Bonnie Gross

I am not sure if this is a direct quote or said it or anything really about it, but I heard it this past week and I think it is so true.

Well to start you off, on Friday I went to the Sex Museum. There was a room designated to just animal sex. The best part was a Breast Bounce, which was a bouncy house made entirely of boobs. (Sadly you are only allowed one minute to bounce around because of the long line)

That night we headed to one of my favorite spots, The Comedy Cellar. Mid way through the show, the MC announced that they had a special guest in the house. All I heard was “you might recognize him from Parks and Recreation,” and I could not breathe! Out walks Aziz Ansari who just happened to stop by. He gave us new material and I think I almost died of excitement. (He never replied to me tweet about it though)

On Saturday we headed to Smorgasburg, which is a large food festival held every Saturday and Sunday in Brooklyn. Dillon tried the Ramen Burger, which was delicious. Also the festival is right next to the water so you get amazing views of the Manhattan skyline as you munch on your food!

Next we headed to Governor’s Island, which is a 172-acre island in Upper New York Bay, approximately 800 yards from the southern tip of Manhattan Island. There is a ferry that runs every half hour to the island from Manhattan or Brooklyn. On the island you can rent bikes (I am too poor for their expensive rental rates) or just walk.

We stumbled upon the NYC Poetry Festival happening on Governor’s Island. In a green area, different poets read their writings aloud to audiences who lay on the grass. We ended up sitting down on the grass and taking in the words of the poets who spoke. There was one poet in particular that Dillon loved. We ended up seeing him on our ferry back to Manhattan and struck up a conversation with him. He was really cool and he has a book on Amazon as well as YouTube readings (Click here to see his book)

There is also a part of the Island filled with hammocks. We ended up laying on one and falling asleep for a long time. This also led to some awkward tan lines and burnt skin. It was relaxing though!

On Sunday we saw the musical “A Gentleman’s Guide To Love and Murder.” It is a comedy that takes place in 1909 London and won the Tony for Best Musical in 2014. I used an app called Today Tix to get last minute cheap tickets. (Usually this leads to nose bleed seats) We had the worst seats in the house. The highest tier, the last row and on the end two seats. At least we got to see the show and could see almost everything happening on stage.

Then we went to my favorite greek place in Astoria that I talked about in my previous blog. After, we were surprisingly still hungry enough to go to Big Gay Ice Cream. It started out as a food truck in 2009 and made its debut as a restaurant in 2011. The place is filled with rainbows, unicorns and unique ice cream sundaes! The line was crazy long, but super worth it!

Sadly the next morning Dillon had to leave and go back to Pittsburgh. Shout out to him for driving 6 hours here then taking an hour bus from Jersey into the city just to see me and my un-air conditioned dorm. He also had to drive that 6 hours back on Monday and go to work the next day, so THANK YOU for coming to visit!

It was back to my work routine. I had signed up for a networking party on Monday night a couple weeks prior called “Intern Queen.” Lauren Berger is the “Intern Queen” after doing 15 internships in 4 years of school. Now she is working with employers to help find others great internship opportunities! She is also the author of her book “All Work, No Pay,” which has been extremely successful. She now hosts these networking parties in different cities in order to further her mission.

The event was AMAZING! When I entered, I was handed a free LeChamp tote bag, filled with goodies such as makeup and jewelry. There were designer cupcakes, Macy’s representatives doing makeup, photo booths and free wine upstairs.

Then there were panelist from across the board, giving their insight on internships and job placement. The information was incredibly helpful. (Seeing as I graduate in a year and have to find a job in the entertainment industry).

One of the scariest things is going to these events alone. (I talk about being alone a lot I realized) I ended up making friends with the girl behind me in line. Since I had to come straight from work and all they had to eat was cupcakes, I was starving by the time it finished at 10:30. Luckily my new friend was one the same page and we headed out to grab food together. As we were walking, another girl came up to our group and asked what line we were taking back. We then told her we were eating then heading back and invited her. She came along.

Before you know it 3 strangers are eating at a BBQ joint near Penn Station splitting a Sangria pitcher, sharing stories about internships, college and life. Also before you know it, it is 1:00am and you have work the next day!

I find it so incredible how you can jut meet people by chance and talk to them all night. That is something that makes New York so different and special. There are so many instances where I just meet random people everywhere! It was one of my favorite nights in New York and it was not planned at all. I didn’t even know who these girls were until I got to the event. Anyways, my point is that 90% of life is showing up. Just having the courage to go somewhere or make an appearance can take you far in life and lead to some incredible opportunities.

I know this is getting long so I will just talk about another large event in my life.

Tonight I saw The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway in the front section of the theatre. First of all, if you are going to see a classic musical, or one you are really interested in, definitely spring for the better seats. After sitting in the nose bleeds for the past weeks, it was magical to see a musical take place at eye level.

My fingers are still shaking a bit as I write this post because it was such a great experience. I have always watched the movie and listened to the music, but to see it on a stage was wonderful! (Go ahead, call me a nerd) I love the story and the music and the set design was beautiful (and I could go on all night).

Anyways, I have been listening to the music on Spotify all night.

Well, only 3 weeks left in the city and still so much to do! Updates to come!