Weekend Roundup!

I can't believe I have been living in New York for an entire week. 

I know it doesn't seem long but it has flown by so fast! 

I still walk around looking up and thinking "How did I get so lucky to live here". 

I keep thinking my life is some really really good dream. 

My first weekend in New York was so wild. 

Just Kidding! 

I kind of kept it low key. 

Honestly I don't know how I survived my first New York Thursday so I spent at least two days recovering. 

Friday night me and my roommate Danny were so bored. So we decided to do something crazy...

we.

ordered.

PIZZA! 

Not even amazing Brooklyn style pizza... but we are both broke! 

Our night was spent joking and eating pizza. 

Even though we didn't do anything we didn't get to bed until pretty late! 

If you didn't know New York is experiencing a heat wave. It is so hot here. 

Our apartment doesn't have air conditioning. 

Thank god I have a window unit which has become amazing but my roommate Danny does not. 

After him having a horrible and hot night of sleep we headed onto our little street to find a window unit! 

After all that shopping through the heat it was time for a treat! 

The newest coolest thing here is called Bubble tea. 

Danny loves them, everyone is always drinking them, so of course I had to give one a try! 

We headed into this little asian bakery. 

We had to pick the flavor we wanted to be made. 

I picked mango and Danny picked cantaloupe. 

While she was making it I was obsessing over all the treats... 

And then my first Bubble Tea was ready for me. 

It is made of a milk and tea and then has chewy candy at the bottom. 

It's taste like chi to me minus the spice and plus a fruit flavor. 

I loved everything about it minus the chewy candy at the bottom... 

They were like flavorless chewy jello. 

But overall I really liked it! 

It was really refreshing! 

I had made some plans for Saturday night that kind of fell through. 

So I decided I was going to get dressed, do my hair and head to Time Square. 

I wanted to walk around and look at everything! 

So I took the adventure on my own! 

Little did I know because of train traffic it was going to take me a good 2 hours to get there (usually a 40 min ride). 

But I finally made it! 

I decided my first stop would be the 3 story Forever21. 

It was totally packed out! 

But had everything you could imagine. 

Just walking around. 

\

Amazing Time Square Mac!

It was amazing to me how many people were there. 

And how many people were rude. 

They would just walk out in front of cars which I think also helps me put into perspective why so many pedestrians are killed in NY. 

Of course I had to check out Hersey world! 

And my girl Beyonce working it!

I made the decision that I was going to get a pretzel for dinner! 

But ended up saving it until I got home for this dipping sauce!

I got to bed and had to get ready for my first day at work at the Spa! 

Sunday. 

I think one of my favorite things about New York is how you can walk into different places and feel like you are in a different country. 

My work is in Herald Square which is also considered Korean town. 

Korean food and stores line the sidewalks! 

My first day of training went really well. 

The spa is an upscale spa and we take a lot of celebrity clientele.

Which I totally love. 

What I don't love is that it is a 24 hour spa. 

And i've been hired for night shifts. 

Which means drunk people.

The good news is two people work at once during the night plus I have all the staff that will be there. 

The place is gorgeous.

It is a 2 million dollar facility and I wanted to take more pictures but guest were walking around naked.... I'll get more pictures when no one is in there! 

So through my contact for USweekly, Gina, I have got into contact with InTouch. 

They emailed me back today and will be telling me on Wednesday if they will be able to offer me an internship with the magazine! 

I'm really hoping this works out! 

So pray for me guys! 

I think an internship would help me really be able to get a foot in the door and then be able to work for any publication! 

Today I will be getting groceries and hopefully figuring out how the heck to do laundry. 

Danny says he drops his off but I currently have $13 dollars to my name so I might be doing it myself:) 

I can not wait to see what this week will bring! 

Jobs on Jobs on Jobs.

Yesterday had a little hectic start but ended up being one of my favorite nights here so far! 

I had an interview with a spa called Juvenex Spa. 

Its slogan is: The Jewel of New York's Spas. 

