NEW LOCATION

Hello darling readers! I have some exciting news for you!!


I recently purchased my own domain!! Hooray! I have transferred all the posts from this account to my new website so none of these awesome posts are lost, however, I will no longer be posting here.


Check out the new website here: http://npamani.com/blog/


Lots of love!! xxx

Peeved

The top 5 things pissing me off this week

1. BBBBBBBRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
Waking up to this every morning... and I mean EVERY morning. Dear apartment complex, I appreciate your efforts for keeping our community clean and looking pretty, but don't you think it's just as effective to blow leaves at noon as it is to blow leaves at 7am? Just a suggestion. Thanks for listening.

2. Fat men on airplanes. Ok so this isn't the exact picture of the fat man that was sitting next to me on my flight to Denver last Thursday, but there was in fact a man almost as big as the one pictured here sitting right next to me. I had the middle seat after a long week and a long day of work and classes on a 5 hour flight. The fat man sitting in the window seat kept spilling over into my seat. My response? I kept sneezing in his direction in hopes that my germs might encourage him to try and shift his fat slightly over. The result? I landed up my a snot covered fat man sitting next to me for five hours. Greeeeeeat.

3. People who are older than me but have 0 manners. Ok, let's get something straight here. If you are a good friend of mine and I love you a whole lot, I make sure you know it. Everyone else can go eff themselves. I am an incredibly busy person juggling 4 classes, 2 internships and the social life of a second semester senior and I just don't have time for people who demand things of me or tell me that I need to do things for them. Guess what - I don't NEED to do anything for you and I definitely WON'T be of assistance to you if you demand things from me. Learn some basic respect for other human beings please.

4. Old people driving. Today on my way to work my car nearly got hit by 3 old people switching lanes without indicating or even looking. It's a good thing I'm always such a cautious driver in Miami or else me and the poor YAM-express would be lying in a gutter somewhere right meow. I do solemnly swear to make enough money in my life so that by the time me and my future husband are old, we can hire some young thang to drive us around town instead of putting the rest of the world's population at risk.

5. Rush hour traffic. SOMEONE PLEASE BLOW UP US1. For the love of baby Jesus. Three days a week I get to sit in rush hour traffic going to AND coming from work on Miami Beach. Le sigh. Frustration frustration frustration. Thank god for good tunes and chain smoking.

And there you have it. On a completely unrelated note - at 3:30pm everyday in my office someone plays the theme tune from TopChef and it makes me giggle uncontrollably. Teehee ;)

food for thought

I love bad dreams. They remind me of the goodness of life.

Remainders are what we have when other things have gone, 

but, surely, that is better than nothing?

Whatever gets you through the day only works once.

If you must choose between two evils, pick the one 

you've never tried before.

We are suicides in our longing for immortality.

You are the most likely to slip and fall when things 

get too smooth.

The trouble with reality is that it doesn't seem all that real.

We are what we are; the challenge is 

to be more than we have been.

Life is the distance between dreams and reality.

Smoke Signals

I've been doing a lot of design work in Adobe Photoshop and
Adobe Flash (both CS5) lately for class and it's got my mind thinking about patterns
 and colors and graphics and layouts pretty much all the time.

I've been really busy with school and internship work lately so I
spend a lot of time at home doing work. Of course no 'stay in and study' night would
be complete in my apartment without some
incense, soft tunes and a hookah.

We bought my hookah at a store in Lokhandwala Market, one of the many markets
of Mumbai, that was filled to the brim with bright, colorful, beautiful
glass hookahs. Big hookahs, and small hookahs, and skinny hookahs, and fat
hookahs and ohmygawd so many hookahs.

DELICIOUS HOOKAHS. Glorious day! I seriously felt like I had died
and gone to heaven. We (my brother, my mom and myself) finally
decided on a beautiful dark blue glass hookah. I am proud to say that it survived the
journey from Mumbai to Brussels to New York and finally to Miami in my
 suitcase. SHWANANA. It also survived my 21st birthday bash at Casa de SpinnZinn
(which may or may not be more dangerous than going through multiple airports).

I have discovered that I have this strange obsession with smoke. I love incense, I love candles, I love my hookah and I realized the other day that I painted a design on my living room wall that looks like smoke. There's something about watching the smoke make patterns in the air that just hypnotizes me and gives me a sense of calm. I'm really enjoying these smoke
signals in my life at the moment.... everyone needs
a little something to bring them back down.

