What is fulfillment anyways?

Yet another week of NYC living down- only 2 more to go! And the countdown begins...

Well, before an annoying countdown I guess I could recount the past week. Wednesday and Thursday were just your regular days slaving away at the office (HA), but I saw Promises Promises on Wednesday and American Idiot for the second time on Thursday. I thought Promises' book and music were dated and flimsy, but no one is better at physical comedy and just comedic timing in general than Sean Hayes. His voice is palatable at best, but he had me laughing out loud several times, so I will give him his kudos. Kristin Chenoweth...where do I begin? I was so pumped to see her live, and honestly I felt let down by her performance. She is totally miscast in this role.. I mean Kristin is 20? A doe eyed waitress who has no clue about her surroundings? She sings "Say A Little Prayer For You?" It just didn't fit for me, plus she cracked up at Sean during one scene and couldn't get it together enough to finish an acoustic song. I mean, I know shes Kristin Chenoweth and she could probably walk on stage in her PJs and give the audience the middle finger and they would go crazy, but come on. People paid damn good money for tickets to the show and the least she could do is be professional enough to finish her songs. Anywho, American Idiot was just as fabulous the second time around (Stark Sands, dump your fiance and marry me?) and I cannot for the life of me get the music out of my head.

After a long week and a weird insomnia attack on Thursday, I was just not feeling work on Friday so I played hooky for some desperately needed me time. It is a weird feeling to never be alone, and I am a person who seriously enjoys their personal time. So, I slept late, caught up on my shows, got food and eventually went to see Inception (WTF happened?). One thing I like about New York is that women have this fierce, independent attitude. I truly did not feel weird going to a movie solo here, and I know I wasn't the only stag female in the theater. I like that women here are like what? You think we need a man to go to our favorite restaurant? No sir, party of one please. New York women do not go to the bathroom in groups. They are busy running companies and families and when they get time to themselves, they do what they want when they want and I admire that. Gerri finally arrived after a series of delays around 12:30 and we went to bed in preparation for her 2 day NYC intensive.

Saturday was about as much New York as you could possibly fit into one day. We woke up early, had breakfast at the local diner and found our way via subway (which Gerri actually thought was exciting) to the TKTS booth at South Street Seaport. Now, word on the street is that the line there is way shorter than the one in Times Square, and while it was shortER, short is not the word I would use to describe the line. It was easily 95 degrees and the line took about an hour, but we were going to get discounted theater tickets if it gave us heat stroke, dammit (it almost did). Finally we got our American Idiot tickets (don't judge me, it was her choice!) and shopped around a little before heading to SoHo. We had a great time traipsing around SoHo, Chinatown and Little Italy. We found an adorable lamp for our apartment and both indulged in a little retail therapy. After a long and sweaty morning/early afternoon, we went back to my apartment to shower and change for dinner and the show. We ate at this adorable Japanese restaurant called Haru, and me and Ger had a lovely romantic date amongst the tree branches drenched in twinkling white Christmas lights. After dinner we got to the theater, found out our seats were all the way to the right in the front mezzanine, and then scooted all the way to the center when 5 minutes into the performance, our row was still nearly empty. Another great performance by the cast (and I think I can now do most of the choreography) and it was great taking Ger to her first Broadway and original cast experience. Once the show was over, there was one thing left to do...go to Max Brenner, obviously. We had an enormous peanut butter, chocolate and banana sundae and topped off our first real night in NYC the right way.

Today we let ourselves sleep in a little and then decided to venture uptown to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We got off the subway and were accosted by an H&M, so after a brief shopping stint we made our way to the museum. I have never been to the museum before and I was expecting it to be boring and stuffy, but it was really breathtakingly beautiful. It is also huge, so we wandered around and saw some Picassos and other art that Gerri knows much more about than me, and then finally reached the fashion exhibit we had come to see. It's called American Woman and is all about the evolution of style and the way style expresses the political tones of the time. There were stunning original pieces from the late 1800s up until the 1940s. The clothes were fantastic, and in the last room there was a video display of influential style icons from the 1800s until Gaga. It was an amazing exhibit and if you are going to be in NYC before August 15th, it is definitely something worth seeing. After the museum we headed to Rockefeller Center and I decided Gerri had to experience Saks 5th Avenue for herself. We had fun sifting through the racks, but both came out empty handed (my wallet breathed a sigh of relief). We browsed around 5th Avenue for a little longer and then came back to my neighborhood to get pedicures since our feet were filthy and aching from a long weekend of walking. Ger's flight was at 8, so I took her to a goodbye dinner at my absolute favorite restaurant I've been to in New York, Trattoria Belvedere. She experienced the pure joy that is this outrageously good italian restaurant, and then it was time to say goodbye. It was so much fun having her in the city this weekend- there is a reason we have been best friends for almost ten years now. I also surprised myself with how well I can navigate the city after being here only about a month- no accidental trips to other boroughs for us!

