New York State of Mind

I was saving this title for a day when these words actually had a meaning for me.Oddly enough, that time is now.

On my way out of New York I can't think of anything else but: I belong to this place.Waking up with a smile every morning to go to a crappy job is not usual stuff. Just getting out of my bedroom and joining the flow of people to the subway, being one of them (just a little bit less rude) was a good pay back for me.

Oh baby baby it's a wild world.

This Megabus bringing me to Boston is killing me. It's doing it on purpose. The departure was on 34th street, between 11th and 12th. We jumped on and got two second floor front seats and then I realized: the driver is heading uptown. West side, of course.

As soon as we cross 81st street and we are approaching the hardcore emotional area (and I start smelling Harlem) I can't keep it together anymore.

I had managed not to cry until that moment, impressive.
Not that I actually made a scene on the bus, Patricia, so don't roll up your eyes for me. No weird faces or gasps, just tears that couldn't fit in my eyes anymore.

New York is a place that I could call home for some time and I feel incredibly blessed for this.
I had to deal with a lot of valueless, mean people, but I also got to spend time with some of the most amazing people I've ever met. People who make me wanna be a better person, people who inspire me do "more". I just wish I had the right words for you, but unfortunately I don't.
I just wish I had one more day. To tell you everything. But I ran out of time. Or maybe the time was just right.

I achieved the dream of my life, it wasn't easy, but I did it.
And you know what the song says: if I made it here, I can make it everywhere.

No matter what's next

I will always have

A sunset in Williamsburg

There is a light that never goes out

The Rockefeller Tree Lighting happened last night:

As usual, it was a hell of a mess.

Closed streets, confusing cops, a huge crowd...but this time, it was also freezing balls.

People were all so cheerful and happy to be standing in the cold for two hours that became even friendlier than usual. I was about to get killed at some point. But this is not the main story.

This year's show was starring:

-Rod Stewart (apparently famous)

-Tony Bennet (actually famous)

-Cee Lo Green (which is the last person in the world I would associate to Christmas)

-Mariah Carey (her giant boobs are now serving as Tree Ornaments)

-Somebody from American Idol

-Somebody from The Voice

-A teen Sensation in her late 30's

-Il Volo (...)

-The Muppets

-The Rockettes

-Billy Crystal (Was he Harry? Mmm, no, I think he was Sally)

-A drunk guy who was "friendly hitting" her girlfriend in front of us and then kissing her and then peeing on her feet. And then sharing a cookie. Oh, Christmas.

Give Thanks

Most amazing Thanksgiving EVER.
I know, it was the first one, but still...such a good time.
I went to see the Parade with some friends and we had a very good spot, so we were able to see pretty much everything, unknown VIP included. But not Whoopy Goldberg, damn sneaky Whoopy.

A couple of trains after we were in Williamsburg and how can you possibly get bored in the best place in the world? We went to the riverside in the industrial area and there we were: sitting on big blocks of concrete while a breathtaking sunset was displaying all its beauty.


Then we invaded the hotel kitchen and had an Italian/Mexican/American dinner and had a walk in the park..at least until a police car stopped us and ordered to get out because the park was actually closed at that time. We pretended we didn't know about it.
David Bowie was singing "Rebel rebel" in my head.

Yesterday I traveled to Darien, Connecticut, to visit Julia and her family, so I could experience a slice of "real America" and laugh my head off hanging out with Julia and her friends.
Picture the scene: we are sitting in a diner at 2:00 AM and this drunk guy is telling us about Thnksgiving lunch with his half Italian family. At some point he says something like: they were all nuns.
5 Seconds of silence, then another guy says: wait, your family is a whole bunch of nuns?
I started laughing like a pig and crying and couldn't stop for ten minutes, everything that came out his mouth was just too hilarious.

So today I had a tour of Darien and it's a beautiful place, very American, very tv show:

In the afternoon I took a train back.
As soon as I ran out of Grand Central Station: BOOM
New York City.
My heart exploded.
I'm back, bitches.

