The City -and it's greatness...

I wish I could share with all of you lovely people who's following my blog, this City's (yes, I'm writing that with a big capital letter, cause it's not "anyother" city!) greatness -which I really could bring you through my blog, but that's not a realistic thing to try to do! You'll have to come, stay and be here for some time, a long week-end is not enough...

These two days which has gone since I wrote to you, have been really awesome! I've visited Lori at the Academy on Fifth, or the Exchange, as they say over here. I got to catch up with some work; I attended a cutting class in which Carmody Homan (http://www.redkensalon.com/skills/the-exchange/facilitators/carmody-homan/) and Hugo Urias (http://www.redkensalon.com/skills/the-exchange/facilitators/hugo-urias/) held -it was feeling like I was breething again! I love my work! Watching these guys beeing up there on stage, just gave me both thrills and chills! It felt like a huge relief to be in my "work-environment" but then just to sit, observe and absorb -great!  

It's so great to watch people who are really grounded in what they do -both artistic, and in how they give away information in such a delightful way! It has really been a HUGE inspiring time to be here, and I'll definately be coming back!

After spending the afternoon at the Exchange, I went to Avery Fisher Hall to attend a classical concert, held under the Mostly Mozart Festival which is held in NYC annually! I'm really glad mu aunt and my uncle once upon a time opened my eyes for this type of music, and just made me realize how great it was and still is! I almost cried during the concert...  http://new.lincolncenter.org/live/index.php/mm-2010-mmfo-aug-17-18

My way back home to my beloved hostel was lovely, warm and a delightful august-summer-night...

Highlights of the weekend... :)

The perfect saturday; I headed for The Grand Central Terminal -I just had to! I've heared so much about it, so I felt it was actually calling for my visit! The Magnolia Bakery had a department there, and of course; what else could I do besides sit down, have a piece of Devil's Food Cake, a coffee and read in my beloved Sex & The City Book -kiss and tell! ;)

The Grand Central Terminal is approaching -it's really huge, it's awesome to see it amongst all the skyscrapers! It's over a hundred years old!

Did you think that Vanderbuilt was just the name of a perfume?
It's not! It's actually the name of the builder and funder of the Grand Central Station!
http://www.grandcentralterminal.com/info/railroad.cfm

It is huge! And so beautiful! My camery does not justify it's Grandness!

And the ceiling was beutiful! Azuric blue, which shows different zodiacs...

The old ticket counters...

And the railwaypaths...

The Chrysler Building was just outside...

 Moving up north towards the Guggenheim Museum...

I

It's a beautiful building...

A

After spending some hours in there, I got out, the sun started to set...

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 ... 

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It was in fact, a really nice day... :) 

M

Oops! Seems that there's somebody who's living in our room on our expence!

I woke up pretty late today -eventhough i went to bed last night at 10 pm; didn't get myself up untill the clock had reached 10.30(am)! Guess it was caused by the fact that I woke up in the middle of the night, and layed there... thinking... thinking of everything that I've experienced here -there's so much to bring back home! I've really grown in this travel! And even though, the world seems pretty scary sometimes... I guess it always will be that to me...

So I finally got up, had a shower and when i opened the door, there was a beige mouse on our floor! "Oh my g..." -I said, silently. The french guy who has the bed above me asked me what I o-m-g for, and then I answered that it was because there was a mouse on the floor! Hahahahahaha! I just have to laugh! Hostels you know... besides, -it's New York, and they really have a rat- and mouseproblem here! Here, the other night, one of my room-mates told me that she had seen a mouse eating on my bag of chips which I've been keeping in a plastic bag under my bed. I checked it, and there was o hole in the bag! Haha! Those pita-chips were really good, so good for that muse she got some! Of course, I had to throw the whole bag...

