Becoming a New Yorker

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It's Still All About Mary
2007-12-06 02:49:00
In New York, you and your friend have the opportunity to decide not to go to Mary J. Blige's album listening party because you are too tired from work and helping her move from Brooklyn to Harlem - even though you were previously stoked when her former roommate, who works at Interscope, put you on the guest list.

Phone Photo Op - Men in Macy?s
2007-12-02 03:48:00
The Bedding Section: Where wives leave husbands to convene during holiday shopping outings.Note: This was so much funnier when all of the men were sitting down on the edges of the bed looking forlorn, but as I was hovering by the towels trying to snap a camera phone photo op undetected, the guy in the red jacket jumped up when the group began discussing the Knicks.
More About: Photo , Phone , Macy

Phone Photo Op - Starbucks Christmas Blend
2007-12-02 03:35:00
The marketing ploy behind holiday mark-up coffee beans. I mean, does anyone ever mistakenly brew it in July and then upon first sip sip, ?Oops ... Is this the Christmas blend??
More About: Photo , Phone , Starbucks , Blend

"Things I Love" Thursdays - Christmas in New York
2007-11-30 00:47:00
I love the start of the Christmas season in this city."Things I Love " Thursdays are inspired by "I Love New York " (BNY, February 14, 2007).

This Workplace Break Sponsored by Un-PC PCs
2007-11-29 20:34:00
Since I work in digital advertising, I generally understand content-relevant advertising so I find it slightly offensive and totally amusing, that my myspace homepage triggers these text link advertisements:
More About: Workplace , Break , Sponsored

Annual Conference
2007-11-29 04:23:00
I'm back in New York after enjoying Thanksgiving with my parents in Asheville. And the first annual conference for our department kicked off on Monday with a formal Moroccan dinner on the set of our company's TV studio with our founder and former CEO, which featured courses prepared by her personal chef. To follow were three days of personal and professional discovery and a night of pizza, beer and trivia at Dempsey's Pub in the Lower East Side.I found one of the most notable moments over the past three days to be when our brand new SVP said to an attentive audience in the executive conference room (and I paraphrase):"As with any new job, you go into it with a certain degree of uncertainty. On my third day, [VP*] asked me what she could tell me that no one else had yet. So I said to her, 'How about the truth?'""Without hesitation, she replied, 'I have an amazing team and I love them. They will walk through walls, they'll do anything you ask. We'll hustle for you. Let us go....
More About: Conference , Annual

When the Past Comes Back
2007-11-24 17:14:00
Have you ever been out with friends you haven't seen in years, chatting about the past, the future and everything in between? Then, your jaunt down memory lane recalls a name and face you haven't thought of in years, and you say, "Oh my God! What has Casey Cordell been up to these days?"The faces become sullen and brief glimmers of pain flash around the eyes of those around you and someone says, "He died a few years ago."That happened to me last night with friends at Whiskey Tavern in downtown Asheville. It reminded me of times when old friends and acquaintances would ask me about Rickey in the first years after he passed, and I sometimes wonder how many people that he knew still may not know about him - just like I still hadn't known about Casey.Today I return to New York and again go back thinking of how much I am truly thankful for.
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"Things I Love" Thursdays - Going Home
2007-11-23 04:08:00
I love catching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on television and remembering that I live there. And I love that I get to return to New York after holidays."Things I Love " Thursdays are inspired by "I Love New York" (BNY, February 14, 2007).
More About: Home , Going , Goin

Aging, Not Wrinkles, Is Cruel
2007-11-23 02:56:00
I am not afraid of dying, but rather of becoming old. No. Let me rephrase. I am not afraid of looking old, but I am afraid of my mind aging.There is something endearing to me about getting wrinkly and creaky with someone that you love, about having time wash over you and the years spread across your face and bodies, about sharing moments and memories that create a lifetime. There is an interesting study about why some old lovers look alike, which I found fascinating.But I fear losing my cognitive abilities and my memories, being psychologically alone and emotionally trapped within the prison of my own mind. Whereas now I revel in my own private, daily ponderings as I cruise through life and often struggle vainly to recall as I rush to put pen to paper in order to preserve them, I simultaneously fear the time when I might be trapped alone with my own thoughts and no way to express them.Tonight we shared Thanksgiving dinner with my parents' neighbors (and surrogate grandparents) Jack...
More About: Wrinkles , Cruel , Aging

Sweet Home North Carolina
2007-11-21 02:29:00
"Enjoy the oxygen. Make this week about doing things u cant do in the city. It will b cleansing & therapeutic. NY will be here when u get back, SAMANTHA!" Tokii texted me before she, too, left New York for Raleigh."Awww...poor thing! the city loves u too! enjoy the south as much as u can while youre there! ;) so when we both get back on sat. we will have 2 celebrate our fabulous lives [in nyc]." That was a text from another friend headed to NC for the holidays.So many North Carolinians in New York. Seems to be a trend among those of us trying to put the "Y" in "NC". As much as I am slightly itching to get back to the city, I have to admit that I have enjoyed being back in my high school #2 town. I define towns I've lived in by the stages of my life. Since I don't have a hometown due to my military brat upbringing, there are my elementary school #1 and #2 towns, my middle school town, my high school #1 and #2 towns, my college town and so on. I guess New York City will be my li...
More About: North Carolina , