There is a first time for everything

So let me just start off by saying that contrary to what some of you may believe, I’m not that outgoing. I may seem like the outgoing type when I’m around my family and friends or anyone that I know, but when it comes to strangers, I’m actually pretty shy. This being said, last Friday night I did something for the first time that I never really thought I would do. I went out by myself. Now, I of course have done things alone since I’ve been here, but not actually “go out” as in bar hopping. Every Friday night I usually go to Happy Hour with my Tio and friends, but this particular Friday was different. My Tio was exhausted from working all day and didn’t really feel like going out so I took that opportunity to try something new. I could have still went to HH with all the “regulars” (My Tio’s friends, who are now my friends too), but I decided to google a few local bars near Stuy Town and try them out for three reasons: 1) I felt like just walking and exploring the night life near the apartment. 2) The LES (lower east side) is a hip, trendy area where the young crowd hangs out so I figured I could meet some fun people my age and 3) I was sort of in the mood to “step out of my box.” I don’t know why, but I just felt like testing my limits and getting outside my comfort zone. Well, that was my initial attitude anyway. As I was listening to music and getting ready, I kind of got nervous. I was starting to rethink going out to a bar on a Friday night in NYC by myself! When I put it like that to myself and said it out loud to my best friend Val (I called her for support, lol) it seemed a bit weird, maybe even crazy! Was I really about to get all dolled up just to go out by myself? That’s something I have never done before, and the fact that I was doing it here in New York just made it that much more intimidating. Inevitably, the answer was YES, and when the time came to actually leave the apartment, I almost didn’t go. I just kept thinking, what am I supposed to do, go to a bar, order a beer, and then what? What if no one came up to talk to me? How awkward would I feel sitting by myself? I came up with all sorts of questions/scenarios, so to calm my nerves I drank a glass of wine before heading out the door. I know it seems silly to get all worked up and nervous about it, but how many of you can say that you have went out on a Friday or Saturday night by yourself, and not to meet up with someone or to meet a group of friends? I bet not many of you can say that!

Anyhow, to make a long story really short (yeah right, this is ME we’re talking about, lol) it ended up being a good night, interesting and odd, but good! There are SO many bars within a couple of blocks of Stuy Town so I just hopped from one to the next meeting some nice people along the way. I ended up spending the majority of my time in 2 locations, Common Ground and BOA (Bar on Ave A). Common Ground was a really relaxed place with lots of lounge areas and tables to just kick back and hang out, nothing too crazy. I sat at the bar and watched some NBA basketball until a group of girls about my age came and sat down next to me. We began chatting and about an hour later, I felt like I knew a lot about them, lol, you know how girls are! The other bar, BOA, was super fun! Every Friday is either 80s or 90s night and when I was there it was the best of the 90s. When I first arrived, I met a group of girls who were visiting the city for Spring Break and they were so fun! Needless to say, I sang and danced to Salt N Peppa, TLC, Will Smith, etc. until about 3:30 in the morning! A few odd things happened, I won’t go into detail, but overall, it was a good night and a great experience! Now, was it so good that I’ll do it all the time, absolutely not, lol. How many people really want to go out all by themselves all the time!? I am glad I did it as it was a good experience, but some “firsts” are not necessarily supposed to be more than just that, a first (and possibly never again, who knows?) I do have to admit, I’m pretty proud of myself for doing something I wasn’t necessarily comfortable doing. I think everyone should do that from time to time!

