I almost forgot!

Apparently I've become computer illiterate because not only can I not get my pictures to move, I cannot cut and paste my text. Therefore, pictures first in a totally inappropriate order! I must remember to add the images and then type! If I weren't so lazy, I'd just redo it!


This is the tree at Rockefeller Center, no lights yet!

Me at Radio City Music Hall

I bet you can figure this one out all on your own!!

Manhattan skyline - this is the Financial District, potentially my new home!

A very nice young woman on Wall Street offered to take our picture...see, I told you they were friendly!

Megan and I on Wall Street...can you see the sign at the top?

With our fabulous Thanksgiving dinner! This is actually Megan's picture but I have something in my hair in mine!

I have been so busy I almost for got to get on here and update! I'm sure sighs would have been heard 'round the world! Anyway, I really have been a busy girl. I've been taking trips in between working and now I'm trying to get all packed up to go home for Christmas!

I went home early in November for my uncle's funeral. I wrote about him and his cancer diagnosis earlier. I hadn't planned to go home for his service but it worked out that they scheduled the service for a time when I had seven days off. So, I couldn't just sit here in Virginia knowing that my family would be getting together. I don't see that side very much anyway so it was a really great time. Due to the short notice (I found out Sunday and flew home Thursday), I didn't really tell anyone so it was a big surprise. I think it was the right thing to do...an unexpected happiness in a time of grief. I hope that doesn't sound conceited...I'm just as surprised as you at how much my family actually loves me and likes it when I'm home!!

I came back to Virginia and worked for a week or so and then flew to New York for a visit with Lucas and Megan. We had planned, even before they left, to try and do Thanksgiving together the week before the actual holiday, knowing we would all be working and unable to go home. I arrived on a Saturday afternoon after a 45 minute flight that was scheduled to take 1.5 hours. Needless to say, I had a little wait at the airport before my friends arrived! Saturday was pretty low key...Lucas had cooked a traditional turkey dinner and so we ate and chatted and went to bed early! Sunday was a full day with a train ride into the city and an agenda full of touristy activities. They actually live and work on Long Island but it's just a 45 minute ride into Manhattan. We started off in the Financial District and just walked all over. We saw Ground Zero, several beautiful churches, and walked down Wall Street. We ended up at Southside Seaport where we took a little cruise on the East and Hudson rivers to see the Manhattan skyline, Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges. We walked thru Chinatown and Little Italy and then made our way down 5th avenue (or maybe up...I'm really not sure!) to Broadway where we were able to score tickets to the supposedly sold out "Jersey Boys." It's the story of Franki Valli and the Four Seasons....very interesting and funny and the music was phenomenal!! We got out of there around 5:30 or 6 and it was already dark! We just kept walking though!! We went by Radio City Music Hall on our way to Rockefeller Center. We caught a peek inside Radio City...so ornate! They were just starting to put the tree up at Rockefeller and it was still in the transport box...I'll post pictures so you'll know what I mean! I was surprised at how small the ice skating rink is...in my mind I expected it to be huge! We went up to "Top of the Rock" which is just the rooftop of the Rockefeller Center and saw some great views! A walk through Times Square ended our night in the city! I must say...it was my lucky weekend because there was not many people. It was very crowded by my country standards but Lucas and Megan assure me the city was pretty empty! We slept in on Monday and then Lucas took me for a tour of their town and a Mediterranean lunch (a turkey sandwich and baklava). We met up with Megan and went back to the city for a walk in Central Park. I wanted to go to the MET (Metropolitan Museum of Art) but unbeknownst to us, they are closed on Mondays! We walked all the way from 86th street down 8th avenue to Penn Station...finding quite the competition between Starbucks and porn stores along the way! There was at least one of each every other block or so! We had breakfast for dinner at the Stage Door deli across the street from Penn Station. We walked right past Mo Rocca but Lucas and Megan didn't know who he was so that kinda lost some of the thrill. He is a comedian who was on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart and also does some stuff for VH1, just FYI! After we filled our bellies with really great french toast, we had a relaxing ride home. We planned to stay up really late because Lucas and Megan had to work Tuesday night and wanted to try and sleep most of the day. Lucas and I took a nice long walk in the rain which definitely served its purpose of keeping us awake! Tuesday was lazy...slept until 11, showered and packed, my first taste of New York pizza and then a short flight home! I really had a great time and realized most of my fears about the city may be justified, just overinflated! The subway isn't some dark hole with a criminal in every corner, nor is it as complicated as I feared. People are actually somewhat friendly...though most that I encountered where probably tourists! And English is a minority language...lots of tourists from across the seas!! I'm really glad I was able to go...it didn't look promising until about two weeks before I went but some schedules were able to be changed and it all worked out.

Of course it was great to see my friends and explore some parts of the city they hadn't seen together but now I'm even more grateful because I am going to be working in Manhattan for my next assignment! I never would have had the guts to accept if I hadn't had some fears laid to rest during that visit! I'm still waiting on a contract and my license but I have been offered a job and if everything works out, I'll start January 5th! So, I'll get to spend Christmas AND New Year's with my family!! I will be working at New York Presbyterian's Columbia campus which is associated with Columbia's Medical School. It is in Washington Heights, which is an area that has historically been unsavory but is really coming along. There are some neat things to do up there but it still has a high crime rate, 2nd only to Harlem. For that reason, I won't be housed up there and will have to take the subway to work but that's probably for the best. If I'm going to be in Manhattan, I want to be where the action is! Washington Heights is almost the northermost point in Manhattan, not far from the Bronx. I'll be either in the Financial District (southermost point of Manhattan) or on the upper west side (by Central Park) but both are fairly close to the water! I'm hoping for upper west just because the apartments are a little bigger (meaning up to 600 square feet instead of 350!) and a little nicer! Living is expensive in Manhattan...my allowance is $3000 and for that I may end up with 350 square feet of space! The upside is that all I'll have to bring is clothes...no dishes, no linens, etc. So, I've been trying to pack and while doing so, throw out a lot of crap that I insisted on bringing to Virginia and haven't touched in 6 months! I've already carrried out 4 bags of junk!

I'll, of course, be driving home and leaving my car. I hope to get there by Thursday (the 18th) afternoon. My plan is to get off work Wednesday morning, sleep until late afternoon, do whatever walk-thru for the apartment and then drive all night, not stopping until home! The construction on 64 in Missouri is almost finished so I will be able to take the most direct route which should be about 16 hours. Sounds like a lot but I did about 13 on the way out here before I stopped for the night. I'll just play it by ear and if the weather is going to be bad, I won't sleep as long on Wednesday and drive part of the way and stop at night. We shall see! Then, Ill be home until January 2nd when I'll fly to NY. I'll move in on Friday and spend Saturday and Sunday finding the best route to work and acclimating to my new neighborhood! Unfortunately, Megan will be working when I arrive and then she leaves on Sunday morning for home so I don't think I'll get to see her! I'm not sure about Lucas as he finishes his contract one week later but I know he'll be working Sun, Mon and Tue so he can go home on Wed. It's kind of a bummer to have them that close and yet so far away!

Now for the best part of my ramblings...the pictures! Just a little note, Lucas had the camera and got some really great shots...the best part is that I'm in most of them!! ;-) There are so many great shots, I'll post more on another day!!