Breaking balls

I had a pretty awesome weekend.
On Saturday I went with Patricia and Vi to see Breaking Dawn part 2.
We went to the movie theater at 6:30 and the first ticket we could get was for the 9 PM show. We were told we had to line up for 2 hours if we wanted to seat all together and in nice spots.
Ok, we were feeling pretty teenager, but not that much. So in the meantime we went to a diner where I had this glorious wrap (Black beans wrap, avocado, chicken, tomatoes, bacon):

Then we agreed for a 1 hour queue, which surprisingly was full of guys, like groups of guys, not just reluctant boyfriends holding sweaty hands of some overexcited girlfriend. As soon as they let us in, the run began.
People went crazy. This is "Patricia the runner", she was the worst of all :)

In this precise moment she was asking me to stop taking pictures, but I was just accumulating evidences of the madness.

To use them against her.

Someday.

The movie was awful, of course, and we were expecting some vampiresque sex scenes that never arrived, but the guys sitting behind us provided the best commenteary throughout the movie.

It was crazy, people were actually screaming and clapping hands everytime a bad guy had his head ripped off.

In the end there is this very romantic scene when Edward and Bella are laying in the same field they were in the first movie and they're looking in each other eyes and saying meaningless shit. At some point she says: I wanna show you something.

At that point it was all so pointless that I couldn't help myself but saying out loud: Your boobs?

Maybe a little too loud.

So we started laughing histerically till the end and I couldn't really get how the movie ended.

I have to watch it again.

Not funny

Two daya ago I was on my way to Grand Central Station. So I get out of the subway at Times Square and first thing I hear is people screaming. Since I'm very curious (read: I can't do my own business) I follow the screams and see a bunch of people with Israel flags.
Facing a group of people with Palestin flags.
And police in between. Not funny.

I was really late, so I didn't stop to see what was going on and I kept walking. I was on 42nd, waiting to cross Fifth Avenue and a Chinese girl came to ask me where she could find the Public Library. So I just turned around and pointed at it, cause it was right behind her ass.

Another girl noticed us and asked me which direction to take to get to Park Avenue. I told her and felt so proud of myself that I grew 5 centimeters.
But that's not the point.
The point is that if the second girl hadn't approached me, I would have turned around to see if the first girl was going in the right way, it's something I always do.
And maybe I would have seen something really amazing.
Cause you know, Chinese girls are always very informed about what's going on.
And yesterday I checked out Twitter and saw that fucking Lea Michele was filming Glee in New York City on Sunday.
And by the picture she posted I couldn't see a lot, only a street lamp.
But I swear to God that street lamp looked like a fucking Bryant Park street lamp. Which is right behind the public library.
Not funny.

The glamourous life of NYC

The last two days have been.........................................dynamic.
 The agency I work at was running a fashion photo shoot and even if I was just partially involved, it was crazy.
One of the models was amazing and I heard she's been casted for Dolce & Gabbana.
She's 16.
God bless you.
My part in all of this was carrying steamers around Midtown

Carrying racks around Midtown:

Shooting pictures at people shooting pictures:

So tonight I'm staying in my room. Yeah, I pretend New York life is stressing me out but I'm actually staying here cause I'm broke. This city is way too expensive.
And I'm also stressed out.
But mostly broke.

So on my way home I bought a bottle of red wine to cheer me up and I have to say that after a half of it I'm pretty cheerful. I bothered my room neighbours to share the wine with me cause drinking alone looked just sad.
And then I took the longest shower of my life.
And now I'm a new person. Ready for the weekend!

Worst job in the world. AKA How I became a model

We picked the coldest day of the Century.
Cause we do like challenges.
And started walking around Times Square to shoot pictures of our clients' coats (can't name the brand).
I wasn't expecting to be a model when I woke up that morning. I barely even put make up on, because I was still half sick and all I was looking forward to was going through the day and go back to bed.

Instead, I just find myself wearing coats and striking poses, with people watching me. As if I was a model. The way I look at models when I see them shooting on the street. That mix of envy and pity, and "she's probably very stupid" look.

This shooting was supposed to take place two weeks ago. That morning, instead of my usual coffee, I had a skinny mocha. Cause that sounded appropriate. You know, saving on calories. But then I was just so frustrated by the fact that I was asked to be skinny that I got a blueberry muffin.

But, as I said, it didn't happen that day. The day we actually took these pictures I had just two wafer buiscuits for breakfast. So I was STARVING, and I was COLD, and people were STARING, and I felt like I had run out of BLANK expressions.

And the whole situation took us 4 hours, so of course as soon as I got back to the office I was overwhelmed with work to get done by the end of the day.

All in all the only good I got from this is that now I have to honor to be featured in fashion blogs for menopausal women.

