When You're in New York Part 2

Now onto Friday. We all woke up, met in the lobby, went off to breakfast, and went our separate ways. The majority of the group went right across the street to a famous cheesecake diner for breakfast. Surprisingly, we didn't get any cheesecake. Maybe it was because it cost 20 bucks for a bagel, potatoes, and a soda. Well, I guess when you're in New York its go big or go home. Anyways, we had the awards ceremony to attend later that day, so we just window shopped and did a little bit of sightseeing before it was time to leave. But, before we could go, Hannah and I had to buy a cute New York outfit to wear for the awards. We walked for what seemed like forever down to the Forever 21. As I walked in the door, my heart stopped. People were everywhere. Music was blaring. Bright colors were splashed on the walls. Clothes and accessories covered every single inch of space. To say the least, it was 4 stories of heaven! I quickly made my way through the store, trying to find the perfect outfit. I wanted something cute and casual. So in Forever 21, it didn't take long to find the perfect pick. We literally ran out of the store as soon as we could and raced back to the hotel. We had to be dressed and ready to go in 20 min. And for all you girls reading, you know how hard it is to get all prettied up in 20 min. Once we were all in the lobby, we walked a few blocks to the nearest subway station and headed off to Columbia. I have to admit, I loved the subway. It is unlike anything I have ever experienced before. Even though it is kind of disturbing how many germs crawl around in there, it is its own world down there. As soon as we arrived in Columbia, I saw the coolest truck ever :) It was a veggie truck.

After taking a picture with the best truck in the world, we walked onto the Columbia campus and escaped the New York world. When we walked through the gates, the noisy crowded world disappeared. We had entered college world. While we waited for the ceremony to begin, we walked around campus and grabbed some food.

We then filed into the building and took our front row seats. I sat next to Hannah and we were counting down the letters until they reached G. When they finally called out the Grizzly Gazette we all held our breath, hoping to hear we had been a gold crown winner. But, we didn't. Even though we won the silver crown out of so many finalists, I could help but feel a little sad that we didn't win. We had all worked so hard, so receiving the silver crown was a bitter-sweet moment. But hey, I was in New York with three of my best friends having the time of my life.

But that night was one of the best nights of my life. Once we got back to hotel, we changed into comfy clothes and went to explore. All of us were starving and wanted to eat as soon as possible. We came across this pizza place that smelled really good so we decided to give it a try. We had to wait about 45 min for a table, so while we waited some of us walked down the street to get a drawing of us done. When Mrs. Kisling was getting hers done, Clay told the guy to make her a stripper and have big boobs! And he did. We were all dying laughing while Mrs. Kisling was freaking out about the picture because she couldn't see it. The look on her face was priceless. We had worked up an appetite and me Brad Hannah and Clay scarfed down a 16 piece pizza :) After eating, Hannah and I got our pictures done too. I'm a belly dancer I guess :p

We laughed so hard that night and walked all around the city. We even went on a carriage ride through Central Park, saw a drunk guy throw up, and a buff guy exercise on the corner shirtless. The things you see in New York are just something else. Just spending time with all of my friends really made me realize how lucky I am to have them in my life :) I gained so much from this experience. The last day in New York is all kind of a blur to me now. We walked a lot! We saw the Trump Towers, walked through Central Park, saw the Plaza, went through the Met, lost Clay and had to search for him, went shopping, took pictures, and packed. We all stayed up so late packing knowing that tomorrow would be agony trying to get up. As I laid my head down on my pillow and closed my eyes, I knew the experience was over. My time in New York had run out and it was back to California. Only a long plane ride separated the two very different worlds. The Big Apple had taken a bite out of my heart. Porterville is too small for me, New York though...PERFECT! I left my heart in New York City.