Don't cry for me, Argentina

I was going through some of my old photos from my trip to Argentina and wanted to share some of my favorite shots with you guys. Looking back on these photos is important to me for three reasons: I miss Argentina. I have the itch to travel to somewhere new again. I am reminded that I need to start taking more photos because I'm obsessed with my new camera (and I wish I had gotten this camera before my trip to Argentina because these shots would just be so much cooler....) Anyways.... hope you enjoy these!

It takes two to Tango // Buenos Aires

Vamos a la Playa // Rosario

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood // Mendoza

Paraiso // Iguazu

Far, far away // Patagonia

Polo // San Antonio de Areco

 

 

 

 

 

We meet at last // Iguazu

No pain, no gain

Yesterday I did something very exciting... I got my second tattoo!! I got a black stencil lily on my inner left ankle and it hurt LIKE HELL, but it was totally worth it. It looks fantastic and i couldn't be happier with my decision. Big shout out to Steve at Ocho Placas Tattoo in Miami for doing an amazing job.

I highly recommend this place - it's very clean and safe, and the artists who work there are great guys and do fantastic work.

Before I post pictures of my new tattoo, I want to take a trip down memory lane and recall my first tattoo. My ink-virginity was taken at an awesome little place down in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, Argentina called Jack Tattoo & Piercing by a big, burly man called Marcos (big and burly, but such a sweetheart).

Let's backtrack a little ... I did a study abroad in Buenos Aires as a lot of you know and took a lot of weekend trips around Argentina. One of my favorite trips was a trip to a city called Rosario with my main men, Darren and Juan (affectionately called Chino and Pepe). We decided on a whim to go to Rosario so we met up at the bus station after a night of partying (none of us had slept) and took a 4 hour ride from Buenos Aires to Rosario. We found the most amazing hostel - Che Pampas (if you are ever in Rosario, you MUST stay here. Nikbear approved FOR SURE) - and stayed there for 2 nights (? idk maybe it was just one or maybe it was three... it was a while ago). On our last night at the hostel we made dinner and started a night of heavy fernet and cerveza drinking with these two girls we had met from Canada and had spent the day sight seeing with. At some point in the night a group of slightly older guys checked into the hostel and decided to get rowdy with us. I really hit it off with one of them - Fede (who I affectionately called Fedex because he calls me Nike) - and we spent a lot of time talking and chilling and chain smoking together. In the course of our discussions he mentioned to me that he owned a tattoo parlor on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. I immediately started drunk rambling about how I'd always wanted a tattoo of an ohm symbol (he had no idea what that was so I drew it out for him) but I was terrified of needles and didn't have a lot of money etc etc. Fedex was all like "PSHAW! Come to my place when you're back in BsAs and I'll give you a really good price" (which he did - I got my first tattoo for under 20 US Dollars, including tip). He then proceeded to drive the drunken messes formerly known as Chino, Pepe and Nike to the bus station so we could return to BsAs just in time for our classes. Fedex - mil gracias por todo! Te extrano un monton!

Anyways, a little while later I called Fedex and made an appointment to go in and get my tattoo on a Saturday morning. Little did I know that the night before my scheduled appointment I would be at a Deadmau5 and Desyn Masiello show in Buenos Aires and would stay up the whole night partying, then hop on a train and go 1 hour outside of the city to get my first tattoo (I was a bit of a wild child while I was abroad). My awesome friends Emily and Natalie accompanied me and held my hand for the pain that I thought I would experience, but never really did. Back of the neck tattoo? Felt like a great massage. Anyways, Marcos did a superb job and the guys at Jack Tattoo are awesome! If you're ever in Buenos Aires and feel the need to get a tattoo, definitely check this place out. They don't have a website, but shoot me a message/comment and I will point you in the right direction.

Here are some pictures from my first tattoo:

Needless to say, my first experience getting inked up left me feeling great about my decision and had me planning my next tattoo almost immediately. I had some ideas, but nothing that made me say YES THIS IS IT.... until about last week. I decided that I wanted to get a black stencil-looking image of a lily on my inner left ankle. Why lilies? Because they are my favorite flower! So I made a few phone calls to places here in Miami and got some quotes and finally decided on Ocho Placas. Went in last night and got the tattoo and made a new friend too! Thank you so much Steve!! Check out the new one:

About halfway through - you can tell that it's right on the bone and hurt SO MUCH.

