On Top of the World

Today I'm working on more spreadsheets for the contract work I'm doing. Focusing on detailed spreadsheets all day long can try a person's sanity. Thankfully, I have a good playlist on my iPod to keep me from poking my eyes out with sundry office supplies found on my desk.

The song "On Top of the World" by Imagine Dragons just came on my iPod, and I found myself dancing in my chair and wanting to sing along (which, if you knew the library-like environment I'm working in here, you'd know would've been more than just a little awkward, and might result in a security-escorted brisk walk out of the building, haha).

It's not just a happy, peppy tune that inspires chair dancing: the lyrics inspire as well. Particularly inspiring to me--and to other fellow dream-seeking travelers--are these words that remind us that there is something within us that keeps urging us on, and that there is purpose in what we are doing.

I’ve tried to cut these corners
Try to take the easy way out
I kept on falling short of something

I coulda gave up then but
Then again I couldn’t have ’cause
I’ve traveled all this way for something

Enjoy the song! And be warned: you may start dancing in your chair and/or wanting to clap along.

What songs / lyrics inspire you to keep moving forward toward  your dreams? What songs cause you to dance in your chair, feel happy, and belt out the lyrics?

"On Top of the World" by Imagine Dragons
 
If you love somebody
Better tell them while they’re here ’cause
They just may run away from you

You’ll never know what went well
Then again it just depends on
How long of time is left for you

I’ve had the highest mountains
I’ve had the deepest rivers
You can have it all but life keeps moving

Now take it in but don’t look down

‘Cause I’m on top of the world, ‘ay
I’m on top of the world, ‘ay
Waiting on this for a while now
Paying my dues to the dirt
I’ve been waiting to smile, ‘ay
Been holding it in for a while, ‘ay
Take it with me if I can
Been dreaming of this since a child
I’m on top of the world.

I’ve tried to cut these corners
Try to take the easy way out
I kept on falling short of something

I coulda gave up then but
Then again I couldn’t have ’cause
I’ve traveled all this way for something

Now take it in but don’t look down

‘Cause I’m on top of the world, ‘ay
I’m on top of the world, ‘ay
Waiting on this for a while now
Paying my dues to the dirt
I’ve been waiting to smile, ‘ay
Been holding it in for a while, ‘ay
Take it with me if I can
Been dreaming of this since a child
I’m on top of the world.

‘Cause I’m on top of the world, ‘ay
I’m on top of the world, ‘ay
Waiting on this for a while now
Paying my dues to the dirt
I’ve been waiting to smile, ‘ay
Been holding it in for a while, ‘ay
Take it with me if I can
Been dreaming of this since a child

And I know it’s hard when you’re falling down
And it’s a long way up when you hit the ground
Get up now, get up, get up now.

And I know it’s hard when you’re falling down
And it’s a long way up when you hit the ground
Get up now, get up, get up now.

‘Cause I’m on top of the world, ‘ay
I’m on top of the world, ‘ay
Waiting on this for a while now
Paying my dues to the dirt
I’ve been waiting to smile, ‘ay
Been holding it in for a while, ‘ay
Take it with me if I can
Been dreaming of this since a child
I’m on top of the world.

Catching up: Couching a Tender Mercy

On my third day in NYC back in May, I had an interview at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) Employment office. To say that I was emotional that day would've been a complete understatement: I'd been through...well, quite a bit to even get to NYC. And there I was, finally in the Big Apple as I'd felt for soooo many months that I needed to be, but still uncertain what the #$%@ I was doing there and how I'd survive. (Still don't know the answer to the latter...but that's for another post.)

So when I walked into the foyer of the building where the LDS Employment office was located (the Union Square chapel is in the same building) and saw this familiar-looking couch--one that I've probably seen in dozens of LDS churches all over the world--I almost cried. No, wait: I did cry! I never thought that seeing a green floral print couch would be such a tender mercy. Yet, it was for me on that Friday; it was just what I needed to give me a little boost to keep going a little bit longer. And for me, that couch was a little "love note" from Heavenly Father telling me that He knew where I was and what I needed.

A green floral tender mercy

What familiar objects have meaning to YOU?

TV MFM (Television Made for Me)

If I could create a fabulous television series just for me, I'd include the following elements:

• characters with accents (especially those from the UK)
• science fiction / fantasy
• humor--and lots of it
• action and more action (a la Bourne trilogy)
• great acting by the cast
• well-crafted episodes that reference to previous episodes and foreshadow future events (basically, great storytelling!)
• and something so unbelievable that I could suspend reality and actually believe it.

