The city is known for its diversity. Walking down the street you see it all from the straight cut business people to the cross dressers. You see naked people, you see tourists, you see locals. There's something for everyone and there is someone for everything. My fourth in the city was a perfect New York day. The day started early at the Farmer's market on Union Square. It was still coolish and there was still no one on the street... Ahhhh peaceful New York. At around 9:30 I met up with Marion, her dad, and her sister. She is a friend from school that was here for a little vacation. We walked around the farmer's market and then sat down for coffee at a wholefood store (air conditioning included). It was wonderful to see them, and her dad had wonderful places around the city to recommend. They had also just seen ONCE, which got me incredibly excited to see it. After seeing them I walked back to my dorm and got ready for my intern adventures of the day. I met TN girl and we took the subway all the way to 116th, Harlem, where we met Moktar, our Senelgalese intern and another intern with her boyfriend. Moktar took us to eat Senegalese food at his cousin's restaurant. The food was delicious!!! I hate nems, Atticke, Plantains, and a WHOLE tilapia!!!! It was delicious!!!! After eating, we walked through (or more like up) Monringside Park and walked Columbia. Once on the other side we met up at Adam's and walked along the Riverside. After enjoying the walk, we took the subway to Columbus Circle enjoyed Central Park and had some delicious ice cream!!
The next goal was to watch the fireworks. So... Adam and I headed to my dorm, where I picked up a towel and we headed to Hoboken, New Jersey, where we planned to enjoy our night and watch the fireworks from a place that was a little less crowded. The crowds were still huge, but we got to walk by Carlo's Bakery and find a place on the grass to have a little picnic and wait for the fireworks. After about 2 hours and a trip to CVS to get some snacks, the fireworks started! They were awesome!!!!! And after they ended, all the cruises honked their horns and it was kind of magical. After hurrying to catch the train back with the rest of the crowd, I went back home and enjoyed the heat that is my dorm room.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Spontaneity is the Key
I'm a planner, there is no denying that, but even I can be spontaneous every once in a while. On Friday, I decided that I wanted to do something fun this weekend. So with the help of some of the interns, I started to brainstorm. First, I thought, "I want to go to the Hamptons! Who doesn't want to say that they've been to the Hamptons? " But after talking it out with the interns, I realized that it was too much necessary planning for one day. At that point one of the interns said, "you should go to A.C.! (Atlantic City). There are beaches and it is super cute!" That is all it took. The intern from Tennessee, whom I'll refer to as TN, said she would join and invite her sister who was in town for the week. I invited my suite mate and the four of us made the decision. After work, TN and I went to get tickets at the Port Authority bus terminal. After buying them, I walked towards the subway to head home and that is when I stumbled upon the student ticket for that night's performance of Mary Poppins. Soooo I returned home, went to dinner with my roommate/suitemate, and returned to the theater to watch the show. Saturday, my suite mate and I headed to the bus station at 7:00, an hour early, so we could buy her ticket. At that point, they told me that my ticket was wrong and it wasn't likely that I would get my money back. WHAT?!?!?!?! Apparently you can only buy a ticket to Atlantic City on the day of the trip! Yeah, right! After talking to the manager, I was reissued a ticket and my suite mate and I got on the 8:00 bus. However, TN and her sister were late and faced the same wrong ticket issue, so they had to wait and take the 9:00 bus. The crowd on the bus was all over 60 and ready to party and gamble!! tooooo funny! Laura and I got to A.C. at 10:10 and headed towards the wonderful boardwalk. Once there, we started on the mission to find a beach towel and a cute hat! I wanted a cute hat!!!!! Little did we know that the side of the boardwalk we were walking on had no power that morning because of a storm. Once realizing that at the point of purchasing of my new hat, we left to walk north on the boardwalk and halfway we met TN and her sister. On the other side of the boardwalk we found my towel and a cute hat and headed for the beach. We got settled and relaxed. We took turns walking on the water, laying, sleeping, and getting lunch. After lunch we all fell asleep and Laura and I woke up scorched at 2:00. At this point we went in the water and headed for shelter from the sun, also known as an ice cream shop! We left TN and her sister under the umbrella they rented and we headed for the ferris wheel at the end of the pier. The view was amazing!! Once back on the beach, we all packed up and headed towards the bus. On the way, we stopped at a casino to use the bathroom and got a little bit of that side of A.C. Once on the bus, it was hilarious to hear the crowd complain about their losses. Once in the city, Laura and I headed home and crashed for the night.
In the morning, Adam and I had planned to wake up at 4:00 to go line up for tickets to Once, but instead we decided to meet at 8:30 for tickets to Harvey. My skin was killing me, but we found a shady spot and waited for the box office to open at 10:00 so we could get rush tickets for just $20. Thus far we have watched 7 shows, all but 1 in the front 5 rows and have not paid more than $40 (and that was just one, the rest have been 30 and under). At 10:00 they announced that no tickets were being sold. Panicked, we hurried to see if Once was packed, or to find another show.
SInce the beginning of the summer, Adam has been wanting to see Book of Mormon, but it is sold out and the lottery is during work hours. We also heard that the standing room only line is impossible, so we had settled that it was unlikely. HOwever, on the way to another theater that morning, we saw a short line outside and decided to ask about it. The group contained some really bratty high schoolers (7) who shared that they had been sitting there since 5 in the morning for standing room only tickets sold at 2:00 (1 hour before the show). At first I laughed and then... I realized that Adam was excited. There were only 7 people in line and there would be between 24 and 28 tickets sold for 27 dollars. He wanted to wait... He wanted to wait in line for 4 more hours... At 1:00, they would have a lottery for seats in the front rows, but if we lost, we would still get standing room in the back at 2:00. So... of course, we waited. And we made great friends with two couples behind us. One of the couples turned out to be family friends with the guy in Newsies that we both fell in love with. The other couple ended up running over with me at 1:00 to see if we could get Avenue Q tickets for the night. We had a blast! And at 2:00 we got the tickets. We did the impossible!!! After grabbing a quick bite, we were back at 3:00 to stand and watch the show!
