Tag Archives: Meg in Manhattan

Live Blog to the Winter Meetings

A few of the NYU Tisch Center students and I were recently chosen to represent NYU at the 2013 MLB Winter Meetings in Florida. After prepping for our trip, printing out resumes, ordering business cards, and my favorite part, shopping for suits and dresses, we were on our way to Orlando. As with most trips, I once again decided to live blog my trip, this time however, beginning with my shopping journey with Katie.

 

Saturday December 7th, 2013

12:43 PM – Leave apartment in yoga pants and Northface shell. Pick up a hot chocolate on 2nd and 9th and proceed to walk down to Houston and Broadway to meet Katie. I severely underestimated the wind as it whips across my face and flushes my cheeks.

1:00PM – Meet Katie on the corner of Houston and Broadway and begin our shopping adventure into SoHo. We were both a little crunched for time, so we map out our shopping adventure and plan to hit Zara, Mango, Gap and J. Crew.

1:37PM – In line at Zara to try on a number of dresses. Everything here looks so cute and comfortable, but I must resist the temptation and focus on the mission ahead of us.

1: 41PM – Realize that every dress is too short for my 5’10” and probably mildly inappropriate for the Winter Meetings. I pick out a cute black dress and proceed to check out.

3:11PM – Arrive at J. Crew after walking two blocks past it. I bask in the beauty of the preppy prints and

3:24 – Proceed to try on every business like dress. Decide on a cute grayish frock, content with my purchase.

3:42PM – Phone dies as I begin to walk back home. I enjoy the calmness that ensues in my walk home. As I type away, I realize that calmness and quietness are only relative. New York is never calm.

4:00PM – Home sweet home. Quickly charge phone, put my slippers on, make some tea and catch some of the Mizzou v. Auburn pregame show.

6:15PM – Leave apartment to print out resumes at Staples.

6:34PM – Arrive in Union Square and try to avoid getting trampled by tourists wandering through the Holiday Market.

7:03 PM – Leave Staples with resumes in hand and head to Anthropologie to see if they have any cute business dresses to finish out my wardrobe.

7:29PM – Head to J. Crew, buy a cute blue tank on sale. My bargain hunting skills are polished after a day in SoHo – I pay a third of the original price. Go me?!

7:31PM – Eye an adorable bluish-purple dress on my way out of the store. Try it on and decide that it’s the perfect pair to the rest of my outfits.

8:10PM – Leave J. Crew for the third and final time for the day. To say that I’m in love with their style would be an understatement.

8:39PM – Arrive back home at the apartment with resumes, some new make up, a Christmas gift, and my new purchases. There’s nothing like a shopping day.

10:24PM – Face Time my friend, Ryan, to catch up on all the latest. He offers to help pack (after about 20 minutes of begging) and promises to head over to the East Village.

11:33PM – Ryan arrives and laughs at my lack of packing ability.

11:40PM – Dance party with Erin and Ryan. Begin The Devil Wears Prada and continue to pack, drink tea, and finish some left over ice cream.

3:30AM – Ryan heads home after a night of giving heartfelt advice and being a great friend.

Sunday December 8th, 2013

10:00 AM – Wake up. Brush teeth. Get dressed. Repack bag and stuff running shoes into suitcase.  Realize that I probably won’t have time to run but stuff them in anyways.

10:51 AM – Leave apartment with my Ryan’s garment bag, backpack and purse in tote, and catch the nearest taxi. I get the sudden feeling that I’m growing up and realize I’m graduating in less than a year. YIKES.

11:09 AM – Arrive at Lafayette, where Katie lives, and head to the airport. Though we are hours early, I didn’t want to take any chances considering my tract record.

11:34AM – Arrive at JFK for our 3:30PM flight. Proceed to sit down and attempt to relax in the slightly uncomfortable vinyl airport seats.

1:17PM – Meet up with two other Tisch Center students, Mike and James. Mike is a huge Rangers fan and all-around superstar. James is a fellow NYU student-athlete who runs Cross Country. We went to Indianapolis for the NCAA Career in Sports Forum two years ago. Both guys are baseball studs and are on the NYU Diamond Dollars Championship winning team.

1:32PM – Meet up with Professor McDonnell and Dan (a grad student on the trip).  Check in; drop off our bags and head towards security.

2:25PM – After getting through security, we proceed to the food court for a quick lunch. It’s great to be meeting and hanging out with a completely different group of people than I’m used to.

3:01PM – Arrive at Gate 16 for our flight to Florida. After a few minutes, another grad student comes up and says hello to our professor. He’s attending the meetings as well. Truly shows how small of a world it is.

3:30PM – Depart from gate. I’m sitting next to Katie towards the back of the plane.