So tomorrow it is back to work for what is most likely my last week. I can't really say I am sad to go... I mean I won't repeat my previous posts and say how much I am looking forward to home and Gainesville. Instead, I have a little digression about fulfillment. These are just my personal musings, so feel free to stop reading here. I always thought that I am the type of person who will find total fulfillment in a career. I have always been type A, the leader of every group project and in my mind this equated to being a rockstar in the boardroom. I think this is just me being bitter about my internship not turning out quite as I hoped, but at this moment in time I am really questioning my idea of fulfillment. Will going into an office everyday, slaving way on the bottom rungs of the communications corporate ladder for years until someone finally notices me fulfill me? It's entirely possible, but my mind has just been running with all of these other ideas that I never seriously considered before. Maybe being an entrepreneur would be more fulfilling? Or maybe a family is all the fulfillment I'll need? I truly don't know what will make me happy in the long run, and it is a scary to not have a clear plan. Especially because I really like plans. It is just hard to think you know exactly what you want to do, and then be confronted with the fact that maybe what you want to do kind of sucks. While it is unnerving to be so unsure about the future, I feel like after this summer I am a lot more open to what I can be. Maybe just because I enjoy writing and media and consider myself a people person doesn't mean my calling is strictly to work in a PR firm. Maybe these skills will serve me in a way I have no idea about yet. Sorry to get bogged down in the philosophical, but maybe someone who reads this has insight about this whole mess?

Thanks for bearing with me.

Countdown: 14 days

I'm moving to the Hamptons

Hello dedicated followers (well, Gerri is technically my only follower but I am hoping more people than her read this!). I have tons to talk about since I haven't updated since last Wednesday, so let's get down to business.

On Thursday I had the most outrageous theater experience to date- sitting second row at the one and only Rock of Ages. Mind you, I had low expectations for this 80s throwback since my astute fellow interns had used the words "degrading" and "embarassing" when describing their personal experiences at the show. When Katherine and I took our seats and saw the already have-sloshed women and men in their mid 40s surrounding us, drinking their Coors Lights and clearly reliving their glory days, I knew we were in for a true SHOW. Ok, to be honest, I thought the cast of the show was wildly vocally talented and really did justice to the iconic music, but Jesus Christ could a costume mistress use any less material? The women in the show were portraying slutty baristas/ actual strippers so I guess the teeny bras and thongs were "in character?" Who I am to judge, but I will say the view from the second row was...something. The one thing I will never forget about Rock of Ages is that I have never felt so much energy from an audience. People were standing up and dancing, screaming things at the actors, throwing up the "rock star" sign left and right and singing along to the music a little too loudly. While this atmosphere may not be my top choice for a Broadway production, it really made me smile to see people just purely enjoying theater, albeit trashy theater. The show really was hilarious and as long as you're not looking for theatrical genius, Rock of Ages is worth checking out for a good time.

After my rockin' Thursday night, I had a ridiculously early wake up call since I was going to Good Morning America! Josh had flown in late Thursday and on Friday he was at my dorm by 6:30 a.m., a time I never like to see on my cell phone/alarm clock/anywhere. He brought me breakfast (awww) and I got ready so me, Josh and Ricki could catch a cab to be at GMA by 7:40. We made it to Central Park and got banded as VIP's, which meant we got to be right up front by the stage. The cast of American Idiot gave an awesome, heartfelt performance and you could really see how excited they all were to be on such a huge TV show and be performing in a more concert-like setting. I may have stuck out a little in my sundress and flats among all the angsty teens in their black tees and shredded converse, but make no mistake- I rocked out nonetheless. After the GMA performance, I headed back to work for a little while, went home and packed up and then me and Josh caught a train to the Hamptons with my Uncle Marty.

I have been to the Hamptons many times before, but this weekend was one of the most relaxing and enjoyable experiences I've had. I think at different points during Friday night, me and Josh both said how happy we were to be in such a beautiful place with eachother and how we both would love to own a homey beach house out there one day. You see, Friday night was the beginning of my Aunt Randy's friend's annual birthday extravaganza weekend called "Mambo." Her friend, Richie, owns several super successful restaurants in NYC and Las Vegas and likes to gather his closest friends one weekend a year to celebrate. So, Friday kicked off the weekend with a clambake on this picturesque beach in South Hampton. There were tables settled in the sand, tiki lamps, fresh lobster, s'mores over a real bonfire and an open bar; life couldn't get much better. I had the best time just being with Josh and my family from sunset until midnight. The night even ended with fireworks! That night made me so happy and me and Josh both said we would love to start a tradition like that with our friends since we are often spread all over the place.

Saturday we spent lounging by the pool (well, I lounged and Josh played all sorts of crazy pool games with my cousins). I started not to feel so hot, so after a lot of sun I took a good nap and then that night was the main Mambo party at Richie's house. Since he owns tons of restaurants, the food was obviously delicious and everyone at his party was so gracious. It was great to spend time with my cute little cousins and get to have some meaningful conversation with my aunt and uncle. I think the highlight of the evening was watching the only other college kids there start a game of beer pong and then have to explain the game to every adult and child under the age of 16. The little kids thought this game was hilarious and tried to play their own "sprite" version, while the adults got in on the action and claimed there are a lot more rules to beer pong than when they were in college. It was another wonderful Hamptons evening.

Sunday is unfortunately when my you-live-in-a-dorm-and-your-immune-system-sucks cold kicked in. I was feeling really crappy but I took some meds (I should own stock in Advil Cold and Sinus) and headed into town with my Aunt. We had a great time just walking around the (overpriced) shops. We both struck out in the purchasing department (I am ashamed) but it was nice to have some one-on-one girly time. I had left Josh to play more physically exhausting pool games with my cousins so by the time I got back to the beach house, he was pooped. We got cleaned up and had to board the Jitney back to the city. It was one of my favorite weekends in NY by far, and I'm excited to go back to the Hamptons both in the next few weeks and in the distant future. Me and Josh grabbed some Mexican once we were back in the city, watched some Top Chef and passed out.