Today, I'll visit the upper west side and check that out. Haven't been to Harlem yet, I think i'm a bit mixed 'bout whether I should go there or not -not that I don't want it, but I've been hearing so much different about whether it's safe or not.... think I'll check it out carefully, anyway.... ;)

It's sunday, and I really feel that my body is having that sunday feeling too. Even New York is slower, not that it's slow, just slower. The funny thing about Lars and New York, is the very fact that even here I'm standing out of the crowd! I had this experience last year when I went to Barcelona, I really thought that I'ld blend in more here, but no, not even here do I blend in! Not that I want to either... it's just funny though! ;)

When I'm asked, I always say that I've quitted guys, and I really mean that too... I don't understand them, we're just so different, it feels like I'm from another planet -I know I'm gay, and in so many ways I'm really a prototype version of it, but at the same time, I'm just really different... there's a lot of gay guys here, ofcourse, but even here, in the City of New York, the City of Hope, the World Metropolis, I feel really different from the other guys. I hope that's a good thing;

              "No matter where in the world you go,
                you will always bring yourself with you..."

A wise person told me that some years ago, and earlier this week Jay, a girl at the salon repeated that to me. It just refreshed my mind... over here, the gay guys seem to constantly be cruising; their eyes are always searching and seeking around -it's like they're always hunting for their next prey. I like to watch a handsome guy, but not like this; they're really in for some hunting! I hope I'll never be like that, it doesn't seem to be a nice state to be in. I guess they're really happy with it though...

Word out. . .

Laundry services...

Then suddenly I was halfthrough my holiday on this fabulous Island of urban unity, and I had to do my laundry; I was actually a bit excited to do this, just because of the very fact that I'd never done it before! Some of the other backpackers at the hostel told me there were a laundry just nearby, on the corner of 49st and 9th ave. -I thought that was quite a walk just for laundry, but I just had to do it, so I just got my stuff together and strolled out...

Luckily I found a laundry further down to the hostel, so I saved a couple of blocks of walkin' -great! I had two choices, either I could get them to do it for me, which would've costed me $11 + tip,or do it myself and save some bucks on it -so I decided to do it myself! I just really wanted to have that experience of being into a laundry to do one's laundry, and besides; it's my holiday, so I'm not into a rush of any kind or something anyway!

I bought soap-powder and went into this area were the laundromats are; at first I didn't see that there was two types, a small and one that was double the size which was really huge! I'll bet you could fit about 10 kilos of dry clothing into there! Everything's so big over here... ofcourse the big one costed a lot more than the smaller one, but i didn't see that, so I emptied the soap-pack into the the drawer for soap and stuffed my clothes in -then I suddenly realised this machine costed a lot more than the other ones -fuck! I already had emptied the powder and now I just realized that stuff, I got angry on my self! And I sweared a lot in my head! Instead of going crazy in there, I calmly asked this really sweet old lady who was there, also doing her laundry -she was r-e-a-l-l-y doing laundry; she had four machines running, with different types of clothes -I realized she was a pro' on doing this! Of course I asked her for advice, and she really helped me out! We had a chat, and I got to know her a little bit! She was really nice and sweet! From France, had moved here for two decades ago, her husband had passed away, her family was still back home... She told me to take care of my self, and to watch my back -I promised her to do just that! :)

This lady just got me to love this city even more! Even though it's as big as it is; you'll definately will meet people who care! New Yorkers in general isn't coldhearted at all! Ofcourse, some are, but not the merely of them; there's really much warmth and tenderness going on here, you just have to take your time, and look underneath it's surface... :)

Here's the tumbler -can you see the pink shirt?! It's a new vintage found! :D

Finally got to the part were the clothes were tumbled dry and finished -just had to fold! And ofcourse; my cup of Starbucks coffee and my much-needed-water-bottle! It goes wherever I go!

It's an exciting day! :)

I'm all dressed up, and good to go! :)

Today I'll work a little closer with Lori, we will be preparing for a class so now I will be able to have a little sneek-peek on how the masters are doing their work! ;D Gotta run folks, with my coffee in hand of course!! ;-* Ciao!

Skipping...

