Citi Bike: NYC bike share program

Citibike stations map of the city.
www.treehugger.com

There are 6,000 bikes and 300 stations in NYC. They're a part of a Citi Bike, NYC's bike share program, that I believe is sponsored by Citibank. People can rent out a bike for a couple of hours and return it to a station.

The program started Memorial Day weekend, which is when I first came to the city. I few things popped through my mind when I first saw them. I was worried, originally, because there are so many cars in the city and a ton of traffic. In my opinion, bikers are prone to injuries, especially in heavily populated areas.  

On the other hand, this could be a good thing. Cities like Portland, Oregon, have successfully implemented bike share programs and increased the number of bike routs throughout the city. This is environmentally friendly.

And I'm not sure how to say this in a non-granola crunchy way, but I go to Ithaca College, you excepted this. There is always the hope that maybe NYC will help "Mother Earth." I can dream, right?

Well, The New York Times published an article today about some technical problems with the bike share. The bike stations sometimes will not process payments or will not allow people to return the bikes. The customer service line, according to the article, has been very busy over the past two weeks and will leave people on hold for 45 minutes. The best thing to report though, is that no one has been injured while riding these bikes.

I haven't used the bikes yet, but everyday I pass empty stations. We'll see if I get tired of the subway.

Citi Bike station. www.treehugger.com

Weekend Sightseeing (Part 1): Little Italy

Little Italy at night, Mulberry Street.

My boyfriend, Clement, came to NYC to visit me this weekend. We did a lot of sight seeing. Clement is from the a small town outside of Ithaca and has only been to the city a few times - so I have a lot of places that I want to take him.

The logo of the smartphone
 application HopStop.

The problem is, is that I'm not exactly the best person when navigating through the subway. I've taken the subway for years but I only know the lines that I take constantly. So, my friend Annie told me about the app for the smartphone, HopStop, which will give you directions including subway stops. Clement and I found our way to Little Italy, now really Little Italy because it's only one block in Chinatown.

Clement really likes ravioli, to the extent that anytime it's on a menu when we go out - he'll order it. He happened to order pumpkin ravioli when he first met my Dad, Tom, who is the biggest carnivore next to a T-Rex or Jaws. Only four pieces of ravioli were on Clement's plate, so my Dad made him order something else. Since then, he's a little weary of ordering his favorite little pasta dish.

Clement's ravioli, in a tomato cream
sauce. He wanted me to take a
picture with just four of them...

As much as I make fun of him for loving ravioli, I can't blame him. A week ago, I was checking out restaurants in Little Italy and found one with lobster ravioli - Lunella Ristorante. So, we had to go there. Like I said before, we used HopStop to get to this bubble of restaurants and bakeries.

We were able to sit outside, which was wonderful since it was just becoming dusk - cooling down the hot humid cement of the city. Our dinner was delicious, of course. I ordered veal francese, one of my favorite Italian dishes. The sauce is buttery, lemony, and probably has a hint of white wine. It's beautiful with pasta, but there was one problem. 

Clement had more food than I did, and he ordered ravioli.

The portions were a lot smaller than I thought they would be. As Clement said, "They're actually a single portion size," which is way to small for me. At least this meal was. I had two very thin but tender pieces of veal, both pieces smaller than my hands (and I have very small hands, abnormally small), one piece of broccoli and one very small roasted potato. I shouldn't really be complaining because the sauce was honestly the best francese sauce I have ever had, but I would have loved to smother more veal with it.

La Bella Ferrara's sign. We sat right
under it, outside on a small patio.

Lunella's was really good, worth the money, and I will probably go back but we decided to get dessert somewhere else. Sometime in my childhood, I remember eating in a bakery Little Italy with my Dad. He has been to Little Italy many times, and actually the only other time I've ever been to Little Italy was with him. I messaged him before dinner to ask the name of a good dessert place on the block, and he told me to go to Ferrara, which is where I went when I was little. I just realized that we went to the wrong place - we went to La Bella Ferrara which is a smaller bakery. Still, it was really good.

