Is it too much to ask?

 Dear Coley,

  Recently, I have had the same question running through my mind- Is it too much to ask? The ending to that question changes depending on the situation, but the question keeps coming up over and over again. So, I wanted to share a few of the things, about this big ole city, that just make me wonder-

Is it too much to ask:

Is it too much to ask, for peace and quiet on the bus? Seriously, the last few times I have ridden on the bus, I have been accompanied by either a mentally ill person shouting obscenities at the air, or a very loud person yelling/talking to the driver. I mean, come on people, just sit and be quiet! By being loud and obnoxious, those lovely passengers really just make me regret spending the two dollars on a ticket and make me want to either break down the window and escape or box my ears into deafness. Oh and while I am asking…. Please take a bath before getting on the bus. The other day I actually gagged from the body odor coming from the man beside me, and I am a nurse (meaning that I deal with stank every day). Help me out here!

Is it too much to ask, to make it home safely without incident?  Let me paint the picture: I am walking home from the bus stop, in the dark and pouring rain, freezing and wet….. when all the sudden a guy walking his dog loses control of the leash and the dog darts out in front of me- this causes me to trip and land on all fours on the nasty streets of Philadelphia.  My keys when flying, my tights were ripped, my umbrella was thrown, my hands were raw from the impact of the cement….. all in the rain and darkness. It was bad, but when I realized that my bare hands were on the street where the day before a dog had peed and a homeless man had puked- it got worse. I scrubbed them sufficiently later.  Anyway, thank goodness I was one block from home, so I could hobble home with blood running down my knees (exaggerated by the rain) to have my doorman greet me with, "Looks like you've had a rough one". Why yes sir, I have! And then I call home (as I am soaking in the tub) to have my dad say, “You got mugged by a dog!”  Not funny Tommy.

Is it too much to ask, to get to celebrate the end of the semester, every weekend? I really don’t go out in the city much, let’s face it, I study a lot.  However, when we finished our first semester this Friday, it was the perfect excuse to get out and experience the best of the city.  So, 19 of us headed out to have the best night of our lives (well, the best night since we have all been imprisoned by graduate school). We went o Tequila’s (the name gives it away) and had some amazing Mexican food, accompanied by- well you know.  The food was great and we all laughed more in that one night than we had all semester. It definitely made me wish each weekend was a celebration. However, we managed to rack up a heck of a bill (see below)…. which answers the question- yes, it is too much to ask to celebrate every weekend (cause I definitely don't have that kind of money).

 Clarificaiton: that was the bill for the entire group (not just mine, haha).

So those are just a couple of things that I ask- often on a daily basis.  Sometimes, like when I am on my hands and knees on the side walk, it can be frustrating! I am just waiting for the day when I can wonder, "Is it too much to ask for the Morganton driver to drive the actual speed limit, and not 10 under?" 

- Can't wait!

See you in two days!

Court

my 27th (belated now)

Dear Coley,

   Happy Birthday to me!

  I had such a great birthday this year (especially when I got your card).  My day mainly consisted of Patho (which is every Friday from 9:30-4:00) but thanks to my amazing friends, it turned out to be a fantastic day.  Meredith started the day off by bringing doughnuts for breakfast (Meredith and I are both healthy eaters {yes believe it or not, city life has transformed me into a fruit/vegetable/nut/nothing fried eater…Susie says we eat like squirrels haha}, and so when we are really sad or stressed, we share our food fantasies… this week was doughnuts, the cookies that come in tins during Christmas, and cheeseburgers with bacon).  So Meredith brought doughnuts for breakfast, cupcakes for lunch, a cookie tin, and a gift card to Chili’s- yeah, she is amazing! 

   Later that night we went out for sushi. My birthday dinner consisted of: a Sake-tini, Sunomono (a cold seafood salad), Calamari, Edamame, Spicy Tuna roll, free chocolate birthday cake, and Tempora ice cream. I was beyond stuffed and crazy happy.  I am so blessed to have met such an amazing group of girls here! I can honestly say I would not be able to make it without them, and they went out of their way to make my day special. We finished dinner, then Susie, Lauren, and I went to The Continental- a restaurant that has a roof top bar.  It was so nice to sip a martini, look up, and be surrounded by skyscrapers- definitely a first. Susie then took us to a hookah bar, again, a first (and legal- mom). Overall, I had an amazing birthday- and was so happy to experience my 27^th year in Philadelphia.     

   The next day was when the real adventure started.  My mother sent me a surprise package for my birthday….. although, even though it was a “time sensitive” package, it was not delivered to my apartment.  After some UPS tracking, phone calls, and texts, it was discovered that instead of sending the package to 2100 (my street name), my mother sent it to 1200 (my street name). Yes, bless her heart.  So, Saturday morning, I set off to find this special package.  Turns out, 1200 is an apartment building too, but unlike my building, they do not have a doorman.  So there I was, at 7am, standing outside a locked building, able to see the package in the lobby, and unable to get inside to get it! I was so frustrated, especially since I just walked 9 blocks for no package.  I headed back later in the day with a plan: study on the stairs until someone with a key came and let me in (yes, genius, I know).  Thank God, about 5 seconds after I sat down, a guy walked up and allowed me to follow him into the building. Turns out, the package was a pumpkin pie- a very delicious Maw-Maw made pie! I guess all the drama was worth it.  Through it all, I just kept thinking, “this would never happen in NC” haha. But where else do you get to walk 18 blocks, stalk an apartment building, and end up with a homemade pie- only in Philly baby!

   It did hit me, I will also spend my next birthday in this city…. kind of crazy (especially when you think where I was and what I was doing a year ago).  I definitely made a wish before blowing out my candles.

