Happy Labor Day

So, tomorrow my vacation ends and I officially begin my Senior Year at NYU....also known as slavery. Before I become overwhelmed with work and work and work, I have concluded to give an overview of what has been going on this week.

I got back from Boston Wednesday night, and I went straight home. That was that.

Thursday, I met up with Neil, at last! We went out for a walk and for lunch. Good old rapper Chaz joined up with us to go to VP2's (which is one of our key favorite food joints on campus). It was a great few hours getting back in touch with them all and talking about old times.
The funny thing was that it really hit strongly just how much different we were from 3 years ago. I met Chaz and Neil on Goddard 4th floor our Freshman Year, and we still are good friends. Which is nice, because to me that shows that my first year in school wasn't a complete wasted. But, I mean, we're not the young ones on campus anymore; in fact, we're the oldest undergrads now! And how old do I feel hearing that. The kids coming in now are SO YOUNG, and COMPLETELY CLUELESS AND INEXPERIENCED! It was shocking to watch them all lump together in awkward, insecure, showing-off crowds and find out how lost they all were. And here Neil, Chaz, and I are, walking around, an odd group of old friends (white rapper from MN Chaz, AsianAmerican jiu jitsu folk artist Neil, and me), walking around quickly, talking while looking straight ahead, blowing off street marketers, and making it across the street before getting hit. It was kind of a movie moment for me, realizing how much we've grown and how different we are from each other but are still able to enjoy our company.
For dinner, Andy and I agreed to meet and eat at a nearby Moroccan café. Never tasted it before, but it was absolutely amazing! I loved the meal, and we overate (as always) while discussing his new boyfriend and his first year at Med School and his moving out of Manhattan. After splitting dessert, I had to be rolled out of the café.
Craig picked me up after that, and we went for a walk and chit chatted a bit. The walk helped me get over my full stomach. I noticed, though, that I sure miss a lot while I'm in Europe, huh?

Friday, I worked until 6pm at work. There are a lot of us girls working at this place, and we had some nice talks. But most of the time I was too busy to stop moving or writing. It was nice that my boss bought us all lunch, but I have to stop this pizza-eating habit.
Marion then called me and we talked about how she was doing in Boston so far. In French, of course. People in WSP kept giving me funny looks.
Afterwards, I realized just how little people I had to hang out with, so I went to campus to bother Deej at the Freshmen's Welcome Week Beach Ball. Basically, I sat around with Deej and directed all of the freshmen to where the party actually was. We also had to direct them in how to use their cards to enter the building. A lot of them tried putting up a fight about how unfair it was that they couldn't get in without a card, but we kept telling them "get used to it, that card is your life here". Which is true. I also went upstairs and made a B-line to the food table to grab some treats for us older kids working the dance. You could tell I was older because I walked in straight through the crowds, got the food, and left. I noticed people oggling at my determination and ease with my mission. Yup, I'm a bit seasoned.
At the end, us older kids decided to dance a little bit. Another distinction between us and the freshmen: they didn't carry drinks. Being more used to the city's dance and club system of constantly carrying around a drink and dancing with it on the floor naturally, we held our Pepsi's and punches and danced away. The freshmen seemed to be still stuck in Prom mode, and tried to awkwardly manage dancing with other people and not looking too awkward. They were too caught up in the cool-ness to be thirsty, I suppose. They'll learn.

Saturday, I woke up a bit early to meet up with Lauren so we could grab breakfast at this adorable place on her street, Cloister Café. It was great! The outdoor patio was simply wonderful, with grape vines as the canopy and a beautiful brick floor. And the brunch was super! My challah french toast really hit the spot! And we talked about boys. I also got to see her apartment (which is massive! especially for the price she's paying for it! a bit more than half of the rent for my place! boo) and help her with some decor decisions. This was quickly followed with a mission to help her buy essential room objects nearby.
During this, Danielle called me and met up with us at Union Square. Soon after, my dear Dante (!) met up with us and Lauren abandoned the group with her heavy load. Us 3 went for a great and picturesque walk on the East River down to my apartment. On the way there, we stopped in Alphabet City at a (quite sad looking) Latin concert. There, we saw an old plump lady dressed in bright pink spandex and leotard (with a waist belt), bright pink velvet mules, and a pink hat gyrating her hips to the music. It was by far the best thing I've seen yet in NYC.
I thought my night was over, and I was ready to settle in, when Nate called me to tell me he was at a pub nearby. So I walked over to join him 15 blocks up. He didn't know anyone at one of his friend's parties, so he wanted me to go to keep him company (story of my life, right?). We ended up talking to one of the girls all night, and having a really great time joking about life and everything in between. We had a few drinks and I managed to meet most of the party and told them all a completely made up story about myself. Now, people think my name's Teresa, I'm a classical composition music major in Gallatin who plays the harp?!!? Nate was impressed, and amazed at the huge hole I dug for myself.
Afterwards, he walked me home and we grabbed a pizza slice nearby. Which Chaz bought for me, since he was unexpectedly there. It was a fun night!

Sunday started off slowly. Very, slowly. I woke up, put on my gym clothes, went to the Container Store to buy some cubes for my wall to put things on, went to the gym around 3pm, came back around 5pm, put up the cubes, and then showered.
Somewhere in the middle of this, my BFG, AARON! came to visit. He literally had just gotten into the city, and I was flattered. He's such a great kid, and I don't feel the need to always make conversation with him. We ate dinner at Cafe Brama nearby (cheap, easy, delicious health food) and then went for a walk. The walk was actually to the movie theater, but we ended up not seeing a movie and I went to see his place instead for 10 minutes.

Today was Labor Day, of course. Deej and I started it off with a long gym workout. Then I fell asleep for an hour before heading off to Brooklyn for a BBQ hosted by Shana. Once we got to the BBQ, we found out that Shana had forgotten to get the BBQ things, so we ordered some pizzas and watched some shows. And yet, we always manage to enjoy ourselves. The pizza were especially delicious. But I really musn't eat them anymore! THE CHEESE!!!
One funny thing, the one day I decide to wear a dress out in public is the one day a dog decides to sit on me and go to the bathroom. Awesome, made me feel special. Maybe that's a sign?
I had to leave early to meet Nate up in his area of Brooklyn for another Bourne night. I got there and he noticed my uncomfortable self in my dress, so he handed over some of his PJs to wear while I was over so I could be more comfortable. Green tea, male pajamas, and Jason Bourne; what a miraculous trio! I enjoyed Matt Damon, as always, and we cracked some jokes, and I finally came home to write this very long blog.

Tomorrow, the beginning of the end commences.