Surviving the Winter
Standing in the waiting room of some office uptown, I take off my scarf and huge coat. I'm thirty-one floors up and it is starting to snow. I can see the river from up here. I don't take the time to get my bearings to figure out which river, I just think about the last time I was in a building this high. It was on the Upper East Side while I was cat-sitting. One of the many jobs I've had since moving to Manhattan. [front desk attendant, house-sitting, substitute teaching, doctor's office, swim coach, blahblah] And here I am .. waiting to be interviewed for yet another.
I've been up since 5:30 [6:00 if you count when I actually got out of bed when I quit hitting snooze] I had to be at the Aqua Center to coach the Nightingale swim team with Shanequa. I have also been to my digital class at school. We are learning how to create proper websites. A little bit ago I was walking around the meat packing district [new home of top fashion.] I saw them filming Queer Eye in one of the boutiques. I had an interview with a photographer. The office was crowded. They were in the process of moving. The previous studio had a fire, but luckily all the negatives [of tropical islands and Martha Stewart] were salvaged. He brought me into a room that smelled like fire and berries. Stacks of negatives were there waiting for eager interns to file and organize. I acted like I was interested in doing all that work, in case I was. I have decided I am not. If I get this job for weekends it will free up my weekdays and I can work for the other photographer, Kevin
A young blond woman with short hair comes down the hallway and I greet her halfway. She leads me to a room of frosted glass and view of the city. She explains that she is a personal assistant of the family in need of a babysitter. [I know it's odd to apply for a babysitting gig.. but the ad said male or female, and my friend Laura said a lot of parents want male role models to play and hang out with their kids and not the usual spanish speaking nanny] The father is the former C.E.O. of BMG Music. They have two houses. One on the Upper East Side and one upstate. She can't hire me for the job fast enough. Questions and smiles.
She says I'm perfect for the job and is so happy to have found me. What if the oldest, who is twelve, says your shoes are ugly? I would laugh! I say. She likes my answer. She explains she had sent a young NYU girl to the house and the oldest said her perfume smelled vile. The young girl walked out. I told her of course he said it was vile! he's a twelve year old boy..haha She said I could work whenever I wanted. I told her every weekend. She asked for concerns and I explained that I wasn't able to work on Sundays for religious reasons. She understood completely and said they would too.
When I spend the night at their house I will have my own room, bathroom, and kitchen. I think it may be a guest house. I take a train to meet the family on Saturday. Either they can't hire people fast enough because the kids are monstrous and can't keep a sitter for any period of time, or this is an MTV prank show of some sort. We will see.
I rush to Silk Screening. I didn't have time to buy supplies today. Which is good because I don't have money for the supplies anyway. I'm not far behind the others, I can prepare my screen at home before the next class. Wednesday is my fun day.. as far as classes go.
I come home and eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and waffles that have been in my freezer since I moved into this apartment. I'm trying to avoid spending money on groceries or anything until I know I can pay for rent this month.. let alone the payments I'm behind for tuition. I hope they don't kick me out. They won't.
I leave for church to go to Sign Language class, which doesn't start until next Wednesday. It was almost a waste of a trip but I went to the Family History Center and learned how to do the proper research to trace my genealogy.
Now I am at home. I am not clearing away the junk in my room. I am not organizing my things. I am not finally writing down my New Years Resolutions according to my tradition. It's still snowing outside and our windows are wide open. It gets so hot in this apartment that our windows are always open.
I could discuss my stay in Florida. I had the whole entry planned out before I went to the Temple. It was such a horrible vacation until then. And now I have trouble thinking of anything but the joy I had that day. There must be opposition in all things. That is something I'm learning more lately.
Disappointing was the word I was going to use to describe my feelings about my trip back home. But the Temple was far from disappointing. I have gone to the New York Temple twice since I've been back. And I can't wait to go again. On Monday I gave the Family Home Evening lesson on Temples. I used Boyd K. Packer's talk mostly: The Holy Temple I'm so excited to have this refuge from such a hectic life. I can stop everything and go into such a peaceful place and all is put into such clear perspective.
