10 Ways New York City is different than Dublin, VA.

OK ya'll. I FINALLY made it to New York City! It was a long journey. I worked three jobs in the six months after graduation to get myself here and look at me, I made it! I have been living in Brooklyn for about 2 and a half months and I love it. I still can't believe I am here and everyday I am reminded just what a small town girl I am. For the one person out of one thousand that pass by me on any given day, I probably look pretty comical. Below I am going to list some of the reasons a city like New York can be challenging for a girl arriving from Dublin, VA. Here we go:

10. Grocery Shopping. This is the one daily activity that still makes me homesick. Not just because the elevated cost of food (which actually isn't that bad), but because of the sheer magnitude of people trying to buy food when you are there. My first experience was at Trader Joe's, an awesome and super cheap grocery store. I almost had a panic attack trying to select some grapefruits. In Dublin, VA we have Wade's Foods where everyone knows your name and on Sunday if you didn't see someone in church you are bound to see them in line for Fried Chicken after the service. The only time I have seen Wade's full with with people is right before a "snow storm" and 3 inches of snow is scaring people into a milk buying frenzy. In New York, it's like a snow storm is about to hit every single day. And when a snow storm is about to hit it is even worse! The checkout lines wrap around the store and it is literally someones job to direct you to an open cashier. Oh my word. Also, there is a plethora of healthier food choices up here above the Mason Dixon Line. I made a complete fool of myself when I went into Whole Foods and asked an associate where I could find a Diet Coke. She seriously laughed at me and said, "Um, we don't sell that here. It has too many preservatives." I just gave her my best "Bless Your Heart" smile and thought "well excuse me for never shopping at Whole Foods but we don't have those where I come from and you can ALWAYS buy a Coke in Dublin." I am doing much better now though and have actually learned to love the new selection of food!

9. The Hoodlums and Hustlers. People will hustle you for just about anything up here. You may think that a naive small town girl would be easily swindled by those begging for money to buy flowers for their granddaughters funeral, oh yeah that happened, but you would be WRONG. My mama didn't raise no fool! It does get hard to hear story after story and not wonder if there is any truth to what they are saying. You also don't want to seem cold by not having sympathy for them but you really just have to learn to tune it out and say your own private prayer for each person. Also, I am living on limited funds too and do not need to be giving handouts to anyone just yet. The only people to whom I am ever compelled to give any money are the little guys that get on the train and break dance with their boom boxes. They always brighten my day and they are usually pretty good! Most people don't watch them or even clap for them, but I do! I love it when they get on the train and start dislocating their shoulders and moon walking on the moving subway car, I know that ain't easy! For now I am keeping my money to myself though and when I am rich and famous I will be sure to make up for lost time.

8. The Subway. I have never lived in a place for an extended period of time that required me
to take public transportation so figuring out the MTA Transit was a real challenge for me. So far I have only ended up in Queens once when trying to make it back to Brooklyn and have only missed my stop on the Subway one time. In Dublin you can basically walk just about anywhere and a drive through town takes less than 5 minutes. Waiting for the subway here is always a fun time to count the rats that scurry around the train rails and once you are on the train you can have a seat and wonder if you are sitting in water or urine, you may never know. My favorite part of the train are the conductors. Every now and then you get someone with real personality driving the train! One time before the holidays this was an announcement in Brooklyn, no lie: "Young man on the first car sticking your leg out like that. This train is not a toy. It will rip that Shi** off! If you wanna spend your holidays in the hospital then that is your business but I don't wanna do the extra paperwork. Everyone else have a safe and happy holiday!" Need I say more?

7. The Overall Pace. People are not lying when they tell you that things move VERY quickly up here. No one likes to wait for you to make up your mind about anything. This creates a problem for indecisive people like me. Example: I can be standing in line waiting to order a coffee and trying to decide whether I want a pastry to accompany my beverage and before I know it I have been moved through the line and I am holding a soda I didn't want and a chocolate croissant that I can't even remember ordering. I think that sometimes I get so nervous I blurt something quickly so they won't yell at me and then I end up with things I don't want and spend money I don't have. This is a problem for me. In Dublin people are happy to give you all the time in the world to make important decisions like these...not in New York. Not ever. I have to get better at this.

6. The Kids! OK so this is one of my favorite things about New York. You can just tell when you see a kid that was born and raised in New York City. They walk the street like they own it and they have some serious swagger. They are so funny! I feel stupid around them because they already know so much about this big place and I still feel like I know NOTHING. Also, I am pretty sure most of them could beat me up. Seriously.