Surprisingly, all of that is found in the he BBC television series Doctor Who. I've only watched the post-2005 regenerated (pun intended) series, so I don't know everything there is to know about the whole of Doctor Who-dom and am not quite ready to go to ComicCon dressed as a Dalek and I won't go around brandishing a sonic screwdriver. Notwithstanding, what I've watched so far, I've loved.

Doctor #10 David Tennant is by far my favorite Doctor primarily because he has some of the best lines, like this one!

And this schtick! ROTFL!



If you could create a television series just for YOU, what elements would you include? Who might star in it? What would the plot be? Special features?

This One's for Crutchie!

Um, apparently Newsies is on Broadway! I must see this!

As per my belief that life should be a musical, the 1992 Disney movie shows how this is legitimately plausible (haha).

Who could forget one of Christian Bale's finest moments singing "Santa Fe"? That was the beginning of heartthrob status for Mr. Bale indeed.

Put It on My Tab

Part of the general social scene here in NYC revolves around pubs, taverns, clubs, and the like--i.e., places where alcohol is served. Coming from a predominantly teetotaler environment, this focus on socially imbibing brings with it some challenges. Like what to order when they don't have sodas.

I'm learning quickly, though.

Every time I go out to one of these establishments, this NKOTB song comes to mind, particularly the phrase "Hey Mr Bartender, please make a pina colada, hold the alcohol please."

(This one's for you, Kerry!)

Out with the Old, in with the New

Apparently I've been walking too much for my cheap flip flops to tolerate. A few nights ago after another walking adventure through Central Park, I noticed that I'd worn a hole in one of my flip flops. This necessitated a shopping excursion to replace said footwear. (I can't NOT have a pair of flip flops!)

RIP my cheap, polka dot flip flops that stained the bottom of my feet a smurfy blue.

And welcome to the family you wonderful new flip flops! My feet are filled with joy. I can wear any of you to walk all over NYC! Hooray! Huzzah!

#DinnerWithKShum

Last night KShum and I went out to dinner in "Alphabet City" at this cool little place called Cornerstone Cafe, a cozy Italian bistro on Ave B. Thanks to KShum's foresight, we had a Groupon for dinner at said cafe (whoo-hoo!): she got the salmon, and I got the steak.

Yummy, Gluten-free (I checked) steak dinner -- and worth every calorie!

Did I also mention that they had AC? A nice, cool break from the suffocating heat outside.

All in all, a fun adventure with KShum!

#KShumRocks

The Happiest Place on Earth, Part 2: We Have Arrived!

After spending time at Liberty Island, we caught the next available ferry for Ellis Island. I was sooooooo excited! (Poor KShum...!)

And here we have Idaho, er, Ellis Island, winning her way to fame

We first wandered through the main floor of the building, first running into (of all people) 2 sister missionaries from the New Jersey mission who volunteer at the Ellis Island family history center once a month. (I'll post about that story later!), and then viewing an immigration exhibit.

My fascination with family trees, pictures of trees, and tree decorations continues

From a display about accordions and their ties to immigration

Leave it to the Germans to introduce the accordion to Mexican immigrants. I can thank my own people for the music I listen to whilst I am doing my laundry!

Wisconsin German immigrants introduced kindergarten to the US. You're welcome.

The concentration of German immigrant settlement in the US. Looks like a weather map you'd see on the nightly news, though. I don't think the burnt orange color means that it'll be in the 100s tomorrow....

A nation of immigrants, starring Germany. Size of font indicates size of immigrant population in the US.

And then...THEN we got to go upstairs to the Registry Room, which was by far one of the coolest things I've ever seen. (Again, go with my nerdy-ness on this, okay?) I tried to imagine what it would've been like to be in that room, how it felt to have come such a long way and to be stalled (sometimes quite literally) in the place with your future in the hands of people who could either make your dreams come true or send you back. Being in the Registry Room, imagining the millions of immigrants who endured this great uncertainty (including my great Uncle Jack and his sister Lena), I started to tear up...probably, you know, from all of the dust there, and what with my allergies and all....

The Registry Room as it looks today. A very special and sacred place to me--and to the millions of immigrants who passed through Ellis Island.

Ceiling of the Registry Room at Ellis Island

As we did more exploring through the exhibits, I learned much about the process an immigrant endured once arriving in the Port of New York. Fascinating stuff.

Literacy test given to immigrants. This card is for native Swedish speakers; Uncle Jack and his sister would've been tested with a card similar to this.

When restoring some of the pillars, they discovered original carvings made by immigrants who passed through Ellis Island. This is an example of some of those carvings.

