Catching Up Again I Know...

Day 22: Phi Sigma Sigma is always a memory I think about. With not keeping in touch with many people from high school, every time I come back to Southern California I make a point to see Phi Sigs that live in the area. This time I was fortunate as always to see Mandy and Brittany who have been living here for the past few years. This year I am also fortunate to my little sister Samy as well as Allie. I can't wait for a Phi Sig mini reunion at downtown Disney. I can't believe it's been over two years since I left San Francisco and the amazing women I call friends. Also, I was able to meet up with my big brother Alex from Alpha Epsilon Pi and his wife Lori who I met through Greek organizations. It has been awesome. Pictures to come!

Day 23: Christmas Eve is always a wonderful memory that varies per year. Every Christmas Eve we gather at my aunt's house (mom's side) with family, boyfriend and friends who may not have their own Christmas to celebrate. After pictures, stories and a wonderful dinner, we gather around the tree to sing a Hungarian Christmas song and then have our white elephant game. Years past have included, singing the 12 Days of Christmas with wine glasses, stories about the family, tons of pictures, singing and tons of memories to come.

Day 24: Merry Christmas! On Christmas Day we celebrate with my dad's side of the family either here in Chino or out in Pasadena at my grandparents house. Christmas is always a wonderful time to see my family after the crazy year that has been 2012. Memories included opening presents, the English tradition of Christmas crackers with colored paper hats/free toys/jokes and plenty of delicious food.

Day 25: After having to put down both of my dogs in Chino this year, I have definitely looked towards others who have dogs to fill my having a dog desire. Ann Marie has to Pomeranian's, Kabuki and Jeter, who are adorably furry, loud and energetic. Although not my favorite type of dog they can be the most playful and fun loving creatures. Diego, Tom's Cocker Spaniel who he adopted from the pound, is so well mannered, quiet and just a joy to be around. He always puts a smile on my face, even when he stole the last half of my muffin. I can't wait to see them all again.

Time Flies...

Day 19: Memories involving my friends that I have met through trivia in NYCSSC are definitely the most that have occurred throughout the year as they have become my close circle of friends. At the end of June NYCSSC hosted a "back to high school" party during a break in seasons. It was a blast to see all of my friends, trivia, kickball, etc. Many made an appearance and it was a great way to offically kick-start the summer seasons of sports.

Day 20: As this is a memories list, the New Year is always a memory to never forget. I spent ringing in the New Year at Tom's on Roosevelt Island with a small but fun group of friends. Tom cooked dinner, we brought the games and drinks, and just had a blast spending the night together. Once it came closer to the official countdown, Ann Marie and some of her friends joined us just in time to celebrate. After movie watching, watching the ball drop and stuffing ourselves with delicious steaks and dessert it was ofifically 2012.

Day 21: A item on my New York to do list and I would even say life bucket list was to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade live. I was fortunate enough to get access to the parade in our work area with much appreciated help from my boss. After a bit of a headache and many people I was able to meet up with my boss and enjoy the parade live near the beginning of the route. All in all it was a great parade, although to me the only thing special about this parade is the giant balloons. Check!

Memories

Day 18: This is going to be a brief list of memories with friends.

Ann Marie - our endless dinner date nights have been the best stress relievers we always need.

Kevin - even though I haven't seen you much lately, those times you and I chat in the car as you drop me off are some of the most entertaining conversations we have and learn about each other.

Tom - I think going with you and Feeny to Mets games top the list of summer memories. We always have a blast and catch up.

Janssen - I think the funniest memory I have had with you is when you made the pumpkin cheesecake muffins for Tom's one day and Diego was so in love with them that he stole my remaining muffin right off the table.

Christie and Nicki - the most fun and ridiculous times we have had together this year has definitely been at kickball games as well as before and after. I'll never forget those times.

Blissful Birthdays

Day 17: With my birthday being within the first month of moving here in 2011, I didn't have a stable group of friends to celebrate my birthday. I ended up leaving on my birthday to a training in upstate NY in Schenectady (outside of Albany). Although leaving on my birthday, my boss and colleagues were kind enough to order me a birthday cake to celebrate before leaving for the next few days. After a goregous drive upstate through green hills, I spent the next few days in a training. This year was definitely memorable and a blast. On the day of some friends and I went to happy hour after work to kick off my birthday celebration weekend, even though my birthday was on a Wednesday. My friend Christie is two days younger than me so we planned a birthday celebration together at Central Bar. A group of amazing friends, dancing and laughter was all I needed to make up for the first birthday I had in New York. Here's to the next birthday that will probably be celebrate in Ithaca the weekend of Josh and Michelle's wedding.

