Freaky subway people and killer food--aka NYC

So, last weekend I went to NEW YAWK CITY! There was a signing at Books of Wonder for Saturday. My boyfriend Chad came with me because he too is a big fan of the city.

We arrived on Friday (in a LIMO, of all things--we split it with another couple to head to the hotel!!) and went to this really rad place called The Markt for lunch. I'm not sure what kind of place it is, but the food was soooooo fantastic. I got filet mignon strips on a baguette with a hint of horseradish to spice it up. I can't even tell you how delish it was. I think I licked the plate. hah

Check this limo, yo! Big pimpin...

After that, it was adventure-time! The hotel we stayed at was in Chelsea, so we wandered around in the area and window-shopped. And regular shopped too, haha. I tried gelato for the first time, which was so freaking faboo. How could I never have had the gloriousness of gelato before? I weep for all these lost years when I could have been enjoying it. sigh

Anyway, we met with Chad's friend Robyn for dinner at this Thai restaurant called Holy Basil. If you haven't been there, you HAVE TO GO. Seriously, the food was amazing. I had deep-fried bass pieces with this delicious sweet sauce. Okay, it was kinda weird that they deep-friend its skeleton too, and used that as a wrapper around the bass pieces, but whatev. It was still t-t-t-tasty tasty.

Are you sensing a theme here? I enjoyed lots o' food in NYC. haha

Saturday was another wander around and shop-til-I-drop day. For brekkies we went to this place called Chat and Chew--the food was really good, but there were like a billion people in there. So packed! We were all over the place that day. We went to Forbidden Planet, which is a fantastic comic book store that had EVERYTHING AND ITS MOM in there. The nerd-girl in me totally died and went to heaven. Seriously, it was magical. If you love comics, graphic novels, etc, it's a MUST-SEE place.

Also hit this store called Anthropologie. So expensive, but holy crap did it have some fantastic clothes. I got this super-foxy little wool hat that I wore all weekend.

Yo, my hat--it is supa-fly

We hit The Strand (which is a mega-super-awesome bookstore), about a billion shoe and clothing stores, and some kitschy tourist shops. We also went to Union Square and people-watched for a while on the benches. Did you realize there are some crazy crazies in Union Square? Wow. Epic. So, yeah--while walking, I also totally stepped into a big old waft of...THE REEFER. Yes, someone was smoking pot right out there in the open. I'm totally not used to that kind of crazy.

The book signing was a blast. There were six of us teen authors there--Michelle Zink, Megan Crewe, J.A. Yang, me, Jon Skovron, and Jenny Moss. Even more awesome, Jon played guitar and sang a piece from his book that he'd written as a teen. It was so rad!! After the signing, we went to The Hollywood Diner.

And then Chad and I hit Times Square, baybee! But first, to get there we had to use THE SUBWAY. Dum dum DUMMMMMMM.

Ah, the subway. I've seen it in movies, usually where there's some dramatic crime or horrible event happening. Fortunately there was no crime when I went, but I did see a dude peeing onto the train rails. Something in my gut told me that wasn't quite so smart, but whatever. Thankfully he was in a heavy coat, so my innocence was preserved.

We made it alive and whole to Times Square and wandered around, admiring the big fat flashy lights and other crazy tourists and ambiance of the area. I saw a dude in a knit grey dress that was light and flowing and, uh, showed his boy junk very clearly. So, that was interesting.

Me and Chad in Times Square

We saw my publisher's building too. So of course I had to get a pic of me in front of it.

It's me! And Simon and Schuster. But mostly ME. haha

After that, we went to Rockerfeller Center. The Christmas tree was in progress, and I couldn't believe how huge it was! The ice rink was open, and people were skating around. SO pretty and fun!

Rockefeller Ice Rink--so pretty!

Look at the snowflakes on the building!

Sunday morning, Chad and I hit Chelsea and wandered around. We ate at this little cafe that had only one other person in it--I had a bacon egg and cheese panini, which was killer good. What was funny is the dude used the panini press to cook, like, EVERYTHING--even the bacon. haha.

After that, we walked around Chelsea in the cool air, digging the sunshine and neighborhood streets. I loved it. And we had an easy flight home.

Awesome view outside the airplane window

This trip was so, so fun. SO FUN. It convinced me that I totally want to move to New York someday. There's nothing like the atmosphere, the hustle, the buildings and people and even the very air itself. Being around other writers, feeling the vibe of the publishing community is intoxicating. Even now it's pulling me back. But I loved every second of it. :D

Where has Rhonda been?

Oh, my pretties. How I have missed ye! It's been over a month since the layoff at my former day job. I'm still adjusting to all the ins and outs of working at home. But it has actuallt been an awesomely incredible experience so far.

Here is how a basic day works for me:

-Get up around 6 or 7. If I don't have to teach or if I'm not going out somewhere, I lazily stay in my jammies and luxuriate in my laziness. Haha

-Drop the kiddies off at school. Then it's time to work. I usually do editorial stuff in the morning to help warm up my brain. I also consume possibly lethal amounts of caffeine.

-Lunchy time!! I also do some research, be it reading or watching a movie that sets the tone for my writing. And if I have time I squeeze in a nap. Aaaaaaaaah.

-Time to get my Hemingway on. Okay, not quite, but I do get into a good writing groove.

-Pick up the children from school and then back to work! After I finish writing I turn my attention to class stuff to prep for teaching. Hang with kids, do dinner and nag them into doing dishes.

-Teach the youth of today and warp them into the crazies of tomorrow. Most of them don't dig English so I try to make it entertaining. Or at least end class early. Haha

-Come home and wind down. By now it's somewhere around 8:30 or 10:00 pm depending on the day. So I read or watch a movie. And end up staying awake later than I should.

Right now I am working on two stories: a teen guy one, and a kick-ass thriller featuring a slightly crazy woman. Have I mentioned how much I love my job? :-)

I promise to post more. But until then, keep it off the streets!