Other stuff I have recently come across and liked:

Crepes du Nord This place is the best lunch place ever if you work in the financial district. Shockingly, they serve crepes.

Del Posto Don took us here to celebrate a deal closing and it was amazing. It’s Mario Batali (he does great pasta), we had a five-course meal plus a lot of wine and cocktails. I went with my sister to Babo a while back, which is also Batali, but I thought this place was better. They had this cucumber-flavored gin drink slash concoction that I cannot even describe, but I miss it dearly. You know it’s a nice place when they give you complementary boxes of truffles when you leave. Well, that and the 4-figure bill. Anyway, I was impressed.

Dropbox I’ve been using this for a while now, but I finally upgraded to the paid version because it’s so useful. Simply stated, it’s cloud computing, which basically means that your files are saved on a server somewhere, so it’s accessible anywhere. I tried a number of these types of solutions, but Dropbox was by far the best. It basically syncs all the documents in one folder on each of the computers you link to your account, and it stores the files online in their server as well, so all your stuff is accessible through any web browser as well. It’s great because it’s simple, and it does performs a few functions incredibly seamlessly and correctly. If you have multiple computers you work from, or you just like having access to the contents of your hard drive from anywhere (they have an Android app, so I can get to basically all of my files using my cell phone, too), it’s an incredibly useful application.

Crazy Heart I didn’t think I would like this movie, but I did. It’s nothing fancy, but I liked it.

Justin Bieber I love him. Nah, I’m just kidding, he sucks. Sorry to those with Bieber Fever.

One of my favorite things about being in New York City in a job with fairly little responsibility is that there’s always people coming and going and it’s easy to make time for them and to take weekend trips, too. So, the itinerary for the next month or so –

Next weekend, Daniel, who I haven’t seen in over three years now, is dropping by for a visit. The weekend after, (the fantastically talented) Brooke will be here. The week after, I’m going to Seattle for a cousins’ reunion, minus Caroline, who’s off to China. And the week after that it’s off to Florida to hang out with the Emory/Just Loop It gang at Dan the Man’s place in Sarasota. And then, the following weekend, FINALLY, my sister is coming to visit! Which has been a long time coming — so, it’s shaping up like the next month and a half will pass by pretty quickly.

On a less upbeat note, but still pertaining to the topic of comings and goings, now that our two-year stints are up at the law firm, the old guard will be moving out to be replaced by newer, more bright-eyed and bushy-tailed legal assistants. Today was Peter’s last day which was great for him and sad for us, and it looks like at some point in May, Christina will be leaving the firm, which I know is going to colossally suck for me.

Also, I really need to figure out what I’m going to do about law school. I’m a little (read: very) heartbroken to leave New York, but it just seems way to expensive to stay. Even apart from tuition bills, the cost of living is really hard to justify if I have no income. Honestly, moving was not an easy process for me, not unlike how moving to Atlanta was for college. I feel like I finally created some sort of life here and now it’s time to go. At first I was considering just moving home for the sake of getting out of my job, but due to cost considerations, it makes more sense to just stay, work and only move once when it’s time for school — wherever that may be.  I found that I was actually a relieved to be sticking around a little while longer.

Also, I went to Panama for a week-and-a-half over Thanksgiving and then Texas where it managed to snow the one day I was in Houston. Thanks, Mother Nature. Panama was amazing, except for that one place with bad water that made me break out. Yeech. And I was also tired the first few days — I spoke a lot of Spanish, and I think dredging it out of my memory was surprisingly enervating. However, there was sun, snorkeling and beaches, and I went on a coffee tour, saw dolphins and sloths, met the indigenous people, watched a boat go through the Panama canal locks, went hiking in the mountains, etc., so it was worth it. We also ate a lot of fancy meals and fruit there was so good– I can’t even compare it with the fruit in New York, it’s too depressing.

Anyway, I returned to the dank coldness of the city and managed to get sick. Fast forward two weeks later, I’m all better and now there are inches and inches of lovely power-like snow all over the place. Also, since returning from my trip, I’ve gotten admission into Duke, Georgetown and NYU Law (I’d already gotten into UT in the beginning of November)! (!!!!!) So, I’m excited for law school, but I’m a teeny bit scared of how much work it will be. Regardless, thanks to the happy news, I’m sure it’ll be a very merry holiday season.

