Sunday, November 30, 2014

The-Month-That's-Holding-Us-Back-From-Christmas

Hey!

It's the end of November!
Or from the title above, "The-Month-That's-Holding-Us-Back-From-Christmas."
Haha, it's extremely long but true (or is that just me?).

How was your month?
Are you excited for the holidays?

I know I am!!!!!!

For me, November hasn't been as interesting as October (If you want to know about my October, read my "Octoberoll" posts).
However, there were some highlights that I enjoyed.

I'll just list them right now, so you get an idea.

1. I did some volunteer work for Thanksgiving
2. I took a stroll through Central Park
3. I went to watch "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" on Broadway
4. I spent some time with my best friend

So, first up.
Volunteer work!

Last year, I took part in the 92|Y "Teensgiving" volunteering event. Within the event, there's sub-groups that you'll be assigned to. Last year, I had spent the day in the building making bracelets out of yarn for children in hospitals.
This year, I was spent my day writing letters to veterans.
Actually, verteran* for me.
Yup, I spend a few hours writing a letter to one person.

Like what everyone says, "quality over quantity."
So, I'd rather spend meaningful time and effort over one letter. Than write some meaningless words to someone that's dedicating their life for us.

Like last year, they had this giant board for everyone to sign their names on.
Last year, I didn't sign it :\
But this year, I did!




Can you find me?


" Another soul left to fade ~ So come find me ~ "

After a few hours of volunteer work, we were dismissed from the building.

The 92|Y wasn't far from central park. So I decided to walk around in Central Park.
And of course, I took pictures.
Despite, it being a cold and grey day.


























After the walk, I went to the Michael's (craft's store) nearby.
I just love walking around stores, looking around. It's fun to get lost at just looking at things.
So, going there was fun. Especially, since I like looking for and using new art supplies.
They had Christmas things, so that was EVEN BETTER.

A few weeks later...

I went to see "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time," at the Barrymore Theatre.
The play's based on the book (of which I read) by Mark Haddon, and it was (in my opinion) a 10 / 10. It was an odd, and yet interesting novel. There were parts of the book, that were really insightful and beautifully written.

The book's about a boy, Christopher, who has aspergers. He sets out on an investigation, when his neighbors dog is murdered. The aspiring Sherlock Holmes discovers the truth about his family, on this journey of self-discovery and of course, the search for the mysterious dog killer.  


(I blurred out a line, due to privacy reasons).

This was a class trip, so I'm very grateful that the theatre allowed us to come and watch for free. Since we all read the book as a class, it was nice to understand the plot of the story beforehand.

Here are some pictures of the Barrymore Theatre...



A lot of chandeliers and elegant lights.




I'm pretty sure you're never to take pictures of a show, but it's our little secret. 

My view of the stage before the show...



Intermission...



Sneaky parts of the show... shhh...



Overall, the play was AMAZING.

The music was absolutely BEAUTIFUL, the set and lighting made the experience even better. As you can see, the stage is like a cube made of grids. Using these grids, images were projected onto the set. Which brought the story to life, without the excessive use of props. It was also cool, how there were secret compartments along the walls and floors. For example, in the picture above, steps came out of the wall. And at one point, the floors were lowered for a scene in Paddington Station.



One of the actors (Christopher's father, the one in green or the middle of the picture) was even at the exit after the show :D
My teacher praised his performance, and was about to take a group picture with a few of us. But he left to return backstage :\                     
The view from stage level.













Since the theatre was near Times Square, the view was pretty amazing.
If you were to come to New York City, Times Square is more beautiful at night or sunset.





Finally, the end of my November eased out from stress.
Exams were over, and I got my work done.

So I was finally able to get out of the house, and spent some time with my best friend.

We went to a small diner for breakfast, and the food was DELICIOUS.

Are you a coffee or tea person?
Well, I'm a tea person.





Mmmm... French toast :D

Over easy eggs, bacon, and home fries :)


Yeah, I know.
The food doesn't look as good as those on Tumblr and Instagram. But I feel like it's better than adding a bunch of filters and effects.
(Plus, my phone's camera quality isn't that good).
It was Black Friday after all, so we planned on going to SOHO to shop.