Hi, there! Just popped in a few lines just to say everything's are okay! It has been a good long day, so now I'm jumping into bed! ;) Yes, I were at the salon! Things are going great! My english is loosen up know so I don't have to think about things as much! As for yesterday, I just had a day off, just dating the city, walked around -I tried to take some shots with my camera, but it doesn't justify the greatness of these bulidings! I'll try to put in some tomorrow! Everything's okay, and I'm coping and taking care of my self! Good night, all you beloved ones! :-*

Getting used to this place...

As much as I really want to write this in my own motherspoken language -I know it's best for my speaking over here that I continue in English.

This place is just so overwhelmingly fabulous, I don't know where to find the words for it! Though; I have to admit this is also a bit of a challenge for me; I'm here all by my self, and everyway of communication has to be in English. After a week of communicating everything in English I feel a bit of wearyness on this; It's taking it's toll on me.

Last night I went out with the girls -they were throwing a little get-together for Mary -she just recently had her birthday, and I was so lucky to be invited with them -they welcomed me great and were really sweet to me. A while into the whole thing I started to feel a little like an outsider, as I tend to do sometimes. Not that I was, but more of the fact probably that I'm all new to all the people here, I have to start from scratch with everything -not that that's something dangerous, I just have to keep it in mind the very fact that I've never been here before, and I don't know anybody like I do back home. Another aspect with being social to people over some time, (read; hours) is that that's something dfferent, you know; that requires a more free and unplanned use of english which will not come easily anyhow, and there's no other way of learning than to learn by doing...

The thing about this travel that is also unbelievably great is the fact that I'm actually here ALL by my self! I need this to grow stronger, to get more grounded and to learn without having anybody to hold my hand. When I think about it, it freaks me out, but what's true is that it's going great! I'm looking after myself and I'm taking care of myself! I owe that to me, and all the people that I love, and that loves me... :)

I could not have done this with all you guys back home there, who support and love me!

Thank you so much!! :-**

Lucky friday...

Last day was a day that really gave me a little feeling of how it could be to live over here; a had my clock to ring at 6 am. I had to get up early cause if you're staying at a hostel who houses mostly backpackers, you will realize the most of them are earlybirds -wanting to get up and out to get as much as possible out of the day. Besides I was actually going to the salon, but not until 1 pm though -actually had to wait for the shower eventhough; a girl just sneaked her way into it while I was payin' Mister Loo a visit -whatever... :P

Ate breakfast and had a stop to my regular Starbucks which is just around the corner! Here I get fabulous coffee, great morning music and besides, they have a free Wi-Fi-internett I could use! Yay! :D

My mission before job was to download pictures and update my blog, and it took ages! Yezz... suddenly I was coming a bit short in time so I felt my heart ran it's rythm up a bit had to get by the Hostel to lock in my Mac and all the valuables I didn't have to bring along -ran off then to the Metro, finding my way and did really good hitting the nearest station as I know of till now to Lori's salon in Soho. In time;)

The day was great; people were coming in, it was laxed so I could just hang around and observe. The crew is great -and I'm starting to get close to some of them -there's this girl, Josie, and she reminds me so much of my self; she's a nutty, she says so herself(!) and she gets all these crazy clients! Just like me... here the other day she had a woman who started to cry because Josie wasn't able to do her extentions after her last client which would mean that Josie wouldn't finish work until the clock had reached midnight...! The whole reason for wanting to have this service done in that time was because of the very fact that the client wasn't able to fit it in otherwise in her schedule...! Lol!

It was a great day! The girls offered me a drink and we had a talk after closing up -it was great! They're really sweet to me, and I have a lot (lot!) to learn from them! And they're so humble and kind -suits me perfect!

Afterwards I just walked the forty blocks that's between Midtown were I'm staying, and the great area of Soho -just taking in the city, grabbing some plain burgers and orange juice on my way home -good night NY!

The continuing...