Hooray.

Everybody says: Italy I love you

Well you'd be surprised by the amount of New Yorkers that want to go to Italy. Maybe because everybody here has Italian ancestors or claims to have them.
I was at a party (a house party. Without knowing whose house was that. Welcome.) and there was this girl begging me to bring her to Italy when I'll go back. But it's something I hear all the time: a guy thought that by saying -I'm from Italy - I was just "showing off". Another one told me that he would move any moment to Italy, cause it's the best place in the world. They have an ideal picture of Italy in their mind, like I had one of New York City. And none of this imaginary places really exists.

On another note: I seriously have to cut on coffee. It's not healthy.
But for those of you who are not concerned about water retention, I feel like giving some Starbucks 101 lessons.
The fact is that it's impossible to really understand what people who work at Starbucks are telling you. But since it's always the same stuff, here are some insights:

1. the very first thing they say is something like: how are you today? or What are you having today? It actually sounds like -owarydy? so in case you don't understand which one of the two options they chose, answer number 2. It's pretty acceptable to just ignore the option number one (cause they're not listening anyways). Option number 2 is what they really care about and it's always better than asking them to repeat.
2. After your order they're gonna ask you: sdl? That means -is that all? You can nod.
3. Then they'll probably ask your name, and then they'll ask you to repeat it. 
4. If they're still holding a marker and a cup and it clearly looks like you didn't move to the next step they're asking you to spell it. 
5. If your coffee is more than just a medium roast or an americano, pay attention, cause that short sound with a question mark at the end is: whip? so they wanna know if you want whip on top of your coffee or not. The answer is yes. Always.
6. Ok, they are showing you the palm of their hand, place there your money/credit card
7. In case it's a card, there's another question for you: credit or debit?
8. You're done. Enjoy your coffee.

Now, if all 8 steps take more than 50 seconds, don't be surprised if they look really annoyed.

Eight million stories out there, and they're naked

It's been a month.
Unbelievable.
It's also unbelievable that I still have to check how to to spell "unbelievable" every time.
Anyway, it's so weird to look back at when this was still a dream. "Hi I'm Chiara and my dream is living in New York City."
When I first told my friends that this was actually going to happen, everybody said the same words:
you deserve it.
I was surprised. Why would they think I deserved it? I remember being flattered,, but also confused, I really wasn't expecting them to think that about me.

Now, as I said, I've been living in New York City for a month. Do I think I deserve this? Maybe.
Do I think I'm the one who can handle it? Yes.
Now, that is shocking, ah? I never said such a thing. Like, ever in my life. But living here is tough. Especially if you are on your own. I don't think you realise it if you just visit the city for some days.

And I'm not just saying it's draining, like Milan is, for example. It's a matter of attitude. For me, pretending to be a badass all day long just to get people listen to me is very difficult. Cause I'm not that person.
I often feel like I'm too kind and vulnerable to get things done here.
And it's true that you sometimes meet very nice people around but the reason why you notice that, is that you feel it's actually out of place.
New York is demanding.
And I'm not complaining about that, I know a lot of people would kill to be in my shoes right now, but I'm telling you, there's no way to be ready for this.
I love this place, every day, no matter what, I wake up with a smile on my face. Every morning I can't wait to get out and breath. And every step I take, I make sure I am feeling it, I try to put all my weight in my legs, down to my feet, touching the sidewalk.

But here is the ugly truth: dreams are not free. 

And they certainly ain't easy. 

"So be careful what you dream, cause it might come true". I heard it a lot here.

But maybe this is what New York is about, you know.

Tv

I think we shouldn't really complain about the fact that the Italian television is populated by an evergreen fauna that is never old enough to retire. Here it's just the same.

Do you rememer Slater from the tv show Bayside school? He is now the host of a music show.

And Brian Austin Green (David in Beverly Hills)? Apart from being the luckiest man on Earth (he married Megan Fox on a day in which she had a very low self esteem) he also plays a leading role in a new tv show: wedding band.

And then there's Dawson. He doesn't own a creek anymore, but his pusher is still the same. You can tell. He is everywhere, man, everywhere. Playing always the same character: dumm, borderline Dawson doesn't have a show anymore, let's make fun of him. That's what he plays. And I feel sorry for him. Most of the times. 

By the way, did anyone else notice how that tv show was just unfortunate for everybody working in it?

