What Holiday Is It?

I posted about a month ago on the day after Halloween about the bizarre weather.  We had snow for Halloween.  It was nuts.  The holiday seemed to be all mixed up.  However, that was the work of Mother Nature, not the work of people.  People didn't go and dump snow on the ground outside.  People are, though, dumping Christmas ribbons, lanterns, decorations and the like on stuff.  Already.

Every year, people complain that the "holiday cheer" starts to be spread earlier and earlier, and I think they are right.  I took these photographs in Bryant Park this past Thursday, a full week before Thanksgiving.  The ice skating rink and Christmas market are set up, and open for business.  It's nuts.  Pumpkins decorate the park, and so do pinecones and bows.  So... has Thanksgiving become Christmagiving?  Are we skipping over the turkey and the gravy?  Don't get me wrong- I love the winter holiday season.  I celebrate Christmas, and it's one of my favourite parts of the year.  But, it is hilarious to see the mix of seasons decorating one place, to me.

The first photograph is actually from a store window in Grand Central Station, but I thought it summarized my point pretty clearly. Thus, it was included.

And, to sum it up...

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Halloween

The weather in New York City has made all kinds of no sense lately.  A few very short weeks ago, I was still wearing sundresses, sandals, sunglasses and straw hats.  Now, I'm bundled up like that kid from "A Christmas Story," trundling down the street like a kind of marshmallow Michelin-man.  

It's cold.  And, it snowed!  The day before, I was an unbeliever.  I thought that the weathermen had gone bonkers.  It was two days before Halloween there was no way in hell that it was going to snow.  That just doesn't happen here.  I've lived in this region of the world all of my life, and I had never seen that occur.  

There was just no way.

I mean, well, except for that way.  The one in that photograph.  That is my subway station, well, not mine per se, but the subway station at which I generally board a train when I'm coming from my home.  This photograph was taken on October 29, 2011.  Yeah.  Ridiculous.

Like, seriously, what the hell?  This weather has me feeling all Christmassy.  Christmas-like?  In the Christmas spirit.

Christmas in October-

Deck the halls with snowy train tracks

Fa-la-la-la-la La-la-la-la

MTA gives you no real facts

Fa-la-la-la-la La-la-la-la

Sidewalks with deceptive puddles

Fa-la-la La-la-la La La La

Trains are down, take the free shuttles

Fa-la-la-la-la La-la-la-la

Brrrrrrr.  Really?

Look at that traffic, and how it's affected by the snow/sleet/wintry mix/ hellish unfairness that's falling from the sky!  You can see how deep of a puddle the white van is in-  check out the splash it's creating!  On a completely unrelated note, I love that lady's umbrella.

The photograph directly above is my favourite one of this snowy bunch.  I already shared it on Facebook.  I love the lion statue- there are two of them, one on each side of the gate, guarding the big house on the corner.  So lovely.  I want to live in a fortress guarded by lion statues.  Not just a beautiful Brooklyn home, specifically a fortress.  But, I'll settle for a house.  If I have to.

PS.  Sorry for the lack of posts last week.  I only put stuff up twice, and neither post contained my photographs.  I was busy.  This week I'll be better about it :)

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

A New Day

Due to the fact that I am now once again employed (yay!),

I'd like to announce that after today, I will now just be updating this blog on

TUESDAYS, THURSDAYS and SATURDAYS.

I will try to consistently post on each day.

Finding quality photographs and article content, as well as making what I had compiled interesting to the point where I was proud of it, had become increasingly difficult for me.  I was putting out material very irregularly, and feeling like a lot of it was just totally rushed, and slapped together, instead of nicely done. I wish I had the luxury to spend an hour each day editing photographs and writing an article, but sadly, I do not.  So, there will be, in theory, "fewer" posts, but they will be consistent.

Look  for the next post Tuesday morning at 9am est.

(Look at that sun shining through the clouds!  It is such a sign of optimism and a new start!  And... yeah.  It's pretty.)

(Also, take a look at this adorable couple snuggling with a parasol under a pink, flowering tree in Central Park.  Can you get a better omen than this?  Obviously, I am making a thoroughly good decision here.)

Thank you so much everyone for all of your support and feedback.  I always appreciate it!

~Emily

Brooklyn and Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Nunchuks and Such

These photographs were taken in the China area of Epcot, in Walt Disney World!  Danny and I are both big fans of Chinese culture.  Well, we can kind of claim that.  We've never been there.  We don't have any really close friends who are Chinese.  But, we do hang out in Chinatown a lot.  We both love dumplings and could probably survive off of just them and stir-fried vegetables.  Danny does martial arts and likes Bruce Lee.  However, we've never been there, so I don't really know much about the culture.  I do love what I know, though!