When You're in New York

Ever since I was little, my spring breaks have never been very exciting. Most of my friends would go out of town and I would just stay in Porterville. But this year, everything changed! I was going to New York City with a group of my friends!!!! The Grizzly Gazette was invited to attend the Columbia Scholastic Press Association awards ceremony. I was so excited, but not for the packing. I put packing off until the day before we left. After I had finished, Hannah came over to spend the night. Like most sleepovers, there isn’t much sleep. I laid my head down on my pillow and it seemed like seconds later my alarm was going off at 1:40 a.m. For the next 30 minutes I was packing the last few things for my trip and getting all ready to go. When we arrived at school we took roll and loaded onto the bus. As the bus pulled away from the school, I looked out the window knowing that I was leaving the small town of Porterville and going off across the country. The bus ride was a blur. I kept going in and out of reality, waking up to only see how far we had advanced. I stumbled off the bus, half awake, into the Fresno Airport. It seemed that just as I was getting comfortable, it was time to board the plane. If you don’t already know me, I am super claustrophobic. So when I took a look at our plane, I about fell over. It was a tiny puddle jumper with about 48 seats. I sat in the very back corner next to a baby. To say the least, I was ecstatic that the flight was only 45 minutes.

When we arrived at LAX, we only waited about 20 minutes before we boarded our next flight. The flight was not full, so many spots were open. I was lucky enough to have the whole row to myself. The plane ride was five hours long, and I slept for about two. The rest of the time I was just…there. When we landed in Newark, New Jersey I felt super sick. I hadn’t eaten anything all day was really dizzy. I tried to ignore my fatigue, but on the van ride to our hotel in Times Square, I felt like I was going to get sick. The driver pulled over, and I got out of the car. My heart was racing, I felt out of breath, and my legs were trembling. But, when the cool breeze hit my face, I felt so much better. After being stuffed in a flying can for 5 hours, the fresh air was really nice. When we arrived at the hotel, we didn’t have rooms. We had to wait for about an hour and a half before we were finally able to go to our rooms. I roomed with Mrs. Kisling, Dani, and Hannah on the 40^th floor. Needless to say, it was so high up, you couldn’t even see the street down below. After unpacking, a group of us walked to Angelo’s Pizza for dinner. All of us were starving and the twelve of us scarfed down 7 pizza.

 Because we all ate so much, we needed to walk it off. We walked all over Times Square. It was absolutely breathtaking. All the lights and skyscrapers surround you and you feel so small and overwhelmed by all the massiveness! Starbucks on each corner, four story stores, jumbo screens, tons of people, crazy drivers, masses of taxis, so much noise, and so much excitement. I was in awe. We walked back to the hotel and settled down into our beds knowing that tomorrow would be full of suprises.

On Thursday morning, my roomies and I walked down a few blocks to Starbucks. Once we got our caffeine, we were ready to go. We met everyone else in the lobby and discussed what was on the agenda for the day. The seniors were invited to go to The New York Times, so while they were gone, some of us wanted to go to the St. Patty’s Day Parade. As we walked around the city, there were drunk people everywhere…and it was only 10:30 in the morning! The parade route was so packed that we just decided to walk around and show off our spirit. Brad’s dad, Brad, Clay, Hannah, and I walked to Rockefeller Center and saw the NBC News Room. We went window shopping and just took in the atmosphere of the city.

In New York, they have the best delis EVER! There is a huge variety of food that you can get there and it’s a great sit down place. We ate lunch there with the group and had some bonding time.

 Once we had finished eating, we took the subway to Ground Zero. Subways are so cool. Even though it is dirty, it’s like its own world underground.

   If you don’t know what Ground Zero is, it is the place where the Twin Towers once were.  When we arrived there, it was just amazing to think that the huge buildings around us were tiny compared to the towers. It felt empty. They are currently working on building the World Trade Center memorial where the towers were. Right across the street was a small chapel that served at the NYFD’s home. There are still services held there, but it is also a monument.

Then, we went on a water taxi. It took us all around. We went past the Statue of Liberty, saw the New York skyline, the Empire State Building, and the Brooklyn Bridge. It was so much fun and the view was unbelievable.

