Don't Rain on My Parade

Two or so years ago my friend Hilary facebook-ed me with a link to a video on youtube. We had been talking about Disney princess movies in our choir class, and I had been lamenting the lack of a black Disney Princess. I knew that Nola was supposed to be the one, but still. A real princess would be nice. So imagine my surprise when her link took me to a first glance at Disney's The Frog Princess!

Cut to two years later, after TONS of controversy, several storyline changes, and probably come very discouraged Disney executives. Finally, Disney's The Princess and the Frog came out, and I honestly believe the entire country (naysayers and supporters) was holding their breath to see if it would work. I'll admit, I had serious doubts. I was disgruntled by the fact that it seemed like she would be a frog the entire movie and I did think the prince could have been black, plus New Orleans did seem like a controversial place to set the movie. Still, opening night came and my best friend and I joined a theater full of 20-and-up students at the 9:35 showing of what was being hailed as "the best Disney movie since The Lion King." We agreed to count racist elements of the movie as it went. Roll camera.


The racist count was 4 by the end, but maybe not because there weren't more things that could be construed as "racist" but because the movie was soooo wonderful, we stopped counting and started falling in love. The praise was completely deserved, and I'm willing to add this movie to my infamous Top 10 Disney movie musical list... that's a big deal for me.

But this post isn't about the movie. You have to see it yourself, and I think if you have a soul at all you'll love it. It's beautiful and fun and touching all at once. I just want to address all the people who have written negative posts about the movie.


Dear Ms. Dargis, Mr. Morris, and countless other reviewers that have written similar responses to the Princess and the Frog,

I'm black and I live in Alabama. I would say that makes me pretty well aquainted with anything and everything to do with racism. But here's the thing. I've never related to The Color Purple. Or Hotel Rowanda, or Crash, or Cooley High or any other black reaction movies. I don't watch Good Times or the Jeffersons or even Everybody Hates Chris. I watch Gossip Girl and Glee. I love the Cosby Show and Fresh Prince of Bel-Aire. You know what those last two have in common. They're about black people. But they're not about being Black. Yes, I'm black and yes sometimes things happen that force you to remember the color of your skin. And that sucks. But that's certainly not every day of my life or even the majority of it, and it's certainly not my choice of entertainment topics. You don't see white people making movies about the Great Depression or various European hardships (you know, wars, famines, etc.). Because who wants to deal with those things all the time? I certainly don't, and I DON'T need another movie shoving down my throat that it's "not easy being black."

Fact: The Princess and the Frog is a Disney princess movie. About a princess. It's a fairytale. Of course it ends happily ever after. I just don't understand walking into this movie expecting Tiana to end up alone and fine because she's a strong black woman. You can be strong and black and fall in love, and, again, this is a cartoon movie. Forgive me for wanting the young girls in my life to believe in true love. What's more is that Tiana isn't even the kind of heroine that only cares about love. She's not Ariel. She's not Sleeping Beauty. She is a hardworker, and she gets what she worked for in the end. What more do you want from a movie?

I'm just so frustrated that reviews like you insist on tearing apart a movie that I believe served its purpose. If you walked into this movie expecting enlightenment on racial roles in Southeastern America or the plight of the Black woman, Precious was playing right around the corner. Please just do us all a favor, and spread your negativism to other movies. As for me, I'm going to encourage every little girl I know, red, yellow, black, and white, to go see this movie. It's exactly the kind of story I was looking for as a child, and that I found in the classic Disney movies. It just happens to have a princess that looks a little more like me. As far as I'm concerned, that's just an extra perk to an amazing movie.


With love,
<3

White America

Today Ole Miss beat LSU. SEC football is a huge concern for me, so I'm super excited about that. :-)

But before the game, Ole Miss suffered a small embarrassment. Some members of the Ku Klux Klan showed up to protest. My understanding is that Ole Miss traditionally sings a song called Dixie-something or another, and at the end fans have started chanting "The south will rise again!"

But some of the administration of the University don't like this tradition (can't imagine why...) and they requested that the fans stop adding that phrase to the song. Because it's offensive. And they didn't care. So then the University made the band stop playing the song all together. Like a punishment for an entire football stadium. Funny. lol.


Anyway, this information was very interesting to me, not because of the actual story (which is just stupid and annoying) but because of the information about the Klan. And how the articles about the protest have, like, little quotes from the Klan as though they simply found their statements in a press release packet. I thought they were like a big secret. Apparently not.

Cause I googled (or, actually, binged them) them and found their official website... which was a terrible website, production value-wise. I did find a lot of enlightening information though and decided to share with my loyal reader a list of my favorite points from the Klan's platform (yeah, they have a platform. oh dear).

• The recognition that America was founded as a Christian nation. As James Madison, known as the "Chief Architect of the Constitution" stated; " We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves to control ourselves to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."

So... this is almost true. Of course, if you look up what other fathers of the constitution say about the founding of our country, you can pretty much find a quote to support anything. Plus this only gets funny later.

• The recognition that America was founded as a White nation. America was born as an extension of White European heritage. Those who formed the very ideals that we cherish such as freedom of speech, trial by jury, innocent until proven guilty, free enterprise, etc. were of White European heritage. All of the early laws of the United States from its very inception restricted citizenship to White people and all of the early charters, laws, compacts, etc were signed into effect by White people.

Riight. Never mind that whole thing about the Great American melting pot. Or the fact that the stregnth of the country was (and still is) due to minorities. As in not whites.

• Abolish all anti-gun laws and encourage every adult to own a weapon. The cure for crime in America is not take guns off the streets but to put more guns ON the streets. Violent criminals should be punished, but law abiding citizens should be allowed to defend their homes, business and families with out fear of the federal government treating them as the criminal.

Don't even get me started on how much I disagree with this. I can sometimes I can see where people think that gun laws should be abolished, even though I don't agree. But I fail completely to see how having more guns will cure crime in America. Ay yi yi.

• Put American troops on our border to STOP the flood of illegal aliens. America is being over run by illegal immigrants mostly from nonwhite countries who do not share the Christian European values of our nation's founders. Immigration should remain open to all White Christians throughout the world . There is not one single country that does not persecute it's White Christian citizens such as in South Africa where the violent crime against Whites is at an all time high. The entire reasoning behind the forming of America was to allow one place in the world where White Christians could live together in harmony without any outside interference from those of other religions or races.

I honestly don't even know what to say about that. Really? South Africa? That's your argument?

• Actively promote love and appreciation of our unique European (White) culture. We must recognize it as the bedrock of American liberty and self government.

The thing is, European culture is a lot of different cultures. Not unlike America. The only thing that really links Europeans is proximity and skin color. And they all don't have the same exact skin color. This is just silly.

• Drug testing for welfare recipients. We recognize that not everyone receiving assistance is on drugs, but those who are should not be receiving your tax money. Welfare should be for those who need it - not those who abuse it.

Plenty of people abuse welfare on things that are not drugs. And plenty of people do drugs that are not on welfare. This just smacks of discrimination. And it's such a sort of random thing to include on your list of assertions.

• Rehabilitate our public school system. We must remove the humanist influence in our schools and teach fact based curriculum to further the students knowledge not someone's opinion. Parents should have the option of private or home schooling if they prefer and students should be free to practice their Christian faith in the classroom.

But I don't understand. If America is founded on Christian principles, then shouldn't people be allowed to learn Christian beliefs in the classroom? Just like they should learn that America was founded for White people and we should all be so thankful that they even allow any other people into the country?

• We support a national law against the practice of homosexuality. This is a Christian nation and the Bible condemns homosexual activity and the perversion of our society which it encourages.
• We support the placing of all persons HIV positive into national hospitals. While the AIDS virus is almost inclusive to homosexuals and those not of European ancestry, many innocent people have contacted the virus. Despite the moral character of a person, the virus is still highly contagious with new and deadlier forms coming out constantly. Everyone who gets it dies! Aids carriers should receive proper medical care while a cure is being researched. This is the only way to stop the spread of the disease. They should be kept from coming into contact with uninfected people.