Sickly Weekend = Catching Up

Since I was sick all weekend, here is me catching up:

Day 14: This year was definitely an emotional one. I was lucky enough to see my dog Sadie the week before she was put down. Sadie had been fighting a tumor in her bladder and eventually my parents thought it was best to put her out of her misery and pain. I remember the day I ran across the street to Walnut Park from my junior high and saw my mom with Sadie and Lucy in the car. I was thrilled for my new puppy. RIP Sadie - April 28, 2012. You were my lovable, wonderful furball of joy who loved to run and eat with delight. I will always miss you.

Day 15: 4 months after Sadie was laid to rest peacefully, Lucy my sister's dog in Chino was laid to rest as well. Lucy, a lot older and wiser, was a great joy in my life as well. After trying to solve her troubles with arthritis and hearing with medication, my parents eventually saw that she wasn't doing much better and eating as well. I can still remember the day we got her from the Avila's in front of my elementary school and brought her home. RIP Lucy - August 18, 2012.

Day 16: Libation has been a crazy, wonderful, fun-filled place of memories this past year. Starting off as our temporary place for trivia on Tuesdays, Libation then transitioned over to the post-bar for kickball. Between dance parties to meeting TONS of fellow kickballers and now friends, anytime the Lower East Side is mentioned my mind automatically thinks of Libation. Even though sometimes I may get sick of the place and not want to go, I know going to Libation will always be a good time no matter who I am with. Here's to the many more times I will be there and additional memories to come.

New Babies and New Engagements

Day 13: This is two wonderful memories in one since they occurred on the same day. My friend Jacob who I met through trivia and his wife Tanya had their baby shower on Roosevelt Island and I was honored to be invited. It was an afternoon full of laughter, games and a warm time spent celebrating the soon to be birth of their daughter. A few months later in May, they welcomed baby Leah into the world after returning home from watching hockey at Tom's house. Congratulations again to you both on an adorable baby girl. That night after the baby shower, Josh (another friend I met in trivia) and Michelle celebrated their recent engagement at a bar in Brooklyn near the neighborhood where they live together. We spent the rest of the night celebrating with friends and the two friends who are happy to be sharing their lives together. I can't wait for their wedding in Ithaca next June. It will be a wondeful wedding that I am excited to attend.

Memory Lane and Then Some..

Day 11: My trip to Florida was definitely a highlight of this year. I was going to Orlando for a work trip with 3 other colleagues and was excited to be back to Florida since I hadn't been there since my family vacation in 2001. Although it was a work trip, I was excited when we got to walk around Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. We worked, ate delicious food and had gorgeous weather overall. We even managed to squeeze in a spring training baseball game in the trip since the Braves training camp was near Orlando. Well worth the trip and had great company to cheer me up before going to Hungary for my grandmother's funeral immediately after, RIP Nagymama.

Day 12: Today was 12/12/12 so instead of one memory for this day I thought I would write a list of 12 things that I love about living in New York:
1. Public transportation - I will admit I like the freedom of driving but I don't miss traffic.
2. Being in a big city - Although Chino is where I grew up, I am definitely a big city girl (well at least while I'm still young).
3. Street food - it's good here.
4. Four seasons - the weather not the hotel.
5. Pizza - I will admit New York pizza is the best.
6. Cabs - I never truly appreciated cabs until I moved to New York.
7. Dunkin Donuts - I've become a fan of their coffee.
8. Working in midtown and truly appreciating all my surroundings.
9. The ability to visit more than one state within two hours outside of New York City
10. Bars that are open really late and every day of the year. 
11. My colleagues - such a wonderful and well educated group of people
12. My neighborhood - I've grown to love Astoria

Treasured Ten

Day 10: One of the most important memories I remember from this year was the last time I spent with my nagymama (grandmother), RIP. Last Christmas she was in California for a bit over a month to celebrate with the whole family and spend some time seeing everyone she knows in the Southern California area. It was such a great time to spend with her while I was home for a week with the entire family. After returning back to New York, work informed me of a project that I would be working on that involved me working with a few other colleagues. This project required the team to meet together a few times over this past year so I was lucky enough to be heading back to Los Angeles at the end of January/beginning of February. Since the beginning of February is also my mom's birthday, my parents, nagymama, my dad's parents and my uncle came up to CityWalk for dinner at Bubba Gumps. It was such a wonderful night that also ended up being the last time I would see my nagymama. RIP Marta Tarnok February 29, 2012.