But..... It was too cold. So we decided to hang out at one of our favorite spots.
Mee Cafe.
A bubble tea shop.
If you're interested in going there, it's at 26 Rutgers Street, New York, NY  10002.

We warmed up there, and spent a few hours talking, drinking, listening to music, and playing cards.

I got something different from what I usually get (passion fruit green tea with lychee jelly). I felt adventurous, and got a pomegranate green tea with lychee jelly.
 
Everything they make there (food and drinks) is REALLY GOOD, and cheap as well. So I wasn't disappointed :)




Haha, we had to buy a set of cards. And they only had ones with U.S. military heroes on there (>_<).





We then went food shopping, and eventually went home.
It might sound bland, but it's nice to do something relaxing.
(It sort of reminds me of "Friends," and how everyone just went to Central Perk to hangout).


The weather was also a nice change. Instead of the cold, grey, and rainy days. There were a few times that the sky was blue and sunny.

** (Oh! That reminds me, it snowed in NYC for the first time on 11/26 around 12:40 PM :D But I was stuck in class. Plus, it was mixed with rain, so it was more like cold and wet slush. It then snowed again on Thanksgiving morning, around 11:30 AM). **







I've also been loving these albums...

1. "1989" by Taylor Swift

2. "Goodbye Lullaby" by Avril Lavigne (It's one of those albums you rediscover from your old songs, and fall in love with again).

3. "Atlas: Year One" by Sleeping At Last
I've discovered them through Spotify, and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE their music. Their songs are very calming and beautiful. So I HIGHLY recommend them, if you're into that genre of music.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BY THE WAY.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR, TO THIS DAY?!?!

(I hope you do...)




Haha.
It's the one year anniversary, of watching Dan getting his legs waxed by Louise.
(If you don't know who they are, click their names. And if you want to re-watch it, and piss your pants from laughing, click --> KeepYourVaginasToYourselves).

Yup!
That's pretty much the highlights of my November.
I hope you liked this post (and wasn't too bored).

Hopefully, in December (wow, I can't believe that's tomorrow) I'll write new updates :)
*Cough* My birthday's also coming up *Cough*
I'll try my best to update my blog.
 
Until then, bye!

Friday, November 28, 2014

Octoberoll ~Part 3

I'm back!

For the final part of "Octoberoll."
Haha, it's the end of November. Hopefully, I can write another post before the month ends.

Anyways...
For this last part, I'm going to talk about Alfie Deyes.

I know, I know.
You probably know him (but if you don't, just click on his name above).
He's AMAZING.

Incredibly kind.
He gives off this warm and fuzzy feeling as well (or is that just me?).

And I still CANNOT believe that I met him!

I went to his New York book signing on October 24, and it was absolutely hectic!
There were sooooo many people lined up at Barnes and Nobles!

From here, I'm just going to talk about what happened.

It was like 4:30, when I got there.
There was already a huge line on the street, so I stood in line.
Half an hour later, a huge eruption of screaming goes off.
So I naturally assumed that it was Alfie, but I was too far back to see him. :(











After an hour wait (around 5:30), I finally got to the doors of Barnes and Nobles.











To only find out, I was standing in the wrong line.
-___-

Yup.
The wrong line.

So I walked to the actual line.
And Oh. My. God.
The line wrapped around the block.

It was even longer than the one at the Central Perk Cafe!
(Even though the Central Perk Cafes line was 2 block's long, they were pretty small streets).

However, the streets in Union Square were long. Very long.
It would probably take me 5 minutes to walk around the whole block.

Luckily, I finally got to the end of the line.
It didn't seem that far, from where I was, the line formed an " L " shape from the entrance.
The line got so much longer as time went by (I wasn't surprised, it was a Friday after all).

So I just waited in the right line (this time) for about 4 hours.
From 5:30 to 9:30PM.
In the first hour or so, the line barely moved 5 feet.
Thankfully, the line started to move about every half hour or so.

Now, I'm extremely awkward.
I spent 4 hours in line, with no one to talk to.
My best friend isn't really into YouTubers (I know right, crazy right?!), she's more into TV shows and celebrities.
So that was out of the question.
I wanted to ask my other friend to come, but I was actually in line getting a book signed for her as well. So that would ruin the surprise.
I would listen to music, but I'd waste all my battery.
I ended up just standing there with my brother the whole time.
Fun fun fun.