My beautiful box of Ferrara pastries.
(left to right) Two lobster tails, two cannolis,
italian cheese cake and fruit tart.

You walk into the bakery and there are glass boxes lined with endless amounts of pastries, big ones and small ones - cannolis and fruit tars. To me, it's like going into a jewelry store - you're just in awe of the presence of these beautiful pastries. It was just magical.

Clement and I both ordered individual desserts, probably $5 each, and split a decaf cappuccino. This totaled for around $15 dollars.

I don't really spend a lot of money anymore, so I decided to splurge and take some pastries home. I bought 6 miniature desserts, which cost the same and as our dessert! Next time, I'm not going to bother ordering the big desserts (except that tiramisu, it was to die for) and I'm just going to order the miniature ones - you get more for the same amount of money! Either way, the desserts were delicious.

Clement and I made our way back to the apartment, with various desserts in hand and continued our adventure in the city the next day.

Weekend Sight Seeing:Part 2 --- Coming soon!

Going in the Field: What I Realized About Myself

While shooting FOX 5 reporter Dan Bowen's stand up,  I took pictures
for Twitter. The photo was published on my Twitter account on June 1. 

This photo (taken from my iPhone) describes Saturday, June 1. I went to FOX 5 thinking okay. I have one shift left. Then, I can just run to the train, hang out with my friends and chill. When I got there, it was completely empty. Only a few people were there. I was confused. When I arrive for my usual shifts, it is mayhem. 

2pm - 5pm on weekdays in a newsroom are extremely busy because reporters and everyone possible calls into the assignment desk and all of the writers and producers are working fast to get the shows together since there are three every day (5pm, 6pm and 10pm) --- it is terrifying and overwhelming. You get used to it but it is the polar opposite of FAIR, which is like being in the quietest section of the library. 

Well, the weekend is completely different. It's quiet, not a lot of people are there. Also, there are only two shows instead of three. I was able to do something really cool, which I can't do on weekdays. 

30 minutes into the day, the first reporter, Dan Bowens, was about to go out on his assignment, and he asked me, "Hey, do you want to come?" Who in their right mind would ever turn this down? The assignment editor said, "Yeah Sara, you can go." "Cool, yeah sure! Thanks!" and I grabbed my purse and went off. 

It was exciting. We went to Staten Island with a really cool cameraman. Both Bowens and the cameraman gave me a lot of advice. Going to the shoot was really exciting because people kept asking me questions, like "When is the show going to be on? What station are you with? Are you with the reporter?" I felt so professional! People at the event were also really happy that someone was covering this event. You see, there's been a string of violence the past few weeks against the LGBT community. FOX 5 has been covering the attacks closely, and being at the parade meant a lot to everyone that saw us. I think we were the only mainstream news outlet at the event, at least we were the only television crew.

When we got back to the studio, I was able to observe the editing process. It sounds dorky, but I really like editing and I am really familiar with using nonlinear editing software. After watching everything, I felt confident because what I learned in school and with on campus media is actually what happens in the real world! I guess that means my school is on top of everything!

Something really big happened that day. I've been in the field many times, but I never became fully aware of this before. I realized the other day that I actually want and need to be a reporter. Usually, I tell people "I'm happy with anything. I would like to learn how to produce, I love to edit and write, I would like to go on camera, but I just want a job after college --- I'll take ANYTHING."

Now, all I can think about is when I'm going in the field again.

First Piece Published!

It's official: A piece I wrote for FAIR Blog that was published today. I worked on it most of this week, and here is a preview of it! (the first two paragraphs)

While media are  paying scant attention to the Bradley Manning trial this week, another court-martial this week deserves more coverage as well.

In a courtroom base near Tacoma, Washington, Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales will plead guilty today to killing 16 civilians–most of them women and children–in an Afghan village on March 11, 2012. Bales will give his first account of the attack under oath as part of the hearing, in order to avoid the death penalty (New York Times, 6/05/13). The incident remains one of the most shocking slaughters of civilians in the Afghan War.  The massacre received some media attention at the time, though much of that discussion was about the problems it would pose for the U.S. war there.  