 Katie Holmes sold herself to cover Tom Cruise's homosexuality and doesn't have a life anymore. 

Michelle Williams lost her boyfriend and father of her daughter.

Joshua Jackson is getting fat like a turkey for Thanksgiving.

Steps

Since the subway is partially recovering, this morning I was able to get until Wall Street and see the very South of Manhattan.
Firemen are still working very hard to get things back to normal, there's still a lot of water to pump out and there are big power generators everywhere.

So I take a few steps and get to the shore: I am facing the Statue of Liberty, where the Hudson and the East River meet. This place is very quiet, just a few runners around, New York State of Mind is playing in my head. There is a beautiful sun, there are seagulls and there is the Brooklyn Bridge and I am sitting right here:

And everything makes sense.

I can see every step that brought me here. I see the work I put in this and how much it costed me. In terms of eveything.

And I am grateful.

First of all to myself, for making it true.

And then to everybody who kept the sparkle alive, cause sometimes it was just hard.

Because now

Here I am.

The best way possible

Photo Reportage of the day:

The Flatiron Building:

Washington Square Park: 

Me at Washington Square Park feeling very Rachel Berry-ish:

Brunch in Nolita (right now at the first place in my neighborhood ranking):

Little Italy. Probably one of the worst places I've seen in New York. What a shame:

Aaaaaand after stalking every single bar from Little Italy to the West Village, I finally found a place that let me see Juventus-Inter (now I wish I didn't). With also a nice English musician who was singing literally behind my back. Right into my ears. But he had a nice accent so I forgive him. Also because he was very cool about my unfortunate comment. This is the story: I am in this bar with a Swiss girl and a Swiss-Italian guy. The singer asks about famous Swiss singers and they agree on the fact that there's none. So I find nothing better to say than: -They work, they don't sing.

Awkward. 

Awkward.

Still awkward guys, but if we all ignore it, it will just pass.

But then the singer says: -oh, thank you, what are you tryin' to say?

And I just babble something like: - no, I meant it in the best way possible. And turned back to face the TV screen and die a little inside.

Morning sickness and afternoon delight

Great.. I'm. Sick. Should have seen this coming after all the walking during the day and the sweating at night. North Pole in the office and tropical oasis in my room.
Well, I got out of work earlier cause I was going to throw up on my desk.
Let me tell you, if you have nausea this is the worst place to be. On my way to the subway I smelled fried chicken, asian cuisine, kebab and also something vaguely spicy coming from a food truck that I didn't investigate. At that point my stomach was uncomfortably squeezing.
I crawled into my bed and watched Kill Bill.
Then I watched Kill Bill 2.
Then I decided I deserved a reward for being such a good kid.

Somebody please close Urban Outfitters. Standard &Poor is tracking my cash flow and will soon downgrade me to homeless wannabe.

Soup du jour for dinner.

Concrete jungle

Yesterday was quite a mess. Empty streets were already a (desirable) memory. instead we had huge traffic and it was impossible to get on a bus. A guy pushed me to jump on the bus I was trying to get in. I was handling hot coffee that dropped all over my hand and also didn't get on the bus. I guess in times like these the stronger wins. 
The subway was not running, so I had to walk back home for 60 blocks. 
And 60 is not a random high number. From 39th to 99th street is exactly 60 blocks. Which on a normal day is fine, I mean I had done the same on Sunday. But after a day at work? Uff, kill me.

Today was just ok, I got robbed for a salad at lunch as usual and I worked my 8 hours. But on my way back I realised: I'm in New York. 

So I stopped being "ok" and started being awesome instead. (Needless to say, Hymym quote)

Some guys told me I look like Lana del Rey. Which is pretty cool. :)

A new sun rises on New York City

I don't know what people do on hurricane days. I cook tacos.

I woke up this morning and I was in a different city. I'm not sure I'll be able to explain myself. You just have to see it. You have to see the streets of New York City suddenly empty:

And trees standing on sidewalks that areactually not trees, but huge branches that were torn apart and flew on the streets until the wind let them fall and lean on something:

And then the crane on 57th:

We were so lucky here, but Downtown is a mess. I couldn't go and check by myself cause the subway is flooded. I could walk just till Times Square and there were people on the red stairs over TKTS singing "New York New York" and raising money for the Red Cross.
It was moving. And very American. 

