Many of the churches no longer hold services, but still stand along the streets and attract the eyes of visitors as well as those who call this area home.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
The City of Murals
Aka...Steubenville, OH. But I'd like to call this part of Ohio, the city of churches. As I was driving through the heart of Steubenville, I passed one church after another. I could not believe how many churches were in this one small area, and they weren't just average buildings of worship. They were beautiful pieces of architecture.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Tantalizing Tastebuds
How do you acquire a taste for something? Acquiring an acceptance for a taste you previously detested is an interesting concept. Do you expose yourself to that taste until you begin liking it? Or do you one day all of a sudden begin to like the taste you once could do without tasting ever again? Personally, I think it is a mixture of both.
COFFEE: Most kids absolutely hate coffee. I remember being one of those kids who just could not understand how my grandmother could drink multiple cups of the stuff in a single morning! But then, it did not take long before I asked my grandmother to let me try a cup of my own. And you know what I did...? I put about two spoonfuls of sugar and about a fourth of a cup of half and half into my Minny Mouse coffee cup! That was the moment when I became a coffee drinker, but did not become a regular coffee drinker until college. But throughout high school, I would occasionally drink a cup of coffee with my grandmother and my mother. But I noticed the difference on how they prepared their coffee. My grandmother was a cream and sugar lady. Whereas, my mother drank her coffee black! I took a sip out of my mom's cup one day and almost had to spit it back in. I criticized my mom and constantly asked her how could she possibly drink it like that! Well I guess as a 16 year old girl, I spoke too soon because six years later, I now drink my coffee...BLACK.
SUSHI is another item most people develop an acquired taste for. It seems to be a trend that people experiment with sushi when they go to college. You begin with cooked sushi rolls. Then move on to the "real" stuff, which is sashimi.
BEER...Natural Light aka "Natty Light" and Keystone...no wonder I developed a hatred for beer. I found out quickly that I enjoyed mixed drinks more than beer. But that suddenly all changed when I began experiencing the tastes that microbrews had to offer. This past weekend, I went to the 15th annual Central New York Brewfest held at the New York State Fairgrounds. This was my second time in attendance. About 60 breweries were there. The winner this year for the best beer in my opinion was brewed by Wells, and it was the Banana Bread beer. This beer tasted and smelled just like banana bread, but at the same time was not overbearing. But what was overbearing was when they added their Double Chocolate Stout, which they said made the beverage into a Banana Split beer. Now that was one taste I have not acquired a liking for...yet!!
COFFEE: Most kids absolutely hate coffee. I remember being one of those kids who just could not understand how my grandmother could drink multiple cups of the stuff in a single morning! But then, it did not take long before I asked my grandmother to let me try a cup of my own. And you know what I did...? I put about two spoonfuls of sugar and about a fourth of a cup of half and half into my Minny Mouse coffee cup! That was the moment when I became a coffee drinker, but did not become a regular coffee drinker until college. But throughout high school, I would occasionally drink a cup of coffee with my grandmother and my mother. But I noticed the difference on how they prepared their coffee. My grandmother was a cream and sugar lady. Whereas, my mother drank her coffee black! I took a sip out of my mom's cup one day and almost had to spit it back in. I criticized my mom and constantly asked her how could she possibly drink it like that! Well I guess as a 16 year old girl, I spoke too soon because six years later, I now drink my coffee...BLACK.
SUSHI is another item most people develop an acquired taste for. It seems to be a trend that people experiment with sushi when they go to college. You begin with cooked sushi rolls. Then move on to the "real" stuff, which is sashimi.
BEER...Natural Light aka "Natty Light" and Keystone...no wonder I developed a hatred for beer. I found out quickly that I enjoyed mixed drinks more than beer. But that suddenly all changed when I began experiencing the tastes that microbrews had to offer. This past weekend, I went to the 15th annual Central New York Brewfest held at the New York State Fairgrounds. This was my second time in attendance. About 60 breweries were there. The winner this year for the best beer in my opinion was brewed by Wells, and it was the Banana Bread beer. This beer tasted and smelled just like banana bread, but at the same time was not overbearing. But what was overbearing was when they added their Double Chocolate Stout, which they said made the beverage into a Banana Split beer. Now that was one taste I have not acquired a liking for...yet!!
