excited AND scared.

Hi all,

I'm sorry I've been the worst blogger ever. I promise I will do a MASSIVE recap after this weekend's walk (AHHHHH.), but for now, this:

In just one week, I’ll be at the closing ceremonies for the 3-Day Walk for the Cure in Chicago. Ahhhh! I can’t believe that. I am excited, terrified, nervous, elated…pretty much running the whole gamut of emotion. But ultimately, I am grateful.

I am grateful for the opportunity to learn my new city in a way not many do. I’ve walked uptown, downtown, east and west. I’ve seen hidden rooms, national landmarks, and every pit stop on the west side from 122^nd street to Battery Park. Training has taken me to some of NYC’s most iconic areas, but also hidden gems that lifelong New Yorkers haven’t explored. I can’t think of a better way to spend a spring/summer.

I am grateful for the people I have met on this journey. People like Burt, our training walk leader, who will be walking for the 10^th consecutive year. He’s doing not one, but TWO walks this year, and has already raised well over his minimums. And he won’t hang up his pink sneakers until there is a cure. Or Liz, a survivor who has walked in a different city in each of the 7 years since she’s gone into remission. Liz is a badass who is in better shape than I will ever be, and has been a remarkable inspiration and resource for all of my 3Day questions. And Jen, a fellow Midwestern transplant, who has three small kids and still makes time to travel, follow her passions, and train for a 3Day. These people have become a kind of second family here in the city. We check in on each other, celebrate successes, commiserate struggles, and, oh yeah, walk a lot. I don’t know how I would have gotten through these 15-20 mile training walks without them. Let’s be honest, I probably wouldn’t have done them, and then I’d be even more nervous going into this weekend. Maybe the best testament to the group is the fact that I’m planning to continue walking with them after this weekend is over. That’s right, folks, I will continue to spend my Saturdays walking 20+ miles. These people are just that awesome. And I could write an entire different letter about the online 3Day community – the blogs and tweets, etc – it is unreal.

Maybe most of all, though, I’m grateful for you. I can’t believe how phenomenally generous everyone has been. For those of you who have donated in the moolah department – I understand the sacrifices everyone is making right now and I cannot express to you how much it means to me that you’ve deemed this cause worthy of your dough. It’s so easy to be caught up in the training and the gear and the hydration, but ultimately this is about saving lives. Like. Really. Your dineros. Saving lives. Real. Everyone else – there’s still time! Ha. Kidding (kind of). But seriously, thank you for letting me complain about my blisters, brag about my mileage, and talk your ear off about the wonders of the 3Day journey. The moral support is every bit as important as the financial in a journey like this. I’ve always known I was surrounded by wonderful people, but I honestly have never felt luckier. I can never ever thank you enough.

I literally would not be walking without your support, and I will certainly need it this weekend! If you’re in Chicagoland, you can come visit us (see cheering stations here)! And if not, know that any time I’m struggling through my 60 miles, my thoughts will turn to you and I know it will give me the strength to keep a-walkin’.

You guys are the best.

Love and love,

KFine

P.S. Still interested in donating? Click here!!

on my way (again)

Gah it has been too long. Since I've blogged, since I've trained, since I've fundraised...just too long.

Last week was illness-stricken and travel-filled, but it was wonderful. I went back to NU for Starry Starry Night: Saluting Dominic Missimi. I just can't even tell you how amazing this night was. Gregg Edelman, Kate Shindle, Brian D'Arcy James, Heather Headley, plus half of Chicago theatre and most of my good friends all performing for one of my favorite people, ummm, ever: Dom. Heaven.

I've had another flare-up of my every present foot injury. Friends may remember it from its previous appearances in Ragtime, Girls vs. Boys: A Loud New Musical, or its starring role in Waa-Mu 2009: One For the Books. Needless to say, it's a pain in the ass. Well, foot. You know. Especially in NYC, not walking is just not really an option. So it sidetracked my training, and also just my general activity level, which makes me feel like a big pile of poopy. I got it checked it out by a podiatrist on Saturday and he's basically like, "Well, you're walking completely wrong and your alignment is cray cray caboodles and we should prooooobs fix it." Well, yes. That'd be good. He taped my foot up "like a baseball player" (his words, I loved) and sent me on my way to come back next week. As sad as it is, this does explain my yogi struggles in terms of balance and alignment, so maybe it'll get better now...? Or maybe I'll just be told to wear some really attractive orthopedic shoes 24/7. For the record, I'd choose the ivory color.

