I’ve decided to do a snapshot of February plans – no big trips this month (just long weekends in Boston and Chicago), but an incredibly fun few weeks regardless. Unfortunately, none of those weeks were as devoted to classwork and writing that thesis as I wanted to; I suppose it will get real in crunch time (March/April). These next few weeks will go by fast – M has a few interviews for grad school so we’ll know where we’ll be for the next 5 years  soon, and I’m looking forward to finally graduating! While it actually hasn’t been that long, working full-time at a bulge bracket financial services company, plus being a full-time student, plus attempting to balance a semblance of a social/personal life  gets tiring. Unfortunately a few things go by the wayside, no matter how well I think I’m doing – for example, I hope to finally get back to personal health once I graduate! The one week before class started, I was hitting the gym 5x a week….such miracles happen with so much free post-work time!

 

In other news, only 6 months until our big August trip!! We’ll start planning once we figure out what we’re doing next semester, how exciting!

As we near potentially moving away from NYC, the city becomes more and more interesting to me.  Below, a snapshot of some fun post-work activities that took up precious school time, showcasing the variety of entertainment in NYC:

Budapest Festival: A celebratory dinner and orchestra for the patrons of the Lincoln Center. We were the only table of young patrons in a crowd with heavy-hitters on the arts scene! We enjoyed the maestro’s company at a catered dinner in David Geffen Hall before listening to Beethoven’s 9th symphony from orchestra seats. $0

Saturday Night Live: Stand in line in the morning to get a ticket to stand in line in the evening. We’ll do this again in April when it’s warmer, and hopefully line up earlier this time! $0

Sleep No More: A creepy interactive theater production that includes an interpretation of MacBeth. At this point you’ve probably seen these masks that they force audience members to wear as they follow the actors around a creepy 5-story abandoned hotel and explore strange rooms. 5/5 for set decoration! $0 because tickets were a gift.

Drunk Shakespeare: Exactly what this sounded like. The production was actually quite good; they played MacBeth except with drunk actors and modern interpretations and references. The space is incredibly intimate.  $25.

Upright Citizen’s Brigade: Founded by Amy Poehler among others, this underground comedy theater showcases a variety of talent. Tickets are usually less than $10, and drinks are cheap as well! $3 for a beer, $0 for the show (friend treated).

Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater: The longest-running talent show in the US, this was one-of-a-kind as we (the audience members) were on T.V. and performers were ranked based on cheers or boos. Famous winners of Amateur Night include Michael Jackson, Ella Fitzgerald, and Alicia Keys.

 Catalyst Quartet at the Lincoln Center: Another celebration for patrons of the Lincoln Center, an evening spent with the Catalyst Quartet as they performed Bach and Gould.

Considering how short February is of a month, and subtracting the long weekend I had to be in Boston for class + President’s day long weekend visiting Chicago, it’s a miracle how anything got done this month. Thankfully the month was interspersed with delicious eating out (I particularly enjoyed Totto Ramen for a friend’s birthday, Ruth Chris’s Steak House (thanks mom for the gift certificate!), Adrienne’s pizza bar with M’s extended family, and Spot Dessert Bar for the delicious golden toast), friends nights in,  and once-in-a-while catching up with board meetings and homework. But, mostly looking forward to a day of sitting around all day doing nothing but watching Netflix! Perhaps that’s not entirely feasible, so a few days set aside with no obligations but to write my thesis in peace would be the next best thing…. here’s hoping that March is a breeze!