Let freedom ring!

Tonight's going to be a quick one because I'm exhausted, as usual. Hmmm...I see a trend starting.

Anyway, just an update on what happened today. I slept in this morning which was nice and then joined a group of Comms students to visit Grant's Tomb, which is just across the street from the I-House. It was really cool and our tour guide was super dramatic...New York acting. :o)

After that, a group of us went to a play called The Complete Works of William Shakespeare [abridged]. Anthony Strike was able to get some free tickets from work because the director of the play works in his office. Directing on the side is just a hobby. So Anthony, Laurel, Lyndsey, Meridith, Brittany Karford and myself, went to the play. It was done completely by three guys and it was modernized and shortened. It was really funny.

In the afternoon/evening we met up with a group of students to go walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Long story short, we got split up into a bunch of different groups and all ended up going different ways. Lyndsey and I were in different groups, but since I don't have a digital camera and it's usually hers that I get the pictures from, I've included some below. My favorites are the skyline pictures.

My favorite part was seeing the Statue of Liberty from the bridge. That's the thing I care about seeing the most while I'm in New York. Although we haven't been close up yet, it was awesome to see her. I was saw her just after the sun had gone down, so I could see her all lit up and the torch lit. It was AWESOME! I can't wait to make it to the island.

Anyway, the pictures are pretty self explanatory tonight, so I'm just going to stack them all together. The city views are on the bridge in the direction of Brooklyn facing Manhattan. Enjoy!

-mk




This one is my favorite! Check out the rays!

A view of Manhattan from the Brooklyn side of the bridge

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Ya know, it's weird. In the US we celebrate Cinco de Mayo as a Mexican holiday, but oddly enough they don't. Few people actually know what it is, often confusing it for Mexico's Independence Day which is September 16th. May 5th was the day that the Mexicans defeated the French at the Battle of Puebla. Don't worry, I'm not like ridiculously smart or obsessed with it all...I just Googled it. I was thinking about it today actually...since it's my little sister's birthday (Happy Birthday, MiCayla!!)...while I was doing some media research on Google, and I noticed that they didn't do one of their traditional holiday like designs on the Google homepage. So, I looked it up. I knew that Americans always had it backwards, but I couldn't remember what the day really was. Don't worry, all you who are now feeling chastened by this new found knowledge...I too, like all the rest of the American world, celebrate Cinco de Mayo. It's just another excuse to enjoy some fabulous Mexican food. Who WOULDN'T want to celebrate?!

Things were good at work today but got a little slow. No one had anything for us to do and they all just keep saying to enjoy the calm before the storm. So, we'll see what ends up happening.

After work I met up with a large group of fellow BYU Interns...about 20 actually...to go to free Friday nights at the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art). Edvard Munch's paintings were the featured exhibit (the guy who did Scream). There were some INTERESTING things there and some rather creepy to be honest. I wasn't a fan of his style, but we did see some pretty cool abstract art. Van Gogh's Starry Night was also on display. It was the first thing we tried to take a picture of (because you could photograph most of the exhibits without a flash). Apparently I stood too close and didn't even think about it. The security guy starting yelling at me about being too close. Let me just say that those security guys are possibly the most unfriendly people I've ever met. I mean, I understand that these things are precious and important, but some people...like myself...just don't know, ya know? A simple, "I'm sorry ma'am but we are required to ask you to stand further away from the art" would have done. :o) Too used to Utah, I suppose. One of my most favorite paintings was this one of the United States. You'll see pictures of it below, but it was cool.

After the MoMA the oversized group of us went in search of a Cinco de Mayo feast. During my lunch break today I discovered a Chipotle very nearby. For those of you who have not taken the time to visit a Chipotle restaurant (if you can call it that...it's more like Cafe Rio like dining) then you're missing out. I highly recommend it! My first experience with it was in California when my entire Zone went to Chipotle's training day. At each store, a day or two before they open, they give free food for about 2 or 3 hours in order to give their employees training on how to make the food and use the register. They don't advertise the event so you have to just hear about it by word of mouth. They also give out a lot of free goodies like T-shirts, magnets, etc. All they ask is for your patience and that you give feedback about the product. It's FABULOUS! Anyway, Chipotle was perfect tonight for our large group, because you stand in line to order and then sit down wherever you please, to eat. That avoided the hour+ long wait that we would have endured at any formal Mexican restaurant.

From there we split into about three different groups. Some went dancing, others went to see MI: III (something I really wanted to do, but not for $9.50 when I can wait 7 weeks and see it in Provo for much less, if not a dollar), and then the rest of us decided to go home. On our way home though we decided to go and see bubble boy David Blaine. For those of you who haven't heard about him, you can visit some of these sites to find out more...he's crazy! You can find more pictures and articles by going to Google and searching David Blaine.

Daily_Telegragh
ABC
CTV

He's stationed at the Lincoln Center which is just across the street from the Manhattan Temple, so I got to see both places at once! We have church in the same building as the temple, so I'll get to see that a little better Sunday, as well as when I make it to the temple next week. Anyway, seeing Blaine it was crazy stuff. There was a show that got out in the Opera House around 10:30pm (the buildling you see behind the bubble in this picture) when we were at the Lincoln Center and literally hundreds of people lined the House's balconies to look out on the crowd and David Blaine because the entire front wall of the House is made of windows. It was crazy to look at them looking down at all of us and to see how many people this is attacting. I saw a video earlier about how Kelly Ripa even getting in the tank with him for a little while to do an interview. It's nuts!