The finished product!! I'm in love with this!!

And that's all for now folks! Let me know what you think!

xx Bear

Learn something new today

So today I found some free time and decided that it was time for a new blog post. I couldn't decide on a topic, so I asked my best friend Nat to give me some topic ideas. Of course, his first three ideas were horrible (Egypt? No. Rising oil prices? No. AT&T stock going down? No... Damn, kid, stop surrounding yourself with such negative things!) And then he suggested I interview him about his new found love for playing the ukulele. So I did.

An accurate representation of my friend Nat...

Q: Why the eff bomb did you pick the ukulele?
A: Well I've always wanted to play a string instrument. I tried drums and the saxophone but those weren't that stimulating. So one day I was at a friends house and there was a kid playing a ukulele and I thought "That looks like so much fun!" So the next day I bought a ukulele.They're great. They have four strings instead of six and with my smaller hands the smaller neck works great.

Q: Where did you buy it?
A: At WindWorks, a music shop here in Boulder, CO. I purchased a beginner book and a Luna Ukulele for a total of $60. Luckily, they are pretty inexpensive. If you spend over $50 you can guarantee yourself a pretty good one.

Q: What was the hardest part about learning the ukulele?
A: Learning new chords I'd say. Getting the fingering right is difficult and you put your hand in awkward positions. I would work on two chords at a time, strumming and going back and forth. Once you get comfortable with the chord you can start using it in combination with other chords and then you start making music. It really only takes three chords to have a song - most Lily Allen songs are two chords!


End interview. Ok so it's not that interesting, but it brings me to a point -- it's never to late to learn something new or at least try something new.

My mom had this great life goal (I'm not too sure if she still lives by it, but I know I try to) to try two new things every year - one for the body and one for the mind. There's a lot out there in the world to fall in love with and be passionate about. In the past couple years I've found myself experimenting more and more - I jumped out of a plane, I climbed a mountain, I lived in a foreign country, I picked up photography again, I started doing yoga, I got a tattoo, I became a certified open water diver, etc etc.

Don't get me wrong, I love the routine. I live for and by the routine. But when you're only given one life to live, wouldn't you want to get to the end of your path and look back and say HOLY SHIT I DID SO MUCH? Don't be afraid to skip work every once in a while to go do something crazy on a whim. After all, wouldn't you love to stroll up to the party strumming a ukulele?

An interesting weekend

I had an interesting week/weekend to say the very least. Second week of classes meant doing real work and getting back on the grind of classes, homework and a little less playtime. Classes have been going really well so far this semester! I'm taking 4 classes that are spread out nicely over the week. I don't have any classes on Mondays or Fridays and I never have class before 2pm. Ah the beauty of being a second semester senior ;) The classes I'm taking this semester are super interesting and really fun. I'm having a good time learning about some new stuff and realizing that the new path of the media industry isn't all that bad. Here are my classes for this semester:

• Multimedia Design - a class dedicated to learning more about programs like Photoshop and Flash
• Evolution of Jazz - a seriously badass class about the origins and history of jazz music
• Ethics in Journalism - a stimulating class based on ethics, morals and all things opinion-based
• Social media - learning more about using social media as it pertains to both the marketing world and the mass communications world

However, it's not been all fun and games when I'm out of class. Those who know me, know that I can't just have a bunch of free time to sit around and do nothing....duh. So I am proud to announce that I am officially interning with MTV Latin America this semester! I had my interview on Friday and I start working on Wednesday, hooray! I'm very, very excited to be working with MTV again. Last summer being in NYC and working with MTV Networks in the international department was one of the best experiences of my life. (Quick big shout out to my bear for helping me get to my interview Friday morning...stupid car broke down Thursday night... but I will save that story/rant for a different post.)

On a completely random note, here is a really cool website that my friend Hillary sent me about a month ago: CLICK ME!
It's a photo story project done by TIME using a bunch of photographs taken at an FSU chemistry lab. Although I am a die hard UM fan and I'm supposed to hate all things FSU, these photos of crystallized alcoholic drinks are just absolutely beautiful and I'm going to Kinko's as soon as I get my car fixed to print out copies and put them up in my apartment. Enjoy!!

xx Bear

Aaaaannnnddd I'm back

So after a semester break from blogging (for which I apologize but my entire life last semester was schoolschoolschool) I am back and better than ever. As per my tradition, I spent winter break having crazy adventures all over the world. So that will be the focus of my blog post today.