4:30PM – Explain to the 6’6” guy sitting next to me why Katie is clapping her hands and quietly screaming at the TV… Typical Pats -they’re down by 5. Let’s see if they make a comeback.

4:37PM – Katie has a (mini) freak out because the Pats just scored a touchdown. Pshh, Boston fans.  They won.

5:12PM – UCLA wins NCAA Soccer Championship.  It was a great game that went into OT. Quite honestly I think the better team won!

6:08PM – Land in Orlando 20 minutes early.

We’re here! I’ll continue to update the blog throughout the week – can’t wait to get started.

 

 

Live Blogging My Way Back To New York

Nothing is better than some play-by-play action of my flights back to New York, not that my Twitter feed isn’t interesting or anything, right?

Have Suitcase, Will Travel

Have Suitcase, Will Travel

3:33 PM – So I’m already 3 minutes later than I would like to be on my journey back to the Big Apple, but hey, it happens.  Just said goodbye to Sibel, Jesse, Jenni, John, Kenta, Shelby, Nani, Petey, and the family and am now off to the airport.

4:05 PM – Just checked into the commuter terminal to LAX and GUESS WHAT? MY BAGS ARE UNDER 50LBS! I really do think this goes down in the record books as an achievement as Meg the Packing Princess usually is over by 25 pounds.

4:17 PM – Bags are checked, just said goodbye to mom, and now through security. Love the commuter terminal – no lines, no hassle and the sweetest people ever.  I got my seat moved up to the Bulkhead on my next flight and am pretty stoked about that, as well.

4:58 PM– Commence texting everybody in my phone about how much I miss them. Yikes, this is what happens when you put your emotions out there?

 5:11 PM – Time to board the plane. We are flying a tiny 30-seater plane and we take off in about 20 minutes. It was actually pretty cool to walk out on the tarmac to the plane and I just sort of twirled around and took in the beauty of everything around me for the last time: the radiating sun, the fresh smell of the salt-water bay, the picturesque palm trees bouncing in the light wind, the booming noises of the airplanes around me. So this is what living in paradise is like.

 5:52 PM – Just landed in LA. Well, that was quick! Can’t really argue with a 27-minute flight, can you?  Have to go pick up my bag off the tarmac and transfer to the main terminal and chill out for the next couple of hours. YIPEE.

6:19 PM – Picked up Anthony and Cleopatra. I think I was supposed to read that for soccer, but does buying it count for anything?

6:38 PM – Time for dinner and the only thing in this terminal is a Sammy’s Wood Fired Grill? Guess I will have to settle, so I grab a seat at the bar because lord knows ordering a table for one is just incredibly depressing and reminds me that I am all alone again.

6:41 PM – Commence creepy server guy commenting on my “Legs of Steel” and how they would be awesome at skull crushing. SAY WHAT? I’m all for making new friends but, eww, get away from me.

6:43 PM – I order a grilled chicken with kalamata olive and grilled pepper pesto wrap. Yum (I hope).

6:52 PM – I scarf down my wrap because for some strange reason I am hungry beyond belief.

7:10 PM – Pay for my food and head to the magazine rack. Flip through some issues of Shape and Men’s Health and reminisce of my times at FQ10. Begin to get emotional, slap myself with a slice of pizza (just kidding) and head over to the seating area. TWO HOURS UNTIL BOARDING. UGHH.

7:19 PM – Begin to fill out paperwork for soccer, register for health insurance for London, and as my old boss used to say, GSD.

7:31 PM – Walk around the terminal to find a working outlet. None to be found. What is wrong with this place?

7:51 PM – Grab a Veinte iced coffee from Starbucks because lord knows I need one before getting on a red eye. NOT.

8:00 PM – Plop down on a chair, open my laptop and begin to put thoughts on paper because that is the only thing that seems relieving at the moment. I still can’t believe I won’t be back until December. Am I ready for this right now?

8:58 PM – Pack my bag up as they begin to call first class for AA Flight 10 from LAX to JFK.

9:01 PM – Board the plane and find out that I’m sitting next to this awesome girl and her dog named Rupert.

9:04 PM – Begin to chat with aforementioned seat-mate and begin to fall in love with Rupert.

9:11 PM – Rupert farts. No joke. WOULD I LIE TO YOU?

9:30 PM – Flight begins to taxi away from the terminal. Goodbye California.

9:44 PM – Pull out laptop again and commence writing my life away. Typical right?

12:14AM (PST) – Computer has 7% battery and I begin to realize I might want to sleep before getting to New York. Damn it I shouldn’t have had that huge coffee.

4:58 AM(EST) – Wake up as the plane begins to descend over Long Island. A rolling fog clouds my view but I don’t seem to care because I’m finally back.

5:14 AM – AA flight 10 lands safely and taxis to terminal 8.