On Monday I was still feeling pretty gross, but Josh and I went to the diner around the corner and had a goodbye breakfast. We pretty much just hung around the apartment until he had to leave, and I was really sad to see him go yet again. Josh is the one person I can do anything with; I have an equally good time going to a fancy party or just lying in my bed watching TV, and when he leaves I kinda feel like a little piece of me goes with him. But we will both suck it up for the next few weeks since the kid has more frequent flyer miles from this summer than anyone ever should. Today was just another day in the office...my mom always said if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything so...we will leave it at that. I have to just focus on the perks (tickets! GMA!) and not on the hours I spend doing nothing.

This weekend Gerri comes to visit me finally!! I am super excited to give her a quick intro to New York. The weekend after my family will be up here (minus Em and my dad) and I will get to see them all week and then head to Jeffrey's wedding! Lots to look forward to. The next few weeks will go quickly I'm sure and they are full of fun stuff, but I am excited to go home and get set up for school. I am finally thrilled to be going back to Gainesville and this little homesick baby is ready for some familiar lovin'. I can't wait to be back at GCP and go to Bento! Haha. This city is a whirlwind and exciting but it really tests you and I don't think I'm ready to pass yet. And after a few weeks in the full-time working world, college sounds so, so sweet. Papers? Sure. Midterms? No problem. Just let me wake up at 10 a.m., wear sweatpants anywhere I want and have drinks be less than $10!

Until next time :)

I think I'll just stay in college, thanks.

Hello again everyone! I wish on this update I had some crazy fun stories to regale, but unfortunately my internship is slowly turning into a fun-sucker and I STILL don't have a fake ID, so you will have to hear about work days and good food- the substance of my days here.

On Sunday Ricki and I decided it would be a grand idea to head downtown and do some shopping at cute little boutiques. One ten dollar cab ride and a few seriously confused looks later, and we realized almost none of the shops were open on Sundays. Epic fail for us. Instead of giving up, heading home and saving money, we decided the next best thing would be to go to Saks on 5th Avenue. I have never been there before in my life and all I can say is...holy shit. It is as fabulous/pretentious/expensive as you imagine. We scoured the whole 5th floor and after digging through the "sale" racks, I found two amazing black sweaters that look like blazers. The BCBG Max Azria and Juicy sale racks hooked it up and I was able to get both gorgeous sweaters for under $150! My mom would be so proud and love my classic chic sensibility :) After something I can only refer to as Ricki's vest debaucle, we left the store 3 hours later with lighter wallets and big smiles. That night I met up with my Aunt Janet, Uncle Mark, Jacquie and Aaron for dinner by the water in Battery Park and it was quite lovely. I came back to midtown, went to a quick meeting about being a marketing intern for UofDreams during the school year (it is paid!! me? making money? it's a miracle!) and headed to bed in anticipation of the thrilling work week.

These past three days at work have no need to be broken down or highlighted because I can sum them up in one word: nothing. I have literally done as close to nothing as possible, and it's not for lack of trying or asking. I come in the morning, do my clips, take care of the social media, ask if anyone needs anything and then...that's it. I don't understand why a company would hire interns and then not assign them anything. Not even simple office assignments; literally nothing. Sometimes it feels like I am in detention with the other interns because we are in a small little room at a wooden table with two laptops and we are just supposed to entertain ourselves until someone decides they need us to google something. It is definitely frustrating and I am just hoping it is an uncharacteristically slow week or I may go insane before the next 3 weeks are up. I wasn't expecting anything glamorous and I know every day isn't going to be like last Friday, but still. You just take the good with the boring. Oh the joys of working for free.

While work may have been rather sucky, my Monday and Tuesday nights were not! On Monday me, my roommates, Lexi and Chanel went to Butter, a trendy American restaurant down on Lafayette street. It's NYC Restuarant Week, which means tons of expensive restaurants offer pre-fixe menus for $35 that include an appetizer, entree and dessert. It is so awesome. Butter was beautiful and hip, and I had the most delicious shrimp and corn chowder, short ribs, chocolate buttercream cake with caramel and coconut tea. Out of control delicious and a lovely night. On Tuesday, I met up with Gary aka TBone, Debbie Jacobson's brother. We went to Koi, an asian restaurant in the Bryant Park Hotel. It was quite a scene and it was so fun to catch up with him. Tonight I am staying in and having a rockin' evening of laundry and relaxation! Sounds lame but it is much needed. I cannot WAIT until this weekend when Josh is back and we get to head out to the Hamptons! Some sun, good food, family and parties- it should be great.

I know I came to NYC for my internship and to be independent but after everything this summer, I am living for the days I get to be with familiar faces. I used to crave the unknown and I always was feeling like the next adventure was going to be the best, but I am starting to feel like this IS the adventure. I'm already in it. Being with my family, having Josh in my life and going to a school in a place that I have finally learned to love is enough right now.. I need to relax and appreciate Gainesville and all the familiar things I love about it. I videochat with my brother and sister and I see all my friends still at my house all the time, and it makes me feel so happy and so homesick at the same time, and I am not usually one for any homesickness. Like I've said before, I am a big fan of NYC but for the first time in a long time I'm not looking so far into the future. I don't want to grow up and think about a job and all of that. I want to enjoy right now, my life as a 20 year old, and that is my goal for this coming year.

Sorry for the delay!