I could write a book about the past two years.
[maybe someday I will]
goodnight.
I've been up since 5:30 [6:00 if you count when I actually got out of bed when I quit hitting snooze] I had to be at the Aqua Center to coach the Nightingale swim team with Shanequa. I have also been to my digital class at school. We are learning how to create proper websites. A little bit ago I was walking around the meat packing district [new home of top fashion.] I saw them filming Queer Eye in one of the boutiques. I had an interview with a photographer. The office was crowded. They were in the process of moving. The previous studio had a fire, but luckily all the negatives [of tropical islands and Martha Stewart] were salvaged. He brought me into a room that smelled like fire and berries. Stacks of negatives were there waiting for eager interns to file and organize. I acted like I was interested in doing all that work, in case I was. I have decided I am not. If I get this job for weekends it will free up my weekdays and I can work for the other photographer, Kevin
A young blond woman with short hair comes down the hallway and I greet her halfway. She leads me to a room of frosted glass and view of the city. She explains that she is a personal assistant of the family in need of a babysitter. [I know it's odd to apply for a babysitting gig.. but the ad said male or female, and my friend Laura said a lot of parents want male role models to play and hang out with their kids and not the usual spanish speaking nanny] The father is the former C.E.O. of BMG Music. They have two houses. One on the Upper East Side and one upstate. She can't hire me for the job fast enough. Questions and smiles.
She says I'm perfect for the job and is so happy to have found me. What if the oldest, who is twelve, says your shoes are ugly? I would laugh! I say. She likes my answer. She explains she had sent a young NYU girl to the house and the oldest said her perfume smelled vile. The young girl walked out. I told her of course he said it was vile! he's a twelve year old boy..haha She said I could work whenever I wanted. I told her every weekend. She asked for concerns and I explained that I wasn't able to work on Sundays for religious reasons. She understood completely and said they would too.
When I spend the night at their house I will have my own room, bathroom, and kitchen. I think it may be a guest house. I take a train to meet the family on Saturday. Either they can't hire people fast enough because the kids are monstrous and can't keep a sitter for any period of time, or this is an MTV prank show of some sort. We will see.
I rush to Silk Screening. I didn't have time to buy supplies today. Which is good because I don't have money for the supplies anyway. I'm not far behind the others, I can prepare my screen at home before the next class. Wednesday is my fun day.. as far as classes go.
I come home and eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and waffles that have been in my freezer since I moved into this apartment. I'm trying to avoid spending money on groceries or anything until I know I can pay for rent this month.. let alone the payments I'm behind for tuition. I hope they don't kick me out. They won't.
I leave for church to go to Sign Language class, which doesn't start until next Wednesday. It was almost a waste of a trip but I went to the Family History Center and learned how to do the proper research to trace my genealogy.
Now I am at home. I am not clearing away the junk in my room. I am not organizing my things. I am not finally writing down my New Years Resolutions according to my tradition. It's still snowing outside and our windows are wide open. It gets so hot in this apartment that our windows are always open.
I could discuss my stay in Florida. I had the whole entry planned out before I went to the Temple. It was such a horrible vacation until then. And now I have trouble thinking of anything but the joy I had that day. There must be opposition in all things. That is something I'm learning more lately.
Disappointing was the word I was going to use to describe my feelings about my trip back home. But the Temple was far from disappointing. I have gone to the New York Temple twice since I've been back. And I can't wait to go again. On Monday I gave the Family Home Evening lesson on Temples. I used Boyd K. Packer's talk mostly: The Holy Temple I'm so excited to have this refuge from such a hectic life. I can stop everything and go into such a peaceful place and all is put into such clear perspective.
I could write a book about the past two years.
[maybe someday I will]
goodnight.