Atter en dag! Fredag 6. august...  og gode g** for en deilig fyr jeg har våknet opp til liggende i køya over meg! Nesten skinna, mørke øyne, kraftige bryn, piercinger i begge niplene og en grå leopardboksershorts! Mmm... ;D

Jeg merker at klokka har begynt å speede opp nå! Jeg begynner å skulle måtte rekke ting -haha:) Jeg hadde første dag på salongen i går. Fikk hilset på de fleste -noen mer imøtekommende enn andre, men alle var veldig søte og morsomme på sin måte. De er fokuserte på sine ting, og har forskjellige typer klientell; alt fra foliekunder til de som skal ha bare en klipp -her bruker de mye mer baliage -en frihåndstype teknikk istedet for folier -resultatet blir enda mer naturlig(!) (som om det gikk an å få foliestriper mer naturlig!;). Blir spennende å se hvordan ting blir fremover -det er alltid mye å lære, og jeg føler meg nesten litt som en lærling igjen, men det er også helt greit:) Deilig å ikke ha for mye ansvar nå -det går mye energi til å ta inn alt sammen som denne byen byr på, og jeg kjenner at det tar på, det må jeg innrømme. Manhattan er utrolig digert! Å gå fra Midtown (Times Square) hvor jeg bor, ned til salongen tar tre kvarter i beste sendetid (les; rushtid) og da er jeg ganske så våt når jeg er framme! det er utrolig varmt her, så man blir fort våt på ryggen.

Jeg har gått til anskaffelse av Metrocard -deres type flexikort som man kjøper for bruk på Metroen -skal du ha for buss óg må du betale tillegg for det, Metroen er utrolig effektiv; det går to linjer sørover som jeg til nå har funnet; en lokal, som stopper ved hver stasjon, og en annen som stopper ved ca. hver 20. gate -en kombinasjon av disse to sørger for å få deg effektivt fram, man må bare vite litt om hvor man skal, og jeg lærer stadig.

Da må jeg springe! Skal innom hostellet med Mac'en, spise litt og å avgårde til salongen:) Håper dere har det bra?! :-*

First day of getting to know this isle -Manhattan.

I woke up pretty early -and i was clearly awake, not foggy as some mornings can be; the sun peeked in from the backyard throug the shutters -if you know what I mean by having this New York feeling, you'll know how it felt:) http://www.hostels.com/hostels/new-york/time-square-international-hostel/36549 Got up, picked some clean clothes from my suitcase and headed through the shower; at first I truly believed that I had to shower in cold water; there was this only-one-knob-type-of-thing, so I didn't know how to operate it; and I thought that this probably would be the way it had to be because of the-shabby-chic-standard this hostel has. So then I was showering in almost freezing water, thinking of my father who had been throug this stuff in his military service, and I thought that this was my experience with this stuff, my way of paying.

Suddenly I turned the knob further up, and then voilà! We had hot water! I was relieved...

After putting on all my stuff -and you guys know me and how much stuff I'll put on so I won't bother you with that, but after all that; I went out, and the street just hit me! I think it was around 9.30, and it was full of people, the street was filled with cars and the noise... awesome! :D

I started to walk up north, in direction of Central Park; http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Manhattan&state=NY and I felt for having some breakfast. I thought that as I'm going to stay here for three weeks I have to eat stuff that are at least some healthy! I landed on this one; http://www.freshandconyc.com/. Had a great sandwich and of course some black coffee -the lady serving me was a bit surprised that I wouldn't have some sugar or milk with it, so I jut told her that in Norway, the ones who drink black, really drink it B-L-A-C-K! She laughed... people are very openhearted here, it's like back home in Oslo, both warm and cold; some are very stressed, and seem cold, that's just beacause they're stressed. And some are really warm; they welcome you, and wish you all the best and a good day and so on... suits me fine;) I do so too...


I couldn't decide whether to go north 'gainst CP or whether to pay my respect to 9/11, so... I choosed 9/11 -or Ground Zero as it is called here; http://www.google.com/images?q=ground+zero&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:nb-NO:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=WbxaTKGKMYH88AaXnJTRAg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=5&ved=0CEMQsAQwBA&biw=1280&bih=647.