Two for one. If education shouldn't be related to religion, then neither should laws. And that whole thing about HIV being highly contagious and everyone who gets it dies... well, that's just plain ridiculous. Open a book sometime.

• Restoring individual freedom to Christian America. People should be allowed to hire who they want, live where they want and practice the Christian faith as they please. Likewise people should be able to sell to whom they want , rent to whom they want and socialize and conduct business with who they want. The government should not interfere with the everyday lives of white Christian Americans.

As I understand the whole constitution thing... everyone does have the right to do those things. The thing you don't have the right to do is discriminate based on color. Which I'm guessing White American's wouldn't like either.

• We support the voluntary repatriation of everyone not satisfied with living under White Christian rules of conduct back to the native lands of their people. The brightest and best minds of all races will be able to run their own affairs without outside interference. To support their efforts we should provide the financial and technological resources needed for a limited period of time in the building or rebuilding of their independent nations. After that their success or failure is totally up to them.

Kay. Thanks, I'll just go to Africa and live there. It'll be just like my life in America I'm sure.

Gotta love extremists groups. Oh Southern America.

With love
<3
Shelli

PS: just for the record, I don't support the Klan nor to I condone their actions or beliefs... anything I said that seemed in agreement... tongue in cheek. And if you agree with any of it... I really don't care. :-)

My Grown-Up Christmas List...

Sort of. I love that song, and I love any and all simple idealistic wishes for peace on earth and goodwill towards men. More than that, I love when people make real actual efforts to promote peace and are good to other men. But that's neither here nor there. This is a different kind of list.

Top 10 Christmas movies.

I love Christmas. It's my second favorite holiday, and I am pretty obsessed with it. I buy tons of gifts and decorate my apartment as though it's the white house or something. :-) Buttttt what I really love are Christmas movies. So without further ado, my top 10 list.

• 10) I'll Be Home for Christmas: Jonathan Taylor Thomas (aka everyone my age's childhood crush) is a privileged little jerk that travels across the country to try to win the affections of Jessica Biel (before Justin). Best scene: when the trucker woos his waitress lover. "Oh Marjorie! Oh baby, oh baby, oh baby!"
  

• 9) Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas. One of very few sequels I think Disney got right. Except, of course, it's not so much a sequel as a "between"-cle. Anyway, Belle discovers the angry organ and teaches him and the Beast (and the rest of the castle) the Magic of Christmas. Best scene: "As long as there's Christmas, I truly believe that hope is the greatest of the gifts we receive..." great song. Further proof that Belle is the best Disney princess ever. Plus fun new Piccolo character. hehe. One negative: Computer animation for the organ. creepy.
  

• 8) Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Yes, I chose 2 and not the original one. Both are amazing. I'm just partial to New York. I love the Plaza and the whole ordeal with the house and the ridiculous coincidence that the same creepers from the first movie happen to be in NYC at the same time Kevin is there. Best scene: the pigeon woman and her love of the opera. Priceless, and so moving. negative: nothing quite as funny as the brother in the first movie "One... b... and 4." plus no Carol of the Bells.
  

• 7) A Christmas Carol (with Patrick Stewart): I just love a Christmas Carol (although not as much as my mother, who owns 4 versions of the movie, and watches at least 9 every year), and this one is the most classic to me. Clearly Patrick Stewart is the best Scrooge ever and of course the story is the ultimate Christmas moral: don't be greedy or a creepy dementor looking thingie will threaten your life. Best scene: "Are there no jails and poorhouses?" "Some would rather die than go to those places" "Well, if they're going to die, they better go ahead and do it and decrease the surplus population." Oooooh.
  

• 6) Elf: Some people don't like Will Ferrell. They suck, I love Will Ferrell. and this is my 2nd favorite Will Ferrell role (after Stranger than Fiction). So funny, and featuring the lovely Zooey Deschanel. Another wonderful Christmas moral, and lots of hilarious one liners. The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear. I definitely believe that. :-) Best scene: tie between when he runs into the lockers in the bathroom (haha) and the Santa encounter.
  

• 5) Miracle on 34th Street (1990's version). I'm a sucker for Mara Wilson (whatever happened to her?), and for the American court system. And the guy from the Practice. Best Scene: the proposal and unseen marriage. I'm a romantic.
  

• 4) It's a Wonderful Life: If you don't love this movie, you haven't seen it. Every time I watch it, I cry. Jimmy Stewart is amazing, and the entire story is just so classic. Best scene: Of course, "every time a bell rings, and angel gets its wings." I totally believe that.
  

• 3) Christmas Vacation: So so so so funny. There's a reason it's on everyone's list of favorite Christmas movies. Chevy Chase at his best, for sure. Best scene: the rant after Chevy Chase's breakdown. One day I'm going to learn it by heart. For now, I'm just going to laugh during it. haha!
  

• 2) A Christmas Story: Ralphie!! It's like the Wonder Years, but longer and cruder. Well, it has a voiceover like the Wonder Years. Plus the boy from Toy. "He had yellow eyes!" hehe. If you haven't seen this one, then you need to stop whatever you're doing and watch it. Immediately. Best scene: meeting Santa. or Christmas dinner. Or the f dash dash dash word. Or the tongue to the pole. Or the whole movie. Whichever.
  

• 1) A Muppet Christmas Carol. BEST. MOVIE. EVER. It has everything. Kermit as Cratchit. Gonzo narrating. Rizzo the rat. Michael Caine. and singing. Soooo good. Plus my favorite Christmas tale, as I've already said. Best scene: could never choose. Buuuut I really like the sad song that randomly shows up in the middle. "And yes, some dreams come true, and yes some dreams fall through."

That was too sad to end on.

"It's true that Christmas has never put a penny in my pocket, but I believe it has done me good and will do me good, and I say God bless it!"

With love
<3
Shelli

Where Do I Go

or

"How to avoid being like our mothers."

I love my mother. We're basically best friends, and yeah sometimes she makes me crazy, but mostly I love her more than basically anyone in my life. I just wanted to add that disclaimer. I also want to remind everyone that I am 20 years old, and I am well aware that I couldn't really understand the thoughts and lives of women 20 or more years older than me.

But.

Most of our mothers aren't happy. They may be sort of happy, but they're not the over the moon, completely dizzily happy that I think most people want to be. I'm not the only one who thinks that, writers for the nytimes and various blogs have mentioned women's growing unhappiness in the past month. The question that no one really seems to be able to answer is, why?

Haven't we gotten everything we ever wanted as a woman? [Almost] equal rights, and the ability to wear what we want and do what we want. I have never felt like I can't do anything the men around me can do, and it's thanks to the pioneering women of decades before me that I haven't felt that way. Women have done basically everything a man has done, and in most cases done it just as well if not better. So what is wrong? Why are men getting happier and happier and we're going the opposite way.

Well, there are many things I could blame. X-box, which is a safe haven for boys of all ages, while there is no socially acceptable outlet for a woman's childlike behaviors. The fact that women are working as many hours or more than the men in their lives and are still being expected to take care of the children or meals or basically everything else. The destructive images being pushed to us every single day of impossible standards to live up to. No one can look like a model, follow all the tips to "make your man wild" from Cosmo, work 50 hours a week, get dinner on the table, take kids to school, and be a minx every single day.

But we've been trying. I think that's the problem. Our mothers and grandmothers fought for us to have the ability to do more than vacuum in pearls, and we don't want to let them down. At the same time, we're being told by television and advertisements and even our friends that we have to be beautiful and sexy and perfect. Plus we're in the post divorced families era of women who are desperate to make their marriages work, because we all saw only failed marriages when we were growing up.

Times are hard. But I have a few ideas of things that the twenty-somethings can do to try to be a little happier than the average woman today. Enjoy!

* Follow your heart. Cheesy, I know, but I think a lot of 80's and 90's powerhouse women got caught up in being successful and ended up in jobs and lifestyles they weren't passionate about. I tell my residents, don't think that the only thing worth doing is going to medical or law school. If you love photography, be a photographer. If you love clothes, work in retail. There are no rules about what jobs are okay, and which equal failure. Who really wants to be a pharmacist anyway? Probably some people, but probably not all of the women in pharmacy school. Do what you love.

