Exclusive Tour of Van Cortlandt House

On Monday, courtesy of the New York Adventure Club (which I of course joined as soon as I heard about it, even if I cannot afford to go to many of their events), I took part in an exclusive tour of the Van Cortlandt House, the oldest house in the Bronx and one of the oldest in NYC - it dates back to 1748!

Because this was an exclusive private tour for the club, we got to go behind gates and ropes and actually into the rooms (my history buff self was thrilled) as long as we promised not to touch anything, and everyone was super respectful and actually honoured that promise (my former tour guide self was more thrilled)! There was a lot to take in, so I took a lot of photos, but I will try not to overload this entry with them and only post a few of the many many photos that were taken. Hey, if you wanna see more of the house, plan a trip to the Bronx to see it, as it's really quite nice.

Nathan Hale Day

 Today is the 240th anniversary of the death by hanging of patriot spy Nathan Hale. And while I'm no stranger to doing private little memorials to the deaths of historical figures, I was pleasantly surprised to find that while Hale (whom I have written about on this blog before) isn't terribly well remembered back in California, here in New York every year a group called the Sons of the Revolution does a little commemoration for Hale every year on this day, which is officially Nathan Hale Day. Of course as soon as I found out about it, I knew I had to go, just for the chance of celebrating Hale with a group of people who respect the man as much as I do.

The event did not disappoint.

Nym's Guide to Colonial New York

To the shock of absolutely no one who has ever even glanced at this blog, I am a fan of early American history. We're talking the Colonial days, the American Revolution, and the years of the first few American presidents. There are entire posts on this blog devoted to me fangirling over Alexander Hamilton and Nathan Hale. And so it shouldn't be surprising that one of the things that excited me most about New York is that it dates back to Colonial times, and there's quite a bit here left over from the late 1700s. I mean, Alexander Hamilton lived here. I would know, I went to the man's house.

I think he and I may have had the same favourite colour.

I haven't made it to every single spot of New York with colonial significance - I have yet to visit Green-Wood cemetery, for example, where the Battle of Brooklyn took place. I also have a private tour of the Van Cortlandt Mansion planned (thank you New York Adventure Club!) and I'm going to a Nathan Hale memorial event on Thursday. But I have been to quite a few...

The American Museum of Natural History

 
I've dreamed of visiting this museum since I was, like, six. And on Monday I finally had the opportunity to go. I got there right as it opened, walked in, and lived my childhood dream...

I visited the American Museum of Natural History, the museum where I would most like to work someday.

(I took tons of pictures, you guys. It was so hard narrowing down which photos to use in this entry, there are at least 200 more that are just sitting on my phone.)

Lunch in New York with Alexander Hamilton

One of the most famous things about New York - and one of the things I've been enjoying the most - is its food scene. You can get some very expensive food here, but you can also get some very cheap food (my lunch today for example was a slice of pizza twice as big as my head, which cost me only $1). You can find any type of cuisine in the world - in my time here so far, I've had Italian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, Japanese, Jamaican, and Ukrainian (at Veselka, a place I wanna go back to asap so I can do a blog entry about it!). And the best part is that no matter where you are in the city, there's usually at least one food cart nearby, so you never go hungry! I was reluctant to eat at one of these at first, since my mother always used to call them 'roach coaches', but god is it convenient, and they're actually usually really good!

Yesterday, for example, I had a job interview only two blocks away from the American Museum of Natural History (which is also gonna be a future blog entry) and afterwards, feeling peckish, I got a potato knish from a food cart and started wandering through Central Park, stopping to eat in the shade of a statue of Alexander Hamilton.

(I wish I could say it was a complete accident that I ended up at this particular statue but I will be honest with you guys - I was totally looking for it.)

