New York: Day ??? (part 1)

I don't know what day it is anymore.

I basically missed a week and a half's worth of blogging.

(I have been in NYC for over a month now, though! Time flies so quickly!)

I blame two things: the intense heat and the week-long blah I've been having.

It's been around 32~35 degrees Celsius (86~95 F) most of the day, and Brittany Hall has NO AIR CONDITIONING. When I wake up in the morning, I end up drenched in my own sweat, like someone pushed me in a swimming pool. Also, did I mention our windows barely open and we have very poor ventilation?

It's gotten so bad that I've taken my stuff to sleep in the Brittany Hall "cooling stations", a.k.a the only parts of the building that ever has AC. And let me tell you, it's a freaking refugee camp every night. It's a first-come-first-serve, so people start making their beds early. There aren't enough cots, so people drag their mattresses along. Some (like me right now) sleep on sofas. Other poor saps sleep on the FLOOR. IT'S WAR!!!

And about the week-long blah... I had some stuff happen that stressed me out and the pressure caused me not to do anything. It's a bad habit, I know. I still haven't figured out how to deal with stressful situations properly.

While it would be nice to update everything that I missed, I know that 1) No one cares THAT much, 2) It takes too long and I'd be tired of it. So I'll try to do a short (ish) summary of each.

Day 31 (June 26):

Had an interview with BNP Paribas Economists Julia Coronado and Tim Bitzberger at the NY branch of the Korean Bank. It was a lunchtime seminar-type interview, so there was plenty of cold-cut subs, fruits, and drinks.

After the interview, all the journalists stayed and devoured the food. Mr. Yoo even took some subs to eat at home, and also gave me some, saying "There's no one else to look after you when you live alone. You need to look after yourself". I learned that no matter how old you are, you will make the most out of free food, even at the cost of your dignity.

(And apparently, the economists' opinions were not that great, because when I showed Robert the interview transcript he provided a college-essay level rant about why their arguments were wrong, and ended it with an angry 'Fuck you'. Twice.)



Day 33 (June 28): Central Park, Part 2 and cupcakes.

Made a short trip to the northern end of Central Park. It was still too hot, so the trip was very short.

After the park trip, I decided to walk into a Bloomingdale's, which I looked around since I've never been there. Brand-tastic. I almost felt self-conscious walking around in shabby civilian clothes. I also went to the Magnolia Bakery, where I got a nice cupcake.

Magnolia Bakery.

Coffee and cupcake. Note the glitter on the icing. The cupcake tasted good.

Fancypants store.

Day 35 (June 30): Lower Manhattan and Miscellaneous


Walked around lower Manhattan with the plan to go to Brooklyn Bridge and walk there, but...

It was still too hot. So fuck that plan. I just stuck to touring while staying in the shades as much as possible.

Next time, Bridge, next time...

OWS information booth... of sorts.

Aaaand Wall Street.

Part 2 coming up!