The show was wonderful and horribly offensive at the same time. We laughed in shock and loved the wonderful music. After all... it was a HUGE surprise that we were getting to see it! After it ended we returned home and got some well deserved sitting and resting time!
Monday at work was slow, but it involved lots of intern bonding. We finally gave in and realized that the summer is almost up, so... we made plans! We now have an itinerary of activities for the entire week and are excited to get started!
After work I rushed home to do laundry before meeting Adam for dinner and going to Bryant Park to watch the Wizard of Oz out there. Since it was packed, we ended up going back to Washington Square park and sitting on the grass for a good hour or so. It was wonderful and relaxing, I would trade it for the world!
Tuesday was slow again, but after work came our first activity! We planned a dinner/play time at Dave and Busters, which is a restaurant that has a game zone with it. Nothing better than making a fool of yourself playing games! Dinner was sort of crazy, because we expected about 12 and got about 20. We hadn't made a reservation and we were scared to make our waiter mad so we kept adding chairs to this tiny table. After we ate we encountered our next obstacle... the bill... splitting the bill... How many accounting majors does it take to split a dinner bill??? Well, everyone seemed to think it was a good idea to simply round up and divide tip and gratuity evenly, but there was just NO way I was letting that happen. Hahaha... I know, its crazy, but I hated to see those that just bought a drink pay the same tax and gratuity as someone who spent $40 on food. Sooooo. I took it upon myself and we figured out exactly how much everyone owed! It was fun! Girls were panicking throughout lunch because they hated not making a reservation and being spontaneous, but it was a blast! I like last minute things sometimes and this was one of those times! The stress brought us closer and after the stress, we got to play!
At the "play zone" we won tickets, one of the interns got injured with a air hockey puck that was flying around, but most of all we enjoyed each others company and got to know each other even better, which is crazy considering that a lot of us sit in the same room for 8 hours a day!
Whew... Anyhow, I know that was a lot, but I wanted to share some details and stories!!!
In the morning, Adam and I had planned to wake up at 4:00 to go line up for tickets to Once, but instead we decided to meet at 8:30 for tickets to Harvey. My skin was killing me, but we found a shady spot and waited for the box office to open at 10:00 so we could get rush tickets for just $20. Thus far we have watched 7 shows, all but 1 in the front 5 rows and have not paid more than $40 (and that was just one, the rest have been 30 and under). At 10:00 they announced that no tickets were being sold. Panicked, we hurried to see if Once was packed, or to find another show.
SInce the beginning of the summer, Adam has been wanting to see Book of Mormon, but it is sold out and the lottery is during work hours. We also heard that the standing room only line is impossible, so we had settled that it was unlikely. HOwever, on the way to another theater that morning, we saw a short line outside and decided to ask about it. The group contained some really bratty high schoolers (7) who shared that they had been sitting there since 5 in the morning for standing room only tickets sold at 2:00 (1 hour before the show). At first I laughed and then... I realized that Adam was excited. There were only 7 people in line and there would be between 24 and 28 tickets sold for 27 dollars. He wanted to wait... He wanted to wait in line for 4 more hours... At 1:00, they would have a lottery for seats in the front rows, but if we lost, we would still get standing room in the back at 2:00. So... of course, we waited. And we made great friends with two couples behind us. One of the couples turned out to be family friends with the guy in Newsies that we both fell in love with. The other couple ended up running over with me at 1:00 to see if we could get Avenue Q tickets for the night. We had a blast! And at 2:00 we got the tickets. We did the impossible!!! After grabbing a quick bite, we were back at 3:00 to stand and watch the show!
The show was wonderful and horribly offensive at the same time. We laughed in shock and loved the wonderful music. After all... it was a HUGE surprise that we were getting to see it! After it ended we returned home and got some well deserved sitting and resting time!
Monday at work was slow, but it involved lots of intern bonding. We finally gave in and realized that the summer is almost up, so... we made plans! We now have an itinerary of activities for the entire week and are excited to get started!
After work I rushed home to do laundry before meeting Adam for dinner and going to Bryant Park to watch the Wizard of Oz out there. Since it was packed, we ended up going back to Washington Square park and sitting on the grass for a good hour or so. It was wonderful and relaxing, I would trade it for the world!
Tuesday was slow again, but after work came our first activity! We planned a dinner/play time at Dave and Busters, which is a restaurant that has a game zone with it. Nothing better than making a fool of yourself playing games! Dinner was sort of crazy, because we expected about 12 and got about 20. We hadn't made a reservation and we were scared to make our waiter mad so we kept adding chairs to this tiny table. After we ate we encountered our next obstacle... the bill... splitting the bill... How many accounting majors does it take to split a dinner bill??? Well, everyone seemed to think it was a good idea to simply round up and divide tip and gratuity evenly, but there was just NO way I was letting that happen. Hahaha... I know, its crazy, but I hated to see those that just bought a drink pay the same tax and gratuity as someone who spent $40 on food. Sooooo. I took it upon myself and we figured out exactly how much everyone owed! It was fun! Girls were panicking throughout lunch because they hated not making a reservation and being spontaneous, but it was a blast! I like last minute things sometimes and this was one of those times! The stress brought us closer and after the stress, we got to play!
At the "play zone" we won tickets, one of the interns got injured with a air hockey puck that was flying around, but most of all we enjoyed each others company and got to know each other even better, which is crazy considering that a lot of us sit in the same room for 8 hours a day!
Saturday, June 30, 2012
The Magic of the Stage
I am so lucky to have grown up around the stage. When I was little, my parents played in orchestras and ensembles, so I learned to be an audience member quickly! When I moved to the states I started singing in the choir and also began to appreciate being on stage. The thrill of performing with others is incredible, but once I started being part of the musical theater program in high school, I began to understand the true magic that comes from a stage. It isn't about being the center of attention, the star, or even the person behind the curtain. It is about the emotions. It is about the beauty of connecting with others and telling the audience your story. It is about watching the reactions from the people who went through this journey of emotions with you . It is the feeling you get when everything clicks.