5. A Darker and Gloomier Wardrobe. When I began my first temp job here, my counselor told me that I would need to incorporate more black/corporate style clothes into my wardrobe. I was shocked because I am someone who loves lots of color. She was totally right though! Everyone here wears black, like everyday! I am embracing the black clothes I have purchased but I still have to jazz it up with some pops of color. I'm not sure if people are just depressed or what the story is on the black clothes but I am learning to adjust. I mean I guess black clothes are to Manhattan what Camouflage is to Dublin, VA. Everyone just walks around like they are going to a funeral here and everyone in Dublin is prepared for an impromptu hunting excursion. It's really the same thing I guess.

4. Fancy Things! So you can buy just about anything in New York City at any time of the day. It's like a reallly big Wal-Mart but spread out all over the city so you just have to work a little harder for everything. All the fanciest things in Dublin come from Wal-Mart....or CVS. The closet thing to Wal-Mart here are the massive Target stores and K-Mart, but even the window displays at K-Mart look exciting in New York! Some of my favorite stores to roam through are Macy's, Saks, Sephora, and the Apple Store...HELLO! I currently work at The American Girl Place and my favorite time of the night is when all the customers are out and I can skip through the store and look at all the merchandise. Even Starbucks is fancier here! Slowly I am beginning to incorporate clothes that don't come from Gap Outlet into my wardrobe. I want to buy so many fancy things but I have to practice amazing amounts of restraint.

3. Restaurants and going out. I have determined that if you go out to eat in New York it is impossible to sit down for a meal for less than $20.00 unless you are hitting up a fast food place or getting 99 cent slices somewhere. It is really hard to not go out to eat all the time here though because the food is so delicious. You will have the best most authentic ethnic food of your life in New York. I have loved everything I have eaten so far. Also, bar hopping is pricey up here unless you go out to some awesome cash only bars in the East Village. Some of my favorite places I have eaten and gone out to so far are S'MAC, a made to order macaroni and cheese restaurant...holy cow and this awesome, Yaffa Cafe, a super duper hippy chic place with amazing desserts, and a super cheap bar called Grassroots. All of these places are in the East Village, the perfect place for a bargain hunter like myself.

2. People are always lost. I get asked for directions like twice a day, everyday. I also work in a tourist filled area so this may be elevated from the usual New Yorker. I don't know if I just look like I know where I am going or if I look like a nice sweet girl from Dublin, VA that loves to help strangers but I am becoming an unofficial New York City tour guide. When people would ask me for directions during my first weeks here I would be like, "Sorry ya'll, I just moved here and I have no idea how to help you." Now I get really excited when I know where things are and I think I give off more information than people actually need because I think I'm an expert. It fills me with great joy to be able to help these little lost tourists find their way to Times Square or Penn Station. I feel like Bloomberg should maybe cut me a check?

1. Everyone has a dream in NYC! INCLUDING ME! :) I meet so many actors, singers, dancers, photographers, filmmakers, painters, playwrights every single day! Some people have small dreams like the girl that I work with that had headshots taken just so she could be considered for the role of a dead body on Law and Order. Whatever your dream is, big or small, there is room for it in NYC. People walk around this city bright eyed and bushy tailed ready to conquer the world and I LOVE it. I know that people in Dublin, VA have dreams too, but people in NYC put their dreams out there for the world to see and it's awesome. I am currently trying to figure everything out with my acting dreams. Now that I have figured out how to survive the city I can really focus on getting my career going and audition season is just starting to pick up so we'll see! :)

Well there you have it...I do get a little homesick for Dublin, VA from time to time. I could definitely go for a $3.00 hot dog snack box from Wade's Foods right about now and sometimes I listen to bluegrass on the train just to remind myself of home. So as we say in Dublin...

Until next time ya'll..."I'm just trying to matter" up here in NYC!

xo

How many points is that?

