…has it soaked in yet? Since I moved to New York I have made it a point to let New York change me in only the best of ways… mainly via fashion and self-sufficiency. Yet, I have really kept true to myself – bubbly, hospitable, say “please” and “thank you”, smile, love my Georgia football – in all the ways a true New Yorker cannot be. Yes, I just made a sweeping, politically incorrect generalization about the New York population.

One thing I thought I would never be is a baseball fan. Although that still remains true, the Yankees sold me on the atmosphere and entertainment in a way the Braves never could… chicken fingers, hot dogs, garlic fries, and the maintenance men doing the Y.M.C.A. dance.

Now you know what it takes to entertain a (this) Southerner… not much!

Last week, I had one of the best Tuesdays.

My co-worker Steve and I were discussing our favorite viral videos from back in the day. You know, the ones on Albino Black Sheep and eBaum’s World. Alongside Peanut Butter Jelly Time (which is at 4:42 p.m. every Thursday in our office) and Weebl & Bob. Remember? The ones you watched when you were collecting pogs.

Anyway, we were on the topic, and I ended up introducing him to one of my favorites… Milk and Cereal.

Pure genius! After watching the video in-full, I started asking, “I wonder what made these guys record this video and post it to the internet for all the world to see. I mean, what are these guys doing now?!” To which Steve recanted, “Find them on LinkedIn.”

That’s exactly what I did. More so, on a dare like a five-year-old, I asked them to connect with me on LinkedIn. No personalized message, I went generic.

A few hours later, I received an e-mail in my inbox from one of the guys asking if I knew him from somewhere or if I was just networking. How cool! I replied to explain Steve and I’s definitively work-related conquest, and told him I was a fan. After achieving internet stardom in their college careers, these guys actually went on to be quite successful. We had a few exchanges back-and-forth, laughed about the awkward humor of the situation, and yes, he did accept my invitation to connect.

It just goes to show you, with spontaneity comes laughter, interesting conversation, new friends and great stories! As my new connection taught me… Cheers to life!

…Surfing!

Yes, surfing in New York City. A few lifetime surfers created a simulated surfing fitness regime, set to give us that long lean surfer physique. Sexy ocean hair not included. Over the past month at the Surfset Fitness pop-up store in Chelsea Market, I’ve attended a number of fairly intense, completely memorable, classes. Since the company is new and trying to gain traction, “NYC celebrity fitness instructors”  hosted the classes throughout the month of April, allowing me to work out with Madonna’s trainer, Kira “Jacked and Tan” Stokes, and the beautiful CEO himself.

From pulling resistance bands while paddling out to sea, popping up into squat-after-squat, activating my core to remain balanced and duck diving under huge waves,  I’m now well-equipped to Hang Ten with the top guns and have the body to prove it.

Next stop Costa Rica yoga & surf adventure! Who’s in?

By the time I met up with Justin on Friday afternoon, he had already hit a BUNCH of hot spots with another friend – Times Square, NY Stock Exchange, Wall Street, WTC, Junior’s, The High Line, Chelsea Market, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Rockefeller Center, Top of the Rock…. okay, so now what?

After hearing about his already-checked-off laundry list, I had to regroup and think of what New York must-sees really brought me joy. Since it was 2 in the afternoon, obviously second-lunch time, we started by heading to Shake Shack in Times Square. We made it through the line, but had to share a table with an older couple who was visiting New York for the first time. We discussed each other’s New York itineraries, made small talk about work, and parted ways fully satisfied, milk shakes in hand. Another Shake Shack success.

Food out of the way, the pressure was on to show Justin the great wonderments of New York. Randomly, we decided to buy tickets to a Broadway play – How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Psh – yeah, with the Jo Bro Nick Jonas! Now, I never saw the Jonas Brothers in concert, but Broadway is definitely Nick Jonas’ calling. The show was hilarious – a complete satire on corporate America and an oddly refreshing reminder why I love it so very much.

My first gig as a tour guide was actually working out well. Relieved!

To keep up the momentum, we headed to Grand Central Station. Although I kept pointing to the ceiling, Justin was more excited about the Grand Central Apple store and new iPad. We played around on the iPad for a while (which happened to be set in Japanese), and then made our way to The Whispering Gallery in front of the famous Oyster Bar.

For those of you who are unfamiliar, The Whispering Gallery is an archway in front of the restaurant which is architecturally built in such a way that if two people stand in a corner diagonally from each other, face the wall and whisper into the corner, they can hear each other clear as day from across the room. It is 100 percent childish, but couldn’t be more fabulous.

The next day happened to be St. Patrick’s Day. We went for some New York bagels, headed to the parade and people watched for hours. Everyone’s favorite activity. After the parade, we wandered around The Met – the biggest and most stunning museum I have ever encountered – until our feet went on strike. There were some tough negotiations, but we ended up making a deal with the Union and capped off the day in Little Italy with some delicious Italian food, then gelato and chocolate cannolis at Ferrara’s Bakery.

Anyway, last Tuesday I took a half day from work to attended the Rachel Ray show as part of the studio audience with three girlfriends. Apparently, I know a girl… and her name may or may not be Rachel.