Love you,

Courtney

Just for fun, here are the places we went on my birthday night (all of the places were within walking distance from my apartment, I do love this city):

http://www.fujimt.com/apps.php

http://www.continentalmidtown.com/

http://www.byblosphilly.com/home.html

A Philly Thanksgiving (and more)

Hey girl!

   As you know, I wasn't able to come home for Thanksgiving (boo). At first I was pretty depressed about the situation, but then I decided that I was going to make the best of being in Philadelphia. I took the "see all, do all" attitude.

   So, last weekend (11/20) was the Philadelphia Marathon, and since the race course was just one block from my apartment, I decided to take part in the “fan zone”.  There I was, at 8am on a Sunday morning, at mile marker 7, with my clapper (a little high five thing that they handed out) in one hand and a cow bell (another free gift) in another. It was a little awkward because everyone around me was waiting on someone they knew to run by, and I was there…… to just cheer. On top of not knowing anyone, I also questioned my cheering ability when the first racers went by and I almost started crying! - they were the disabled racers. (I am sure there is a different word, because clearly, anyone who can race 26.2 miles is not disabled).  But, when I saw them race by, I lost all ability to cheer and started to tear up a little- I know, I am getting soft in my old age, but seeing someone with such strength and perseverance really got me, it was amazingly impressive. Anyway, I got myself together in time to cheer for the other runners, and I found that even though I didn’t know anyone in the race, I had the best time!  A couple of awesome moments:

~Seeing a “guide” run along a blind marathoner- another miraculous woman.

~Cheering for Students Run Philly Style, a non-profit organization that I share a cubicle with (at the law office); it is a program that works with inner city kids and pairs them with runners. Over 200 kids ran this year!

~Meeting a woman from Asheville, NC who was there watching her daughter run.  She had a sign that said, “fastest woman in Asheville” (evidently, her daughter won a 5k there, haha).

~Cheering for runners by name (their bibs had their names).  I walked along the course (cut through to the finish line, near the famous “Rocky stairs” at the art museum) and stood about ¼ of a mile from the finish line. There I would shout “way to go Steve” “good job Olivia” and then they would throw up their arms, or smile, or shout “thank you”- it was so much fun!

   So that was my first “embrace the city” activity.  The second came this weekend (11/25), THANKSGIVING!

   Even though I was not with my family for the holiday, it was pretty cool that 4 different graduate students offered to take me home to spend the break that their families. So, for all those Southerners who think they are the only ones with manners... not so! Anyway, I realized that if I wasn't going to "deal" with my family, I definitely wasn't going to deal with a friend's family- this Thanksgiving was going to be all on my own. Its a good thing that Philly has lots of activities to occupy my time.

   Did you know that Philadelphia has the oldest Thanksgiving Day parade in the country?  Well, they do, and even though I really wanted to spend all of Thanksgiving in my pajamas exploring the world of gluttony, I made myself get up at 7:30 to get a spot to watch the parade. 

   I walked over to the art museum and get a spot where I could see all the action. When I sat down, this extremely nice family immediately starting talking to me and by the end of the parade, I felt as though they adopted me as their fourth child. They asked all about my “city adjustment” and what I thought about Philly- turns out they were both therapists, so it was like 3 hours of free treatment. The parade was great! I detailed the events through the pictures on facebook, so I will spare the repetition. 

   After the parade, I went home and cooked a masterpiece of a dinner. The only problem was…. I was only able to consume about 1/16^th of what I cooked. Turns out, I am terrible at cooking for one and after being too busy to eat the last few weeks, my stomach has shrunk….. don’t worry, I stretched it back out. After my two dinners (oh yeah), I took a stroll through Rittenhouse square, and did feel a little lonely, but overall it was a great holiday. It was so nice to just sit around, eat delicious food that I don’t normally have the time to cook and hulu all kinds of shows. (Speaking of, Pan Am, is amazing! I got hooked, via Hulu, over the holiday, and now cannot stop watching). 

   So the past two weekends were great, and made me fall in love with this city even more! It turns out, that no matter where you live, if you are surrounded by nice people and great food- you’re in the right place.

That being said, Christmas is a different story…. I cannot wait to be back in NC! hehe

See you soon!

Courtney

Finally...

Hey girl,

   First of all, I have tons to tell you (and at least two blogs to post dating back from a week before Thanksgiving), but I have just been so insanely busy!  However, all of that is over now because, today at 10:30ish, I finished my first semester of graduate school!  As my mom put it- I am 25% finished.  25% doesn't even begin to explain what I have accomplished, haha.  Anyway, I will post the blogs I wrote weeks ago, tomorrow- but tonight, I am going out with my friends here to a Tequila bar :)  All I care about is the evidently amazing Mexican food that resides at the same place with all of the Tequila (clearly not LaBamba quality, but a city girl must settle).

   And speaking of city girl..... the other day I was about to walk out of my apartment and realized something- you can take the girl out of the country but you can't take the country out of the girl- haha.  Some days I do wear "trendy things" that would make my family and NC friends laugh. Susie actually said I looked Italian the other day with my boots, dark tights, dress, and scarf, but anyway- Thursday I walked out of the house wearing...... (See below).  It just made me laugh because, check out the hat..... Carhart all the way! Yep, without a doubt, still a country girl :)

Love you, check back tomorrow for more updates. 

Court.

Just to tease you a bit about what is to come.... this week we were talking, in study group, about the Duggar family and how they are getting ready to have their 20th child! In the discussion, Lauren said, "well, don't they live down there near you" - hahaha, classic!  Not only am I Elle Woods (who by the way is from California) but I am also neighbors with Jim-Bob Duggar (who resides with his clan in Arkansas).  It only gets better....