* Talk to your mom. Or another woman in your life. Ask her what she did when she was your age, what she might do differently, what advice she has. We all have this 'do everything yourself' attitude, so we don't tap into the valuable resources that the women around us could be.

* Accept yourself as you are. I have long since gotten over the fact that I'm never going to be Jessica Alba. Most of us aren't going to be. So embrace the beautiful things about yourself. Psalms 139:14 says "I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made." You are. Never forget that.

* Take time for yourself. My mother gets her nails done once a week. I watch Glee every Wednesday. It is so crucial that everyone has something she does just for herself. To detox or to laugh or to do anything at all, if it makes you happy. You can't live for other people all of the time, and everyone deserves that alone time.

* Be realistic about your relationships. Fall in love. Don't fool yourself into believing your relationship is perfect. I firmly believe that everyone deserves the best possible love in their lives, and I think you know when the person is The One. If he's not, don't pretend like he is. You deserve someone who treats you like a princess, as cliche as that is. Being happy in a relationship and being willing to work to keep those relationships is key.

* Spend time with friends. Sex and the City had this right, I usually feel best when I'm having coffee with a few friends, or just hanging out at people's apartments making cookies. Again, no one can work all of the time.

* Don't feel guilty about your choices. Wanna know a secret? It's okay to stay at home and take care of your kids. Every woman doesn't have to have a career, and if it will make you happiest to be with someone who wants to take care of you and you can stay at home, do that. By the same token, if being in the PTA will make you crazy, don't feel guilty about working. Women are generally people pleasers but at the end of the day it's really only me and God, and I don't want to be miserable. That's not to say that women should be totally selfish...

* Give back. Whether it's through donations to a charitable cause, or volunteering at your local food bank, helping other people really really does make you feel better. Just take an hour out of your week and volunteer at a non-profit afterschool care, and I promise within two weeks you will feel a ton better.

* Don't be self-destructive. Ladies, we have to stop these habits of binge drinking and sleeping around and everything else. I think that these became the norm as a way of escaping the unhappiness that women feel sometimes, or possibly to full a hole that no one or nothing else seemed to fill, but they really just make things worse. I have never in my life met a girl who got wasted every weekend that seemed truly happy with her life. Try maybe substituting a Saturday night at the bars with a night of going to late night diners or something. I know that my average college students are rolling their eyes as they read this, but let me remind you that college doesn't last forever, but habits are hard to break. And if you're used to drowning your sorrows in jack and coke, you haven't developed a positive way to deal with them... no good.

* Don't be a victim. This is where our mother's got things right. You are strong. You are capable. Take things into your own hands sometimes, and make your life better. Maybe you hate every idea I've given, that's cool But figure out a way to make yourself happy. Decide that you don't want to turn 40 and wish that you knew what it was like to be happy.

I'm not saying you have to be perfect. Or that you can't change things in your life as you get older; of course you can. I'm only saying that we all deserve to be just as happy as the men in the world. And our generation can make that happen.

With love

Shelli

A Diamond and a Tether

Pity, take pity on me
Because I’m not have the man that I should be
Always turning to run
From the people I should not be afraid of
And darling, you should know
That I have fantasies about being alone
It’s like love is a lesson
That I can’t learn
So I make the same mistakes at each familiar turn

Chorus
I know you can’t hold out forever
Waiting on a diamond and a tether
From a boy who won’t swim
Who won’t dip his toe in
Just to keep you here with him

I’ve got this habit I abhor
When we go out, I’m always watching the door
As if there’s someone I’m going to see
Who could out do the things that you do to me

Chorus
I know you can’t hold out forever
Waiting on a diamond and a tether
From a boy who won’t fly
Who won’t take to the skies
If he thinks you’re about to say goodbye

Pity, take pity on me
Because I’m not half the man that I should be
And I don’t blame you, you’ve had enough
With all these empty promises and countless bluffs

Chorus
I know you can’t hold out forever
Waiting on a diamond and a tether
From a boy who won’t jump
When he’s falls in love
He just stands with his toes on the edge
And he waits for it to disappear again

Give Up All Desires

Hi!

Like I already said, I'm back in Alabama, and back to normal life. I left New York on July 3rd, which was super sad (but rode a plane for the first time, so that was super exciting! also, classic southern girl, never been on a plane. haha!). I seriously had the most amazing summer of my life, and cannot wait to go back next summer with Singers (!!) and again when I graduate. :-)

But back in the heart of dixie I spent the rest of my summer with my boyfriend :) and my best friends. I went to Maywood (a Christian camp I've gone to for the past 17 years) and had another incredible year there. Then I came home for about 4 days lol and then headed to the beach with my favorite girls. Thennnn I came back to the plains!!

Okay, so enough boring journal-ing. Auburn is nowhere near as exciting as New York (although I love them equally), so I will stop telling about my every activity. Instead I'll talk about Ramadan fast-a-thon!


Last week my friend Shainur (who is totally awesome) asked me if I would be interested in participating in Ramadan fast-a-thon. It's an event the Auburn Muslim Association puts on each year, and it raises money for the East Alabama Food Bank. Basically, you agree to participate for the day (that means abstaining from any food or drink, along with impure thoughts and actions and sexual activity) and someone sponsors you, then that money goes to the food bank. I agreed to participate because it seemed like a novel way to support a good cause, plus it didn't involve my buying a t-shirt. So, win.

Except it was AWFUL. I mean, half way through the day I was wondering why on earth I had agreed to this. I would close my eyes and see chocolate pies and Pringles. I was counting the seconds until 6 o'clock when I would go to the event that the AMA was hosting and get the free food. My friend Andie and I went and discovered that there were some speakers before we could get the food, which wasn't ideal seeing as we were both ready to eat our own arms.

Then the woman from the food bank started talking. And she talked about how people that you would never expect to be going without food often come to the food bank for help. She talked about how much people depend on those sources. And how important it was that we continued t support the food bank, and other endeavors that help others. I was starting to feel a little ashamed, because while I was complaining about not being able to eat during the day,my refrigerator was full of food that I eat probably too much of, and my checking account had my grocery money just waiting for me to use.

The keynote speaker was next, and although I missed the finer details of what he said because the other two women at our table apparently never learned that it's rude to talk straight through a speech in normal speaking tones, I caught the gist. He talked about how Ramadan isn't just about not eating. It's about controlling your impulses and being thankful for what you have. It's about the fact that God would never ask us to do anything that we physically couldn't do, and how blessed we are to have a God who provides for us in every way. And the fast-a-thon was about helping the people around you, just as God helps us.

Just as a disclaimer, I don't believe that we are called by God to fast. And I wholeheartedly believe that if you personally believe that, it needs to be an act between you and God, not something to boast about. Nor am I Muslim. But today did remind me how blessed I am and how thankful and humbled I need to be to serve an awesome God that cares for me.

And if you're not a Christian, I sincerely hope that you consider the blessings that you do have, and how little God asks in return from us. If nothing else, as Americans (I think most of the people who read me are American) I think we should all remember the call to action that one of our landmarks... "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Shend these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

So, yeah. That's my spill. I don't know if this made any sense, but if you get nothing else from this... be thankful for everything we are blessed with. Give back to others; it's one of the best ways to give back to the ultimate Giver. Ohh and don't be afraid to discover new cultures.

With love
<3
Shelli

PS: the title is from Hair. :-)

Alma Mater

Hi!! Yes I'm still alive and no I haven't forgotten how to blog. :-)

I'm back in semi-sweet home Alabama. I'm thrilled to be back on the plains, and even more thrilled that FOOTBALL SEASON starts tomorrow!
However, I'm also missing New York like crazy. Oh well. Missing it has been a huge motivator for me to do well in my classes so that I will get into grad school in New York and be able to move there in two years.

I'm just doing a short posting now to point out the obvious... I moved to a blogger account. Sadly. I was staying with msn because I already had an account with them and I HATE having multiple email addresses. Buttt, I ended up having to make a gmail account anyway because of the ridiculous amounts of email I get from school and the need to keep it all organized in another account. And then I decided to go ahead and switch all my blogs to blogger since it really is a better server.

