Shake it Like a Polaroid Picture

Since summer is my favorite season (despite the humidity in NYC), I've been out and about doing things with friends, and haven't had too much time to write up all the fun that's been going on.  Thought I'd quickly fill you in...

Remember how I was telling you about one of my friends likes to pretend he's a stripper with a big butt when he's dancing?  Well, I'm here to officially check off my first "impossible thing":  dancing!

A few weeks ago, my friend Monique and I took Eric J's hip-hop class at Broadway Dance Center.  He starts off with about a half hour of constant sit-ups, push-ups, lunges, pelvic thrusts, shoulder pops...needless to say, the next day was pretty achey for yours truly, who barely ever works out due to BOREDOM IN THE GYM!!  While we're in the middle of our 10 minutes of sit-ups, we see a guy hanging out out side of the dance room, shooting the shit with another guy.  I'm thinking...why doesn't he have to do all these crunches?!?!  Of course when he walks in and Eric introduces him as the other instructor, who would take over for him while he was on vacation.  (Always a good idea to make fun of the teacher, right?)

Anyway, we get to the routine (set to this song), which was completely impossible.  My hair flips are famous on the dance floor, but I'm totally out of practice for learning choreographed dance moves.  Partway through the routine Eric yells out "you in the pink".....me?  There's a girl a row or two ahead of me in pink, I'm hoping he's calling on her...so I look around.  Eric looks at me and says, "you've still got your arm out when you should have moved into this position."  Mortifying.  And of course I continue doing the incorrect move for the rest of the class.

Luckily I saved myself later by making some kind of self-deprecating comment that the 2nd instructor thought was hilarious when I couldn't figure out one of the steps.  


Last week, about 20 of my friends went to the Met Museum's annual Young Member's Party (arguably the best museum party all year).  A bunch of us were dancing, and my friend Eric from college and his dance partner got their photo snapped mid-step.  That photo was used for Guest of a Guest's write up, discussing how this is the only museum party where people actually let loose amid the sculptures and DANCE!

This past weekend, a few friends and I took the ferry over to Governor's Island for the Jazz-Age Lawn Party (music by Michael Arenella & His Dreamland Orchestra).  Also a fantastic party.  I was majorly impressed by the commitment to the 20's theme.  Girls showed up with parasols and flapper dresses and long pearls, and guys sported suspenders and button down vests and bow ties.  Dapper!  As for me, I just chose something with a little swing.  My friend Renee's boyfriend Justin used to be a swing instructor and taught me a few steps:

Best Faux Music Video Ever

Everyone knows what a huge astrophysics geek I am, so I was thrilled when this faux music video came out on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon:

Hope everyone's doing well.  And if you're ever down, just remember: HUBBLE GOTCHU!

Size (but Mostly Speed) Matters

Just as a follow up from this post, I thought I'd share some cool information.  On the subway this morning, I was reading the latest issue of WIRED Magazine (UK Edition), which has an article about the tools used to fix the Hubble Space Telescope during last May's servicing mission.  One of the tools featured was a pretty swanky drill (see below).  This drill boasts the ability to remove 111 fasteners in 45 minutes, equating to an impressive 300rpm, all without breaking any part of our precious telescope (well, assuming these astronauts know how to control their power tools)!

Sadly, Lauren, Vince and I were not equipped with this drill when tasked with taking apart our most prized piece of technology - you know, the one that allows people to lock their stuff up while they go paddle around a river known for its high pollution level.  (Way cooler than, say, technology that checks out stars bajillions of light-years away, obviously).  Either way, this drill would have come in handy for our little repair mission.  Perhaps we'll  mention to Graeme next time that we found him a drill that's taking far more than just steroids...

Photo from Wired online,  Fixing Hubble: The tools that repair a space telescope.

20 Hours, 40 Minutes: Our Flight in the Friendship

Well, I can't take credit for being the first woman to document her adventures around the world (post title stolen from Amelia Earhart's book documenting her journey as the first woman to fly, as a passenger, across the Atlantic), but I have recently accepted a travel-related challenge, and will be delighted to share the resulting stories.  (NB:  This is the far-off dream plan, so you may have to wait a while for pictures / stories from around the world.)


Anyway, the challenge arose when I forwarded a recent issue of Urban Daddy to my...dad...  The issue was about going on safari in the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya (I was lucky enough to go there on a family trip when I was little - my dad loves Africa), so I thought he'd appreciate!  Cotters Safari Service (featured in UD) sets up home for you in a super luxurious vintage 1920s tent (see below).  It seems pretty awesome (and I'm sure this trip back in time costs a small fortune), though I think I recall there was a woman killed by a hippo (they like to hang around...and seem much cuter / less dangerous than they actually are) while we were visiting the area, so....?