Here’s what happened: We arrived a little late and stood at the back of the line when an angel with a headset arrived and asked for my name. To no surprise, my name just-so-happened to be on the list so she pushed us up front and said they were waiting for us to go inside. And were they waiting!.. with front row seats, none-the-less. Now, I honestly didn’t know anything about Rachel Ray until Tuesday, but I am officially a fan. The set was small and intimate, the stage managers were enthusiastic, and Rachel actually took the time to do a Q&A with us between segments, give out a birthday gift to a fan in the audience, and hooked us up with free gifts ($100 for a bathing suit and free make-up) as part of the show.

During the show, our group initiated a conversation with one of the stage managers. She had a beautiful ring on her finger, so we complimented her on it, and she excitedly told us she was newly engaged. We talked to her a bit in between segments, and towards the end she came up to us and said… “hey, I want to talk to you after the show about possibly coming back as guest participants!”  SO COOL! So that’s what we did – talked to her after the show, gave her our information, had our pictures taken, chatted a bit, went to work, and we haven’t heard from her since.

Okay, so I embellished a little on the fame stuff to get you to read this post. But HEY, I’m still unique, and I’m doing cool stuff!

With newly Jelly-filled legs, I met up with my friend and co-worker Dan for a New York Times Square adventure. We perused the Hell’s Kitchen flea market, which kind-of reminded me of the garage sales I used to put together when I was younger to raise money for a new bike or Pogo stick. Full of junk that nobody wanted. I did, however, find one of those cameras you hold at your waist that I will use for another bucket listed item – photography class in a NYC neighborhood.

From crappy junk to high quality junk, we then skipped over to Toys R Us in a true kid-like fashion. Toys R Us in any location is a kid’s fantasy land, but the Toys R Us in Times Square was actually developed into a playground of sorts. Every hot-ticket, timeless, toy had it’s own section decorated from floor to ceiling. In one cramped, New York City space, we visited LEGO Land, Hot Wheels Highway, Jurassic Park, the Wonka Factory, oh – and don’t you forget it – Barbie’s Dream House!

Cool, right? Think again – not cool enough. To top it all off, there is a giant Ferris wheel in the middle of the store, scaling all four floors. Each cart is themed with separate iconic characters – we were in the Toy Story cart, alongside the Rugrats, Scooby Doo, Mr. Potato Head, Mr. Monopoly, Little Tikes Buggy, M&Ms, Barbie Convertible and more.

Afterwards we made our way to the Hershey’s store, which come to find out is not that great. And the M&M’s store… which, well, IS that great. It contains every color of M&M’s imaginable, and although we didn’t know it at the time, also has a station where you can find out what color M&M you are! I’m totally going back without Dan to find out what my color is. As if the day wasn’t great enough, we even stopped by Duane Read, and drank a NeuroBliss to keep our spirits high. I’m still not entirely certain if my happiness stemmed from the joy the day itself, or from the Bliss ingredient in the drink.

Then in typical New York style, we walked 20 blocks downtown, ran into a fist fight turned-to police chase turned-to arrest, and capped off the night at the Upright Citizens Brigade – the famous improv theater in the city.

Now, I know this is a lot to digest in two posts (and for me, one day), but now you know I take my bucket list seriously. That was the end of my Saturday, and let me tell you – I slept like a baby that night. What’s next, you ask? Tuesday – the day all my dreams start to come true. I’m going to become famous.

So I decided to get cracking on Saturday…

The first, and my absolute favorite, item on my bucket list is… I must take advantage of the extraneous number of gyms within Manhattan, and work out for free or low-cost through trial/introductory passes for the next year.

As someone who has been injured and not very physically active this past year, this was a moronic first stop. The class was held on a military-style obstacle course, and taught by two guys who were previously enlisted in the service and honorably discharged.

I paid $60 for a three class pass (yes, I know – this trial pass was a rip off). I’m not going to go into details about the extreme amount of pain I went through, but I WILL tell you that I was the only person capable of scaling the big wall, and one of the class veterans told me I was in great shape at the end of the workout. Focus on the positives!

My few (okay, five) months in the Big Apple have been all-inclusive emotionally, but overall the most thrilling and eye-opening experience. I initially came up here with a suitcase and a job, and great support from friends and family.

Over this short period of time, I have seen the Statue of Liberty, walked through Central Park, eaten candy at Dylan’s Candy Shop (all three stories), been evacuated from a hurricane, held “hostage” on a subway for an hour while 85 police walked around looking for a person of interest, watched the Yankees slay the Red Sox, seen more than 30 rats, eaten the most delicious falafels and bagels and pizza, taken advantage of some open bars and NYC LATE night last calls, saw a Broadway play, worked it at NYC Fashion’s Night Out, brushed shoulders with D-list celebrities,…

…spent at least $500 in taxi rides and haggled with some gypsy cabbies, lived in 5 different places, witnessed a GIANTS SUPER BOWL WIN, survived Harlem, learned the art of jay-walking, and most importantly… learned how to wear my hair so it doesn’t get sticky from the subway humidity and ruined for the rest of the day!

I’m finally settled into my first apartment that I share with two amazing girls, and where my room holds nothing more than a full-sized bed and two dressers. Rent is expensive and space is cramped, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. New York, this is home!

Empire State of Mind

p.s. I created a NYC Bucket List this weekend, so that list up top is far from complete. More to come.