damn i miss my car...

After living in NYC for approximately 2 weeks or so, I would never dream of driving or owning a car in this city. Parking rates are exhorbitant. Traffic is insane and manouvering around the city is suicide. The ridiculous amounts of noise pollution generated from the incessant honkings of taxi cabs and cars can drive one mad - although I believe most New Yorkers are either deaf or have mastered the art of tuning out traffic sounds such as ambulances, fire trucks, police cars, taxi honks, subways and loud pedestrains. Everything here is loud, Loud, LOUD!

I live close by to a hospital/medical centre - so the sound of ambulances has become a natural occurence in my neighbourhood. Around my school, right on 5th and around Union Square, taxis and cars alike insist of using their horns on every living or non-living moving object. I bet you they even honk the pigeons.

However, this morning, I found myself wishing I drove a car. The inconceivable amount of supplies I have to carry to school is bordering on refugee status (if that is at all PC in this day and age) Today, I had to lug my school bag (which by the way is in no way large enough t hold everything for risk of breaking my beloved bag's straps), my portfolio which is 18x24" and a plastic bag of textile textbooks (with fabric swatches) which were far too heavy to put into my school bag. (It DID NOT HELP when the plastic bag chose to rip 100metres into the subway..##%Y%U@*!)

To make matters worse - the subway was taking a million years to arrive, with more and more people streaming in by the dozens only to make the subway station 5 times hotter and muggier than it normally is. I gave up - I decided to take a cab. But in the typical Murphy's Law fashion - there were no cabs to be had. By this time, I had bumped into 2 fellow school mates of mine and we decided it might be best to walk to school, bag, portfolio & broken plastic bag in tow. I wasn't the only one with a ripped bag - nor was I the only one who looked like a fool walking down Union Square looking like a homeless fella without a shopping cart. Thankfully, the rain which was pouring earlier had stopped...for now.

I made it to school in time, in tact and utterly unglamourously, with all my stuff and a very sweaty polo t-shirt. I was not alone. Some poor girl in my class got caught in a subway stall from Jersey because the SWAT team decided to hold it up for no apparent reason, well, not really, the reason was it is 9/11 today. I vowed I'd get myself a bigger school bag, with the capacity to hold all my textbooks and notebooks. I happily picked up a art box today to keep all my art supplies - paints, markers, pencils, palettes, brushes, rulers, etc rather than stuffing it into my school bag at risk of staining it.

Why the hell do we need to carry so much sh*t? I am a Fashion Marketing student, not Design damnit! Don't let me even begin to harp on how much I have spent purchasing the supplies and the amount of running around New York finding art shops that sell a Liquid Expresso pen specified by my prof! Sigh. The madness continues.

We're the luckiest girls ever!

Backstage at Fashion Week in the coveted Bryant Park tents!
Our professor arranged a trip to Fashion Week to get a tour of the tents, no promises were made about catching a show because admittance is invitation only. However, the IMG PR & Operations guy who was giving us our tour managed to get us in for the Chaiken show and we even got to fill the seats of the no-shows! I sat on the 3rd row and caught all the action! It was sooo exciting and I truly felt so previledged and blessed. Not to mention, the instant cool-factor when you step out of the tents into Bryant Park where hopefuls gather to see if they can catch a way in or a sneak peek at famous so-and-sos coming out along with the papparazzi tailing behind.

After the show, we hung around to snap our own photos to capture the moment and then managed to slip backstage with the help of a photographer who was trying to pick all 5 of us up at the same time. Nevertheless, we followed the models out of the tent into the park and parted ways. I went home to get on my hands & knees to clean up my apartment to make way for my boyfriend's arrival. How glamourous.

jackpot!!!

Good God - I am truly blessed.

Yesterday I managed to get into the 3pm Fashion Industry Makreting class AND score a chance to go to NY's most coveted Fashion Week. My prof is taking our class to the tents at Bryant Park today - although I'm not sure what show we're seeing exactly - Nevertheless, its an awesome opportunity and I'm stressing as to what to wear as I type this! Whoppeeee!!!

