Two Thousand and Fourteen

I am approaching this upcoming year with excitement and some trepidation. NYC has proven a tough place to live thus far, but I have also seen and experienced so much good. I feel as though the past 4 months in the city have been a whirlwind. I've done a lot in such a compacted period of time. From meeting Jimmy Fallon and Brandon Stanton, attending the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade, cheering at the NYC marathon, getting involved with World Vision, embarking on the crazy whirlwind of NYC real estate, finally landing an apartment in Brooklyn, watching the tree go up in Rockefeller Center and playing in snow in Central Park, starting a job and then finding a new nanny job, I have had an extremely rich 4 months.


This has been a year full of much joy and much change and yes, even pain. When 2013 opened with friends in Raleigh, watching the ball drop in Times Square, I had no idea that in a year I would be ringing in 2014 in Manhattan. I have had the amazing privilege of being able to travel a lot this past year. In February I went to Dallas, in April I explored Chicago, June found me in the deep south land of Alabama then into New Orleans. July found me in Georgia, in late August I moved up North and in September I saw my parent's new home in Massachusetts.


2013 was truly a year of joy for me. Joy that was sometimes wrought through hardships. I think the difference between happiness and joy was cemented in my life.  Happiness is circumstantial and often fleeting. Happiness can fade quickly and leave bigger discontentment in our hearts. Happiness can lie, and tell us that what we really need to be more happy is stuff, power, relationships, etc. Happiness comes and goes. Joy. Joy is deeply rooted in the heart, it doesn't come easily, but isn't easily stolen away. Joy is beyond circumstances and joy whispers into the dark parts of life; "you are loved. You have meaning and the Lord is working this for good, even if you can't see it."  Joy has been found in my life this last year through celebrating weddings and engagements, and through holding my friends' newborn babies and finding out friends who have been trying to have babies are finally expecting! It was found in exploring new parts of the country and catching up with the friends I've had for 10 years. In moving 500 miles away from everything and everyone I love; being emptied of comfort and familiarity and having to depend solely on God for financial provision, for friendships, for a place to live; expecting Him to meet me in the lonely aloneness that is NYC.


I think 2014 will be a year of courage for me. As my friend Amanda B. said, it's taking a step from comfort into courage. I read this quote by Nelson Mandela on the cover of the newspaper the day after he died; "I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it". 

So some of my 2014 resolutions?


1. Learn to triumph over fear - and walk by faith and into courage


2. Travel even more! Hopefully go overseas again this year :)


3. Learn as much as I can this next year in NYC about photojournalism

Happy New Year!

HONY

Before I moved to NYC, I was hooked on an Instagram feed entitled "Humans of New York." The photojournalistic nature of the photos really spoke to my own style of photography. The feed featured a few pictures a day of people in NYC and a small question or blurb about their lives. Some questions were along the lines of "if you could give one piece of advice to a large crowd, what would it be?" and others were "tell me your saddest memory" and others just featured adorable children stylishly dressed featuring the caption "Today in Microfashion." I always liked HONY, but it wasn't until I moved here that I realized why I liked it so much. I was drawn to the humanity that the feed highlighted. Some of the photo/story pairings literally brought me to tears. Other made me chuckle. The photographs were gorgeous and well-composed.  There are over 8 million people on this tiny land mass. Everyday we bustle past people on the streets, in restaurants, on the train, in stores, coffee shops. And we walk fast, with our heads down, focused on getting to our destination without knocking some one over (or getting hit by a cab). We live very isolated, trusting no one, our defenses always up, staying alert to danger and also trying to zone out with our music as we travel.

What Humans of New Yo

rk does for me now is highlight what we often miss in our hurry. Children walking home from school, a homeless man looking for change, a woman journaling in the chaos of Grand Central, couples embracing. Stories fly from the mouths of people who may be very lonely and just want a listening ear. Often people who are photographed are those who are marginalized. Homeless people, kids in Harlem, people who work night shifts. I think those most likely to get photographed by Brandon Stanton are those who are pausing from the chaos. He likely wouldn't approach someone running through the intersection. HONY is a reminder to slow down. To look around. To listen to people, to ask them questions. One face at a time, thousands have been photographed out of millions. And from what I understand the photographer has no intention of stopping. We all have a story to tell.
Brandon* released a book** in October - a coffee table book featuring a few hundred of the stories and faces that make up Humans of New York. I don't think he was expecting the success he received - not just from New Yorkers, but from people all over the country. Even the world. Knock off blogs have been created, all telling people's stories with their photograph as a companion.

