NYC - No rabid rats and plenty of nice people.

I am always blabby, and I just accidentally erased my original New York City blog. Second time around is going to be even blabbier. So get ready. :)



New York City… the city where people never sleep… the city where since people do not sleep, they do not smile… the city where you DO NOT wave or talk to those sleepy people, because they will only glare at you or point out that you are obviously not from New York City… the city where human sized rats go roaming the streets, always ready to bite… remember, when you get bitten by one of those mutant rats, no one is going to help you because they’re obviously too tired and cranky… so anyways, once you do get bitten by a giant rat, you will be escorted to a very scary hospital where not only will you NOT get treated for your rat bite/rabies, but you will soon be injected with bad blood and disease… that is IF you make it to the hospital, because the evil cab driver taking you to the hospital will probably drive you down a dark alley and steal all your belongings and then sell you on the black market…

At least that’s what I’ve always heard.

I went to Brooklyn this week for a hospital conversion… I finished finals Monday afternoon and jumped on a plane, KNOWING that I was going to get glared at, bitten, injected, mugged, and sold. And yet, here I am… AMAZED at this city and humbled by the experience I’ve had.
You see, I am a small town girl from California, MO. Even though I’ve been in Kansas City for over 6 years, I still am most definitely that small town girl… petrified of the big city. For some reason, especially this one.



But I’m not scared anymore… only FULL of respect and awe. This place is WONDERFUL, for six very obvious reasons:

1) First, who came up with the idiotic phrase, “the city who doesn’t sleep”? I mean, who sleeps anyways? No one sleeps. I don’t sleep. I have too much going on… I ingest WAY too much caffeine… and I go to bed thinking about Chemistry (I mean cookies, yeah cookies.). Doesn’t matter where you live. I also stayed out too late several times this week, and I pretty much didn’t see too many people out and about. Does that mean they were sleeping? Hmmm, good thought.

2) I’m going to skip #2 for now, because it’s my climax, and I would ruin my whole happy thought if I explained it now.


3) Those rats must not be out in December because I saw none. Only dogs on leashes, well groomed, smelling much better than Claire Francis, sitting quietly and well behaved. Seriously, people take these dogs everywhere in New York City. I saw dogs in grocery stores, banks, and bars. Strange but awesome. ADDITIONALLY, I always thought those rats would come with lots of trash and smelliness. And yes, I saw trash, lots and lots of trash. But it wasn’t spread out all over the streets. It wasn’t rotting and oozing on the sidewalks. It was piled neatly in specific areas along the streets, waiting for the garbage man. Someone has cleaned that city up. Very cool.





4) Nothing really funny to say about the hospital, except for the fact that I was most definitely not scared of bad blood. The hospital I spent time in was full of old wise doctors, young smart attendees, fresh students, and patients patients patients. This hospital had doctors that saw 50+ patients a day. It was clean and well run. Inspiring really.


5) When I left the airport, I expected to get into another dirty cab. I don’t mind cabs, but they’re definitely not my favorite part of the trip. So when I got the message from Louise, my private driver, I was amazed! Mr. Louise, who forced me to speak Spanish the entire drive, had a beautiful, leather seated, yummy smelling car. And he drove slow. And he didn’t stop and go the whole time. And I didn’t get carsick. And instead of just overcharging me and kicking me to the curb… he scheduled my ride back to the airport (I would pay him later), opened my door, hauled my bags out of the trunk, and kissed me on the cheek. I left with all my belongings, and I did NOT get sold to any black market.

6) So back to #2… The whole nice people thing. I could seriously make a new list for all the nice people I encountered on this trip. People went OUT OF THEIR WAY to help me this week. I have no idea why… definitely did not do anything special to myself… my roots are growing out, my nail polish is totally cracking off… I forgot my pair of dress pants, so my outfit totally does not match today… I didn’t even work that hard. And still people were almost overly nice.

a. The hotel I stayed in put me on a list to get me a better room, JUST because my room was too close to the breakfast room. They not only transferred my room, but hauled all my luggage for me and left me cookies on my bed. (Just kidding about the cookies. I bought them in the vending machine. But it sounded good, and the room change was still nice.)

b. Some random guy on the Subway asked us where we were going… obviously we looked like we had no idea where we were going… I thought he was badgering us and then he gave us the exact route to get there and what we needed to see once we reached our destination. So nice.