I figured I should take advantage of my new athlete status and get a walk in while I felt it was OK enough, so I did! I did what I think is my favorite loop...down an avenue to Battery Park, then back up the west side along the river. You guys. This city is awesome. Hands down my favorite discovery of the day was the Irish Hunger Memorial. Look at the pics on the wiki page, cause it's unreal. This is the picture I took:

I don't even know how to describe this place. It's this garden that's on a slanted platform...just, you know, randomly. On the west side. Of course. It's beautiful. I loved.

So I walked a bunch and man did I feel it. So I took a step back training-wise, but I'll get back on it. I'm not too worried. Mostly I'm just happy I didn't break my foot again, so I can basically do whatever I can on it that doesn't make it hurt. So I'm back in action!

Fundraising has taken a backseat, as well. I AMAZINGLY reached my minimum, which could not thrill me more. But now I wanna get to $3,000! Goals of the week include: sending a letter to my gym for a little corporate support, planning a bar night within the next month or so,sending at least 10 emails to my (amazingly phenomenal and fantastic) extended support system, and sending an update/reminder/follow up/remember me email. Holla!

Random side note: I'm sitting in Starbucks writing this and it a) makes me miss college and b) allows me to rediscover my full iTunes library on random. In case anyone was wondering, Jeanine Tesori's Violet is still my favorite cast album of all time.

You guys! It's summer!

LOVE and warmth,

KFine

a view from the bridge. and the park.

Wow this was a WEEKEND. For so many reasons. I'll go chronologically otherwise I'll get messed up and forget some of the amazingly epic things that happened this weekend.

SATURDAY in the park. I think it was the 15th of May. I mean, it actually was the 15th of May. I got up early and met my fellow 3Day-ers at Penn Station for a 16 mile walk! We walked over to the Hudson, down to Battery Park, around the tip of Manhattan, across the Brooklyn Bridge and back. It. Was. Amazing. First of all, the weather was perfection. I mean really. Like 75 and sunny with a breeze all day. Just incredible. Once again, I loved walking with others going through this. This time, I was the only first timer, and I relished in asking all of the big questions: shoes, socks, sleeping...we covered it all as we covered our miles.

Hands down my favorite part of the walk was the Brooklyn Bridge. Wow. I mean wow. I kept taking pictures because I wasn't satisfied with any of them until I realized the epic-ness of the bridge just couldn't be captured by my measly little BlackBerry. It's truly indescribable. It is massive and beautiful and overwhelming, and I loved it. Even when we got caught up in obnoxious groups of tourists. Which happened a lot. Anyway here are my photos that don't do it any justice:

Almost there...

AMAZING. Also, I felt like Miranda going to meet Steve in the SATC movie. Anyone?

The citay from the bridge.

3Day swag on my fellow walkers!

We stopped for some delightful pizza at Adrienne's on Stone Street. Stone Street is the coolest thing ever. It's like a block long and there are no cars and in the summer it's just filled with outdoor seating for all of the restaurants on the block. What?! Apparently it was the first paved road in NYC and it has this really old timey feel. The. Coolest. Once again, I found myself marveling at the new/old juxtaposition of the Financial District. It is cool.

After we walked back up to Penn Station, I made the smart (crazy?) decision to walk home, too. I took a detour and went to Paragon Sports to look at some shoes, and I bought some! I tried a ton of different kinds, and these were the most cushy and supportive, although I'm sad they didn't come in pink...booo. I also got some double layer Wright Socks, as recommended by our training walk leader, Burt. I haven't started using either yet, but I'm excited!!

SUNDAY morning I participated in the 25th Annual AIDS Walk in Central Park. A group of friends got together a team so I thought I'd hop on...it was a good reason to walk 6.2 miles and seemed like a cool thing to be a part of. I had no idea what to expect, and I was bowled over by the experience. There were THOUSANDS of people there. So many. And it was really cool to walk with so many different people from vastly different backgrounds. I was a little bit frustrated by the glacial pace we kept...not exactly a training walk...and after about 3 miles I cut off and walked on my own, but I was so glad to have the experience and I'll absolutely do it again in the future.