It's a beautiful statue, you guys. It's carved entirely of white granite, and portrays Hamilton in his prime. The sculptor, Carl H. Conrads (of Hartford, CT if the little tiny inscription on the corner near where I sat is correct) really sculpted his jawline well. If that's a weird thing to notice, oh well, because I noticed it. The statue was gifted to the park by Hamilton's son, John C. Hamilton (the same guy who crossed out the words on that infamous Hamilton-Laurens letter where Hamilton is talking about his dick) in 1880.

I sat in the shade of that statue of my favourite founding father and ate my knish, people-watching for a bit. A father and son passed me by - the father murmuring to his son "he was a great man," presumably talking about Hamilton - and somewhere nearby, someone was playing live jazz music. And I was struck by how much what I was doing, in that moment, was such a uniquely New York experience. The food cart knish, a food probably originally brought to the city by immigrants... the jazz music, reminiscent of the twenties, one of New York's most shining decades... and Hamilton himself...

He doesn't have any really big monuments like the other founding fathers do. Washington has the Washington Monument and Mount Vernon, his face is on Mount Rushmore, and the entire U.S. capitol is named after him. Jefferson has the Jefferson Monument and Monticello, and he's also on Mount Rushmore. Benjamin Franklin has the Franklin National Memorial in Philadelphia. Even James Madison has the James Madison Memorial Building.

Alexander Hamilton doesn't have anything like that, but in a way, New York City is his monument. The hustle and bustle of the city's commerce is a fitting monument to how he shaped the nation's financial system. The city's rainbow quilt of every possible nationality is a memorial to his roots as an immigrant. His memory is all over this city, which is as fast paced as his incredible mind.

And I get to take part in it.

-Nym-

...Hello, New York!

It's taken me awhile to get time type this with how cuckoo-bananas the move has been (and also because the room I'm staying in for the week doesn't have wifi) but I've made it! I'm here! Living in New York City!

Good bye California...

via freeimages.com

In about 12 hours I will be stepping onto a plane and leaving California - perhaps not forever, but for what I hope is a very long time just because I wanna feel like my move has been successful.

It's... an odd feeling. It's been an odd week, saying good bye to all my friends and family and my cat (god am I going to miss that cat) and my job and places I have loved here in San Jose (like that little Korean restaurant down the street, or City Diner - honestly I feel like I've eaten out for most of my meals this week, and mostly it was other people paying for it). I'm really gonna miss it...

...but I actually find myself growing more and more excited for New York. I'm excited to be near Sarah again. I'm excited for all the museums I wanna visit. And I'm excited to start my job. (Oh, yeah, I got a part time dental reception job, though I'm still gonna keep looking because part time isn't gonna pay my rent.)

Still bummed about the cat though. She's on my lap as I type this and I can't quite come to terms with the fact that it might be the last time I'll have her in my lap.

The next you hear from me, I'll be in New York!
-Nym

It's Sarah Winchester's Death Day

Today I went back to work.

Okay, that's not entirely accurate. I leave California in 3 days. As much as I wish I could stay at Winchester, I can't. But I did have to turn in my uniform so I could get my uniform deposit back. And I figured I would do it today, because today is the 94th anniversary of Sarah Winchester's death.

Rest in peace, you wonderful tiny woman.

Sarah Winchester passed away on 5 September 1922, of heart failure, in the beautiful mansion where I worked for about a year and a half. We don't know her birthday, unfortunately, but she would have been in her early 80s. In tribute, every year on this day, the House's bell is rung 13 times at the 13th hour - 1 PM. (I filmed it too.)

Farewell, Winchester Mystery House

It's September now, and I need to start packing so I can move myself across the country. And that means saying good bye to my beloved job. I can't very well keep it; New York City to San Jose would be one hell of a commute. And so, with a heavy heart, I drove to work yesterday knowing that it would be my last day working in that "Beautiful but Bizarre™" place.

It's... difficult for me to express in words exactly how much this house means to me. It's become like my second home, with my coworkers like my second family and Sarah Winchester as our ghostly matriarch. I don't think anyone who's read my blog has any doubts that I loved working here, and leaving it was difficult.