c. ALL my taxi drivers were nice. But Louise is still my favorite. :)


d. No one at the hospital yelled at me or told me how bad I suck. Totally not what I’m use to with my lovely job.

e. A bus driver, who was NOT supposed to pick me up… asked me where and when I was going and just let me hop in, even though it was out of his way. Thank you, Mr. for not making me stand in the rain.




f. One taxi driver DID glare at me a little bit… as he drove by while I waited on the curb in the rain. I waved, because I thought he was going to be like every other kind New Yorker… and then he just drove by and left me. And THEN he ran over the curb and popped his tire. New York karma is a real b*tch.

g. MULTIPLE people asked Mr. Schaffter and I if they could take our picture at Rockefeller Center. At least they thought they were being nice… little did they know they were causing the Erin/Bryce Awkward Moment #2,796.

h. I actually saw a guy propose to his girlfriend on the ice skating rink. Obviously that had nothing to do with me. But so sweet.

i. Some guy called me Santa Claus. I don’t know why. I had an orange sweater on, and I actually looked kind of nice. Bryce told me he was calling me Mrs. Claus, and that she was a good looking lady in her prime. Whatever. Maybe he just meant I was merry. Which is nice, I suppose.

j. My FINAL impression of New York City came when I lost my FRIGGIN driver’s license at the airport. Not only did the ticket guy print off a ticket that would get me on the plane WITHOUT my driver’s license (Yes, apparently they can do that. There goes security.), but the police officer I reported the incident too was the nicest guy of all time (YES, there are nice police officers out there! And he didn’t even say anything inappropriate or disgusting!). He comforted me and told me everything was okay. He patiently wrote down all my information. He called lost and found as well as all the officers near the gates. And FINALLY, he WALKED me to the nearby bar, tracked down both the bartender and manager, and VOUGED for my age and identification so that I could get a beer. Pretty much never heard of a police officer TELLING a bartender to serve alcohol to someone… ESPECIALLY someone who does not have a license. LOL (See I told you I LOL all over the place).

k. And lastly, the guy who gave me the ticket earlier hand delivered my driver’s license and I got all flustered, which is why I accidentally erased the original New York City blog. I LOVE THIS CITY.

"What If"

Wrote this a couple weeks ago... but it's totally blogworthy, ESPECIALLY after reading the last blog. I did know what was coming LOL (my new favorite texting phrase, LOL... I LOL it).

I really have no time to be on stupid MySpace, but all I've been doing for two days is studying the properties and functions of iMRNA.... Yeah, do you know what they are? I still don't, and the test is friggin' tomorrow. I am so over it.
So..... I had a very funny "happening" this weekend... one that I've been expecting but was still suprised... and it's been on my mind, so I figure a few minutes of venting will do a girl some good.
I found out that I am a "What If" girl. I had never used this term until describing my recent situation to a friend... and it's PERFECT.
I got a call from an ex this weekend... yes, a 3:00 a.m. call (We all know what that means), but from a person that I NEVER hear from and have not expected to hear from for over a year. YES, he is on my dating extravaganza list... YES, he really pissed me off when we were dating (for numerous reasons)... YES, he is ENGAGED now and obviously having some sort of cold feet... and YES, I answered the phone.
Now, I'm sure that this big burly man was wasted, and maybe doesn't even remember the entire convo. But as a curious person, I asked him approximately 1 billion questions to figure out why the heck my phone is ringing again all of a sudden.
Basically, after an hour of long awkward silences and a ton of bickering (we did that constantly, which is obviously part of the reason we are no longer together), I basically figured out I am a "What If". He is engaged, and happy or so I thought. She lives far away, but they make it work. He thinks she is nice, funny, smart, going to be a good wife and mom (Oh, and he kept mentioning that he wants to have kids... hopefully this poor girl is ready to be a mommy to some very large children with exceptional teeth)... But he's just "scared". Says he's scared of getting divorced, because that's what everyone does. (My silent observation at that point was that cheating, which is what he was proposing, often leads to just that... DIVORCE. Crazy stuff, I know.)
What was also so funny about this convo was his audacity to LECTURE me about my life... He asked me question after question about who I had dated since him, DETAILS about those people, why I liked them, if I treated them the same, labeling each of them "douche bags" because "obviously" they aren't as cool as he is... Like he couldn't believe I would EVER move on. Well think twice. NO, I am not engaged... NO, I haven't even come close to that... and NO, I still don't have even great taste in men... BUT NO, I am not sitting around waiting for your call. Sorry big guy.
Anyways, nothing happened and I ABSOLUTELY did NOT go over there. But the call was very entertaining. "What if" things were different? "What if" we had worked out? "What if" I were about to be the next Mrs. Shaved Head/Chicklet Teeth/Chokehold/Fart Joke?
Well, it seems that most likely my future husband would be calling some random ex girlfriend to "come hangout" like old times. Man, that would suck.
I am not angry or upset by the call. I'm not going to say anything (or at least name any names), but I hope that I am never in that situation... from either end. I don't want my significant other to someday be calling some old fling and freaking out about her life... and I DON'T want any regrets when I make the decision to spend my life with someone. So for that reason, I will wait. Thank you very much.