As I watched Mary Poppins on Friday night, I realized how hard it is to explain how I feel while I'm watching a show. When I try to figure it out, I always look back to the time I watched my high school perform Kudzu. It is one of the funniest musicals I've ever seen, yet I cried. I'm not sure why I cried. Maybe it was the incredible accompaniment played by the actors themselves, maybe it was their voices, maybe it was their acting skills, or maybe it was the joy that the cast radiated. As I watched Mary Poppins, since I knew the storyline, I was able to focus on pin pointing what made me feel the way I feel about musicals. As I teared up AGAIN, I realized that it wasn't her flying, the tap dancing on the ceiling, or the two 10 year olds that commanded the stage and sang their hearts out. It was the audience, it was the joy, and it was the bond between the emotions that the cast and the audience were feeling. This might not make any sense, but I think that this is why I keep going back. Two very smart people once told me that the reason we sing and dance on stage is because the emotions are sooo big that we don't have another way to express them. Here, on Broadway, I get to witness this time and time again. I get to hear incredible voices, watch young talent develop, and share emotions with hundreds of people that I've never even spoken to. Here, I get to watch the magic that a stage brings and that is why every time it keeps getting better.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Living on a cloud!
AAAAHHH! I have no idea where to start, so I'm taking Julie Andrew's tip and starting from the very beginning. These past two weeks have been incredible...
Last weekend I got to watch Evita.. Then I started a week of work. I LOVE work!!! I have meetings, I work on excel, I get to make friends, and I get to meet wonderful people. Last week on thursday evening Adam and I planned on trying again at the Ghost lottery in order to win some cheap tickets for the musical. The plan was to meet at 5:30, which is when it starts. That's not very hard for me because I get off of work at 5:00 and walk to blocks to where the theater is. However, at 4:45 my supervisor emails me asking me to go to the 23rd floor and find this certain partner. When I get there I find that this partner is setting up for an event for all the female partners in the office. I get some great conversations in with her until 5:30, and then... the event starts and .... she asks me to STAY. We have been trained to make use of every networking opportunity so I could not say no!! But poor Adam!!! So I run upstairs to my office, on the 30th floor, text him that I can't make it and he assures me that he'll try anyway. Relieved to have let him know I head back downstairs. At 7:15 I realize that this event is barely coming to an end and if Adam got the tickets I will have to find a way out. I rush upstairs to call him and I can't find my phone anywhere!!!! I couldn't believe it! Would another intern really steal my phone???? I started panicked and pictured myself sticking my phone in my bag... or at least I thought it was my bad! I start calling it and no one answers, but it is ringing! That's a good sign right? And what about Adam!!! How do I know if he got the tickets?? Finally I run downstairs, find my computer and Facebook adam who replies that he won and we have tickets! WHAAATTT?!?!?! This would happen to me... As I ask the partner, who is finishing up, if she still needs me, sweet adam was running to get me some food and ready to meet me downstairs. As I am packing my things to go, the office phone rings and it's my phone calling!!! YAAAAAYYY the thief or.... the poor intern that couldn't figure out why her bag kept vibrating... Maybe because I was in such a hurry that I stuck my phone in another of the million computer bags laying around in the conference room, or maybe because my mother, sister, and Adam were blowing up my phone with text messages. After meeting Adam and my food downstairs we hurried to the theater, since it was already 7:45. We had front row seats and the show was AMAZING!!! It was sooooo moving, the music was chilling, the set, effects, and design were incredible, and overall we were left speechless. After the show we hurried back to the intern's dorm to get my phone, because.... I forgot to mention that this intern was only in the New York office for the day and would be returning to her New Jersey office the next day.... WOW! With phone in hand I returned to my room tired but thrilled. Musicals are one of my favorite things in the world... The way that the music, the acting, and the effects work together to move the audience is chilling. I have cried through some of the funniest shows simply because the actor's emotions and the beautiful music. That show was one of the prime examples of why I love it!
On Friday I worked and at 5:00 headed to the bus station to meet Adam! At 5:45 our double decker bus left for D.C.! We had the front row seat on the top and got to enjoy the rainy bus ride (5 ish hours) in peace! Once in D.C. we took a taxi to where we were staying ( an incredible hotel where our incredible boss from home invited us to stay with her for 2 nights!) Soon after arriving we fell asleep because Saturday we had a busy day planned.
Early saturday we woke up to get ready for the Honors College Alumni Brunch! It was delicious and very fun to see some of the graduates. After the brunch Adam, Penny, DSG, and I took a walk through the mall. Adam and I kept walking until Mississippi in the Mall when we found Penny and DSG again. This gathering of Mississippi in DC was very lively and fun and was followed by a nice italian dinner, a relaxing evening, and some great times! Early Sunday morning Adam and I headed back to New York!
We arrived around 3:00 and I headed straight for the Shake shack. I have been hearing about this place since I got here and I wanted to go see what the fuss was about! I enjoyed my delicious burger in the Park and then made my way back "home." As soon as I got off the subway at Washington Square Park I realized that I was in for a ride! It's pride week in New York, and I wish that I didn't want to write about so many days so I could dedicate a blog to this show... but maybe tomorrow I will right some more. It was indeed a show! Everyone was decked out in rainbows and hearts and my neighborhood was the center of it all. Tired and overwhelmed I retired to my dorm and called it a night.
Monday was a slow day at work, but after Adam and I planned to try to see another show. Initially Newsies was our goal, but we didn't win the lottery. Adam blamed me... he said he only wins when I'm not there...tisk tisk.. .Since we REALLY wanted to see a show, we headed to RENT/Avenue Q, which were one of the only shows open on a Monday night. Avenue Q was sold out, but Rent was having the lottery. 17 people were there, 16 seats were being raffled... and of course... We were the only ones that did not win 2 tickets... so we walked away without a thing! As we were headed to the subway to head home, we walked by the theater where the Fantastiks was playing. The show has been playing for forever and after stopping we realized that Aaron Carter was in it. Adam was tickled to death and could not stop laughing... soooo... we decided to see if they had some student tickets left! And they did!!!!! So we left with second row seats and headed to a pub to grab some dinner. There was no point talking about anything other than Aaron, because Adam was just not getting over the fact that Aaron was still alive ! hhahaha oh poor Adam! As we wait in the tiny lobby Adam leaves me to go walk to the bathroom, and in comes this guy with a blue hoodie... I thought he resembled Aaron so when Adam came back I thought I would mess with him. Since the guy smiled at me, I told him that Aaron totally smiled at me. He was furious !!!
