NYU Nuances

Hello to all, 

I feel like I've finally settled in to this new environment. I'm at NYU, I'm dorming, and life is pretty good.

                                                    

This is the photo I want on the cover of this blog post so I am putting it here, first. Whoever this woman is, I love her and her cat boobs. 


OK. now lets get into the nitty gritty

NYU Specific Details

  • I'm getting refunded money from NYU so I'm living and eating for free this year. The one time it's good to be poor in NYC is what I've been telling everyone. I had applied to 2 outside scholarships (for people that live in low-income housing, as I do) and I'm not even getting the money to the second one cuz the first one covered the little bit of money that I owed NYU, so we chillinnnnn.
  • I get meal swipes and "dining dollars" and the amt reset each semester. Based on my current rate, I honestly I think I'm gonna have some swipes left over, so if you're in the area and you (yes, You) want me to get you some takeout food at any point, hit me up let me know. Blog reader exclusive. 
  • My dorm! I have 2 roommates. They r chillers. One they them and one he they, they put all the nooches in the same room, but rightfully so, because I requested that. Randomly assigned. No roommate arguments thus far and none that I expect in the future, this year, I expect, is going to go by swimmingly. 
Here are some photos of my dorm. 


My desk, my bed and my drawers + my rocky poster, and my leonard cohen poster (real seductive looking) watching over us next to our closet space (mine is the middle one). 

These photos are lowk old OH MY GOD My desk photo is so old that it doesn't include my beautiful baby doll that I've named Dorothy. 



Here she is and I love her so much. Here's also a video of her hitting the woah. I bought her for like $16 from the housing works in chelsea. Such a wonderful find. Someone had donated their doll collection and I was lucky enough to nab her. I was so giddy when I first bought her, I still have some of that giddyness. I might start collecting dolls. No. Too much money. But they are so fun and cute and funny and wonderful. One will not be able to understand the joy that this doll can bring unless you hold her in your arms. Truthfully. Such a good purchase. I named her Dorothy cuz she just looks like a Dorothy. Maybe its the wizard of oz of it all (the plaid and all) but idc, she gives Dorothy so that is what I named her. 


Oh there is so much to talk about. 

I have made many-a NYU friends, but of course I have also reunited with other NYC friends, and also kept in touch with (sadly) newly non-NYC friends.


OH AND I ALSO got new glasses. No more big tortoise shell frames, say hello to the nerdy wire rim frames. 

I kinda look like a dingus in this photo but its a photo where you can see the glasses clearly. 

I really really really like them. I can finally wear hats with glasses and not feel like my entire face is being hidden.


I want to get a tat and I want to bleach my hair. Not fully bleach it but bleach certain parts... strategically, but also not. My mom is somewhat okay with me making these decisions (of course she pushed back, but she softened up), but where she draws the line is another piercing. I told her I want to get double nostril piercings and she freaked, saying I need to take out my lip piercing first if I were to get nose piercings. She will soften up. OR I'm gonna play the I'm-going-to-NYU-for-free-and-I'm-actually-getting-paid-for-it card. But I'm hesitant to pull that card yet cuz what if something bigger comes in the future and I need that card and I alr used it. Dillemmamaaa, but not rly

I won't go into deets on all my expeditions since returning from Greece for the summer—Oh I should talk about that. 


REWIND

ok. 
So I got back from Greece on the 24th of August, at night. I left Chios on Aug 21st and then I left Athens on the 24th, so I had like 3 days in my grandparents' house. I ventured out into the city twice and it was refreshing after spending a month on an island whose "city" is barely a city. 
WHATEVER
I got back on the 24th, my uncle picked my up from the airport, and I got home at like 11pm. Instead of sleeping, I started packing for NYU because I was scheduled to move in THE NEXT DAY. I stayed awake for over 24 hours (I think it ended up being like 26 or 27 hours) in total taking into account time zone changes and everything. The next morning I woke up and by 2pm I was out the door and on my way to moving in at NYU.  A family friend drove me cuz my mom did not return to NYC til Sept 3rd. This was the first time I left for Greece alone (I left July 15th, my mom June 30th) AND I returned form Greece alone. I had flown alone before, but not round trip and overseas. Oh AND I flew from Chios to Athens alone too, but that's like a 45 min flight so that's nothing. 

