Goodnight, sleep tight...

I really like this moderate summer thing... Turns out when it's not 97 degrees or rainy, the outdoors can be quite nice this time of year! Today's events included reading in Central Park, an hour-long walk through Fort Tryon Park and the Cloisters (5 minutes from my apartment!), and journal writing on my balcony (read: fire escape). Beautiful skies and sun and breezes... I could use a few more weeks of nothing to do but enjoy days like these!

And indeed, enjoying days like these means I'm finally over the initial relocation stress. I'm sure there will be recurring bouts, like when I go to pay rent and things like that, but for now I'm settled and at peace and enjoying New York again. A good mental space to be in considering I may or may not have a leaking fridge (it's been good for the past 24 hours; I may have fixed it...), a cockroach or two (no big thing, it's New York), and... bedbugs.

I really hope I don't have bedbugs. I really hope my itchy, eaten-up legs are from the outdoors (doubtful as I've not had much contact with it lately because of aforementioned weather issues) or an unexpected reaction to my regular bath products or a newly acquired allergy to my own sweat or anything that doesn't require an exterminator. I really hope I don't have bedbugs.

My "last week of freedom" is looking to be a very busy one... breakfast with Sally tomorrow (PS she is the best possible friend one could have in this city--day visits, evenings of food and drink and game, fun restaurant recs, psychological support from a fellow transplant), dinner with Tork Tuesday, Meghan comes Wednesday (!!!), and sometime this week I would like to get into my school to meet my principal and unload Round 1 of materials... Still haven't decided on the most efficient way to get a tub full of instruments and a too-heavy box of books to the Bronx...

Love, hugs, and bedbugless thoughts!
Kate =)

Tidbits

I have a NY state driver's license! Not that I'll ever need it to operate a vehicle in this state...

How do I know if I have a spider bite and what actions can I take to remedy it?

Headlines on a Memorial Wall for Michael Jackson in Harlem:
We are the World!
We love you Michael!
RIP MJ
Buy Tshirts!!

My brother is now a college student. What?

Best possible email communication to receive from Dr. Paul Torkelson:
Ok. Maybe Moroccan. I'll see. Dr. T

Russell Brand may or may not be my new celebrity crush... Unconventionally styled and wildly inappropriate? Perhaps. Frickin' brilliant? Absolutely.

I live next door to the largest dog I've ever seen. Like, so-large-he-might-as-well-be-the-sole-tenant large. Fantastic.

I <3 music educators and music education!

=) Kate

I get paid for this??

Training. Is. Awesome.

5 days of basically the best "in service" workshops a music teacher could ever ask for. Mock lessons, group discussions, TONS of resources (so far a songbook, dozens of ready-made lesson plans, a lesson planning book specifically designed for general music schedules...), and finally a community of my own!! This and next week's training is for new hires only, meaning we're all new to ETM and teaching and surprisingly most of us are recent transplants as well! That part is especially great because it's like college all over again... we're all super eager to make new friends because we don't have any!

I love love LOVE this organization, they are so supportive and knowledgeable and friendly... definitely makes up for the fact I'm making about 2/3 of a Dept of Ed salary... still looking for that Friday job... But we do in fact get paid for training, despite the fact we all feel we somehow should be paying for all these great resources and opportunities. I guess that's the teaching part.

It's fiiiiiinally cooled down a little, thanks to recent thunderstorms. It's just been so unimaginably hot, and with no AC it's stressful sometimes. Or all the time. But in time I will appreciate the utilities savings I suppose. Fans and no screens on the windows and refrigerated water and tank tops have been rather helpful, many thanks.

Good news bears: Spinach and feta combined make for some delicious meals.

Great news bears: I found a penny in the bottom of my grocery bag today.

Love & Hugs!
Kate

Fall, please

My toes are angry. They're sweaty and itchy and sprained (ok, just one) and flaky all at the same time.