And the rest is history. So all future postings will be here, and all my old one's are there too!

Later I will give a real entry, probably a non-exhaustive wrap up of my summer, lol, and ohhh, a list of reasons I lovee living in the best college town in the world! :-)

with love
<3
Shelli

7/03/09 - Bittersweet Symphony

Well, it’s my last few hours in New York City. I’m feeling pretty conflicted about it. I do miss my family and friends at home (especially Tommy) but I really don’t want to leave New York ever. :-(

This past week with kaley has been super fun, full of pictures (haha) and shopping and sightseeing. Plus two of the most amazing Broadway shows ever written. But I’ll write about all of that another day. Right now I need to pack and get ready for my flight home tomorrow morning.

Today I went to the New York Public Library one last time, and when I left a man at the door said “leaving already? Come back soon…” I almost cried at that… ridiculous, I know. But I’m already counting the days until I can move up here. Meanwhile, I’m missing Auburn, lol, so I’ll be glad to get back there.

I suppose I’ll stop rambling now and finish packing. Just wanted to let my many adoring blogfans know that I was alive. ;-)

Peace, love, and nyc. haha.

With love

<3

Shelli

6/27/09 - I'll Be There

So, I just finished what I hope is the first draft of my communications survey, yay! And to celebrate, I thought I’d update my blog. haha. I know, you’re probably thinking ‘real cool way to spend Saturday night…’ Well, yeah, it is cool and also my bestest friend Kaley will be here to spend my last week in the city with me tomorrow, sooooo I’m resting in anticipation of our busy-ness. Plus, I really need to clean my room. lol.

But, anyway, okay I can’t start my blog without mentioning Michael Jackson. I was in Washington Square Park when my mom called me and told me that he was in the hospital and reportedly not breathing. Then a few minutes later she confirmed that he had passed away. I immediately did what everyone else in the park was doing, and started texting people to see if they knew. My poor mother was practically crying (she was quite in love with him when she was in, like, middle school so it’s understandable), and I myself was in shock. We are a Michael Jackson loving family, as anyone who’s been around my house at Christmas time and heard our constant “Jackson 5 Christmas Album” playing can vouch for. So we were all pretty sad. We’ll always remember the gift that Michael gave by entertaining, and how he really did change music. Just think, without Michael Jackson there would have been no boy bands. Sad, sad. But, seriously, his music was amazing and he’ll be missed. I’m just sad that his last several years were so complicated. And I think he definitely needed a better therapist during all of those times. :-/

:-( Before this week turned horribly sad though (Farrah Fawcett… never again will the world see such perfect hair. She was such a fighter though, till the end. very sad), I was relishing the amazing time I had with Tommy here. he was here from Thursday till Monday and although we had a minor (or major, whatever) fiasco at the beginning of the trip, it all worked out and he arrived at Newark airport around 8:30. We did a lot of awesome things and I won’t bore you with every detail of his visit, lol, however I willl make a list. Surprised? lol

So, without further adieu (haha) top moments of Tommy’s visit to Manhattan. hehe.

• Dessert at Serendipity3. Sadly there were not celebrities there that night, but it was still ridiculously awesome. I think it was called Broadway… something. haha. But it was like chocolate cake and ice cream and chocolate sauce but it was like the perfect combination of everything and… you’ll just have to taste it. haha. I loved Serendipity3 anyway, it was adorable. It looked the way that I would imagine my mom’s attic looking if my dad had no say. ;-)
• Riding the Staten Island ferry. Sounds lame, yeah, but it was pretty cool. Great view of the city and it was free so win-win.
• The Museum of Natural History. The dinosaurs are legit even though my nerd boyfriend informed me that all of them except the one in the case are fake. Like, how do they know that they really look that way then? Annoying. I saw many things that reminded me of an Apologetics Press pamphlet. Kyle Butt would have been proud. haha! Anyway, it was cool.
• Seeing the clock chime noon at the zoo in Central Park! Tommy didn’t think it as nearly as cool as I did, but it was soo cute. :-) And just Central Park in general. It really is awesome.
• Lunch at Big Nick’s. Okay, so Nick’s is this hole in the wall joint on the upper west side, and the menu rivaled Cheesecake Factory’s. The food was really good and huge portions, but the best part was our server. She was a lady that look about 55 and rocked black heels (she’s a stronger woman than I am) with false eyelashes and a strong New York accent to boot. She was soo cool, haha. She kept coming by our table and saying (you’ll have to imagine my imitation of her accent) ‘you’re not ready? There’s a lot there, take your time Ill come back…” :-)
• F.A.O. Schwarz. Tom Hanks would have been proud of Tommy’s performance on the Big Piano. And the Lego statues there are a million times cooler than the ones at Toys R Us.
• wandering in the Village. We ended up at the Hudson river, after checking out Bleeker Street Records and walking past places like Cafe Wha? I love the village (as I’m sure you’ve figured out) and that was maybe my favorite part of Tommy’s visit. We also dropped into a random French pastry shop with a tiny old lady who rambled about the pastries at about a mile a minute and served us the best sweets I’ve had yet in the city. yum.
• Campbell’s Apartment. A pseudo speak easy at grand central station. It was very very cool, with dimmed lighting and faint sophisticated chatter. Someone very rich was having a wedding party there and we just chilled there with them all. haha.
• Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. Okay, well we only went about 1/2 way across, but it was still gorgeous. It started to rain while we were there (cause it rains all the time in New York. haha) and there was a fog over the city and it was just… really really awesome. One of the perfect moments of my time here. :-)

So, yeah. This time next week I’ll be back in Clay, Alabama. I’m have very mixed emotions about that. lol. Thankfully, I’ll leave right after that for my favorite place in the world, Maywood!! and I’ll be able to keep working on Psychology21C while I’m home. I’ll be fine.

Kaley arrives tomorrow. Yay! I WILL see Hair before I leave if it kills me. ughhhh. haha. and I’m auditioning for The Color Purple on Monday so wish me well. Also, I’ve been trying to upload my pictures from my whirlwind day on yesterday (which I will write about… later. possibly tomorrow. haha) for about 24 hours straight on facebook and have failed each time. Sooo what’s up with that? Could be because the internet connection sucks in this building (the downside to staying in a rustic old hotel) or because of all the middle aged people cluttering up facebook. Either way, it’s annoying. But soon enough the pictures will be there. :-)

<3

With love,

Shelli

6/24/09 - Another Rainy Day in New York

I think I’m suffering from seasonal depression disorder. :-( I’m used to 100 degree summers, not rainy, cloudy days. I knew everyone was lying that said that it go hot here in the summer. It hasn’t been over 79 degrees since I got here.

Even still, I’m dreading the day that I leave. 6 weeks seems like a long time, but its really not long enough. Now I’m definitely sure I want to live here, and I’m counting down to graduation and saving every penny I make to pay for a crappy apartment in Manhattan when I do. lol. Seriously though. People keep saying that New York is a nice place to visit, but not to live. I one hundred percent disagree with that. I think visiting New York would be miserable. Because what I love about New York isn’t the attractions (although the museums are awesome) or the crowds or the movie shootings or the tall buildings. I love the fact that there’s always something new to discover, from block to block and neighborhood to neighborhood. I love the sweet little old French ladies who run the pastry shops and the foul mouthed ones that pass you on their bicycles. I love the various styles on different people and the fact that people don’t pretend to like you when they don’t. I love the lack of confederate flags and constant smell of pretzels and roasted nuts in the air. I do love the theater, but not just Broadway, the off beat stuff too. And the jazz trios that play in Washington Square park, and how people grudgingly put up with the tourists. I love how the fog rolls over the city from the river and how the city always seems cleaner after the rain… and yet not quite clean enough. I love how the man at the bagel shop knew my order after two trips and how when celebrities do walk by, it’s not a huge deal and they just get to live their lives (not that I ever see any good celebrities lol). I love how you can pretty much wear whatever you want and no one looks at you twice. And how there are super trendy places complete with techno music and multicolored space age booths, but around the corner there are comforting diners with jukeboxes. For me, New York can be anything I want it to be, and that’s just something you don’t get many other places. Its exhilarating and inspiring and I just know that I can be one of those people who make it. Hopefully I won’t have to do it alone… but I can.

