Yeehaw y'all

This post is definitely not from New York City. In fact, it would be tough to find somewhere that was more polar opposite to New York City than Montana. For the past five days, I've been hanging out in Montana with my bumble bee (the other B) where she goes to school in Billings, Montana. So far, we've taken advantage of the sun and the friendly people, and I've gotten a true taste of what Montana living is really like!

In the short time that I've been here, I've participated (sort of) in a traditional cow branding, learned how to ride a horse, driven in the vast Montana country, kayaked for the first time, gotten a taste of the ranch and farm life, explored downtown Billings, visited the Moss Mansion, met some really cool people, and most importantly spent some much needed time with B. Plus, I've still got 5 days left!

Hiding out inside the baby cow's house

John Deere, enough said.

Riding a horse for the first time

B making it look easy

Attempting to 'post'

Jeff showing off his roping skills

My first day in Montana, B picked me up from the airport and we drove straight to the French Ranch about four hours north of Billings. There, I got to meet the French family (who are absolutely wonderful!) and attend a traditional cow branding in Malta, Montana.

These poor little guys had no idea what was in store for them!

It was such a unique opportunity for me to get to watch a traditional branding in action. Family members, friends, and fellow ranchers in the community came together to help the French family brand, vaccinate, and castrate about 450 of their cattle. In traditional style, cowboys (the man on the horse below) lasso or 'rope' the calves by their feet and drag them to the wrestlers (the two girls--who are both in high school!) who 'wrestle' down the cattle and hold them down to be vaccinated, branded, and castrated.

Wrestling down the cattle

Two of the boys holding down the calf

B and Craig

The finished product with the French brand

If it seems like a long process, that's because it is! These hard working guys and girls of all ages worked from 6am to around 5 to get just 450 of the cows done. Much of the castration and branding processes are highly mechanized in America, so I was lucky to get to see this very traditional method. Where did I fit in to all of this? I was too umm... scared? to brand or castrate the cows, so I was on daycare duty and I manned the food table!

Later on in the week we took a quick trip to a friend's farm to ride some horses and see some newborn calves. It was a pretty windy day but we got to do a little horseback riding and see what farm life was like closer to the city of Billings, in Laurel, Montana.

Lily the baby cow

Eric and Lily

I will NEVER complain about taking pills, again. This is the actual pill that farmers have to shove down a cow's throat if they need medication!

B and I tried really hard to get some good shots of the two of us... but it didn't really work out on such a windy day. Ha

I've had a blast spending time with Brittany, I only wish I had more time to play around! Experiencing a new culture and learning about Montana has been fun, too. I have really enjoyed seeing a lifestyle that is completely different from Alaska and the east. My first trip to the 'west' beyond the coast has been awesome. Here's to another week of cow-tipping, 'shootin', horseback riding, cute cowboys, and exploring. Yeehaw!

Thinking of you all.

he winked at me. i swear he did.

I figured I should put this up, before it gets too old to be considered cool anymore. Here's the link to the Huckabee/Mario Lopez interview on Fox News that we went to in the city on Friday.

B and I were super stoked to find out that our faces made it on show. Score! Plus, Huckabee totally winked at me. I remember leaning over to B during the taping and telling her he winked at me. She didn't seem to believe me. Or be impressed. Haha

Plus, we got some pretty good eye contact with Mr. Lopez. As Reagan (not the President, my bombshell friend) said, we were the only "young and beautifuls" in the crowd of cranky conservative grandmas so it was easy to pick us out of the crowd.

I asked my College Democrat friends not to disown me because I made an appearance on Fox News. We'll see how that goes.

Elbow Pads and Lady Gaga

Yesterday was my last Sunday in New York for a while. I'm really going to miss it. I used to really look forward to going home during the breaks, but now I'm really starting to like this place. I love my room. I love my car. I love my adventures. I love my homies. I love New York City.

I went on my (now) regular jog and workout around campus this afternoon. Somehow, I managed to face plant on Oak street without scratching up my face, but my poor elbow wasn't spared. I'm not sure what it is about my right elbow, but it has taken a definite beating this semester. A couple of weeks ago I slipped on some water in the student center (that's the story, I'm sticking to it) and shattered my elbow. It had two massive golf balls growing from it. Seriously. Anyways, yesterday was strike two against my elbow so I'm going to take a page from the bad ass ladies of "Whip It" and start wearing elbow pads.

Not really. But that would be fun, right?