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Snow Is Syracuse
When I made the decision to attend Syracuse University, the first thing people said to me was... "You know it snows a lot up there?!"
Well yes, I heard that rumor, but that did not keep me from attending SU. I mean, how bad could it really be?
The past three years, the winters have not been that bad. It snowed an occasional eight inches at a time and it would continue day after day after day, but it really didn't snow the way people were telling me it would. I was just talking to someone about how we have been having mild winters for Syracuse. And then, December 2010 hit, and the first snowstorm we got was the biggest snow storm I have ever seen. It just did not stop.
Each day, I went outside to remove the snow from the roof of my car. It was so thick I had to shovel it off.
It is a whole different world when it snows that much. But, I do not have one complaint because it truly makes for a new adventure all on its own!
Well yes, I heard that rumor, but that did not keep me from attending SU. I mean, how bad could it really be?
The past three years, the winters have not been that bad. It snowed an occasional eight inches at a time and it would continue day after day after day, but it really didn't snow the way people were telling me it would. I was just talking to someone about how we have been having mild winters for Syracuse. And then, December 2010 hit, and the first snowstorm we got was the biggest snow storm I have ever seen. It just did not stop.
Each day, I went outside to remove the snow from the roof of my car. It was so thick I had to shovel it off.
It is a whole different world when it snows that much. But, I do not have one complaint because it truly makes for a new adventure all on its own!
Friday, December 10, 2010
Snow Stuck!
Sibericuse, NY: It started snowing around 9 p.m. on Friday December 3, 2010 if I remember correctly. We were in a taxi on our way to test out our vocal abilities at a Karaoke bar called Singers. By the time we left, snow was beginning to accumulate. This would be the last time we would see that a concrete ground even existed. The snow continued to fall...Saturday into Sunday into Monday into Tuesday into Wednesday. The snow momentarily stopped on Wednesday. And each day, I went outside to dig my car out because I knew that I was going to have to do my final story for my broadcast class on Thursday. When I woke up Thursday morning, I made the decision to postpone my graffiti story until next semester. There was no way I was going to get my car out of my parking lot. This obstacle immediately sparked a story idea: Syracuse University Off-Campus Residents Stuck Shoveling Out...
Friday, November 26, 2010
Waiting!
I get extremely frustrated when I wait over 15 minutes for a doctor appointment. So for my one credit class, CONNECT, I decided to put together a commentary expressing how much I dislike waiting for an appointment that ends up lasting no more than five minutes.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Imagine Never Feeling Full...
8:30 a.m. :: interview with the Graduate Assistant of the Office of Engagement Programs at Hendricks Chapel at Syracuse University...
9:30 a.m. :: interview with the Public Relations Coordinator at the Food Bank of Central New York...
10:30 a.m. :: tried to interview people on the street (MOS=man on the street) about their donating practices...not one person talked to us. My partner and I must have asked 12 people. Some people said they were running late. Others just said no. One person said he could not talk about that issue...
11:30 a.m. :: put gas in my car, ate lunch, organized information in order to chose a clear focus, thought about what I was going to say in my stand-up...
12:30 p.m. :: interview with volunteers at the Elmwood Interfaith Pantry...
2:00 p.m. :: transcribed interviews, logged video, captured interviews and video into AVID...
4:00 p.m. :: began writing my story...
6:00 p.m. :: recorded voice tracks...
6:20 p.m. :: ran into my professor who suggest I change a few things and who also told me my script looked waayyyyyy too long...
6:30 p.m. :: re-wrote script...re-re-re-wrote...re-re-re-re-wrote...re-tracked voice tracks...
7:00 p.m. :: edited package...
8:00 p.m. :: exported package and left Newhouse at 8:02 p.m.!!!
Finished writing the web version of my story a little after 10 p.m.
12:00 a.m. :: bedtime...
Favorite part of my day=talking to men and women over the age of 80 about their love for volunteering...
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
"Oyy Yeahhh" Toronto
I've always wanted to go to the airport without any idea of where I would go next. I love the idea of taking spontaneous trips. So I am always thinking about easy opportunities to go to new places. I was in class and a thought about going to Canada for a weekend popped into my head. I immediately texted one of my roommates and without hesitation she said she wanted to go.