So, yeah. Only about a year and 10 months (oh, and hopefully at least one acceptance letter to a graduate program in the city) till I can pack up and begin to call myself a real New Yorker. :-) Meanwhile, I’m just going to try to enjoy my last bit of time here for now… Kaley will be here in 4 days to stay with me until I leave. yay!

Oh, and don’t think that I just hate Alabama. Let’s face it, I was never meant to be there in the first place lol. Even the people I’ve met here think that I fit in wonderfully in the city. I will miss southern accents and sweet tea and Sonic. :-)

Okay. I’ll write about my wonderful weekend with my wonderful boyfriend… later. haha, this is turning into my journal already! Oooh, two more things. 1) Got a new camera today, and its boss. I mean, okay, it’s basically my old camera, just newer. But I’m still psyched. haha. and 2) TRANSFORMERS 2: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN. Tonight. Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey, just cause I’m in New York doesn’t mean I’m not still movie obsessed. I do miss seeing them with a certain boy though… ;-)

<3

With love,

Shelli

9/17/09 - New York Minute

Suddenly it seems like my time in New York is slipping away from me faster than I’d like. 6 weeks seems like a long time, but it’s really not… it’s true what they say about a New York minute. :-( I feel really good about my research though, so that’s good. And when I get home I can go back to blogging about randomness. I feel a blog about marriage coming any day now. haha! But, for now, New York is still on my mind. :-)

Sunday was great, I came right back after church and worked on my survey a bit. I think, eventually (hopefully soon!) it’s going to be just right…ish. lol. Anyway, then Sunday evening I went and got dinner from a little hole in the wall Japanese steak house on 16th street. Mmm, it was sooo good. :-) Then I came back to the dorm and watched the last half of the Lakers-Magic nightmare. What an awful basketball game that was! But it was fun watching one last game with the guys… now we watch movies instead! haha. Last night we watched Transformers in preparation for the sequel next week (even though John won’t get to go with us… sad day). But, yeah, Tuesday the Psychology21C group had a meeting here in Rubin which was… fine. I just felt super frazzled about the whole thing, but it was definitely productive so that was great. So Tuesday afternoon I wandered a bit in the village and just chilled.

Oh, I almost forgot. Had a bit of a run-in with a man working in the food court Monday. Ugh, he was soo creepy, with his gold teeth. ick. Anyway, he just said some inappropriate things to me, so I spoke to the manager of the dining hall about it and I suppose it’s been taken care of. Still, I felt pretty unsettled over it.

Tonight I went with some people from the Church here to see the Wiz at City Theater. It was pretty good. I have friends who hated it, and yeah it did kind of feel like a high school production sometimes (and a poor one at that) but the music was good and most of the singers were good. Oh, I thought Ashanti was pretty bad though. Her vowels are just sooo spread, she sounds like she’s screaming or straining everything. I mean, she’s alright for R&B, and she sounds basically the same live, but there’s no depth to her voice and its.. just not my favorite lol. But, with the production, I feel like they were trying really hard to be innovative, but were lacking in the funds to really back up the ‘good ideas’ they had. Plus, there were so many different creative themes. Like, was it African based or urban based? Not really sure, because both elements were there and the actors didn’t really seem sure either. Everything just felt a bit forced on the creative side, at least from a production standpoint. Some of the individual talent was good though. Loved LaChanze, and the girl from Martin. Not Gina, her friend. haha. All in all, I thought it was a good experience. Especially when they did No Bad News and I was doing choreography in my head… and okay in my seat a little too. And Everybody Rejoice (I did the choreography to that one too… never mind the fact that I wasn’t in AU Singers when that song was done. haha).

I also fell in love with the Greenwich Village library this week. It’s sooo amazing. I know you’re probably thinking, ‘does Shelli do anything but go to libraries in New York.’ Well, yes I do, but when I want to look up information or work quietly I go to the library. I’ve been going uptown to the 42nd Street building (which I still love) but now that I’ve been to the neighborhood one, I think I’ve crossed over.

And reasons why I love the Greenwich Village Library are…

• It has a clock tower. A legit one, with an entire tower below it. Look up a picture of it, its awesome.
• The research materials area (and wi-fi area as well) is downstairs in like a dungeon. Seriously, there’s a wooden door down there that just looks like a maiden is being held captive behind it. Pretty cool.
• The workers there are soo nice. It really feels like a neighborhood library. And they say New Yorkers are rude. Bah. ;-)
• It’s one block from my dorm. I think that desrves to be on this list. lol
• The fiction section is upstairs in the tower part, lol, and you have to walk up stairs that go in a circle… I feel like there’s a real name for those stairs but I cannot think of it right now. But, the stairs themselves are cool but what’s cooler is the marble along the walls with a keystone boarder and carving that has a quote about law and human rights in old English script. And then, oh look, another cool wooden door. haha.

So, yeah. Oooh, broke down and bought some straight leg jeans at Urban Outfitters today. and a ridiculously cute hat, and sunglasses. hehe. I have to stop buying stuff, I’m not going to be able to bring it all home! haha

TOMORROW TOMMY WILL BE HERE!! I’m a little excited. :-)

With. love.

<3

Shelli

9/14/09 - Miss Sobriety

So, this week has been pretty awesome, as always. Monday night Allie and I went to Birdland for Cast Party. It was super awesome, there were a ridiculous number of amazingly talented people there. But the main reason we went was to see Natalie Weiss and Miranda, both of which are awesome… in their own way. haha. They performed What is this Feeling from Wicked, and were hilarious. There’s probably a video on youtube of it by now, so check it out. After they performed together they each did another song (but Miranda performed as her “real self” the amazingly talented Colleen Ballinger) and, yeah, it was so great. I didn’t get to talk to either that night which was really sad, but since I’m an expert Facebook stalker, I’ll probably get another chance to at least see Natalie. :-) But, yeah, a bunch of other people performed too and it was bacially a great night of music. Oh my goodness, and Allie and I sat with this couple that was really nice, but… I dunno, they were just like bragging about themselves the entire time we talked. “yes, I’m in Sweeney Todd” (in Jersey, like that counts. lol) “and I’m auditioning for Avenue Q, and why yes, it did take me two weeks to learn the songs, but I’m classically trained.” hehe. They were just kind of funny… in a socially awkward way.

Overall, fun night. Some other people from the Tony’s were there too, which was awesome. Gotta love running into people I know, even in New York! haha. But Tuesday I had to do some catch up work before Wednesday’s meeting, Wednesday I went downtown for another Psychology21C meeting, and then Thursday I went to the library and ended up working for a long long time on the biographical section of my survey. I got stuck on the race/ethnicity question (thanks US census bureau for that one, lol) and then on social class distinctions. Super interesting (in my opinion), but not necessarily exciting. haha. Then Thursday night I sat through the worst basketball game in my life, lol. But, seriously, it was so frustrating! Then Friday I tried to catch up on sleep again, went to Washington Square Park and read for a while (one of my favorite things to do!), and then went to the Grant Hyatt at Grand Central Station to see people from Auburn’s Chamber Choir!! They’re singing in Carnegie Hall on Sunday, which is soo awesome (how do you get to Carnegie Hall? Apparently have an awesome choir director and he’ll get you in. haha) but they got here Wednesday. So I went there and went to dinner with some of them at Juniors (yum) and then they went to see Guys and Dolls (which sadly closed today, so I won’t get to see it. Oh well… I would have liked to see Lauren Graham though).

