Sitting in a Starbucks on 5th Ave. Sounds really posh - but in the end 5th is just a street (nice parts, and less nice parts). I'm waiting for my lovely roommate Lindy. She is very sweet and invited me to dinner with her two best friends. We're going to have sushi - let's hope good sushi otherwise I'll be traumatized for life.
But Lindy: she is very talkative, very sweet. She works for the designer Reem Acra in the bridal department, and often comes home full of stories:)
A reason why life here is in NY is expensive - it's not outragous..but it is so easy to get something. 1. For lunch I went out to get soup (check out: www.haleandhearty.com) because it is easy, delicious and pretty healthy. And i haven't gotten around to buy nutricious takeable stuff yet. 2. I just had Starbucks coffee because I needed to wait somewhere and don't want to sit here without buying a drink - and frankly, a portion of caffeine was not totall unnecessary and 3. I'll be going out for diner: 2nd time this week! Anyway, it's the so-called good life:)
the man next to me is ratteling in Spanish - I really should take classes!
And yeah, work has improved a bit. My boss and I are connecting a bit more. I ask about EVERYTHING - but hey, I'm here to learn. I asked if could sit in on the store managers meeting for the strategic part, and she said I could sit in the whole day! Let's hope it will be VERY informative!
My tea this morning (celestial seasonings, compliments from Escada) provided a good quote today: "Live in each season as it passes; breath the air; drink the drink; taste the fruit." - Henry Davind Thoreau. This is my NYC season - and I'm grateful for it:)
donderdag 29 januari 2009
January 26th - First days
Fortunately, I am not as nervous as I thought I would be - ehy..I survived moving to New York City, I can do pretty much anything:)
Made sure I was right on time - no manager in sight..so spend some time helping HR out..which is.. well probably it is a sign of how interns are looked upon here.
Lunchbreak right now; spend too much money on a FANTASTIC soup. But it is a REAL FIRST DAY , one of those where you think "if every day is going to be like this I WILL DIE!!" (add dramatic tone, face and hand gestures).
Home now: sitting on the couch..just eat some dinner; eggs, carrots&Triscuits - very student like..not really in the cooking mood yet. Half eye on the tv..and reflecting back on my 1st day as one of the working bees.
So, okay it was my first day..but it was not as I hoped, as I thought. Perhaps expected too much glamour - it's Escada after all..perhaps I hoped for too much - a plan, or some kind of schedule would have been great.
It's been a little frustrating today..but it was a first day.
Let me finish with something positive: the sun did shine today:) I talked with my sister:) got email at work from my mom:) connected with my roommates:) eat great soup for lunch:) AND in a minute I am going to steam my clothes! No ironing - steaming is sooooo much more fun! :) Tomorrow is a new day - new opportunities, new challenges, new chances..
Made sure I was right on time - no manager in sight..so spend some time helping HR out..which is.. well probably it is a sign of how interns are looked upon here.
Lunchbreak right now; spend too much money on a FANTASTIC soup. But it is a REAL FIRST DAY , one of those where you think "if every day is going to be like this I WILL DIE!!" (add dramatic tone, face and hand gestures).
Home now: sitting on the couch..just eat some dinner; eggs, carrots&Triscuits - very student like..not really in the cooking mood yet. Half eye on the tv..and reflecting back on my 1st day as one of the working bees.
So, okay it was my first day..but it was not as I hoped, as I thought. Perhaps expected too much glamour - it's Escada after all..perhaps I hoped for too much - a plan, or some kind of schedule would have been great.
It's been a little frustrating today..but it was a first day.
Let me finish with something positive: the sun did shine today:) I talked with my sister:) got email at work from my mom:) connected with my roommates:) eat great soup for lunch:) AND in a minute I am going to steam my clothes! No ironing - steaming is sooooo much more fun! :) Tomorrow is a new day - new opportunities, new challenges, new chances..
zaterdag 24 januari 2009
Lamp Hunting 101
This course is directed at students who are in need of lamp and live in urban areas.
Preparation:
Research, research, research, baby! Many options, many choices, but a limited budget make internet research essential. Compare prices and styles AND delivery terms and possibilities or other forms of transportation - subway? bus? taxi? the old fashion legs?
Implementation:
IKEA seems to provide nice lamps for a very reasonable price - can I buy it with a clean conscience?? AND they provide FREE shuttle busses!! Woohoo! It does require you to cross to another state...but who cares! A new FREE (for the most part) adventure!
