New York City: Day 4

I woke up to the most beautiful snowfall I had seen in years. Well, mostly because I live in California and all, but that’s a minor and insignificant detail here. People were building snowmen on our way to the subway station, Joanna was throwing snowballs at me (lol) and it was almost perfect.

We headed straight to the Guggenheim, which was…well, it was what it was. The building itself was beautiful. The Agnes Martin exhibit was a little too abstract for me (and, like, if it’s abstract even for me, that’s saying a lot), but I really enjoyed Sun Yuan & Peng Yu’s Can’t Help Myself and Maurizio Cattelan’s America, aka the well-known 18-karat gold toilet. (Side note: this toilet stood for everything that we learned about in my Icons class. It is a readymade that makes art accessible to the general public by showing them something they are familiar with. It is making a collective experience into art: everyone uses the restroom, the way everyone drinks Coke, which is what Andy Warhol attempted to depict in his Coke bottle painting. You see, not everything you learn is useless.) The best thing about this toilet is that it’s not even in a glass case or anything, and as long as you wait in line, you can go ahead and use it. I’m pretty sure no one did, though, they all just went in, took a picture, and flushed it.  

If all of my dreams turn to shit, at least they should go down an 18-karat gold toilet. (yes, reusing my Instagram caption, but you know what?)

It's a work of art containing works of art. It's artception!!!

After the Guggenheim, we went back to Central Park for a bit (we found a duck!) and then headed straight to Broadway to pick up our tickets to see Chicago. We had lunch at the Starbucks on Times Square (because we just love exploring local food) and then found our way to our seats in the second-f@#%ing-row! It turns out Joanna did a good job with the tickets. Now, I'm not too keen on musicals myself, but Chicago was great. I had seen the movie version before, but I still enjoyed it, except for the part when I fell asleep and woke up to find one of the dancers staring straight at me. Whoops. But it’s all good, as in the end, I was one of the people to catch those roses they throw into the audience, which had always been one of my life goals. Well, not really, but anyway. It was nice.

It's a little ironic that we went to New York to see Chicago.

Once we were done with the play, we headed straight to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, and stayed there all the way until closing. Now, the museum itself is really good, and you can expect to spend quite a bit of time there, but it really emotionally exhausting and definitely not for everyone. 

After the museum, we walked around for a bit, went into the Westfield World Trade Center, which is a mall that looks pretty much like a Venus flytrap, although Joanna couldn’t really see the resemblance. Then we went to Burger King and had chicken fries, because – once again – we just love local food.

See what I mean about it looking like a carnivorous plant??

But I honestly wish we had malls like this in LA.

Following that, I had the sudden urge to go see the iconic Hotel Chelsea, the “informal artists’ colony” of 20^th century New York that was once home to the one and only Patti Smith, Robert Mapplethorpe, Andy Warhol, Arthur Miller, Jackson Pollock, and many other people you should really have heard of. So we took the subway all the way to the Chelsea, got lost in the process after turning on the wrong street corner three separate times, and after that entire venture, got to the Chelsea only to find the neon sign completely dark and the hotel cloaked in darkness with scaffolding all around it. I mean, I should have expected that tbh, since the hotel officially closed in 2011, but still. It was truly tragic (well, not really, because a tragedy implies an irreplaceable loss and all that, but you know what I mean). In all my sadness, I snapped a few photos, and returned to the subway station, defeated.

"Dystopias always begin as utopias, and the Chelsea is no different."
(I highly recommend you follow that link)

On the way back, Joanna convinced me that our stuff wouldn’t be there by the time we got home, so that subway ride was somewhat stressful, but it turned out to be a false alarm. And that’s it for our penultimate day in New York.

Click here for day five.

19 Things...

That's right everyone, it is that time of the year! Today is June 8, 2016, the day before June 9, 2016, which happens to be my 20th birthday. Crazy, isn't it? I'll no longer be able to vote at the Teen Choice Awards. Not that I had done so in the past five years, but -- y'know -- it was good to have the option.

Anyway, once again, like last year, I wrote a list of 19 things I did that happened to me at 19, this time in chronological order. And once again, like last year, I've decided to post it on this little blog of mine. So here goes nothing...

At 19, I...

1. High-fived Dan Smith from Bastille! 
2. Spoke at a nationally televised protest for my high school.
3. Got my own bank account (lol) #adultthings
4. Moved to Los Angeles, CA.
5. Started college at USC, as a Cinematic Arts major.
6. Joined the Silks section of the USC Trojan Marching Band.
7. Started taking Russian classes.
8. Went to my first (and hopefully last) college party, which was scary af.
9. Swam in the ocean.
10. Traveled to Chicago (and San Francisco and San Diego).
11. Performed in the ucla (sucks!) pre-game and halftime shows (with Slash!).
12. Started the One Second(ish) a Day project.
13. Saw my idol/favorite artist, Patti Smith, live.
14. Worked as a script supervisor (and BTS photographer) on the Emmy* award-winning TV series CON (and was the only person not to miss a single day on set!).
15. Was selected to be a Resident Assistant.
16. Was interviewed on the radio.
17. Went to Disneyland.
18. Presented my work at a research conference.
19. Made the Dean's List (twice!)

(BTW, posts about the second half of this list are in progress)

So yep, there you have it (OMG, I had those exact words last year and totally didn't remember). Pretty adventurous year, I must say. Although I slightly altered this list from the one I wrote down into my little notebook, because who really wants to read about heartbreaks and awkward elevator rides and former friends who drink wine out of Starbucks cups in Glendale coffee shops, but anyway, I digress-- Let's try again: although I slightly altered this list and replaced a few very personal details, it's a pretty comprehensive one, and I can confidently say that this was pretty much the first year when I didn't take forever to think of things I hadn't done before, and when I didn't need any filler points, because those are terrible and obvious.

BUT, to end this post on a more positive note, this year has hands down been one of the best, if not actually the best one of my life. I finally got to live the life I had been dreaming of and working towards for over five years, and I couldn't be more grateful. Wait what. Ugh melodrama, gotta up yer game, Layra. Tis not yer style. OK, I think this is a sign. A sign to stop writing. So bye. See you all when I'm 20. Farewell. Over and out. Seriously, though, see you soon, everyone! Thanks for sticking around and not leaving this blog a ghost town!

Also, here are some photos, so you guys don't strain your imagination too much:

  

(16) On the radio.                                       (17) Disneyland w/ MLA and SaRAh

(6) The Holiday Bowl Parade with the band.

(14) My Script Supervisor Name Tag

(15) My RA Selection Decision

(18) My Research Paper Abstract

(2) Not my best look, but hey, that's me! On TV! In defense of a good cause!

(13) Yes, I actually saw Patti Smith. It was all real. AND I ran into Fabi <3.

(10) Yours truly, in Chicago (feat. random kid who color coordinated his outfit with mine)

*College Emmy