Yesterday we celebrated the birthday of my dearest Li Li, the Russian Mail Order Bride that I ordered this semester. At midnight, B and I surprised her with a Cinnamon-Bun and Cream Cheese frosted "cake" complete with 21 candles. Yep, she's the big 2-1. Now she can legally get hammered with the rest of America. Too bad for her, she is studying abroad in Russia for the next year, where they have been hammering back Vodka since they were 12. She's got some catching up to do.

Here's what's left of her delicious impromptu Cinna-cake

I made a LOT of progress on packing this weekend, too. It's weird to see my entire life condensed into my enough bags, boxes, and totes to fit into my Mercury Cougar Coupe. All that's left to pack up are a few clothes from my closet, my refrigerator, and my bedding. For the past two weeks I've been complaining about how badly I wanted to leave, how I was ready to take off. But seeing everything empty and ready to go makes me want to stay put. :(

On a completely unrelated side note, WTF Lady Gaga?!?:

Sorry if this post is lame, I should be studying for my final, or writing a paper about now. Ugh. More exciting stuff to come.. when my life gets more exciting than Microsoft Word and textbooks.

Thinking of you all.

Picasa will make you love your life. And your camera.

Picasa 3 has got me in a nostalgic mood again. I keep scanning through my thousands of photos that are organized very nicely thanks to Picasa and I can't help but think about how much I used to enjoy taking pictures. Pictures of places. Pictures of people. Pictures of anything, really.

Here are just a few of my favorite photos that I have snapped throughout time:

The canals of Venice, Italy 2007

The U.S. Capitol, March 2010

View from the top of the Eiffel Tower, 2007

Germany, 2007

Manhattan Bridge, February 2010

Germany (or Austria?), 2007

Princeton, February 2010

Somewhere on my Eurotrip, 2007

Rhinefalls, Germany 2007

Washington, DC 2008 (obvi I didn't snap this one--I just love it so much I wanted to sneak it in here)

The cornfields of Iowa or Nebraska, August 2009

Germany, Austria or France?, 2007

A very stormy day at the Palace of Versailles, France

The day I took pictures of nothing but grass. (There was a day I took pictures of nothing but raindrops, too.)

My first Christmas home, 2008

Although the photo itself is not that great, the person in it is the most important man in my world, and I feel like it captures our relationship perfectly, aka I adore him and he's too cool for words

Somewhere between Nevada and New York, Summer 2009

I remember taking this and being bummed that we were driving away from the sun. We had just left the heat of the Nevada desert and were heading into the night cold of the Utah desert. I like this photo because it reminds me of the many miles I put on my car during that cross country road trip and the majesty that came with exploring unknown places.

The Brooklyn Bridge, Valentines 2009

Europe, 2007

Washington DC Metro, 2008

(By the way, if you don't know what Picasa is, you should find out! It's awesome.)

Thinking of you all.

xoxo

is that summer? ohhh yes it is!

Okay, Okay. I know it's still technically spring, but the weather has been so amazing lately that it's been easy to pretend that it is summer.

Last weekend we escaped to Jones Beach for a bit when it was in the low 80's and the beach was amazing. Between the beach trip, my regular outdoor naps, and my running I have been developing quite the tan (for my skin tone, anyways). I snapped a photo of myself the other day to send to my mom (she wanted proof that I was happy and okay sans the sad mood I've been in lately) and it shows my slightly burnt skin.

I know, I know. Not the most flattering picture. Hope it makes mama proud. Ha!

Anyways, last weekend B and I also spent much of Saturday at the Hofstra Musicfest which was a lot of fun. The performers were pretty sweet (Ghostface Killah was the main act), there was free BBQ (Lackmann=not so good, not surprising), and all sorts of carnival-style activities like free photobooths, rock climbing, and blowup attractions.

I didn't bring my camera to the event, although we took lots of pics on B's camera. I will have to snag them from her later. I snatched the below pic of Ghostface Killah from the Hofstra Musicfest Facebook page (is that sketch? lol). We have photos of our own I just have to figure out how to get them off B's camera and on to the computer.

Yesterday, B invited me and our friend Parks to attend a taping of Mike Huckabee's show, "Huckabee" (catchy title, eh?) at Fox Studios in Midtown. It was so much fun and we were really excited because Governor Huckabee was interviewing.... Mario Lopez! We sat front row, literally feet away from Mario and Huckabee, and they were so so nice to the crowd. Because it was a small and intimate group they came over and talked to us and we even scored a copy of Mario Lopez's new health book!

Waiting for the LIRR

Parks pretending to be excited and B being adorable as always

Me having a bad hair day

I'm super jealous because B was smart enough to sneak some shots on her Iphone during filming so she has some pretty rad candid shots of Mario and Huckabee. She was also brave enough to chase after Mario and score a picture with him-- that's right--she touched the man! Soooo jealous and oh so excited for her.