My dad's goal was to travel around the world by the time he was 30.  He achieved this goal at 29.  He challenged me to beat him. So, here's the plan:

• Europe 
• I've already been to Europe a number of times, but there are a few good friends who've abandoned the homeland to seek out shenanigans in various European countries (i.e. England, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium).  I'll try to visit a few if I can...
• Asia
• My friend Nakul, who I went to college with, recently (as in one week ago) moved to Tokyo for the next year and a half (a way gutsy move, as he's never been to Japan and doesn't speak the language).  He's already sent me a calendar invite spanning the entire month of January 2011 saying "ALICE COMES TO TOKYO SOMETIME."  I got really excited / happy upon receiving this invite!!  :)
• A close coworker friend, Vivek, moved home to India last year, after leaving the firm.  At one point he said "you have to come visit when my brother gets married.  Indian weddings are amazing!"  (Indian weddings are often HUGE and last a week long - yay party!).  A few weeks ago I received the official invite...of to India in December!
• Australia
• My friend Sarah, a friend from college, and co-founder of our club, WIPKA-Women in Physics Kick Ass (we were very official, had a Facebook page and everything), traveled around the world after graduation learning to be a therapeutic horse trainer.  Somewhere around Germany, I think, she met her now-husband, and moved to Australia with him.  I remember getting the email from her saying "yep! the rumors are true, I got married."  Fantastic! She went on to say, "when your boyfriend suggests a 10-day technical mountaineering course in New Zealand as the honeymoon and asks -- in all seriousness -- "do you have an ice axe?"  how can you say no??"  This may be my favorite engagement story of all time, and it makes me so happy to re-read the email.  The story is so wonderful and perfect, and they make so much sense together.
• South America
• My roommate at boarding school is from Brazil and returned there after graduation.  We've been discussing a reunion forever, but college and jobs and life got in the way, so I never made it down.  It'd be so great to hang out with my old roomie again!
• Africa 
• My dear father, who will be turning the big 70 in 2011, who has been kind enough to provide me with the great life I have, has always wanted to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro.  So in celebration of his birthday, and the beginning of my new adventures in life, I think we'll have to endure some altitude sickness and go backpacking in Africa!

I think this already is a pretty aggressive plan, and if I can attain it, that would be awesome.  Upon completion, I do have an even more far-fetched thought for travel:

• Space
• For a mere $200k (as if anyone has this kind of money to blow) you can reserve a seat on the "sexiest spaceship ever," the Virgin Galactic, a private spaceship developed by Virgin.  The only spec you need to know? The spaceship's mind blowing acceleration from 0 to 2500mph (over 3 times the speed of sound) in approx. 10 seconds. Go. Richard. Branson.  

Photo from NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day


So, to recap, the plan is:

A few friends are currently travelling the world, and one of them has promised to give me pointers on the best late night pizza joints to discuss the universe while drunk (as we've done here in NY).  Other suggestions are much appreciated...

Anti-Taliban Kayakers and the Hundred Year Old Wagon

On Saturday, my friends, Vince and Lauren, and I went to volunteer for pre-season at the Downtown Boathouse in NYC.  When we arrived, a tall goofy New Zealand-er named Graeme greeted us and immediately put us to work.  (For those of you that are sci-fi junkies like I am, Graeme reminded me of Wikus in the movie District 9, with a lovable wackyness that makes you wonder how he ever gets anything done, surprising you, of course, when he brilliantly escapes the MNU with that weird alien goop needed to power the spacecraft -- District 9 movie review to be saved for another post).

As a preface to our assignment, Graeme explained that the Downtown Boathouse is not an establishment of "Taliban kayakers," (good to know!) but rather "equal opportunity," believing that "all women should be able to kayak with out a man."  In order to ensure that these standards are upheld, all equipment is tested on a "90 pound woman on the wrong side of 40": if she can do it, anyone can.

Now Graeme revealed our mission impossible (should we choose to accept it - which, of course, we did, since we were the newbies, and obviously subject to cruel initiation).  We were tasked with dismantling a banged-up old set of lockers from the "hundred year old wagon" (complete with rusted metal wheels and handle, see below) that some guy with a "kayaking fetish" had screwed together with about a million more screws than necessary.

One hundred year old wagon / locker set, pre-dismantling:

So, being the good little volunteers that we are, we got straight to work unscrewing nuts and screws and getting our fingers dirty. Graeme came over at one point to see if we might need to use their new hammer drill, which he described as being a "vibrator on steroids."  Reading the quizzical look on my face after that comment, Lauren looked over at me like "yeah, you heard him right.'  We never actually needed to use the hammer drill, but I spent the rest of the afternoon looking for it so we could try it out.  (Side note:  If you know me in person, you know I have ZERO filter, and much like Graeme, say things that are wildly inappropriate way too early in a new friendship / relationship.  Sometimes I spew genius, sometimes word-vomit.   I find this quality in others particularly endearing - unfiltered thoughts are windows to the soul?)

After two hours of unscrewing and a fairly significant set-back due to some rogue bolts, we finally accomplished our task and took the lockers for a spin on their new set of wheels.  Woohoo!!  The volunteers (most of whom were pretty mean to us aside from Graeme and a few others) probably thought we were absolutely crazy when we all screamed out as the lockers lifted off the antique wagon.

