Flipping, twisting, tumbling

I’ve found my new exercise passion for NYC. Back in western Massachusetts it was indoor climbing gyms, which will always hold a special place in my heart, they just don’t have any good ones here in the city. I’ve moved on to gymnastics – I did that back in Mass too, but it’s completely different here. I’ve found two schools – NYC Elite and Chelsea Piers Field House. They’re both great in their own way, and a healthy balance of the two will have me in great shape, tumbling and flipping all over the place in no time.

NYC Elite is a killer workout – I leave fairly certain that my butt is just going to fall off at any moment. The instructors are great and every class feels like I’m progressing in leaps and bounds.

Last night was my first night at Chelsea Piers, but I’ll most definitely be going back. They’re great because they have adult classes all week, and even an adult parkour class on the weekends. It’s a huge gym – it feels like organized chaos in there. The instructors are awesome at Chelsea Piers too – supportive and they can pretty much spot me with one arm.

Anyways, up until I start my waitressing job I’ll be at these two gyms as much as possible, getting my fill before I don’t have the time anymore. I might go again on Friday… four times a week doesn’t seem unreasonable, right?

Coney Island, USA

A quick trip to Brooklyn with Chelsea so I could buy a skateboard lead us to Coney Island last Friday, eating fried clams and chicken, walking down the boardwalk. Quick tip, never get fried clams from Nathan’s hotdogs – their proximity to the ocean means nothing. I’m going out on a limb here, but I probably should have just had a hotdog.

We got lucky with our visit because it had been storming on and off all day, so the boardwalk and park were pretty much empty. It was around sunset when we arrived, so we didn’t go on any rides (also because I was feeling pretty gross from the fried clams), but I’m definitely going to need to take a trip back to try out the Cyclone.

The boardwalk and beach seem like they’ll be awesome, and seriously packed, on a hot summer day – but apparently every Friday night during the summer they have fireworks, so that’ll be something to check out too.

Also, there’s a freak show! I can’t wait to go to that next time I get back – I kind of doubt there will be anything too shocking in there, this isn’t the 1930’s, but definitely still worth a look. I’ll be sure to report back on the most exciting exhibits.

Revisiting roots

Strange that one of my first entries since moving to NYC is about going back to western Mass.

I went to Amherst this past weekend to visit some friends and attend an awards ceremony at my office on Tuesday. It was an interesting experience, pulling over the Connecticut River in the Megabus and realizing this place that felt like home for six years just doesn’t anymore. Surprising how quickly that happened.

We had a great time in spite of the rain – a trip to New Hampshire for some pepper spray (hell, why not) and an adventure at a summer camp I used to go to as a kid. We climbed all over the ropes courses, swung on rope swings over pits of mud and scaled walls. There’s not doubt we’re all just big kids at heart.

The rest of the weekend was filled with pool, a great French dinner in Northampton, and skateboarding videos. Overall, a great time.

Going back to the office was fun, mostly because I barely got any work done and everyone just wanted to talk and catch up. I was so happy to see everyone, and was flattered and honored to receive my Eagle Award on Tuesday. Embarrassing to stand up in front of everyone, but still really nice to be recognized.

It was great to see all that green and spend some time in trees that weren’t in Central Park (I even saw a deer outside the RO), but it actually felt really nice to come home to NYC. I think today we’re headed to Coney Island – we’ll see what adventures that brings.

The privacy within New York City’s walls…

I have been really terrible about keeping up this blog, but I think now is as good a time as any to get back into it. I’ve been through a lot of changes lately – up and moved my life to New York City to pursue a career as a stuntwoman, then two days later left on a cross-country roadtrip with my best friend Chelsea. I think I’ll write about that trip in another entry sometime (if I get that motivated), but for now I’ve been back in this city for an entire month and my life is starting to take shape.

Currently, I’m working from home for the Fish and Wildlife Service making websites. I’m lucky to have a job coming to the city, but this working from home thing is making me stir crazy. I’m not one to sit in my apartment in front of a computer all day. I’ve applied at about a million restaurants, gotten interviews at some, and I’m hoping for the best.

Other than that, the new apartment is awesome – We’re living in west Harlem on the top floor of a really cool building in a nice neighborhood. It was a bitch moving all of our belongings up five flights of stairs without an elevator, but completely worth it. The fact that I can climb out my window onto the fire escape and up to the roof is pretty much the best thing I could ask for. From up there we can see every direction – downtown Manhattan, the Empire State Building, then the other direction the George Washington Bridge, the Bronx and Jersey. Our sunsets are amazing.

So far I’ve been spending a lot of my time getting used to the city and figuring out how to live here – I’d say I’m doing pretty well. I will work hard to update this blog at least weekly with new things I discover.

Ironically, tomorrow I’m going back to Massachusetts for 4 days.

Traveling tips my mother taught me

(and a couple I’ve picked up along the way – to be added to as I learn new ones)

• When packing, put everything you want to pack/think you’ll need laid out on your bed. Remove everything you had doubts/hesitated about. Of what’s left, pack half.
• Bring a towel, even if it’s small!
• Youth hostels, although not always luxurious (or clean), will save you money and are a great way to meet people.
• Don’t be afraid to talk to the people around you (unless they’re sketchy) – you may find out about fun local spots you wouldn’t have found otherwise.
• Walk as often as possible. While sometimes taking the bus/train/metro is necessary, you’ll never experience the same sounds/smells/sights as on foot.

Many more to come.

Pre-sundance update

So here I am, in the hartford airport, anxiously awaiting my trip to Park City, Utah for the Sundance film festival to see the premier of The Woman, a movie I had a part in that filmed in Greenfield last summer.