Catching Up

Day 7: My best friend Raquel and her (now) husband Jose got married this past August. It's crazy that my best friend is already married but I am so grateful I was able to be there to share in their special day. Raquel is one of few people who I still regularly see since high school. We've managed to visit each other whenever I was home in California or her coming to see me while I was living in San Francisco. I really hope she comes to visit me in New York one day soon so I can show her what an amazing city it is. When I was home last I was able to see her new apartment (finally not living at home) and catch up on life now that she is married, finishing college and looking forward to the next steps in her life. Congrats again! I can't wait to see you both when I am home for Christmas in 10 days.

Day 8: Another wedding that has topped my list of favorite this past year was my cousin Marika's wedding to Jeff about a month ago in Austin. After having met while we all lived in the Bay Area, I was thrilled to finally see them get married. Jeff is such an awesome guy and I'm glad to now call him family. The wedding was gorgeous and I am glad I was able to make it on time for all the festivities despite Hurricane Sandy coming through a few days before. Austin was warm and filled with family and friends, some who I hadn't seen in years. I can't wait to go back and visit again. Have an amazing honeymoon in Thailand Marika and Jeff, I will see you when you're both back and settled in after the New Year.

Day 9: Once I moved to New York City, I realized how close states are around here. Living in California it takes at least 4-5 hours to get to another bordering state depending on which one you are going to. Living in NYC, there are so many states accessible to me within 1-4 hours. Not having been to many states on the East Coast/Tri-State area, going to new cities/states has been on my list of things to do. Since moving here I have added Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and South Carolina to my list of states. My friends Kevin, Ilana, Janssen and I randomly took a 48 hour trip to Philadelphia this past February. Kevin's cousin was kind enough to let us crash in a condo that he uses/rents out. I was excited as I had never been to Philadelphia so I was thrilled to be able to check out the Liberty Bell, Constituational Hall and all the other various historical sites. Such an awesome city, glad I was able to check it out. Next up, maybe Massachusettes or Rhode Island?

Kickball Memories

Day 7: Kickball with NYCSSC has definitely been a big part of my life and this past year. Three different teams, 20+ new friends and a whole lot of fun. Whether it was sweating to death during the summer or freezing finishing up this past fall season, there was always fun to be had. Despite even almost spraining my wrist horribly, I always get into the game whether it's pitching or cheering on our team from the sidelines as we were up to bat. I have made so many great friends from this league and I can't wait for the many more friends to come. In addition to meeting new people on my teams I met numerous people at post game parties at Libation as well as making friends with quite a few refs and game coordinators. Who never know who you'll meet or re-meet after playing for over a year.

Favorite 5 (and 6)

Day 5: Not being born and raised here, let alone not visiting New York that many times before moving here, many of my favorite memories are those of being a tourist. After Tom's Labor Day weekend kickoff party I decided that instead of sitting at home all weekend that I wanted to finally visit Coney Island. My friends Tiffany and Dwiddy joined me on my visit after hearing that I had never been and having grown up near the area. Coney Island was just what I had pictured it to be. Old school rides, fair/pier games, music acts playing along the boardwalk and typical boardwalk food. Although a lot smaller than what I thought, we had a blast and even got free entry to the Brooklyn Cyclones vs Staten Island Yankees minor league baseball game. All in all it was a great trip that I will never forget, especially after Hurricane Sandy came through and completely destroyed the area and the historical/iconic items that Coney Island is known for.




Day 6: My first cruise, enough said. After hearing about the many cruises my parents have gone on, we (my immediate family) finally took a cruise together this year. As a birthday/belated graduation from college present, I was excited to experience my first cruise. Between lazy days on the ship taking in the sun to wonderful sit down dinners and exploring the Bahamas, I was exhausted after 5 days. After the roller coaster of a ride the first half of this year it was nice to see my family on a happy occasion and not work or death related. 5 days was just enough of a vacation with my family before going our separate ways across the US. I appreciate the times my family and I spend together since we don't have the opportunity often these days.

Fourth Favorite

Day 4: Another favorite memory of mine is a recent one; bowling with NYCSSC. Ever since I moved here I have participated in a NYCSSC sport; trivia, kickball, cornhole and now bowling. I have met many great friends throughout the seasons and the same can be said for bowling. Tiffany and I briefly went to the kickoff party for bowling since it was at Libation before our kickball/dodgeball games. Although there weren't too many people there we met everyone and got along great with Gregg and Josh, two guys from Long Island City.