I'm boiling pasta in the kitchen. Too hot, so I open the window to cool things down. There is no difference between the temperature of my stuffy kitchen with a boiling pot of water and outside air.

My face is shiny all the time.

I greatly enjoyed my hour and a half at the DMV this afternoon due to its air conditioning. Subways are good for that too. My apartment is not.

77 on Monday, 77 on Monday, 77 on Monday...

=P
Kate

Back in the vibe

I've kept entries surprisingly short up to this point... so please forgive me for indulging in another one of my famous essays...

I'm sure it's a combination of job stress, housing stress, and previous exposure, but this summer in general has not been as wildly fantastical as my last in NYC. Wide-eyed discovery, of course, is a one-time thing. As beautiful as Central Park still looks to me, I can't recreate individual moments of wonder like running around the reservoir for the first time (!) or stumbling upon a series of waterfalls on the north end of the park (!!). I've been too busy getting my life in order out here to truly enjoy the city or the summer. Plus it's been either rainy or icky hot for the majority of this summer...

But ah, what a difference a Sunday makes! Back to UU for the first time in a couple weeks and met--names, conversation, and all!--several really nice people... the beginnings of a church community?? As much as I doubt the absolute necessity of a "worship service" of any kind, I will say that I just feel good every time I leave that building.

As per my Sunday routine of last summer, after UU I strolled through Central Park since it's finally sunny and wasn't too hot at 12 (currently it's 89--chance of cactus weather). For the first time this year the park felt fresh and buoyant with spontaneity and life. I felt as though I had stepped into a Charles Ives piece (holla music majors!), meandering through overlapping aural tableaus (tableaux?) rich in diversity... A double bass soloist, dueling acoustic guitars, a self-described cello rock band, a jazz combo riffing scats on swing music, a saxophone-powered funk band, that hip-hop "Every Breath You Take" cover on radio, rhythmically bouncing volleyballs and basketballs, carousel themes, a violin sonata, the clip-clop of horse hooves, children's laughter... what beautiful reminders that I live in such a beautiful city--in all senses.

In other news, my apartment is aaaaaalmost unpacked. Maybe this spiritual lift will propel me to finish the whole thing this afternoon! Hm...

Gotta go!!
Kate =)

Mommy wow!

Things I can add to my life skills resume:

*Signing a lease
*Opening utilities and Internet accounts
*Building IKEA furniture
*Calling a super for apartment-related issues
*Setting up a stereo system
*Setting up a printer
*Breaking a fan
*Fixing a fan (same fan)
*Playing phone pong between various departments of a single Internet provider
*Installing and accessing secure wireless (harder than it sounds)
*Accessing tech chat support for a wonky touchpad that may or may not have been exposed to hot tea
*Peaceing ("blowing off" for the unitiated) HP tech chat support by accidentally signing offline
*Harnessing the power of karma/magic/serendipity to fix said touchpad (until the next time it goes on the fritz...)

"Unpacking an entire life into a studio apartment" is still a distant goal... Whenever accomplished, pictures will follow!

Teaching assignment: PS 43 in the Bronx! 4 days/week, K-5 general music. Awesome!! The hunt for a Friday and/or weekend job is still on...

I may or may not meet John Stamos tomorrow. Wish me luck. In the meantime I will continue my Full House marathon. Goes great with unpacking FYI.

=) Kate

Stressed until October... but it's ok.

First of all, I LOVE my family. They drove all the way out here with a U-Haul trailer hitched to the back of the van with all my stuff and IKEA furniture. They moved all of that stuff up four floors (with the assistance of an elevator, but still) and built furniture and cleaned surfaces and organized cupboards... I still have quite a bit to unpack and organize, of course, but seriously--this would have been downright unmanageable without their help. My family is awesome.