For the holidays my family and I made the trek out to INDIA!! However, this trip was unlike any of my previous trips to the motherland because I put my foot down and told my parents that I must see more of the country that I supposedly come from. You see, I've been going to India every one or two years since I was about 3 years old. That's a good 18 years. In those 18 years I have stayed primarily in Mumbai and New Delhi and even my visits to these two major cities have been clouded and smothered with visiting family and friends. Don't get me wrong, I love my family and friends, but India is a country with so much to see and experience beyond the big cities. Granted, my parents did take me and my little brother to see the Taj Mahal when we were younger, but still. I have always craved the real India and have had this burning desire to travel more and see more and see the rich culture and tradition that exists in my homeland. So this trip, I told my parents "I'm going...whether you fund it or not, whether you come or not, I. AM. GOING." At the end of the day my parents were uncomfortable with me galavanting off on my own so my mom planned a tour of Rajasthan and came with me, and we had the best time. Ever.

Timeline of my trip

So instead of typing up a bunch of information about the three cities in Rajasthan I visited, I figured I'd just include some links here that I found because, well frankly, these people do a much better job of describing the places than I ever could. And I'm quite lazy. My version of my trips is to come in a later post. But right now I'm just anxious to share pictures with you all.

For more information on Udaipur, click here.
For more information on Jodhpur, click here.
For more information on Jaipur, click here.

AND NOW THE PICTURES!!

Marble carvings at a palace

Traditional turban of Udaipur

Beautiful mirrored ceiling

Stone carvings on a temple

Fountains powered by gravity

Making bangles in Jodhpur

Secret passage under Amber Fort

Traditional Rajasthani dancers

Snake charmers

I mean, I have plenty more photos and stories, but I think that's all for now. More coming soon.

xx Nikki

I'm an...adult....?

Finallyin my new apartment! Thank god! Moved in last Wednesday and have beenscrambling to get myself nested and settled while managing a very heavycourse load and a very packed social life. Let me tell you ... growingup is hard.

That being said, growing up is also the most awesome feeling and the weirdest feeling in the whole world....at the same time. Being a senior on campus has definitely been a huge reality check. After three years of university education, I can finally say that I feel smarter and more prepared for the real world. All my classes make sense and are super interesting (which is good because if they didn't make sense and they weren't interesting I probably would have slit my wrists by this point due to my intense work load). I'm taking one freshman level class this semester and it's funny to watch the little ones scramble and bang their heads against the wall for an intro level course. Bahahaha. Silly freshmen.

At the same time, I've got my own 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment with the cutest little balcony in an Asian-themed apartment complex run and occupied by all Hispanics. Could this place be more perfect for me? Probably not. And here is the best kept secret about getting your own place: GO TO SALVATION ARMY FOR FURNITURE. I got the cutest little love seat and a dining room table with 4 chairs for under $300.... price included the delivery to my door (which is a second story apartment in a building with no elevator... big shout out thanks to the delicious man meat that carried all my furniture up to my apartment).

Decorating is probably one of my all time favorite activities. Especially in the first space that is entirely my own. My friend Hillary calls it the 'nesting period' and she's right. As soon as I got my keys I went to target and spent 2 hours and an embarrassing amount of money on plates, bowls, mugs, kitchen towels, aprons, tablecloths, wine glasses, chopping boards, a bath mat, a toothbrush holder, a shower curtain, a desk lamp, side tables, mirrors, picture frames, etc. etc. And I swear to god I came all over the place when my kitchen and bathroom were completely set up. It's a wonderful feeling to have a place that is entirely your own - your space, your decorations, your thoughts and dreams and hopes manifested into one tiny little one bedroom apartment. It's the little things in life. I built my bed by myself (again) and started unpacking boxes of clothes and got my closet organized. I hugged each article of clothing and told it how much I missed it because everyone knows that clothes look better on you when you talk to them and tell them how much you appreciate them. And this weekend I will be having my first official house warming dinner and game night for all the lovely ladies that housed me in my time of need. Many thanks to Hillary, Stacey, Lauren, Leigh, Lana and Sierra. xxx

But there's more to being a grown up than having your own apartment and being cooler than the freshmen. It's about time management and confidence. Confidence in what your doing and how your doing it. Confidence in your goals and morals and life plans. Confidence in who you are and who you want to be. I see it in the smallest of events in life. Everyone I meet is suddenly an equal to me... whether they are 21 or 51. I realize that, yes as you grow older you gain wisdom, but once you reach a certain age (20-22) you realize that those people called 'grown ups' are really just as confused as you are about what the next step is going to be.