This is exactly what I love about the US. Ok, this is also what leads to a lot of flaws. I mean this strong patriotism, when declined in other situations, is what makes them think they have this duty to rule the world.

But in different times, like today, it makes you feel part of something special. It makes you feel connected to all these people, in the very heart of this beautiful city.

We saw dramatic pictures on TV last night and more today. But nobody is really worried about New York, nobody raised a doubt about its strenght. 

Still:

This was Ground Zero. 

Quite impressive.

Scary Face

When I wrote about New Yorkers who wouldn't give up on their usual morning coffee, I was actually talking about me.
Every morning I wake up craving for coffee. Something that I never experienced before. I guess that after years of fake Italian Caffè Americano where they just add hot water to a regular espresso, I'm now in my personal American Coffee Heaven.
What a blasphemy, I can hear all of you thinking this right now.

So I barely had time to put on some clothes and glasses and then I adventured on the street. I felt like a modern Indiana Jones. I also left my window open because the wind was so strong I was curious to see if some kind of birds would fall inside.
Actually I wasn't alone, even if people around looked all kind of "out of place". I don't know if that makes sense. For example: I was walking behind a guy, he heard my footsteps and turned around, with a very scared face.
Calm down dude, I'm not the hurricane.

World War Sandy

Guys,
I hate telling you this, but you're totally overreacting. Jeez, you're stocking up on water and beer like you're supposed to pee all together non-stop for a week to fight this hurricane!.
I mean, there are neverending lines outside every single store! You're never gonna eat that stuff, in a week you're throwing away everything because you always eat outside, you're not gonna learn how to cook in one night. You are newyorkers, for God's sake, no matter what, tomorrow morning you'll be in line at Starbucks like today you were lining up at the grocery store. No hurricane is gonna prevent you from getting your usual skinny pumpkin latte half and half with just a hint of cinnamon.

Me? It was quite clear after the fire alarm that I'm not very good in emergency situation. I get super confused. I just got back from the grocery store and this is what I bought:
-a bottle of water
-2 eggplants
-1 onion
-grapes
-1 box of taco shells
-refried beans
-1 chocolate muffin
-and one candle.
I bought one freekin' green candle. What's wrong with me?

The wind outside is pretty scary at the moment, now I'm listening to the news on TV and there's the Governor of New Jersey saying we still have from 4 to 5 hours to get prepared and then nobody has to go out on the streets. The worst is gonna be tomorrow, which is just a bummer cause I had a ticket for the show Chicago on Broadway for tomorrow night.

Public transports are shutting down in 10 minutes and seeing images of Times Square completely empty is impressive. Mitt Romney is asking everybody to say a prayer for those living on the East Coast. Wow.

We'll see what happens.

Tacos and Weirdos

Yesterday night Patricia and I went to the place where the cool kids hang out: the Meatpacking District.
Since we didn't think about booking a table in any club and we weren't in Halloween costumes, we just went for a drink in a beer garden. Unfortunately it seems like having an accent means attracting every desperate guy who wants to start a conversation.
After meeting a few of them we now have a set of answers ready to go: yes, we're not from New York, Australian, Italian, I hate flying, she likes it, both Catholics, but I'm not. We work in the same place. No, we're not giving you any phone number because, let's be honest, we're never gonna answer. Oh and did I mention I have a Russian boyfriend?

There was this weird Oklahoma guy who was very disappointed by the fact that I'm not married yet, the classic Catholic who went to Medjugorje but doesn't know that the Pope lives in Italy. As I said: classic.
So this champion was asking me how I'm going to survive when I'll be back in Italy. So I said: it's not a jungle, you know, it's a Country. Oh, and did I mention I have a Russian boyfriend who's very aggressive?

When we'd had enough of this pointless conversation (actually I was enjoying myself by shocking this weirdo saying I don't believe in marriage and I don't think being 24 and not married is a shame) we stopped at an ATM and Patricia was asking me to tell her a random Russian name to make up a fake boyfriend for future harassers. Guess what: the guys who were using the ATM turn around and say: what a strange accent, where are you from?
Oh my God, really?
Australian, Italian, we were talking about my Russian, aggressive boyfriend who used to be a Hooligan.

Labels

Come on Hurricane Sandy, let's see what you can do.
I was born and raised in Val Seriana. Do your best.

