Thanksgiving Day Parade

Monday, December 1, 2008

One of my major "to-do's" while living in New York was to attend the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. This year I decided to stay in the city for Thanksgiving, so it was the perfect opportunity to attend the parade. Luckily I had a good friend who invited me to watch the parade at her office. We woke up early (but not as early as we would have if we had watched the parade on the street). At the office, we had a nice breakfast as we waited for the parade to arrive. It was really fun to see the parade in real life, having a great view from the 6th floor of the office building. The parade was a little disappointing, but still a blast. I was used to watching all of the performances on TV and was expecting that as I watched the parade live. Apparently, the performances only occur in Herald Square near Macy's, and you have to be a VIP to get tickets to watch the parade down there. Luckily, we turned on the TV so we were able to watch the performances and the parade.

Here are some pictures from the parade.

This last one is the float with Santa on it, signifying the end of the parade.

Also, they fill up all of the balloons the night before and they invite you to come see them beforehand. A bunch of friends got together to see the balloons. After waiting in line to see them, we finally got up to the balloons. It was fun and impressive to see the giant balloons up close.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! I've been truly blessed and couldn't ask for anything else in life. I have realized that the last couple of months, but I'm still glad we have a day to celebrate that fact. I wish I could be home, but I will be making the best of my time away from home. We have a bunch of friends getting together for dinner and earlier in the day a good friend of mine and I will be attending the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. What better way to spend a Thanksgiving in New York! Don't worry, I'll take lots of pictures.

My Run In With the Rich and Famous

As I was coming home from church the other day, I was in a very focused conversation with a friend of mine. A few moments later, some other friends said, "Did you notice who was standing right in front of you?" Needless to say, I didn't. I was too entrenched in my conversation. Apparently, I was sitting right behind Kevin Bacon. His identity was confirmed when he spoke a word or two. Apparently some of the stars are not so high maintenance that they refuse to take the bus.
Thanks Monica for the picture!

Election Night

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Every four years we have the chance to elect a president. It seems like this last presidential campaign was the longest in history. The news channels have been talking about this election for at least the last two years. As you know, New York, my current state of residence, went very Blue and voted for Barack Obama. That was very obvious as you walked the streets of the city. No matter what your political ideology is, I think we can all agree this was a very historic election in which we have a president elected of a different race.

Some friends of mine who have lived here for awhile said it was really cool to go to Rockefeller Center for the presidential election, so we went. At Rockefeller Center, they have a map of the country and change the states red or blue depending on which way the states vote. Then they have fabric going up the GE building representing the number of electoral college votes each candidate gets. With all of this and big screens up to watch the results, it was the perfect place to watch the results come in.

We were actually there when they announced that Barack Obama had enough electoral college votes to win the presidency. Everyone went crazy. There were even a lot of people crying. I wondered what would have happened if I had shouted "Go McCain!" Needless to say, it was a fun night to remember and one that will go down in the history books.

We also took a detour to see the results in Times Square. There were results parties all over the city. I heard the biggest and craziest was the party up in Harlem. I had some friends who went up there after they had announced Barack Obama won and they said it was a madhouse until about 2 am. Everyone was so excited for the first African-American President. Here's a picture of the electoral college map on the famous Nasdaq screen.

Happy Halloween

I've never been really big into Halloween. It seems like I'm always scrambling for a costume last minute, which was once again the case this year. I was debating what to be and just couldn't think of anything. I was even considering just not going to the Halloween dance because I didn't have a decent costume. In the end my costume came out great after it evolved from what I planned earlier in the week. I ended up being the Love Doctor. I had a lot of fun with it. I had some candy prescription pills and a spray bottle of love potion no. 9. My favorite part was my clipboard where I provided free consultations and prescriptions for love. All in good fun of course. I decided I had already experienced the NYC Halloween parade last year and could skip it this year. It was a pretty laid back night. We just met up and had a casual dinner and then went to the Halloween dance. Here's some pictures of my costume and some of my friends costumes.

The Love Doctor is in. Don't mind the lipstick on my cheek and forehead.

Probably my favorite costume of the night: Marge Simpson.

Troop Manhattan Heels and Richard Simmons.

Me and my roommates. Edward Scissorhands and a streaker.

New York Cares

Monday, October 20, 2008

Every year the city sponsors a day called “New York Cares.” A lot of businesses and church groups sign up to volunteer in the city to spruce up the city. Most groups are assigned to schools or parks. This year, our church group was assigned to a junior high school in the Bronx. It was a long day moving computers and books up and down 3 flights of stairs, but it was well worth it. A small amount of time from a lot of people can make a big difference. Later in the day, we were also assigned to do some painting. I helped paint the stage in their auditorium. Others with more talent were in charge of painting murals in the bathrooms.

These kids have so little, so I was glad I could make a small difference by spending a few hours helping them. Plus, it was fun. I was so tired by the end of the day that I felt like I could take a nap on the subway.

Parents in Town: Part II

Due to my dad having a work conference out in New York, my parents came out for a second trip to New York in six months. Last time they came we did practically everything touristy in the city, so I wasn’t sure what we should do. In the end, we had a lot more relaxing trip this time. On Saturday, my parents really wanted to see Coney Island.

Since developers keep talking about tearing it down, I figured it was time that I went. Everyone told me how unexciting it was, so I was prepared for a let done. Surprisingly, we still had a good time. We wanted to ride the Cyclone, but it was already closed for the season.

We walked along the boardwalk and enjoyed the beautiful weather. And of course we had to eat at Nathan’s Famous (where they host the hot dog eating contest every 4th of July).

Other adventures from my parent’s trip included a jaunt through Chinatown and Little Italy, and a New York Street Fair (every Saturday and Sunday in the summer, they close off 10 to 20 blocks to traffic and set up tents for vendors. It is fun to walk around and see the little shops and sometimes you can even find a great deal. You can also always find some good food.)

The rest of the week included lots of nice relaxing dinners. I also took my parents to Jersey Boys where my amazing friend Heather showed us around backstage. Thanks Heather! I love it when my parents come in town.