Two TV shows

So for some reason, The Secret Millionaire was recorded on my DVR. Neither my roommate or myself has ever heard of it or set it to record. Anyway, watched a few episodes and I must say it is an amazing show. On one episode, one Florida millionaire sold his online marketing company for $500 million (um... what...?!) and was placed in Skid Row of LA to find charities he wants to donate to. I've always known Skid Row was infamous for the amount of homeless people, but the images on TV and the fact that it is right in downtown LA is really incredible. Anyway, the millionaire is walking aimlessly along - and someone not from the area pulls up with a van. He (we later find out his name is Amir) brings out clothes and hangs them up for the homeless people to have. Amir also hands out hygiene kits that he made in zip lock bags. What really touched me is that when he came back on another day, there was an older gentleman (probably a veteran) on a walker. They described on TV that his shoes were covered in excrement. Amir asks him what size shoes he wear, and goes through his collection to see if he has size 8 shoes. All of the sudden, Amir realizes he himself is a size 8, and immediately takes off his own shoes for this man. He offered his own shoes for this man - but that's not even the touching part of it. It was Amir's humility. He didn't offered his shoes condescendingly, or even in a patronizing way. Amir made it seem like it was his own luck that his shoes happened to be size 8 and he can offer this gentleman. Anyway - decided to google this guy later, and on his twitter he writes: "Secret Millionaire is a great show and I'm so fortunate to be on a small part of Secret Millionaire." Just the humility of a philanthropist is really refreshing.

Anyway, totally on the opposite end of spectrum - I was watching Gossip Girl yesterday. I got into it this season a few episodes ago, which is somewhat late for the GG fans out there. I enjoy watching it because it takes place in NY - so I get to see how NY has changed and the restaurants, stores, scenery etc. I also enjoy the fashion on the show. Most people don't realize this but what they are wearing is totally off the runways of the latest collection of fashion week. Just seeing NY and the fashion simply makes me happy. The convoluted plot and the drama is something I can't stand. Anyway, in last night's episode, The Kids Stay in the Picture, Serena has a cousin who is raised by a hippie mom who apparently rejects materialism and "shallowness". (Not to mention she herself is clothes top down in the latest fashion and her face is totally botoxed up). Anyway, there's this scene where she is convinced to stay in NY. The film her trying on a pair of Louboutin nude pumps. She's playing with Serena's Chanel moisturizers. The look on her face is just amazing. She looks like she's been completely brainwashed and that materialism is the way to life. The way the whole scene was filmed too like the Louboutins is the holy grail or something. I obviously love fashion and a pair of nice shoes, but this show definitely takes it to an extreme and definitely highlights the problem that American young girls / women have with materialism.

So that's the extent to my TV watching - besides Fox Soccer Channel - which according to my roommate is like softcore porn to me (totally true). And Knicks playoff games, which I probably don't have many games left to watch unfortunately.

My take on NYU

Last month when I was back in NY, I saw a pretty wide-eyed girl on the 6 train with her parents with NYU brochures in hand. It was around college decision time, so I figured they took a trip from a small town in the midwest to see if NYU is the right school for the girl. I was in my California-mode i.e. smiling at everyone on the street and wanting to have human interaction - so I was compelled to talk to the family. Unfortunately, they got off - so never had that conversation. This blog entry that conversation I never had with that family - and anyone else out there asking the question: "Is NYU for me?"

• If you are accepted to NYU, that's probably one indicator that NYU IS for you. I beileve that the college admissions process is about "fit." Definitely more at NYU than any other school. It's really not just all about academics i.e. if you get a 2400 on your SATs with straight A's - doesn't mean you will get into NYU. If you got in, that means the admissions office saw that you have "an edge" making you a good fit for NYU.
• NYU is not a traditional college experience. It's literally "in and of the city." There are no walls to enclose the campus. There actually IS a campus. It's just within the city, and there are non-college students within that campus as well. It's not a bubble, where all you encounter are people affliated with the University. With that said, being around Washington Square Park still felt like school - and our buildings were definitely our campus.
• You will meet the most interesting people - ever. There is such a hodgepodge of different people - striving for different things in life. This will especially happen freshmen year where people are just making new friends and all freshmen are in the same dorms. There was a professional piano player on my floor, right next to the nerdy econ major, and also film production majors. I know this is true of some other colleges as well - but like I said, NYU students all have some sort of edge that makes them interesting.
• You will get tons of travel experience. I know at least for Stern, they encourage you to study abroad 2 semester in different places. Plus, there's the junior year ISP trip, where the school pays for your international trip during Spring Break. Just in my 4 years, I've been to Athens (scholars trip), Rome / Florence (scholars trip), London (studied abroad), Buenos Aires (ISP trip), Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon, Milan, Paris, Nice, and Cannes (study abroad travels).
• You will probably work at a really legit internship during school. I was able to work at the larger financial services company - since that's the field I'm in. I have friends that worked at Vogue, LV, Madison Square Garden - whatever industry you are interested in, you can have opportunities to be exposed to the field. NYC is literally the mecca of (beside basketball :)) finance, fashion, media, journalism, and literature. My friends that have not gone to NYU think that my resume is stacked, but they need to see the resume of some other Stern students.
• Be prepared to grow up - really quickly. Not being in the bubble of a campus, and being in the real world, let a lone NYC, forces you to grow up. I have a friend that was accepted to NYU, but chose to go somewhere else because she didn't want to grow up too quickly. I think that is completely true. I had friends that had to work 3 jobs - to pay for college and living expenses. Also, the interaction with really smart, cynical, experienced, and jaded New Yorkers will also make you grow up.
• You will know more about the world - culture and current events. This also relates to the fact that NYU is "in and of" NYC. There are people from all over the world living in NYC. You are just exposed to a lot more about what is happening around the world - a stark contrast from California. Also, being amongst people of different backgrounds breeds familiarity with different cultures.
• Princeton Review's Dream School: "2004-2007" and always placing amongst Ivys. (3rd after Stanford and Harvard in 2011 - only really because of the financial aid factor being better at Ivy League Schools).
• Graduation at Yankee Stadium is kinda of amazing. And also - 2010 Graduation Speaker: Alec Baldwin, 2011 Graduation Speak: Bill Clinton