Today was… interesting. lol. When I finally woke up it was really pretty outside so I was going to go to Central Park and chill for a bit. But then it was raining when I got out of the subway, lol, I went to a Starbucks instead and curled up with a vanilla latte. ;-) Then I trekked back to my dorm before leaving again for dinner. haha! At around 9 I met with Byron, from my dorm, and we headed out on the town. We wandered down to Bleeker Street and people watched a bit, counting the sushi bars and novelty shops (lol) we passed. Then Byron said that we should go to Times Square, cause he’s never seen it at night. I said yes, even though I don’t love Times Square (which I know I’ve said enough times in this, lol) and we headed up 7th Ave. From then on our night was hilarious. haha. So here’s my top things that happened tonight in midtown…

• We were walking down 56th when a guy calls out to Byron “hey man, can we take your girl on a tour?” which sounds a little like code for rape. As though he was gonna say ‘yeah, sure man, take her.’ lol
• In Toys R’Us I was told that I couldn’t play DDR without my shoes on, and that I could fight with the swords. Geez, they don’t want you to have any fun!
• Walking up 7th towards Central Park we passed a homeless man with a sign that says “need money for beer, drugs, and hookers… at least I’m not bulls****ing you.” hahaha, I almost gave him money, cause the sign was hilarious. But then as we passed he reaches towards me and says “YES! REAL hair!!” (… which is even funnier because my hair is so not real. lol)
• Shortly after we passed this man, a shady character in a long black coat walked past us and literally muttered “Cocaine, marijuana, check it out…” and kept walking… we both burst out laughing as soon as he passed, like, that really just happened. Soooo funny!
• On our way uptown we ended up walking behind this awkward white couple, and the male part kept drifting his hand down to the girls butt, and then he would move it back up like every few seconds. It was so so awkward, I felt a little sorry for both of them. lol. But, really, who walks like that? weird… haha.
• Passed one of those pass it on signs and it was Helen Keller. The tagline said “Could only see possibilities: foresight.” I started laughing hysterically when I saw it, and Byron told me I was a bad person. But, c’mon, that’s funny. Plus it caught me totally off guard. foresight… hehe.
• A comedy club promoter walked up to us and said “Black people,” (he was black… ish. Carribean or something. haha) “Do you want to come to a comedy club tonight? Just us n****rs, no white people.” we both started laughing, and then he turned to the white people next to us at the crosswalk and said “Do you like white people? No n****rs, at the comedy club.” Those poor people looked soooo uncomfortable, and it was so funny. The light changed so we started to walk as he cried after us “Do you want to come? $10. And there will be fried chicken…” ah, gotta love racial stereotyping. Especially since Byron almost turned around. ;-) haha.

So, yeah Fun night. haha. and now I shall sleep, I am le tired.

Ooh, I added a guest book so now anyone can leave comments I think? Try it out. ;-)

**edit: you still have to sign in to comment. lame. but I’m working on it…

5 more days till Tommy comes to visit me!! I’m sooo excited. Okay, sorry, just had to get that out for everyone to see. Cause putting in my Twitter would be so high school (or John Mayer-esq, whichever)

With love

<3

Shelli

6/8/09 - Let the Sun Shine In!

Well, this has been a crazy awesome few days. :-) I'm sorry first of all if you've asked me for details about things and I've been like "oh, I'll tell you later" and then haven't. It's just been a whirlwind lately, and today has been my first kind of "chill" day... probably because i haven't gotten very much of the work I intended to accomplish done today. Haha! I will though, don't worry.

So, lets see, when did I last write? mmm, well, Thursday morning I got up and went to Times Square. I happened across an article on, like, Broadway World or something that said that for the first time ever the Tony's were selling "student rush" tickets for the show. Student rush tickets, fyi, are usually sold right before shows for a discounted price, and only for students. It's a pretty sweet deal, and the only reason I'm getting to see any shows while I'm here haha. But, the Tony's did a lottery for the chance to buy them. So the first 200 people in line at the Times Square information center got to put their names in a bucket, and at 3 o'clock they drew about 25 names. Mind you, they didn't tell us how many tickets they were offering, which made it so much more nerve-racking! But, I stood in line for a bit (they let us in early thankfully!) and put my name in. I met some nice people in line, particularly Chad and Allie, who were super cool. :-) So we all came back later (including this really creepy old guy, ick! Like, dude, it’s a STUDENT rush. lol), the people from Rock of Ages (they were annoying) drew names… and I was one of them!!!! Ahhh, I was soo soo sooooooo excited! So, I paid my $40 dollars (great deal, the tickets are really super expensive) and got my ticket. 3rd mezzanine, 3rd aisle, seat 305. It was awesome!

Friday was super icky, so I didn’t do much. By about 10 I was in and watching a movie, lol. Saturday I got up in the, er, afternoon and went on a quest to find a dress for the Tony’s (because it was a black tie affair), just in case the dress my mom overnighted me didn’t arrive. Geez, I went through, like, the whole city and didn’t find a single thing that wasn’t ridiculously expensive until I got to my last two stops Macy’s and Lord and Taylor. At Macy’s I found a great dress, all black and slinky, and at Lord and Taylor’s I found a wrap to go with it. and the dress was only 39.99, because apparently if a dress is made in a junior’s size, it drops the price almost $200. :-) So, after that I was set.. Then I went home, walked in on my roommate in her bed with some guy, no big deal. haha, omg it was sooo mortifying!!! Seriously, it was the most awkward thing that has ever happened to me, ever! So I went and got Chinese food and went to the common area to watch tv. After a bit John, Byron, and I went to the movies to see The Hangover (soooo freaking hilarious!) and, yeah, then it was Sunday. :-)

So, gah, these always end up sooo long! I’m sorry, I’m used to journaling for myself. I’ll try to make them shorter for real after this one. haha.

Anyway, Sunday I went to church and to brunch afterwards with a few people which was really great! I’ve met sooo many cool people here, and the people from Upper West Manhattan Church of Christ are all really really nice. After brunch, though, I went home and got ready for the Tony’s! The doors opened at 6 and you had to be in your seats by 7 (unless you were rich, apparently. haha) so i caught a taxi around 6 o’clock (I was of course running late. When I got to Radio City Music Hall (!!!) I wandered over to where the red carpet was, but I didn’t try to get close because there was a line to get in. So, I went and stood in the line, and every tourist that walked past me stared at me as though I might be someone famous. lol. The line took about 20 minutes, which was fine because I got to stare at all the people around. Some of the outfits I saw were ridiculous. One girl was wearing a pink nylon wig. Really? Is that black tie to you? lol. When I finally got in the security people said no photography was allowed in the hall, which I promptly ignored. It was sooo beautiful in there, and there were about a million people in the lobby and in line for drinks. I wandered up, and up… and up to my seat (haha, it really wasn’t that bad.).

The show itself was amazing. Before the telecast, they presented the “creative arts awards,” and that part was hosted by two actors. they were really funny though, and Billy Elliot won like 6 of the awards. It was a little ridiculous lol. And right before the show there was a short clip of “rules for the audience” about when to clap and how to accept your awards and when to use the lighters they gave you.. The opening number was amazing, although I heard there were some difficulties for the tv version. That’s sad, because it was blow-your-mind awesome from our seats. Especially when the guy from Poison got knocked over by the backdrop. hehe. But, the rest of the show was just as incredible, all of the performances were great. (gotta love the Wicked shout out from the Shrek scene. lol). I really wanted Next to Normal to win best musical, but it went to Elton and the Billy’s. haha. During commercial breaks there were some commercials for coming shows (Spiderman? The Adaams Family? Really?) and for past shows (Timbuktu and Hair! hehe), plus NPH did some magic tricks for us. haha.. And a Russian guy gave away watches, but only to the rich people, which seemed a little pointless. haha. And a disembodied voice would say “we need 5 seconds of clapping, now.” before the show returned. lol. Oh, and Neil Patrick Harris rocked the last song! hahaha. I wonder how many versions of those they wrote ahead of time? Check out the video if you missed it before:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYjSwbte3G4

After the show I fought my way downstairs and saw my favorite Billy (the one with curly hair!).I told him I liked his shoes, red converse, and that he was great. he said “thank you very much.” Very polite, haha. Then I saw Yasmina Reza and told her how awesome I think her plays are. :-) And I saw Constantine from Rock of Ages (and American Idol, best season ever. haha) and said how good I thought he was… and he said I looked pretty. yay! lol. So, after that I wandered out of Radio City Music hall and ran into Chad from the student rush line. I ended up tagging along with him and Allie and some of their super cool friends to attempt to get into some after parties. We finally decided to try the Hair party, thinking we might just blend in with the young cast. But when we got to Tavern at the Green (recognize that Gossip Girl fans?) they were totally lame at the door and insisting we had tickets. So, we hovered for a little while, but eventually we (me plus a few other people. really them plus me, haha) just went to McDonalds at Times Square and got Mcflurry’s. haha!

