Went to Manhattan today

For some reason it feels like I've haven't been into the city for a while. I was in Harlem all last weekend, and since then I've stayed in Astoria, so it was nice to go into Manhattan. I went early this morning to apply for a barista position at Oren's daily roast- a really cute coffee/tea shop. It's very quaint and small, and I felt very good as soon as I walked in there. The atmosphere is very inviting- not too independent but not too corporate. Don't get me wrong, I can do corporate coffee. I applied to a few starbucks last week and I will definitely take the position if I'm asked to. I would honestly rather work for Oren's because it was intimate and personable, but I'm kind of getting antsy to work somewhere. Well not anywhere. Not a stinky mailroom.

So after I turned in the application at Oren's I explored Manhattan! I felt good with myself because this was the first time I thought "ok. If I go this way then I'll end up here." Before it's been "ok. If I go this way then....uh....well I can always ask someone where the nearest subway station is if I get lost." So I ventured over to Central Park. I needed to memorize lines for an audition tomorrow, and I knew I would be less tempted to 1. eat 2. sleep 3. watch tv or 4. play on the internet if I studied the script away from the apartment. Plus, it was a great day to be outside.

I will admit, it took me a couple hours to sit down in Central Park and start studying. There was so much to look at! I came across the filming of "The Nanny Diaries" with Laura Linney and Scarlett Johanssen. I got a picture of Laura Linney (see below) but no Scarlett. They had a TON of people around the set- techies, assistants, nannies for the actors, tourists, extras...it was insane. I smiled at what I could already hear my mother saying to me, "Emily! Here's your chance! Go stand over there! Maybe someone will look at you and ask you to be in the movie!" Sweet mom.

So I did the Central Park thing for a couple of hours, then I made my way uptown to have lunch with Omar. Well, that didn't really work out and I ended up in Harlem. Why do I always end up in dominantly black neighborhoods? It must be my Houston roots pulling me there. As I was exploring Harlem (and once agan, I could hear my mother's voice in my head....) I stopped by a clean pizza place (a lot of them aren't clean) and got a huge slice of veggie pizza, some cantelope, and one of those smart waters my dad raves about. Do you see a pattern forming here- my family constantly comes up in my thoughts. I always notice things they would like, places they would like to see, comments I know they would make. After lunch I came across Columbia University and snapped a few shots for you to see. If I had the money I would go there in a heartbeat. I'd call up Natalie Portman and be like, "hey girl. So I heard you went here. I'm going here too. Want to put me in a movie?"

I had half of my lunch left over, so instead of heading home I found Omar, gave him the food and walked a couple dogs with him on the upper west side. A few of the pics are from that part of town, which is really cute with it's brownstone buildings- I think SATC was filmed there.

Now I'm back at home. I'll be in for the rest of the night working on lines. Hope you enjoy the pics.

love love.
Em