Beautiful Weekend to Live in Philadelphia

This weekend, I spent every last minute enjoying the abundance of cultural, and even some non-cultural sights and sounds my newly official city of residence has to offer (yes, it's official, I have the driver's license to prove it - ahh).

Friday evening went downtown heading for Rittenhouse square, stopped at Alfa, and ended up in Old City at Brasil's a bit later for some dancing and bottle-service-for-no-real-reason with good friends.

Saturday afternoon wandered down to the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (PIFA) with one of my former and one of my current roommates - Brittany and Ashley. We walked around enjoying the cool but sunny weather, and eventually ended up on a lawn transplanted to the middle of Broad Street, which had been partially closed off from Chestnut Street (City Hall) to Lombard Street.

As we found it increasingly difficult to navigate the crowds, we took a 2-hour break for sushi at Makiman. By the time we finished that, people were beginning to gather along Broad Street in preparation for whatever the night's event, the finale of the 25-day-long festival, was going to be. At this point we had no clue what that was, and neither did most of the people around us. For this spectacle, I will provide you with some visual and auditory descriptions because word just won't do!

The evening was topped off by a visit from a friend from New Jersey who I of course had to take to Cavanaugh's, and then my favorite secret swanky spot, hidden on a small side street and lacking a sign to announce its presence to the rest of the world. I'll only give one hint because I am selfish and want it all to myself: RR.

On Sunday, I stopped at my favorite cafe in Mount Airy, called High Point Cafe, for my typical Sunday morning fix of cappuccino and crepes before heading to the Chestnut Hill Home & Garden Festival.

This street fair also featured a length of pedestrian-only traffic along Germantown Avenue, another popular street. There were plenty of vendors and right when I walked up, I spotted an awesome coffee table that I immediately snagged. Well, I put the cash-only deposit down as fast as I could, and returned later to take it home with me. It matches perfectly with our Victorian-style couches in our living room. I also picked up an old Chinese lamp, a glass doorknob, some business cards, and some delicious Sangria. When I got home, I grabbed my beach towel and laid in the backyard for a bit, something I've been wanting to do for a while now. The weather was even better than the day before, and I actually noticed that I got a bit of color while wearing my sundress... time to break out the sunscreen for the season!

So happy that Spring is finally here. Till the next time ;-)

Finally Out of North Philly - my angry post about getting robbed

For anyone who has ever experienced a loss, for those that know the neighborhoods of Philadelphia, for anyone who cares about my personal life.

I recently relocated from Temple University area to Manayunk, Philadelphia. There were a few reasons for this move, none of them being "North Philly sucks" or anything of that nature. I actually enjoyed my time at Temple, and while I have a year left before graduation, I never thought I was unhappy living in a nice apartment off Broad Street. We had plenty of space, I had two great roommates, and the walk to campus was convenient and nice. I did have some qualms with parking, not wanting to go out after dark (ha), and occasionally worrying about safety issues... but I was always reassured by the vicinity of our Temple police and the neighborhood watch guy, Tom. We had a drunk driver plough into our street once, but nothing really bad ever happened on our block. So when people would call it the "ghetto" and be hesitant to visit me, I would just shake my head and reply, "It's really not that bad."

HOWEVER, just a few weeks before I was set to leave the area for good, with mixed emotions of sadness and excitement, our apartment was robbed. My one roommate had moved out, the other at work, and I was in New Jersey for a graduation party. I'm just glad no one was there when they cut the screens on our windows, broke through the safety bars, and took any and all valuable electronic equipment from our home. Ashley and I lost three laptops, two mp3 players, a digital camera, a graphics tablet, and an internet router that evening. It's creepy to think that they may have been watching us.