Second of all, I am moved! My address:

75 Thayer St, Apt 4F
New York, NY 10040

Nice studio with separate kitchen, elevator building, laundry in building, really helpful (if not totally English-speaking) super, lots of closet space, easy access to basic needs. It's totally sufficient. Which is going to be the operative term of the year. Totally sufficient. Because I'm not making enough to have any sort of luxuries--a lifestyle which theoretically I embrace but in reality becomes surprisingly scary. I've had everything provided for me for my entire life; I've led a conspicuously blessed life and for all my recognition of and ideological distaste for privilege, it is ultimately nice to have it. So I'm trying to frame the next year as a giant, totally immersive learning experience. I'll have a better understanding of the lives of those I'm interested in teaching. Kind of. So from that perspective I'm excited. But I still would like to eat out every once in a while...

Side annoyance: Do I really have to pay for Internet if I can steal wireless from my apartment? Psh security...

But really I still love this city. Though suburban New Jersey makes me homesick and I'm getting a little tired of public transportation, I know starting school will rejuvenate my energies. And finding a second job would be nice. So while I will make every effort to be pleasant toward you in all phone, electronic, and written correspondance, just know that I'm going to be a little off until around Halloween. Sorry in advance =)

Love & Hugs & Consciously plastered smiles,
Kate =)

I have two fingers. I have... four fingers.

Oops, wrong quote. More appropriately:

Is this real life??

A few money orders, a guarantor letter, and a signature or two from today, I will be the leaser of a New York City apartment. Then I move in my life (which now includes a number of wonderfully cheap and efficient IKEA products) on Thursday. And start a job in 2 weeks. Hopefully multiple jobs. Right now I'm on track for working a 40-hour week but only getting paid for 25 hours. Iowa teaching salary on a New York budget. Here's to depleting my savings in the next 12 months...

Before Thursday, I still have a bit to do, including a full cleaning of my sublet, laundry, and some last minute purchases (granny cart here I come!). But great news bears--I finished the collage!! Here's a better-quality image (I hope) than Facebook would allow:

Ok, so not even as good as Facebook. Truly, it's more impressive in person, guess you'll just have to come see it! =)

Also, below is a link to Education Through Music's website for those interested in learning about the organization of my employment (again, ideally this is one of multiple employers...)
http://www.etmonline.org/
"Work With Us" will take you to my job description more or less


In conclusion, I am reposting my facebook status simply because I think it's hilarious. I'm not hilarious, just the situation.


Kate Phillips knows it's a good day when the Weatherbug icon for NYC roughly translates to "sunny with a chance of cactus"
http://weather.weatherbug.com/NY/New%20York-weather.html?zcode=z6286&zip=10040


=) KP

Is this heaven?

No, it's IKEA.
(Apologies to my Iowans)

Oh man stepping into IKEA is akin to teleporting back to Europe. Starting with the food court. Cafeteria-style, just like those German foodstops, complete with wraps, sandwiches, Swedish meatballs (next time), and delicious almond cake! Big wrap and cake for $5. Sweet.

The way the store is run and organized is so epitomal of the European emphasis on personal responsibility for the good of all--something the US could certainly adopt more widely in businesses and other aspects of the public sector... Signs politely instruct diners to clean up their own tables--and then EXPLAIN that this practice allows for reduced prices and more efficient service to the consumer. I think in general people would be willing to adopt measures of personal responsibility despite the perceived "inconvenience" if provided logical and concise justification. But maybe that's just because I believe in the innate goodwill of humanity so very much... =)

The rest of the store is equally efficient, although if you step off the arrowed path to more closely inspect an item, good luck getting back on it. Way impressed with my first visit to the megastore, though--I'm convinced you could buy an entire house in there for about $2000. Walls and roof sold separately.

Today's been a little less heavenly between screwy weekend train schedules and an all-day torrent of patented city rain. Walking outside in the rain is much more bearable, at least from an emotional standpoint, when equipped with a sturdy umbrella, a chai, and Halal lunch (my official NYC comfort food). From a physical standpoint, however, I don't recommend carrying that many precarious objects through the rain unless you're firmly committed to enjoying their morale-boosting effects.

Love, Hugs, & Downpours
Kate =)