Suddenly, the system has decided "Okee dokee.... last stop, senior year of college, everyone get off the effing bus and figure it out for yourselves from here on out." And that's what the real world is. Whether you are President of the United States or starting at an entry level position in a major corporation, you're really just trying to figure shit out on your own: how to pay the bills, how to save enough money for that awesome trip to the Bahamas you've been dying to go to, how to find a boyfriend, how to keep your parents from killing each other, how to this, how to that. Society brings you to a certain point and guides you saying "Well first you go to preschool, then elementary school, then middle school, then high school, then college and by then...by the time you have lived on this planet for 21 years...well then you can start making your own decisions without a wag of the finger and frowny face from big brother." Well. Thanks society. I'm glad that you have guided me this far and then are dropping me off completely bewildered into a neverending sea of people who are just as smart as me and just as ambitious as me and just as cute as me. Awesome. I think I just crapped my pants.

Just when I thought that I had seen it all and was completely prepared for anything and everything, I realize just how scared I am of leaving this sanctuary known as 'college'.

Still no Internets at my apartment so posts will be less frequent but stay tuned as little bear tackles the big effing world.

xxxxxx

Hello friends and lovers! Sorry it has been a while. Since my departure from the great Manhattan life has been a little bit crazy. 2 days after moving out of the city I left for California for my PADI X marketing internship training and open water dive certification. Returned from that little trip and left almost immediately for a weekend vacation with family friends to Montreal. They call me the jet setter for a reason.

So to give a little recap of my adventures: SCUBA DIVING IS AWESOME! It was by far the most physically and emotionally challenging thing I have ever done but also the most rewarding and fulfilling experience of my life. The 4 days I spent learning how to breathe and dive 20 - 60 feet underwater were incredible. There is something so serene and peaceful about being on the ocean floor - all you can hear is your breath and your body sways back and forth with the current. You are left completely alone with your thoughts in a state of meditation and relaxation. Inflate your BCD with just a little bit of air and you hover right above the ocean floor, suspended in water effortlessly. But the time I spent in California was more than just an individually moving experience. The people I met there and worked with for 4 days became a mini family to me. We all supported each other through the good and the bad, had a lot of laughs and a lot of really deep conversations. I guess I should've expected it to be a group of awesome people since we were all there for the same reason - to learn to scuba dive.

PADI X August 2010 <3 forever in my heart

You for scuba?

Ahhh!! I can't believe that MTV internship is over and I'm currently in Lake Forest, CA training for my PADI X Scuba Marketing Internship. Arrived last night and met some really cool people already. Woke up early today to finish my online score and skipped a lot of the questions because honestly who wants to take an exam at 7am so I got a 77%, just enough to make it over the 75% minimum required score. Woot woot! Got a full day today (and every day this week for that matter) but expect lots of funny pictures of me and my group in wet suits and general sillyness when I return. YAY WEST COAST!

xxx Bear

A toast...

Born in Queens, raised across the GW Bridge in Bergen County, NJ .... This bear has always dreamed of living in Manhattan. When I was a wee, little bear I used to tell myself "One day I'm going to live and party and work and be awesome in New York City."  So Summer 2010, thanks for making one little girl's dreams come true this season.

I came into this summer the same way I come into every situation and opportunity life throws at me - excited but about to poop my pants from nervousness. Sure, I went to Buenos Aires, Argentina last year without knowing anyone and barely speaking Spanish, but somehow this summer seemed more terrifying. Looking back now, I can't really remember the reasons why. Maybe it was because I was taking my first professional steps into the media industry with my MTV internship. Maybe it was because I was afraid my expectations were going to be too high for my realities to compare with. Or maybe it was just because I am what I am and I tend to worry about things. I don't know. What I do know is that every expectation that I had seems silly and small compared to the reality of what my summer has been. Every minute that I have spent in this magical place has gone above and beyond anything I could have dreamed or hoped for. There was never a dull moment (maybe I should have scheduled some in however to protect my poor, exhausted body) and knock on wood, nothing horrible happened. Good times were had with good friends, relationships that mattered became stronger, and I have to say that I am incredibly proud of me and my go-to-team for surviving. But more importantly, I am incredibly impressed that this city survived us haha.