All in all it was a completely ballin’ night! I’m pretty sure my entire life is downhill from there. I haven’t done a list in a while, so I think I’ll do one now and then let you rest your poor eyes… if you read it all. ;-)

My favorite moments of the Tony Awards 2009. ;-)

• every joke about the Hair cast being naked. Seriously, everyone made one. haha.
• Karen Olivo’s speech when she won best featured actress. It made me cry, no lie.
• the star power in general: Liza, Dolly, Angela. awesome. :-)
• after party: seeing Bette Midler. awesome
• “after party” - “look they jut got back from prom”
• Billy Elliot: holy crap those kids can dance!!!
• Aaron Tveit (from Next to Normal) and the guy from Guys and Dolls (I don’t know his name, lol) – the two best voices I heard there!!!!!!!!!! soo good!
• Kristen Chenoweth, Lauren Graham, and Audra McDonald… three women I absolutely love!! They were there. haha.
• did I mention the closing song?
• or the guy getting knocked down by the drop? lol
• just being blessed to get to be there when the lights dimmed.

Cliche, I know, but what do you expect?

“and suddenly I’m flying, flying like a bird. Like electricity, electricity sparks inside of me and I’m free!”

With love

<3

Shelli

6/3/09 - Ave Maria

My first week in New York has been absolutely amazing! Well, really first week and 1/2. I've already had some awesome experiences, and basically fallen even more in love with New York than I already was. "I've found heaven on earth...."

Anyway, like I said last Tuesday I really started the research project I'm working while I'm here. I feel like I've described it to everyone about a million times, but just in case people haven't quite gotten it yet, I'll do a brief recap. I'm working on a project called Psychology21C with some local psychologists, and it's basically a web-based project that intends to bridge the growing gap between modern technology and psychology: both as a study and as a part of everyday life. The doctors I work with are amazing, they basically let me and the other students (mostly graduate students, although one other undergrad from BU is working on it also) do what we want within the project. We each work on a specific project and they all come together for the future website. My project is about communication through modern technology and what can be considered effective within those mediums. I'm really excited about it, and hope to have the bulk of the work for the survey I'm working on finished by the time my 6 short weeks are up. But last Tuesday we all met and talked about our ideas and worked on general plans for the summer and for getting the site up and running. Our meetings are really interactive and collaborative, which is amazing. To my ends, I so far spend a lot of time reading other people's works and figuring out what has already been discovered about written communication and modern technologies (not much haha). I've been to the New York Public Library twice now and I LOVE it. haha, that's the one with the lions and its seriously the coolest place I've ever been. That could be because I love libraries so much, but it's definitely my favorite place in the city so far. lol.

Other than research (which, by the way, is mostly tedious work haha), I've had a lot of fun just wandering the city. Thursday I hung out with the doctor that basically got me this internship and her two children. We went to the Met (which was awesome, especially since I got in with her membership and got to save that $20), and to the Industrial Design museum. Ooh, and on the stairs of the Met there were real life private school girls, it was hilarious! First we went to Sarabeth's for brunch, across from Central Park, which was yummy. All in all, that was a great day, taking in some New York classics, including Grand Central Station. I bought fudge at the Grand Central Market haha. Oh, and her two kids were like the smartest kids you've ever met... probably because they're homeschooled... just sayin'. ;-)

Then Friday I got to have lunch with an old friend, Martin. He shared with me his glamorous tales as a future Broadway Star (no, seriously, look him up: Martin Landry. He's so so awesome), and made me incredibly jealous haha. Saturday I got to hang out with Kayla, who brought me delicious chocolate treats that she made. She's basically going to be a famous chef one day (she studies at the French Culinary Institute), and I'm working on inventing reasons for her to make me cakes (weddings, birthday's, etc.). We went a got Chinese food at a hole-in-the-wall joint in Chelsea and then went shopping for a bit. We went to the Family Jewels, a thrift store near the Chelsea Hotel (which neither of us understood the appeal of, btw) and had a blast looking through their clothes and patterns. We went on a grand quest for ice cream and then headed to our respective homes.

My nights last week, by the way, were filled with watching the NBA play-off's with some guys from my dorm. We would meet in the common area each night and watch the game, but Saturday we were beat to the chase by some hockey fans so we ended up going to a burger place and watching the game there (boo on the Cav's losing!). That was actually a lot of fun, despite the game itself, haha.

Sunday I went to the Upper West Manhattan Church of Christ for worship services. The congregation there was great, really friendly and diverse, and the lesson was a powerful one, all about having a relationship with God and how that relationship needs to be based on communication and trust and time invested, not on emotions. I really liked it there, and met some really nice people too.

Also, as a side note, like everyone there went to an Ivy League school. Why is everyone in this city smarter than me? haha.

and, yeah. This week has been pretty busy for me. Monday I worked really hard on my project, getting an outline of how I want it to go exactly. Then Tuesday we all met downtown to talk about the future of the project. After the meeting I went to Century 21 and was unimpressed (sorry Linnea!) so I went back to the flatiron district and shopped there instead. I actually bought something this time though, lol. Today I saw my first Broadway play (ahhhh, yay!!) Reason to be Pretty. I attempted to win the In the Heights lottery, but didn't (sadly) so I got student rush tickets to Reason instead. I really really liked it (the girl from Coyote Ugly was in it, Piper whatever...) but the rest of the audience didn't really seem to. I sat next to three young professional girls and they were really cool. One of them was apparently a reviewer and she was really angry with the management because they wouldn't let us move to the floor seats that were still empty when the show started. She said she was going to write them a terrible review because of that (or at least write terrible things about the management). But, yeah, I can totally see why it got nominated for Best Play. :-)

Tomorrow I'm going to attempt to win the chance to get tickets to the Tony's on Sunday. wish me luck! haha.

Sorry these are always so long. I just never find time to update, and when I do I want to say everything. I know, though, that people respond better to more frequent shorter updates (haha, thanks psych) so I'll try to do that from now on.

I love you all and hope everyone is having adventures of their own... hey, maybe you should start a blog?! ;-)

Oh, and by the way, you'll notice I haven't done much of the big touristy stuff yet. haha, I'm getting to it, I promise. But if you have any super awesome suggestions, leave 'em on my facebook (if we're already friends) or email me. It's a-okay to live vicariously through me!

With love

<3

Shelli

5/26/09 - Don't Stop Believin'

You know that terrible show on VH1, with that idiot girl from flavor of love? Well, it's really dumb and makes black women everywhere look bad (thanks for that), but the title is totally accurate... I LOVE NEW YORK!!! :-)

Sorry, I couldn't resist that introduction. haha. Anyway, I've now been in New York City for a total of three days and I absolutely love it. I've always said that Charleston was my favorite city in America, but clearly I was just waiting to discover New York. Sunday after my wonderful parents left me in my dorm at NYU (major props to them for driving me up here. I mean, it wasn't all fun and games, but I think flying here alone for my first time in the city would've been a bit overwhelming) I just wandered up 5th Avenue a bit, checking out the stores and the atmosphere. I ended up in the Barnes and Noble, which was so so awesome. I felt like Meg Ryan might show up around the corner any moment trashing chain stores (please let someone catch that reference...). Anyway, it was awesome and I bought a new Madeline Wickham book and then went to Washington Square Park and read for a little while. There was an adorable little boy there with his dad, and he kept running over to random people and smiling charmingly at them before his dad scooped him back up. However, no one seemed available to sell me a dime bag, which was disappointing because at least 2 novels and 3 guidebooks assured me that Washington Square Park was the place to get drugs.

