change of pace from the plays and music concerts we have already seen. I knew the plot of Carmen so I could spend more time focusing on attempting to understand the French (mildly successful) and watch the actors (little tough being up in the dress circle). Both Murray and Susan were along and Susan luckily brought binoculars which we passed around during the performance. That definitely helped.

As I mentioned in my last post, it was raining here this morning, putting a damper on things. But nevertheless, I made it to work, dried off, and was kept busy.

My first project was to listen to one final veteran oral history I hadn't heard yet. It was a fascinating interview, especially since this vet was part of a unit that responded to 9/11. He was there, amid all the gray dust when the towers had fallen. Throughout the interview, he had a lot of poignant moments and his passion to help foster father-daughter relationships is pretty incredible.

Sarah (one of my bosses) asked me if I would like to write for a NYPL blog channel called Freedom of Thought. The way blog writing works at NYPL is that they have several channels on a wide variety of library topics and then various librarians (or interns like myself), write and post content. Of course I told Sarah I would be more than happy/thrilled/etc. to blog (because you know I LOVE to blog). I wrote my first post today, but it has to go through all the administrative channels before being published. But I will for sure let you know when it is on the web for you to read!

The last part of my day was spent getting some balls rolling on my other large project, the Music and Memory drive I've talked about. I got a hold of the recreation/outreach director from a nursing home near the Kingsbridge Library and hopefully next week, we can start creating a solid timeline. I'm super excited and happy things are falling into place.

I dashed home so Whitney and I could take a train to Brooklyn for an event I really wanted to go to. It was the publication release of the literary magazine A Public Space. The event took place at an independent bookstore called Book Court and Whitney and I had actually checked it out last week when we ate dinner at Joya. There was a fair turnout and the event began with Brigid, the editor in chief, introducing the readers and thanking us for attending. We heard from two fiction writers and one poet. All were fantastic. Post-reading, Whitney and I both expressed how much we are missing The Coe Review right now. Just the atmosphere of writers and putting together a literary magazine really excites me. And, I want to mention the readers because they were AWESOME. First was a short story by Tom Drury. Then we switched to poetry by Mark Bibbins. And we ended the night with part of a short story by Jessica Francis Kane.

Oh, can you tell I hang out with Whitney a lot? All the photos seem to be of the two of us! Haha!

Now it's time for some response writing and sleep because it's an extra special day tomorrow.
Aka my birthday! :)

"That pink umbrella isn't very New Yorkerish..."

If you can believe it, I've been on New York Term for around 45 days (aka the halfway point). By this time, myself and my fellow peers have figured out what makes you blend in as a semi-"true" New Yorker and what makes you STAND OUT.

I woke up this morning to rain. Since it has been warmer than usual, I grabbed my rain coat instead of my winter jacket and also grabbed my umbrella before heading out.

They're both pink.

Not like a dull, pale pink, but a bright, vibrant pink.

Everyone else has black coats and umbrellas. The only bright items are rain boots. I don't own rain boots.

Whoops. guess everyone knew I wasn't a true New Yorker this morning. Regardless, my sensible raincoat and umbrella got me to work, damp as opposed to soaked. There was also a lot of wind but luckily I own a very hearty umbrella.

More to come later today; our group went to see Carmen last night and boy, was it entertaining!

Always Supporting My Fellow Kohawks!

If you've known me for a while, heck, even a few days, you know I really do care about others, especially my other Kohawks. While I'm so glad you're reading my blog, dont' forget there are other Kohawk Talkers who have lots of great experiences they are sharing. I'll give you run down of my other peers you can check out.

• Charles -- Charles is a senior majoring in African American studies. I got to know Charles this summer when we were on the panel for Iowa's Private College Week. For ten panels I got to hear all about Charles decision to come to Coe and what he thinks of the food in the caf. 
• Justin -- Justin's a senior, Nursing major, who was once the student body vice president. I got to know Justin through Student Senate and working in Admissions. 
• Nina -- She's new to the blogging team and a lovely sophomore. I've gotten to know Nina through a variety of ways: NACA, Senate, Murray Hall, and SAC. Nina is absolutely adorable and plans on majoring in studio art and psychology. 
• Ryan -- This sophomore majoring business administration and psychology (with a minor in economics) is quick to tell you he's from Plainfield, IL but will follow that up with his love of being a Kohawk. Ryan is most definitely our athletic blogger. He knows all your cross country and track info (he definitely helped me with some facts this summer with all the cross country and track recruits I toured).  
• Alexis -- Alexis is our freshman blogger and I actually gave her and her dad (a Coe alum) a tour of the residence halls last year during Scholarship Weekend. Alexis has had a great freshman year experience, really discovering campus. Her current plan is to major in biology and pre-med. 