OK this is the big part. During the AIDS walk, I received a notification of a donation to my fundraising efforts. I excitedly opened the email to find out this was the largest donation I've received to date and it took me from 49% to 92%. I immediately started crying. This donation didn't come from the wealthiest person I know. It didn't come from my best friend in the entire world. It came from an amazing human being with a gigantic heart, and I could not have been more honored. The day before I had been talking to Burt about how special the fundraising process is and how each and every donation is a miracle. Yes, this particular one let me breathe a huge sigh of relief as I was getting super nervous about reaching my $2300 minimum, but I felt the same reaction with every $5, $10, or $100 donation I received. I know we're all broke, especially now, so I know every dollar that comes my way has been carefully thought out and accounted for. Each one comes with a lot of love and man do I feel it. So thank you.

Phew! Crying again! So I'm now $80 from my minimum and $780 from my secret goal of $3K. Oops. Guess it's not secret anymore. But yes, I'm going to keep fundraising past my minimum, because I'm realizing the 3Day is not about reaching minimums and squeaking by. It's about walking one more mile and raising one more dollar than you ever thought possible, which is what I intend to do.

Also Sunday, my life got a special guest appearance by Betsy Hogg and we saw Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson at The Public Theatre. This show has been getting some MAD critical acclaim and I went in skeptically, as I'm not always ready to jump on these Ben Brantley bandwagons. But it was awesome. Just freaking awesome. This entry is too long and the show is too difficult to explain to make it worthwhile, but just go see it. K? Great.

LOVE and miracles of every size,

KFine

Also this is love:

the beauty is...

Well, friends, it's been a while, hasn't it! I've had a crazy couple of weeks resulting in not a lot of walking and a LOT of eating, which in turn translated to not a lot of blogging. But I'm BACK.

I'm having a hard time with this "spending money" part of the 3-Day. I know, I know, I need good shoes, I need a good pack, I apparently need some schmancy socks, and I DEFINITELY need a lot of sunscreen. Unfortunately, the combination of my less-than-desirable income and my more-than-expensive city makes this a liiiittle difficult to rationalize. This results in me spending about 8.5 hours of my 9 hour work day shopping online for said items, only to succumb to either my frugality or my indecisiveness (or both!) and give up. I want to make sure I have the absolutely definitely totally completely PERFECT items, because I can't afford to try them all out until I find the lumbar pack of my dreams. I was so thrilled when @the3day retweeted my plea for lumbar pack advice, but then it ended up confusing me more!! I think I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and make decisions and just deal with it...but not before I ask my fellow walkers for their advice this weekend. We're doing a 16 miler from Penn Station to Brooklyn and back on Saturday! Holla!

After a few rough waking-up mornings I'm back to walking to work, which is delightful. I stopped and got some fruit on my walk this morning, and discovered not one, but TWO free sample stands - one for Simply Orange OJ (my fav!) and one for some Quaker cereal something (they gave me four boxes. Hey free breakfast for days!). As I stood there debating my chances of successfully stealing a bottle of OJ, I looked up and discovered this:

So apparently this artist, Kate Gilmore, was commissioned to create this piece of art, entitled Walk the Walk. It consists of exactly what you see: a yellow box with 10 women on top - not actresses, not models, just women - walking around for 10 hours per day. I am obsessed. I usually get annoyed with artsy fartsy stuff like this, but it was kind of amazing to see these women walking around on this platform, emanating exactly what was going on around them...tons and tons of women, myself included, walking to work wearing some variation of this exact outfit and expression. As the article states, the "performers" stomp and march at will and do not speak, but rather express themselves in their walking patterns. More than watching the performers, though, I relished in watching the people watching the performers. From the hipsters standing and nodding knowingly in their skinny jeans to the tourists shaking their heads and saying "only in new york" to the hardcore New Yorkers determined to ignore it to prove their indifference...it was fascinating. I like to think I was a combination of all three. I chuckled knowingly, snapped a pic on my BlackBerry, then continued walking to work.

I discover beauty on every single walk I take in this city, whether it's in art, nature, or another human. That's pretty sweet.

Speaking of beauty, Chicago theatre lost an amazing actor today in Guy Adkins. I didn't know him as many of my friends did, but I was lucky enough to grow up watching his performances. He was and will continue to be an inspiration.

LOVE and art,

KFine

P.S. I am SO CLOSE to 50%! Time to step it UP! http://www.the3day.org/goto/kafine

la cage aux walking.

Oh hey! It's been almost a week since I've written, and what a week it was. Not really. BUT some fun things have happened! On Saturday, I set out to walk 8 miles (just call me Eminem), which was my longest walk yet. My initial plan was to walk to Brooklyn and subway it back, but plans got in the way, so I ran errands and wandered around Central Park before walking home. I ended up unintentionally walking 11.4 miles! I didn't even realize how far it was until I got home and Google mapped it, but woah! I felt so amazingly accomplished and super delighted. It was such a beautiful day out and I had some great tunes on my iPod so it made it easy! Of course, I stopped to snap some pics...