Want to read the rest? Of course you do. Here's link to the complete blog post on the FAIR Blog.

Beauteous [easy] Meals

The tupperware's lid is slightly elevated
so it has more space for larger sandwiches.  

Living in New York City can be really expensive. Eating lunch at a restaurant every day will burn a hole in your wallet, which is why I try to bring lunch everyday. It is cost effective and gives me an excuse to eat healthier.

Last year, my roommate found this cool sandwich tupperware which I use constantly now. The tupperware is really secure, the top part hasn't opened even though I put it in a huge backpack and a clunky purse. (If its made it through committing, it will make it through anything...) I got some of my ideas for sandwiches from Pinterest; here are some meals that I've made over the past week!

This lunch [to the left] was left over chicken salad (same recipe as my May 27 post) on top of lettuce and some asparagus. There are carrots and black berries in the smaller part of the tupperware. The smaller part is good to put fruit in. 

My lunch today was left over rice from Chinese take out, grilled chicken and asparagus. I put slices of cheddar cheese on top of the chicken so it would melt after being microwaved for a minute. Then I mixed up the chicken cheesy goodness with the rice! 

Meal before microwave.

Meal after microwave.

Below an avocado, cheddar cheese and onion sandwich. I made this as a quick snack after work, so I didn't get to use the tupperware. Just throw the sandwich into a pan and let it warm up and toast like a grilled cheese. You'll also need a little salt and pepper for the avocado. 

Avocado and cheesy goodness... 

Here is my final meal. It was my lunch last week when I wasn't at work. I cooked up asparagus, cut some cheddar which just goes well with everything - including warm vegetables, and made a parfait of sorts. There is vanilla yogurt, mango cut into cubes, black berries and almonds. 

Beautiful meal next my city view.

Looking FOXie!

I don't usually do posts about outfits, but I think that it is important to mention (especially for young working people). It drives me nuts to think this way, but it's been on my mind. Some companies address appropriate business attire in manuals, or just casually mention it if you ask. So, I think it's important to address now since I completed my first week of work. [I will probably write about this a few times because dressing well in the summer is difficult because of the weather, which is a whole other post]

First day at FOX 5 outfit.

Anyway, last winter my step-mom took me shopping to find and teach me what are appropriate outfits for a business work environment. Why is this important? Well, you are judged by your appearance. I'm not saying people judge you at work because of "how pretty you are," which does happen, but honestly employers and co-workers look at how you dress.

What does this mean? Well, ask yourself: do your clothes fit you appropriately, meaning they aren't to tight or loose? Are they ironed? Are you showing to much skin and are undergarments showing?

These don't just apply to women, these ideas are important for men too. Getting wardrobe pieces hemmed or adjusted in some way make a huge difference in how they look on your body.

Also, a few weeks ago I realized that tailoring clothes makes a huge difference, don't be afraid to do that! I had to get my skirts taken in so they were smaller in the hips, and it completely changed out the skirts fit on my body.

So, on the right is a picture of my first day at FOX 5 outfit which was a silk white shirt, black slacks, black and silver belt with a cool clasp, and black sandal heels (1.5 inches because I have trouble walking in heels). I bought most of this outfit with Michelle, my step-mom, in the winter.

A business wardrobe should be practical. I purchased multiple suit pieces that are black and all work together. When you buy a few pieces that are the same color, you can mix and match with other colors - meaning you have a ton of options.

Some business clothes can be really expensive, but department stores have big sales and coupons, lots of coupons. In order to justify these purchases, Michelle explained to me that buying these clothes is an investment because they will last you for a long time. A good example would be those black slacks, I've had them for four years now. I would say they still look good!

Overall, my first day at FOX 5 was successful. I can talk more about my work there later. I have to go iron my outfit for tomorrow!

"You have some explaining to do!"

Hey everyone, I've been very busy. Updates about my internships are coming now!