(I'll just write here in brackets that today was one of those days, you know, when the last thing you wanna do is shopping cause the idea of dressing up and down just makes your body hurt. That's why I was able to spend just 80$ at Urban Outfitters and 20 more at H&M)

halloween, cakes and hurricanes

Newyorkers are very serious when it comes to Halloween. The whole city looks like a giant spiderweb and there are more pumpkins than people on the street. I swear I'm not gonna waste money on a costume.
I'll just put on excessive makeup and be like:
-you don't recognise me? I'm that character from that movie which you probably don't know because it's very independent and yes, I'm that kind of cool, intellectual girl.
Anyway people are already walking around in their costumes and for girls this basically means pulling out their inner prostitute.
Tonight I overheard a conversation:
-blablabla...the more I drink the less I'll care
-that's good, cause then the pain goes away
And I'm a hundred percent positive they were talking about those killer high heels they were wearing.
Girls are just girls.
Everywhere.
But going back to serious matters, I've been to Magnolia Bakery already twice and I feel like I need to give my opinion about this place: totally overrated.
I mean, the cupcake was just fine and the banana cake was so heavy I couldn't even eat a half of it. And that was my dinner. And I had had just a salad for lunch.  I left aside all the chocolate cream...I think this is enough to give a clear picture of the situation.

Oh, quick note: we are waiting for hurricane Sandy to hit New York City this weekend and I'm supposed to "make sure that my emergency plans are up to date" and "be ready to go".

Skinny muffin

Random thought: I never loved muffins.
I mean, I ate them, but I wasn't a fan.
That's because I never tried American muffin. And it's not like I don't know the trick, the secret weapon: butter.
In a muffin they put the same amount of butter that an Italian mum would use for two Christmas meals. For an army of relatives.
Still, I'm actually getting skinnier. God knows how. God bless America.

The outlaw

Yesterday morning I witnessed my first arrest.
I just got out of Starbucks like every morning and I was at the entrance of the subway when I saw a woman brought to a police car by two cops. With real handcuffs!
That wasn't very dramatic because one cop was still trying to get in the car when the driver decided it was time lo leave. So the cop was half-running after the car, still holding the open door.
Come on.
Not great experiences with NY cops so far. This is not the first lack of professionality I happen to notice. Actually the other cop I had to deal with was pretending to have an orgasm while I was talking to him.
I mean, what?

Central Park - Strawberry Fields

fireman

Just a proof of the fire madness going on in this hotel:

Mickey, brunch and walks

Today I met a real rude Mickey Mouse who wouldn't give me directions unless I paid him a dollar. I mean, come on Mickey, where's the magic and the wonder? You're not supposed to have a latino accent and you're certainly not sticking to Mr Walt Disney's last willings by begging dollars on the street.

I also had my first New York brunch, which was awesome but heavy, I'm not even having dinner and totally not because I'm too lazy to cook (by the way, I should consider doing something of those baby carrots I bought ages ago. Soon enough they're gonna be grown up women and walk out of my fridge to graduate). Anyway, these are Benedict Eggs with bacon:

Can you believe I still haven't done any shopping? There are so many things to do in the city I just feel 2 months won't even be enough! After brunch I checked out the Chelsea Market which was filled with Halloween decorations, there were some amazing vintage clothes, too bad they were crazy expensive.

Then I took a long, slow walk on the Highline. Loved it. I think it's a must-see in New York. Later on I also enjoyed a 2-hour cruise on a ferry boat.

But again, the high point of the weekend was walking in Central Park, I ended up in Strawberry Fields and right next to the John Lennon Memorial there were three men playing Beatles' song.
Enough for today. Weekend is over. Time to go back to reality I guess.

bad days, movies and yogurt

All in all yesterday had been an awful day.
Moreover, the girl I had to go out with, got stuck at work at the last minute and I had no back-up plans.
So I decided to go seeing this movie I had been dying to see for a long time, but wasn't out in Italy yet: The Perks of being a wallflower.
I don't know how to describe it if not like this: awesome.
Apart from the ticket price (14$) and the girl next to me who was really.......participating to the emotions, this movie was great.
I will write down the final speech cause I find it very true and inspirational and I was crying like a monkey at that point so I couldn't get everything:

"Because I know there are people who say all these things don’t happen. And there are people who forget what it’s like to be 16 when they turn 17. I know these will all be stories someday. And our pictures will become old photographs. We’ll all become somebody’s mom or dad. But right now these moments are not stories. This is happening, I am here and I am looking at her. And she is so beautiful. I can see it. This one moment when you know you’re not a sad story. You are alive, and you stand up and see the lights on the buildings and everything that makes you wonder. And you’re listening to that song and that drive with the people you love most in this world. And in this moment I swear, we are infinite.”