Prep on time for the day of the hunt. Stock up on some snacks. Take a 25 minute subway ride to the bus terminal..CORRECTION: construction on the A track. Take an EVERLASTING bus ride through the entire city..stop every half a mile - but enjoy the tour: new sights..actually: sights! Which are a major advantage over subway rides. Walk 15 minutes from 42nd and 5th to 42nd and 8th at a New York speed to avoid being overloaded by touristy fliers. Search the right bus, wait for bus, enjoy the ride.
Arrive at IKEA (I forget for a moment that I'm in the US, not in Amsterdam Zuid Oost). Run through the store to find everything in 30 minutes so waiting on the next bus is limited. Meanwhile, keep your eyes open for that one Golden Lamp:) and try not to be tempted by all the little pick-me-ups "do I really really REALLY NEED it?" should be your credo. Check out and enjoy the bus ride to Manhattan - with a great view of the island!
Walk a block to the 1 subway - busses take to long..with heavy lamp-in-box, bag with pick-me-ups (I did not succeed...but in my case they fall under 'necessities') and regular -too heavy- bag....Wait for the 1. Stuff yourself in a crowded train..and try not to hit anyone with one of your bags OR drop your precious lamp. Be prepared to stop at EVERY station....unlike the express train..walk 2 blocks to apt with arms as heavy as lead.
Costs:
Time, lots of time..5 hours in total. Some dollars, but only 3.25% sales tax! And lots of 'sorry's' and 'excuse me's'.
Prize:
A wonderful lamp! Couple of other things to make a house a home:) And the realization that what you did might have been a bigger deal than you first thought, that you can do quite a lot, that life is different, but fun without a car and that living in NYC is not such a bad thing after all...
Note from the author: it could have been some what faster, perhaps 3.5-4 hours.. Roommate explained that construction on subway is usually just between 2 stations..so if I would have taken the right bus I could have been at the bus terminal in 20-30 minutes..instead of an hour and a half! Ah well...I got to see Manhattan.. ALL of it!
vrijdag 23 januari 2009
Transit &Transition
I've noticed I like to write while I'm outside, in the middle, experiencing what I'm writing about. And right this second I'm standing in a lovely warm, low, winter sun, waiting for a friend, not really enjoying the view (cause it's not that pretty) but definitely enjoying the moment. New York is growing on me...
Just dropped off my friend Harm at the airtrain to JFK. He was passing through the City from a vacation in Costa Rica and Panama. We're friends through the HES - studying the same thing - and he has showed me around NY for a bit AND helped me find things like clothing hangers and sheets...which are hard to find if you're used to the Hema at the Kalverstraat or Gedempte Gracht..He is going to do an internship in Munich, Germany! It was great to have him here:) Human connection is a complex but beautiful thing - a familiar face can change a new, big, scary place into a world ready to be discovered!
So far I've learned that NYC is pretty easy to get around. The way the streets are numbered/named makes it easy to locate where you are. It is finding things, simple things, that make moving to a new city so exhausting. You're "on" 24/7..nothing goes automatic.
By the way, I'm in the subway right now. I don't know what it is - could it be the lighting, the low oxygen or the electricity in the air? - but there is something beautiful about people in subways. Perhaps it's the mixture of sitting still and being in transit, or the way people are turned 'inward' seemingly "cocooning" while being so close to one another physically. I love watching people and wonder what their stories are - and the New York City Subway provides ample opportunity!
woensdag 21 januari 2009
January 20th - Third places
Right now I'm sitting in my new 'third place' - the Starbucks in my street.. my street..hmm it almost sounds like a mixture of a lie and a bad joke..and at the same time it is not. My new roommate is sitting across the table. She is doing her homework for FIT - fashion school. Reading my lovely book 'Why we buy' I'm grateful not to have to do any homework for a while.
Starbucks really does feel like my 'third place'..and I am starting to relax a bit and enjoy the sounds of different conversations and the occasional milk-heater/foamer.
Rough day today...woke up thinking "WHAT HAVE I DONE??" leaving my warm home, parents, friends, family..leaving Familiarity (read the book 'the DreamGiver') to be all alone in this huge city..to start all over - what was I thinking. So I called my sister crying - scaring my brother-in-law half to death. He picked up the phone first..I just wanted to talk to someone who knows me and knows I'll get through this..And who can do a better job than your sister? Well, MY sister! :) After an hour conversation with lots of encouragments I watched Obama's inauguration. It was beautiful, peaceful, hopeful, but it will take time and dedication to make it reality, America.