Ummm anddddd moved into NYU and everything is so chill.


Guys. 
You will not BELIEVE how EASY life is when you live in manhattan below 14th st. Everything is so close. No more daily hour long treks from Astoria. It's so easy to get anywhere. I am living life on easy mode rn.
I love Queens and I would never hate on Queens, but I'm getting so spoiled living here that it's getting hard to imagine living in Astoria again. Love Astoria but goddamn, I would see 1h 30min commute to a friend's house and be like ok thats fine I can do that. I am so spoiled. AND IM LIVING FOR FREE CANT FORGET. Easy mode easy mooddeeeeee.


Classes are fun so far. Professors are good. Homework is surprisingly...light. Well not light, but like. Very manageable. Maybe it's because I went to Stuy or maybe I just got lucky with my classes, but the workload is not that bad. My other friends are always talking about how much work they have, not just at NYU but at other colleges everywhere, but idk I just don't have that. Lowkey imposter syndrome, am I crazy? 


I am going to include a collection of photos I want to share with the world. Here they are:




Should I provide context for these? ummmmmm... Yes ok. 
1. Ainsley my nyu bff fell asleep
2. Me standing next to the "community fridge" in my dorm's community kitchen. 
3. Me with a scooby doo mask in spirit halloween. Maybe I should be scooby for halloween...
4. me wearing a huge red hat that Eitan had in his closet for some reason
5. a photo that Saoirse (I have to google how to spell Saoirse everytime I type her name) took of Juno and I in Palladium, an NYU dining hall with BOMB Chinese food.
6. Brigitte's foot got stuck in Ru's boot. Group effort to get it off (she put the boot on with her shoe still on)
7. Me in some apple-type sculpture that Saoirse and I came across while walking along the Hudson piers for our Queer/Trans Cultures seminar class' assignment. 
8. Crazy story of how this photo happened but its a cool photo that Juno took. 
9+10 Photos from Juno's weird digital camera. 2nd photo is JUNO holding up a cigarrette to MY mouth. I am straightedge still, trust NYU has not changed me. We were in the piano practice room w Gabi and we were playing. 



Oh should I talk about what classes I'm taking this semester? Cuz they are AWESOMEEEEE.
  1. Global Hip Hop. This counts as a core class. I don't even listen to Hip Hop but I just wanted to know more about its history esp cuz its so new york and also to knock out one of the many core class requirements. 
  2. Anthropology of Gender and Sex. I am majoring in anthro so this counts as a class towards my major. Of course I would choose this class, and I am enjoying the readings.
  3. (Un)Burying the Past: Lost Geographies of the LES. Ummmm amazing class title? I think yesssss. This class made me realize how much I want to take an urban studies class next semester. Yes urban planning yes urban spaces yesss urbanity.
  4. Queer/Trans Cultures. This is a freshman seminar class. Freshmen at NYU at CAS have to take a seminar class one semester and a writing as inquiry (teaching you how to write college style I think) class the other semester. I decided to take the seminar class first. Honestly this class is my least favorite when it comes to in-class discussion. The professor is really good and the readings are good, but there are just some... people... some people... in that class... I'll put it like this: it sometimes feels like just another high school english class. Less... sophisticated than my other class discussions where I'm usually the only or one of very very few) freshman. 

WAIT TWO MORE NYU UPDATES
  1. I got a spot on the WNYU radio station on the show "The Sound Between" on fridays from 2-4pm. The show description is as follows "The Sound Between, airing daily from 2 to 4pm, is a show focusing primarily on new releases. Tune in every single day to hear each individual hosts' take on what's going on in the world of independent music. Depending on the day, you'll be hearing a mix of the latest indie rock, imports, rockin new reissues, local heroes, and lots more!" I am planning on playing local stuff, then also getting new stuff from youtube, but also some of those new hardcore bands that are easily found on spotify. 
  2. I am now also a photographer for STATIC mag, the WNYU magazine thing. I will not be taking photos of the crust shows for nyu. I'm fine going to shows where I don't really fw the music if I'm just there to take photos and I don't have to write anything about it. 


