Ending the Month with a Bang

I survived orientation and the first week of classes. In addition to assisting my students I am once again taking a class of my own. I am taking a scriptwriting class with my friend Tiffany.

Aside from that I am keeping busy with lots of other things. Last week Esther and Michael took Sarah, Joe, and I to Smoke for some dinner and live jazz. After the show Joe and Sarah took me to Rattle N Hum in midtown for a round of beer which was also fun.

My friend Shannon treated a group of us to an evening at Medieval Times. There was jousting, falcons, and theatrics. We then all went back to Shannon's for some Wii.

Luke and I have hung out some more. Esther and Michael took us out for restaurant week, we saw Nine at the Times Square Movie theater (and had to ride a billion escalators to get to our theater, and today we met up with my friend Paula at the Brooklyn Museum to see the Rock N Roll Photography exhibit and have a late lunch in Park Slope.

At work we decided to have a monthly outing on the last Friday of the month. This month we had dinner at The Stand and later went for a drink at Cowgirl which is a fun western themed restaurant in the West Village.

The new gym is working out great. I have learned there are class I like/am good at like interval training and belly dancing, there are classes that I am just not coordinated enough for (Salsa), and there are classes that make me want to cry (anything with the words Boot Camp in the title).

I also have been meeting with a weight loss doctor and nutritionist (as part of my new years resolution). I have lost 8 lbs in my first too weeks of the program. I will keep you all posted on my progress.

New Year-New York

I have been crazy busy in a good way at work with my new group of students. I love my new digs downtown and it is nice being so close to my friends Carrie, Tiffany, Jane, Joe, and Theresa who also work in the same building. Carrie and I joined Lucille Roberts which is a gym in the NYC. Theresa and Tiffany will most likely be joining us there too. I have really been enjoying it. I loved CURVES but was ready to switch it up a bit. It is great having friends to work out with now. I am enjoying the classes even though they kick my booty. My biggest challenge is being really uncoordinated. I have accepted that no matter how much weight I loose I will never be a "delicate flower".

My friend and former roomie Lukie has been coming to NYC every week as part of his job. It has been great spending time and catching up with him. We hung out in the Village one night and I took him on a little walking tour. We were freezing but stopped for yummy hot chocolate at this cute place on 8th ave and 14th street. I don't remember the name but we will be back. Lukie also came over to my place and we had dinner at Picket Fence in my neighborhood.

Esther and I saw a new play called Time Stands Still. It was incredible and had a great cast, Laura Linney, Brian D'Arcy James, Eric Bogosian, and Alicia Silverstone. We had a really nice and casual post theater meal at Glass House Tavern.

Carrie, Tiffany, and I went on 10 hour shopping spree yesterday. Although all I have to show for it is a new pair of heels, a new top, and some Old Navy gym cloths which is fine. We had a great time hanging out and discovered a great dinner called Fat Annie's Truck Stop which was really fun.

Right now I am just getting ready for orientation next week and classes starting the following week. Lots going on this month though, some upcoming adventures and another new article. Stay tuned.

Conections and Reconections

Mid December was the typical end of the semester rush. Apart from work it was filled with holiday parties for work. It is nice being downtown now because I am by my co-worker friends Tiffany and Carrie now. A few weeks ago we went to Heartland Brewery with our other co-workers Paul, Jen, and Brian. After dinner we went to Dragonfly Karaoke. It was one of the most non-threatening karaoke lounges I have ever been too. We had a ton of fun.

Esther and I celebrated the end of 2009 by going to see Nine with our friend Linda. We went to the Ziegfeld Theater which was a first for me. It is an old live performance theater that was converted into a one screen movie theater. After the film we went to Fiorello's for dinner.
Before leaving for the break I briefly met up with my college friend Matt who was visiting from Boston.

The past week and a half I have been in Cleveland. A head and chest cold unfortunately has made up most of this holiday season for me but I still have had time to get together with old friends. My high school friend LeeAnn and I took a mini road trip to Detroit so that she could hang out with her college friend Erin and so I could hang out with my college friend Julie.

Sarah and I had dinner with our friend Chris and had a breakfast with our friends Kevin, Ashley, and LeeAnn. I have not seen Ashley in years and she was one of my best friends in high school so it was great to get together with her. Kevin is someone else I have not seen in a million years and it was fun to reconnect with him too.

It is a New Year and I am preparing to head back to NYC and get back to the grind of things. I have made my resolutions below and am sure I will update my progresses on this blog through 2010. Have a happy, healthy, and joyous New Year.

-Paula

Resolutions
-Go to the gym more often (actually switching gyms and will post more about that this month)
-Post more frequently on my blog
-Take better care of my self both physically and taking time to de-stress
-Only putting energy into friendships where the other person is putting energy in it too. I would rather have a small tight knit group of friends who are steadfast then worry about sustaining friendships where I am the only one initiating contact
-Making to do lists and sticking to them
-Try to live more simply
-Put more effort into into walking out the door confident and with a smile on my face
-Worry less about trying to please others and concentrate more on being pleased with myself