tears, taxidermy and P.S. 55

wowwwwweee! it's been too long! im so so sorry to my MILLIONS of dedicated readers that it's been so long since i updated! (im talkin' to you ES) there is a lot so im gonna try to compress...
also LOTS of pics this time! and video!

So there i was-half naked and sobbing in my closet...

hm. let me go back...

MONDAY, June 21st &
TUESDAY, June 22nd

first day of training at the new j.o.b! since my foot hadn't quite healed i was nervous about how i'd hold up all day but eager to be DOING something towards making money. it was a pretty boring day. not a lot of customers and the girl i was training with, we'll call her "Amy" kept talking to me like i was an infant.

"ok now, you're gonna take these drinks to that table. ok? any questions? you got it?"
hey, amy! i think i can handle this! it's not brain surgery! it's waitress-ing...
i HATE being the new girl.

plus they had this ridiculous "expresso maker" (this is how Amy pronounced it. alllll day. killed me.) that was the biggest piece of shit i have ever worked with. it was offensively bad. Luigi would have flipped. Lavazza machine so kind of a step in the right direction but the 'expresso' was pre-packaged in these pods kept in the fridge. BLASPHEMY. the stupid thing delivered watery, bitter, nasty 'expresso' and tepid, bubbly milk. forget about latte art!

day 1 and i was sooo over this place. prissy chicks, stupid expresso machine, ridiculous menu. Gordon Ramsey would have had a fit over how all-over-the-place the menu was. Shabu Shabu AND Hanger Steak au Poivre AND Black Bean Quesadilla ??? figure it out guys!

ugh. over. it.

(oh, are you guys worried they might be reading my blog and i might get fired??? dont. read on.)

i was glad to get out of there early. (i worked the 11 to 5:ish shift and i should add that my foot HURT after 6+ hours on it.)

went to meet my dear friend Luke Gilford for his birthday celebration at Julius, the oldest gay bar in NYC. we saw a drag show and there were some other UCSB alums there. fun fun, and much needed after my day of bs straining. blarg.

after Luke-fest i met up with Amelia Harris, Emily Scott and Cristy Escobar- MORE UCSB alums and also drama folk!

we went to Beauty Bar (of which there are several. i made it a point to tell the bartender that i had been to the SF, LA, Austin and now NY branches. it's a pretty stupid bar all in all but whatever.) happy birthday cosmo for Emily and some all-up-in-your-face time with the lovey Cristy Escobar. (xo, ladies)

and bed.

tuedsay i trained the night shift, 4:30 to 11:ish. another kind of obnoxious day but at least they were letting me DO stuff. i took a lot of tables and worked hard! (for free, i might add...no tips, no hourly wage for training. just long hard work towards the eventual goal of a job...right?) i got out of there around 11, iced my swollen foot and went to bed.


WEDNESDAY, June 23rd

on this day off i planned on spending alllll day looking for a new job/blogging and resting my poor foot. i spent the morning sewing on some buttons to my favorite vintage, backless, short white dress that i could never wear in SF because it's rarely warm enough for a vintage, backless, short white dress...i was all ready to go except- I COULDN'T FIND MY KEYS ANYWHERE.
i literally TORE the place apart looking. and as you all have seen or heard, its not a big place.

*note: it has been like 1,000 degrees. i haven't even been sleeping in my own bed because the couch is right in front of the AC and i prefer to be cool while i slumber than sweating my freakin' skin off. so it was HOT while i was tearing around the apt in a state of crazed panic because i seriously thought i was losing my mind.

so there i was. half-naked, (took off my clothes from the heat, you see) sobbing in my closet because i was hot and sweaty and trapped in the house all day.
to top it off i get an email from my boss:

You did great training yesterday! Jumped right it you were on it!

I have to be honest. Amy is coming on with us full time. So that doesn't leave many shifts if any open for you.

So right now I have no shifts to offer you. I'm sorry about this.

Best.

i'm sorry, excuse me????? soooo i trained for two shifts on a sprained foot for no pay for no reason? i was PISSED. and i wrote him back saying 'wow, that's unfortunate and i wish you had told me that this situation was even a possibility because this was a tremendous waste of time. i understand that things change or whatever but gimme a break, dude. you didn't have even have inkling that she might be going to full time before you offered me the job and had me train?!'
(ya know, in so many words)

pissed. so more tears. sweaty, desperate, half naked tears.

finally i decided i didn't care how i was getting back in i had to get out of the f-ing house.

and so i did. i went to The Bean and applied for some jobs. i had a lovely Goat Cheese & Herb Quiche and a Ginger Pear Iced Tea.
Garret came to rescue me and let me back in the house. after such a stupid day and my first NYC freak out i went to meet up with Amelia again and some NY theater people for some fun! (ps, it was 93 degrees at 2:30am.)

we went all over the place to several different bars and ended up at, (this will really surprise you) South Brooklyn Pizza aka my most favorite of favorite places and had a slice. oh, and Matt Dillon was there enjoying a slice too. nbd.

my friend Emily Scott (and fellow blogger) got another snack on our way to what i bragged as being 'the best pizza in the city or the best pizza i've ever had' and said to me

"i could never blog what i eat."

judging from the snack she chose over South Brooklyn Pizza, she is absolutely right...but her blog is great :)

turned out to be a nice day, despite the tears and losing my stupid job that i was already going to quit anyway. it's just annoying because it's like getting dumped by the guy you were going to break up with anyway. you know what im talking about? annoying.

bed. (on the couch. still too hot)

ps i found my keys. in a secret jacket pocket of a jacket i've never worn. our apt must be haunted because i have no idea how they got there.