I’m so excited/nervous but I’m completely ready for this adventure. The movie, people and location will all be amazing. I’m looking forward to some weird fun!

I’ll keep you all updated.

In the meantime, check out these sites:

The Woman Official Site
Alexa Marcigliano Online

je suis arrivée

Well… against all odds, I arrived at my grandparents’ adorable little house in Saujon this evening.

So the plane ride from Boston to Montreal was relatively uneventful, save for being in the absolute back of the plane right next to the bathroom (which could have been really awful, but luckily was not). A short layover in Montreal, then on the jumbo jet to Paris. Somehow I actually ended up with a window seat, which was awesome because otherwise the poor woman next to me would have found me asleep on her shoulder.

Arrived in Paris and had no problems with my luggage, but promptly lost my debit card while trying to get money out of the machine. Bugger ate my card! So now I’m without cash, hoping for a bus to come to take me to the train station, which luckily it did and also accepted credit cards. Arrived at the train station and worked out a ridiculous plan to get me close to the tozn where my grandparents live, in spite of the strike.

This plan involved me racing hundreds of people to the one train that was running to Bordeaux and hiding in first class with a nice Russian girl I met, hoping we wouldn’t get kicked off the train.

We didn’t! So after my 3 hour train ride, 2 more hours waiting, then a 2 hour bus ride, I arrived and found my grandparents! They’re so cute and brought me home and cooked me dinner and I FINALLY got to pee! (Not sure if you know this, but you have to pay to use public toilets in Europe, so no cash meant no peeing allll day. It was a doozie.)

Anywyas, I’m here now, though the news doesn’t look good for my return to Paris and overnight train to Rome. We’ll see!

(Oh my gosh that took me so long to write because of the ridiculous French keyboard, WHY are the a and m keys in such weird places? Also, i love that there are keys for é è ç à ù § µ - I completely forgot about this)

Total miles traveled since leaving Amherst: 4,080

Peace out, USA!

I’ll be back…. sometime. Maybe.

I’m off to Europe today to continue the legacy of the road warriors with Ashleigh Bennett!

Don't I look ready?

My flight leaves from Boston at 5:something today, a connecting flight in Montreal, then off to Paris, where I arrive at 8:something tomorrow morning! Then, barring all strike catastrophies, I’ll get on a train at 5pm and arrive in Saujon (the town where my grandparents live) at 10pm. So, that’s a little over 30 hours of traveling if you count the time I’ll spend in the airport before my flight – I’m so ready for it. I’ve got books about the zombie apocalypse to keep me entertained.

If there is a strike, well I’ll just take that as it comes. Either way, I’m on vacation.

So, a couple days in Saujon with my grandparents, drinking wine and eating great food (and being locked in the house at 8pm when they go to bed… I can only take a few days of that), then off to Rome! A 4 hour trainride back up to Paris, then 15 hours straight overnight to Rome, where I arrive at 10am on the 18th to meet Ash!

After that, I’m not exactly sure of our plans, all I know is on the 23rd we end up in Amsterdam, and at some point we need to go back to Paris…

I’ll keep you all informed and I’ll be sure to take tons of photos!

Don’t miss me too much while I’m gone =)

I am a Rugged Maniac.

(I even have a shirt to prove it)

Last weekend (Saturday, October 2nd) I ran in the Rugged Maniac!

From their website: “Designed with the assistance of Navy SEALs, Rugged Maniac is a running event that combines the most rugged terrain and burly obstacles to allow those with a sense of adventure to define themselves, then bask in glory at an after party with live music, food and beer.”

It was a great time – a 5K littered with fun obstacles: mud crawls, giant downhill slip and slide, 8ft walls to climb over, 15 foot cargo net to climb up then jump off – all while running on a dirtbike track after a week of rain. It was brutal! I had an absolute blast though – covered in mud, climbing over walls. I’ve found a new favorite pastime, something I’ve heard people call Adventure Races.

The costumes alone were awesome – Mario, Rambo, superheros of all sorts. That seems like one of those ideas that’s great at the time, but a mile in you’re wondering why you decided to wear a bullet belt.

Next time, I want to be part of a team – they seemed to have the most fun, though I’m glad I got to do this first one for myself. My time was 27:36 and I was 659 out of 2064 people. Not the best, but considering I ran only once to train and decided that was quite enough, I’m pretty happy with it.

Also, I opted out of the beer at the end – 11am after a 5K, and not having consumed anything yet that day. I’ll have to schedule my run for a later time next year.

So, who’s in for next year? I want a good team put together – I promise you fun times!

Also there’s one in November called the Ruckus Boston 2010 – I’m definitely going for it.

stART on the street 2010

Just a quick update about the StART on the Street festival in Worcester, MA last weekend.

My dad, Lucy and I went together to the art festival on Sunday. I was surprised at how much it continues to grow each year! There were so many wonderful artists, I just love going from booth to booth and seeing the creative ideas people come up with (and borrowing a few for myself!). There were woodworkers, jewelry makers, painters, glass blowers, bead makers, potters, sculptors, etc. etc. etc.

Stages for bands to perform were scattered throughout the festival also. One band, Kingsley Flood, caught my attention within the first 30 seconds, and I bought their cd before the first song even ended. I highly recommend checking them out – they’re definitely worth a listen!

Can’t talk about this festival without mentioning some food also – chocolate covered banana and kettle corn made the perfect lunch!

If you’re in the Worcester area, be sure to check it out next year, it always happens on the Sunday around the 20th of September.