Speaking of “firsts” Saturday night was the first time I ate Puerto Rican cuisine. A couple of weeks ago when I went to Brooklyn (I blogged about this) I met a friend of my Tio’s named Carlos who is Puerto Rican. Somehow we got on the topic of food and I mentioned I had never had anything authentically Puerto Rican. He couldn’t believe it and so we planned a Saturday night dinner in Tribeca at Sazón, New York’s Finest Puerto Rican Restaurant. And NO, that is NOT just an advertisement (that’s what their website says), it is TOTALLY true. I am obviously biased because I haven’t had any other PR food, but this was amazing! It wasn’t just the food, it was the whole package. Everything about Sazón was awesome: the atmosphere, the musicá latiná (just listen to the great rhythms on the homepage of the website), the service (very attractive latinos), the cocktails (coconut, pineapple, and banana flavored foofoo drinks made you feel like you were ready to hit the beach) and definitely the food. Let's just say you got what you paid for, and more, the portion sizes were HUGE! My Tio, Carlos and I made the mistake of ordering an appetizer sampler (we wanted to try a little bit of everything) and then each ordering a meal. By the time we ate the appetizer and had a few drinks we were full, and then our food came and you should see the size of these plates. No really, look. I posted pictures below!!

Appetizer Sampler

Pernil - Roast Pork with Pigeon Pea Rice and Sweet Plantains

It was insane how much food was on one plate. We each took a couple of bites and then had it bagged up to go.

Side Note: After leaving the restaurant, we all felt the need to do a little walking (we were stuffed) so we walked from Tribeca to SOHO which is only about 30 minutes, but when you’re in heels, it feels like a lifetime! At first it wasn’t so bad, but then I felt like I was walking on needles! I know they say pain is beauty, but no look is worth that kind of pain. When I got home I took off my heels and cursed the Italians (I bought them in Rome when I was studying abroad) as my Tio just laughed at what “us women” go through. I just want to take this moment to recognize all my sistas who rock heels, you are tough cookies! :)

I woke up on Sunday, feet still aching and all, and got ready to experience YES INDEED, another FIRST. My first NYC BBQ! Some friends of my Tio’s own an apartment with a garden in the back and heard the weather was supposed to reach 60 degrees so they decided to invite about 8 friends over for a good ol’ barbeque. We got ready (needless to say I wore flats!) and headed to Brooklyn for an afternoon in the sun. It was great conversation, great wine, and great food! Considering I’m a Kansas girl, I always appreciate good BBQ, only it made me wish I was with my family in the backyard grilling out…I MISS you guys! Eventually the sun went down and we left BK and headed back to the city for a birthday celebration. We were in high demand last weekend, lol! A friend of ours turned 29 so we joined her and others for dinner and drinks in Korea Town at a sushi bar called Ichi Umi. We were still full from lunch so we just had a few drinks and called it a night.

With such an eventful weekend, we were exhausted and spent Monday laying low. We made dinner, uncorked a bottle of wine, and watched a movie. I saw Garden State for the first time (are you starting to understand the title of this post yet!? LOL) and really enjoyed it. It’s a romantic drama that’s a bit different than the rest, which is precisely why I liked it!

On Tuesday I grabbed lunch at Chipotle (it’s like Starbucks, they are everywhere!) and then walked to Times Square just because. I have been to Times Square before when I visited NY on Spring Break my sophomore year of college so it wasn’t a first, but still noteworthy so I thought I’d include it in this week’s post! :) It was different this time though. Before, I went at night to see all the lights and take pictures and this time I went during the day to just walk around and hang out (although I did take some pics, see below). Currently, there is a pilot program going on in which the streets are actually blocked off and tables and chairs are in the middle of the street. Sounds weird, but it’s actually really cool. If traffic isn’t too terrible and the pilot program works out then they will create permanent seating in Times Square. I took advantage and grabbed a coffee and sat in the middle of TS for about an hour just enjoying the scenery and catching up with friends via phone calls.





I don’t know if it has to do with the fact that I was out and about with thousands of people yesterday (YES, TS is ALWAYS packed, tourists come all seasons of the year believe it or not), but I woke up today not feeling well with a stuffy nose and a sore throat! I took some cold medicine, made myself soup for lunch and am hoping it passes quickly not only because I don’t want to be sick, but because I start my job on Monday! I’m so excited and will most definitely post about how my first days go so stay tuned.

Closing thought: I hope you all enjoy reading this blog as much as I enjoy writing it! :)