I shouldn't wait so long between these posts! The only way to really delve into this week is to break it down by day, so bear with my extremely 3rd grade format.

Tuesday:

Work was pretty unremarkable, the same old clippings and pretending to look busy on the computer while desperately hoping someone would give me something to do/take me wherever they are always disappearing to. Tuesday was seminar night and Eric Lochtefeld, the CEO of UofDreams was speaking. I had emailed him to see if we could meet for coffee sometime while he was in town so I could personally thank him and pick his brain a little, but he didn't end up having time to meet with me. I ended up chatting with him for a little while before the seminar started, and he is really an awesome guy. He is the one who signed off on my free housing extension and the one who granted me the scholarship this summer in the first place. His seminar was in a Q & A format, and I came away from the seminar having so much respect for him. He gave up a lucrative career as a corporate sponsorship guy for huge concerts like Warped Tour to pursue his dream of helping college students. He was $200,000 in debt and everyone told him to forget all this craziness, but he knew he had a good idea and it was just a matter of time before it worked out. His words really got to me when he talked about his best friend, his cousin Beth, being murdered but how he knew he had to carry on in her memory. He said that circumstances can't dictate your life- they change your path and challenge you to give up but that is the easy way out. I'm trying not to let my circumstances totally alter everything I wanted to achieve this summer, but it is a lot harder than I thought it would be. Eric talked about how he strives to have the best company culture possible, which includes funding one "dream" for every employee a year, company vacations, college funds for expectant employees and so much more. I admire him a heck of a lot and I hope I end up working for a company as impressive and supportive as his.

Wednesday:

We got off work a tad early and I met Ricki and Kristin for dinner at Co., a trendy Italian place. I am really into olives/olive oil recently (I know, don't judge and no I'm not pregnant) and this place had amazing olives for an appetizer. We all got pricey but delicious individual pizzas and then thought hey, we already are spending too much money for a Thursday night dinner so let's get wine and dessert. One warm chocolate chip walnut cookie and cold glass of milk later, I didn't regret the decision. It was a chill night and I enjoyed just relaxing and having a good meal not on 23rd street. (thanks Ricki for the reminder)

Thursday:

Thursday was the first series of Broadway in Bryant Park, which my office helps put on. Since the shows performing (Promises Promises and In the Heights) weren't my shows, I didn't get to help out but I got to watch. It was cool to see such a huge crowd in Bryant Park, and I'm excited for when my shows perform and I get to go backstage with the talent and all that. After work I attempted the Wicked lotto with Ricki, which was an epic fail yet again, and then headed downtown to meet up with Lisa and Erin for dinner. We went to this adorable tiny restaurant called Po and had an awesome meal. I really think if I lived here I would eat my way through this city. There are so many delicious restaurants and not enough time/cash! After I checked out Erin's apartment (adorable with a HUGE bedroom and endless Ikea influences) and walked around the neighborhood, I decided I am in love with the West Village. It is so quaint and young and hip and celeb studded and artsy and cute. Note to self: make enough money to live in West Village.

Friday:

Friday was THE BEST WORK DAY EVER. At least so far, but it is gonna be tough to top. I got up extra early to meet Leslie and Alyssa in Central Park for a production meeting. American Idiot is going to be performing on Good Morning America next week, 7/16, and I got to go to the huge production meeting for it! I asked to go so persistence and being nosy/listening to phone calls pays off! I met the director, producers, music directors, asst. choreographer, general manager and I don't even know who else for American Idiot along with a big chunk of the production team for GMA. They spent a majority of the meeting talking about the songs they should perform, how much of the cast was needed, logistics for sound and set, the promotions that should be done and all sorts of other details. It was super hot because since there were so many people at the meeting, we had it outside on the "deck" between the green room trailers, but it was awesome just to be around that many influential people. I also saw the top 10 American Idol finalists since they had just finished taping! It is funny to me to see how similar theater people in the working world are to theater kids in high school and college. Chatty, gossipy, over-the-top, big personalities and a whole lot of creativity. This is hilarious and makes it extremely hard to get anyone to agree on anything. The meeting was more preliminary than anything, and I know most of the details are getting ironed out in phone conferences I won't be a part of, but it was still seriously cool. Alyssa, Leslie and I cabbed back to the office where they were on the phone the rest of the morning, aka I helped out the other interns and entertained myself online. Then, around 2 Alyssa asked if I could help her out with an interview with a swing for Rock of Ages. I had to think about it since I was so swamped, but in the end I agreed. We headed to the theater where I met/ chatted with Michael (the swing) about UF and heard a little about his upcoming project called Fat Camp. It is going to be a musical heading to Broadway in hopefully a year, and they just casted the workshop and already have interests from film companies to make a movie version. It sounds pretty exciting. The interview was a random tidbit for NY.com about Rock of Ages and didn't take too long, and then I got to head home at 3 since my office does summer Fridays! I have been feeling a little homesick, nostalgic, what have you this week so I decided last minute to hop a train to Islip to spend the night with my Aunt Janet and Uncle Mark. It was a weird coincidence that my cousin Jacquie was heading to Islip last night too, so we rode out together. It was so nice to go out there and have dinner around the table and chat about Jacquie's wedding plans (she is newly engaged). It made me feel a little better and closer to home.