THURSDAY, June 24th

got up, put up some shelves (yesssiree, with a level and a power drill and everything!
Dad would be proud!) and then headed over the the Museum of Natural History with Amelia. i was running late to i took a cab and did a lovely driving tour of Park Ave, etc. not too shabby. while i waited for Amelia to show up i had a snack. a hot dawg on Central Park West. mmmhmm.



the Museum of Natural History is weird. it's lovely and cool and feels very New York but it's weird because its basically a museum of taxidermy. ya know? i know that sounds like a really uncultured thing to say but after seeing stuffed dead animal after stuffed dead animal it started feeling a little weird. i did get some good pics though:

hipstamatic iphone ap

amelia w/ flamingos (cause she lives in florida) me with rhinos just cause

after an hour or so of taxidermy we set out for Brooklyn to go to Spuyten Duyvil
for some fancy Belgium beers and some chatty.

loved this place. loved the decor and the ambiance, loved the crowd, loved the bartender (who was so attentive and charming), loved the beer (we got a Lambic and it was so sour and good) and loved the back patio/garden area. lovely lovely lovely! definitely coming back. we had some cheese with our beer and then headed back over to Manhattan. (there's Amelia in the garden patio)

i had a Skype conference call with Mom, Julie and Grandma (who were in Elko, Nevada on their way to a Mormon wedding) where we watched Top Chef together so that we could give commentary to each other. a bit of a challenge but we made it work. meanwhile, i made Penne Puttanesca (which was mighty fine indeed, if i do say so myself) and Garret brought home SBP (South Brooklyn Pizza- im going to refer to it as SBP from here on out since im eating it so much, cool?) sort of a wacky, starchy meal but whatever! we were all happy!
Nate and i peer pressured Garret into going out so we went over to d.b.a., a New Orleans bar with an incredible beer menu. (two great beer bars in one day! what more could a girl ask for?!) Amelia and Chris Pena met up with us and we headed over to bar 151 and then headed home early(ish) because Amelia and i had a long day ahead of us in the Bronx.

Garret took this picture of me on our walk back. Mom sent me this shirt this week and it seemed appropriate for me to pose next to this mural. i may live (and LOVE) NYC but i still love love love SF...

FRIDAY, June 25th

woke up at 5:45 am (CRAZY RIGHT!?) and took the Subway alllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll the way up to 125th street to meet Amelia. ya know, in Harlem. got some Dunkin Donuts iced coffee and a sesame bagel w/cream cheese (sort of amazing to be honest with you) and then we headed over to the Bronx.

we were going to see Amelia's students graduate from the 5th grade. she did Teach for America for two years and taught 2nd and 3rd(?) grade at P.S. 55, Benjamin Franklin School in the Bronx which is smack dab in the middle of the projects. needless to say it was an amazing experience for her and i really wanted to see it.
coming from Pioneer (or Colfax-which is where Amelia is from) we just have no idea what it's like to grow up in an area like that let alone go to public school. we were the only white people in the room and that's just not a situation i have ever been in.

a 5th grade graduation may seem unnecessary but it was a big deal to the community since a lot of the kids drop out at 16. any kind of celebration for achievement in school is celebrated and it was really really amazing to be there. plus, being with Amelia was like being with a celebrity! EVERYONE was so excited to see her- teachers, parents, kids. it was a constant swarming of hellos and hugs and all-around goodness. i took some videos of the graduation. they are mostly of the kids singing and dancing but i LOVE it when kids sing and dance! i totally cried...

we were exhausted and starving after the gradation and walking around the campus saying hello to her felllow teachers and more students. Amelia took me to her favorite sandwich place where she swore they were the most delicious sandwiches. i got Pastrami w/Pepper Jack. while they were shockingly great sandwiches (and cheap, $5) part of the reason she loved it was most definately because she said they were really nice to her when she would walk over sobbing from how hard her job was :(

Amelia is amazing. the end.

great great day. saw some pretty real NYC stuff.

came home (after an intense commute) and took a good long nap in front of the AC, heated up some left-over pasta and got ready for another night on the town with another amazing gal pal, Miss Jenny Gottstein, aka The girl to talk to about a good time in NYC...

this time she invited me to a party that started at the Puma Social Club which was down by the water at the South Street Seaport. we were there only for a bit, but long enough to do a Classic Jenny & Lindsey bathroom shoot. i told her i was planning on making her do this with me for every party she takes me to.

after free drinks there (seriously, The girl for a good time) we headed to the dock to hop on board the boat! yes, friends- a boat. a huge sailboat that looked like a pirate ship! 125 people were aboard and a DJ, more free drinks, and ridiculous views of the city. it was such a fun night!

the ONLY thing was that Garret texted me in the middle of my boat fun to tell me that he was at a bar and Lady Gaga was there and i was so jealous that i swear i was ready to jump overboard and swim to shore...ah well. that's the thing about NYC i guess...if you're having the time of your life on boat, someone else is rubbing shoulders with Lady Gaga...ya can't do it all...

thats all for now kids. ive got tons to post about this weekend and its going to be very very food-heavy with LOTS of pics and LOTS of details about what i ate. sooooooon

i will leave you with some fabulous party pics from the boat!

brooklyn bridge or maybe the manhattan bridge??? (we kept going under them both)

me and jen and jen and dj lloyd

check out Jenny's killer dance moves!

just some boat-rope modeling cause why not?!
it looks like i'm totally nailing Jenny's intern in the back with my knee but i'm pretty sure she's just ducking to get out of the picture.

the original NY party girl?



xo, L