Ashley Harrell

As we New Yorkers begin our summer and approach the end of June, enduring a month of rainy, humid days, frizzy hair, and unimaginable perspiration, I can’t help but reflect that this has been one of the best months of my stay here in this crazy city I love.

After an unsuccessful attempt at acquiring a one-bedroom in Park Slope (my dream neighborhood, based on what I can realistically afford) – I felt absolutely resigned to the scams of Craigslist brokers and shady apartment-owners. Much to my surprise, I found a brief listing, no picture, for a one-bedroom apartment on Sullivan Street in the West Village (my dream neighborhood, based on what I cannot realistically afford) – and it was actually in my price range! My expectations of a moldy, roach-infested hell-hole were pleasantly defied when I visited the apartment – a surprisingly clean, good-sized (for one person), ground floor apartment with exposed brick, 12-foot ceilings, and a decorative fireplace in the bedroom. Wha??? Without hesitation, I declared my love for the apartment and was met with unexpected acceptance, the broker later noting that they “choose their tenants based on personality” – WHA???? (The picture above is of my new block.) So this week has already started as a flurry of moving, taking suitcase by suitcase from the East to West Village along the ol’ faithful M21 bus along Houston Street. I never would have thought Bloomberg’s MTA would be so useful to me this summer. Saturday will be the van-rental day as I attempt to move my bed and larger furniture to the new digs. Travis is already settled in to the new place (did I mention that my brother is squatting on my couch for three months?) and loving the new neighborhood.

Yes – brother Travis graduated from UCSB last week and quickly hopped on the next Virgin America flight with two enormous suitcases in tow. His graduation (and my week off in California) was a much-needed break from the reality of New York City. Instead of days filled with subway traffic and endless emails, I relaxed on the beach and got a great sunburn to start the sunny season. It was fantastic to see some of my girlfriends that still live in SB, and catch up on reading. But for now, it’s back to the city and Travis is here for the summer! He is thrilled to be an unpaid, over-worked Production Assistant this summer on the soon-to-be-Sundance-hit-of-2010 independent film, “Colin Hearts Kay.” Look for it at your local indie theater in a couple of years. So yes- I’m absolutely overjoyed to be spending the summer with my brother. I’ve always thought that he and NYC could have a passionate love affair – Mom, don’t be surprised if he returns to the East Coast next fall and doesn’t come back for a while… But one of the greatest things about having Travis here was having him at my birthday bash last Friday – yes, I’m finally 25.

The day itself was perfect… started with a mani/pedi, followed by Woody Allen’s new flick “Whatever Works” with Jess, a trip to the Apple store (oh, I bought myself the new iPhone for my birthday), meeting up with Travis after his flight, then gathering with all my closest friends at Habana Outpost in Fort Greene (Brooklyn) for margaritas, mojitos, buckets of beer, cuban sandwiches and corn on the cob. After a few hours of holding down the fort (greene), we headed back to Jess and Jenson’s Brooklyn Height’s rooftop for after-hours stargazing and storytelling. It was an all together fantastic birthday.

In other news… I met somebody I really like. Hehehehe. He’s absolutely fantastic, and I’m pretty sure he knows nothing of this blog yet. It’s nice to think of someone special and look forward to the next time you’ll see them!

Now, back to gameplanning the rest of my crazy moving schedule!