Tag Archives: nyc

Too Hot to Handle

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I don’t know where you are right now but chances are it’s hot as blazes. I happen to be home on a week long vacate in NYC and I feel as though I moved onto the sun. According to my roommates and friends back in Oz, it’s no better there. I’m actually writing this in front of a fan by the way. For whatever reason the AC isn’t running in my house and this has lead me to delirium to some crazy thoughts, such as wishing I was back at Oz to jump in the lake.  My latest genius idea was just to soak my shirt in cold water and walk around outside like “its all good baby.”

Anyway. I was browsing the internet while I waited for my megavideo time limit to pass (trying to catch up on The Office) and I came across an article on yahoo.com about the top ten ways to stay cool. I cannot attest for all of them ( like “leave cabinets open as well, as they will store heat.”) but I do know from experience that putting you fan by the window does bring in the greatest natural cool air mankind has ever felt in his room. Of course you need to have somewhat of a breeze blowing outside for this to work and right now there is none -_- . However desperate hot times , call for desperate cool off measures so give the list a once over and see what may or may not work for you. In the meantime I’m going to go give # 4 on the list a try.

 

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Summer Life: BBQ Edition

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This is DEF not a picture of MY bbq, mine was more charred and ugly

 

 

It may be a little bit presumptuous on my behalf to start looking back on the summer already but I must say this summer has been pretty good. In all honesty this is not what I had in mind months ago when I was looking forward to summer. I thought I would take a quick 3 week summer course, hop on the greyhound to NYC, grab myself a nice little internship and just make play dates underneath the city lights.

Instead, I find myself in Oswego, NY, in my second summer course, no internship and oh yeah I haven’t been home since April…April 17th to be exact. You won’t find many complaints from me though. I accomplished a lot so far this summer, not in the way I had in mind; but as you already know and I am learning life has it’s own plans for how things go sometimes, despite what you had in mind.

If you were to visit, Oswego anytime between the months of late October – June. Then you might ask as I frequently did , why anyone on earth would decide to live here. Not because the town or people are bad(they’re not), but because the weather and vibe can be downright miserable. At least for a city kid such as myself.

However summer in Oswego reveals it all. This place is beautiful. I have a newfound love of Oswego. So far this summer I have attended quite a few bbq’s, had a makeshift one of my own , sat by the lake countless times, watched the sunset at Breitbeck Park, missed the 30 minute (felt like 5 minute) July 4th fireworks, been to Rudy’s thrice, Bev’s twice, (btw both were nice) and simply enjoyed the hot weather that is mellowed by a constant breeze off the lake.

As far as accomplishments go there have been a few but…let’s talk about that later. For now , there is still some summer in Oz left for me to soak up.

Busy Bee in NYC

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Although I feel more like an actual New Yorker the longer I’m in NYC, I’ve still done a decent job of hitting up tourist locations. Since I can’t share a lot about what I’m doing at work, here’s a sneak peak into my life outside of magazines!

First and foremost, I’m still a fitness guru at heart and it’s always been on my bucket list to go running in Central Park. I’m always so envious whenever I see people in their jogging pants and sneaks, just trucking around the reservoir like they do any other day. I realized that my time here was quickly running out, so I laced up my sneaks and hit the pavement in the cold 35-degree weather, looking just like any other local.

And let me tell you, the views were worth it.

While I wasn’t in NYC for it, I was lucky enough to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra live. My mom and step-dad bought tickets for my three brothers, sister and I for Christmas, so we were all able to experience some awesome musicianship together. The pyrotechnics they used throughout the show covered the price of the ticket alone.

Once I was back in NYC, my boyfriend, Dustin, came to visit, as did my ASME friends and future roommates, Libby and Victoria to celebrate the new year. We made sure to hit up plenty of restaurants along the way, including my favorite Mexican restaurant, La Esquina. If you’re ever in the city, I highly recommend you try it. Insider tip: It’s a big place for celebrity spottings, so you have to reserve two to three weeks in advance.

We also made sure to hit up Tom’s Restaurant, famous for it’s recurring presence in Seinfeld.

I walk by this retro-looking diner every day on my walk home from work as well, so I tested out an Italian meatball sub and french fries at the Metro Diner, too. It was my first time having fries in over six months, but these were delicious!

Dustin and I also ventured around Times Square and took advantage of the M&M factory because he had never been. After we were hopped up on sugar, we played in Toys R Us. I tried to ride the ferris wheel, but you had to pay, plus the line was really long and full of little kids. I settled for a huge lollipop from the Willy Wonka side of the store instead.

And to prove I do super-cool things for my job, I took Dustin to a Harlem Globetrotters game! We were able to go to the VIP party and eat dinner with the players before the game. The Globetrotters worked with us on an article to help make a girl’s dream come true — she always wanted to play with the wacky team, so we made her dreams a reality! Check out a spring issue of FITNESS to read all about it.

What fun things have you done over winter break? Are you ready to head back to school?