Seriously? We are college students, so it's not like we have a lot to begin with, and these things that make up our lives were hard-earned and PERSONAL items. The value I assign to my own laptop far exceeded its $600 resale value, because of photos (thank goodness all my abroad photos are online already), music, programs, and personalization I had in place over the year I had owned it. My mp3 player was not only a music-playing device, but my inspiration to work out, with a fully-loaded exercise playlist. I had started on a workout binge as weather was getting nicer, and ran the track two blocks from our apartment regularly before the break-in. For the two weeks after that I did not even want to be around North Philly. So I lost and mp3 player but also my MO to go out and get exercise. My digital camera was not only a few-hundred-dollar-picture-capturing device, but weeks worth of memories, including some great shots of my new boyfriend and I and a picture with a friend who had come up from Virginia for the Penn relays. Money just can't replace that kind of thing.

So as much as I enjoyed my few years in North Philly, it came to a sour end because of the ill-will of some little hoodlums who fit through a back kitchen window and never learned to respect other people's personal property. Cowards. You just counteract any good that people like Tom and Temple police and university professionals and MYSELF try to bring to this town. I won't be coming back any time soon, and I hope you make lots of money reselling my digital camera that I have the charger for, and the graphics tablet that you forgot the graphic pen for. Good luck in life suckers.

On a happy note, I started my internship full-time, and am now enjoying the scenery of a much friendlier Manayunk. I hope everyone is having a great summer, especially the FUNemployed. Take care!

Dishwashing Etiquette

Read if you've ever lived with one or more roommates and had a problem getting dishes done.

1. Food should be scraped off dishes before washing; accidents (and forgetfulness) happen but clogged drains should be un-clogged promptly
2. Do not leave dishes in sink unwashed for more than 5 days, or for longer than it takes for flies to collect
3. Don't leave silverware at the bottom of the sink; just 'cause it's small doesn't mean it's not important
4. If you use a large pan, colander, or salad-spinner, it's nice if you can clean that up before the next person goes to use the sink -- it's very hard to refill a Brita water container with large items like that in the way
5. Just because the drying rack is full does not mean you are excused from dish duty
6. Dry knives immediately so they do not get rusty
7. If, while drying dishes by hand, your dish rag becomes saturated please throw it in the laundry so that a soppy wet rag is not placed on the counter for someone else to find
8. Thank you in advance for not playing Jenga with the drying glassware
9. Occasionally do some extra dishes even if they are not your own because at some point you probably forgot to do a cup or five before, too

Originally envisioned at the end of November 2007; revisited now.

Turning Man's Trash into My Treasure

Found this little gem on the side of the curb by the AEPi House on North Broad Street. They just renovated their mini-mansion so I assume this is an artifact from that process. But it was just too charming for me to pass up.

I was walking back from class with a friend who happened to be on crutches, so I carried it halfway home and then solicited a neighbor's help the rest of the way.

My plans for this treasure go a little something like this:

1. Rescue abandoned side cabinet from the garbage collectors.
2. Clean and sandpaper the whole thing. Elbow grease!
3. Purchase the perfect shade of cranberry paint, and clear a space on backyard patio where it's okay to make a mess.
4. On a sunny afternoon, do a few coats of this lovely cranberry color.
5. Purchase knobs for the front. I'm thinking either "Celebration" in antique brass or "Native Romance Nonva" in patine.
6. Do some calligraphy on the sides i.e. Chinese or Japanese characters.
7. Fill with bottles, books, or some other useful items.
8. Love.

Gadget I've Been Dreaming Of

Just learned of a new gadget via this press release: "SANYO Internet Radio Makes It Easy to Listen to Thousands of Free Internet Radio Stations, With No Computer Required."

Silly me, I've been searching "bluetooth speakers" for so long now I was beginning to give up on the idea of a wireless music-listening experience. But this solution uses your existing wifi connection to connect directly to the internet, giving you access to internet radio stations and your own shared music from anywhere in the house.

It's so quiet downstairs right now. We don't have a CD player / radio / mp3 dock. Just a TV with basic cable. And the only noise from that contraption comes on Sundays during the football games, now that the political debates are over. I'd love to bring some music into our lives without having to burn CDs all the time, or relying on traditional FM radio to play the songs we like. Unfortunately this Sanyo thingamajig (omg: ff spellchecker knows thingamajig - did I add that myself?) won't be out in the US until January 2009. So no pleading with Santa possible :-(

Mural Projects

I started making two murals - which have stared me in the face as "works in progress" since high school. One is outlined on my sliding closet doors in black sharpie marker, waiting to be painted.