Once off the water taxi, a group of us went back to the hotel to get ready to go to Broadway! We were going to see Phantom of the Opera! I didn’t have anything fancy to wear, so Dani let me wear one of her beautiful dresses to the show. On our way to Broadway, we stopped at a deli and got our food but didn’t have time to eat it. I was the only one that had brought a bag, so everyone put their food in there. When we were entering the theater, they were checking bags. My heart started pounding and all the worst case scenarios kept flowing through my mind. As I opened my bag, I was waiting for the “I’m going to need you to come over here for me, miss” but it never happened. They cleared me!!! I was so realived. We had amazing seats. Once we were all set down, I passed everyone their food and we were all so hungry. I was even eating out of my bag! The show began, and it just took my breath away. It was so amazing and beautiful and just flawless! It was an experience I will never forget! :)

 

To be continued…

Tune in next week :)

Safari Friday

When most people hear the bell ring at 3:20 on a Friday, it means freedom for a few days. But if you were in cheer, that was not the case. Freedom was not even close. The next day, me and the rest of the squad were putting on the 9^th annual little girls cheer camp. The theme this year was “Goin’ On a Safari.” In order for this event to be a success, a ton of work needs to be put in. All week, we worked our butts off in order have all of the decorating process done. But after school on Friday, all of us made our way to the gym knowing that we wouldn’t come out for a while. The first thing that needed to be done was set up the sound system. Then, the mats were laid out on the floor and vacuumed. Once these small tasks were done, the big ones were just getting started. The whole gym needed to be decorated for a safari theme.  The gym floor was lined with “grass” and the walls were covered with different animals and signs were being put up everywhere. Even fake palm trees were being brought in. While many of us were working on this, there were a whole lot of other jobs being done. Cheerleaders were organizing shirts, writing name tags, putting goodie bags together, mopping the floor, putting up a first aid jungle hut, and much more. As the night was coming to a close, we began on our last task, balloon pillars.  So much stress and irritation was present and emotions ran high. Just like the balloons overfilled with air, some of the cheerleader’s tempers popped. But, it all worked out in the end. As the clock hit 8:30, I walked out of the gym knowing that tomorrow was going to be crazy.

A Love Story Worthy of the Silver Screen

As I’m getting ready to go out to dinner to celebrate my great grandparents 67^th wedding anniversary, I can’t help but wonder if I will ever be as lucky as them. They tell me about how they first met on a blind date. My grandma didn’t want anything to do with my grandpa because he was a sailor, and good girls did NOT date sailors.  She only agreed to go out with him because he was a friend of her roommate’s cousin.  After that date, they fell in love and their lives fell into place.  As the stories continue, my grandma tells me about how lonely she was when my grandpa was fighting in World War II.  She never knew if the last letter she received would be the last. My grandparents wrote each other constantly. They even entered a radio contest called Hello Sweetheart. My grandma won the national contest with a beautiful poem she wrote called “Destination Unknown” to her beloved husband overseas. To this day, she still remembers the poem as if she had written it yesterday.  She recited it tonight at dinner for all of us with the passion in her eyes that has been there for 67 years. Their love story is so sweet and feels like it came off of the silver screen. Their loving relationship gives me hope that good people do exist out there. I just hope that someday, I will find my prince and be able to tell my great grandchildren about our love story :)

Long Weekend

Four day weekends are the best. On Friday I slept in until 11. I had to pick up the house before my friends came over at 1. Stubby, Rachel, and Jazz were coming over to put a dance together for our little girls cheer camp. We got 4 year olds and had to make up a super easy dance for them. It didn’t take long, so we just hung out and talked. Later that night my family came into town, so we went out to dinner and caught up. Then on Saturday, Maddy came over and we talked for hours. I love talking to her because I know I can trust her with anything. We talked and got a lot of stuff off of our chests. We went to the store and filled the cart with junk food to drown ourselves in that night. We watched a few movies and then we fell asleep. The next thing I knew she was waking me up saying she was going home because she was sick. Even though we weren’t able to enjoy the next day together, it was great to have her over. It was the most fun I had had in a while. Then, I felt shaky and like I was about to pass out. I ran into the bathroom and kept having dry heaves. I kept hoping that I would finally throw up, but it never happened. I felt so lightheaded and had a throbbing headache. So, I took my pills and took a 4 hour nap. It’s amazing what a nap will do. When I got up I felt 100% better. The rest of the night I just chilled and watched movies all night. I woke up the next morning sad that the weekend was almost over. But, I was going to make the most of it. My mom, sister, and I went to Visalia and ran a few errands. One of the many highlights of going to Visalia it eating at In N Out. I could live off of those burgers, the veggie ones of course. When I got home, I just did homework and enjoyed the rest of the evening. Sadly, I would have to wake up the next day and get ready for school.