I purchased a book, kept following the blog and Instagram feed and kept hoping that maybe one day I would be featured on this feed. On Tuesday, a picture of a man who works at Barnes and Noble appeared with the caption: last minute book signing at Barnes and Noble on the upper East side, tomorrow evening. I had to go. Crammed into Barnes and Noble with thousands of others like me, I waited in line for almost 2 hours. And something crazy happened. All the nameless people I was waiting with became HONY friends. We started talking, swapping stories, each sharing our love of the blog and Brandon's work and how we appreciate the way he highlights life in the city and humanity here. Through his book, 3 or 4 people out of 8 million in the city, and thousands at a book signing, got to know one another. And I think that's what the goal of my life is - getting to know people. Hear their stories. Share their joy and their pain. Learn about them, invest in them. And Humans of New York is just one way that happens in my life.

Brandon signed my book, and the Barnes and Noble people bustled us away in a flurry. Too many people wanting books signed for small talk. Which was sad, and probably just the opposite of HONY's purpose. But nonetheless, I now have one more cherished memory from my time in NYC.  

And maybe we'll meet again. Maybe I will yet be photographed as a part of the Humans of New York.

*Go to his blog, http://www.humansofnewyork.com/ for his full story and why he ended up in New York.

**I actually posted a video on my blog around the time the book was released, a Nightline interview conducted with Brandon. Check it out here: http://corinnenyc.blogspot.com/2013/10/humans-of-ny.html

Turkey Day

Staying in the city for Thanksgiving was such a fun experience. Since we're from the Motherland, my family has never really made a big deal about Thanksgiving. Not that we don't think it's good to give thanks, but we don't have any of our own special traditions, per se. Now get back to us on November 5th, Guy Fawkes Day, and we'll chat... just kidding. We don't celebrate that either. The Brits don't have nearly enough fun holidays! I digress.
I stayed in the frigid city with no intention of venturing into the 28 degree weather to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. But people wore me down, until I had every intention of getting out of my warm bed, complete with heating blanket, at 5 a.m. to watch the parade. At the last minute, a beautiful intervention occurred. A friend of mine who works in law enforcement offered myself and three friends access to watch the parade from behind the police barricades. And it was awesome! We didn't have to show up until 9 a.m. and we watched the entire parade from an almost empty side of the street. My toes were numb by the time we left at 11:30 and I felt really bad for my other friends who had to wait since 6 a.m. I am thankful for the experience, but I have no desire to do that again. Next year, I will watch the parade on my couch in my Christmas-themed jammies (I don't own any, but I should...). Then Friendsgiving proceeded out in Brooklyn and I met some people from my church, including a couple with a 5 month old baby that I definitely snuggled most of the afternoon. There is a definite atmosphere of excitement in the city right now. It's intangible, but I can feel it. The lights are going up on people's stoops, the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree will be lit tomorrow and will stay lit through January 7th. Pine trees are for sale on the side of the road, stores are playing Christmas music, the weather is chilly, and people to be in slightly higher spirits (I am in NYC, I have a low bar of expectations for pleasantries these days). Overall, this is a very fun month to be here.
I moved into my new apartment on Sunday. Yes, I sold most of my possessions before I moved from Raleigh. No, I don't have any furniture. And yes, somehow I had way more than I imagined. My friend Winter helped me move in her car and then we dragged stuff up four flights of steps (I counted- in our building that's 50 stairs just to get to our door). I read the other day that walk-up buildings are back in style in the city and people are paying top dollar to live in them, so yay us for being on a trend that we didn't know about. But we did it unintentionally, and to save money. Why on earth would someone pay more money to live in a walk-up? Have they no furniture? Do they not carry heavy groceries up those steps? I mean, New Yorkers face hundreds of steps a day, just going in and out of subway stations and into stores and buildings. Why is it charming to live in a building with no elevator? All I know is that I will have killer calf muscles by the end of our lease! Once we have some things in order I will take pictures and post them for you to see.
On a serious note, some of you may have heard about the train accident in the Bronx early Sunday morning. I had a concerned friend check on me, and it was the first time I was alerted to this. Now, of course, it's all over the newspapers. It was a commuter train from upstate NY bringing people into the city from the suburbs. Apparently the driver fell asleep, and the train took a turn at 80 miles an hour, which derailed it. The authorities don't suspect any drug, alcohol or cell phone use. Of the over 500 people on board, four died and 70 were injured. The whole public transit system is messed up while they fix the tracks. Please keep these people and their families in your prayers. Such a tragedy, and such a reminder to be thankful for every day that we arrive at our destinations safely.
Now I feel like I must end this on a not so somber tone.
Let this sink into your brains... a customer bought some gift boxes, tape and wrapping paper at the Container store on Saturday. That's all. And it totaled... wait for it... this will blow your minds... $800. Eight. Hundred. Dollars. On wrapping paper and gift boxes! Which she of course, had delivered to her pent house apartment on Park Ave. It was unbelievable.
Also, for further proof that the English language is devolving, check out this link:
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/11/english-has-a-new-preposition-because-internet/281601/