Anyway, I'm off to bed. I get to sleep in tomorrow (yeah!!) and I got DaVinci Code today, so I'm going to start on that. I hope you're all doing well. Feel free to comment, make requests or give suggestions on places to visit! Love you, all!

-mk



Lyndsey, myself and Taylor Simmons on the MoMA escalator.

Me and Starry Night just before I got yelled at by a security guard. You can see him in the corner of my picture as he watches to see how close I get...

Yeah, Texas!

Yeah, New York!

Lyndsey practiced how to use sephia on her camera while Taylor and I patiently attempted a "cute picture" at Lyndsey's request. How'd we do? Ignore the fact that it's blurry...we can't control that. :o)

A beautiful view from the MoMA.

Lyndsey, Angela and Taylor in front of the Empire State building after dinner at Chipotle. The Empire State building is Lyndsey's favorite building so I'm sure you'll see lots of those pictures throughout the New York trip.

Brittany, John, Jacob, me and Lyndsey waiting in line to see David Blaine. If you look carefully you can see the bubble behind us. The line was long but went quick. We only waited about 15 minutes.

The setup.

Lyndsey and David's shoes...WEIRD! Have you ever slept in a bubble full of water? I can't imagine it's very comfortable.

The side of Brittany's head and a view of the bubble lit up at night.

Saag....mmm

I'm gonna make it short tonight because I'm EXHAUSTED! Last night I was up too late and then this morning up too early. Then working from 9-6pm and partying until 10pm while lugging around 10 extra pounds of stuff from the store and a work bag will wear you out!

Anyway, today was a much better day at work. Melissa and I got to know each other a little better too, so that helped. This morning I did some media research and then things slowed down after lunch...until about 45 minutes before it was time to leave. Unfortunately however, all the projects that kept coming in were going to take a lot of time. But, we got a pretty good jump on it for now.

After work I met up with Lyndsey, Laurel and Meridith for dinner. We were going to go to this hole in the wall Thai place that Laurel went to once in Times Square but she couldn't find it. Lyndsey decided she wasn't hungry enough and wanted to go to bed, so she went home while the rest of us hunted like scavengers. We decided on this Indian place called Malika where I ordered this AWESOME shrimp saag and cheese naan. YUM!

Anyway, it's getting late and I'm exhausted from today. I'll post pictures later of Times Square and Laurel at the Indian restaurant cause I didn't have a camera to take one of myself. :o)

Hope you're all doing well! I love and miss you all!

-mk


Lyndsey & Meridith enjoy Times Square.



Laurel, Meridith & Lyndsey in front of the MTV studio in Times Square.


Laurel in Times Square.


Meridith sneaks a picture with Spiderman in Times Square. This way was easier and cheaper than the 5 bucks he and his bouncer were trying to charge for pictures.


Laurel's first Indian food experience -- YUM! It was a success.

And so it begins....

MONDAY I arrived in NYC for my first ever New York experience. I flew into LaGuardia with my friend Laurel and we caught a taxi to the International House. We met up with some of our fellow comms buddies and picked up a new friend on the way. Her name is Meridith and she's an artist, here in NYC for an illustration internship...or two. She's great fun! That night a group of us went to Times Square where I found the plethora of advertisments mind boggling and decided it must be an advertiser's dream...and nightmare! They were all so creative! We ate dinner at Bubba Gump's and then headed back to the I-House to attempt to catch some zzzz's. The loudly beeping fire alarm didn't help much with that (it needs to finish being connected) but they keep promising to fix it....

TUESDAY I learned that ear plugs work miracles and I actually slept through the night. :o) We had an orientation with I-House management and the other BYU students before heading off to go master the subway system and find our jobs. On our journey, Meridith, Lyndsey, Laurel and I came across a few treasures.

Lyndsey found her favorite building (the Empire State Building) conviniently located just a few blocks from my office. We also found my favorite treat....SMOOTHIE KING! Gosh how I miss that place with its Caribbean Way with pineapple. Yum! We also saw Grand Central Station and I couldn't believe how big it was inside, although I'm sure the picture I included doesn't do it any justice.

We went to Kmart, a place I never thought I would love so dearly, and picked up some cleaning supplies and other miscellaneous items. We returned to I-House and cleaned everything up. My room smelt, felt and looked nice and began to feel like the mini little home that it is. :o) I'll post pics tomorrow. I went to McDonald's for dinner with Laurel, Lyndsey, Anthony and Brittany which was fun...we felt like kids, again!

TODAY was my first day at Alan Taylor Communications (ATC), where I learned that the early bird gets the worm. It wasn't a fun lesson to learn, but hopefully things will iron out over time.

I met everyone in the office, which seems like it's close to 60 people, maybe more so there's no way I'll remember everyone's names but it's the thought that counts, right? Jennifer, one of the assistant account executives (AAE) at the office took me to lunch at a little cafe across the street from Madison Square Garden, which is really actually round...go figure! I did some research for her today too and looked up celebs that people associate with New York. It's for a MasterCard campaign, which is one of my accounts, so that's exciting! I'd share the other two except for I won't know what they are until tomorrow when I get back to work. So, watch for tomorrow's blog entry. :o)

-mk

Pictures:


Lyndsey with the Empire State Building and the original Macy's where they do the Thanksgiving Day parade...how cool is that! And I work right down the street from it!



Me in front of the sign of my new office. Alan Taylor is on the 6th floor, but since I wasn't dressed to impress, the sign was going to have to do. :o)


SMOOTHIE KING!!! (need I say more?)


Grand Central Station in all its massive glory. In this picture, from left to right (new found friend--Melissa Bimbel, Laurel Matsuda, Lyndsey Payzant and me)