Saturday:

I took a 1 o clock train back to the city because I had tickets for a Sex and the City Bus Tour of NYC! It was a really fun way to basically get a fashion tour of the city. We drove all over the place and saw clips of the show followed by the actual locations in NYC. Our tour guide was witty and cute, and she ended up being an aspiring actress from Coral Springs. Jewish geography strikes again. We got free cupcakes, saw some cool landmarks and shops I MUST go back to, and overall it was a nice way to spend a cloudy and kinda dreary afternoon. I came back from the tour and went to dinner at the diner around the corner with Ricki, and now I am sitting here blogging. I am honestly still tired from a whirlwind weekend with Josh and the work week, so I am gonna try to turn in early and finally sleep in a little. I get frustrated with myself sometimes that I am not doing and seeing everything I could be, but to be honest I am a little physically and a lot mentally exhausted. I don't regret coming back but it is hard to be so far from my siblings, my dad and Josh when I just want to cry or reminisce. The work week is always easier because I am so busy I barely have time to dwell on things, but this weekend has been hard and I've never really felt so out of control of my emotions. I know it comes with the territory of the last month, but it still is frustrating. NYC is great and I genuinely love this city and want to come back, but when I come back I hope it'll be with more members of my support system and when I am in a different and better place in my life. I just have to push through the next few weeks and then I will be back to the college grind and my comfort zone, which doesn't sound bad at all.

The Fourth: A Review

This long weekend was the best/happiest I've been in a while. Four days of freedom with Josh in my favorite city can't ever be a bad thing (pardon the unecessary alliteration).

Friday:

Josh met me at my apartment around 10:30 a.m. and we began our adventure (aka expensive cab ride) to the upper west side. I planned a trip to Zabars so we could be good Jews and get yummy food to take on a picnic to Central Park. We picked up some fruit, sandwiches and obviously a cupcake and headed to the park. I could not have paid Gd for more beautiful weather- it was like 75 degrees, sunny with a breeze. We ate and just lounged around, and eventually we ended up taking an impromptu half hour nap (luckily, we didn't get robbed while unconscious). It was the perfect way to start an afternoon, and in this day dedicated to Josh's belated birthday, the next logical step was to go to the NBA store. Josh actually purchased an outfit (I know, sorry I didn't warn you to sit down first) and I had to get Zachy a present. After our shopping pitstop, we came back to my apartment to shower and get ready for dinner and American Idiot! We went to S'mac for dinner, a kitschy restaurant near Union Square that only serves 10 kinds of mac and cheese. Josh was in heaven, and I liked it but it didn't rock my world. However, the vanilla buttercream cake from Amy's Bread we had after dinner DID rock my world in a crazy way. At this point, our fatasses waddled over to the St. James Theater to get into our THIRD ROW seats for the show. I was not expecting genius or anything close to it, but that is really what we got with this show. The cast was energetic and the perfect amount of angsty, and their voices suited the music perfectly. It was also the most visually stunning show I have ever seen- the entire stage is covered in scandalous newspaper articles and there are 25 tv screens that play news clips and visual art through out the show. The lighting was out of control and I just cannot say enough good things about the show- if you are in NYC, please support this awesome young cast and see American Idiot because you will not be disappointed.

Saturday:

Saturday held the one event I had been looking forward to the most: the Yankees game. We left at 11:30 and, as expected, it was already about 100 degrees when we got to our terrible bleacher seats directly in the sun. Even Josh couldn't take the heat for too long, and by the 4th inning we had moved to the first level to watch standing in the shade. We saw the grand slam and ended up leaving around the 5th-6th inning-turns out nothing exciting happened after we left anyway since we left the score 11-2 Yankees and the final score was 11-3. After we got back to my apartment, I took Josh to Pinkberry (overrated in my opinion) and he helped me go grocery shopping (he carried the bags). We went to this amazing and really quaint Italian place I found online for dinner- I highly recommend Trattoria Belvedere on Lexington between 30 and 31st. I had the best mozzarella and tomato salad of my life, and the pesto shrimp risotto was to die for. After some deliberation we decided Saturday was the night for Max Brenner. Simply amazing, I should be banned from there because I would go every night for dessert. Josh and I had a great time just having so much time to ourselves, something we don't get much of during school or at home. Nice to know after three years we can still have great conversation and enjoy just the two of us.

Sunday:

Sunday had been in contention for a while, but we finally decided that the Hamptons for one night was too much of a schlep and we would go there another time. So instead of boats and watersports, we went with Josh's idea of Coney Island and hot dogs. In theory it sounded like a lot of fun...in reality, not so much. It is almost an hour ride on the subway and it was crazy packed with serious weirdos/ angry asian Kobyashi fans. Add in 100 degree weather and no cloud cover and you get a cranky Sarah. I sucked it up for 2 hours so Josh could watch the contest and get some Nathan's hotdogs and then we got the heck out of there. So we came home, had to peel off sweaty clothes and shower/change for the 397540 time this weekend and then we went to meet up with Josh's friends from school in SoHo. Luckily, it turned out to be Josh's friend and his girlfriend and another couple, so the girls did a little shopping while the boys caught up. Then we went to Lombardi's for dinner and it was delicious! Super fresh wood fired pizza. After dinner we all split up and me and Josh grabbed some gelato and then headed to the Hudson to watch the fireworks. The whole west side was a zoo but the fireworks were worth it. They were so beautiful and right up close, and I'm really glad we battled the crowds and had a great view. The walk home...well, we won't get into that (sorry Josh!). We were so exhausted from all the walking/ sun we had had the past few days, we got home and passed out.