Yelp

All I wanted was some sushi. An innocent enough request. My friend Margaret and I decided that we would try this little place in midtown that got some great reviews. We hit up H&M first for some sales then wandered to this restaurant. The tiny room boasted a fridge next to the front door, a small counter with two low stools and a smiling man at a counter-turned-kitchen area. We said –“um, we’d like some sushi please.” He smiled and pointed at the small fridge next to the door. In it were our pre-packaged sushi options. Margaret and I looked at each other for a moment then decided –okay, we’ll stay. Why not! Now the sushi was probably good when it had been cooked that morning. The rice was a little dry, but the experience was worth it. Never in my life have I dined in front of a mirror at a counter that I could barely reach sitting on my stool while a sweet Asian man smiled on. Not even when I was IN Asia. The experience was really great, and I will sum it up this way –oh, New York City! Then we went to get frozen yogurt. I will not soon forget this experience, but next time I want sushi, I’m going to an actual restaurant with fresh cooked rice and avocado that isn’t slightly browning. Thanks Yelp, for this suggestion!

In other news – I’m moving to Brooklyn on Sunday. I found 2 girls to live with and we have found a 3 bedroom apartment in a newly renovated building in the Clinton Hill area of Brooklyn. I will be much closer to my job and the area has many cute little coffee shops and restaurants, and,-joy of joys!- we will be nestled in between a Target and a Trader Joe’s just a 10 minute train ride away. I think this will be a nice change of pace, although I’m actually really sad to be leaving the Bronx. Yesterday was my 3 month anniversary in NYC and the time has flown by. I can’t believe it’s been that long. In that time I’ve started to make a home here and I’m excited about getting to settle into a new apartment for a year. We have no furniture (the other two girls moved here from California) so we’ll be sleeping on air mattresses and eating on the floor, but that’s what Ikea and Craigslist are for.

I’ve also had some visitors in the last couple of weeks. My friend Brittany and her sister and friend came up to visit and we went to the Statue of Liberty and the 9/11 memorial, two places I haven’t seen before. We spent some time in Central Park, went to a comedy club, went to the Highline Park, ate some wonderful food and went to the Chelsea Flea Market (which is a parking garage that gets converted into a flea market warehouse on the weekends).
The next weekend, a friend from Raleigh came to visit the city (I am friends with her friend Winter through my connection in Portland, Anna, and Kimberly and I share a friend in Raleigh, Elizabeth. Crazy connections – huge city, small world). Winter and I made plans to have dinner in Rockefeller Center, and when I showed up, who was there but Kimberly! It was so nice to be surprised by her and we ate and walked through the area. The tree had started to go up, but it still has all the scaffolding up. The ice skating rink is open. Christmas is coming to the city, and it is beautiful.

Speaking of Christmas, cold weather has come. It has snowed twice (it didn’t stick, but that’s not the point). I have started dressing like an Eskimo, but I hear the worst is yet to come. Bring it! We are forecasted to have snow on Thanksgiving day, so that will be wonderful. I will be in the city for this weekend, and we’re having a “Friendsgiving” with some people from church on Thursday and Friday I plan to watch movies all day and relax. I do work Saturday, although I somehow managed to escape the Black Friday craziness.