Then Graeme gave us a tour of the boathouse (a little recruitment tour).  A whole slew of hilarious things were said, including: "If you find something in the water that might be used for sailing / boating, bring it out, if you find something that's more like garbage then don't bring it out, and if you find a dead body in the water, just push it round the corner under the dock."

The conversation ended with him taking a picture of his ex-girlfriend on a trike out of his wallet (??) and suggesting that I borrow it to pick up boys (he has since followed up with Lauren on whether I wanted to borrow it this weekend).  Apparently Graeme is fairly confident I will meet the love of my life by riding a trike up and down the west side bike path.   While optimistic about love, I am quite dubious about this method of finding it.  I personally think my best option is to kayak in a superhero outfit, a la whomever had this awesome poster taped to their locker:

What do you think?

The Greatest Website of All Time

Need hours of amazing procrastination?  Look no further.


As you may or may not have figured out, I am a HHHHUUUGGGEEEEE  Star Wars fan.  So I would like to share with you the greatest website of all time: Stormtroopers 365


Even if you aren't completely obsessed with Star Wars, you WILL laugh out loud at some of these.  The amount of creativity and dedication that went into this project is phenomenal.  A friend of mine said "I would like to get a beer with the guys who made this."  Well, I would like to make babies with the guys who made this.  


A few samples -- "Renewable Power of Destruction": 

"Can you read this Luke Skywalker?"

Photos from Stormtroopers 365

Impossible Things I May (or May Not) Attempt

Well, those last two posts were kind of experimental, to get me to start writing, and have little to do with the actual point of this whole thing. I imagine that, from time to time, I might write about something random, try to impose my point of view and style choices on you, my beloved unknown audience, but I'm doing this with the intent of documenting my experiences while trying to enrich my life, shake things up a bit (as a high-school boyfriend once put it: "a nice change of pace"), and maybe entertain a few people in the process. So, I'll let you in on a few contenders for the impossible things I may attempt in the next few months:

• Beekeeping - The Gotham City Honey Co-Op has beekeeping classes at the Central Park Arsenal every Sunday at 11am. My mom kept 600,000 honey bees on her property last year, but I was never able to make it out to her house to learn how to bee keep, so now that I know this is available, I'm definitely doing it!
• Flying - A good friend from HS is now a flight instructor in NJ, so I'll definitely have to get out there and take a lesson sometime this summer.
• Shooting - I'm about as liberal as it gets, but also kind of a closet gun enthusiast, so I'm planning to head over to NYC's West Side Pistol Range sometime and fire off a few rounds. 
• Kayaking - A friend and I are volunteering at one of the NYC boathouses (Downtown Boathouse) in preparation for a trek around Manhattan island at the end of the summer. This obviously requires a hell-of-a-lot more arm strength than I currently have, so it will be quite the challenge.
• Rock Climbing - A date recently took me rock climbing. Aside from being totally nerve wracking in front of a guy you like, it was a lot more difficult than I expected: the holds for your feet are TINY and holding on is nearly impossible. Oh, not to mention the immense amount of physical and mental agility it requires while still trying to make sure my butt looked cute (since he was obviously checking it out). But, as he told me, you want to try to "have sex with the wall," and I really can't argue with a sport with that description. So, I'm in. All the way.
• Sky Diving - My mom said I wasn't allowed, but I'll probably do it anyway. :P
• Biking - My ex-step-father got me hooked on motorcycles. Sadly, his relationship with my mother ended before he could teach me how to ride, but I still intend to get my license sometime.
• Dancing - A friend of mine claims he pretends he's a "stripper with a big ass" when he's dancing, and boy, if you saw him, he's nailed it. Absolute insanity. And definitely responsible for the drunken wipe-out of many a dance partner, including yours truly. However, I'd like to try a more athletic approach - take a hip hop, Latin or ballroom class for fun and exercise.
• Playing flute - I've been meaning to audition for a few of the amateur orchestras in NYC. This one may not happen right now, but eventually I'd love, love, love to do this. At the very least I should play more. Or maybe I could have a recital for some of my friends!!
• Reading - I've got a whole bookshelf full of unread books I've purchased over the past few years, so I'm going to try to read and review one book a month. This will likely commence after I've aced the GMAT, as any time not spent outside or doing something with friends is dedicated to attempting to solve ridiculously easy questions that have been constructed in such a way that completely screws with your mind.
• Learning French - As I was flipping through this weeks NY Magazine on the subway to work, I came across an add for Idlewild Books' language class - looks like fun and is reasonably priced.
• Reviewing Movies - As you already know, I LOVE movies, so I may as well share my opinion.
• Cooking / Baking - I'm going to attempt to cook or bake something new and interesting every two weeks. (open to suggestions)
• Eating New Food - Everyone who knows me is well aware that I have the palate of a five year old. Therefore I've decided to try a lot of new food and order things on the menu I would never usually order, so please comment! (In the last week of dining out I've ordered:foie gras and hamachi-both delicious-from Aureole, the bo ssam-not a huge fan of the oyster, but I ate it!-from Momofuku's Ssam bar, and amazing scallops wrapped in prosciutto over spinach at uva on the Upper East Side.)