Then comes our study abroad bloggers:

• Mike -- If you've read my blog for a while, you might remember Mike from England. He's back to blogging in Washington DC doing a similar program I'm doing except in our nation's capital.  
• Keegan -- Sort of like Whitney (and Mike), Keegan decided to not be on campus her last semester. She's off in Ireland having a wonderful time. 
• Koresha -- Koresha is a junior, just like me, and is studying in Japan this semester. 
• Hannah -- Hannah is a junior and was actually in my FYS class. As an economics major, she decided to see some economy in action by heading to Botswana, Africa for a semester. Definitely stepping outside of her box!

And last, but not least:

• Heidi -- Because she's been my roommate for three years, she gets her own space. Ha! But yes, Heidi is off in France, speaking French and having an absolutely wonderful time. It has been a little crazy NOT rooming with Heidi but we've been keeping in touch and I can't wait to hear ALL her stories! :) 

I know I just threw a lot at you, but they are my fellow Kohawks, they are doing amazing things, and I wanted to show them off! :)

What a Monday! (Plus Weekend Recap)

So I took a little weekend break; I was "at home" essentially and there was no need for a computer or blogging.

My weekend was amazing. I arrived in New Jersey Friday night and after a wonderful home cooked meal, the Vittons surprised me with an early birthday cake (my 21st birthday is Thursday). It was sweet, literally and figuratively.

I spent my Saturday hanging out with my cousins, opening my first birthday gift, watching my cousin play hockey, and watching Moonrise Kingdom with my aunt and uncle. It's a quirky but neat movie. It's a love story and most of the boys are khaki scouts which automatically brought me back to scout days in the Fargo household so what's not to love about that? I should also mention I saw the movie Hitchock Friday night. Another excellent movie about the making of Hitchock's well known Psycho. Now, I really want to watch Psycho since I know the backstory!

Sunday was more relaxing, bagels, frozen yogurt, and hockey (not necessarily together). It was almost like I was back in Wisconsin with my family. Basically, it was exactly what I needed.

I headed back into the city this morning, taking a 7:18 AM train to Penn Station. Arrived in NYC around 8 AM and simply took an uptown subway to Times Square and walked to the library.

Today also happened to be a field trip day so I stopped by the library before heading up to the Met (the art museum) for a panel hosted by MAC (Museum Access Consortium). I had been to one of their programs before, the one about adults on the autism spectrum and their experiences in museums. We were still talking about the autism spectrum except this time it was about children and their experiences in museums  No kids were there, but their parents instead. It was more of a workshop where we had ample time to discuss and question these parents. Since I am not well versed in the programs the library offers children on the spectrum, I spent most of my time listening and gathering information about these kids and their experiences in cultural institutions. Once again, I found the discussion fascinating and really helped me to see how crucial it is for cultural institutions like the library to be able to serve EVERYONE.

Back at the library, I worked on the veterans oral history project. We were able to nab six interviews from the VA in the Bronx so I'm slowly wading my way through them.

On my way home, I placed an order for pizza since we were having a group meeting tonight. I am in the habit of ordering pizza from a different place each time. I've become an ordering pro and am gaining lots of pizza places in my cell phone directory! Our meeting was to prep us to see Carmen at the Metropolitan Opera tomorrow. I already know the story well since we heavily studied it in French in 8th grade and also played excerpts from the opera in band the same year. I'm excited.

We also got our March schedule and boy, is it jam-packed. Hard to believe it's almost March!   

Happy Friday

Hip hip hooray for Friday. I worked at the Paley Center today and I can confidently say that I'm really beginning to know their YouTube video collection. There are a lot of great clips there so once again, I'd recommend that you check that out.

Post work, I took a subway to Penn Station and then another train to New Jersey. I'm safely in Summit at my aunt and uncle's and can't wait to spend a weekend with the family and away from the big city. I'll return on Monday.

Happy weekend! :)