A photo I took of a photo of the Registry Room with immigrants waiting to be processed

My artistic take on a set of the "separation stairs" the immigrants took during processing

A drawing of Castle Garden, the predecessor of Ellis Island. Castle Garden was in what is now known as Battery Park in Manhattan. Most of my immigrant ancestors arrived here.

Immigration brought the prospect of a new life, but it was also a hardship.

My First Visitor in NYC

And speaking of Jenga...she was my first visitor in NYC! She and her sister AJ came down to NYC for the ballet, and the 4 of us (Jenga, AJ, me, and KShum) had dinner at a cute little Mediterranean hummus bar near Lincoln Center called Nanoosh. I had a bowl of their uh-maze-ing, organic, locally-grown tomato soup and the hummus tahini plate. Soooo delish!

Seeing Jenga was so wonderful; I heart her very much! Talking with her about our friends (that includes you Suz, Mel, and JenE!) made me miss the familiar things in Utah and my friends there...but I know I need to be here in NYC and "give the Lord a chance" to show me why. So, here I am!

Good job, thankyouverymuch, amen.

The Happiest Place on Earth, Part 1: Getting There

For some the "happiest place on earth" (thanks to a great marketing team at Disney) is thought to be Disneyland.

Not so for me. My nerdy "Disneyland" isn't a theme park: it's Ellis Island. (I know, I know. SUPER nerdy, right?! Well, welcome to my world.)

And until last Saturday, I'd never been, which is kind of pathetic for a genealogist who is enamoured by the immigrant experience. However, every time I'd visited NYC, something always came up and I never made it; and my layovers at JFK, though quite lengthy, weren't long enough to leave the airport and trek to Ellis Island and return in time to fly out again.

My luck changed last weekend, though, when a very generous friend (Jenga) offered her tickets to me because she wasn't going to be able to use them. Would I take them, she asked. Um, HECK YEAH I would!

Thanks to our awesome tickets (thanks, Jenga!), we walked right by the loooooooooong, general admission line and quickly passed through security to board the (appropriately named) Miss Ellis Island ferry.

No, not a beauty contestant -- although I'd vote for her!

We made the obligatory stop at Liberty Island to see the Statue of Liberty, etc. I kept thinking to myself, "Green statue, yeah yeah. Let's get to the good stuff, people!"

Lady Liberty pic from the ferry

View 1 of the Liberty Bike. Couldn't Tell if it was a Harley Davidson or not....

View 2 of the Liberty Bike at Liberty Island

I did learn some cool things about Lady Liberty and her connection to the immigrant experience from some of the displays outside of the gift shop.

The Statue of Liberty welcomed over 14 million immigrants to the United States between 1886 and 1924

A poem written by Emma Lazarus captured how the Statue of Liberty offered hope to immigrants seeking refuge from the misery of their homeland situations.

98 Degrees and Rising

(For all of you 98 Degrees fans out there--and who isn't, really?--check out this article about the band reuniting for una noche at the Mixtape Festival in Hershey, PA. Coincidentally, NKOTB and BSB will be performing there as well. #JustSaying....)

It's hot. Very, very hot here today! Weather reports indicate that it could reach 98 or 99 degrees by 2pm.

KShum tells me that this is the beginning of the "Hot as H..." season in NYC. Awe-some...!

Thankfully so far today (knock on the wood floor), it hasn't felt too hot yet and all I have is a simple fan going (no AC). But give it time. When I go outside, I'm sure I'll feel all 98 or 99 degrees of it. Oh, and plus the humidity!

WWDRD: What Would Danny Reagan Do?

Today whilst perusing the online job postings, the quiet of my morning thoughts was interrupted by a scene from Blue Bloods: 5 police officers stood outside of the apartment across the hall and started pounding on the door. The woman (who I guess is someone named "Miss Miller" because that's what the officer kept calling her) did not want to answer the door, despite the persistent police officer banging on the door and shouting for her to open it for quite some time.

I kept waiting for the police officer to Danny Reagan the door (i.e., impatiently kick it open), but I realized that that wasn't a good idea because the apartment door is made of steel or krytonite or something like that--very heavy and difficult to open, even when you have a key.

Finally, after 15-20 minutes of constant banging on the door, she must've finally opened it or something because the ruckus ceased...and I went back to my regularly-scheduled job search as if nothing ever happened (except, you know, I just blogged about it -- haha).

I think I'm becoming more of an official New Yorker every day!

C'Mon 'N Ride The Train

When navigating the Metro, it's important to know a few basic things.