Afterwards, we swapped our heels for flats and walked up to Central Park. We mozied around for a while and snapped a couple photos of the beautiful day and the cool "sand man" was making art on the pavement near the theater. He had already started sweeping up the design before I thought to grab my camera and take a pic, but he was friendly and talkative, nonetheless.

B

HZ in CP

B in CP

Mr. Sand Man

After our walk in the park, we changed back into our good shoes and met up with our friends Jake and Reagan for a delicious Italian dinner at Patsy's Pizzeria on the West Side. The meal was amazing, and we enjoyed chatting and catching up with them so much that we ended up spending the night at their apartment, ... again. Lol When will they get tired of us? I hope not soon! ;)

So, I have to admit it's been a pretty awesome couple of weeks considering the amount of stress that I've been under. Hopefully, next week will be as pleasant. Then again, next week is finals week. Ohhh goodness.

Thinking good thoughts about you all.

xoxo

the bucket list

So.. I've got 7 days left and there's still a whole lot left that I want to do before I run off to Montana and Alaska for the summer.

1) A day (or two or three) of biking the Greenpath in NYC. I bought three 24-hour bike rental packages for a sweet deal on Groupon the other day, so I want to use at least one of them up before I leave.

2) 16 Handles. It has to be accomplished. Anyone who knows me knows that I am obsessed with Fro-Yo, and 16 Handles in NYC is rumored to rival the frozen awesomeness of Mr. Yogato in DC (which is amazing).

3) Jones Beach. Enough said.

4) Roosevelt & Governors Island. I really just want to go so I can take the tram. Haha

5) New York Harbor Tour. I also bought a Groupon the other day (yes, you can laugh) for a night harbor cruise. My friend Liana makes terrible fun of me because I snatch up gift certificates and coupons like its my job, but I have a feeling she's not going to be so quick to make fun of me when we are having an amazing time biking the city and taking a harbor cruise! (Yes, I convinced her to buy them too).

6) A Walk Over the Brooklyn Bridge. I have neglected downtown Manhattan for much of this semester, so hopefully the weather will be good to me and we can stroll into Manhattan in style, over the Brooklyn Bridge (on our bikes, perhaps?!)

I feel like there are a million more things that I've been wanting to do. Haggling in Chinatown, a night out in Times Square (ohhhh memories!), a trip to the thrift shop in Centerport Suffolk County, and another trip to the High Line top the list.

Oh, and did I mention.. this all has to be accomplished during the week that I will be taking final exams and writing papers for Macroeconomics, Presidential Cooperation with Congress, American Foreign Policy, World Regional Geography, Computer Science, and Geography of Africa?

Sweet.

i'm ready for my rodeo.

Next next week (that makes sense, right?) I'm going to Montana to spend a couple of weeks with my friend Brittany. She called me the other day and told me that she was going to take me to a cow branding. At first, I was super stoked because it was something different to watch and experience. Then, I realized that I was thinking of a rodeo, not a branding.

Maybe it's just me, but there's something about applying a scalding hot iron rod to the behind of a live animal that's tied up and helpless that scares me. Right? It's going to be interesting.. we'll see if I have the stomach to watch.

Now I really want to go to a rodeo.

i'm going to miss New York, and i'm ready for another chapter

After a long past few months.. I'm starting to come back to my old self again. Anyone who's ever been in love and lost it knows what I'm talking about. Especially, anyone who can remember as far back as their first love. It's hard to say goodbye to something that's made you so comfortable and safe for so many years. Its hard to say goodbye.

In the spirit of moving on, I've gotten myself moving. It feels good to get out in the sun and run again, I can't remember why I ever stopped. Maybe it was the cold weather. Maybe it's because I haven't had anything motivating me.

I've missed the sun. I've missed running. I've missed blogging.

Also, B showed me an awesome version of Empire State of Mind and its making me really not want to be stranded on an island in the Aleutians this summer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYsB9m6G7cI.

But then again New York City will always be here waiting for me. And this summer is probably going to be my last on the chain.

Wow, I just looked at the date of my last post. Has it really been over two months? Are you allowed to be down in the dumps for that long? Yikes.

ASB is a no go for me

I got an email today from United Way regarding the Alternative Spring Break program I applied for. They did a great job of building me up in the introduction to make me believe I was in.. only to conclude with the "we regret to inform you" line about four sentences in. Tricky folks. Unfortunately for me, I really wanted to participate in that program. I was looking forward to doing something for others while exploring the culture of the Gulf Coast. Plus, I was looking forward to spending the break with B. Oh well. Buloxi, Mississippi will have to wait until another spring break.

