Papel Chiltepin: New York, Belatedly (with a quote by Jay-Z)

This post is very, very late as I went to New York in March.

While Javier went to Tucson over BGSU's spring break, I took the train to NYC and stayed with my friend Joon, a friend from Sarah Lawrence, in Park Slope. After stopping in DC's Union Station and seeing my mom for a quick lunch, I met Joon at Penn Station in the late afternoon. Joon is an excellent hostess. She held a chicken and waffle brunch on Sunday (though her made-from-scratch sticky buns were the highlight) so I could reconnect with folks. Hossanah--also from SLC--came, and Sandy, from Redlands, with her gf Carly, plus Julie from Tucson High and her hubby Ritesh! I also saw another SLC friend--Jordan--later in the week for lunch and was able to to catch up with everyone from brunch again. It was so, so good to see old friends-definitely the best part of the trip.

The other best parts were the food, the museums, and the walking. There was little of Manhattan that I didn't zig-zag my way through, though, regrettably, I didn't hoof it through Central Park.

I saw the Cindy Sherman show at MOMA, and was pleased to discover the Print/Out and Sanja Iveković: Sweet Violence exhibits. Having already viewed it years before, I swept through the permanent collection, and somehow missed the Diego Rivera exhibit, not realizing it was there until I left. Per Julie's suggestion,

I went to the Museum of Art and Design (a museum I'd never visited) and was blown away by the Swept Away, Glasstress, and Hanging Around exhibits, especially Swept Away which is comprised of pieces made from ash, sand, smoke, dust, pollution particles, etc. Exposure to all the art left me feeling more creative. I contemplated mapping my New York trip via Facebook check-ins ( a very consumer-based art project, but my mind has been map-focused all semester) but never got around to it. I desperately wanted to see my friend Nicole's piece in the Bearden Project for the Studio Museum in Harlem, but the Museum was closed on the days I was there!

As for food: I had a list of gems I wanted to try, including Pok Pok Wing in the Lower East Side and NuNu Chocolates in Boreum Hill, Brooklyn. I also savored as much Thai food as possible, and was able to dine on some delicious sushi with Joon, Hossanah, Sandy and Carly my last night in town.

The day I left, Joon took time from work to walk around Brooklyn with me, and we started our day with a perfect everything deli bagel. That afternoon I took the train back to to Ohio, circling through upstate New York along the lakes, and reaching Toledo--and the freezing rain--in the wee hours of the morning.

I think the only way to end this post is with a quote from Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind." So here it goes:

"These streets will make you feel brand new/Big lights will inspire you, let's hear it for New York"

(I didn't take many photos, and these are not that interesting--mostly documentary--I guess because I didn't bring my camera, or because I was having too good a time to snap photos with my phone.)