So as I said in my first post, this summer has been about weight loss for me. I have always been a plus size girl and have no problem sharing that with all of cyber space. This summer though, I decided to gain back some control of my weight as a kind of detox from all the nights of binge drinking and pizza in college. Since I am moving to NYC to pursue acting I thought I should begin treating my body as my instrument so that I can be as marketable as possible. Having heard so many great things about Weight Watchers I thought I would give it a try. Jennifer Hudson was promoting their website and I saw that as my call to action because I am a HUGE fan of Miss JHud. Since May 9 I have lost 23 Lbs and it is my goal to have lost 30 by the end of August! Weight Watchers actually makes things easy for you because they give everything a point value based on calories, fat, and dietary fiber. The online version is so easy and you can do it at home. You just have to be honest with yourself and stay on track. On top of watching what I eat I have also been going to the gym regularly. But no matter what people tell you...weight loss is HARD. There are days when all I want to eat are the fattiest most calorie filled foods I can find. This post is dedicated to those foods and their weight watchers point values.

**Just so this post makes more sense, I will let you know that I get 34 points to last me an entire day.**

1. The Doughnut Burger: Point Value=27 Points



That's right...It's a burger...between 2 doughnuts. When you have been limiting yourself to veggie subs on wheat bread and deli turkey all summer...this is what you CRAVE! I'm pretty sure that one bite would send you into a diabetic coma or increase your chance of a heart attack before you turn 30 by 200 %, but man oh man what a delicious way to leave the world.

2. Outback Cheese Fries: Point Value= 73 points



So if I didn't eat for two days straight I could eat a whole plate of these fries. I have been working for the Outback Steakhouse this summer as a hostess. Let me tell you, I have had to practice the most amazing self control when I watch these go by. On days when all the sacrifice just doesn't feel worth it, it's all I can do to stop myself from sitting down with a table that has ordered these and eating their whole plate. If you love cheese then you will love these fries. They are also served with a side of Outback's homemade spicy ranch dressing. AMAZING. They are actually one of the 20 worst foods for you in America but when it tastes this good...who cares right?

3. 5 Fried Oreo's: Point Value= 20 points



OK. So if you are what you eat, I want to be this. If I could eat nothing else for the rest of my life...I am pretty sure I could eat these every. single. day. If you haven't tried them...go, now, and get one. It's an oreo, battered, and deep fried then topped with powdered sugar. There is nothing wrong about this dessert. You can't eat just one so I made the serving size 5 Oreo's on this one, eat one and tell me if you can even stop there.

4. Ben and Jerry's Half Baked Pint: Point Value= 26 points.



I know I am breaking a lot of hearts here. My best girlfriends and I have sat down with a pint of this ice cream a piece and have devoured the entire thing in the time it takes to watch The Breakfast Club. I would like to say that I have eaten less ice cream this summer but that would be a lie. It's an essential food group of summer and I cannot say no to it in 90 degree weather. There is a reason Ben Cohen of Ben and Jerry died of heart problems...I think I found the source.

5. Fried Chicken (breast and 2 chicken legs): Point Value=20 points



We all knew it was coming. I am a southern girl for goodness sakes. Whenever I go home my mom always has fried chicken ready for me because I try to NEVER eat it outside of Dublin, VA. Pair the chicken with a tall glass of sweet tea and you are looking at a 25 point dinner. Debra Messing said it right on Will and Grace when talking about her love for fried chicken, "It's deep and it's real."

I hope this blog was both entertaining and educational. It certainly helped curve my cravings of these foods for the time being. If I ever want to sit down and have all of these things in one sitting, I will have to starve myself for an entire week prior to doing so. Would it be worth it? You tell me.

10 Reasons why the 4th of July is my favorite holiday.

Happy 4th Ya'll!!

It may sound rather odd but the 4th of July is my FAVORITE holiday. I live for this day and it's not because I am super patriotic or anything like that. Below I will list 10 reasons why this is my favorite day of the year:

1. The FOOD! Thanksgiving might have turkey but I am truly an All American girl when it comes to my favorite foods. I love grilling burgers and hot dogs, potato salad, banana pudding, ice cream, and the ever important supply of beer.

2. Fireworks! They just make everything better don't they? I mean it's the one and only time when you and an entire group of strangers will sit and audibly freak out over things catching fire in the sky. And they are so pretty...

3. The weather. I personally HATE cold weather which is why Christmas doesn't make my top 3 favorite holidays. I don't like winter and having to stay shut up inside all day. The 4th of July is warm and specifically designed to be celebrated outside in the sunshine.

4. You can spend it with whomever you want. Major holiday's like the aforementioned Christmas holiday and Thanksgiving you will most likely spend with your family and people you never see. On the 4th of July, WHO KNOWS WHO YOU WILL MEET?! It's a great holiday to share with new friends. This year my friends and I met some of the nice families across the street from the apartment complex where we were celebrating and helped set off fireworks with their children. It truly teaches you the meaning of the American Melting Pot when you communicate with complete strangers over nothing but the fact that you live in the same country.