Hey I like jewels! 

Here's a little picture of it (I didn't take this) 

This time before I ventured out I pack my heels and threw on my sandals. 

It looked totally crazy but I was not going to run around manhattan in heels again and be miserable. 

This was my outfit yesterday! 

So I begin to leave to catch my train for the interview... which turns into a 15 minute frantic hunt to figure out where my keys were.

I searched and searched and eventually found them... somewhere careless. 

I got to my train running late... and my train was running 30 mins late! 

I called the Spa and told them I was going to be there after 3... There was no way I was making it. 

The train finally comes and goes express! 

Express is when it skips stops because it is running late or what not... so basically I got to my interview on time!!! 

The location is near Harold Square and I find it pretty quickly... I'm seriously always a little lost. 

Always just winging it. 

I hopped on the elevator to the top 5th floor, throw on my heels and my jacket in the elevator real quick and walk in. 

A beautiful Russian receptionist greets me as the doors open. 

I tell her I'm sorry I thought I'd be late but it worked out and she kindly told me to sit and she would be with me in a few. 

This place was absolutely amazing.

It looked like I was inside of a rock cave. I couldn't believe this was inside of this building. 

She comes and asks me a few questions, jokes with me about calling about being late, ask me for my resume which I didn't bring... (common newbie mistake, I had emailed it to her and didn't truck back down to canal street to print off another). 

She laughed. 

I asked her how many people were applying for this receptionist position and she told me she had 120 people apply and was interviewing 17 for two spots. 

She took down my number and looked up at me and said "See you Sunday at 4pm for training, dress lighter, no heels". 

YES! if my feet had a mouth they would have screamed with joy! 

The only bad thing about this position is the hours... it's a 24 hour spa (so New York). 

So i'm basically going to have really bad hours. 

I need to decide if this is a job I can do and still be able to apply to positions that I actually want a career in. 

I hopped on the train to head back to my apartment. 

New Yorkers can be so strange to me. 

There are subway performers, people who come and show some sort of talent followed by asking for some money. 

But some are really impressive. 

Like possibly could be on America's Got Talent. 

And they do these huge shows and New Yorkers act like nothing is going on. They don't even look up. 

A guy came into our cart and set down his open instrument case and began to play music on his clarinet.

I am not musical so I don't know for sure the difficulty of the clarinet but he was really good. 

What I was most impressed with is we were on the most curvy part of the subway ride I take home. 

Like everyone is holding on to railing.

 He didn't stop playing for a second. 

Our cart was being swayed back and forth and he kept playing his little heart out! 

No one even cared! 

He's in the blue shirt and people around him aren't even looking up! 

When he was done in any normal setting we would all jump up and cheer encore! 

But 

Not in New York. 

He stopped... walked around... got a dollar bill from someone and moved along. 

What do you have to do to impress people around here? 

I got back to my apartment ate some rice and got ready for my meeting with an editor from....

US WEEKLY!!!

Gina B. is a well put together, beautiful, petit, blonde, with an amazing energy that just gets you excited! 

She started from the bottom after college and worked her way to her position! 

We met for dinner originally at a small bistro but when we got there she had the idea that we needed to get a hamburger! 

YUM! 

We ended up at this trendy burger joint called Bill's!

It was so good and if you ever go you have to get the fries and the honey mustard to dip them in. Gina showed me this and I got totally obsessed. 

We ate and talked about everything and Gina said she would try to hook me up with an internship because that's where I really need to start. 

I am so down for a good internship! 

At the end of our meal our waiter brought these out on the house! 

He was so nice! 

Gina also drew me a map of Manhattan so I could better understand upper east and west and mid town and all that! 

So helpful to see it visually. 

It was such an amazing time and dinner! 

Above is Gina and I! 

She got me a contact later in the night about an internship:) 

After I left Gina I headed to meet Amanda in Time Square. 

Amanda and I went to college together and although we never hung out in college we knew who each other were. 