TURTLES.

Isn't this the gazebo where Carrie gives Miranda relationship advice and is all "You're smart but you don't feel" and stuff? In the movie? No?

This is the reservoir. It is awesome.

Oh I'm sorry, am I hiking in North Carolina?

...Nope, still NYC.

So that was my really exciting 3Day news. 11.4 miles. Holla. Sunday's weather was the polar opposite of Saturday's, so I spent most of my time on my couch until going to this college fair on the Upper East Side and talking to the next cast of NYC Prep about Northwestern University. It was...an experience. I feel for kids going through the college application process right now. It is not easy, especially coming from such affluent areas and high schools. Crazy. Cray. Zy.

Last night I went to a big schmancy Sondheim tribute (hopefully the last of the 80th BDay celebrations...) which was belabored but delightful. By far the highlights were:

1. Nathan Lane coming on with a tuba and a cello (a tribute to the evening's director, John Doyle, who is known for revivals where the cast doubles as the orchestra) and doing a fantastic bit of physical comedy before launching into a medley that included everything from "Comedy Tonight" to "Tonight" to "Ladies Who Lunch" to "I'm Still Here." I swear. At the risk of sounding ancient, young comedians just don't understand comedy like people like Nathan Lane do. Brilliant.
2. Raul Esparza singing Being Alive. I have no words. If you haven't seen it, here's the youtube of his Tony performance. After you watch it, mop up your puddle of tears and remind yourself that this was the year David Hyde Pierce won the Tony for Curtains. Womp.

There were other good things, too. And a really awkward recorded tribute from Julie Andrews that featured her singing a verse of "Not a Day Goes By." It was strange, but hey, she's Julie Andrews.

That's about it, friends! Back on the fundraising trail, looking to get over this 33% hurdle. Oof!

Hope everyone's happy and healthy.

LOVE and Sondheim,

KFine

oh what a beautiful morning

Yup. The cattle didn't move their heads as they saw me walk by, and the corn at the Union Square farmer's market was definitely as high as an elephant's eye. My morning started not with the loud beeping of my alarm clock, but instead with my internal alarm clock saying, "Hey! Hey there! You wanted to wake up 20 minutes ago!" To which I responded, "You know what, body? You're right! Hey thanks! You're not so bad." And promptly got my bootay moving to a great workout with my intellectually challenged but physically fit trainer Christine, who regaled me with thrilling tales of Jersey life...making dinner for her boyfriend's friends (who I imagine look like the cast of Jersey Shore), going out on Saturday, being hungover on Sunday...you know, only the really vital things. But then she told me I looked skinnier, and suddenly all was forgiven. Win #1.

Usually, after training at 7am...that's right friends that's in the morning...I go next door to Think Coffee (best iced coffee in the city) and read for a while before hopping the subway to work, but I'm finished with my book club book and haven't started another, so I decided to stroll to work instead. Now, I've been walking to work for weeks, but when I walk, I walk. There is no dawdling. Hello I'm in training! Today, though, I had some time and the weather is GORGEOUS, so I set out to take the full 50 minutes I had to dawdle to work, instead of the usual 30. It wasn't very difficult to do, as I immediately stumbled upon the Union Square farmer's market. WHAT?! It's ever M/W/F/Sat and I could not be happier about it. In the future, I'll plan out my meals a little better so I can take full advantage of this shmamazing thang, but for today I settled for a taste of homemade raspberry jam and a whole lot of great smells. WIN #2.

Win #3 I guess came before Win #1, but I'm going with it. Serrr American Idiot opened on the big BWay last night, and they released the cast album on the same day (which is insane and AMAZING), so I obvi downloaded it last night. It did NOT disappoint. The album is every bit as kickass as the show, and I love the raw quality of it, as opposed to the over produced albums of today (cough Spring Awakening cough). Anydoodle, this album got me through my workout and my stroll, and occasionally I jammed along embarrassingly. I maybe have listened to it 3 times already. So, it is WIN #3.

Win #4 is best described through pictures....

Oh hey there, Empire State, how you doin?

Tell me that's not the coolest effing thing ever.

A little respite in Bryant Park.

I mean come on, right?! This city, man. It's pretty freaking sweet. Anyway, I've decided to try to make mornings my thing. Even if I don't go to the gym, I think just taking some extra time in the morning can set the pace for a great day. We'll see how long this fight with my snooze button lasts, but it's at least a good thought.

