singin' dolla dolla bill ya'll

I was invited to a Christmas party at someone's loft on the LES a few nights ago. I took the 6 down and waited outside of the building for my friend to arriva via cab. (still a few blocks away) It was in the low 30's and although he offered to call up his friends to buzz me in, I decided to wait.

Through squinted eyes, I saw a sleek, black Maybach 62 (one of the top 10 most expensive cars in the world) pull up to the curb in front of me. The folded cream blindes on the back windows mechanically slid to a close and a dark, mafia-esque man emerged from the backseat. It was obvious I was waiting outside the door of the building and as he pressed the buzzer, he turned to me. "There's a party, are you coming?" * "Actually yes - I'm just waiting on my friend" * "Psh, it's cold out here - come up with me."

Enter: my new friend and I are greeted by 10 or 15 well-dressed foreigners. I say "foreigners", because they were all from various international places. The loft is dim and candle-lit. House music moans quietly from a flat screen. Shrimp cocktail and brie sit on a nearby table and a handsome man with sweeping brown hair is pouring a foamy fruit cocktail while wearing a scarf. Hello. I just stepped into an episode of Sex and the City. In addition to this, there is no possible way that I could stand out more. The upside to this is, of course, that international people are the most open-minded, easy-going people you could ever befriend.

"Would you like a beautiful, sexy drink?" -- this is verbatim.

Don't mind if I do, mister scarf-wearing-sweepy-espresso-hair.

So, I join my new friend on a black leather couch and I learn of his yacht in Miami and how he watched this year's tree lighting from his apartment above Rockefeller Center. We laugh synonymously about how I'm making what he probably made last week. More people arrive and so far I have met: the starving Jamaican model who is throwing the party, a Harvard graduate who is a tad bit cocky and seems to be putting forth an immense amount of effort to impress, a few Italians (the real, not Jersey kind), a quirky Swedish girl who made the most incredible facial expressions I've ever seen, and a gay couple who looked like they were upset they had to leave the gym in order to be at this party.

My friend finally arrives and we stay until we decide we are hungry. When we leave the building, the Maybach 62 is still sitting outside - running. Must be nice, having a driver.

Cab it over to Yaffa Cafe and it was there that I had my first crepe ever.

Cash rules everything around me.

AHK! IT'S SNOWING!

It's 23 degrees outside and I just woke up to this: (I know, I'm such a Southerner...)

Joy

Someone is playing Christmas music on the streets down the block, and we can hear it in our office all day long! JOY TO THE WORLD!

I'm going to the Christmas Tree Lighting tonight in Rockefeller Center with the roomies and Andy!! Ahhhhhhhk I didn't think it was possible to love NY any more!!

On a side note...if you're a blog reader, post your own thoughts on blogs...the great thing about the internet is that it's interactive... :)

aaaaaaand it's cold.

Just incase you're looking for a heads up - life doesn't change much after college. Maybe I should rephrase that...people don't change much after college. Even if you skip across a few states to - say, a place like New York City...people (though drastically different from Southerners in a multitude of ways), are inherently the same. I watch what people do. People whine about their jobs to coworkers, they get "cliquey", and they say "how was your weekend?" - knowing good and well that the response will be something along the lines of "fine, and yours?". Amusing...

I've gotten really into the show, Gossip Girl lately. It's basically the Manhattan version of the "OC" - except they're Ivy-League-bound, keeping-up-appearances, Upper-East-Siders. Reaaaaally quite good.

FASHION UPDATE: I found this brilliant site that creates the #1 staple for living in the city. TIGHTS! http://www.welovecolors.com/ I've already ordered 2 pairs...(solid lavendar and some really crazy splash color ones - YAY!) So fun. The black sea of the New York masses could use some color.

It has taken me almost 3 years to find the video I've posted below. One of my professors showed this advertisement (Feed the Children - by the Ad Council) in one of my classes and for some reason, it really stuck with me. I just found it today and hope you can appreciate the (dare I say) artistic and heart-wrenching qualities it has, that you might not consider when watching "just another commercial".

Auf Weidersehn!!

roofie

212

Sometimes I have to remind myself why I am in NYC. Sometimes when I'm showing my beloved Infiniti QX4 to a potential buyer (because I don't need it anymore)...or when I'm scouring craigslist for a SECOND job (beacuse I refuse to give up the lifestyle I maintain)...or when I'm walking a combined 20 minutes a day to and from the subway to work, head buried down, running nose deep in my Burberry (because it's so incredibly frigid and it gets even colder when the wind blows off the water that my high rise towers over) - Sometimes.I.just.have.to.ask.myself. And then it hits me...






That's the roofdeck at my new apartment. 15 minutes from my office in Midtown Manhattan. It makes me so happy. I live with Gabor, (he's Hungarian, and works in finance) Claudia, (she's Colombian and from PA) and Natalia is a Latvian model who sleeps on our couch. Well - we just found out she's leaving us at the end of the month. I will miss her. Gabor, Natalia and I went to see Saw IV yesterday - awful. I'm not even sure who decided on that one.