5. The Booze. So I sort of talked about this in #1 but I want to make sure it gets it's own category. There is nothing better than relaxing with a hot dog in one hand and a beer in the other on a beautiful day in July. Two years ago I played flip cup on a floating beer pong table in a pool with red, white, and blue Jello Shooters. You can literally drink as much as you want, this is America and we support that.

6. The Red, White, and Blue. EVERYONE looks good in these colors and it's super easy to decorate and be festive. Whether you really get into it and cover up head to toe in the colors that don't run or you just put on a fun flag themed t-shirt, it's just FUN to wear red, white, and blue!

7. The music. Who doesn't love to sing along to "Born in the USA!" or "God Bless the USA" or "American Pie" ? You can play these songs and just dance around and be silly because it's the 4th of July and you are living in America.

8. This is the one day where people just stop complaining and have a good time. I'm not going to get into a lot of detail here but we live in a country where people express their opinions about the state of the nation constantly. It's just nice to have one day out of the year where we can all just put it behind us and celebrate our Independence!

9. Community Events. Parades, Music Festivals, Fireworks Displays, County Fairs, etc. No matter where you live there is ALWAYS something to do on the 4th of July. Being from a small town, it's the one day a year where all 4,000 people in Dublin, VA are excited to get together. There is just a comradery on this particular day in the USA where we all get excited about the same things. I love it!

10. The USA. People can talk about her all they want but at the end of the day I am an American girl and I love Cheeseburgers, Dollar Stores, Rock and Roll, Coca Cola, my Mama, Barack Obama, musicals, Ford Mustangs, New York City, and Iced Tea.

I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July and that the day was filled with all of the things listed above. If not, then there is always next year and I'm sure all the 4th of July memorabilia is now on sale at Wal-Mart.

xoxo

Third Wheel Blues

We've all been there...Let's examine shall we?

A couple nights ago I was out with some friends seeing a few bands play at a bar in downtown Harrisonburg called The Blue Nile. We had just gotten our drinks and were forced into one of those weird social situations where we were sitting directly across a coffee table from these three underagers that we didn't know. I knew they were underage because of the large black X's placed upon their hands, making the current situation even funnier. As we sat there taunting them with our alcoholic beverages and living up our young adult evening, I couldn't help notice what was happening across the coffee table.

There was the guy we shall now call "Jack" and a brunette girl we will now call "Jill" all huddled together, kissing, holding hands, and playing cute little couple games on the couch. Next to them sat a blond girl we will call "Sally". For a second I thought, "Does Sally know these people beside her? They certainly aren't paying attention to her?" Then Jill asked Sally to grab something out of her purse. OMG! These girls are friends. "Bless little Sally's Lonely Heart..."

We have all been there at least once and if you haven't, consider yourself lucky. Or maybe you have been one of the people torturing your single friends over the years? Anyway, I thought to myself..."Did Sally know what she was getting into tonight? Did she KNOW she was going to be Jack and Jill's third wheel?" Most third wheel situations I have been forced into came on at random, i.e. you think you are going to have a nice evening with one of your best gal pals and she forgets to mention that she is bringing her boyfriend along. What can you do? Of course you love your friend and don't want to hurt her feelings because you are happy for her and her relationship but COME ON...a little warning would be nice.

I continued to watch these kids out of the corner of my eye thinking that maybe things would turn around for poor Sally. Sadly, I was wrong. Her friend continued to completely ignore her. Sally continued to sit next to Jack and Jill on the couch while they groped each other in public. I almost bought the poor sister a drink out of pity. She should AT LEAST get to drink while this is happening to her. Sally sat there looking uncomfortable and terribly mopey.

Here is my advice for these situations. Couples: chill the F*** out. I have a few good friends who are couples that I have no problem going out with because they don't make anything awkward. If you have a third wheel tagging along with you for the evening that YOU invited to come, show some respect for their feelings and save it for the end of the night. Single People: If you find yourself in one of these dreadful situations, don't feel you have to sit there and take it. Go to the bar and find someone, ANYONE to talk to. I guarantee they will understand AND you might just make a new friend. Or you can avoid these situations all together and bring someone along with you if you have enough warning. Either way don't let it ruin your night like poor Sally. You are already out looking fresh so you might as well TRY and have some fun. Stand strong.