When we go into the theater, the place turns out to seat maybe 200 and the crowd was just 40 or less... Soooooo intimate! The stage was just the ground and it was tiny and minimalistic. As soon as aaron comes on stage I realize that it was him indeed! I couldn't believe it! Poor guy!!! The show was very very cute and the audience was basically part of it, because it was so little. At one point, Aaron's character yells, "what shall I call her?" and someone in the audience said CANDY! and I swear the cast had to take a second not to start laughing. During another part a little boy got tickled and started laughing hysterically... the mute in the show was trying soooo hard not to laugh, it was magical! After the show, we stayed around with 4 or 5 others and met Aaron, got his picture, heard him joke about how he wanted to start singing "I want candy" when he heard the audience member, and even met his girlfriend. It was surreal!!!!! After the show we left laughing and headed to Roxxys for cheesecake!!!
Today was another wonderful day! At work I got to meet with my supervisors for their yearly strategy meeting and learned a lot about what they do! Then I went straight to Newsies and tried again for the lottery. This time Adam almost didn't make it! But still, I WON!!!!! Yup, I was the third called!!!!!! We got our 4th row seats !!!!!! YAAAAAYYYY!!! And the main guy is the guy from a Joyful Noise! Gosh, too much! After rushing back to my dorm we made it back to the theater where we got the show of a life time. It was truly incredible. I can't even comment on the voices because the quality was incredible! The storyline was precious! The guys were AMAZING! The dancing... I have no words. The whole things was FANTASTIC!!! We were so happy that we had no problem fighting the sea of teenage girls waiting for the guys outside! We waited, we fought, we got our pictures and signatures, and then we walked to our subway. Little did I know that as I was taking my subway, Adam was getting on his with one of the main guys from the show!!! The cute one, well one of the million! The one with the amazing voice! (again, one of the million, but STILL!) SOOOO NOT FAIR! Either way, it was a night to remember! This whole month has been full of nights to remember! As I walked through the shinning side walks (literally full with glitter) to my dorm from the subway station and reminisced on the show, on the shows really, and on all the adventures... I pondered whether to try to squeeze these weeks into one blog or whether to take more time to describe each incredible adventure... The truth is that I don't have enough words even if I dedicated 10 blog posts, so... I'm condensing it into one, and in the future I promise to TRY to report on the events of my dream more frequently! Till then, I'm going to sleep listening to this wonderful soundtrack! Goodnight!!!
Last weekend I got to watch Evita.. Then I started a week of work. I LOVE work!!! I have meetings, I work on excel, I get to make friends, and I get to meet wonderful people. Last week on thursday evening Adam and I planned on trying again at the Ghost lottery in order to win some cheap tickets for the musical. The plan was to meet at 5:30, which is when it starts. That's not very hard for me because I get off of work at 5:00 and walk to blocks to where the theater is. However, at 4:45 my supervisor emails me asking me to go to the 23rd floor and find this certain partner. When I get there I find that this partner is setting up for an event for all the female partners in the office. I get some great conversations in with her until 5:30, and then... the event starts and .... she asks me to STAY. We have been trained to make use of every networking opportunity so I could not say no!! But poor Adam!!! So I run upstairs to my office, on the 30th floor, text him that I can't make it and he assures me that he'll try anyway. Relieved to have let him know I head back downstairs. At 7:15 I realize that this event is barely coming to an end and if Adam got the tickets I will have to find a way out. I rush upstairs to call him and I can't find my phone anywhere!!!! I couldn't believe it! Would another intern really steal my phone???? I started panicked and pictured myself sticking my phone in my bag... or at least I thought it was my bad! I start calling it and no one answers, but it is ringing! That's a good sign right? And what about Adam!!! How do I know if he got the tickets?? Finally I run downstairs, find my computer and Facebook adam who replies that he won and we have tickets! WHAAATTT?!?!?! This would happen to me... As I ask the partner, who is finishing up, if she still needs me, sweet adam was running to get me some food and ready to meet me downstairs. As I am packing my things to go, the office phone rings and it's my phone calling!!! YAAAAAYYY the thief or.... the poor intern that couldn't figure out why her bag kept vibrating... Maybe because I was in such a hurry that I stuck my phone in another of the million computer bags laying around in the conference room, or maybe because my mother, sister, and Adam were blowing up my phone with text messages. After meeting Adam and my food downstairs we hurried to the theater, since it was already 7:45. We had front row seats and the show was AMAZING!!! It was sooooo moving, the music was chilling, the set, effects, and design were incredible, and overall we were left speechless. After the show we hurried back to the intern's dorm to get my phone, because.... I forgot to mention that this intern was only in the New York office for the day and would be returning to her New Jersey office the next day.... WOW! With phone in hand I returned to my room tired but thrilled. Musicals are one of my favorite things in the world... The way that the music, the acting, and the effects work together to move the audience is chilling. I have cried through some of the funniest shows simply because the actor's emotions and the beautiful music. That show was one of the prime examples of why I love it!
On Friday I worked and at 5:00 headed to the bus station to meet Adam! At 5:45 our double decker bus left for D.C.! We had the front row seat on the top and got to enjoy the rainy bus ride (5 ish hours) in peace! Once in D.C. we took a taxi to where we were staying ( an incredible hotel where our incredible boss from home invited us to stay with her for 2 nights!) Soon after arriving we fell asleep because Saturday we had a busy day planned.
Early saturday we woke up to get ready for the Honors College Alumni Brunch! It was delicious and very fun to see some of the graduates. After the brunch Adam, Penny, DSG, and I took a walk through the mall. Adam and I kept walking until Mississippi in the Mall when we found Penny and DSG again. This gathering of Mississippi in DC was very lively and fun and was followed by a nice italian dinner, a relaxing evening, and some great times! Early Sunday morning Adam and I headed back to New York!