Unlike adventures you say you are going to plan, but never do...this one actually became a reality.
It only took us a little over four hours to get there. We arrived in Toronto just in time for lunch. I told my roommate we had to go to this dim sum restaurant on the harbor of Lake Ontario. The Pearl has one of the best dim sum menus. My mom goes to Toronto just to eat at this restaurant. Dim sum is a Chinese dish that is made of a variety of different foods served in steamers. The different items on the dim sum menu are pushed around the restaurant on carts and when they come to your table you can chose what you want to eat. They have all different kinds of steamed dumplings, from pork to shrimp to vegetable. They have sticky rice that is served inside a lotus leaf and many different types of noodles and wontons. And of course they have dessert. I get the same dessert no matter where I get dim sum: Jin deui. It has an unexplainable consistency. It is a ball of dough that is rolled in sesame seeds and inside is a sweet bean paste. Delicious!
I believe eating is a huge part of exploring a city. But that is not all we did while we were in Toronto. We walked through Eaton Centre, which is an enormous overwhelming shopping hub. It was so crowded, we decided we did not need to buy anything. Once we left, we just walked. Looking up and down and all around. We took a break from walking and enjoyed the live entertainment in Dundas Square. And the last touristy thing we did was to glide to the top of the CN Tower. At the top level of the tower, there is a section of the floor that is completely glass allowing you to look 1,465 feet down. I am not afraid of heights, but I definitely felt an uneasiness in my stomach as I lifted my foot and lowered it onto the glass floor. A lady caught on to our laughter that was generated by an uncomfortable emotion and told us the glass is actually stronger than the concrete! I found that fact to be absolutely incredible.
We ended our trip by driving to Greektown, which was only a ten minute drive from our hotel. And besides walking down the street peeping through windows, we stopped to eat lunch at Mezes. We ordered Dolmades (or grapeleaves), lamp chops, Gemista (which I tried for the first time and loved), and Skordalia. This is my favorite way to eat: trying a little bit of everything! That saying is also true for how I like to live my life!
Unlike adventures you say you are going to plan, but never do...this one actually became a reality.
It only took us a little over four hours to get there. We arrived in Toronto just in time for lunch. I told my roommate we had to go to this dim sum restaurant on the harbor of Lake Ontario. The Pearl has one of the best dim sum menus. My mom goes to Toronto just to eat at this restaurant. Dim sum is a Chinese dish that is made of a variety of different foods served in steamers. The different items on the dim sum menu are pushed around the restaurant on carts and when they come to your table you can chose what you want to eat. They have all different kinds of steamed dumplings, from pork to shrimp to vegetable. They have sticky rice that is served inside a lotus leaf and many different types of noodles and wontons. And of course they have dessert. I get the same dessert no matter where I get dim sum: Jin deui. It has an unexplainable consistency. It is a ball of dough that is rolled in sesame seeds and inside is a sweet bean paste. Delicious!
I believe eating is a huge part of exploring a city. But that is not all we did while we were in Toronto. We walked through Eaton Centre, which is an enormous overwhelming shopping hub. It was so crowded, we decided we did not need to buy anything. Once we left, we just walked. Looking up and down and all around. We took a break from walking and enjoyed the live entertainment in Dundas Square. And the last touristy thing we did was to glide to the top of the CN Tower. At the top level of the tower, there is a section of the floor that is completely glass allowing you to look 1,465 feet down. I am not afraid of heights, but I definitely felt an uneasiness in my stomach as I lifted my foot and lowered it onto the glass floor. A lady caught on to our laughter that was generated by an uncomfortable emotion and told us the glass is actually stronger than the concrete! I found that fact to be absolutely incredible.
We ended our trip by driving to Greektown, which was only a ten minute drive from our hotel. And besides walking down the street peeping through windows, we stopped to eat lunch at Mezes. We ordered Dolmades (or grapeleaves), lamp chops, Gemista (which I tried for the first time and loved), and Skordalia. This is my favorite way to eat: trying a little bit of everything! That saying is also true for how I like to live my life!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