Just a few pics... just so you know I'm a real person. With lots of different hair colors, FYI.

I had such good intentions with this thing. Seriously, I have so many thoughts, and most of the time I think I'm really funny. So I thought this "blog" thing would help me remember some of my funny life... doesn't work so well when I NEVER write in this thing.

So my latest update is just really a 10 hour beer drinking fiasco. It was Jewell's Homecoming this weekend, and I regretfully signed up for Pubbs for Hubbs, a pub crawl run by the infamous Andrew Fischer and Brian Brane, my roommate's boyfriend.

The day actually went much smoother than expected, considering I can barely be in the same room with Fischer... still makes me mad just thinking about it.

We started at the Pub House... went to The Dish, The Landing, The Corner Bar (seriously the trashiest place I've ever set foot in), and then came back to the Pub. Saw TONS of Jewell people that I haven't spoken to in forever, or frankly just haven't spoken to before, and since I had ingested quite a few beers I had no trouble talking to really anyone.

My favorite part of the day was telling Rex (one of the biggest A-holes I've seriously ever met, and one who treated my dear friend like total crapola) that he was a weirdo. I thought he was going to punch me in the face, but he just kept standing behind Kyli and I staring at her... not saying anything, just staring. Seriously, this guy was "the thing" when I was a freshman at Jewell, and here he was staring at us like he belonged in a halfway house. Guess he was just wasted, but it was SO fun telling him where to stick it.

I guess the three burritos I ate at midnight were also very memorable. Think I've gained about 7 pounds since yesterday. Great job, Erin. And today I'm sick as a dog (just have a bad cold), and I've now watched Maid of Honor TWICE. Those silly wedding movies really get me, don't they?!?!

Harry Murphy is engaged. The guy who told me I wasn't a tiny girl, but that I have no cellulite in my legs... the guy who asked me to stay up until 2:00 in the AM and then never called... the guy who told me I'm too smart for my own good... and continues to make completely inappropriate comments... IS ENGAGED. It's fine.

Family Fun. And a Boda Mexicana.

Today was good. I went to the most hilarious wedding EVER with my family. My brother was asked to be the best man YESTERDAY for his best friend Fernando's wedding TODAY. HILARIOUS. So we put my 6'5 brother in his best Sunday looking outfit and sent him to the Catholic church. We rushed around, knowing we were going to be late... only to find out that we were one of the first people there. Did I mention Fernando is Mexican? I traveled to Mexico for months at a time, and even I had forgotten the cultural difference regarding TIME. When you have an event in Mexico at 1:00, it is only polite to come at approximately 1:15... which is what everyone else did.

The ceremony lasted a good two hours... it happened to be a baptism too, so I'm guessing it was extra long. The dresses were beautiful, and there were TONS of gorgeous babies to look at. Plus the groom is just the most adorable little guy ever, and watching him kneel next to his young little beautiful bride brought tears to my eyes. There's something about Mexican families that just warms my heart. Two high school kids, getting married on the same day they baptize their new baby. Aunts, cousins, parents, grandparents, neighbors are all there watching. All in their fancy clothes (I think a lot of the women were in what resembled very colorful prom dresses... totally not my style, but BEAUTIFUL). Cameras were everywhere, and in fact, my mother took a picture of a scene where more people were surrounding the ceremony with cameras and videos cameras than there were people actually IN the ceremony. Kids talked the whole time. People got up and walked around. Babies cried. We kneeled. We sang. We prayed. It was loud and long. But for some reason, I was just really touched by this day.