Click to enlarge.

The other began as a collage on some scrap foamcore in the art room long ago, and has been sitting propped up against my bedroom wall for a few years now. I decided to pick it up again the other day and it was very inspirational, both as art therapy and as a confidence booster. I don't always like the way my art projects turn out, but this one seems to have all the workings of a great piece. It still has a way to go, but I've made significant progress on it over the past few weeks...(Envisioned by Amy at 03:03 Tuesday 12 August, 2008).

UPDATE
I finished! Just before moving back here. I had to get it done and nearly pulled an all-nighter on Saturday 30 August, but it's now complete and hanging in my apartment downstairs:

This is me when I finished... after getting home from V Lounge in New Brunswick, near daylight, still dressed up, smeared makeup, but very happy!

Espresso Mess-o

My host family left for Sicily on Thursday morning. Ariana just bought a house there but it's not furnished yet so they're staying with friends. She left me a ton of food in the fridge and wrote out all the important information I need to remember, such as the cleaning lady's number and "Only one home appliance at a time," as not to blow a fuse. But just in case I forget, she also showed me where I might find the fuse box on the ground floor, and left me the key for that room.

One other thing I was delighted to learn before she had left was how to make espresso. I'm the first of the 4 other girls she's hosted to have learned; I guess they didn't drink coffee as much as I do here! You use this cute little metal stovetop machine and pack the espresso grounds into the middle container, fill the bottom one with water, screw the pieces together and set it on the stove to brew.

Unfortunately, the other day I kinda left it on for too long while talking on Skype with my parents, and it was a huge mess. Not only did the plastic handle completely melt off, and the plastic knob on top get all disjointed because of the heat from the metal, but the inside of the container which holds the water pretty much turned to ash since all the water boiled out of it. I tried to clean it as best I could but the burnt metal smell just won't go away. You can't use soap to clean these machines otherwise the coffee will come out all soapy-tasting (Ariana specifically instructed me on this in Italian when I was learning) so basically I'm just going to buy a new espresso machine and hope that Ariana doesn't regret her decision to teach me in the first place.

I swear I'm not completely incompetent in domestic matters, contrary to what she may believe.

If you liked this story, you can support me by purchasing one of my prints:

 

La Mia Camera da Letto

(My Bedroom)

Last night I was online with my parents and realized I hadn't really posted anything about where I'm living! A few days ago, I made a video for you all to see of my humble Italian accommodations. The apartment in general is actually much bigger than I had expected, and thankfully I get my own bedroom whereas in the Residence I would have to share one bedroom with 2 other girls. I share the family bathroom, and there is also a kitchen, a small computer room, and a living room. My bedroom used to be the Au Pair's room when the boys were younger. And of course there is a balcony out back which connects to both my room and the kitchen. Here is the video I made with my digital camera:

I should probably put this on YouTube... but anyway, click here to see the video.

Some other pictures of my room and apartment:

Don't Look Down...

Kitchen Connection

The Boys

By the way, if anyone wants to send me mail...
You should send it to the school with my name and:

Temple University Rome
Lungotevere Arnaldo da Brescia, 15
00196 Rome, Italy

If you want to send a package, there are specific instructions to ensure that it will get through Customs, so ask me for these before sending any presents over ;-)

Awareness... in Marketing and Dating

Sometimes you just need to let them know you're out there. In our 7UP campaign for advertising class this semester, one of our main objectives is awareness. We are targeting male consumers and using a variety of sports-themed appeals to generate awareness and interest in this market for our "all-natural" 7UP.

How ironic that the same concept can be used in dating. Think about it.