In other news, I haven't fundraised in a week. OOPS. Oh well, this week: mornings, next week: money.

LOVE and sunshine,

KFine

the ladies who brunch

I. Love. Brunch. Moral of this weekend. You can stop reading. But not really.

So I decided Saturday morning to treat myself to brunch at my new fav place, Elephant and Castle (a-thank you Betsy Hogg). I sat in a little corner with my little book and my little coffee, and it was so delightful. I think I've learned to love doing things like that in NYC. Living on the opposite end of the island from most of my friends has allowed me the opportunity to discover the joy of sitting in a restaurant for an hour and a half, subtly eavesdropping on hilarious conversations around me, and enjoying the morning. I think I'm going to make this a weekly thing. We'll see.

After my brunch, I went on one of the longest walks I've been on thus far...totaling about 6.5 miles! I walked all the way down to Battery Park, the southern tip of Manhattan. It looks something like this:

Yup, that's the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. It was a little cloudy and rainy, which I think weeded out some of the tourists, so it was a delightful time down in the Battery (as opposed to up in the Bronx...).

My walk down there was amazing. I love downtown Manhattan. The juxtaposition between the brand new fancy schmance skyscrapers and the super old historical buildings is just really phenomenal. This idea of past and present living side by side is...there's something magical about it. I think this is best exemplified around Ground Zero. I hadn't been there since I became a New Yorker (am I a New Yorker? I feel like I'd get yelled at for using that phrase, but I live here, right??). I got weirdly emotional walking in those surrounding blocks. Just thinking about that day, walking on the same sidewalks where firefighters had run to the scene and others had fled...I'm getting chills just thinking about it. I finally started to understand how huge these towers were and how much this changed New York. I mean I obviously understood it intellectually, but this was on a completely different visceral level.

Anyway, my whole point...across from Ground Zero is St. Paul's Chapel. It looks like this:

This place opened in 1766. 1766. That is 244 years ago. George Washington prayed there after he was inaugurated president. GEORGE WASHINGTON. (side note: this video is hilarious.) Just seeing this combination of new history at Ground Zero literally across the street from some of the oldest history of the United States...it's really incredible. I tried to get the vibe with this pic...the tombstone closest to the camera is a 32 year old woman who died in 1805...

So that was that. It was cool. Then I walked back up the west side along the river, which I will always love. I learned that down at the bottom tip of the island, there are like a billion parks along the west side which was amazing. I can't wait to make picnic baskets and bring them down there this summer. And dammit I'm gonna do it!!

Last night, my friends and I decided I'm going to become a runner. It's going to be a long process, but I'm going to ease myself into it. So today, I went for about a 3.5 mile walk and ran about .75 miles of it. It's something, right? I dunno.

At the end of that run/walk was another brunch, one that was the exact opposite of yesterday's to celebrate a one Jessica McKenna's birth. Lots of friends, lots of food, lots of laughing. Just as yesterday's brunch was a nice reminder of the joys of solitude, this reminded me that I could not be luckier to have such an awesome group of friends in the city.

Discoveries abound this weekend, and tomorrow...CUBS VS. METS!!!!!! I love baseball.

I'd like to leave you with this photo, and I hope you take its advice to heart:

LOVE and well-fed rodents,

KFine

the tale of the allergy ridden week

...the title is a rough take on "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife." Just go with it.

I have not written in almost a week. I am sorry. I don't know who I am apologizing to, besides my mother, but I am sorry, mom. I have been inundated by these things called allergies. I have never had to deal with such discomfort in my LIFE, but thankfully it has not deterred my training. I've braved the itchy watery eye (which turned into pink eye), the scratchy throat, the nasal congestion, all in the name of walking.

On Sunday, I walked down the East-ish side (on Lexington) and discovered, well, it's a lot like the West side...at least from 57th Street down. I did have this delightful New York moment when I reached Grammercy Park...the MOST delightful of respites in the "teen" streets. I was breathing in the pollen-infested air of the park when I glanced over and saw Jimmy Fallon doing the same thing. It made me happy. He is cute.

Speaking of beautiful things, I think my "NYC discovery of the week" would be the sunset on the Hudson River. I get off work while it's still light out now, so I hustled my butt over the the West side to get there in time, and I was NOT disappointed:

the circle line (isn't that what Leo took in Titanic? Oh no that was White Star. Damn.)

ummmm chello beauty.

