I finally have time to post to my journal because ... lo and behold, I am ill.  It's not that bad, really, just a cold.  Anyway, this is going to be a brief overview of what New York City has been like.  

June 16
I woke up at 5:00 in order to get to Austin and the airport at 7:30-ish.  It was my first time to fly, so I was really nervous.  Excited, but nervous.  We <i>did</i> have to take off our shoes at the ... oh, goodness, what's it called?  The contraband-checker/conveyor belt thingy.  So, thanks a lot, Nancy, for telling me to wear flip-flops.  =)  And, so, I had my alarm clock in my carry-on (which was VERY heavy) and the security guard stopped me for it.  He also threw away my hair gel, which I didn't want anyway, so that was perfectly fine.  Luckily he didn't find my toothpaste.  *grins*  Although I doubt he would have thrown it away.  *shrugs*  You never know.  He also asked me my bear's name.  I was like, "Um... Fuzzy?"  (Which, it is, by the way.)  And he goes,

"All right, well... Would you like to hold Fuzzy?"  And I, of course, readily agreed.  Guess he thought I had a bomb in my bear.  *rolls eyes*  Oh, well.  The security (which is a word I keep mis-typing) really DO help and what was <i>really</i> ironic is that I saw a sign later on that read:  'If you slander the employees, you will be subject to search and/or fines.'  Or something that that effect.  Needless to say, I kept mum after that.

OK, so... the flight.  The first plane I was on was only a 32 minute flight from Austin to Bush Intercontinental, Houston.  It was amazing.  Taxi-ing wasn't anything special.  In fact, it felt more like "bump-stop-grind-schmooze along-bump-stop-travel 5 feet" and so forth.  But once we got on a straight-line runway and really picked up speed, it felt like a racecar.  And then, of course, when we lifted into the air.  Whew!  Really amazing.  (And thanks to Daddy, I actually had chewing gum with me.  I knew about that trick, of course, but I'd stopped <i>chewing</i> chewing gum and thus it was great of Dad to give me some.)  =)

A short 32 minutes later, I arrived at the airport, called Nistha, Pat, Mom, and Dad, and waited around for a bit before getting on my next flight.  Again, taking off was awesome, but flying--very quickly--became less and less fun.  (Really boring descriptor word, but whatever.)   Luckily, I wasn't sitting next to anyone and I had a window seat, so I could play my music without offending anyone.  (It was loud next to the fuselage and my earphones "leak" sound, so that's why I was glad about that.)  It was the craziest thing ever, watching the world sink away.  Everything gets so small so quickly.  The waves on the water ... don't even show up.  And the land looks very ... ugly from far up in the clouds.  Everything looks like patchwork, but not prety or even interesting patchwork ... just a fragment of what it actually is.  Anyway, I was glad when we touched down, because long flights (about 4 hours, in my case) can get very boring.  

In the end, I got to LaGuardia, called Patrick.  (I was thrilled to see him, by the way.  *grins*)  And we went down to meet Auntie Wendy.  SO many people.  We got into Manhattan very easily.  The traffic was less convoluted than Houston or Austin traffic (or so we thought; the weekdays showed us differently) and stopped at my dorm.  I got my key; Patrick and I put my stuff in my room.  It was very nice, with a bedside table, refrigerator, desk, chest of drawers, sink, closet, bunkbed, and no roommate!  =)  Hee!  After we put my stuff in the room, Pat left and I went down to orientation.  Once that was over, I went up to my room and put all my stuff away.  The end.  *chuckles*  No, really.  Then I went to bed.

The next day was Sunday, June 17, and I slept in.  Then... after that.  I ... oh, goodness.  Oh!  All of us Joffrey kids staying at the Amsterdam Residence (or the Joffrey dorm) went on a practice run to the school, which is at 10th St. and Avenue of the Americas (Av. 6) on the 2 Express train.  I got my MetroCard and we looked at the studio, had an orientation, and then went back to the dorm.  From there, I ... <i>think</i> I went to Patrick and Auntie Wendy's, which is on W. 92nd St.  They are staying with a lovely lady named Barbara, who has two adorable dogs, Maggie and Charlie.  I was with them for a while and then I went back home.  I can walk easily to my dorm, because it's not very far away, at W. 85th St.

Then, Monday, June 18, was the start of my classes.  I had ballet from 8:30-10:00.  Then pointe from 10:00-11:00.  Then a 15-minute break.  Then I had character class from 11:15-12:30.  After that, lecture on anatomy from 12:30-1:45.  It was tons of fun, especially character, since I'd never taken a character class before.  After classes, I went back on the subway with Miranda, my new friend from Intermediate/Advanced level.  We had a great time ... and after we got back to the Dorm, we went out to Ollie's, a Chinese restaurant, with Janee and Lizzy, two other girls staying in the Dorm.  Pat met me at Ollie's when the girls and I had finished eating and we went to a pizza cafe for his dinner and then to Central Park.  It was lots and lots of fun.  

Tuesday, June 19.  More classes.  Ballet, pointe, and then Ballet Technique/Strength, which was AWESOME!  =)  Our teacher was this great little man who had been trained in London.  He had the bushiest black eyebrows ever, even though his hair was completely white.  I'm going to enjoy his class.  After that, Auntie Wendy and I went out to eat at the City Diner (I had a great veggie burger, though not as good as the ones at Barnaby's in Houston.)  and then to Queens, where we went shopping for a rug, desk lamp, and other practical things at a Discount store.  Lots of fun; I came home, put my rug on my floor, hooked up my desk lamp, then went back to Auntie Wendy's.  She and Pat went to the baseball game and I went to see <i>Pirates of the Caribbean:  At World's End</i> at Loewe's on 66th St.  It was awesome!  Seriously.  I won't spoil it for any who haven't seen it, but I will say that it's VERY sad and is much better than <i>Dead Man's Chest</i>.  After that, I took the subway back to the Dorm and went to sleep, very tired since I had been kept up the night before by the sound of some rowdy boys and girls thudding up the stairs and the room above mine.

Wednesday, June 20.  Woke up with a sore throat, but went to classes anyway.  We had ballet, pointe, modern, and lecture.  Lecture was about streching exercises.  Modern was VERY fun.  =)  I went to Auntie Wendy's and crashed on her bed.  She was lovely and made me chicken noodle soup, spinach pie, and ... tonic, that was it.  =)  Couldn't remember for a second.  Then, we talked about where we wanted to visit.  (Hopefully we're able to go to the Museum of Natural History soon) and then she and Maggie, the dog, walked me home.  I read a bit at the Dorm and went to sleep.

Today, Thursday, June 21.  I woke up, felt no better, called Joffrey Ballet and told them I would be absent, talked to Auntie Wendy.  Went back to sleep.  Woke up; ate two oranges, read a bit.  Finally took a shower at about 2:00, came down here to the Lounge, checked my email, wrote this LJ post, and... yeah.  That's it.  So, I'm really tired right now and about to either watch TV or walk over to Auntie Wendy's.  Hopefully will have more interesting posts in the future.

Just talked to Cathy Thomas and she told me I am getting a roommate.  Drat!  Makes me mad... Oh, well.  C'est la vis.  Au revoir, everyone!

~Julia~