A Wink, a Weekend and a Very Busy Girl.

So I decided to say hello. And also to confirm that your fears of my getting kidnapped by some crazy New Yorker and that's the last anyone would ever have heard from me is in fact not true. I'm perfectly fine. Just working still, which is great, waiting on some things, shopping for the rest of my graduation outfit (don't worry, I'll stun you as usual. Pinky promise), chatting with some dudes, and falling in love with Chance the Rapper. You may remember a specific coworker who, when I first arrived at this job, was always winking at me and I couldn't figure out if it was just a thing he did with everyone or if it was on purpose or if he even realized he was doing it to begin with. Well last week, he, I and one other older, female coworker were having a conversation about coffee preferences and potency, etc. And all of a sudden he goes: "I like my coffee like I like my women, DARK!" So that basically answered my "was he even aware" question. Yes, he was aware. And yes, it was very much on purpose. He hadn't done it for some time but now he just winks away. The irony...

In other news, last weekend was interesting and I have photos, so I'll tell you about it.

I actually/finally made it to church physically so that was nice. This is what I wore:

Audrey Hepburn via Charade 

No stockings AND heels on the subway what what? :) Trench coat weather is pretty much the best weather. They automatically make you look so classy or cool or both. The travel bag was because they were having this church event called "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" which was basically just a semi-organized way of having everyone invite their friends to their house after church for food and chats and fun and what not. The abode I was going to is located in Co-Op City which is in the uppermost part of the Bronx aka almost nowhere but who's judging. After that, I was spending the night with my cousins in Jersey and then getting a ride back to the city sometime on Sunday. 

View from my aunt's balcony

And yes, I said aunt. My aunt lives 8 floors below the woman who's house I was at lives and we're all friends. Cute. Anyway, the above is part of Co-op City. 

Feeling myself/pretty face/balcony times

One of my million trillion family relations

The house, the people at the house, the food, all very good. To be honest though, one of the men there was delish as far as eye candy goes. Granted he's older but I'm just saying, a girl can appreciate a beautiful black man. Mercy. 

Anywhoodles, after that, me, the cousin pictured above and her dad, who is also my cousin, all went to the church basketball games. I know, I know. You're thinking, 'Nina? At a basketball game?' And you'd be right. It's not exactly something I do all the time but it's also not the first time I've ever been to one. They always asked me if I wanted to go so since I was spending the night with them anyway, I figured why not. Granted the actual games were fairly empty. Literally, besides the coaches, the players, and a few kids and girlfriends/family members here and there, there was like no one. It was in Harlem which is always picturesque but it was also super late at night so I didn't go around exploring or anything. I'm not trying to get mistaken for someone and shot or some other such craziness.

After the empty games, we went back to the woman's house for more festivities and to pick up my other other cousin, the above pictured's mother. We ended up staying until like 2 something in the morning. Didn't get to their house aka Jersey until around 2:30am. Didn't get to bed until 3am. What a Saturday night indeed.

Sunday morning finally came around... and left. I woke up and was informed I would be taken back home in the afternoon if I didn't mind which was fine. I had a bagel, iced tea, and "Dark Knight Rises" was on. You needn't bother yourself with me for quite a while. When we finally did head back, we took the most gorgeous route ever. Over the George Washington Bridge followed by the Brooklyn Bridge later. The weather had finally reached the mid-60s, low 70s and it was sunny and bright outside. Everyone was outside doing something or other but who blamed them, the weather was finally beautiful and warming up. It was like a scenic tour of my city and I loved every minute of it. 

View of Manhattan from the GW Bridge

When people call Manhattan Gotham I kind of love it. Not even going to lie.

Harlem for the win

So once I finally made it back home, I had a million things to do and then try to get ready for a movie date/hangout/whatever with that guy Chris (I don't know if I told you his name before but I guess I just did now so alright then). I was running late because of communication issues and as I was running out the door, I, in some way I might not ever be able to understand, managed to lose my Metrocard somewhere in my apartment. It's been three days since it happened and I still haven't seen that thing. Oh well. There's a first time for everything and I suppose I knew it would probably happen at some point. I just wish the thing had been EMPTY. Anyway, so I run to the train, still get to the movie theater early, believe it or not and Chris is nowhere to be seen or heard from. I settle in with my popcorn because I had no time for dinner and prepared to watch "Oculus" alone. Lo and behold, the MIA dude showed up just in the nick of time. I'll skip over the movie but just tell you one thing, that movie was terrible. I walked out of there and was so tempted to ask for my money back. Semi-first and definitely last time I go see a movie just because a guy says so and because I heard it's supposed to be scary. Too ridiculous. Then we took a cab home because somebody somebody was feeling lazy and ended up with an uppity cab driver. Oh the irony.

All in all, a weekend for lots of firsts. The majority of the time Acid Rain in it's entirety by Chance the Rapper (it's an album. You need to download it. Right now.) played as my soundtrack. That child is amazing and I love his tunes to pieces. Favorite tunes include: "Acid Rain", "Chain Smoker", "Na Na", "Pusha Man", and "Juice." Amen.

Updates section: So a lot of things are going to be happening starting this weekend. Hopefully then my updates will be more consistent as opposed to once a month or something. I'll give you a calendar:

April 18: shopping for the rest of my grad day outfit

April 20: Easter/seeing Of Mice and Men on Broadway (James Franco in person yo. You mad)

April 23: seeing a movie as part of the Tribeca Film Festival

April 26: seeing another movie as part of the Tribeca Film Festival

April 27: going to the New York International Auto Show

May 2-11: Krista visits!
May 15-21: graduation and my California visit!

So as you can see, the next month is looking fairly full. I will keep you all posted, fear not. Also, I think it was last week sometime, I was speaking with someone and they were legitimately surprised and more or less didn't believe me at first when I told them I was born and raised in California as opposed to the native New Yorker they took me for. They mistook me for being from here. You have no idea how big the smile on my face was. I almost feel like I have officially arrived. Awesome sauce.

I think that's it for now. If not, well I'm tired and want to watch TV so it is now. Goodnight all you lovelies, I'll maybe be seeing some of you soon.

xx

PS. Photos not always posted here can be found on my Instagram @ninaerynn
PPS. If I see one more person in a pair of white hi-top Chucks I might have no choice but to take them. I NEED A PAIR IN MY LIFE SO BAD