sweet deal

Visited 30 Rockefeller Plaza to go on an NBC studios' Walking Tour. Their website highly recommended reserving a spot ahead of time, which I did not do. You see, I picked up a coupon from the hostel for two dollars off of admission. I was to show it at time of payment to receive the discount. Buuuuut flashing the coupon plus paying online equals dilemma! "But India, why not just pay online and get refunded two dollars at the tour site?" Didn't want to chance it, so I decided to try my luck of just showing up and paying in person.

I hear "NBC" and think "*gasp!!* 30ROCK!" So I was über excited to see the location of one of my favorite shows in person.

And see? It's the ice rink in the Rockefeller Plaza ... just like on the show! :D

"Doo doo, do-do-do-do doo doo, do-do-do-do-do, DO! do!"

Going upstairs to buy tour tickets!

CRAP! So while I'm graciously reserving my spot for Wednesday's tour, I slide my coupon across the counter. The cashier chuckles and knocks two dollars off my ticket price. I smile, stuff my tour ticket into my wallet, then pout as I head back downstairs.

But hold it! The day is not all lost. As I'm leaving an intern hands me an invitation to view the 3pm monologue rehearsal for Jimmy Fallon's late night show. Sweet!

Viewing the rehearsal was great! We the audience just had to laugh at the lines we found funny. That show has some witty writers (we got to meet a few of them while waiting to enter the studio). Very talented folks.

This is the monologue that we got to view as the test audience!

***

Just wanted to share this: the NBC gift shop is thorough! Their logo appeared in so many creative places, including worked into the pattern on the ceiling! Here's the logo as part of the stair banister.

What a girl wants, what a girl needs is a pair of flip flops

I'm on my way back to the hostel after hours of wandering around the Upper West side, when I realize that I forgot to pack shower shoes. I turn on my heels and head to the corner drugstore, we'll call it VCS. After searching the isles, I ask the guy at the counter if they sold flip flops here. He looks at me sideways and shakes his head a slow-mo "no". I ask where I could find some and he suggests I head to Broadway where the clothing stores are. Then I look at him sideways and say I'm looking for shower shoes, but okay. On Broadway I find VCS's competitor stores, MiteAid and DrainReade, both also coming up short. I exit to the street and begin to consider showering in socks when I spot a Payless! If THEY don't have what I'm looking for then ...

I'm walking down the isles and realize that all they have are fall/winter shoes. How hard is it to find some flip flops up in here? It is at this point that I start to realize just how Californian I really am. Where I grew up, flip flops are sold rain or shine. Shoe stores, drugstores, no wait, supermarkets will have them on one clearance isle or another ... even in October. But this was like ordering a custom burger at the drive through; the result is falling waaaaay short of the expectation. So as a last resort I ask the sales associate what is the closest flip flop-esque shoe that she has in the store. "Here," she said, surfacing a lone pair of white and glitter gray Women's C9 sandals by Champion.

That'll work.

Fifteen dollars later I'm a happy camper, speed racing it back to the hostel before the sun goes down. All clean and ready for bed, I told the roommates my shoe story, and they informed me that I could've gotten shower shoes at the hostel. Womp womp.

Touchdown 6:45am

Landed sleepy and bleary-eyed in New York this morning at a quarter to seven after an all-night flight. The sunrise was beautiful. The assault of the sudden cabin lights on my senses was not. After the pilot announced our arrival at JFK, I gathered my carry-ons and proceeded the mass exodus to baggage claim. On the way I managed to snap a quick pic (above) through the terminal window.

The hostel where I'm staying is much nicer than I thought it would be (which I am sure my Mom would be relieved to know). Its filled with international travelers, many of whom speak French. (FRENCH! Dare I test my abilities with these experts?? But if I'm left looking stupid, at least I tried, right?) The hostel has a mini cafe, a game room, an internet room (where I'm currently seated) and a reading room on the lobby floor. AND this place is only a 15min train ride from the design conference site ... sweet.

Ok, I'm off exploring now.

Expressive Typography

food type

An exercise in figurative typography:

"Using figurative typography or symbols, create a concept poster. Choose a minimum of one descriptive word." Ok. I have four words illustrated in type. Now I must combine these elements into a poster...

What is Graphic Design?

On a rainy Wednesday morning, I walk to the bus stop. I am carrying my book bag, my computer bag, my toolbox, a lunch, and my oversized portfolio case slung over my right shoulder. As I try to free a hand to open my umbrella, a woman who is already waiting at the stop watches me with intrigue. “You an artist?” she asks. “Sorta. I’m studying graphic design.” “Oh yeah? What’s that?” “It’s everything,” I smile. Three years of design school have taught me that graphic design is ubiquitous. It is the coffee cup we sip from on our way to work. It is the website we comb in search of new information. It is the sign we read that tells us where to go. It surrounds us. It permeates our environments and influences our culture. It is persuasive, powerful, and when done correctly, absolutely transparent. “Do you ever notice packaging? Or look at traffic signs or websites?” I ask the woman. “You build websites?” Her eyes brighten with recognition. “Well … yeah, that too,” I say, trying to allude to my discipline’s enormity. To know it by one name only is not to see it in its entirety. “Basically,” I say, “I help people communicate their ideas to other people.” “Hmm,” she says, “sounds useful.” I smile, “it is.” What is design? It is information with meaning, the language of the creative mind, planned visual communication. It is changing. It is you, it is me. It is and always will be.

Viewing the world differently

Proud owner of a new canon dslr!