Wait...
do you hear that...
????
                                is it?
                                                                                    I think it might be




MEDIA TIMEEEE
(media time.)...

MEDIA

MOVIES
  • I am going to be so honest. I have not been watching movies that often. I can't justify spending time doing that cuz when I have time to watch a movie I'm thinking I could be doing a reading for class, I could be continuing my scrapbook, I could be reading one of my personal books, I could be WRITING A BLOG POST (the option I chose today). 
  • In September I've watched 4 movies thus far.
  • Dog Day Afternoon. I watched this on my own volition (as in, not for class) and I did not know what to expect going into it. I thought it would be a lighthearted crime movie, turns out it was NOT. It was good tho.
  • Portrait of a Lady on Fire. I watched this for my Queer/Trans Cultures class, wrote a 2 page reflection on it. I originally watched it some years ago and I really disliked it. I still don't care much for it but I deffo understand it more and can appreciate it more. If you want to hear more of my thoughts on it I can send u my reflection thing. 
  • Chicken Run. Watched this with Ainsley. Did not know that they would be british chickens. Kinda fun
  • Wild Style. Watched this for my Global Hip Hop class. Kinda fake of me to not have watched it before it was required of me for a CLASS assignment, but whatevs. Later in the semester another assignment is going to be to watch La Haine, but I already watched that hooeeeeee. I'm surprised Style Wars wasn't assigned... Sad. 
  • OH OH OH LEMME FLEX ON U RQ nyu students get free hbo max AND free criterion collection. Yeah, yeah, yeah. AND im going here for free. Yeah. Yeah. 
    • I haven't figured out the hbo thing cuz i havent actually wanted to watch anything on hbo but for the criterion thing I have to sign in with my nyu details. If it was a third party sign in thing that I could make up a random password and everything I would share TF out of that, everyone get free criterion. But since its linked to my nyu login I gotta be more selective with who I share it to soz.
    • But also if ur in college check if you get free criterion stuff, or free any streaming service anything. college students get mad free shit u may not even know about. abuse tf out anyyyyy free stuffff, use it all to ur advantage yesssss

MUSIC
  • I made a new main spotify playlist. I made it as a fresh new start playlist. New school, new school year, new playlist, new me?
    • https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4agyzunYGBJIUcDT7Vn0LG?si=2f14c7006d134870
  • Lots of Siouxsie, got back into itover the summer cuz I was reminded of how good that band is when going thru old playlists. 
  • OH MY GOD I was reminded of the band zig zag and I fell back into the ziggy zaggy rabbit hole. love that floridian band. I'm so mad I didn't see them the past 2 times they came to nyc. 
  • sometimes i listen to doom while i study
  • DESPISE YOU IS SOOOO GOODDDD. The album West Side Horizons. SO AMAZING. I am tempted to put every song on that album on my main playlist but its like 35 mins long, so i just picked my first few favs and put those on my playlist. 
  • Ummm you can see the rest for yourself
  • I am listening to The Hirs Collective as I type

BOOKS
  • ummm skip?
  • nah....
  • ok ill be real. I got back from Greece and have only picked up a personal book like max five times. I HAVE MY READINGSSSS and i can't justify it to myself. 
  • I borrowed this book In Defense of Housing from the nyu library cuz i saw it at the strand for $25 and i was like o nahhhh so i borrowed it. I have it til the end of the semester and i read the intro but I haven't gotten into into the book yet.
  • I brought two other personal books with me to NYU: Cruising Utopia: The Then and There of Queer Futurity by José Esteban Muñoz and The Day the Country Died: A History of Anarcho Punk 1980-1984 by Ian Glasper. These two books I had brought with me to Greece, I was reading them there and brought them here so I can finish them. Have not finished either of them.
  • but like I have to read Judith Butler for homework for monday sooooo i think its fine if i dont have time to read my personal books



I don't feel the need to add anything more to this blog post.


actually,
Side note,
if you ever want access to any nyu things ever, whether it be an academic text from a class or food, let me knowwwwww i will hook you upppppp.



OK i will leave you all with this photo:
No idea the who what when where why. I will leave it at that



byeeee