5:52 AM – My bag is the last to come out of the belly of the plane but the thought of not knowing where to go makes it all okay. I contemplate telling the taxi driver where to go.

6:08 AM – Hop in a cab and stutter for a quick sec where to go. The 8 months I spent away from my city is obvious. I can’t seem to remember my cross streets or which bridge I prefer to go over or even my favorite radio station. Is it Mercer and Bleeker or Mercer and Houston? Welp. This is embarrassing.

6:31 AM – Arrive at 181 Mercer Street. Realize the gym doesn’t open for another hour. Plopped myself down outside the door.

7:03 AM – Realize that it is in fact Sunday and the gym doesn’t open until 9AM. Contemplate getting THINK COFFEE and then realize that they don’t open for another hour either.

7:15 AM – Two awesome NYU security guards let me into Coles and carry my stuff to the couches. Oh the perks of making friends with the guards.

And with that Meg is back in Manhattan!

Chilling Outside Coles

Chilling Outside Coles

Hola Amigos

Hey friends! Welcome to another Megventure!  The countdown has officially begun for Madrid. Less than 12 hours until I plant my feet firmly on Spanish ground and begin my next world adventure. It is still incredibly surreal that I’ll be living in a foreign country for the next FIVE MONTHS – I’m sure when the jet lag catches up to me is when everything will hit me. Living abroad is nothing new to me, but exploring, adventuring, and forging a path on my own is incredibly fresh and novel to me – it makes me tremble in my boots (but just a little bit). The fact that I won’t be able to communicate fluently and that stores won’t be open 24/7 will provide just enough culture shock to settle me down.

I’m currently sitting in the Dallas-Fort Worth American Terminal nibbling on a banana, charging my iPhone (not that it’ll be of much use in Spain), jamming out to some music Phebe picked out for me, and typing my life away. This morning was an early one beginning at 0430 when American Airlines called to confirm my flight. Less than an hour later I was awoken by Bandit and Bear for the last time this break and made my way downstairs with my bags. I think everybody would be surprised to hear that I fit ALL of my clothes into a single suitcase and the rest of my shoes and toiletries into my NYU duffle. YES. You heard right, ONE SUITCASE. Let’s not recall the numerous times I have overpacked, but I think I deserve a crown or something for that. Unfortunately my reign as Packing Princess did not last long because as soon as I checked my bags I was told a) my suitcase was 4 pounds over and b) I did not have two free bags. Thankfully enough my bright eyed smile came to the rescue and the woman felt bad and upgraded my seat on my flight to Madrid (though I did have to pay for my bags).

No Idea How I Fit It All In There

No Idea How I Fit It All In There

After getting through security with a quick pat-down of my hair “because it’s beautifully poofy” (yes, the TSA agent really did say that), I made my way to my gate and promptly was asked by a soccer Mom if I really did play soccer (as if the soccer jacket and lovely thunder thighs didn’t give it away). We talked soccer for a long time, which always puts me in a good mood, then I boarded the plane where I sat next to a huge Everton fan. It was a quick two hour jaunt over to Dallas, where I quickly made my way to the Admirals Club. As soon as I sat down, a replay of a Liga game was on at the bar and two Barça fans were smoothly speaking Spanish – discussing Messi’s recent Balon D’Oro win (Go Barça!).

There’s really something about the beautiful game that makes it so unique – it transcends age, gender, race, everything. I can be anywhere in the world, and fútbol never ceases to find me. I am truly a lucky individual to not only be a student of the game as a player, but a fan, and hopefully a teacher of the game. To my amazement and incredibly disappointment I have heard from numerous sources that women’s soccer is not a commonality in Spain. I’m going to take this as my opportunity to make an impact and hopefully spread soccer to the female population because it has had such a definite and huge impact on my life.

Missing Them Already

Missing Them Already

I’m getting ready to eat some almuerzo (lunch) so I’ll finish here.

If anybody is in Spain or Europe for that matter, please do not hesitate to contact me – I’d love to meet up.

For more updates, check out my twitter @megpatten and my instagram @mpatten1

Palabra del Día (word of the day): Aventura – Adventure

Hasta Luego

Unproductively Productive

Hey! Hope everybody’s week is off to a sold start. Yesterday (Monday) we had a game and won 4-0 over St. Joseph. A huge congratulations goes out to Melissa Menta and Serra Tumay for breaking records – check out more info here. Anyways, It’s 2AM on Monday Night/Tuesday morning and I cannot fall asleep. I switched brands of tea so I’m thinking thats what’s keeping me up. Either way, I have been some what productive working on homework, facebooking, and trying to make a header for this blog. Here are two that I made tonight what do you guys think?

 

 

Off to bed 🙂 Sweet dreams everybody and Happy Tuesday!