Monday (today):

Today we took a little breather and went to brunch with Josh's aunt and uncle from Jericho. It was really nice of them to take us out and they pointed out a lot of stuff they think I should do before I leave the city since they used to live here. The rest of the afternoon Josh and I relaxed, packed, got him a slice of NY pizza AGAIN, and said goodbye. It sounds so lame but he really is my best friend and its so much better having him around, but hopefully I can convince him to grace NYC and me with his presence one more time this summer. Now I'm just doing much needed laundry and relaxing before works starts up again tomorrow. Hope everyone's holiday weekend was fantastic!

Everybody's Working for the Weekend

My first week of work has come to an end! It hasn't been quite what I expected but I really can't complain. I'll break it down into days for you:

Tuesday- I can't really remember much about the work day, so it must not have been such an exciting time. Started off with press clippings, tweeting, blogging, facebooking, etc. However, our office did win a free lunch from Chipotle from getting our business card pulled out of the bowl, so that was a big plus. After work I met up with my roommates at Palladium, another bigger NYU dorm where the dining hall is and where they hold seminars. I'll admit I was ready for Tuesday's seminar to be a snoozefest, but Heather Hale really impressed me. Heather is a movie producer in Hollywood who just finished her first feature, and she is world reknowned for being a networking enthusiast/expert. She had great stories and really stressed the importance of forming relationships and allying yourself with people who have common goals or interests. For example, she was trying to get a software written with some business partners and they needed over a million dollars; instead they researched and found a coding company looking to diversify, and they ended up funding the whole thing. She showed us that a Microsoft study has also proven the whole six degrees of Kevin Bacon theory- you are only about six contacts away from anyone you could possibly want to meet, the point of this being that your dream job or perfect boss or love of your life is not as elusive as you think. If you keep making contacts and helping people so that they are happy to help you when you need it, you are just lessening the degrees between you and whoever it is that will change your life. If you ever hear of Heather Hale, check her out!

Wednesday- Work was same old until the whole Constantine-impregnated-his-costar news hit in the afternoon. I'm on the team that represents his show, Rock of Ages, so needless to say my bosses were not in a very great mood. I pretty much did office stuff all day, filing house seat requests for the press and taking care of all the social media. After work I met Ricki at the amazing Forever 21, which turned out to be a poor decision on our part because we realized at 7:15 we were starving and had a show to catch at 8. We ended up inhaling Applebees (NEVER AGAIN) since it was right next to the theater and making the show just in time. We saw Sherie Renee Scott in Everyday Rapture and I thought it was fantastic. It is essentially a one woman show and Sherie managed to keep everyone cracking up for 90 minutes despite the slightly random music. I didn't care because she sang My Strongest Suit, my favorite go-to audition song since like 9th grade, so I can die happy now. All in all was a solid night.

Thursday (today)- Today was the best day at work by far. It was a routine morning followed by an awesome lunch in Bryant Park with my fellow interns Rachel and Allison. We have been getting along really well and thank Gd, since we sit in the same tiny room for 8 hours a day with eachother. After lunch my boss Alyssa told me that Mitchell Jarvis, one of the leads of Rock of Ages, had a radio interview downtown and I could come. I was pumped to get out of the office and it was great to finally get a long cab ride to get to know Alyssa a little. We arrived at a pretty non-descript recording studio and while we were waiting for Mitch, I saw Nick Canon come out! My first marginally B+ celebrity sighting! So then Mitch got there and we went upstairs to this really amazing studio. The walls were covered with memoribilia and the receptionist took us to this huge living room-esque area with a full kitchen, flat screen TVs with XBOX, a pool table and all sorts of cool things where she said artists relax when they are taking a break from recording. Mitch did his interview with a radio personality who I've never heard of (some 60+ year old woman who has been doing rock radio forever?) and it was really cool to watch. We cabbed back to the office and after another hour it was time to head home. I feel like today was the first day I really began connecting with my employers and it felt very rewarding. I want to be memorable and I want to learn as much as I can- I know office stuff is an evil necessity, but days like today give me hope that this will tun out to be the experience I was hoping for.

Josh just landed in NYC and I am going to be spending the holiday weekend with him :) I can't wait. I will update after he leaves!

Gotta Keep Going

Well, that was a hiatus I wasn't expecting. As I'm sure everyone who actually reads this knows, the last two weeks have hands down been the worst of my life. I don't really need to elaborate, but I do have say this. The past two weeks have shown me a pain I never knew existed, and words like hurt or grieving or lost don't do that pain justice. But with that pain, I've received more compassion and love than I thought was possible. My family will go on only because of the amazing help and strength of our friends, neighbors, boyfriends, cousins, and everyone else who brought food, texted me or just have given me a hug these past two weeks. So, after much deliberation I decided coming back to NYC and moving forward is the best way to honor my mom and start the healing process. So here I am, back where I started but with a whole new look on things, and I already have a lot to say about the past two days.