The following week was our first game at Brooklyn Bowl. The bowling alley was gorgeous with rustic touches like leather tufted couches, old fair games on display and a large dance floor/stage for concerts they have on a weekly basis. After a slow start to the first week with bowling (hadn't bowled in like a year), meeting up with Gregg and Josh again, and making new friends, I was ready for the remaining 6 weeks. By the second week with the concerts going on, many of us realized that Brooklyn Bowl wasn't the best "post game bar" as we couldn't hear each other. Off a recommendation we started going to Whiskey Brooklyn around the corner. A great little bar with TVs, shuffleboard and other games, we spent the remaining weeks at this bar. Last night was the last week of games and we successfully made it to playoffs and didn't end up in last place. Go Rolling on Shabbos! And congrats to my friends on Up Your Alley for winning first place, you guys definitely deserved it.

Threee

Day 3: Definitely a memory that I'll never forget is running my first official 5k. I would usually run about a 5K while at the gym every since I've started going back in college so I though I should finally run an official one.  The Color Run wasn't a heavily timed race, it was more of a fun run. At every "K" volunteers would throw colored corn starch at you. Thus when you completed the race you would be covered in head to toe color that would be a splatter work of art/color. Held in August in NYC, it was a bit warm but my friends Ann Marie and Kerri and I did our best to run as much of the race as we could. Running it at Aviator Sports complex in Brooklyn was such a change of scenery from being in the city. The complex had luscious green fields and many trees. Luckily though, the race was ran on asphalt and not a dirt path, although that would have made it for an even messier run. Despite the heat and strain on my asthma we completed the 5K in just under 40 minutes. All in all it was such a fun 5K and I definitely plan on running it again next year; maybe even another/different city. This year the run is scheduled for March which will be freezing but who knows maybe that will be better for me while I run. A month later I even ran my 2nd 5K this year!

31 Memories of 2012

I've decided (a day late) that I wanted to blog about a memory from 2012 for every day in December. So here's Day 1 & 2.

Day 1: The amazing friends I have made through trivia. Without NYCSSC and the friendships I have formed, I would not have the close knit group of friends that I yearned for in NYC. Everyone knows it's hard to make friends in a new city, so I am thankful for them. Then have been there for me always and I especially thank my friends for taking me out to distract me and console me when I found out my grandmother passed away (RIP). Going straight from a work trip in Florida back to sit in an airport for 5 hours to then leave for Hungary made me gone for a little over two weeks and my friends were there for me. We spent the night enjoying each other's company and getting my mind off of things. Thank you everyone!

Day 2: Mets opening day was definitely a fun memory with all my Mets fan friends. I went to a few opening days while I lived in San Francisco since they were affordable and this year when my friends offered an invite to me for Mets opening day I jumped on the chance. It was a goregous day out and the start of many Mets games this season. I love the atmosphere of a baseball game; friends, food, music and cheering on the home team. After joining Tom and Kevin at so many Mets games, not only has my love of baseball grown but I have met many Mets fans and people to now call friends. I can remember the many Friday and misc nights watching games live in Citi Field being entertained by Feeny, watching Johan's first no-hitts game, winning a few homerpool games and the many laughs that occurred. Here's to the next opening day and many more Mets games to come!

Spontaneity!

"Spontaneity - The quality or condition of being spontaneous. Spontaneous - Arising from a momentary impulse."

After talking with my sister tonight about things going on in our lives, Christmas present ideas and her running adventures, I on a whim was going to fly home to support her for her first marathon in California which happened to also fall on the weekend of our mom's birthday. She was all for the idea depending on costs but that it would be fun since The Color Run would be held in LA that weekend too that I mentioned to her. Right before we hung up, she randomly threw out the idea of coming to visit her in Georgia the weekend she was running the Hot Chocolate 15k/5k in Atlanta in January since I had also asked when it would be a good time to visit her.

An hour later, I have booked a weekend trip to see my sister in Georgia! This is a new state for me and I'm exicted to finally see Athens (where she lives) and UGA (where she works). Also can't wait to see her favorite fur-ball Molly. I live my "having a dog in NYC" fantasies through Molly and it's been too long since I've seen her.





Not only have I booked a spontaneous trip to visit my sister in Georgia but I have also agreed to sign up for the 5k run while she did the 15k. I laughed when she said there was both, I am not as avid/consistent of a runner like she is. A 5k in cold(er) weather than my first 5k in sweatlering heat in August in NYC will be a challenge. I guess it's time to start running outside/in colder temperatures! Here's to another 5k but I'm especially excited for this one since I will be able to share this experience with my sister after all the stories she shares with me/the family about her running adventures. And a free sweater/goodie bag to boot, why not!

Check out my sister's blog to read more about the run. Let's kick off 2013 with a bang!