I can't even think of a witty way to end this one...

see how they run like pigs from a gun

Someone PLEASE mail me a chick-fil-a sandwich.


I've been on the dreaded NYC apartment hunt for the last week or so. It's very difficult and time consuming. Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace can be sketchy and are riddled with broker listings. You really have to differenciate. I've looked at several options thus far. I've seen a no fee place that reminded me of College of Charleston dorm life - meh. Also looked into brokers and found a phenomenal place with a small brokers fee around $4000. (riiiiight) The search continues...........



The upside to this (there's always an upside) is that I'm learning the city areas. It was easy in Columbia: the Vista and 5 pts. I now know that I'd like to live on the Upper East Side, the East Village is hip and young, Harlem is just scary (Spanish Harlem included), Andy wants me to live in Inwood, Hoboken and Jersey City are also younger and I know the most people there, Meatpacking is trendy, and the Upper West Side is ideal. That's just a few. Sighs.



I don't want to give the misconception that my life here is filled with $1000 meals, trips to the theater and sleepovers at the Waldorf. I am seeing every side of New York. I've been lost. I've ridden a bus filled with Mexican construction workers. I've opened the subway door for a leg-less bum. I've walked through the Bronx in patent leather Tory Burch ballet flats for God's sake. I'm also learning Spanish slang from my Puerto Rican coworker. YES!

There is always an advenure - that's for sure. I feel like everyday I wake up, I am in store for something unexpected and crazy. I went into the city last Saturday to apartment search and meet Melissa at HillCountry for BBQ and the Texas game. I left from the Port Authority and was waiting in line for the bus forEVER. There was a nice looking man in a suit waiting with me and we eventually struck up a conversation. He had just flown in from the West Coast and was running an hour late for a 4 o'clock wedding in Nyack, NY. (a place he'd never actually been before) We sat near eachother on the bus and when I wasn't catnapping, I saw him take out a leatherbound journal and write entries. He had no idea where the church was in Nyack and he asked if he could bother me for a ride (right as I was about to offer the poor man one) and I naturally obliged. He was so upset about being late that I told him we could run to my car. And we did. We literally RAN to my car once we stepped off the bus. As we were running, I made a comment about how "it's times like these I wish I worked out more" - and he said I was going "way above and beyond the call of duty". When we departed - he thanked me profusely, and I assured him that I had been helped NUMEROUS times by New Yorkers in the past 3 months and it was my pleasure to finally return the favor to someone. =)

Oh, and GO SEE "ACROSS THE UNIVERSE" - BEST MOVIE EVER.

the resilient ones

Here you go, Mom - my number one fan.

As I was coming into work today through the usual throngs of people, I realized that this particular Tuesday was just another day in the city. New Yorkers are a fascinating and resilient group. However I still haven't adopted the semi-ridiculous words they use at times: nosh (snacking), shlep (dragging), woof (who knows...) and the pronunciation of the word huge (said youge). Still - I admire their patriotism and have never seen anything like it. I was in O'Malley's Pub and two men dressed in Army fatigue took a seat at the bar. I watched them. They didn't pay for a drink the entire time. As if on cue, fellow customers came up to them one by one - sincerely thanked them for what they do and proceeded to buy their drinks. The men hadn't just gotten back from overseas or anything - I think they were actually in the reserves. It was quite a stark contrast from the south.

Although some people became anxious over the Bin Laden video released a few days ago, it didn't stop the buses from running or decrease the inevitable waiting line to get to work.


I watch as a bum walks past a bus and gives the driver a wide grin and tall thumbs up (whilst holding a brown bagged can in the opposite hand). I can't help but laugh out loud at this. I walk under the scaffolding that shields me from the misting rain and into a huge crowd - side swiping and dodging - determining the best clear path to get through. Little red ipod in hand, pumping 50 cent and Justin's "Ayo Technology". (really great by the way) I say hello to the Jamaican security guard in my building and ride the five floors up to the place I call home for 40 hours out of the week.


Last night we had a company "event" at a place called Stitch. It was to watch/celebrate the air of Ameriprise's new commercial on Monday Night Football. So it was everyone who works on the account from MindShare (us- the media agency), Saatchi (the creative agency), and of course Ameriprise (the client). It was a nice time and the commercial was good and it aired when it was supposed to and I met the group and had some nice appetizers and cocktails. I love my job. I took a car service home and still got to bed before my self-enforced 12 o'clock curfew.

I just took my boss the car service receipt - was walking past the lounge area while passing a random coworker at the same time. I turned after we passed to look back at the flat screen TV against the wall, airing today's Memorial at Ground Zero and completely caught him turning around to look at me. Teehee.

