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.