Sex in the City.

Every male in New York is obscenely attractive; it's not even fair. I work with a bunch of hot guys. There are 2 whom I currently have an eye on. One has a verified girlfriend (so he said). The other reminds me of a hotter, older, more adult (not by much) J. He's VERY attractive but his personality, much like J, is a total turn off.
Work is amazing. I love every day that I'm there. I feel so lucky to not only have found a job, but to have found something that I LOVE thoroughly.
Training has been REALLY intense but I'm picking it up rather quickly and I'm excited to get in and get my hands dirty.

I'm probably going to PA tomorrow after work to decompress and have some VERY MUCH NEEDED space.
Will likely write a LONG entry in PA.

Final move!

So I'm just moved permanently up to Brooklyn. I'm staying with a friend (E) and it's not too shabby.
My first day of work was today and it. was. awesome. I couldn't be more thrilled about a new job. This place has so many perks, not to mention the COOLEST people work there and I'm truly proud and pleased to be there.

New York is really funny. I've been having a lot of those "only in New York" moments. I've been apartment hunting and have viewed quite a few places! The first was this gorgeous two bedroom in Crown Heights. It started when I found the place online, a NEW RENT STABILIZED building that they are trying to fill ASAP. I immediately called and got no answer. I ended up getting a return phone call from an agent... let's call him Jim. Jim called me back on Saturday night around 10 PM. He talked really fast and sounded really spaced out. He wasn't aloof, he was just weird, calling me Hunny and Sweetie (I hate pet names).
We ended up touching base on Sunday afternoon and when we pulled up, he was outside smoking a cigarette. He was shaking pretty obviously as if he was going through withdrawal of some sort. He smelled like alcohol, something E and I both laughed at. He was drinking a cup of coffee, which we thought was probably spiked with liquor. Nothing like an Irish coffee to start your day. That's not as great a description as it could be but I thought it was pretty funny.

Riding the train alone in the morning is great. I feel like a true New Yorker, and a weird sense of pride! I don't know how people do it but it always makes me laugh: they fall asleep on the subway and you can see just as they're drifting off, their neck relaxes and their head tips forward and they (of course) wake up. It makes me laugh every time. How the hell do they NOT break their necks?! I just don't get it.

So one of the amazing perks of working at this place is that they give us lunch every day. Today we had PBJ; it doesn't sound that exciting, but it is. They offer every type of peanut butter and jelly available and the bread is ridiculously fresh and delicious. I had a crunchy peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich on like, sliced warm challah. So good.
The woman training me reminds me of an old roommate, and one of the guys in my office reminds me of Howard from the Big Bang Theory... both of these things make me smile uncontrollably.
Also, throughout the offices and even the store there's tons of Qees (Kidrobot mostly), IT Crowd references, memes posted, a lot of antique furniture/radios (so cool), and other awesome artsy stuff.
It's just an amazing environment and the people are really great and I'm really, really looking forward to growing into the company.

Will update again soon. I've been having trouble updating because of the move and because I've been so busy!

Also I'M EXHAUSTEDDDDD!!!!!!!!

Jobs!

Pretty sure I have a solid job lined up so now it's time to start looking for an apartment in NY!
Here are some of my priorities; I'm looking for something in Brooklyn or Queens.

I want something for <$1000 a month. I'm a homebody and enjoy having company, so I want a place that feels like home (this is incredibly important)! I wouldn't mind having a roommate. I would like a sizeable kitchen because I enjoy cooking and don't think I'll have money to eat out often. If I do have roommates, I'd prefer to be close with them and not feel any tension. I need fast internet; no negotiation!

I will update when I get the offer from this job, which should be by the end of the week (if I get it!).
Cross your fingers!

Time is FLYING

Still in PA, but dedicating a LOT of time to job hunting and doing contact calls, exploratory calls, all the good stuff.
My work has definitely paid off because I have two interviews on Monday in New York!

When I initially made the move from Lincoln, I thought I had my life figured out. I was dating a wonderful guy, had absolutely security, and knew that everything would work out. Since we're no longer dating, I'm kind of questioning whether or not I ACTUALLY want to live in the city. Based on the number of opportunities I'm seeing and that I've seen, I think it's safe to say that I 100% am committed to living in NY for at least a year, if not longer. It's looking more like 5 years.
So I'm setting up a 5 year plan for myself. I want to set some real, attainable goals.
My first goal is to figure out what I REALLY want to do, to find what kind of job will make me happy. Luckily because I've had a ton of experience, I know that I don't want to work retail forever and I don't want to work for a TINY company ( <30 employees) and I don't want to work for a BIG company ( >150). I love working with people, so I don't want a job that has no interaction.
I want to find something that works with my passions: music (!!!!!), technology (I'm an Apple girl for real), art (vinyl toys, graphic design, typography, nail art), or beer (I'm a huge drink geek).
I think ideally, MY DREAM JOB, I'd work at a music venue. Luckily, this is one of my interviews on Monday. I think the position is a box office job, meaning I'd get paid X amount of dollars and do set up, break down, and general service stuff. I would love for that to be a full time thing. I would love to be MORE involved in the entire process. Maybe a community manager position, or book shows, or run social media; I would love that.
My other interview is at (essentially) an Apple distributor. This position would be full time, with lots of perks. I passed the phone interview and have my second "see-if-you-fit" interview on Monday. I'm anticipating it and really looking forward to meeting everyone because it sounds like a great work environment and an amazing position for me. I think it will be a really great fit.

So there's that. That's what I've been up to. Yesterday I also met with a woman who places people in jobs for a tech school. She's sort of a job counselor and had a lot of great advice, along with an open ear. It was nice to express my frustrations without judgement.

Anyway, I'll try to update more regularly, I've just been REALLY focused on finding a job so I can get out of my parents' house and back to the city.

Social Footprint

As someone in advertising who is knowledgeable (and aware) of the effects of social media, I wanted to explore my social footprint.
I have a facebook, twitter, Reddit, pinterest, linkedin... account, and they all seem to be clean, but they're not focused. My facebook and personal twitter account are not only to keep in touch with people, but also to network. Via both sites, I've gotten jobs, found places to live, and sold various items. My Reddit account has solidly gotten me jobs, but still gives me the freedom to explore lots of things (without consequence). Pinterest is still new to me, but I am LOVING it!!! I can't say enough good about this site. The only negative thing is that I don't think I'll ever get offline.

LinkedIn is where I draw the line. I try to utilize LinkedIn to the max, but I find that it's particularly difficult. You build up your network to find people who can more or less be references. Supposedly the site gets you jobs and connects you to strangers, but that's not the case. Every time I try to connect to someone in a useful, meaningful way, I can't. They are "outside" of my network. How do I bring them in? You can't send them a message via LinkedIn without an e-mail address, but why not just e-mail? I find LinkedIn to be excessive and, frankly, a waste of time.
I'm about ready to delete my account.

Yesterday I told myself that tomorrow will be a new day and a new start.
I woke up this morning feeling really down, but went out with my mom and grandmother and ended up feeling really great. I unpacked my car and finally gave in, acknowledging that I will probably be in PA for a little bit.
I think I'm okay with this... I just want to do something that makes me happy.
In the meantime, I'm working on my copywriting portfolio and continuing to try to find something to make some money. I am so poor... SO POOR.

Back in Philadelphia

I'm back at my parents' house. I think I asked for too much money and didn't get the job I was working toward.
I put all my eggs in one basket and am now stressed beyond belief.

Don't feel like saying much at the moment.