Let's all just try and make third wheel situations as bearable as possible. Agreed? Don't be a Sally.

"Bless Your Heart...": Defined.

I called this blog Bless Your Heart... for a lot of reasons. The saying draws its roots from the vernacular of strong southern women. Bless Your Heart... can be used to express genuine sympathy for someone, i.e. "My dog was recently hit by a car." Response: "Bless your heart..." This use of the phrase expresses sadness for the event that has occurred but also lends a kind of silver lining to a grim situation. It provides a sweet and sugary icing on one hell of a day.

Bless Your Heart... can also be one of the biggest F*** You’s you will ever receive. We’ve all heard to be weary of this phrase for this particular reason. If you are unsure of what I am talking about let’s use the example mapped out previously, "My dog was recently hit by a car." Response: "Bless its heart..." Seems nice enough, right? Well, what you don't know is the person handing out this 'blessing' probably didn't like your dog very much; otherwise they would have referenced you and 'your' heart. "Bless its heart..." in reference to the dog would finish something like this, "Bless its heart...that dog was one of the dumbest animals I have ever seen on the face of this earth and thank God someone finally put it out of it's misery." If you were listening with an experienced ear, you would pick up on this right away.

These subtle differences in delivery make a whole word of difference. I am afraid to go into too much detail with the use of this phrase for fear of outing the secrets of myself and the ladies who rely on it to keep them out of trouble. You can decode this phrase by simply listening to the silence that follows the delivery to see what kind of subtext is left trickling through the air. Learning to decode “Bless Your Heart…” is challenging because the phrase poses as such a nice, sweet expression of remorse. My advice: don’t be fooled but don’t be stupid. The ladies using this phrase are not afraid of you so don’t call a sister out unless you can do it using the same sugar coated, back handed genius of “Bless Your Heart…”

The master of “Bless Your Heart…” is my Grandmother, Arleta. She is really the true inspiration for the title of this Blog. This woman is the one that indirectly taught me all the tricks of using this magical phrase...our very own "Hakuna Matata."

My grandmother is a strong southern lady. One of my favorite stories about her is the time she started a bar fight, hit a guy, then had HIM thrown out of the bar. You better believe she was using her “Bless Your Heart…” skills that night! This is the same woman who taught me how to flirt with boys and bought me my first bra. This entry is dedicated to her, the woman who taught me everything I need to know about getting by in this world with a little bit of sugar and a whole lot of sass. I’m sure I will write about Miss Arleta Maye later on in my musings on cyber space.

For now, try and use “Bless Your Heart…” in a conversation today. Put it on and walk around in it. See how it makes you feel. I bet you’ll enjoy it and if you don’t, well bless your heart…at least you tried.

xo



Here she is, the woman who taught me everything. Notice the heels...

I'm definitely not cool enough for this...

OK. So I started a blog. Most people who know me well are currently reading this and asking "What is she gonna write about?" Good Question. I have no friggin' clue. Who cares really, half of you probably won't read it on a regular basis anyway. I am not nearly as funny or clever as my other friends who have these things but I enjoy reading them so much that I thought, hey...why the heck not?!

I do have some interesting things happening in my life currently that could potentially give me something to write about.

1. I just graduated from James Madison University with a B.A. in Musical Theatre. Postgraduate life is always entertaining...right? Guess I will find out....
2. I am moving to NYC in September with two of my best friends to pursue my career as an actor. This worked for Joey and the cast of Friends and that lasted 10 seasons. Joey even got his own mildly successful spin off. I have high hopes.
3. I am currently working at both the Outback Steakhouse and the Regal Cinema to save for this move to NYC. These jobs provide me with a large amount of personal enjoyment both for their AMAZING discounts and my daily interactions with the great people of Harrisonburg, VA. Need I say more?
4. I am also currently attempting to lose weight via Weight Watchers online. I am 14 lbs lighter so far and am excited to share this with you all! Who doesn't love a good weight loss story? This is America.
5. I thought it would be fun to put to use the writing skills I gained while scribing all those papers in college. I don't wanna lose my edge.

Well there you have it...my very first Blog entry. I hope it didn't suck too bad...I tried really hard to sound clever everyone. Cut me some slack, it was my first one. I promise they will get better...if they don't we can just go out for drinks and I will give you the run down. I'm probably funnier in person anyway.


Have a great day everyone!

xo