Rhianna Banana

New job

Pierre and I both started new jobs in September. I am the "Environmental Interpreter" at Old Westbury Gardens. I think that title is pretty long, so I usually refer to myself as the "Environmental Educator" or "Education Coordinator".

Old Westbury Gardens is a historic house and gardens that is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was once the home of John Phipps and his family. It has been open to the public since 1959 and docents offer tours daily to the house and gardens. Many movies and tv shows have been filmed there, like North by Northwest, the Age of Innocence, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar, 8MM, the remake of the Manchurian Candidate, Cruel Intentions, Hitch, Wolf, Love Story, American Gangster, and an episode from Sex and the City. Also, the final wedding scene from Kal Ho Naa Ho was filmed there. Apparently there were a lot of fans of Shahrukh Khan who showed up and tried to sneak on the set to wave at him or get a glimpse of him. Shahrukh Khan is a big movie star. I think he is like the Tom Cruise of Bollywood. As some might recall, Rakhi taught my Peace Corps friends and I the Mahi Ve dance from that movie.

Old Westbury Gardens is also a common spot for wedding photography. The above picture is of the West Pond, with a wedding party just visible in the background.
Here is a picture of the gigantic 150 year old American beech that shades the west porch, right next to Westbury House.

Pierre's new job is with the Natural Resources Defense Council. He is their clean technology analyst, working on renewable energy and energy efficiency. He has his own blog on their website, devoted to energy issues. Pierre is really enjoying his job. He likes the work that he is doing and his co-workers and supervisors are great. Three family (or extended family) members have worked at NRDC so far, which is pretty cool.
An all important polliantor doing its job in the Garden.
Another wedding party in the Walled Garden. The Walled Garden is an Italian Renaissance Garden. It is an herbaceous, perennial garden with a fountain and a lotus pond. The displays in there are changing constantly. In May, there will be thousands of tulips. Right now there are mostly mums.
View from the north entrance into the Walled Garden.
I think Pierre saw this pretty flower in the Walled Garden.
Another picture from the Walled Garden.
Central fountain in the Walled Garden.
The spider flower. I like to point this plant out to the kids, since they can see that the plant does look like it has spider legs.
More pretty flowers, probably from the Walled Garden.
Lotus Pond in the Walled Garden. There are lots of goldfish and frogs in here.
Final picture of the Walled Garden!
Front driveway of Westbury House.
Another shot of the American beech and the West Porch.
The interior of the house is decorated with antiques and art work.

I am also volunteering at the Bronx Zoo on Saturdays when I can and volunteering at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). I work full days at the Reptile House, helping to feed, water and care for the animals in their collection. The AMNH work is mostly stuff on the computer that I can do from home. The perks for volunteering are great! The only problem is that I have less free time than I would like. I am not blogging as much as I used to.

For example, I have been meaning to blog about something that happened in the beginning of September, and I haven't been able to do that until now! When my friend Carrie visited Pierre and I in New York City, we decided to see if we could get tickets to the Colbert Report. We waited in the standby line and got in, which was super exciting. I knew the schedule of the show, since I had gone to one taping earlier in the summer (I am not a stalker). I knew that before the show started, Stephen Colbert would come speak to the audience out of character. This was our chance to ask him questions. I was too shy to ask him the first time I went to the show, but I was ready to ask him something this time if I could.

When he came over to our section, I shot up my hand and he called on me! He said, "Yes, young lady?" And I said "What's your favorite dance move?" He said "This" and then he threw up one arm and kicked back one leg, and said "Now I've probably broken my spine demonstrating that to you". It was magnificent. Me and my crush connected. Communicated. Shared a moment together. And Carrie and Pierre were there to witness it! Carrie said I did a very good job asking my question =)
Last month I bought myself a stylish Stephen Colbert bookbag. Isn't it wicked cool?!?!

posted by Unknown @ Sunday, September 21, 2008