Then I went out..stepped out in a new world looking for things I need - bank account, social security number, phone number and a place to copy forms... To find a place to copy forms in a city you don't know is a challenge in a separate category. And asking people hasn't proven to be very helpful: after the bank clerk told me to go to Staples and pointed in a vague direction I decided to ask a man on the street. Walking up to him I asked "Can I ask you a question?" he stepped a little closer to hear better, so I continued "Do you know where I can find Staples. I need to make copies"... He answered "No hablo íngles".... No hablo íngles..well I speak a little tiny bit Spanish, but 4 semesters have not prepared me enough to be able to ask where I can find Staples!! Decided to go home and look it up online - yay for Google Maps!!
Back home I called my parents - crying- freaking them out. We decided that being tired from traveling, jet-lag and not eating enough exhausted me to the point of total break down.. also it seems that emotionally things have caught up with me. For some weird reason this whole ordeal did not feel real even when I stepped out of the plane and dragged my 2 suitcases across town. And today I met the man with the hammer of Reality: I'm in New York City, learning a million things..and tomorrow I'll start again.
Starbucks really does feel like my 'third place'..and I am starting to relax a bit and enjoy the sounds of different conversations and the occasional milk-heater/foamer.
Rough day today...woke up thinking "WHAT HAVE I DONE??" leaving my warm home, parents, friends, family..leaving Familiarity (read the book 'the DreamGiver') to be all alone in this huge city..to start all over - what was I thinking. So I called my sister crying - scaring my brother-in-law half to death. He picked up the phone first..I just wanted to talk to someone who knows me and knows I'll get through this..And who can do a better job than your sister? Well, MY sister! :) After an hour conversation with lots of encouragments I watched Obama's inauguration. It was beautiful, peaceful, hopeful, but it will take time and dedication to make it reality, America.
Then I went out..stepped out in a new world looking for things I need - bank account, social security number, phone number and a place to copy forms... To find a place to copy forms in a city you don't know is a challenge in a separate category. And asking people hasn't proven to be very helpful: after the bank clerk told me to go to Staples and pointed in a vague direction I decided to ask a man on the street. Walking up to him I asked "Can I ask you a question?" he stepped a little closer to hear better, so I continued "Do you know where I can find Staples. I need to make copies"... He answered "No hablo íngles".... No hablo íngles..well I speak a little tiny bit Spanish, but 4 semesters have not prepared me enough to be able to ask where I can find Staples!! Decided to go home and look it up online - yay for Google Maps!!
Back home I called my parents - crying- freaking them out. We decided that being tired from traveling, jet-lag and not eating enough exhausted me to the point of total break down.. also it seems that emotionally things have caught up with me. For some weird reason this whole ordeal did not feel real even when I stepped out of the plane and dragged my 2 suitcases across town. And today I met the man with the hammer of Reality: I'm in New York City, learning a million things..and tomorrow I'll start again.
dinsdag 20 januari 2009
January 19th - part 2
About an hour away from NY..and still can't believe I'm going to be in that city for 6 months. Even though I just had pizza&coke :) It will probably not be real until I'm there, breathing in the city air.
January 19th
I'm sitting here in a plane at Schiphol Airport waiting to fly to London and then to New York..and having come up with a name I like, I decided to start a blog.. I just need an outlet for all these thoughts. Not sure who I'll be writing for and a little worried that I might not experience ANYTHING worth writing or have this blog become some sort of whinewall - if so, tell me please.
The plane is finally moving and I am no longer in control. Well, for the next couple of hours. Will I one day be one of those business people who steps onto a plane as if they're taking the train? I know that the statistics are on my side..but it is a control issue. Flying is still something that confronts me with my mortality in a much too obvious way, but at the same time I don't need to be in control... And breathing in the AC air in this plane actually worries me more...What are my chances of getting sick? Statistics anyone?
The plane is finally moving and I am no longer in control. Well, for the next couple of hours. Will I one day be one of those business people who steps onto a plane as if they're taking the train? I know that the statistics are on my side..but it is a control issue. Flying is still something that confronts me with my mortality in a much too obvious way, but at the same time I don't need to be in control... And breathing in the AC air in this plane actually worries me more...What are my chances of getting sick? Statistics anyone?
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