New York Times

Starting last Monday (july 1) I was in New York. I have lots of photos to share, so I might go easy on the writing and let the pictures speak for themselves!

My uncle (Uncle Philip) lives in Harlem, so he and Gunther let me stay with them. They have two dogs, Frances (I'm 90% sure that's how you spell it) and Hercule who are very important to the family! It was fun because most nights I would come back from doing my own thing in the city and Uncle Philip and I would watch videos and TV shows. I showed him (and he showed Gunther) this ASMRtist who makes huge versions of foods. There's one where she makes a HUGE boba drink. The best part is the first slurp so watch at least that part! Gunther didn't get the appeal, but maybe it will grow on him. Another show I was introduced to is The Comeback starring Lisa Kudrow (2005). I only saw 2 episodes, but I would watch more! It was also fun because we'd have burner s'mores.

getting all up in Frances' business

On my first full day, I saw Eileen and we got this really delicious bingsu and Korean fried chicken after. I'm pretty sure I was late in seeing every person in New York..... but I tried my best 😃. That day, I also went to the Museum of the City of New York. It was pretty well put together in my opinion! This was a tiny portion of the place, but they have this super detailed dollhouse called the Stettheimer dollhouse. This woman worked on it for 25 years, and the detail is stunning.

The next day was a special day with Alexis!! We went all over the place and took many photos along the way. One special stop was the Nintendo store. I've been trying to get there since last summer, so truly it was a long time coming. In Manhattan (I think?) we met up with Alesha as well and carried on with the day. Some important purchases I made include Animal Crossing stickers and a Wario keychain.

After hitting the city hard, we took the ferry to Staten Island. I tried Staten Island pizza and we started this movie, A Letter to Momo. The next morning, with generous funding by our sponsor (Alexis' mom), we got waffles, and I was off back to the mainland. I really liked seeing Alexis' home and family dynamic :'). Her brother seemed to be learning a guitar song from watching a Youtube video of a live performance, and I think Alexis does that for drums. So inspiring! Gotta love the Kilaykos!

( a series of paired photos of Alexis taking pics of me and Me taking pics of her)

I was like "how should I pose alexis" and this icon showed me what's what

So now it's the Fourth, and what's more American than English tea?? I met Uncle Philip, Gunther, and their friend Christine at a tea place. After hitting a few other stops afterwards, I split off in search of Claire and Kristiana.

With only a bit of confusion, we reunited at a park and banged out a full on picnic photoshoot then and there. Unsurprisingly, it was a bit difficult for me and Kristiana to get a normal photo together. For dinner we went to this Indian restaurant with tons of Christmas lights :-) and then we saw fireworks near water (I have no idea where we were). The subway afterwards was hectic to say the least, but we somehow made it back.

The next morning I had to catch a bus back, but first I had one last stop. With A LOT of confusion, I found Aboni and Naoni (and their mom :-)) It was really good to see them, but unlike the others, I should be seeing quite a bit of both of them before leaving. Nonetheless, it had been a while and I loved seeing their bright and shining faces.

who's who

So that pretty much sums up New York! I've been back at Smith for quite a few days and things are slower of course. But also, Aboni is back and I've made new friends, so things are less lonely ! Guys, my cancer moon is coming through I can feel it 🌚.

Aboni saw this pizza pic and said "it's too seductive for our blog"

saw this in the bathroom of the brunch place. Me pretty much this whole trip

Alexis and I went to this record place and they had some of those places you could sample the music and these were some that I liked (although I only listened to a small bit so idk if they're actually good) if you're looking for some new tunes.

-Salt People “Deep Serious”

-Tallies “Tallies”

-Heather Woods Broderick “Invitation”

-Faye Webster “Atlanta Millionaires Club”

-Com Truise “Persuasion System”

design inspo! I liked the lettering here