Empire State of Mind - Alicia Keys, featuring Jay-Z

I'm officially living in New York!

So why the sudden move? Well, let me tell you! Last March, I met a girl, named Kelly Ryan, on my very first service trip to Honduras with Students Helping Honduras. We became really good friends, and I visited her at her Brooklyn apartment all the time. Fast-forward exactly one year: she gets a job in Honduras working for SHH, she has a room in a four-bedroom Brooklyn apartment that needs to be filled, and I've been wanting to move to New York since... forever ago. She left most of her furniture, so all I had to do was bring clothes. Sans job, I took a leap of faith and moved into her apartment. It's probably one of the boldest moves I've ever made in my life, but I'm the biggest proponent of living outside of your comfort zone, and I could not be happier about my decision. Of course I'm nervous, overwhelmed, and a little too paranoid that I'm going to get kidnapped, but I'm also looking forward to this new chapter of my life, living in this huge city, learning to live on my own.

I moved half of my stuff in last Wednesday, went home for the weekend, and came back with more stuff on Sunday and officially got settled. HUGE thanks to Becky, Erin, and Zack for driving me all the way to Brooklyn and helping me move in. You guys are definitely city girls (and boy) in my book!

Yesterday was my first official day living in the city, so I ran a few errands. I signed up at the Crunch Fitness in Fort Greene, and worked out next to Adrian Grenier from Entourage. Totally normal. On my walk to the gym, I saw a man lying in the middle of the sidewalk with a plastic Iron Man mask on with half his crack revealed and five policemen surrounding him. He seemed pretty harmless, but I guess they wanted to create a barrier around him just in case he awoke from his sidewalk slumber.

I ate lunch at a vegan/vegetarian deli called Healthy Nibbles, took a peek inside a vintage store called 1 of a Find, and applied to the Madewell in Soho. I got so lost on the way home on the subway, and ended up in Sketchville. I asked some reliable-looking ladies for directions, and I got back fine. I did some light grocery shopping, which means I bought the essentials: fifty CLIF bars, hot sauce, soup, and rice. Then I spent the rest of the evening watching The Bachelor, sending my resume out to the world, and chatting with my roommates. It was a pretty solid first day.

Today, and probably the rest of the week, will be more running errands, more working out (and hopefully an Adrian Grenier sighting!), and more applying to jobs. I am looking forward to having more run-ins with celebrities and sloshed superheroes.

c.k.

Bills, Bills, Bills - Destiny's Child Cover by Glee

Bonjour!

So ever since I watched the Glee episode featuring Britney Spears back in September, I have been hooked. I was very apprehensive about watching Glee because the idea of a musical TV show seemed a little cheeseball, but au contraire! I was totally wrong, and it's one of the best shows on TV. I was on my death bed on Saturday after visiting the SHH chapter at JMU, and what saved me? Oh, just the Gleekend Marathon on Oxygen! And what did I watch after I saw the Pack sack the Black and Gold? Oh, just the Glee Super Bowl Special! And that's where "Bills, Bills, Bills" was sung by Darren Criss and The Warblers. Youtube it now. If you never liked Destiny's Child (in which case, you're crazy), and you never liked the song, "Bills, Bills, Bills," (insanity) you will love this version, and you will be forced to watch Glee, every Tuesday at 8 PM Central Time, just so you can hear Darren Criss's beautiful voice. I also recommend watching the Britney Spears episode of Glee. It will change your life.

Ok, enough Glee talk. Like I said, over the weekend, I went to JMU to visit the group of volunteers I led in Honduras this winter. Seeing them brought back so many memories of Honduras, like Danny's starfish sleeping position, Melissa's inability to filter any of her opinions, Diana's bodily functions, and Laura's boyish ways to which I can totally relate. They had a "grilled cheese" fundraiser on Friday, which was hilarious to see in action. Basically, they make and sell grilled cheese sandwiches to inebriated college students in order to raise money to build schools in Honduras! To take it a step further, the JMU chapter decided to have a driver cruise around to all the bus stops with a cooler filled with cheesy goodies to raise even more money for the ninos! The JMU chapter is full of rockstars. I miss you guys already!

I've been a lot more disciplined about exercising these days, and I have to say that I am genuinely happier and more excited about life when I'm active. Whether it's running, dancing at Zumba, or kickboxing, I'm always happier after a really intense workout. My friends make fun of me because I love being drenched in sweat, but there's something so empowering about pushing yourself beyond your body's limits. I catch my second wind when I push myself through those moments when I don't think I can physically keep going. I usually go through phases of rigid exercising, but I think I'll be able to keep it up this time because I'm obsessed with Zumba and I'm exercising solely to benefit myself. If you're not usually inclined to exercising, I highly recommend Zumba. It will change your life... just like Glee! And we have come full circle.

I think I'm moving to New York.

c.k.

Corrine Bailey Rae - Put Your Records On

Shalom, homies. It's been a while.

So I have wanted to get back to blogging, and the beginning of the new year would've been the perfect time to start! Too bad life isn't perfect, and I was busy leading service trips in Honduras, so it was difficult to do anything else. But now that I literally don't do anything except look for jobs, and occasionally work at Madewell, I figured I should do something productive. Hopefully, my life will start getting more interesting.

I've decided that every blog entry is going to have a title song, which is going to represent my current state of mind. Today, I picked, "Put Your Records On" because it's the best pick-me-up song. Why do I need a pick-me-up? Because the weather is gloomtastic (new word, made it up), my hair is still short and I wish I could feel the exhilarating freedom of letting my hair down (listen to the song, and this will make sense), I miss feeling overwhelmed with tasks (Honduras, te extrano), and I want to live anywhere but here (here, being Suburbia). I've been applying and interviewing for jobs in New York, and I'm patiently waiting to hear back, but one of my flaws is that I'm very impatient. I'm just ready to move to a new city, make new friends and new memories, and have new experiences. I just want to start living my life again. Being in limbo ain't fun.