Oh yeah, my mom and I did, of course make slight fools of ourselves. Apparently at Catholic weddings (maybe Mexican Catholic weddings) they pass around an offering plate... My stepdad had taken Ava out a long time before because we thought she would be a distraction (What a joke, she would have been the quietest child in there), and he was the one with all the cold hard CASH. We were obviously in a panic, and all I had in my purse was deoderant, a hotel room key, some receipts, and a William Jewell medallion (don't ask). I somehow managed to scrounge up 35 cents, so at least we looked like we were putting something in the bucket. BUT... when it came to us, we noticed that someone else had put their wedding card in instead of cash. BRILLIANT!!!! We figured it was a gift to the bride and groom anyways, so we quickly dropped our card in the plate.

Then my brother said it was an offering to the church and we were complete idiots. He had to get one of the little ring bearers to go ask the kind lady for our card back.

Did I mention that my mother and I tend to laugh really loudly in awkward situations or when we are nervous or embarrassed? Well... we do. I almost peed my pants.

And tonight we had a get together with my family. As crazy as they are, and as loud and long the night was... it was SO nice to see everyone. This is exactly what I needed. TO COME HOME.

And in case you're wondering, I'm doing much better than I was the other night. That dumb movie just really put me in a funk!

Night,
Erin

27 Dresses

I guess "they" deleted my previous blog. I guess I forgot about the previous blog. I guess I thought I didn't need to write. But I do.

I write when I have "aha" moments... or when I am sad... or when I am thankful... or when I am just FULL of thoughts.

Tonight I am a little bit of all those things... Just to sum it up, since I'm new to this, and we have a whole lot of catching up to do... Here is a list of what is going on in my life:

1.) I have decided to change my life plan. Communication/Spanish Major, Non-profit leadership Minor... goes to work for a healthcare software company for ONE year. Then decides to go to Medical School. And off I go, sitting in 7:00 a.m. class next to a bunch of sweaty, chubby faced, beer breath 18 year old boys... But I'm loving it. If I could only get some sleep.

2.) I am about ready to watch my family MULTIPLY, as my parents are adopting two (I would say something else, but I can't because it's still a secret) beautiful babies... "A" and "A" as my mom calls them on her blog, are seriously the best things EVER.

3.) Nope, not getting married anytime soon. Thought I would seriously be married with a kid popped out by now... living in a suburb somewhere with a white picket fence. Claire Francis (my lovely little border collie pit bull) would maybe even have a playmate. But that is not where I am. And if you have ever read my dating memoir, you'll know that things haven't really gotten any better since. I've been a dataholic... dated jerks, pigs, crazies, sweethearts, smelly ones, cute ones, hairy ones, bald ones, old ones, married ones (I didn't know he was married thank you very much... WHAT AN ASS), immature ones, self-centered ones, ones with Daddy complexes, ones with MOMMY complexes, jealous ones, seriously intelligent ones, emotionally unavailable ones, ones who I thought I could LOVE. But obviously I didn't. Here I am.

4.) I have a roommate now who I love. There is a reason she is living with me. We both have a really rough year ahead, so it's a GOD thing that she is here to get me through it and I am here to help her survive.

5.) I'm watching 27 Dresses... for the second time tonight. Not the movie that I should have watched, considering I'm in a really foul mood.... and I actually had to delete the remaining statements. Wow, I'm crabby!

6.) I did a triathlon this summer. Almost died, but I LOVED it. Then I signed up for another one... and I skipped it.

7.) I really just want to go live in Haiti in a grass hut and take care of people. Or go work in the Kansas City Free Health Clinic. Or maybe save the world or something. I really just need to pass my pre-med classes... and get rid of my superficial selfishness.

8.) I go from literally working out two hours a day and eating well... feeling great... to chowing on Taco Bell, popsicles, pudding, noodles, peanut butter, and basically whatever I can get my hands on. I think I'm really struggling right now. With self confidence, body image, you know the normal stuff. Just struggling.

9.) I've been in 5 weddings now... brought a date to one of them (the man I thought I would have children with), and all that did was solidify the fact that HE WAS NOT THE ONE. Since then, I've just taken advantage of the open bars and/or skeeted out as early as possible.

10.) Did I tell you I shouldn't have watched this stupid movie? What a Debbie Downer.