NBA Opening Night at Madison Square Park

When I talked to my dad over the weekend, he asked me what happened to my Wednesday post. It was a pretty busy (and extremely boring) week to share last week. I was just working so much that I didn't have any time to think about anything else in life.

Also, it was a nice surprise that my parents read my blog!

Anyway, I've been having this weird face situation going on, so I scheduled an appointment with a dermatologist yesterday. (Don't worry folks, it seems like I just had an allergic reaction.) Because of my morning appointment, I went to work an hour later than usual - and stumbled on a big NBA promo thing going on in Madison Square Park.

As I was crossing the street, a large drumline began to play. It was so wacky! They built a basketball court and had lots of NBA stuff going on. I really had to rush to work, but I managed to sneakily take these photos while crossing the street!

The drumline was pretty cool! I found a little video of them here:

New York City Transit

Along with millions of other New Yorkers, I take the subway to work. I just hope on one train from my apartment to the office. It takes me about thirty minutes to get to Flatiron/Gramercy area.

For this week, I decided to snap a couple photos of me waiting on the platform. Throughout the Broadway line (the subway line I take - N or Q trains), they have title art on the walls. At the 23rd Street stop, they have, what I call, floating hats. I sometimes see tourists pose under them and take pictures.

When I looked straight ahead at the other platform going downtown, I caught the perfect picture!

Doesn't it look like the two fellows are wearing the hats? I had a good laugh to myself.

Late Night Work Date

 

Phew! I just made it home from a work outing and I'm exhausted! (It's only 9pm!) I'm pretty much an old-timer now at 27.

We left the office a bit earlier than usual to head over to Boqueria at their Flatiron location. It's a delicious Tapas Bar and Restaurant. My coworker is getting married next Saturday and all the girls came into town to celebrate. This wasn't purely a work outing! I love getting together to catch-up on life outside of the office. One of my coworkers brought senior portraits of her son and another had pictures of her son as drum major of his high school.

I work with amazing women! They all are great role models and I just hope I do them proud with my work for the firm. Their friendships are also great and I just love getting to know them personally.

After dinner, I walked south to Union Square because once we walked to the restaurant that particular subway station was closer.

I almost fell asleep on the train! So, it pretty much took every ounce of me to blog tonight...haha. It's time for bed now! Good night everyone!

The Freedom Tower

I moved to New York City in 2004. Since then, I've lived in Manhattan, Brooklyn and now Queens. NYC has given me so much in my life and I'm very proud to have made it here when I set out to be on my own.

With that said, I can't NOT talk about 9/11 today. I remember exactly where I was and who I was with when the first plane hit. I was a sophomore in high school with the aspiration to live in NYC. My family visited practically every year (at least since we've lived stateside) because my dad is from here. He was born in Brooklyn and raised in and around this great city. Then he joined the military.

Anyway, I've always had a burning love for this city and will continue to love this city for as long as I'm on this planet.  I wasn't here on 9/11, but I've been lucky to witness the rise of the Freedom Tower. It has been incredible to watch this iconic highrise take its place in the NYC skyline. To me, it represents how resilient and encouraging this country (and city even!) is!

Every time I look at the Freedom Tower, I will never forget the World Trade Center and 9/11. The Freedom Tower stands at 1,776 feet and is America's tallest building!!

With today also being Where I Work Wednesday, I thought it would only be appropriate to share the view I had as I walked to lunch. I love how the tower sprouts out from downtown (it was a bit cloudy today...but hot).

Taken from the corner of Sixth Avenue and 22nd Street

Here are some other photos I've taken in the last couple of years of the Freedom Tower's construction:

Took this picture from a dinner cruise around Manhattan on the water: July 2011

Took this from Jersey City when my parents visited last year: July 2012

Took this after Run for the Warriors: June 2013

One of the Most Striking Buildings in NYC

I mentioned in my first #WhereIWorkWednesday that my office is located in the Gramercy/Flatiron District.  To be more specific, I am just about three blocks away from the Flatiron building.  I actually have to pass the front of the building every day to get to the subway from work. There are always TONS of tourists out taking photos in "Flatiron Plaza," the area in front of building and they also set up tables and chairs for bystanders to sit down for as long as they would like. It's pretty cool!
Honestly, I haven't sat in the Plaza myself since I took my job about four years ago. It's crazy to think that I haven't spent one afternoon eating my lunch at the Plaza. I would occasionally sit on a bench in Madison Square Park (spoiler alert: which will be the focus of another post!). Maybe now I'll be inspired to actually spend a nice day eating lunch there?

The epicenter of the Gramercy/Flatiron District is the Flatiron building. It's a very distinct triangle shaped structure that is the fork between Fifth Avenue and Broadway. The building itself has a lot of history. It was built in 1902 and immediately become one of the most unique looking buildings in New York City. What's crazy is that the particular corner nook of the city that has the Flatiron hasn't changed much since 1902.

Flatiron Building circa 1903!

Above is a 110 year-old picture I took from Wiki Commons. Below is a picture I took on my walk in front of the building to my train.

I thought I would do a comparison shot of the building in black & white and color. Doesn't the 2013 black & white version look nearly identical as the 1093 version?! (Besides all the modern people and horse and buggies in the old photo.) You can also see the dome-like thing on top of the building to the right of the Flatiron in the 1903 photo and in the 2013 photo they are restoring it.

The Flatiron Pedestrian Plaza.

Where I Work Wednesday (1st Ever Installment)

I talk a lot about what's going on in my life here, but I've realized that I'm leaving out a huge component - my job. Not only am I married to a soldier, I have a career that I'm building. Balancing my career and military life is something I've been juggling for years now. I started doing so when I decided to date my soldier.

I thought I would dedicate the next coming Wednesdays for y'all to get a sneak peek at my life as a working girl in the City. Just like millions of other New Yorkers, I take the subway to work everyday, work in a high rise building and pretty much walk everywhere. Sometimes, I feel like I take things for granted, especially that I get to be in NYC everyday. I thought I should start soaking it all in because when my soldier gets back, things will be different.

My office is pretty much centrally located on the island of Manhattan. It's in what we call the Flatiron District and Gramercy area. I just take one train down from my apartment in Queens. There is always a lot going on by my office, I love it!

After work last Friday, I took a quick walk to the Herald Square area to run an errand. As I was walking north on Sixth Avenue, I had a nice view of the Empire State Building.
[Picture taken at the corner of Sixth Ave and 26th Street.]

Did you know that in the evening the Empire State Building shines different color lights based on a sponsor or holiday? The lights that will shine tonight are in honor of the PGA Tour and FedExCup Playoffs (blue, white, blue). FYI, for September 11, they will shine red, white, blue. You can check out the schedule here.