I know that I like pandas.  They are cute, vicious, endangered, and not actually bears.  They also look absolutely adorable on umbrellas.  It started raining the day that we visited Epcot, and there is a part of me that is still having shoppers remorse for not having bought this gem of an accessory.  But, in New York, I probably would have just been labeled as a teenage Harajuku girl wannabe.  Honestly, I do want to be that, but I'm generally more discreet than a giant panda umbrella.

I also know that the movie "Mulan," is set in China.  It is based off of... a Chinese legend?  I think?  I'm pretty sure she wasn't completely real.  Though, I might be wrong.  In any case, I seriously doubt that she had a talking dragon.  And, as funny as he is, I know he didn't sound like Eddie Murphy.  First off, he would have spoken Chinese.  Don't think Eddie Murphy speaks Chinese.  

Check out how beautiful that Mulan is!  She was lovely.  Talked in quotes from the movie and everything.  She was also very gracious to everyone who came up to her in a way that wasn't totally fake- a lot of the character actors around the park were extremely facetious, and overly spunky.  It made them slightly unpleasant at times. 

OK then, back to China.  Nunchuks.  I associate China with nunchucks.  Like these dandy little foam ones:

So fun!  Grr, I'm about to whack the crap out of those puppets... no not really.  I have no idea how to use nunchuks.  I'd just swing them around a lot and make angry noises.  I'm obviously super effective.

You know, it's weird.  I feel better about how I look in the nunchuck photograph than the one of Mulan and me.  It took me a while to figure out exactly why that is, but I think I've nailed it.  In the nunchuk pose, I'm not trying to be pretty or attractive.  I'm attempting to be quite the opposite, in fact.  Thus, there is no pressure to look particularly good.  I can be goofy and have face dimples and eye creases, and it doesn't matter because I'm pulling a Tina Fey and ignoring the fact that I could be potentially pretty for the sake of humor.  Not that I think I'm as pretty as Tina Fey, but you get my message.

Oh!  And now, for two more things I associate with China, quickly, as this post has gotten a big lengthy.

Gorgeous patterns with red and gold in them.  Those seem Chinese to me.

Also, the clay soldiers.  Those ones are Chinese, for certain.  I know I'm right on with this one.

As a closer- I hope I didn't offend anyone with my assumptions about what is Chinese.  Really, I tailored this to the photographs I happened to take while in Disney World.  I know quite a bit about Chinese history and culture from books and such... but I haven't experienced it.  If you feel like I have to, I would not be opposed to a trip there.  Especially if it was paid for.  

Anyone want to pay for me to go?  Anyone?

... alright then.  :)

Walt Disney World, Florida, USA

An Umbrella Story

 

One of the wonderful things about living in New York City, is possessing the knowledge that you can do whatever you want.  Now, not quite whatever.  Some things are illegal and a lot of things are out of your price range.  But, if it's legal and cheap, you can do just about anything, anywhere.  No one will question you.  I've walked down the street wearing crazy costumes, trying to get into character before an acting class, and no one has said anything.  I've passed insanely famous celebrities on the street, sat next to them in restaurants, and even been in classes with them.  No one says anything.  

New Yorkers are way too cool. 

This means that, for example, you want to have an umbrella fight in the middle of the street, no one will say anything.  It's a free pass for fun.

The people pictured are my boyfriend, Daniel Garrison, my friend, Rob New, and me!  The photos I'm in were taken by Rob.  The first bunch of pictures were taken in Chinatown, the next couple in the East Village, and the last bunch on the Williamsburg Bridge.

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

The Crowd

 

When we first arrived at Sea World, we were shocked by how few people were in the park.  Granted, it was a thursday, not a weekend, and many of the schools in the area had just started, but it was a lovely day outside, and well, we just expected it to be really crowded.  Oh, and we had initially planned to show up around ten when it opened, but didn't end up making it there til more like eleven thirty, because I was a little bit slow getting ready and then, we missed our exit.  Anywho, it looked like there was pretty much no one there.  One of the first things we did was go and get some lunch in one of the restaurants.  As we were digging into our massive and totally delicious taco salad bowl (one of those ones with the shell and everything) a huge group of people started coming our way.  What I mean by huge, is the size of the town where I grew up.  Turns out that everyone had been in the Shamu show since we had arrived at  the park.  Here they are!

San Antonio, Texas, USA

Happiness

Because nothing in the world could possibly make me happier than a giant, pink, inflatable dolphin on the Coney Island Boardwalk.

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

If you  were filled with happiness because of this post, check out When You Wish Upon a Star.