But the news may not be all bad, right? Now, our agenda is cleared up to take on anything that March 27 through April 5 has to offer. What do New Yorkers usually do for their spring breaks? Wait, let me rephrase that... what do "college budget" New Yorkers do for spring break? Is that an oxymoron? Can a New Yorker do vacations on a college budget? I think not.

But, I've been brainstorming anyways! Here's what I've come up with so far (mind you, I literally just found out we're not going to Buloxi, so these are just vague ideas):

Las Vegas: Luckily for us, we have a place to stay for free in the city of sin, so that would be great on our wallets. Unluckily for us, there isn't a whole lot to do in Vegas that doesn't involve being 21 or spending a bunch of money.... neither of which we have. Then again, Vegas has a lot more to offer than just the casinos right? There's sun, pools, the Hoover Dam, desert, umm... desert,...more desert? Am I delusional? Canada: I've always wanted to visit our neighbors to the north, and its within easy driving distance from the city. Plus, I've always thought it odd that I have traveled from AK to the states a zillion times in my life and I have never ever been to Canada! I'm not sure what we would do or where we would go but.. why not? Although, I'm not sure how 'springy' I will feel if we are spending our week in the cold. Montauk: Our friends brought up the idea last weekend and it sounds pretty enticing. Splitting the cost of a beach house that is definitely within driving distance would work for our budgets, as well. My only concern is that the weird weather Long Island has been having lately will continue. I just want sun! :) Hopefully it will be more 'springy' by the end of March.

Montana: My biffle Brittany (different biffle, different Brittany) goes to school in Billing, Montana and I would love to see her! I've been hearing about her life at her school for two years now and it would be great to get to see her for the week. Butt.. she would still have regular class, work, and training (she's a bad ass runner and physical fitness trainer) so I'm not sure how much face time I would get with her.

In other news, I also found out that my blog looks horrible on an itouch, which leads me to believe that it probably looks like crap for those of you reading it on your iPhones. Sorry, I tried! I promise it looks better on a computer screen. Also, I took a quiz in Computer Science (yes, you can laugh...I'm only taking it because it fulfills the math requirement to graduate) class and rocked it.

I worked out with CJ tonight and it was the highlight of my week thus far. Aside from the gym being a complete wreck because of the ongoing renovations, I worked up a good sweat and had some fun doing it. For some reason I thought that CJ would put on his 'game face' when it came to working out--but no. He was still Ceej, trying to look cool, chat with random people, and pretend to work out. Haha ohhh goodness. I only wish B was there to see it.

Well, I'm off to more pressing matters like laundry. Oh joy.

here's looking at you

To the five people (you know who you are) that read my bliggity blog--this one's for you! After a very long break from the blogging world, I'm back. Here's whats been going on:

1) Semester Four Rocks
Spring 2010 at Hofstra is off to a good start. I like all of my classes. I even love some of them, imagine that. I carefully crafted my schedule to get the coolest profs, the sweetest times (no class before noon), and the most bad-ass titles.
2) I Got A New Camera

So after a lot of thinking, a little researching, and some NYC shopping, I got my new camera. I chickened out and didn't end up getting the sweet DSLR that I wanted, but I still got a great point and shoot that captures great shots. Plus, it left some money in my pocket to spend. Ka-ching!
3) I Love New York City

Thanks to my new hobby, I have spent a lot of time literally wandering around the city taking pictures of whatever NYC has to offer. I never realized just how much of the city I hadn't seen, and its such an exciting place to explore, especially in the winter. Here are a few pics of my adventures in the city this winter:

......

A Hofstra "Snow Day", At the Brooklyn Promenade, Visiting Princeton University

.........

Herald Square during the "blizzard", Walking near the Brooklyn Bridge, Visiting NYU-Poly, Exploring NJ with B

4) I Miss My Family

A lot has been going on with the family lately and I'm bummed that I can't be with them. I'm looking forward to May when I get to see both of my brothers under one roof for the first time in years. Perhaps members of the fam should start their own blogs so that I can see whats going on in their lives... hmm.... just saying! ;)

5) I Can't Wait For Spring!

It seems like winter is taking its sweet time to pass, and I'm impatient. Maybe its the gloomy/rainy weather getting to me, or maybe its the fact that every store in New York is only selling floral summer dresses and flip flops, either way--spring needs to be sprung!

Well, thats all for now--catch you on the flipsiiiide