So here's to you, New York City - the concrete jungles where dreams are made of, and there's nothing you can't do. I'm still in New York. And you can be damn sure that I will be back here again one day. Consider Summer 2010 the trailer to the feature film.

Stay tuned for updates as I spend the rest of my summer in Jersey, Los Angeles, Montreal and then head back down to Miami for senior year of college EEEEEKKKKK!! Thanks for reading this summer (all 4 of you hehe).

Love-Hate Relationship

9 weeks into my internship. One week left. Diggity damn. After working in this office for 9 weeks I've come to think of it as home, and as with every home I've ever had, there are definitely things I like and things I hate about working in Times Square. So here's my list:

Things I LOVE about working in Times Square:

Fantastic smelling food.
Mostly from the gyro and falafel street vendors. Not only does it smell delicious and taste pretty damn good, but a giant gyro only puts you out about $5 (not bad for NYC). Mmm.

Convenience
The fact that from my place of residence in NYC on the Lower East Side it only takes me 20 minutes to get to work in Times Square via the F train is super convenient and awesome. Thanks F train. You're my favorite.

Men in suits eating ice cream cones
Summertime in the city is always interesting. You want to look professional for work but HOT DAMN it is blazing outside and the last thing I want to be in is an effing suit. Here's to all those business men in their Armani suits scarfing down ice cream cones on the corner.

The view from my office
Working on the 34th floor has been awesome. And I love my view. It might be half the reason I'm still coming to work everyday. Just kidding, I love my yob. (An actual picture of my view coming soon.)









Things I HATE about working in Times Square: (warning, excessive rants may follow...)

Crazy New Yorkers on Bicycles
Let's forget for a minute that some of the bikers in NYC are absolutely retarded and do things like this (-->) which make me facepalm real hard. Let's also forget for a second that they zip around on streets and avenues with complete disregard to traffic and pedestrian signals. Let's focus on me for a second. A couple weeks ago I was running a work errand from one building to another (across Broadway...seriously, just had to cross the avenue) and I got hit FULL ON by a guy on a bicycle. The asshole knocked me flat on my tush, picked up his bike and rode off. THANKS JACKASS. grumblegrumblegrumble. I'm gonna find you one of these days and get my sweet, sweet revenge. Possibly with my dad's friend's minivan. Hehe. No I'm kidding. But I'm still pissed.

People that handout promotional flyers
It bothers me to NO END that I cannot walk the 3 blocks from the subway station to my office without having 12 flyers shoved in my face. No, I am not going to buy your shit. No, not even if you shove flyers in my face. In fact, your continued habit of annoying me and trying to sell me your shit makes me want to buy it even less, just to spite you. No, I do not need a haircut. No, I do not need a new stereo from your electronics store. And no, I definitely do not need your restaurant flyer as I am holding my bag of lunch food while I exit this Chipotle. Dumbass. Oh and just a side note, I see your flyers littered all over the streets of this city, so thanks for killing trees while contributing to NYC pollution. I think you deserve a medal for your excellent contribution to society as a human being.

These idiots
I understand that it's your first time in New York City and that Times Square is full of awesome shiny things, but do you think that you, your family and your camera could move out of the middle of the effing sidewalk? I mean...last time I checked, it's called a sideWALK, not a sideSTAND. Come on people. If you've been in Manhattan for even 5 minutes, the one thing that you should know is that everyone is always in a rush. Don't get in my way. I will trample you and your child on a leash. Have some respect for the people that are not on vacation such as your lovely selves and are rather hustling and bustling about the city for work purposes. Le sigh.

Stupid Pedestrians
Everyday I watch as pedestrians run across the street in front of taxis because they are in SUCH a rush that they can't wait 30 seconds for the walk sign. And everyday I cringe at least 5 times when a pedestrian ALMOST gets hit by a taxi or a car that has the right of way. I hate people that argue that pedestrian's ALWAYS have the right of way, because that's not true. Pedestrians have the right of way on the crosswalk when the little white man says walk NOW. Not always. If you can't abide by those basic rules, then you deserve to get hit by a taxi. I'm sorry, but you do. Share the city.