On my way down there, I went throug Chelsea, were there are some beautiful brownstones, I just felt that I was right in some episode of Sex&TheCity -fabulous! Amongst them there were some churches too -beautiful! This is a really cool mix of urban and sacred buildings -you could feel the history here -this is an Island with a lot of history, both really modern and some really old. Now the only thing that misses is something borrowed and something blue... :)

Went down against Hudson River, to 12th ave/West Side Highway and then strolled along down south with the river. Here there are some really cool office buildings and the piers are located here; I came across one special pier; pier 54 -the final destination of Titanic who never made it to it's harbour... this was also the pier were several ships with immigrants from Europe arrived; http://pier54.com/history/.

As I went further down south to the Financial District -the skyscrapers arrised yet again, making my blood just rush through- giving me a thrill!

To get over to Ground Zero, I had to cross thiss pathway-bridge, there were really much noise caused by the rebuilding of the new World Trade Center, and the memorial park and museum due to 9/11. These footsteps were taken in deepest respect, just feeling the agony of this place, remembering back to when I came from school that day back in 2001, arriving home and the 1st plane had just hit... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks.

Just nearby there's a church called St. Paul's Chapel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Paul%27s_Chapel_%28New_York,_New_York%29 which is located just aside Ground Zero -miraclessly, it survived the fire and the debris from the burning towers -this was a really powerful site to be on, I spent some time there, and I sat down some time in the beautiful graveyard...

As I went on my tour that day, I took a sneak peak into Little Italy http://www.littleitalynyc.com/ and had a small dinner at Parigot http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/cDoqEsmfop6SlWLEphQRxQ?select=DOmPx_3c6IjMSPBJgTasBQ, the staff there was nice, talking with the guys there, they were really nice, one of them was the son of the owner, his mom, and the other one had been in New York for 11 years, had moved from Bosnia (I think) and had some relatives here. Both confirming that NYC is a beautiful place to be! :)

After having my dinner, I decided to get to Fifth Avenue, to get back up north on Manhattan -besides; this Avenue is considered NY's most fashion-focused AND Redken's Academy is located here, so I thought it would be nice to have a stroll up this site. In the very beginning of this avenue, http://www.aviewoncities.com/nyc/washingtonsquare.htm is located. Further up there are beautiful residents on either sides, churches, and after some walking, you'll reach more stores and boutiques. In this area of town, there are several watertanks on the roofs of the buildings http://www.fogonazos.es/2007/06/new-york-rooftop-water-tanks.html giving much of New Yorks characteristic skyline.

After some while of walking, I suddenly turned around and then boom! there was the Flatiron-building arised up behind me! Yeezz! Funny... I actually got so surprised I almost jumped making people around me probably thinking I was high on something -you know how I am guys...! ;D Haha! :D http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatiron_Building

On my way further home suddenly I saw a little church just around the corner http://www.google.com/images?q=little+church+around+the+corner&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:nb-NO:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=aNVaTMz8M4ehnQe2jJnPAg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=5&ved=0CEoQsAQwBA&biw=1280&bih=647, it's really odd to see a small church like that just inbetween all the tall buildings!

I continued further up and just as I just looked coincidental into a window, I realized it was a vintage-store! Wohoo! :D And this was really cool! Cheap Jack's is the name! http://www.cheapjacks.com/ You guys should really check it out! And of course; I shopped! Actually, first i just shopped a pair of shirts, and then after talking to this really cool girl working there (she was amazingly clothed!) she persuaded me to rethink the other clothes I found so I had to come back the other day... she gave me some web-adresses to check out, and she has some contacts that I should check out! We'll see, she also said I would fit in here -that was nice, though... :)

Further in the evening I just got my sore feet back at home to my shabby-chiq castle, my hips even hurted after all the walking! But it really had been a great day, and I for sure now know the street-system! Pitures I've taken will for sure follow, but now I have to get going to the salon! :) Wish me luck you guys! ;)

Sunday the 1st og august; The final arriving...