We arrived around 3:00 and I headed straight for the Shake shack. I have been hearing about this place since I got here and I wanted to go see what the fuss was about! I enjoyed my delicious burger in the Park and then made my way back "home." As soon as I got off the subway at Washington Square Park I realized that I was in for a ride! It's pride week in New York, and I wish that I didn't want to write about so many days so I could dedicate a blog to this show... but maybe tomorrow I will right some more. It was indeed a show! Everyone was decked out in rainbows and hearts and my neighborhood was the center of it all. Tired and overwhelmed I retired to my dorm and called it a night.
Monday was a slow day at work, but after Adam and I planned to try to see another show. Initially Newsies was our goal, but we didn't win the lottery. Adam blamed me... he said he only wins when I'm not there...tisk tisk.. .Since we REALLY wanted to see a show, we headed to RENT/Avenue Q, which were one of the only shows open on a Monday night. Avenue Q was sold out, but Rent was having the lottery. 17 people were there, 16 seats were being raffled... and of course... We were the only ones that did not win 2 tickets... so we walked away without a thing! As we were headed to the subway to head home, we walked by the theater where the Fantastiks was playing. The show has been playing for forever and after stopping we realized that Aaron Carter was in it. Adam was tickled to death and could not stop laughing... soooo... we decided to see if they had some student tickets left! And they did!!!!! So we left with second row seats and headed to a pub to grab some dinner. There was no point talking about anything other than Aaron, because Adam was just not getting over the fact that Aaron was still alive ! hhahaha oh poor Adam! As we wait in the tiny lobby Adam leaves me to go walk to the bathroom, and in comes this guy with a blue hoodie... I thought he resembled Aaron so when Adam came back I thought I would mess with him. Since the guy smiled at me, I told him that Aaron totally smiled at me. He was furious !!!
When we go into the theater, the place turns out to seat maybe 200 and the crowd was just 40 or less... Soooooo intimate! The stage was just the ground and it was tiny and minimalistic. As soon as aaron comes on stage I realize that it was him indeed! I couldn't believe it! Poor guy!!! The show was very very cute and the audience was basically part of it, because it was so little. At one point, Aaron's character yells, "what shall I call her?" and someone in the audience said CANDY! and I swear the cast had to take a second not to start laughing. During another part a little boy got tickled and started laughing hysterically... the mute in the show was trying soooo hard not to laugh, it was magical! After the show, we stayed around with 4 or 5 others and met Aaron, got his picture, heard him joke about how he wanted to start singing "I want candy" when he heard the audience member, and even met his girlfriend. It was surreal!!!!! After the show we left laughing and headed to Roxxys for cheesecake!!!
Today was another wonderful day! At work I got to meet with my supervisors for their yearly strategy meeting and learned a lot about what they do! Then I went straight to Newsies and tried again for the lottery. This time Adam almost didn't make it! But still, I WON!!!!! Yup, I was the third called!!!!!! We got our 4th row seats !!!!!! YAAAAAYYYY!!! And the main guy is the guy from a Joyful Noise! Gosh, too much! After rushing back to my dorm we made it back to the theater where we got the show of a life time. It was truly incredible. I can't even comment on the voices because the quality was incredible! The storyline was precious! The guys were AMAZING! The dancing... I have no words. The whole things was FANTASTIC!!! We were so happy that we had no problem fighting the sea of teenage girls waiting for the guys outside! We waited, we fought, we got our pictures and signatures, and then we walked to our subway. Little did I know that as I was taking my subway, Adam was getting on his with one of the main guys from the show!!! The cute one, well one of the million! The one with the amazing voice! (again, one of the million, but STILL!) SOOOO NOT FAIR! Either way, it was a night to remember! This whole month has been full of nights to remember! As I walked through the shinning side walks (literally full with glitter) to my dorm from the subway station and reminisced on the show, on the shows really, and on all the adventures... I pondered whether to try to squeeze these weeks into one blog or whether to take more time to describe each incredible adventure... The truth is that I don't have enough words even if I dedicated 10 blog posts, so... I'm condensing it into one, and in the future I promise to TRY to report on the events of my dream more frequently! Till then, I'm going to sleep listening to this wonderful soundtrack! Goodnight!!!
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
The wonder of little things...
Riding the subway, scanning my badge, taking a coffee break, listening in on a conference call... lately, the little things are catching up with me. For the past years I have consistently every night taken the time to be grateful for all the things I appreciate... my rules are easy, if I were to wake up tomorrow to find only the things I had been grateful for the day before would I be happy ? I don't know if that makes any sense, but it does to me, and it helps me realize daily what truly matters. These past few days, however, I have found it harder and harder to narrow my list... It isn't because I couldn't live without these things, but as I hurry through this fast and speedy island I can't help but smile in admiration of the experiences, scenes, and people that this world has to offer. I don't think this is simply because of my current location on a map; it is the little things...
When I was little I would play for hours in my made up desk by my grandmother's room, I would watch her fight with her adding machine and write squiggles and notes all over her desk... I would watch my cousin Lucia highlight her notes in admiration... I was weird, there's no doubt about that, but hey... I'm still weird! All these years I watched them and many more admiring them and thinking wow... they are cool! Though I soon found out that I didn't enjoy reading and highlighting as much as Lu did, I did come to the realization that I didn't mind the fights with the adding machine. As the years passed I often wondered if I grew up too fast watching them and coping them in my own desk by my grandmother's room, but today I feel like I grew up just in time and I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. This whole thing might seem like a rambling session, but I have been in awe of everything these past few days.
Some might say it is because it is all new to me and I will be sick of it in a month, but I'm not so sure. Yesterday, I met with my supervisor who shared with me a box for her business cards. It was a wooden box with a bear on it. Her mother bought her that box when she was in the seventh grade to hold the business cards she had made for herself. As I talked with my other supervisor today, we laughed over the fact that neither of us minded calling a million people on the phone or talking to a group of strangers. Later, as I sat with some of the interns in our wonderful conference room we bonded over our obsession with office supplies. All this might seem dumb, stupid, or pointless, but to me it really has meant the world. It just all fits...