I will post pictures when I move into my new apartment!

26.2 miles

The New York City marathon last weekend was incredible. I have never been to a marathon - I know, it's crazy, you can't believe that I haven't run a marathon. The most I have ever run is a 5k, and I have never seen the point of running 26.2 miles or watching others do it. Yet there was something so energetic about it! To see thousands of people from all over the world running; setting goals and achieving them, running for a purpose or cause or with a reason - that was invigorating to watch.
I got to the meeting place in the morning when the weather was a brisk 48 degrees and we watched the elite runners come through (these are people who can run 26 miles in 2 hours. Umm, is anyone else blown away by this? I'm pretty sure my 5k took me an hour...) and then a steady stream of other runners hit the 24 mile mark where we were stationed. Some people had on costumes and accessories, they had their names written on their shirts, were part of a team and we cheered them on. Some smiled and raised their hands victoriously - others looked on the verge of tears. The energy and tension was palpable. For 7 hours we screamed ourselves hoarse as one after another the runners for Team World Vision passed by, and as we cheered on others. "Don't quit! You're so close! You're doing so well! This is amazing - YOU are running the NYC marathon." It was contagious. Don't get me wrong -I'm nowhere close to having any desire to run 26.2 miles, but for the first time I felt like I understood why some people run. For the Team World Vision runners - about 28 total- they were running for child protection. These individuals were avid runners who had been invited by WV to run and raise money for global child protection. Their goal as a team was $140,000. By the day of the race they had in over $207,000!! One guy ran the race in a tutu because he promised he would if he met his goal of $32,000. And this money is going directly to benefit programs through World Vision that are advocating on behalf of innocent, victimized children.
If that doesn't get you excited, I don't know what will.

Some of the Team World Vision runners

Halloween

I think my favorite thing about Halloween is seeing all my friends' children dressed up in their cute costumes. Instagram almost exploded with cuteness between 6 pm and 9 pm on the 31st. The subway in NYC did not almost explode with cuteness however - I'm still a little traumatized from some of the costumes I saw! The Empire State Building was lit up in orange for the evening and I tried Korean food for the first time with a friend. This weekend is the New York City marathon. I am very excited to be able to photograph and write a story on the World Vision team running the race this Sunday. I'll post the article once I have it written.
I also submitted an article to the website youarenotaphotographer.com. If you've never visited this page before, you should! It's a collection of work from people who have advertised professional photography services and are terrible. I've been laughing over this site with friends for about a year and finally decided to submit something. It's just a little blurb about my own evolving journey with photography and they posted a few of my pictures! You can click here for the article.

And a reflection. I have been thinking about the inevitability of change the past few days. I have moved around most of my life, and have spent time in different countries at various times. I have built relationships, put down roots and poured energy into friends and people; at times I have left, in other circumstances they have left. Sometimes, through no fault of our own, friendships change and people outgrow one another. We drift apart, we change zip codes, we marry, have children, go overseas, travel and gain new experiences that isolate us from others in some respects. And this can be a beautiful thing if we allow it to be. I have friends in Texas, Thailand, Chicago, Alabama, Idaho, Raleigh, Georgia, Africa, California, Iowa, Portland, Virginia, New Orleans, Australia, and many, many other places. They're like these beautiful roots that are spread out across the globe; people who at some point in time have poured into my life and people I have loved deeply. and ones I still have the privilege of talking to and visiting and sharing my life with. It looks different, but it's no less beautiful. Some view these changes as excuses to withdraw their love or refuse to invest in people because of the risk involved. That is an option, I suppose. It certainly would spare us the pain of loss and separation. Yet I firmly believe there's a richness that will be missed in living this way. I miss Raleigh and my dear friends there, but I realized the other day that even if I stayed in Raleigh and tried to hold tightly to what isn't mine, I would have lost it anyway. Because things change. And that's a good thing. I look forward to eternity when those of us who have put our faith in Jesus Christ are gathered together forever. With no pain, no separation, only joy and community together. This is the hope that we Christians live for and long to see. If you read my blog and you're not someone who has put their faith in Jesus, then I really want to share with you the beauty of being a part of God's family. Life gets hard. Being a Believer doesn't exempt you from suffering and hardship. What it DOES do is give you security  in Him and freedom to live your life free from fear of death, free from losing relationships with other Christians. You are welcomed into this community - you can find forgiveness, friendship, joy and eternal security. A family that may be spread across the world, but that one day will be together with Jesus. I'd love to talk to you more about this if you ever want to:)

 ESB on Halloween

 Fall has come to the city. Central Park is gorgeous right now!