First, you need to know the alphabet and then a few numbers (1 through 7 should be sufficient).

Next, your directions. Forget about north, south, east, and west. (There aren't mountains here anyway to help distinguish east and west.) All you really need to know are two little directions: UPTOWN and DOWNTOWN.

And finally, local or express? Local means the train stops at numerous stations along that line; express means the train is scheduled to stop only at specific stations (refer to the Metro map for which stations those are).

There you have it! You're a Metro pro now!

P.S. I think I've seen some of the people on the Metro dressed like this (like they are in this video). Just sayin'... LOL.

Rainy Days and Tuesdays

It rained yesterday. All. Day. Long.

So much rain that I didn't even venture out very much that day. My "big adventure" came later last evening when I went to procure a few items at the local grocery store. Despite having a "Tongan" umbrella to protect me from the downpour (ask KShum why the umbrella is called that, haha), I was quite drenched when I returned to the casa.


My cute toes in my wet flippy flops

Part of my drenched pant leg

And yes, I really DO wear my flip flops everywhere!

Following the Rules

Upclose and personal with my chicken over rice Halal food. The white sauce looks a little orange...but that's my "high quality" BB camera for you!

This post is dedicated to Em and her "photograph the food" rule. And to my "friend" at the Halal food truck who makes me yummy food.

Good job, thankyouverymuch, amen.

And We're Walking...

KShum and I went on a walking adventure last night through part of Central Park. One minute we were surrounded by ginormous skyscrapers...and then the next, we were surrounded by a canopy of trees. We wandered off the concrete path many times, following a rocky path and a stream. It was beautiful. And for almost an hour as we wandered, I forgot I was in NYC.

One of the highlights of the walk: seeing the Diana Ross Playground. All I could think was that it's soooo nice that NYC dedicated an entire playground where divas can play, belt out some tunes, and prance around with their mile-high afros. NYC Parks & Rec is very inclusive: even divas need a place of their own!

Pic taken by KShum

Pledging for the BGC

Treeshka introduced me to a special group called the Brave Girls Club.

Ever since then, I've wanted to become a full-fledged member. (Don't worry, I won't be borrowing your scrapbooking scissors just yet, Tracy.)

Today as I was reading through some of the archived posts, I came across this one about dreams disguised as a "how the Brave Girls Club came to be" post. I love the illustrations that accompany the powerfully inspiring post.

By Melody Ross, http://bravegirlsclub.com/archives/6571/absurd

And after the last few days I've had, this photograph of the art piece Melody did of a bird leaving its cage is especially poignant. 


Won't Be Back steel art by Melody Ross http://melodyross.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c5c2253ef0115720adc97970b-pi.

In Melody's own words (and punctuation), she describes what this piece symbolizes for her -- and I believe for me as well.

Can you see that it says WON’T BE BACK? -can you see there’s a big diamond in the middle of the cage??? …… can you see that the rusty old tarnished birdie is ME??? why would I fly away from a safe cage with a diamond in the middle? well… Because it was time. Well…….at the moment that I made this little cage.. I was making a contract with myself that no matter what happened…..I would stay true to the decision I had just made…… And…let me tell you, it has been hard to not fly back into that cage….or some other cage….cages typically come with a hand that feeds them…..free birds gotta make their own way…. Times are tough for a free birdie these days……

I've since made this photo the background for my laptop and my BlackBerry, to visually remind myself of the contract I have made with myself.

I don't know what NYC is going to bring me or if I can be brave enough to find out, but I'm here to try. I've sacrificed soooooooo much to even be here--and to "make it" here requires a whole lot more than I even have in my bank account or my suitcase. I don't feel like a "Brave Girl"--certainly not qualified to join their Club--but I'm trying to be.

Spanish Soap Opera

Friday night is a special night: It's the night that the neighborhood laundry establishment is less crowded (because apparently other people have things to do on Friday nights--who knew?!).

KShum and I had a special "date" at our local "Latino Lavandería," complete with Spanish-language musak playing over the sound system. Oh how I love listening to the accordian whilst I'm waiting for my clothes to dry. 

And who knew that doing a load of laundry could be so expensive!?

Movin' on U-uuup!

KShum's apartment is a walk-up in Harlem. Translation: Lots, and lots, and lots of stairs--numerous flights of them, actually. Her building does have an elevator...but it's the size of a linen closet and in the 2+ weeks I've been here, has worked only a fraction of the time. So mostly, we take the stairs.

Add to that the numerous flights of stairs in and out of the subway, and that equals a lot of stair stepping. Definitely going to be good for my calves!

My New Theme Song