Yesterday was my flight back, and I think after flying 3 times in the past 3 weeks, my unfounded fear is slowly disappearing. After I landed in Islip, my aunt and uncle were nice enough to take me to a little piece of heaven- Stanley's Bakery. I kid you not when I tell you I literally daydream about those pastries, so naturally I got a whole box to last me this week. It only took about 45 minutes to drive into the city and then I was finally back! It is really strange and deja-vu ish to be back in my room when it looks like I never left. I was greeted by all 3 of my wonderful roomies and they had a surprise planned for me- a night at Lady Chengs! For all non- New Yorkers, Lady Chengs is a combo asian restaurant and drag show- obviously perfect for me. We got all dressed up and headed over. To be honest, I was excited and nervous that I was gonna get dragged on stage and molested in front of everyone. We were seated by a lovely he-she named Japanese Fucking Bitch, and then met our waitress, an oddly gorgeous and tall London. The food was decent but once the show started, it was well worth the $32 a person price tag. A human being has never made me laugh so hard as Paulina, a 40-something trannie in a Beyonce single ladies leotard and red sequin bra. Nothing was off limits, including the endless black and asian jokes aimed at 2 certain tables. There was a model walk-off with audience volunteers and just general debauchery. Needless to say, I laughed my ass off and would highly recommend going there with a big/brave group of people.

After that eventful night, I had my first day of work today! FINALLY. Not like I've been anticipating it or anything. So I got there about 15 minutes early (hear me Dad? EARLY!) but the other three interns had just gotten there so they let me in. The office looks like a total theater nerds dream- really cute and comfy, with posters and memorabilia covering every available inch of wall space. There are random show hoodies, cups, playbills and pictures everywhere, and I couldn't love it more. I got assigned to work with Alyssa and Leslie as their team's intern, and they represent American Idiot, Rock of Ages, Cirque de Soleil and West Side Story. They gave me free cast recordings of all the shows AND I get 2 free tickets to every show we represent!!!!! Pure joy does not cover how I feel about that. The morning was just general get to know the office stuff. I met everyone, got the lay of the land and experienced press clipping for the first time. All I have to say is that I better brush up n my kindergarten cutting and pasting skills. Since its Monday and we have to go through every newspaper and magazine imaginable since Friday, clippings took most of the morning. We get an hour for lunch (awesome) so I went with Allison and Rachel, my two fellow super sweet interns, to a sandwich place across the street. After we ate, we still had a lot of our hour left, so we decided to check out the brand new Forever 21 that just opened this weekend right next to our office. HOLY.SHIT. It is like 5 jumbo floors of cheap, amazing clothes, purses, jewelry, everything! I have never seen anything like it. It is the biggest Forever 21 in New York, and it is about to become my best friend/worst enemy. Damn you proximity and my shopping gene. Anyways, after lunch I worked on a project pretty much until we had to leave at 6. We are trying to pitch our shows to every reality show I've ever heard of so that the stars can come see shows when they're being filmed, in turn giving Broadway some good press. I had to look up the contact information for a billion reality tv producers, but it was all good. The interns (there are 4 of us full timers and 1 part timer I've yet to meet) all get to sit in a conference-y room together, and they are all theater dorks like me, so passing the time is pretty easy. I got off work at 6, ordered some chinese and chowed down, and now I am sitting here blogging so I don't have to tell the story of my first day 3409764502865320 times to different people :) All in all, I think I am going to love my job. It was kind of slow today, but the other interns said today was an anomaly. I think tomorrow I get to go to a radio interview that Constantine, the lead of Rock of Ages, is doing, and apparently we get to run errands and go to events really often. I am so happy to be back here and starting this internship. I feel like myself more and more and I know my mom would be really proud of me today.

Back in Action

My fever has finally broken and I am rejoining the living world! Last night I decided I didn't give a shit if I was sick, I wasn't gonna miss out on my first weekend in the city. About 10 girls from the program decided to get all dressed up and head to this really trendy restaurant in the Meat Packing District for drinks and a late dinner. The place was incredible! It was so funky- the lamps were made out of hangers, the seats were cushioned halves of bathtubs, some bar seats were made out of Do Not Walk signs. I didn't drink (thanks Sudafed) but the girls ordered this $100 huge punch bowl of alcohol for the table, and everyone seemed to let loose and have a great time. The food was really good and not too expensive, and the table of Real Housewives of NYC behind us celebrating a 50th birthday provided endless entertainment. They told us that we would be them in 20 years, and minus the botox but keep the money and diamonds, I sure as hell wouldn't mind. After dinner, a few of us headed back to the dorm because we were underage/ I wasn't feeling so hot but the other girls checked out some bars and said we all have to go back another time.

This morning we had the double decker bus tour of the city. I wasn't expecting too much, but I really enjoyed it. Our tour guide pointed out some off-the-beaten-path restaurants and museums that I'd like to check out, and just seeing the city in the beautiful 70 degree weather was great. After the tour, we all had lunch on UofDreams at the Hard Rock in Times Square. It was ehh food in a cool restaurant. We couldn't come to a consensus of what to do after lunch, so me and a bunch of girls just walked around for a little bit, tried to go on the NBC Studio Tour but it was sold out, and then just headed back to 23rd. Tonight I'm meeting up with my aunt, uncle and cousins for dinner and then who knows!

Sick in the City

Well, I wish I could sit here and tell all about my fabulous last few days in the city that never sleeps...but pretty much all I've done is slept thanks to a fever and some sort of virus. However, I did leave my cave once in a while to see some family, so why not share what I did in my few hours of drug-induced freedom.

On Wednesday, I got myself out of bed to enter the lottery for Wicked tickets. Unfortunately, that was a big fail but the day got better when I had lunch in the financial district with my cousin Jacquie (must go back, the most amazing lobster sandwich ever!) and it was great just catching up. I got to meet her adorable puppy and I was pretty darn proud of myself for making it from Times Square to Rector Street without stopping in any other boroughs. By Thursday, the fever was upon me but I still got to meet up with my cousin Justin for lunch and a trip to Century 21 downtown. I wish I felt better and could have spent the rest of the day with him, but by 3 I was ready to pass out..which I proceeded to do immediately when I got home. After a nice 3 hour nap, I grabbed dinner with Ricki, took some Advil PM and slept another 10.