Getting Flexible with Tara Stiles

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I don’t know about everyone else, but I take the term “group exercise class” very seriously. As in, I don’t go unless I have a friend tagging along. Call me crazy but I need to have that moral support when I’m exercising in front of a group of strangers and the instructor can zero in on me at any second. I know from working at a gym that most instructors don’t judge (unless you show up to spinning class in cutoff jeans and hiking sneakers), but you never know about the other participants.

That’s why I dragged my best friend, Liz Shaftic, to a new yoga class when she came to visit here in NYC. After taking a six hour bus ride to arrive at 42nd Street at 12:30a.m. on a Friday night, you’d think I’d let her snag some extra shut-eye the next day, right? Wrong. We were up bright and early to head to Tara Stiles’ Strala Yoga in NoHo.

Due to some unexpected subway construction that seriously derailed our arrival, Liz and I kicked things off to a good start by showing up nearly a half hour late. However, we were still able to grab a yoga mat and jump into downward dog with one of the most prominent yoga instructors in the nation (Not to mention her husband, Michael Taylor, who’s studied and practiced Eastern movement and healing techniques for more than two decades, joined us for class).

Now, before you start thinking I’m a huge yoga guru because I work at FITNESS and really love participating in fitness-related activities, let me explain something: yoga has never been on the top of my priority list. I usually forget to stretch before and after my workouts (I’ve gotten better, though!), so contorting my body into various positions and holding them peacefully is not something I’m usually good at. But being the adventure-seeker that I am, I figured I’d give it a shot.

Although the “Strong” class I took is normally an hour and 15 minutes long, I was only there for 45 minutes and I still got a sweat-inducing, muscle-blasting workout. Tara took us through a variety of poses that didn’t just stretch the muscles. We did core, leg and butt exercises that really strengthen the muscles as well. By the end, my tank top was drenched with sweat and I realized I shouldn’t have bothered to shower before class. Don’t forget I was only there for 45 minutes — I can only imagine what I would have looked like if I was there for the full class.

Tara was also extremely nice and helpful with each class participant. She corrected my form when necessary, as a good instructor should, but she didn’t point it out to the rest of the class. In the middle of a pose, she quietly walked over and adjusted my body. And to make things less embarrassing, she cracked a joke and always had a bright smile. I noticed she was like this with all the participants rather than just with me because she knows I work at FITNESS.

Although all these things are great, I haven’t even gotten to the best part: the price. Yoga classes in NYC are typically $20 per class and can be close to $300 a month if you’re a regular goer. But Strala Yoga offers a unique, affordable opportunity: $10 a class.

“I want to make yoga affordable for everyone so that it can be something that’s easily integrated into everyday life,” Stiles told me after class. “We make the classes enjoyable and affordable, so we always have people coming back for more.”

This really could be the best deal around. So if you’re in NYC, pick up your yoga mat (or rent one there for $2) and head over to Strala Yoga. I promise, you won’t regret it. And look for me while you’re there — I’ll probably be the girl near the back trying to twist in various directions.

Living the Crazy, Good Life

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Life in New York City is crazy.

But in such an amazing, satisfying, beautiful way.

I’ve been so extremely busy at work but I love every second of my day. I work almost nonstop from 9 a.m. to around 5:30 p.m., but I love everything I’m doing. The days just fly by and then I have events to go to at night so I can get my networking on.

Tonight I went to a Microsoft preview event at Stage 37 with my ASME mentor, Lorelei, and my ASME coordinator, Nina. Technically, they were set up with me to help me succeed, but they’ve become so much more than that. They’re my friends, my confidantes, and they’ve got my back in this crazy magazine industry we all love to immerse ourselves in. Believe me, there’s nothing like having a few good people behind you to make sure you succeed in the end. And when you’re friends with those who have already broken into the industry, it’s even better.

So back to the Microsoft event. They had some pretty cool new equipment coming out — my favorite involved a system for the XBox 360 called Kinect. It tracks your movements through camera sensors and allows you to move around without any controllers. My favorite game was Dance Central, which was made in collaboration with MTV Games. It reminded me of Dance Dance Revolution, but it’s a lot less complicated and more fun. You can pull off silly dance moves (such as disco moves and chicken leg) and advance the levels through a wide variety of songs. We were able to test out the game right then and there, and it was a lot of fun. Personally, I rocked Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face.” This game is definitely going to sell.

But my night wasn’t over.

After we left Stage 37, we headed over to West 30th for Robert Verdi’s fashion event. It was held at this really high-end apartment (I wish I could live there) and we enjoyed casual conversation while learning about his new endorsements. I wish I had some pictures of the apartment for you, but here’s some of the stuff from the goodie bag.

There was a lot of other great stuff in the bag, but Lorelei, Nina and I split the bag.

So that was basically my day, once you add in a lot of work for FITNESS, too. Oh, and did I mention I had lunch with the Deputy Editor at The New Yorker today? Yeah, that also happened.

So yes, I love my life. I’ll have some more stories for you soon!