This will be written both in english and norwegian, cause right now I'm thinking with both languages. I'm afraid this also will look like a Sex&TheCity-trying-to-be, but it's not, it's just me finding out about my dream... :)

Endelig kom dagen da jeg skulle reise! Og jeg som hadde tenkt og tenkt på denne ferien som ikke helt er ferie, og som ikke helt er jobb, men noe midt i mellom; en måte å finne ut om jeg vil flytte over hit, om dette er noe for meg og om jeg kan klare å få dette til... jeg hadde som vanlig fått sovet alt for lite, da jeg presset inn å springe ut på byen kvelden før for å hilse på, og si ha det til folk. Kom meg opp, fikk pakket ferdig, og avgårde til Gardermoen. Dette med USA er helt nytt for meg; allerede i begynnelsen av køen til innsjekken måtte jeg svare på en masse spørsmål "-er det du som har pakket bagasjen"? "-når pakket du den?" "-kan noen hatt tilgang til den siden du pakket den?" -jeg ble helt stressa, og nervøs, men det gikk bra. På et tidspunkt var det akkurat som om stemmen hans bare forsvant "i tunnelen"... haha:)

Flyet var forsinket, bagasjekøen tok så lang tid, så kom ikke avgårde før en time senere. Hadde selskap av en kjempehyggelig jente som satt ved siden av, en venninne av Torill på salongen viste det seg -verden er så liten! Da vi landet i Philadelphia var vi enda mer forsinket; en del turbulens gjorde innflygningen vanskelig, det var kø for å få en ledig gate og jeg trodde ikke jeg kom til å rekke flyet videre. Det viste seg etterhvert å gå helt fint, flyet fra Philly til La Guardia var også forsinket...

Flyvertinna om bord var driiiit kul; god og rund, og med skikkelig New York Flushing Queens-dialekt (som Nanny Fran Fine), mørkhudet, dødskul afro og med humor -jeg følte meg hjemme...

 Som om ikke dagen hadde vært lang nok til da, ble vi nesten en time forsinket ut fra La Guardia fra den allerede forsinkede flighten;  det var kø også opp i luften, men jaja, vi var på vei...

Vel framme på bakken mens jeg ventet på bagasjen viste det seg at VISA-kortet mitt var avmagnetisert! Fantastisk!  Heldigvis har vi Mister Master, så alt ordnet seg; fikk tatt ut cash til å betale Hostellet -nesten 7.000 kr i US-Dollars er ikke akkurat moro for en nerveklump som meg å bære på, men det gikk bra. Tok en buss inn, helt sprøtt å se skylinen åpne seg med alle skyskraperne -et mektig øyeblikk da vi kjørte inn foran Grand Central Station fullt opplyst med skyskraperne bak, jeg skulle så gjerne vist dere dette med bilder! :) Følelsen var enorm, bygningene er så høye, energien og lyset er enormt -helt utrolig!

Jeg hoppet av ved Times Square og tok en taxi derifra til hostellet -ironien idag er at det var like rundt hjørnet, så $10 ut av vinduet -jaja, godt å komme trygt fram; gata var skikkelig mørk, alt var svart og veldig rolig, ganske creepy, så jeg måtte bare le; det så ut som en scene fra West Side Story! Jeg ringte opp med mobben og fikk en utrolig søt jentestemme på telefonen som ønsket meg velkommen og slapp meg inn; og det var så sjabby, men allikvel utrolig koselig! Og jentene som jobber der er bare supersøte!

Pakket ut nok til å bare få stelt og lagt meg for kvelden -da hadde jeg nesten vært våken i ett døgn, så kjøpte jeg litt mat og fikk spist, og så godt natt! Utrolig deilig å få lagt seg da... :)

Bilder kommer...! ;)