Pizza, Tripods, & Cocktail Attire

I arrived in my hometown of Manhattan at 10am on Monday after JFK finally reopened post-storm, during which my bumpy red-eye flight was diverted to Pittsburgh for an hour before finally reaching our destination. Upon arriving at my Maman's apartment, I immediately crawled into bed and napped until 2pm. That night, we went to a beautiful dinner party. After I told the host about my project, she invited me to yet another party she was having the next night that had an overarching theme of storytelling. I didn't expect to be going out this much when I was packing, so I spent Tuesday morning shopping for something appropriate to wear; I'm still trying to navigate my way around the murky waters of "business casual" and "cocktail attire."

The party was very fun, with delicious food and talented company that made me feel EXTREMELY under-qualified to be there. There were several members of the media in attendance, including filmmakers, so I got to have a few informative conversations on the filmmaking process and the importance of socially responsible storytelling with a purpose, which I thoroughly believe in and strive for. Once I got home, the first thing I did was throw off my heels, change into my beloved Superstars, and go to the same pizza joint I frequented every weekend as a child - Pizza Pete's on 86th and Columbus. It was delicious and the cashier was a hoot, as always. It's nice to know that some things never change – my cravings for a slice of cheese and a Coke sure don't. Today (Wednesday), I woke up luxuriously late, figured out how to work my DJI mobile phone stabilizer, filmed some footage of the UWS, grabbed lunch with a fellow senior project senior (SPS?) in Soho, accidentally walked on to two different film sets, and then headed back uptown to gather my filming equipment.

Let me tell you something: when you are a 5'1 and 115lbs, lugging a heavy tripod around the five boroughs isn't easy. However, it's doable, and the beautiful thing about New York is that no one batted an eye at my tiny self balancing all of my equipment and scurrying onto the F train in the nick of time. I've gotta say that I'm really glad I came into the NY-based part of my project with a pretty thorough knowledge of the ins and outs of the subway system, because all of this constant going back and forth would definitely be more confusing otherwise.

I made it to Park Slope at 5pm with minimal bruising, and made my way to the apartment of my first NYC gal, Blue. Her house was incredibly cool from the minute I walked in, and she gave me major bedroom decor jealousy. We spent a little while talking and getting to know each other, then filmed her sit down interview with very few problems, besides me forgetting to put her in focus for the first 5 minutes of it (whoops?). Afterwards, her friends came over and we all hung out in Prospect Park. It was only my second time in the area, and it really didn't disappoint; I think I'll be heading over there a lot more often.

Got back to my apt around 9, ordered some Indian food (shoutout to UberEats, a real G), and am now writing this post! Tomorrow's forecast is rainy, so I'll spend the day editing and maybe hit a museum with Maman. See ya.