Like...right?! And they have all of these delightful piers with jungle gyms and such that you can walk out onto...you feel like you're halfway to Jersey! I also found this inscription thing that read "I can sail without wind, I can row without oars, but I cannot part from my friend without tears." It made me cry. Or maybe it was just the wind. But probably not.

Other amazing things experienced this week...the chef salad at westville (followed by the apple pie at westville, which was a HUGE win), an original 5 Napkin Burger, and some 40 Carrots fro yo (the best fro yo in the city, if I do say so myself). I like food. I also like when friends visit so I can have an excuse to go out and eat food, instead of scavenging through my freezer and ending up with a meal of soy nuggets and frozen edamame.

I've also officially reached the 1/3 mark in fundraising! WOO. 33% down, 66% to go. I'm again in awe of the generosity of my friends and family, and hope I do them proud.

I think my favorite part of this entire experience thus far is talking to people about walking and saying the phrase "It's only 100 blocks..." That felt good. I was proud.

Time to get back to tracking the Cubs game...err....working...

LOVE and sunsets.

anyone can walk

I'm about to leave the office to go see Anyone Can Whistle at Encores! starring Donna Murphy (I die.), Raul Esparza (I come back to life to marry him.), and Sutton Foster (Seriously? Don't even get me started. Dead again.). I AM EXCITED.

In other news, I had a delightful walk up 8th Avenue to work today and discovered that, before Madison Square Garden, it's really a delightful Ave! I always dismissed it because once you get to midtown it's pretty lameo, but before then there are some delightful little spots, including my favorite bagel place (with a $2.75 bagel/coffee breakfast special! chello!) and a place called Better Burger. I swear if I could live on burgers alone, I would love it.

Probably my favorite part of the walk, though, was West 4th Street between 7th and 8th. GAH. Gorgeous. It's so strange...those few blocks are so quiet, so calm...you forget you're in the city. It feels a little like Lincoln Park and a lot like home-y-ness. I love. I can't afford, but I love.

As I was walking in that serene delightfulness of an area, I passed by a group of paparazzi gathered at W. 4th and Charles. I got excited at the potential of a Lohan sighting, but also kind of sad for whoever they were waiting for. I mean I was in my workout pants and hoodie with no makeup and my dorky 7th grade backpack on...I was comfy, but I certainly didn't want to end up as a #snapjudgement on Jezebel. (side note: if you don't read Jez, get on it. it's like a classier, sassier Perez...). I imagined myself in a "Stars! They're just like us! They walk to work!" article and shuddered...then tweeted about it.

All in all an eventful couple of miles this morning. Looking forward to another long beautiful walk in the park tomorrow...hopefully this one won't leave me with one of the most awkward farmer's tans...ummm...EVER.

LOVE and celeb gossip,

KFine

a view from the hudson

Welcome to my new improved BLOG! I like this better. I can post pics, you can "follow" me, which I know everyone was DYING to do...all improvements.

Some highlights (bullet point style....mixin it UP) from the past few days:

• Reaching 27% OF MY FUNDRAISING GOAL. WHAT?! THE PEOPLE IN MY LIFE ARE AMAZING.
• My first (and I'm sure not last) step in dog poopy.
• My first (and definitely not last) walk up the Hudson! I walked from my apartment (9th street and 6th ave) over to the water and all the way up to 54th street and 8th ave, which is all in all about four miles. I'll be honest, not a huge fan of this route at night. It gets creepy when no one is around and the walk down the Hudson from my apartment is way prettier and less...citified. Still a delightful time tough.
• downloading the essential michael jackson from iTunes. how have I lived this long without it? It's made this week's walks go by like NOTHING!
• This video:
• Hobnobbing with MK and Ashley Olsen, Justin Bartha, Bradley Cooper, Renee Zel-I-Can't-Spell-Your-Last-Name, Victor Garber, John Lithgow, Julianne Moore, and my fav Jesse Tyler Ferguson, plus tons of other celebs at the Lend Me a Tenor opening. Ahhh so funsies!

I have had a good week, y'all! I want to go back to bullet point on#1 for a sec - I have been fundraising for a grand total of, I don't know, a week and a half, and already have 27% of my fundraising done with 10 donations. WHAT?! I am crying just thinking about how amazing that is. I am so so so lucky to have what I am convinced is the most amazing support system anyone could ever have. I. Die.

OK it is approximately 85 BILLION degrees in my office. Time for some pop.

LOVE and olsen twins,

KFine

wondering about my progress? don't forget to check back here!