Now that law school is close to definite, I’m starting to realize that my time in New York might actually be coming to a close — at least for now. It went by extremely quickly. My two years of indentured servitude to the firm is up in July, so I’ll probably be leaving then or even earlier. Seven months. Weird.

Anyway, other than purchasing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at my handy-dandy Barnes and Noble across the street and going to Pinkberry, I don’t have much else I wanted to do in New York. I even went to a Yankees game the other week! It was Old Timers’ Day so that was interesting in a kind of realizing-your-own-mortality kind of way. It was odd to see all these people who are supposed to be such legends but are now struggling to run across the field. We had fun, but honestly, it was more due to the cracker jacks, peanuts and dippin’ dots (which came in a cool Yankee cap/cup thing. Fun!). Here’s a shot of the stadium:

Oh, and my roommate and I went to this little movie theater called the Ziegfeld Theater to watch Ratatouille. The movie itself was really cute, the theater was an experience in itself. I can’t imagine seeing one of those in Plano – it was decorated like an old-style theater with lots of velvet and red draped curtains. The guy directing you to the theater had a really deep movie-fone voice, and they only had one screen and played one movie at a time. The whole thing was decorated beautifully and ornately, and when the movie started, the curtains parted, etc. Loved the whole experience.

Actually, one caveat, I really wanted to do Shakespeare in the Park, but I never really found anyone else who wanted to do it and didn’t want to go by myself. (And now it’s closed until August.) Ahhh, well. I guess I’ll just have to come back some day.

The downside of working a lot is that it’s hard to do things during the week. I basically have no time whatsoever from Monday through Friday. I actually didn’t do laundry for the first time until this past weekend – I just kept buying more clothes and underwear, no joke. Right afterwards, I went online and bought more stuff from Victoria’s Secret so I could toss the crap I’d purchased from Duane Reade. Yuck.

Instead, I keep most of my social engagements on the weekends so that I don’t end up canceling on people all over the place and feeling like a jerk. Luckily, people have been in and out of New York every weekend so it’s been pretty fun with sooo much good, delicious, savory, flavorful food. For example, Heartland Brewery has really good mini-burgers.

My first weekend after starting work, I spent most of the time with Rita shopping in Soho and checking out little boutiques. At some point, we went out to a little restaurant called the Barking Dog, where we ate outside in this stone fountain area thing. Quite lovely with pretty good food, depending on what you order. Later we went to Cafe Zaiya because they have really great cream puffs. I also got together with Bo and Chen, who are both also working in the city, but we basically walked around, ate at Monster Sushi and ended up going to the Mac store for some reason. Whatever.

Second weekend, Kasey and Jules strolled into town – yay! So, all us IB kids got together again and went to some very, very random Chinese restaurant in (where else) Chi-town and got gelato afterwards in Little Italy. Also, there was this French restaurant later where Bo tried to hit on the waitress. The great thing about hanging out with other Asian people is that we can do family-style food which is always fun. Chen brought some friends and gave me a sew-it-yourself Monster doll — I’m waiting for a time to do it when I can give it the full attention it deserves.

Oh, when I met up with Rita and her friend Chelsea, we went to this really cute restaurant painted in blue that I need to remember to get the name of. We had a really overzealous waitress who listed off specials for at least a couple minutes. It was a little weird. That, and the crepe place (called Crepe Creations) we went to afterwards that had no food. Seriously. We tired to order stuff and each time they said they didn’t have chocolate, or didnt’ have “fluff” whatever that is but it’s in half their menu or whatever else. When they finally had the stuff, they ran out of apples in Rita’s apple crepe and they ran out of whipped creme and substituted powdered sugar on mine. I know the guy was no Mario Batali, but come on – whipped cream and powdered sugar are so not the same thing.

The weekend after that was busy, to say the least. My sister was in town, so we got together with two of her friends, Monica and Theresa, both people from Plano. Also, Rita came in again, but with James and Ben, so of course we have to get together. It’s funny how people always seem to be colliding here — at the same time, both Brown and Beam – Emory people – were in town, too, and they managed to run into Suhas in the subways on the one day she came into town. My sister and I ended up hanging out with her friends during the day and my friends at night, basically. It’s not worth detailing out everything that went down, but it essentially was a really fun weekend. I also went to, like, five really good restaurants that weekend and ate a lot.

RESTAURANTS INCLUDED:
Havana with the Asian crew, New Yeah Shanghi Deluxe as well as Sala with Monica and Geg, Smorgas Chef and Choux Factory thanks to Theresa (and Geg), and finally I think the Emory kids went to Tigerland but I’m not sure. It was good.