Which brings me to today. I decided sitting in bed watching movies was just as unproductive as going to see a movie, so I found the closest theater and finally saw Sex and the City 2. Definitely not as good as the first and a little long, but still entertaining. I'm praying that chugging EmergenC and doing all of this resting will have me back to health by the time I have to start working next week/possibly in time for me not to miss out on this entire weekend. Maybe if the NYC weather wasn't having a bipolar meltdown of going from 95 degrees to 65, I wouldn't be in this achy mess.

Solo in the City

I can't believe I've only been here for 2 and a half days; my 6 weeks in Boca already seem like a lifetime ago, but in a good way. The first night I was here, we had a standardly lame welcome reception followed by such a fun and unexpected night. Me, Kristin and Katherine (my other awesome roommates), Ricki, and Michelle and Lexi went to a pub right by our dorm just to get to know eachother and have a drink. Turns out we picked the pub that a beer kickball league likes to frequent after games. We met Danny, who was from LA and looked like an American Apparel store threw up on him, and he invited us to play flip cup with his kickball friends. After a few more beers than we all had planned on having, we went for some late night NYC pizza and ended a solid first night.

Yesterday was UofDreams orientation ALL day. After sitting through all the rules of the program, we went on practice runs to our work. Mine is a nice schlep of a walk from my dorm, but atleast when I step off the subway station in Times Square my office is not even a block away. The subway station I use is actually right across from Madison Square Park (Shake Shack!) so it's really adorable. My office, on the other hand, is smack in the middle of Times Square, right near the TKTS booth. It is awesome/really exciting right now but I'm sure the mobs of tourists on the sidewalk and in the subway every day will get old quick. Afterwards, we had a quick dinner and a not so quick walk to a meeting about the course credit we are getting for completing our internship. I was in class with my 2 friends and we decided to do a little shopping afterwards since we were so close to Soho. The designer resale stores are mind-boggling amazing and although totally out of my price range, looking around was so much fun. They had the most beautiful purses, shoes and clothes by designers that I've never been able to afford to even look at. I definitely want to head back to Soho soon and shop in some more college budget-friendly stores

So that brings me to today, which was everyone else in the programs first day of work, but my first day of..well, nothing. My internship pushed my start date back until next week because they are so swamped with the Tonys, so I am on my own this whole week. Turns out entertaining yourself in NYC is no problem. I had to run a couple apartment errands and replace my completely messed up phone(new Droid!), but I managed to squeeze in some shopping, too. The Forever 21 in Union Square is basically my heaven on earth. It is 2 enormous floors of perfectly organized racks, something I've never seen in another Forever 21 store. Union Square in general is so adorable, I could hang out there all day. So my first day solo in the city went well, and luckily I have some cousins to entertain me for the next 2 days.

Everyone I've met in the program so far has been great and NYC is already passing my expectations. I'm a little anxious about having so much time to myself before work and losing a week of interning that everyone else has, but who can complain about having too much time in NYC?

As the wise Kevin Rudolf once said..I MADE IT

I am finally moved into NYU and ready to start this insane summer! I've actually been in NYC since Friday, so i'll do a little flashback for you.

I flew in Friday morning with Josh (and by with Josh, I mean with me crushing Josh's hand/ panic attack-ing into his shoulder) and we checked into our beautiful hotel. We walked around China town so I could find Em her perfect faux- Louis Vuitton. Luckily, Larry the sketch Louis dealer came through and gave me his personal cell number if me or any of my girls ever need his "services." Josh and I being the Magellans that we are, one sweaty hour in China Town turned into another accidental sweaty hour in Little Italy. This mistake was actually awesome though, because we found the best cannolis ever (you can't walk around Little Italy and not immediately get hungry). We ended up spontaneously (me? weird I know) buying tickets to HAIR and obviously, I loved it. Well, loved everything except the entire population of Nassau County middle school sitting directly in front of us. Saturday we checked out where my dorm was and walked to Union Square. The farmers market was great to walk around in and even better for freak watching. Thank god I'm not living in Union Square this summer, or I would be broke in two weeks. We changed and went to eat at the infamous Carmines for dinner, which was delicious but is better enjoyed with bigger parties than two because of the Fat Bastard- sized portions. We saw Next to Normal afterwards, which is definitely now in my top 5 favorite shows. We saw Alice Ripley and Brian D'Arcy James and ended up moving from our shit nose bleed seats to third row mezzanine aisle seats. I will absolutely be seeing N2N again before I leave NYC, hopefully this time with free tickets though (fingers crossed).

So, this morning Josh helped me move into my NYU dorm, which is ridiculously luxurious for New York. We have all stainless steel appliances, a huge bathroom and my bedroom is way bigger than my Broward or Aephi house rooms. My roomie Ricki doesn't suck either :) Tonight we have a welcome dinner and some beginnings of orientation, which will continue for like nine hours tomorrow. I have yet to hear if I am still supposed to just roam around NYC until June 15th when my internship wants me to start or if they convinced them to train me during Tony's week. Let's hope it's the latter so I'm not flat broke in one week from shopping and eating cupcakes for lunch every day.

I am so incredibly excited for this summer to finally kick off and to see where it takes me.