Awareness
Interest
Desire
Action

AIDA: A well-established conceptual framework in the marketing world. Now apply to real life. Ready:

Girl hears motorcycle being revved up - yet again - across the street at neighbor's house, at night, under her window. Grows some balls and finally yells out the window, "Hey, when can I get a ride?" Immediate Awareness. Guy approaches window. Interest verified. See how simple life is? Those marketers have it all figured out. Desire and Action still TBD.

Shades as Censorship?

The other day, as I'm hanging up my new shades, sprawled out across my window with one hand clinging to the molding for dear life and another clasping the awkwardly long roller shade - not to mention one foot desperately balanced on the top of my radiator, hoping it can support me while the other precariously situated on the bottom molding of the window - anyway, as I'm situated quite comedically for all of North Philly to see, dozens of kids start marching up our block. I freeze for a moment like a deer in headlights, hoping they don't notice me splattered like a fly up against the window.

They definitely don't notice, and I dismount. They have a mission of their own, which I am now very curious about. My curiosity is soon satisfied, and my only regret is that I didn't grab my camera to capture the action sooner. An all-out fist fight breaks out between two of the youngsters, complete with cheering, screaming, and some vehicle interaction, which -thank goodness I wasn't parked on our street that afternoon- fortunately did not result in any damage, and finally the sound of a police siren which causes them all to scatter. Here is that part of the episode for your sadistic delight.

And to think, if my shades had been up I might have missed it all.

Exploding Bananas

We've had a banana sitting on top of our microwave for a few weeks now. No one claimed it and, in retrospect, it was probably mine, but Anna and I had both bought bananas the other week so there was a general lack of communication on the matter. Until now.

This morning I went downstairs and found Anna cleaning up a huge mess which she described so succinctly: "the banana exploded." Lucy added that she had seen it last night and it "hadn't exploded yet." Unfortunately, an army of ants had found it before we did, and were thoroughly enjoying all the juicy gooeyness of it before we came and wiped them up. Moral of the story: don't leave your bananas out for too long - they WILL explode!

After a not-so-good weekend, even Mondays look good

Adrenaline kept me going all day, but I woke up feeling unwarrantably refreshed.

I actually took the time to put together a cute outfit and do my makeup before walking to my 8:40 advertising class this morning. There, I got back an assignment from last week with a grade of 19/20, so that really started my morning off right. Plus I participated in class, which I haven't been doing much for some reason. I think it has to do with me not wanting to look like a smart ass in a non-honors section. Just laying low.

After advertising, I got some coffee and went to CIS lecture, which is usually pretty interesting. After that I went home and made myself a grilled chicken wrap. I am becoming quite the kitchen aficionado!

In our Italian lab we watched a music video on YouTube by an artist named Vasco Rossi called Senza Parole. When we watch these videos our instructor doesn't tell us what the words mean, so I just looked it up and this one means "Without Words," ironically. I guess the point of the video is that sometimes you just understand things and there are no words to describe it, or no need to try. At the end of the video there are a lot of couples kissing so I think it has to do with love. For lecture we went over sentence structures - even though the homework this weekend was to write a long e-mail to a friend using... oh yeah, sentences! Anyway it was pretty inutitive, and then I was done for the day!

I went to the Tech to try to do a video dubbing but Chris, who was explaining things to me the other day, wasn't there and the guy that was trying to help me had no more clue than I did about how to set everything up. In fact it was a struggle just to rewind my VHS. So now I am not even sure if my speech footage is going to be on the tape because I shouldn't have had to rewind it more than a few seconds. I guess I will have to find out later where there are VCRs on campus.

Worked up an appetite from all that waiting. Went home and cooked a pasta salad. I kinda like to do things without recipes but it turned out not bad. Actually I ate too much of it and got a stomach ache, then laid on the couch while watching the end of a show on the Food Network and passed out for a bit. When I woke up I had a lot of cleaning up to do and... the ants were after some spilled balsamic vinaigrette. Yuck! I wish they would just go away already.

Did some research for Speech class about the environment and corporate accountability. Then made guacamole. Unfortunately the avocado was a little over-ripe so it wasn't as good as it could have been.

Oh yeah, and I did a load of whites. Now I need more laundry detergent.