 As promised, some pictures from Warby Parker!

 This was an escalator going down in a subway tunnel. It was actually a little creepy, and plastered with ads for Once Upon a Time in Wonderland

8:58

Only twice in my life have I overslept to the point of being totally late for where I was supposed to be. The first time was in college when I slept right through a psychology class. The second time was in Raleigh when I woke up an hour and a half after I was supposed to be at my nanny job. And I had about 3 missed calls from the child's anxious father wondering if I had been in an accident. While those were not shining examples of my punctuality, I was always able to throw on clothes and run out to my car and drive as fast as possible to my destination. When one awakens at 8:58 for a 9 a.m shift in NYC things change. I dressed quickly and scrambled downstairs, but as I have mentioned in a previous post, public transportation is completely out of my control. I walked as fast as I could to catch the 9:20 train, but due to the red lights at the street crossings, I walked up to the station as my train was pulling away. Most of the time, trains run every 3 to 5 minutes. Not on this fateful Wednesday. The next train was in 10 minutes. I just took a deep breath, turned on my music and waited. When the train ambled in at 9:30, it was packed with people and it's possible I could have gotten to work faster if I walked. I clocked in at 10:10. I was not in the best mood, and a co-worker greeted me with her signature 'hello' - singing off key. I usually robustly join in and together we harmonize in a way that can only be described as cats fighting. But today I was too frustrated to sing back. She sidled up to me as I explained what happened and she replied "well, it can only go up from here!" Which brought a smile to my face, as she was completely right. The rest of my day was fantastic, and I will regale you with more "crazy customer" tales as several of you have mentioned wanting more stories.

A customer excitedly approached the register with wrapping paper in hand as she exclaimed "this is recycled! I actually put back the paper I like better because this is recycled." Now I love caring for the earth as much as the next person, and think recycling is a good practice. But I thought this was a little over the top. As I bagged the wrapping paper in the long plastic bag made for it, she said - "now is that recycled? Because you know, I only use things that are recycled. Maybe that paper one?" So I bagged it in the paper bag and with a disappointed sigh she noted "it's only 60% post-consumer recycled" and walked away. Ok, lady. Go hug a tree now. Oh wait, we live in the concrete jungle. You can't.

Our lovely store is two stories and there are two ways to access the second floor- the elevator or the stairs which are directly behind it. Not really hard to find and well-lit for customers to find their way. There is no exterior door to the street that leads upstairs. I was on the second floor and a customer worriedly approached me and asked me where the stairs were. They were directly behind her, so I pointed her that way, not wanting to ask her the obvious - "how did you get up here in the first place? Did you really forget where the stairs were?"

A man purchased some magnets. $112 worth of magnets. I will say no more.

A customer wearing big sunglasses inside (which I've discovered since moving here is a big pet peeve of mine. You're not famous. Take off your shades. And if you are famous, we still recognize you. You look like yourself, wearing sunglasses) checked out at my register. But it wasn't the sunglasses that bothered me as much as her scarf. Which extended to her knees and was made completely of what looked like fox tails. It was disgusting. And just weird.

Yet another complaining customer chased me and yelled "you're the only employee on the second floor! I'm so mad. I need something to hold my silverware. Let me tell you, I called the hotline trying to get your phone number but you're not listed. You have made my day horrible and you really need to fix it." Yes, I am in charge. In fact, I was screening the phone call and decided not to answer because I thought it would make you more angry. You're welcome.

 After work I went out to dinner with my small group. We have decided that every other week we will indulge in an "ethnic food night." Last time was Ethiopian food, and this time we had Indian* food. Yes, I ate it with my hands, and yes my hands smelled like tika masala the next day. It's just that good you guys!

*random side note- I have officially been back from India one year. That's so crazy! It feels like yesterday in a lot of ways...