I realize that a lot of the things I hate have to do with stupid people. But that's probably because I just hate stupid people. It doesn't take a lot to live a smart life in this city and I have zero tolerance/respect for people that do stupid things.

But I definitely don't want to end this post on such a negative note, so let me share with you a little tale that warmed my heart yesterday.

Yesterday I went home for the afternoon to visit my family in Jersey. After dinner my mommy dropped me off to the Port Imperial Ferry Stop around 8:50pm. I bought my ferry ticket (redonkulously expensive by the way) and headed out to slip 2. I saw that the ferry was just pulling away from the dock, but the weather was nice and I really didn't mind waiting the 20 minutes for the next boat. I stood at the railing and watched as all of a sudden the boat came back to the dock. I was the only one standing on the slip and the captain waved at me from his post on the second floor of the boat and gave me a big smile. It almost brought a tear to my eye that the captain, a stranger to me, came back to the slip just for me. Thank you kind sir. You have restored my faith in humanity.

It's the little things in life....

Summer 2010 Shenanigans

THE END IS NEAR! I can't believe how quickly this summer has come and gone! Less than two weeks left in the big apple and I find myself looking back and asking "WHAT THE BAWLS DID I DO ALL SUMMER LONG?" Well. Let me share with you some of the awesome things I did. (Well, at least I think they're awesome...)

1) OM NOM NOM NOM.
I ate some amazing meals in this city this summer. Whether is was super awesome chopped steak with my parents at Benjamin Steakhouse (quick shout out to our incredible waiter, Ricky - you da man Ricky) or sweet ass deals like 3 sushi rolls for $10 or street vendor gyros, this city has filled my belleh and made me a most satisfied bear. mmm.

2) Throw a BBQ
Fourth of July weekend was fabulous - I shimmied my way over the GW Bridge to my parents house in Jersey, invited all my friends over for the weekend, and had a slamming time. Swimming, tanning, eating, dancing, lounging, drinking... you name it, we did it. And had the house looking spotless before my parents got back home from their vacay. HIGH FIVE!

From BBQ 2009 - Me, Lil bro, Sushi & Bear <3

3) Photography
I am a big fan of the traditional film photography and I brought my darling camera up to New York with me for the summer. I have snapped about 12 rolls of film and can't wait to get back down to Miami to develop them and see what I got. From South Street Seaport to the Upper East Side, my camera has traveled almost as much as I have this summer. Almost.

4) House/dog-sit for someone
My friend Stephen has two adorable little puppies - Biggie and Cali - and they have made my summer filled with so many more snuggles than I could have ever expected. Stephen went out of town for a weekend, so me and my best bear Hillary house and dog sat for him for the weekend. Added bonus: he's living in his parents' apartment on the UES on the 26th floor with an ILL view. Taking the puppies for walks, feeding them, and snuggling in bed with them late at night was wonderful. Much love to my two favorite pups.

5) Walk for a really long time
Earlier this summer I decided to walk from 42nd & 6th to 87th & Lex for fun. A lot of you are probably like "Wow you have a warped definition of fun" but allow me to explain myself. There are so many different neighborhoods in this city, with so many fascinating stores and restaurants and people of course - I feel like I miss so much of it riding the subway. The weather was fabulous and I had my iPod and a pack of stogs and decided to go for a stroll. It's not that I saw any one thing that was outrageous or mindblowing, but being in the city and not under it and watching the neighborhoods change slowly was awesome.

Fun fact: I just mapped it and discovered that my walk was 2.7 miles. Sweet!

6) Cook an epic breakfast
Last weekend we (me and all my friends up here from Miami) went out to Long Island for another weekend long BBQ event at our friend Brandon's parents' place (THANKS B-HILL!). Sunday morning came and me and my best bear Hillary decided that we were going to cook breakfast for everyone (not that many people, only like 12 of us). So we jumped our friend Teggles and harrassed him into taking us to the grocery store for we are sans transportation, bought a whole buncha yummies, came back and whipped up eggs, bacon, cinnabuns and pancakes for everyone with a side of strawberries and OJ. Mmmm. I have never seen so many happy hungover people before.

Obviously I did more than just the above mentioned things, but these are a few of the events that stick out most clearly in my memory right meow. Thanks summer 2010 - you've gone above and beyond my expectations.


xxx Nikbear