She graciously reached out to me the other day and I am in desperate need of girl friends so of course I was excited! 

On the way to find Amanda I did get a little lost but I took this as a prime time to take some pictures. 

The best thing about New York is whenever you are lost you find something incredible. 

oh hey radio city music hall! 

oh hey huge buildings! 

oh hey brooks brothers The Great Gatsby display in NYC! 

I finally met up with Amanda and she told me she was going to take me to two really fun bars both located in Hell's Kitchen! 

Our first stop was a bar owned by no other than Justin Timberlake! 

Southern Hospitality! 

The bar was packed but with Amanda's (who moved to New York in October) guidance we found a spot and ordered drinks! 

Amanda had seen Justin Timberlake here before... and he was in town last night so we were hoping he would stop by! (he didn't!)

Amanda bought my first New York drink and welcomed me to the city! 

We sat there for a bit talking about this and that and we decided it was time to hit the next place. 

Surf Bar is like a beach bar in the middle of NYC. 

It is builr like a shack but has men in suits all around it! 

We sit down and we order our first drinks... well Amanda orders me a zombie. 

The waitress laughs and I find out the Zombie is so strong it's a two drink minimum. 

Regardless it was good! 

After sitting at our table for a couple of minutes the owner of the bar comes over and brings us these on the house:) 

So after all of that I kept to beer for the rest of the night! 

They had this cool beer here

If you are ever in New York you have to visit this bar. 

It has such a laid back feel and great drinks. 

Amanda and I ended up making a ton of friends all night and really had a great time! 

I think I might of found my new partner in crime in Amanda! 

I'm looking forward to many many more hang outs with her! 

Today I think I'm going to keep it low key. 

I'm pretty tired from my first week in New York. 

Sunday it will be a week and I have officially decided this is exactly where I belong right now. 

So I have to make things work with a job and everything. 

Never a dull moment in this city that shines! 

23 going on 17.

I am so exhausted. 

I think it is a mixture of being overwhelmed, excited, and only having my feet for transportation. 

I had all these plans yesterday... I was going to print out my resume at a Fed Ex and then venture to Time Square for a bit to explore.

The weather was gross. 

The fex ex I went to was located on Canal street (China Town). 

I walked up the steps from the subway and the first thing that happened was a little asian lady grabbed me by the arm and whispered "follow me, I'll sell you most beautiful beautiful designer bags. Real. For very cheap". 

Needless to say I didn't follow the little lady and quickly trotted by saying "No thank you". 

The whole street was like this.

Tons of people. 

I didn't like it.. although I want to go back.. just not when i'm out on my own. Because hey... I want some real looking designer bags for cheap but I'm still trying this "not getting mugged" goal!

I turned a corner and everything calmed back down and I continued completely lost while searching for a print shop.

I finally figured it out and got my resume printed out. 

This was of course after paying $.30 a minute to use the internet to find what I needed printed. 

By the time I left I was so drenched from the weather and my hands were full so I headed back to the apartment and decided to save Time Square for a nicer day. 

When I got back to my apartment I decided to call it a night until Danny (my roommate) got home. 

He highly suggested I go out with this person he knows. 

I didn't want to mostly because I was not wanting to be out in the weather... and I had not rode the subway at night. 

I finally agreed... threw on a red dress... and headed towards 59th and Lexington. 

I hopped of the subway where me and A were meeting. 

The first thing I saw was Bloomingdales... so of course I had to look in all the windows. 

A met me and we went to this little sports bar and had a beer. 

It was really nice having a friend to talk to! 

He's 27 and sells jets.

Born and raised in NY. 

While we were sitting there he asked me if I had ever rode the Tram. 

I had no idea what a tram was and he pointed behind him.

It was a cart that was on a wire that took you above the city and dropped you off at a little place called Roosevelt Island. 

On this tram you are literally hanging above all the tall buildings. 

He asked if I wanted to go so I said yes! Duh! 

It's hard to see in the pictures above because of the weather but thats on the tram.