Granite Takes the Win

Thursday night was pretty typical. I had finished homework and was getting ready for another basketball game. But, it wasn’t just any game. It was the girls’ basketball game against Porterville. The first half was pretty good. Porterville and Granite fought for the lead and were only separated by a few points. Everyone in the stands was going crazy. And as many already know, the referees are blind, but it’s the cheerleaders’ job to make them deaf. Not only is the competition between the basketball players intense but also between the cheerleaders. A ton of people look down on Granite and think of us as the ghetto school. This game was a chance to prove them wrong. And we did! Every time Porterville was ahead, our Lady Grizzlies fought to regain the lead. Every time Porterville cheerleaders tried to overpower us, we overpowered them. This was our chance to show the community what Granite Hills is made of! Then, the next day, I was able to do it all over again when our boys smashed PHS. What a great way to end the week. J

A Week in the Life of Bailey Ross

Well…this week I don’t really know what to write about. I am sitting on the couch watching “17 Again” with Dad. Life is pretty boring. But, after the week I’ve had, I’m not complaining. Monday, like always, was blah. I hate it because I absolutely hate the idea of having to go to 7 different classes in one day. Eww! Anyways, I had a French exam that day so it made it even worse. At least I didn’t have practice after school. But for the next few days, I was busy. On Tuesday, it was that time for testing. Sophomores had to take the first part of the CAHSEE. In the English section, we had a bunch of multiple choice questions and had to write an essay. Luckily, it was pretty easy. The next day we had to take the math section of the exam. Like most people, math is not my favorite subject. I mean I’m good at it, but I hate it. Most of the questions were basic math, but I felt stupid when something that seemed so easy was so difficult. But once I closed the answer sheet, the booklet, and put my pencil down, I felt so relieved. It was over, and hopefully it would be the first and last time I would ever have to ever take that stupid test. To say the least, my brain was fried. If tests all day weren’t enough, I had to cheer for the boy’s home basketball game…against Monache. There are a lot of people that go there that don’t like me, and to be honest, they aren’t my favorite people either. So, seeing these people wasn’t exactly how I wanted to end my Wednesday. But I have amazing friends that make these moments the best. Next, it was Thursday. I had to ask my teachers all the stuff I had missed the past two days and make it up as soon as possible. Well, I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. After school, I had a GHHS Ambassador meeting until 4:30. We were giving tours of Granite to incoming freshmen and their parents the next day. As soon as the meeting was over, I had to race to the cafeteria to get ready to cheer for the wrestling tournament against Porterville and Monache. I was kind of dreading it, but it was actually a ton of fun. Wrestling is probably my favorite sport now. It is so intense and it’s pretty fun to watch hot guys wrestle. The tournament lasted until 10, but it was worth it. I was exhausted when I got home and tried to go to bed as soon as I could. My bed never felt so comfortable. Then, it was finally Friday, the best day of the week! School seemed to drag on, but as I watched the clock change from 3:19 to 3:20 and heard the bell ring, I knew the weekend was finally here. And yet again, I had another game to cheer that night. Despite my attitude about going, it was one of the best games. Our girls won and my cheer sisters and I had so much fun. I hadn’t laughed or smiled that much in a long time. There is nothing like a girl’s night out to cheer you up. It was a great way to end the long and busy week. Sadly, the rest of my weekend will be filled with homework. Then I have to do it all over again…yay.