My story has never been ordinary, and the past few years wether I'm in Uruguay or Mississippi I'm always the strange one (I don't mean that in a negative way) with the unique story, and I guess this is one of the reasons that I wanted to come to New York, where no two people are the same. I wanted to bond with people because they were different (just like me). I love where I live and I wouldn't trade it for the worlds, but I wanted open mindedness and diversity... and I found it, but at the same time I found a sense of peace in the city. Peace in knowing that no matter how different we all are, we are all the same. I haven't met two people that are the same in New York. But at the same time, I have found that we all have some quirky personality traits in common.... It is incredibly refreshing to meet people with whom I share NOTHING... we didn't grow up in the same place, we didn't go to the same school, we don't do the same things, we think completely differently, but still... we always have something in common. On the first day, I bonded with 2 of my roommates because we all agreed that we would drop any job to become wedding planners... I mean, what are the chances? And these kind of connections have continued to pop up through out these weeks... Its incredibly surprising and gives me more and more to be grateful for.
As I breath in every subway ride, every adventure with my intern friends as we search the 40 + floors for coffee cups, every walk through the park, every musician on the street, I can't help but smile. We live in an incredible world full of wonderful, different, and interesting people. Though some scare the mess out of me past a certain time in the day, I can't help to think about what quirky thing we would have in common if we sat down to talk.
I don't know what possessed me to write all this down, but can summarize it all in one though... I think I'm heading in the right direction. I don't know if the Big Apple is the answer, but it is helping me realize that I am making some right choices. Whether I end up here or the end of the world, there will always be someone there who is both alike and different from me, and that thought exciting!
Sorry for the babbling!!!
When I was little I would play for hours in my made up desk by my grandmother's room, I would watch her fight with her adding machine and write squiggles and notes all over her desk... I would watch my cousin Lucia highlight her notes in admiration... I was weird, there's no doubt about that, but hey... I'm still weird! All these years I watched them and many more admiring them and thinking wow... they are cool! Though I soon found out that I didn't enjoy reading and highlighting as much as Lu did, I did come to the realization that I didn't mind the fights with the adding machine. As the years passed I often wondered if I grew up too fast watching them and coping them in my own desk by my grandmother's room, but today I feel like I grew up just in time and I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. This whole thing might seem like a rambling session, but I have been in awe of everything these past few days.
Some might say it is because it is all new to me and I will be sick of it in a month, but I'm not so sure. Yesterday, I met with my supervisor who shared with me a box for her business cards. It was a wooden box with a bear on it. Her mother bought her that box when she was in the seventh grade to hold the business cards she had made for herself. As I talked with my other supervisor today, we laughed over the fact that neither of us minded calling a million people on the phone or talking to a group of strangers. Later, as I sat with some of the interns in our wonderful conference room we bonded over our obsession with office supplies. All this might seem dumb, stupid, or pointless, but to me it really has meant the world. It just all fits...
My story has never been ordinary, and the past few years wether I'm in Uruguay or Mississippi I'm always the strange one (I don't mean that in a negative way) with the unique story, and I guess this is one of the reasons that I wanted to come to New York, where no two people are the same. I wanted to bond with people because they were different (just like me). I love where I live and I wouldn't trade it for the worlds, but I wanted open mindedness and diversity... and I found it, but at the same time I found a sense of peace in the city. Peace in knowing that no matter how different we all are, we are all the same. I haven't met two people that are the same in New York. But at the same time, I have found that we all have some quirky personality traits in common.... It is incredibly refreshing to meet people with whom I share NOTHING... we didn't grow up in the same place, we didn't go to the same school, we don't do the same things, we think completely differently, but still... we always have something in common. On the first day, I bonded with 2 of my roommates because we all agreed that we would drop any job to become wedding planners... I mean, what are the chances? And these kind of connections have continued to pop up through out these weeks... Its incredibly surprising and gives me more and more to be grateful for.
As I breath in every subway ride, every adventure with my intern friends as we search the 40 + floors for coffee cups, every walk through the park, every musician on the street, I can't help but smile. We live in an incredible world full of wonderful, different, and interesting people. Though some scare the mess out of me past a certain time in the day, I can't help to think about what quirky thing we would have in common if we sat down to talk.
I don't know what possessed me to write all this down, but can summarize it all in one though... I think I'm heading in the right direction. I don't know if the Big Apple is the answer, but it is helping me realize that I am making some right choices. Whether I end up here or the end of the world, there will always be someone there who is both alike and different from me, and that thought exciting!
Sorry for the babbling!!!
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Mama I'm a Big Girl Now
Before I start I have to let you know that this is going to be a long one, because I have a lot to say. Then again, what's new!?!? I'm going to try to be methodic about this, so I will go day by day...
Wednesday:
Finally the Horizon interns for FSO (Financial Services Office) got to have their own orientation and learn about what we will be doing and who we will be doing it with. There is a total of 36ish interns and we got a full day of games, information, and skits to bond with. It was actually very fun and the other interns seem like very interesting people. From day one I can see signs of personalities (the clown, the talker, the complainer (surprisingly not me),etc) but I am trying not to make judgements. I also realized at the end of the day, that one of the interns is also from Montevideo, seriously?!?!?! What are the chances!!!!!! After the meeting I got to meet one of the supervisors for my team and got my first assignments!!!!! Aaaahhh! I have an assignment AND I like it! My first task involved a list of 662 people that needed to be called and 10 others that needed to be called about other matters. After receiving the email I was a little worried, but after all the orientations were finally over my supervisor came down to meet me and assured me that not all of them needed to be called. It turns out she needed to be out of the office Thursday and Friday for a wedding, and she wanted to make sure I had enough to do. I don't know if I made it known, but I am THRILLED that she is making sure I'm busy, because I truly LOVE busy. Sorry about the obnoxious capital letters happening, but Miranda taught me that this is the only way to show emotion when writing! (and i guess exclamation points too) Anyhow... back to the topic at hand... I love the office! And on Wednesday I was excited for it to be Thursday! Soooo excited that I went directly to bed and woke up by myself in the morning (a first). After getting ready quickly, I hurried to the subway station where I stood with the other locals dressed up in business attire... After 4 stops I was at the office at .... 8:15... Ok, so i'm supposed to start at 9:00, there isn't any rule that you can't be too early!!!! Gladly, I was not the first there! When I walked into our assigned conference room, I could not believe it! It was tiny, but most importantly it is a CORNER OFFICE with all windows on the 30th floor with and incredible view!!! Ok, so I share it with 11 other interns, but after seeing the other group that is in the back of the windowless mail room, I could not be any happier!!!