So I saved my night, ans decided to reward myself with this beauty: It's raspberry and mango frozen yogurt with Oreos, pineapples, strawberries and some creamy chocolate cereals....whaaaat?

Fire, stairs and bad choices

What about a fire alarm that breaks out in the middle of the night?
I woke up after nearly ten minutes that this sound was disturbing my sleep, and I realizaed I was sweating like a pig. So I imagined there actually was some fire, from a bonfire to some fireworks. Something that could explain all of that sweat.
I opened my bedroom door and there were surprised people staring at each other, trying to understand if it was really the case to run down 7 floors.
I didn't hesitate, I prefer some jogging to burning flesh.

Now, you know how you always give perfectly reasonable answers when they ask you: -What would you save from your burning house?
Yeah, forget it. You're lying. I, for instance, just had the inspiration to put on pants and take the room key. That's it. I would love to say I saved my pc, or my iPad or some romantic photographies or at least take a blanket not to get frozen in the night like Leonardo Di Caprio in the ocean.

So I followed everybody down the stairs just to reach the lobby and find out there was actually no fire. I was still half asleep, but awake enough to complain about the false alarm: -are you kidding me?   Just tell me there were at least some students baking marshmallows under the smoke detecting device.

No way. I just climbed back those seven floors (nobody really felt safe enough to use the elevator) and heard a guy saying: I took my Passport with me, at least I could have stayed in the US.

Right. The Passport next time, Chiara.

Rain and bags

It is raining in New York.
And of course I didn't bring the umbrella with me at work.
And of course if you're smoking you can't walk by the buildings in search of some roof shelter (not that there are so many roofs anyways).
But at some point I'm just so wet that I think: come on, it's not that they're gonna kill you!
.......................
At least not for this.

But the fun part is that nobody knows me here, so, hypothetically speaking, I could walk around with a plastic bag on my head with just two holes on the front to see where I'm going and be just fine. Just like a real business girl.
Hypothetically speaking.

The outfit

So I had dinner in my room this evening, (baby carrots, a bagel and blueberries) and I wanted to smoke a cigarette afterwards.
But to do that I need to go 7 floors down and exit the hotel. I didn't want to dress up, so I just put a sweatshirt over my pyjamas, put on Ugg boots and a scarf and I was ready to go.
Damn. I barely met two people since I'm here, of course I was gonna bump into every single guest of this shitty hotel just at that moment.
I counted 11 people, a whole Peruvian family included.
Plus an awkward moment when a guy stepped into the elevator in 4th floor.
I will never make friends in here.

Hello New York

A blog.
Lame.
Who writes a blog anymore? It's just me and the girl from Awkard.
But I figured one day I would have been happy to read about this time in New York City, and I didn't want to be "the-sad-girl-who-writes-in-her-diary", so instead everybody will see me touching my iPad and think I'm doing something cool.
Which I'm not.

Everything started with a scary flight. Of course. I will avoid comments on the useleseness of a drug called Lexotan and jump right to the fun part when I was finally able to see holy land from the plane window. I confess two tears fell down my eyes as I first saw New York down there.
Just two. Cause then a doubt hit me. Maybe I was just staring at freakin' New Jersey.
So maybe I was wasting all these emotions on "pretty much New York" (right, I'm quoting Ted Mosby".

I will try to sum up my first two days in New York. I've already seen a bunch of things (and spent a shitload of money) but the one thing that I instantly loved was Central Park. It's the first place I visited yesterday morning cause I live quite next to it. I was actually the only one who wasn't running or taking a dog out, I was just the smiling one. I couldn't stop doing it. So the first official words I got from a New Yorker were: -Morning gorgeous. And I'm pretty satisfied about that. :)

Last night I went up to the Top of the Rocks but I forgot my camera home so  I've got nothing to show here. And today I climbed the Empire State Building and visited the Moma. All by myself (thanks Celine Dion). Everybody is really surprised that I'm alone here cause when I do touristic stuff nobody expects a young girl to travel by herself.
Today I had lunch at Bryant Park and it was lovely, I bought some food around and put together a 9  Euros meal which was really good.