One of Us

Gotta Catch 'Em All: The Great State Search is on!

2009-09-26T10:30:00.000-07:00

New York City is huge and diverse, and I've lately become fascinated with how many different license plates I can find. My goal is to try and find all 50 states in just Manhattan. Canada and others are welcome too.

Hawaii will be my great white whale.

*If you're concerned about the creepiness factor, you should know that once I've fuzzed out the number I destroy any copies that are identifiable. I'm not that far gone yet.

As I am.

2009-05-15T20:47:00.000-07:00

Hi. My name is Kaitlin, and a close friend once told me that I'm best described by the story of when I got a vacuum cleaner stuck to my head. Stay tuned for more fun times.
:)
Kaitlin

2009-04-18T06:46:00.000-07:00

So I'm Erin

2009-03-29T13:01:00.000-07:00

Following Cate's lead here, I've decided to introduce myself to our soon to be hoards of faithful followers. I'm Erin. I've lived in NYC since May of '08- escaping LA the day after my college graduation to pursue my dreams in my favorite American city, trying to uncover some new spark of life.

And I've found it. This has been by far the best year of my entire life. I've had to really grow up, be separated from my family (quite possibly the greatest group of individuals you will ever meet in your entire life who support my dreams more than I probably even realize) for the first time in my entire life- and build a new life for myself.

I work in the entertainment business. More specifically- at a talent agency where I bust ass, sometimes get beaten down, and am working my way up the corporate ladder which of course is sometimes frustrating, but, luckily, I have a whole lot of people who believe in me and know, that knowledge that comes from deep in your gut, that I was meant to be an agent. And, though it is extremely idealistic of me, I want to invest myself in people who are extraordinarily talented whose gifts must be utilized and exposed to a society that needs to be entertained and believe in something.

There's that. I'm also dating an actor who may be on the brink of fame, and that totally freaks me out. Um. But he's pretty rad and has a smile that makes me kind of stupid. So yeah.

I've been lucky to find this lovely new group of friends that make me ridiculously happy and who are really responsible for helping me feel at home in this city. I really don't know what I would do without you guys.

I have very big dreams, a heart of gold, and constantly need and want to be exposed to new things- which is part of the joy of living in a city like New York.

Next up: Erin and Dan move to Astoria. Stay tuned...

xo,

Some Introductions

2009-03-28T19:42:00.000-07:00

I guess it is my job to start this blog out, and since I have never done this kind of thing before I am not quite sure exactly what to do. Since this is the first post on my first blog, I will start with an intro to myself, and then breifly discuss my relationship with the wonderful people who also contribute to this blog. The later posts will describe my personal experiences in New York and all the freakishly strange things that happen to me here.
So, my name is Cady, or Cate as this blog and my people in NY know me. I never thought I would be a Cate in any place except maybe the professional world, but that is one of the things I love about this city, I tell people I'm Cady and they automatically shorten it and call me Cate. So I am Cate, I am 23 years old, and I live in Brooklyn, New York. I have lived here for about nine months now, with my partner (that's for you, Dan) Victor. We have been together about six years and this is our first experience living together - it has been quite an adventure. (more posts about that later, I am sure) I am a bartender at a local neighborhood hangout which also makes me the neighborhood therapist and a grad student at NYU. Thus making me the busiest person ever, however its nice because in New York everyone is freakishly busy. I am getting an MA in Humanities and Social Thought and hope to go on to law school in 2010.
I moved to New York from my homes in Los Angeles/Gig Harbor and believe me it has been a culture shock. Let's start with the apartment. Turns out Brooklyn Heights is one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the city, also making it the yuppiest. However, I love it. We are a block away from Cobble Hill so we still get fun restaurants and nightlife, but our neighborhood is full of the elderly and strollers. Let me tell you - strollers are important. In the heights they are the status symbol, the bugaboo at the top of the list and mcclaren a close second Gracco strollers pop up and instantly you know they are not from the neighborhood - hilarious.
Victor and I are pretty sure we are the youngest residents without children and we live in the smallest apartment on the planet. Its a cute little brownstone on a tree lined street and we live on the fourth floor in a "one bedroom." Really what it means is that we have to hike up three flights of super narrow stairs into a tiny place with creaky floors that all slope toward the staircase. We have one closet - one- to share - making it the test of our relationsip. We have done our best to make it home, with a half fridge and stove that had a messy divorce. The fridge is in the spot it should be, against the wall next to the sink, but the stove is around the corner and up a step! It's quite confusing. We manage hoever, and laugh that when we move back to California it will make us appreciate any place bigger than this. So far we are adjusting, thanks in the most part to my wonderful group of west coast transplant friends.
Kaitlin is my friend from childhood, we could fill pages and pages of this blog describing stories that have happened to us over the last seventeen years. Kaitlin and I met when we were six years old in Sister Margaret's first grade class at St. Charles Borromeo school in Tacoma, WA. We spent years jump-roping, playing pretend, dressing our Barbie dolls in drag, and growing up together. Its amazing that life would bring us back together after college in Brooklyn. We are having so much fun exploring the city together.
Erin is my former college roomate of two years. It happened randomly also that we both decided to move to New York. She made her decision long before I did, but I am so glad I have had her here to hang out with and - of course - judge the crazies of the city with. We have only grown in our friendship in the last nine months, now that she is a resident of Queens I am sure that more crazy things are ahead!
Dan is a friend of mine from LMU, who at one point was a superior at my on campus job. We always had fun together in our various work related experiences and used to joke about being real friends some day. Well, now that Dan is living in the city we have become more than real friends. We are pretty much the same person, and he has a tendency to push my boundaries, even teaching me how to flirt my way into a gay bar - oh the fun :)
So that's just a little tid bit into my life and as for a taste of what is to come, I have so many stories to post, from subway sing-a-longs, to crazy airport happeinings, to my hilarious work friends and their lives, I am so excited to share all of this in a new way. As many people know I am a writer by passion, it's in my blood and being, so I hope that this blog brings people a little bit of joy, because its bringing me tons already.
Peace,
Cate