As people trickled in I realized I had a problem, how the heck was I going to call 600+ people in a room with 14 people!! I don't mind calling strangers or talking to strangers, but I sort of mind calling and talking to strangers while other strangers stare at me waiting for their supervisors to come get them. After about 30 minutes, I realized that we are actually all in this together... so I got over it and started the calls!
It was incredibly fun! I was a little jealous because the others had their supervisors come and take them to lunch,etc, but my time will come, and I love calling people! At lunch I decided stay and drink a protein shake while the rest ventured to the cafeteria, so that I could get some work done. It was a blast! I love the people in there. My favorite is a guy from West Africa, because everything he says is soooo funny. I don't know if he means to be, but he has made us all bond and is incredibly sweet! On Thursday I also got to meet a guy who works there whom my accounting teacher at home had referred me to. He was incredibly nice and came down to our conference room to meet me. We have advisors and counselors assigned to each of us, and the West African guy and I share a peer mentor, we are going out to eat with her next week so it should be fun! She was also an intern with the company and now works full time auditing. She spends most of her time at the client site so she came specifically to stop by and say hello.
Even though I did not get to try out the cafeteria the first day, I did get to go to the break room!!! We have an incredible coffee machine. It is sort of like a Keurig, because you chose individual flavors, but it is better!! You can mix two, make tea, cappuccinos, hot chocolate, or anything else you want! There's vending machines which are incredibly cheap, because they are subsidized, and there is a supply closet! It is the closet of my dreams!!! Any and all desk supplies you could dream of!! You just swipe you badge (yes, I have a badge now!) and get what you need! My new badge also lets me into the building and each floor... I officially feel like an insider!!
At five on thursday I left and headed back to the dorm. Once there I stayed in bed and watched my new found show Dawson's Creek. Lame... yes I know, I'm only 200 years behind the rest of the world... but what can I say...
Friday morning was another early morning at work, but this time on purpose. My accounting teacher from Sophomore year is in town for the weekend and I agreed to meet her in Times Square in the afternoon. In order to do that, I had to make sure I could still get my 8 hours in. I found that I was not the first in the office, because one of the girls that commutes from Jersey asked to make her schedule 8 to 4 in order to avoid rush hour traffic. Since the firm seems to be incredibly flexible and considerate they told her that was fine! Once the office was full again, we all continued on our diverse tasks while joking and laughing! It's really a good group, I have a feeling we are going to get sick of each other at some point, but so far so good! On Friday I finally made it to the cafeteria and it was wonderful! You have a million wonderful options and eating with the interns was enjoyable as well! At 3 I left the office to meet with my teacher, who was eating with her daughter at McDonald's. I talked with them for a few minutes and then rushed back to the office so I could still be able to leave a little early!
Once my 8 hours were complete at 4:45, I left and headed to Ghost the Musical, where Adam and I were planning on playing the lottery to win cheaper tickets, but luck was not on our side! But all is well, we crossed over to Gerschwin's Porgy and Bess and got student rush tickets for that instead! After grabbing dinner and killing some time, we headed over to the theater and enjoyed the show.
Even though it was different from anything i've seen on Broadway, it was terrific! I loved the male vocals and acting, they were truly impressive!!! It is not my new favorite, but I am glad I got to see it!
The plan for this morning involved me getting up at 7:00 meeting another girl from Mississippi who is here and heading to Evita to get rush tickets for tonight, however... I OVERSLEPT!!! I woke up at 9:30 in a panic thinking of poor Miriam waiting at Union Square and our lost tickets. I immediately called Adam who told me not to worry that they were in line and that Miriam had not waited THAT long. I feel awful about it, but at least we have tickets for tonight! Tomorrow I WILL get up, because I have to get rush tickets for Other Desert Cities' last performance, I promised my theater teacher from high school I would, and if he says its good, it must be amazing! But for today, I'm excited about Evita! After a lazy morning today, I headed over to Washington Square park to get some lunch and ran into a wonderful street market and a whole lot of people! I LOVE NEW YORK! It is a gorgeous day and the energy here is just incredible!
For now, I'm off to go venture some more!! Sorry about the length of this post, but then again... no one is forcing you to read!!!!
Wednesday:
Finally the Horizon interns for FSO (Financial Services Office) got to have their own orientation and learn about what we will be doing and who we will be doing it with. There is a total of 36ish interns and we got a full day of games, information, and skits to bond with. It was actually very fun and the other interns seem like very interesting people. From day one I can see signs of personalities (the clown, the talker, the complainer (surprisingly not me),etc) but I am trying not to make judgements. I also realized at the end of the day, that one of the interns is also from Montevideo, seriously?!?!?! What are the chances!!!!!! After the meeting I got to meet one of the supervisors for my team and got my first assignments!!!!! Aaaahhh! I have an assignment AND I like it! My first task involved a list of 662 people that needed to be called and 10 others that needed to be called about other matters. After receiving the email I was a little worried, but after all the orientations were finally over my supervisor came down to meet me and assured me that not all of them needed to be called. It turns out she needed to be out of the office Thursday and Friday for a wedding, and she wanted to make sure I had enough to do. I don't know if I made it known, but I am THRILLED that she is making sure I'm busy, because I truly LOVE busy. Sorry about the obnoxious capital letters happening, but Miranda taught me that this is the only way to show emotion when writing! (and i guess exclamation points too) Anyhow... back to the topic at hand... I love the office! And on Wednesday I was excited for it to be Thursday! Soooo excited that I went directly to bed and woke up by myself in the morning (a first). After getting ready quickly, I hurried to the subway station where I stood with the other locals dressed up in business attire... After 4 stops I was at the office at .... 8:15... Ok, so i'm supposed to start at 9:00, there isn't any rule that you can't be too early!!!! Gladly, I was not the first there! When I walked into our assigned conference room, I could not believe it! It was tiny, but most importantly it is a CORNER OFFICE with all windows on the 30th floor with and incredible view!!! Ok, so I share it with 11 other interns, but after seeing the other group that is in the back of the windowless mail room, I could not be any happier!!!
 |
| The View of the Office |
 |
| What a view |
 |
| The office |
As people trickled in I realized I had a problem, how the heck was I going to call 600+ people in a room with 14 people!! I don't mind calling strangers or talking to strangers, but I sort of mind calling and talking to strangers while other strangers stare at me waiting for their supervisors to come get them. After about 30 minutes, I realized that we are actually all in this together... so I got over it and started the calls!