When I finally got about 30 feet from the entrance, I could see girls coming out from the book signing.
Some were crying (basically, me internally), all bubbly and smiling, or freaking out.
Literally, all the feels inside of me at that moment.

I also got Alfie and Zoe nice gifts, but I wasn't able to finish the letter I wanted to give them.
*Cough* It totally wasn't because I procrastinated *Cough* 

~ I had pictures of the gifts, but they somehow deleted themselves from my phone (Flips table) ~
There was 3 decorative boxes. One for Alfie, one for Zoe, and another for both of them.
Zoe and Alfie's boxes had some miscellaneous things like charms, candy, and rings/necklaces.
The one for both of them, was just some candy and snacks.

Honestly, I didn't know what to expect.
What to say when I met him.

Yup, I'm also unprepared.
MY BODY WASN'T READY!!!

After going past security, I got to the highest floor.
And I could already FEEL the fangirl energy in the room.




I felt my fingers trembling.
I literally.
Could. Not.

Here's some pictures of Alfie while I was in line.



And (of course) the creepy close ups (Sorry if they're blurry!)




Haha, SERIOUS business Maddie.



Alfie's...

 ~ Sippin' life from bottles ~

... or water


(15 points to Gryffindor, if you know where that's from. If you don't, click here --> I'mMissingOutOnTheWorld'sMostAmazingVoiceEver)

When I finally got to meet him, I completely froze.

Our conversation went something like this...

(Keep in mind that I'm very shy, is trembling, and the screaming in the background didn't help at all. So I basically couldn't get a word out, out of panic and nervousness).

Alfie: Hey!
Me: Hi
Alfie: Did you wait long?
Me: Yea
~HE STARES AT ME WITH HIS AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL BROWN EYES~
 Alfie: Awww, sorry. I hope this is worth it
Me: Yea
~INTERNALLY FREAKS OUT AND PANICS, MENTAL BREAKDOWN~
~ He signs the books~
~I start saying "Have you had a nice time in New York so far?" but I barely squeak it out, along with my voice being lost in the background of screaming girls :(   so he didn't hear me~
Alfie: Thank you for coming! I hope you like the book!
~Hands the books over~
Me: Yea, thank you!
Alfie: Bye!
Me: Bye!

(I mean "yea," YEA?!?! THAT'S ALL I COULD SAY WHEN I MEET ONE OF MY FAVORITE YOUTUBERS. WHOM, I SPEND MY DAYS OBSESSING OVER. AND ALL I COULD SAY IS "yea" ?!?!?!?! -facepalm-)

I then gave the gifts to Maddie, and I had a better conversation with her than Alfie.

Me: Hi
Maddie: Hi!
Me: I got these for Alfie
~Hands the gifts over~
Maddie: Wow! All of these are for him?
Me: Yea
Maddie: Thank you!
Me: Oh! And I love your laugh in Zoe and Alfie's vlogs!
~Maddies smiles and laughs~
Maddie: Awww, thank you! I hate my laugh
Me: Nooo, it's cute!
Maddie: Thank you
Me: Yea, bye!
Maddie: Bye!

Yup.
So much better than the conversation with Alfie :\
I wish I could have a redo.

I then said "Hi" to Alfie's mom, and left the book signing.
You know that buzzing feeling after being nervous and shaky?
Well that lasted for an hour, and all the way until I got home.

Overall, the day was great.
I met Alfie, his mom, and Maddie.
I got 2 of his books signed.


So I started to tweet out about the book signing when I got home (around 11:30 PM).
And on Twitter..
ALFIE FAVORITED MY TWEET.
MADDIE ALSO FAVORITED MY TWEET.

Wooooooooooo! :D






This was the ultimate ending to a great day :)

Anyways...

This is the end to Octoberoll!

Even though I'm a month late (sorry for the procrastinating,) I hope you liked all 3 parts of my month of October!

:) I'll be posting another post (I know, postpostpostpostpostpostpo- I need to stop :p) before the month of November ends. A few exciting things happened, so stay tuned this week :)

** (I'm not going to post the pictures that my brother took of me with Alfie, because of privacy reasons. I hope you understand) XO **