Anyway - these are just some thought off the top of my head. I'll definitely add to this later. In conclusion, my time at NYU was the best experience of my life. I know this is the case for most people and their college experience, but I would not change my experience for anything. Knowing what I know now about NYU, I wouldn't trade going to NYU for any other school in the world - no matter how prestigious. Plus, I know my college experience was unique and is not comparable to any other college in the world, even other colleges in NY.

Just FYI

I guess there is a method to my madness. Got really bored so decided to go through my old FB entries and came across this on March 21, 2009 at 5:41pm. "AJC: kinda wants to move to california... or somewhere warm..."

Monday night epiphany

Last night, was running from Santa Monica along the beach down to Marina Del Rey and realized something - I actually really like LA. I always fall in love with LA when I'm running along the beach. But this time - I know it's something more permanent than a transitory feeling of happiness as a result being able to run outside any time of the year by the beach and the release of endorphins from my pitutary gland, increasing the release of GABA and therefore disinhibiting the dopamine production.

Point being, I am shy of 2 days from being in LA for 8 months. I guess that's how it takes for me to get used to - and finally LIKE LA. It takes me way longer to get used to LA, just because it is a shitty city. I do like for certain qualities, but that doesn't change that it's a shitty city and not even on TimeOut's list of 10 greatest cities: http://www.timeout.com/travel/features/362/the-worlds-greatest-cityr

TimeOut bases their rankings on: architecture, art & culture, buzz, food & drink, quality of life, and world status. The following scores are that of NYC and London, which I agree with 100% from living in both places:

1. New York, USA

Architecture: 9

Arts & culture: 10

Buzz: 10

Food & drink: 9

Quality of life: 6

World status: 9


Total/60: 53

2. London, UK

Architecture: 7

Arts & culture: 10

Buzz: 9

Food & drink: 9

Quality of life: 6
World status: 9
Total/60: 50

If I had to score LA, I would probably give it the following:

Architecture: 3 (baller beach houses does not count as good architecture in my book)
Arts & culture: 3 (what culture?)
Buzz: 8 (only because of Hollywood and the celebrities)
Food & drink: 4 (hardly any restaurants with more than 1 Michelin star)
Quality of life: 9 (can't argue with this fact - it is an amazing place to live)
World status: 6 (just because most of the world does not know that LA isn't even a real city)
Total/60: 33

Anyway, I miss math so I'm trying to come up with a function f(x) = y, where x is the timeout NY score, and y is the number of months it will take me to get used to a city. That way, I can predict how long it will take me to get used to living in Paris, Berlin, or Chicago, if I wanted to move there. It's obviously an inverse relationship with probably some sin curve, but I'm probably not enough of a math nerd to figure it out.

SO - next time I complain about LA, just ignore me since it's probably just for attention. I do like LA....

On The Sartorialist Today....

I know its cheap to just steal pictures off The Sartorialist and write a blog entry on it - but I no longer have my DSLR camera and am not in London / Milan / Paris / NY so here goes my fake blog entry.

I love pictures of pretty things: scenery, fashion, and art. The only feeling I can describe it as is that it makes me happy. I get inspired and it makes me want to live life a bit diferently - whether it inspires me to try a new nail color, work a bit harder so I can go on vacation, or have a prespective on life. Sometimes, I can't even pinpoint how it inspires me, but it doesn't necessarily need to inspire me to an action. I am simply inspired. Anyway - these pictures on Sartorialist inspire me today. I love the elements of the fur, the neutral colored theme, and the black plastic shades!