It was incredibly fun! I was a little jealous because the others had their supervisors come and take them to lunch,etc, but my time will come, and I love calling people! At lunch I decided stay and drink a protein shake while the rest ventured to the cafeteria, so that I could get some work done. It was a blast! I love the people in there. My favorite is a guy from West Africa, because everything he says is soooo funny. I don't know if he means to be, but he has made us all bond and is incredibly sweet! On Thursday I also got to meet a guy who works there whom my accounting teacher at home had referred me to. He was incredibly nice and came down to our conference room to meet me. We have advisors and counselors assigned to each of us, and the West African guy and I share a peer mentor, we are going out to eat with her next week so it should be fun! She was also an intern with the company and now works full time auditing. She spends most of her time at the client site so she came specifically to stop by and say hello.
Even though I did not get to try out the cafeteria the first day, I did get to go to the break room!!! We have an incredible coffee machine. It is sort of like a Keurig, because you chose individual flavors, but it is better!! You can mix two, make tea, cappuccinos, hot chocolate, or anything else you want! There's vending machines which are incredibly cheap, because they are subsidized, and there is a supply closet! It is the closet of my dreams!!! Any and all desk supplies you could dream of!! You just swipe you badge (yes, I have a badge now!) and get what you need! My new badge also lets me into the building and each floor... I officially feel like an insider!!
 |
| My caption |
Friday morning was another early morning at work, but this time on purpose. My accounting teacher from Sophomore year is in town for the weekend and I agreed to meet her in Times Square in the afternoon. In order to do that, I had to make sure I could still get my 8 hours in. I found that I was not the first in the office, because one of the girls that commutes from Jersey asked to make her schedule 8 to 4 in order to avoid rush hour traffic. Since the firm seems to be incredibly flexible and considerate they told her that was fine! Once the office was full again, we all continued on our diverse tasks while joking and laughing! It's really a good group, I have a feeling we are going to get sick of each other at some point, but so far so good! On Friday I finally made it to the cafeteria and it was wonderful! You have a million wonderful options and eating with the interns was enjoyable as well! At 3 I left the office to meet with my teacher, who was eating with her daughter at McDonald's. I talked with them for a few minutes and then rushed back to the office so I could still be able to leave a little early!
Once my 8 hours were complete at 4:45, I left and headed to Ghost the Musical, where Adam and I were planning on playing the lottery to win cheaper tickets, but luck was not on our side! But all is well, we crossed over to Gerschwin's Porgy and Bess and got student rush tickets for that instead! After grabbing dinner and killing some time, we headed over to the theater and enjoyed the show.
Even though it was different from anything i've seen on Broadway, it was terrific! I loved the male vocals and acting, they were truly impressive!!! It is not my new favorite, but I am glad I got to see it!
 |
| Wedding Pictures at Washington Square Park |
 |
| Street Market |
 |
| Washington Square Park |
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Rainy days and Monday sure don't keep me down!
Cheesy I know, but I love Cheese! Yesterday was day 1 with the firm, and if I have taken anything from the past two days, it is the importance of confidentiality in the firm. Everything we deal with, see, and hear could be top secret information, so I will be disclosing almost nothing of what I'll work on. Day one started early for me, because I wanted to make sure to be there right at 8:30. I ended up getting there at like 7:45 and sat at a coffee and enjoyed the fact that I was about to begin my career with the firm. It's actually beyond surreal... I just sat there looking over my paperwork in my business attire sipping my coffee.... WOW! Once at the office they had a wonderful breakfast ready for us and the orientation began. After our delicious lunch, they gave us our computers and the introduction to the system began. We learned about our email system and appointment scheduler. THe orientation was done by 5:30 and I hurried back on the subway to my dorm and had dinner at the dining hall with Adam. Laying in bed at night it finally hit me. I'm living a movie life... or at least the kind of movies I was always obsessed with when I was little (or like last week). I take the subway to work looking professional, get to work and am legitimately treated like royalty, and then today... the icing on the cake. I got an email from my team leader. I have a TEAM LEADER! What?!?!? And an appointment request for a lunch meeting with my team! Is this real life? Ok, though I know that this summer internship is not a client based internship, and I will be working with teams in the office, it is going to be an incredible experience to get me ready for another internship where I will work with more of the accounting side and meet with clients.
Today was more of the same... we got set up in the system and received details on our training sessions for tomorrow. I have to be in at 8:30, but since we got out early today, I should be very well rested for that! After a walk in the rain, I have decided that after a week and a half of rain scattered days, I will be purchasing an umbrella! It took me way too long to give in, but I can't go to work in cute clothes with a gross looking rain jacket over it! Maybe after I get my paycheck I will take a walk to Forever 21 (2 blocks from here) and buy a cute rain jacket! For now, I am going to go lay in bed and work on the Freshman Retreat for the Honors College!
Today was more of the same... we got set up in the system and received details on our training sessions for tomorrow. I have to be in at 8:30, but since we got out early today, I should be very well rested for that! After a walk in the rain, I have decided that after a week and a half of rain scattered days, I will be purchasing an umbrella! It took me way too long to give in, but I can't go to work in cute clothes with a gross looking rain jacket over it! Maybe after I get my paycheck I will take a walk to Forever 21 (2 blocks from here) and buy a cute rain jacket! For now, I am going to go lay in bed and work on the Freshman Retreat for the Honors College!
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