Too Hot to Handle

Posted on July 21, 2011
by Kwame Belle

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.

( source link)

Summer Life: BBQ Edition

Posted on July 13, 2011
by Kwame Belle

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 17^th 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 4^th 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.

Livin’ the Dream

Posted on June 29, 2010
by Samantha

After completing six local journalism internships, I knew this summer was my chance to break out of my comfort zone and really chase my dreams. What it all boils down to is New York City. I’ve always wanted to live here and I’ve always wanted to work in the magazine industry. So after months of scouring for internships, frantically filling out applications and sending off my best work to people who didn’t know me, I waited.

And waited.

Whenever life got me down and I second-guessed my skills and education, I turned to two things. FRIENDS, and “Empire State of Mind” by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys. The two completely capture the essence of New York City and the dreams that I want to achieve. “Empire State of Mind” became my theme song, my mantra to keep me motivated and inspired.

Concrete jungle where dreams are made of

There’s nothing you can’t do, now you’re in New York

These streets will make you feel brand new

These lights will inspire you

Let’s hear it for New York

It didn’t matter that I grew up in wide open spaces, in a town with more cows than people. Or that our best option for a night out was a 30-minute drive to the closest movie theater with some friends and a bag of popcorn. All that mattered was that the glossy pages that came in my mailbox each month meant the world to me, and I needed to immerse myself in that world. New York City wasn’t about the hustle and bustle that people automatically associate with this place. To me, New York City was about livin’ the dream.

FRIENDS captures the homey, loving and endearing side of New York City, and it’s the show that made me fall in love with this place before I realized what journalism really was. It emphasized that New York City, again, wasn’t always about hustle and bustle.

Instead, it was about opportunity. It was about being carefree. It was about enjoying life. I wanted that life.

The witty banter and carefree friendships on this show captured my hometown and the people I wanted to meet while living my dream. Whenever I need to relax with a few laughs, I pop in one of the ten seasons (yes, I have each one) of this show and it works every single time. This show not only made New York City about fulfilling a dream, it became about getting the lifestyle I wanted.

Without these things, I’m not sure what my mantra would have been, what my support system would be like. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not doubting my friends, family and teachers who have helped me along the way. Without them, there’s no way I would be here. But you need to enjoy the small things in life, too. You need something to keep pushing you, to remind you of what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. These two things do it for me. I encourage you to find yours.

There’s nothing you can’t do, now you’re in New York.

Let’s show ’em what I’m made of.