So I hate new year's resolutions, but I read an Allison & Partners (it's a PR company) blog entry the other day, and the blogger said she creates "new year's themes" instead of resolutions. So I'm stealing the idea because that's much more realistic than making resolutions that I'll never keep.

I would say that 2010 was my year of discovery.

My first trip to Honduras with Students Helping Honduras was in March, after I saw a bright blue flyer outside of my Graphics class, and that trip changed the trajectory of my life. I don't know if my life trajectory was really pointed anywhere; it was spinning in a circle, going nowhere. But going to Honduras, getting my hands dirty, and falling in love with those ninos really gave me a newly realized appreciation for the little things in life. I discovered my love for children, my need to help people, and my passion for traveling. Kelly ate Cheerios covered in hot sauce, Jess ate a napkin, and Grace wore an eye patch. It was one of the best weeks of my life.

I graduated in May, which was so bittersweet. I was ready, but completely not prepared. Less than a week after graduation, I went back to Honduras and stayed for two weeks, met some more amazing people, ate some more uevos and frijoles, and brushed up on my severely broken Spanish. In the fall, I was on the very first SHH Road Team which will forever be the best work experience I have ever received. Living out of a car, driving to universities and showing up to organizations fairs unannounced, convincing students to go to a country they'd never even heard about, living in hostels...  I discovered how far I'm capable of pushing myself outside of my comfort zone.

This winter, I went back to Honduras for three weeks. I had the best New Year's Eve of my life with some of my favorite people, drenched in sweat and dancing like a maniac. I met the cutest freaking children in the world - let's be honest; they're all the cutest - at Rio Chiquito and La Nunez, both schools my volunteers and I helped construct while we were in Honduras. My volunteer groups couldn't have been more amazing (JMU, Clemson, W&M, VT, GMU!), the weather couldn't have been better, even when it rained for two days straight, and the musically-fueled bus rides were unforgettable. After leading those trips, I discovered my independence.

2010 was my year of discovery: who I am, who I have become, and what I'm capable of achieving. I discovered a lot of my flaws and faults, but I also discovered my strengths and capabilities. 2010 was monumental.

I want 2011 to be my year of unabated living. Everything I do, I want to do unabatedly. According to Dictionary.com, unabated means, "without any reduction in intensity or strength," and I think that's the perfect way to live life. So I will strive to live every aspect of my life unabatedly, everyday.

What's the theme of your life this year?

c.k.

Week 2: Hostels are Like Real-World Dorms

A whole lot has happened during our first week of touring the road.

Last week, we went to Temple, Villanova, Penn State Abington, Swarthmore, Holy Family, and Drexel. We flyered (it's road team verbage) all over their campuses, went to some club fairs, kicked some ass, and took some numbers... 200 numbers to be exact. Pretty amazing for our first week, if you ask me.

I can't speak for Mike or Em, but it was definitely overwhelming to just throw myself into the road team lifestyle. I was thrown out of my comfort zone, for sure. But I've always believed that the best way to learn is by overcoming obstacles and by putting yourself outside of your comfort zone. And in just one, short week, I've already learned so much about myself and what I'm capable of accomplishing, so this road tour has already been a positive experience.

Today, we went to Holy Family and spoke to the girl's soccer team, thanks to the efforts of Joanna, a volunteer from one of the August trips this summer. The coach seems like he's trying to find a trip for them to go on together, as a team, so hopefully, we can convince them to come to Honduras and play some futbol with the ninos! We're going back tomorrow because Joanna got us a table in the main dining area, so props to Joanna for setting up so many opportunities for SHH at Holy Family!

Last week we were at the Motel 6, and this week, we're at Chamounix Mansion - a hostel - in Philly. This is my first hostel experience, so I had no idea what to expect... let me just say that the Motel 6 in Maple Shade, NJ was a palace. I miss having a private bathroom and shower, a queen-size bed, and air conditioning. I keep telling myself that this is just dorm living in the real world. It's helping... sort of. In all fairness though, hostel life does have its perks. We have a kitchen, a fridge, free laundry, free WiFi (so clutch), multiple common areas with sofas, and lots of people my age. Mike said you meet the coolest people at hostels. It hasn't happened yet, but I'm hopeful.

Alright, I need to get some shut-eye so I can be at my full recruiting potential tomorrow at Holy Family. Nighty night.

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Day 1: Philadelphia University

The SHH Road Tour has finally begun! The road crew consists of me, Michael Glasner, and Emily Reutinger, and for the next three months, we'll be recruiting our asses off and putting up flyers until our fingers fall off. I'll be blogging about it as often as I can, updating you guys on all the schools we go to, and all the thrilling adventures we'll have on this three-month excursion of recruitment!

The three of us met up yesterday at Mike's house, with the addition of a dengue-infected Shin, to grab some dinner, and then we headed out for Philly. While Mike drove, Em and I cut flyers. It was so exciting.

We roll up to our humble abode - the Motel 6 - around 11:00 PM after our fingers are blistered from cutting thousands of flyers (not an exaggeration), and pass out pretty much immediately. So yesterday wasn't super eventful. Just a lot of car riding.

The first school we'll be recruiting volunteers at is Philadelphia University, woo woo! Their club fair is at 4:00 PM, so we'll be throwing up flyers before then, and working our magic at the fair. Hopefully, it'll be a successful first day of work! Wish us luck!