**note: I don't do drugs, have never done them, and have no intention of starting. I'm just commenting on the lack of sketchy drug dealers in the park and my vague disappointment in being misled. Plus I'm joking. ;-)**

When the sun started to go down, I wandered back up 5th Avenue to Rubin, my building, and unpacked my things (only after enjoying a burger from some place with the number 9 in it. it was good, lol). I met my roommate, who I think is names Kelly. She goes to NYU, works at a bank on 5th, and is tiny, Asian, and carried Marc Jacob bags like they're nothing. She's really nice, which is a relief.

Monday I went to Au Bon Pain (who knew those existed outside of Auburn? haha) and got a muffin and coffee (eh) before embarking on my great adventure: figuring out the subway system. I think i did a pretty good job, haha. I got on one at 14th and Broadway to head to Times Square, and spent most of the afternoon hanging out in the touristy part of midtown.

And now my usual blog list, haha. I'm well aware of the fact that I am not a real "New Yorker" but I feel like I've seen enough New York based movies and television shows, and read enough New York books that I'm pretty gosh darn close to earning my New Yorker-ness. And I just didn't love times square. So here are my reasons Times Square isn't nearly as awesome as Greenwich Village. :-)

1) Greenwich Village just feels cool. Everyone is cute and looks smart, but not in an Ivy League way. And the little shops are quirky and fun.

2) Greenwich Village is like a big neighborhood. It's so much less sketchy than midtown with the random people trying to hustle you and convince you to take tours or whatever.

3) It's less overbearing. Times Square attacks you, with all its lights and noise and gimmicks. Its like Disney World condensed into like 4 blocks.

4) Times Square is filled with tourists with fanny packs. And that's just unacceptable. You're in New York people... at least pretend to be cool.

But, okay, mostly I liked Times Square too (really I meant midtown in general, all te way up to Central Park. I just call it Times Square cause its easier, and people who haven't been here can picture it). Just not as much as Greenwich Village, where I already feel at home. Anyway, I went into the M&M place, and wandered into the American Girl store (awesome) and Bergdorfs and Tiffany's. The last two were so so so awesome that for the first time in my life I really wished I was actually wealthy enough to afford places like that. Sadly that's not happening for a while, but I had the guy take out some of the Tiffany's key charms for me to look at anyway. :-)

I also wandered around and saw at least 3 of the Broadway Theaters. Eeek! I want sooo badly to see Billy Elliot, In the Heights, Wicked, and... really everything! haha. But, oh man, walking past them was awesome by it self. It makes me want to drop out of school and just audition for Broadway shows until I get in one. Alas, I'm far too sensible to do things like that. Sadly.

Then I went to Central Park and sat on a bench with a hot dog and book from The Strand (oh man, I could write a whole blog on how awesome the Strand is haha). After a while I went and visited my New York Plainsman, Alvonice, in his dorm and discovered that he lives near the Starbucks where the bomb went off Monday morning (what better way to celebrate Memorial Day than an anonymous act of violence? Go America.). There were a million secret servicy type people there playing BrickBreaker and drinking Caramel frappuccino's, so I'm thinking all is well. Thank goodness, cause I don't know what New York would do with one less Starbucks.

And, yeah. After chilling at Alvonice's dorm with some of his finance friends, I came back to Rubin and watched the Lakers lose with some fellow residents. And today I started my internship, which is an entire post on its own. Not right now though, because I need to stop. My poor fingers are cramping!

Sorry this is so long. It's okay if you didn't read the whole thing... just get this part. New York is awesome. I want to live here. But I miss my people in Alabama. Bergdorfs and Tiffany's are legit, but Greenwich Village is better than the Upper East side. ;-) Broadway theaters = one hundred percent delightful, just from the outside! My days are spent half in research and work, and half in loafing around, getting to know the city. Don't worry about me, I'm anything but "a small town girl living in a lonely world..."

<3

With love,

Shelli

5/22/09 - New York, New York!

Today marks a turning point in my blogging, haha. I'm spending my summer working on a research internship in New York City, so I'm doing the logical thing: blogging about my experiences. I think there are about 3 major reasons why people blog when they spend time away from their hometowns...

1) So they have something to do when they're lonely. Man, I don't have any friends in NYC yet. Guess I'll write about what i did for the friends I do have. And pretend that I have a life here.

2) So they don't have to keep telling people about their experiences. Oh yeah, I did go to the Empire State Building. refer to my May 30th blog entry for more details.

3) So they can make the people back home jealous. Today I will brag about all the cool things I did. or maybe lie about the things I did. Either way that cheerleader I went to high school with that's working at Applebee's this summer is going to be green with envy. :-)

haha. In all seriousness, I just want to let people know what's going on with me. I can't promise that I will blog more frequently, but it will be more like a journal-ish thing than my previous "insights of the world around me" method.

I think there might be a way to subscribe to this. So you should do that, if you can figure it out. I'm not particularly technologically savvy, so it's Greek to me.

Today was a really long day. My loving mom and dad and I all got in the rented trendy Toyota SUV and drove all the freaking way to Buffalo, NY. That's where I was born (well, not exactly, lol but close to Niagra Falls, which is where I was actually born. Not the falls themselves, but the city), and we're visiting family and old friends until Sunday. Sunday afternoon I will check into the NYU dorm that I'm staying in, on Fifth Avenue in Greenwich Village. And then I'm on my own. Yes!! I'm soooo tempted to show up and sing a chorus of Not For the Life of Me out my window.

And that's all for now. Ah, New York. If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere... ;-)

With Love,

Shelli

5/5/09 - Lovebug

I'm slowly getting better at this blogging thing. Probably because I need to be studying for finals. Oh well...

Anyway, this is my Jonas Brother's Post. I'm pretty sure every blog is required to have one, so I'm getting it over with.

I generally love hating things that other people really like. But, I'll admit I'm a sucker for most music. And I am a self-proclaimed Jonas Brothers junkie. I'm taking my 12 year old niece to see them in the fall, and I'm not sure who's more excited, her or her 20 year old aunt. haha.

But other people seem to really hate them. Most of these people seem to be males, and I think we can all see where the jealousy comes from... but otherwise I really don't understand it. So here are my top 5 reasons to embrace the Jonas Brothers... bay-bay. ;-)

1) They're adorable. All of them have matching dark hair, adn super trendy clothes like vests and skinny jeans. America loves stylish people, and the Jo Bro's have the best sylist out there. If any of my guy friends were half as put together as they are all the time... I'd probably make fun of them, but on Nick, Kevin and Joe it totally works.

2) Their songs really are wholesome. People would like to read into them all sorts of innuendo like "Oh, Burning Up is referring to being sexually excited" and crap like that... but maybe, just maybe burning up just means that they like the girl. Everything doesn't have to be overtly sexual to mean that you have a thing for someone, and every song doesn't have to be about sex... unles you're Lil Wayne.

3) We haven't had a good band of brothers in a while now. And Jo Bro's cut right to the chase by putting that fact in their name. I mean, Hanson was about 12 years ago (man I'm getting old) and before them was... what, the Brady Kids? Point is, we need another band with added drama because of the family relationships.

4) Without them there would be no competition for Zac Efron. And goodness knows every single girl ever is already crazy about him. It's good to have healthy competition, and Joe vs. Zac in a swoopy hair or rad dance moves competition would be one for the Celebrity Death Match books.

5) Did I mention they're adorable? and they're good boys. I think we've all had enough of the bad boys, right?

So, yeah. Why spend time hating what the rest of the country (at least the tweens and wanna-be tweens aka me and my friends) hath approved? And it's not like they're most peoples favorite band, or that anyone's calling them super talented. I mean, clearly they are not the next Beatles or even a new N'sync (Cause they don't dance... though if they added Efron to the mix they could probably pull it off), but that doesn't mean they can't have catchy songs that people really like.

What I'm saying is, people, back off of the Jonas Brothers! They've only got a few more years of teen stardom, and thnk of all the better things you could be doing with your brainpower... like helping me study for my Francais final. ;-)

'Cause I'm slippin' into the lava, I'm tryin-a keep from goin' under...

<3

With love,

Shelli