Photos to come soon and Jordan's coming to NYC today! *YAY*

how the hell do i get into Fashion Week?!

apparently, its like finding the Holy Grail.
New York Fashion Week opens today and i have no idea how to go see one of the shows?!
perhaps, i could resort to just hanging around the tents...
getting into a show is one of the hardest things, unless you know someone or you're in the industry. which is why i'm in Parsons - so i can get into these things...*argh*

yay! internet!

it's 8:30am and i'm waiting for my PIN from the school to be sent via email so i can register for my classes this Fall....so are the other 300 people in the AAS programs as well. so today is the glorious day when the whole world of new students at AAS register, i'm wondering if the school servers can handle it...the last thing we need is a major crash in the system *touch wood*

good news is: the furniture is finally coming today! so i'm going to be home for most of the time to ensure the furniture gets placed properly. last night, i had a heck of a time with the internet but thankfully all it needed was a call to my very, own, very personal IT support over in Boston and all is well with the wireless in my apartment! *thanks baby!* i still need to settle with the telephone jack issue though...there are none in the apartment! so i need to figure out how to get those installed...

yesterday was another day filled with advising appointments, socializing orientations, international students orientation and a campus tour. discovered several canadians, mostly east coasters though. no singaporeans as yet, although i did hear there was 1 malaysian from the UK but i don't think she's in the Fashion program.

i'm happy to report that my area is very convenient, littered with grocery stores, restaurants, delis, bagel shops, pharmacies, dry cleaners, banks etc. the subway is less than a 3 minute walk from my front door and there are bus stops all along the street. its supposed to be an up and coming area, it feels very Yaletownish but at the same time, it also feels like a University town too and you gotta love 'em squirrels..hahaha!

and i just received this email:
Dear AAS Students,I understand that you have not received your alt-pin for registration yet. No students have been emailed alt-pins yet; you are not the only one. All students will be emailed the alt-pin list by 9:30am. We apologize for the delay.

its undergrad all over again...

Pooped

So no furniture yet. But I met my room mates - they are both korean and aimable. They brought everything though...rice cooker, pots, pans - all in 2 suitcases! I on the otherhand, sheepishly lugged in 3 suitcases of nothing but clothes, accessories and shoes. Much to my roomies amazement. Hahahaha. In true fashion style. Hee.

I forsee our apartment being furnitureless in the living and dining room - my roomies aren't going to be around for more than a year so investing in furniture isn't worth their while. But we still need a place to eat! I'm looking into renting furniture possibly or at least a large coffee table and some throw cushions.

Went shopping today. Note to self: make reservations for car rentals. No IKEA or Target today cos, no car :( So Bed, Bath and Beyond it is to purchase only the basics. I'm leaving the rest to my trip to Jersey. Ventured to Chinatown as well - I was overwhelmed by how huge it is! It felt nothing like North America - it felt like I was in Asia! Everything and everyone was asian, chattering of foreign tongues and Chinese characters on all the store signs - it was like Hong Kong all over again! Note to self: bring all visitors to Chinatown! but not on weekends... After getting lost - we eventually found the absolute necessity of all Asians - an Asian supermarket. (Thank God for Google maps on my phone!) My respects and gratitude go out to TNT - Deluxe and Dynasty Supermarkets are nothing compared to TNT back home! TNT I MISS U! Even managed to steal a drink at a cool bubble tea spot! ;)

Orientation tomorrow. I'm pooped.

Hello New York City!

This blog is a chronicle of a new chapter in my life for family, friends and anyone else who cares: My little life in large Mahanttan - being away from home for the first-time, attempting to feed myself and educate myself on Big Apple living and lifestyles.

Finally, I'm here.We arrived late last night and went to the deli across the street to buy some food.After our showers, we settled into our lovely Marriot hotel room on Lexington.
It is an old hotel and very much a beautiful one too, with an old world, black and white art deco feel. Our beds are soft and fluffy, typical of all Marriots.

This morning, we went to collect the keys to my apartment. After a line-up and photo-taking Aftering lining up for keys and photo-taking for ID - we went to scope out the apartment. Its located in the East Village about a 15-20minute walk to school. The building is old, but everything inside it is brand new! The smell of fresh paint permeated the rooms and I was relieved to find air-conditioners in every room!

bedroom
kitchen
living/dining
bathroom

After checking out the apartment, we decided to take a walk to find my school. The streets are lined with old brick buildings, small stores, rod-iron fire escapes, very much like how you see it on television. It is hot and extremely humid. We're working up a sweat just walking! We find 5th Ave in Downtown, after going through Union Square and several weekend markets to look for an AT&T to activate my new NY cell phone - and eventually find my school, not before stopping by H&M and Coach and walking by many familiar US stores like J.Crew, Banana Republic, Kenneth Cole, Juicy Couture etc! And this is just 5th Ave downtown!! Not even close to mid-town or uptown! Geeee....

Lunch is at a pasta and pizzeria. Yum yum....

Took a subway back to Lexington (trains are ACed but stations aren't!) and retreaed from the heat and humidity. I signed online to set up my phone with iTunes and registered with AT&T. After an hour of trouble shooting - I finally did it. And then it was off to dinner with my Dad's friends at Picholine and then back to the hotel to watch some National Georgraphic, as we are doing now!