My sister managed to miss her flight out three times in a row (okay, twice it was because she was standby, but still.) The last night she was here, we went to a Japanese restaurant near my place, and for dessert, we ordered some banana sushi concoction out of curiosity. After some slight confusion regarding complementary green tea ice cream (I wanted to know where the bananas were) – it was actually really good.

Finally, this past weekend, my fourth weekend in New York, marking my first full month to be in the big city, was Rita’s birthday! Her not-quite-surprise party was held at Gyu-Kaku, and I met a ton of her friends from high school. Justin showed up because he was in town visiting Stephanie, as well as James and Jimmy-James. Justin ditched us to go to a ballet. Uncool, man. Uncool. Chaussie was also in town for Rita’s 21st, so we all hung out afterwards (Halal on 53rd and 6th, Dylan’s Candy Bar and the ever-reliable Jamba Juice), as Rita went out and got crunk with her high school people.

Anyway, that’s my story up until this point. I have half and hour before work starts, so off to breakfast. Ciao!

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I’ve been here for roughly two weeks now, give or take a few days. I’m living with three other girls – Becca, Allie and my roommate Ashton – in mid-town Manhattan. I think they grouped us by major because we’re all marketing people, which worked out pretty well. They’re fun, lovely girls so we all get along pretty well.

So, I haven’t posted in about two weeks because a) my site was having some issues that were finally (FINALLY!) resolved last night, and also b) because I’ve been too. damn. busy. No joke, I’m exhausted, but the good kind of exhausted. Anyway, I’m going to detail the past month here just because I know I’ll wish I’d done it if I look back in a couple years. So, here goes:

Alright, so right after moving in, it was freaking hot. I thought there was no air conditioning (incorrect) and just lived in this sort of disgusting heat for about two days until Ashton moved in and turned it on. Dorm Room 1, Jennifer 0. Fine. I concede. Anyway, because of the heat, I wanted to get out as much as possible (and plus I’d forgotten a bunch of stuff), so I went on my own personal shopping spree and basically cleaned out any last money I had. I bought about 4 dresses and various other pretty things and necessities.

I also had to pick up a computer mouse and a laptop lock so I walked to the nearest Best Buy and by some weird twist of fate ran into two people I knew from Emory, Ben and Chaussie! Except I hadn’t showered yet, had been rained all over and had been sweating for hours. Not flattering. But anyway, it was nice to see familiar faces.

Slowly, the roommates started to show up – they’re all really pretty and tall, which was intimidating at first – so that was exciting with a hint of deja vu from freshman year. We were all look, oh, did you see the cute guy on 21st? etc. etc. which is a familiar line (substitute 21st with 2nd) from three years ago. Ahh, memories of Alabama Hall.

Oh yeah, I was also afraid of the subway the days before work started (after that, I had no choice to enter the fray of the underground in order to prevent being late to work) so I ended up doing a lot of walking. I’m talking like 5 miles a day at LEAST. The third day in New York, I climbed out of bed in the morning and fell on the ground. Nowadays, I can scale 24 flights of stairs and not feel a thing the next day. I am superwoman. Muahaha. More later.

Just kidding. Okay, but seriously, I paid for my housing for this summer! I found out a week or so ago that I’d gotten an internship at Ogilvy & Mather (I’m so excited!), which is the advertising agency that I hope to work for someday. It’s the 10th largest agency worldwide (5th in the U.S.) with clients such as Dove, BP, IBM, Kodak, and so forth. I won’t know which account I’m working on until I get there, but I would love (love) to work on the Dove or Kodak accounts.

Anyway, Ogily is located on 8th Avenue in mid-town Manhattan (309 W. 49th Street, New York, NY 10019), so I booked a place that was just a couple streets down (intersection of 3rd Ave. and 55th Street). It’s going to be back to college, dorm-styled living, as opposed to my lovely apartment which I will miss, but honestly, I’m just happy to be there.

Being the dork that I am, I came up with lovely excel chart, listing out all my options before finally deciding on the one I wanted. See?

Unfortunately, even with the excessive planning, I’m still going to be broke off my ass because doing anything in New York is ridiculously expensive, which means I either need to bankrupt my parents or find another job for the next two months. What to do? Also, I’ll be turning 21 during my internship, so I’ll need to party it up NYC-style that weekend. Yay!