We got to the other side and walked beside the river chatting.

What was most breath taking about this was the amazing views of the city. 

We rode the Tram back to the city and he dropped me off at my subway station. He even paid for my subway ride! 

That's some NYC chivalry for ya! (Since you can't really open car doors and such)

That was my yesterday night! 

This morning I woke up at 9, got dressed, and headed to 57th street for my first interview in NYC at

(drum roll please)

SEVENTEEN MAGAZINE! 

This was my outfit! 

I tried to do bold colors! 

I packed up all my stuff and headed out... and then forgot my umbrella so went back.. and headed out... then got two blocks away and noticed I forgot my portfolio... so I went back... 

Then finally was on the train. 

My train ride was... different. 

A lady stood beside me and told me she liked my shoes. I thanked her.

Then she proceeded to tell me she is in therapy because he ex boyfriend did her wrong (I mean who isnt!... little liz joke) and how she dreamed last night she shot him... how some police man told her she is to beautiful to worry about him or to be treated that way.. and he left her for some 40 year old. 

I kept repeating "wow" "oh wow" "hmm wow"

Then she asked me if I was from NY... I said no... she said I'm gonna hate it and want to move home. Then in a crowd of international people she announced "This place is full of selfish foreigners who only care about money. ALL OF YA". 

I closed my eyes... took a deep breath... and at the next stop I moved as far away from this crazy New York lady I could. 

I learned my lesson about saying "Thank you" on a subway. 

I ran around 57th street looking for 300 west for at least 20 minutes. 

Today was so muggy I was sweating and a hot mess when I arrive... an hour early... for my interview. 

So I went to the bathroom... redid my makeup and sat down and waited.

Hearst Corporation (major editing company... all the top magazines are under it) is such a stunning place! 

I sat in the lobby for about 30 minutes... which was actually nice because my feet were so tore up from my shoes I could barely walk... this always happens! 

They checked me in downstairs 15 minutes before my interview! 

And I headed up to the 17th floor to meet Carissa R.!  

HELLO SEVENTEEN!

I didn't take any pictures inside because I was nervous... and was honestly so engaged in our conversation. 

Carissa is this tall, thin, beautiful New Yorker. 

She wore mostly black, hair in a messy bun, and had a Chanel purse on desk as we spoke. 

The view from her office looked over the whole city and her wall was lined celebrity covers she had designed. 

Carissa works with celebrities mostly and works on the theme of the covers! 

She also does the online videos on the seventeen.com website. 

We talked about our lives and how we got her and she explained how the most important thing was to meet as many people as possible! 

She took me and showed me the one thing I've always wanted to see...

The fashion closet. 

Wall to wall fashion.. I got to get a sneak peek at all the clothes that are set to appear in the September issue! 

Shoe shelves... clothes stories... everything! 

Then she led me into the beauty closet.. full of any beauty supply you could ever need! 

The office itself was pretty quiet. 

When I imagine a magazine space I imagine chaos but it was very relaxed.

Everyone just so happened to be dressed perfectly. 

At the end of the interview she said that she would be in touch with ANY entry level jobs as they become available. 

Which is absolutely amazing. 

I just have to be patient because I know I left a really good impression. 

She and I just clicked really well! 

Oh and she gave me the latest issue for free! So sweet! 

After my interview I limped to TJ MAXX and bought a 10 dollar pair of sandals. 

I literally have the biggest blisters ever on my toes but I'm happy I made it that far! I think I proved I can handle real pain!

While in TJ MAXX a New york number was calling me so I picked up. 

It was Juvenex Spa. 

A beautiful spa in Manhattan. 

I had applied for a receptionist job (I am going to have to have a couple of jobs here to keep my head above the water!). 

So I am going there tomorrow at 3pm for an interview... 

Followed by another interview with another huge publication at 7pm. (which I can't wait to announce tomorrow!!!)

I'll leave ya with a picture I took heading back to my subway station today. 

I may write again tonight if anything else big happens but for now it is nap time!