My friend Andy and I snuck into Fashion Week last Thursday. It ends tomorrow. We walked the few blocks to Bryant Park where the tents were set up. We decided we would be assistants or hair stylists running late. Our original attempt was quickly shut down by the security guards who instructed us to go to another entrance - check for our names on a list and get a pass. So - our names were certainly not on that list. As we stood - dejected - on the sidewalk, deliberating - we noticed a man yank hard one time on a side door that blended in with the white tent building. Naturally, we followed suit. By this time, we had a model-wannabe who had joined us in our attempt to crash the show. We all three found ourselves in a tiny side room with a curtain and a cart laid out with cokes, sprites and bottled water. We finally gathered the courage to walk out into the room (we had no idea who or what was in it) and immediately were confronted by two ladies who asked us where we had come from/what we were doing/that sort of thing. Andy took charge and explained that we were late assistants. She told us to go out in the main room because it wasn't time to be backstage - or something. Whatever - we made it. It was pretty funny. We drank for free and mingled with models and even saw Nigel Barker (hottie British judge from ANTM). Fun times. I left early, but Andy went into the Gottex show. Deece.

welcome to the land of audi's and beamer's

literally, every other car here is an audi or bmw. i'm completely fine with that. they say it's because they have all-wheel drive or something. i think it's because everyone is flashy and self-absorbed. ;) i can't wait to trade in the ol' QX4 and join the masses. wait, i think my car already has all-wheel drive...

people don't truly realize how expensive this city is. sure it's a "known" fact - but do they really understand it? you count $6 tolls and parking a car at $10-15 an hour in a garage while you shop/party ($5 extra if it's an SUV) and gas at $3+ a gallon and $10 drinks (we're talking GG vodka/water - p.s. hangovers are significantly reduced here since everyone drinks premium vodka - goodbye $2 drinks from Sharky's!) alas, it is a very expensive and exciting place to live. there's good news. if you're going out in the city, you're surrounded by people who can afford this lifestyle. if you are out in the trendy clubs, ordering bottle service ($300-400 a bottle), you're surrounded by people who are accustomed to this. i hope my acclimation to this lifestyle parallels my bank account, the longer i live here. i'm really banking on that - pun intended.

transit in nyc has done great things for me. for one, i'm forced to walk almost everywhere. this has benefited my sense of direction, as well as my waistline. i've decided that any form of transit in the city (whether subway, train, or bus) is directly reminiscent of the flashing images/racing boat scene in Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. (actually, i'm going to add "riding in the car with david" to this transportation list) it's actually quite fun. i am growing accustomed to driving in the city, myself. i am really very good at it. i took the girls (kristin, jenna & emily) on a tour this saturday and they said i proved to be an excellent tour guide and that my driving skills confirmed that i was "born to live in this city". okay, i'll stop tooting my own horn. i just said tooting. mmkay...

i'll leave you with this picture of Ivanka Trump and i...(at the Stuff Magazine Cocktail Party) in person, she's very tall and has huge boobs. (both available at Bergdorf-Goodman) ;) x's and o's

new york

So unless you've been living under a rock for the past three months, you're aware that I got a job in NYC and moved here this past Friday. That sounds rude. It's not because I think that everyone should automatically know/care about my life. It's just that I am completely aware of how obnoxiously blatent I make every aspect of it known. So - since my head has been spinning for the past week or so, I haven't necessarily gotten around to calling/telling all of my friends about starting my new life here. For that reason, I've started this blog and will (from time to time) post miscellaneous writings about how glamorous and not-so-glamorous things are for me.
First off, I really do love my job so far. Yes, I am well aware that it's only my third day. Like most advertising/media agencies, it is very laid back here. I can even wear jeans to work - if I want to. The people I work with are friendly and fun and different (which I love). I haven't set up my cube exactly how I want it yet, but I am slowly bringing things in each day. I can walk 10 feet away from my desk and look out and down five stories and see the crawling streets of the city with movers and shakers and bums. It's a beautiful sight. I am already pretty familiar with the media terms I'll be using everyday, thanks to Dr. Scott's class. (never thought I'd be saying that - HA!) So that's cool. My job also has a lot of perks. I have already been invited to a booze cruise put on by AOL and AD.com this coming Thursday, a summer outing event by Sprint/Nextel, and my company is having its own event called Casino Night (think: that episode of The Office - hahahahahahah). I don't know about you, but that all sounds pretty fun to me. Every morning they deliver hundreds of magazines (every kind you can think of) to the mailroom, and we are free to take them at our leisure. I read W, Bazaar and Women's Health yesterday on the ride home. I couldn't be happier.
I'm living with Sara and David and they are the greatest. Our place has a gym and a pool and I've gotten into a great routine where I wake up at 5:45AM every morning and go for a run. I'm almost as tired as I was when I took 21 hours my last semester. But it's so worth it. I just found out we got tickets to see the Beastie Boys perform (I think in Cenral Park) this Friday night - what a great way to start off the weekend. I have a summer Friday (get the day off) to use before the end of August and I think we're going up to Lake George for the wknd - so I'll probably use it then.
All in all, I absolutely love it here. It is everything I ever imagined and more. I get to be in the most spectacular city in the world every single day. It feels so good to accomplish my goals in life so far and I've just begun. I miss all of my friends in SC and please come visit me. The new townhouse we are moving into (September) has a guest room and lots of space! Oh, also - we communicate at work via AIM - so if you have my screen name, feel free to shoot me a msg there, as it's probably the easiest way to get in touch with me. X's and O's always - H