Ashley Harrell

Note: This was written earlier today, so forgive the rants – but I have internet now! I guess you might have inferred that from the fact I am posting a new blog containing a recent picture…

Not having internet is a real pain. I have been able, from time to time, to pick up an errant wireless signal from an unsuspecting tenant – but unfortunately, this is not enough to allow me to work from my “home office”. I actually called Time Warner Cable this morning to cancel my service (Verizon is hooking me up today), and they told me that if I had signed up as a business account, I would have had my service set up immediately. Jerks. Okay, enough whining and complaining.

I live in New York City! What could be better than that? How about living in a fabulous apartment in the best neighborhood of New York City? Being able to see some of your best friends from college on a regular basis while living in a fabulous apartment in the best neighborhood of New York City? I could go on – but I will spare you. Let’s see… what has happened since my last update? Well, we finally got our furniture from Ikea delivered, including our new couch and dining chairs! We bought a dining table last week, and now our place is starting to come together. I have kept myself occupied with little projects around the apartment including painting the coffee table, installing shelves, and buying an air conditioner (thank God!). This weekend was a nice four-day vacation – Brian and I went to see Shakespeare in the Park, The Public Theater presenting “Midsummer Night’s Dream” at Delacorte Theatre in Central Park. It was fabulous! We got slightly dressed up and enjoyed our free entertainment, along with hundreds others who also waited in line earlier in the day for the free tickets. On Saturday, Jess and I got an excuse to act like tourists and walk through the park eating Mister Softee and taking pictures with Drew, a first time visitor to New York! That night, we went to a fantastic bar in the East Village, and enjoyed schooling two upstate New York brats on how to play Beirut like a Santa Barbarian. Sunday was a lazy day around the neighborhood; I went out for a walk along the East River and saw “Becoming Jane” at a nearby movie theater. Yesterday morning, my friend Nick Robertson arrived from JFK quite early, so he basically buzzed in, walked up the six flights of stairs, and crashed for a few hours. When we got up, we traveled into Brooklyn and met up with his new roommate, and his sister and brother-in-law. The five of us saw their soon-to-be apartment in Bushwick, then drove down to Coney Island for the real fun! After strolling along the decaying boardwalk and hitting up Nathan’s Original for hot dogs (I only ate one, not 66), we decided to shell out $6 for the Freak Show. Best six bucks I ever spent. Not only did I get to see a man stick a running power drill through his nose, a fur-covered Mexican walk a tightrope, and a tattooed woman breathing fire – I involuntarily volunteered to pull a three-foot jagged steel sword out of a woman’s throat. This was not a trick. She actually had it down her throat. [Shudder.] But I think the best part of this show was “Serpentina.” Especially when she dipped the 12-foot python’s head into her mouth. Good ol’ freak show fun. I ended the evening by heading back up to Brooklyn and eating pizza on Jenson and Jess’ rooftop. Quite a fabulous weekend, if I might say so myself. As for today, I’m patiently waiting for Verizon’s “self-installation kit” to arrive via UPS. As soon as I get that, I’m back on track with my normal life.

Kit arrived. I’m a happy gal.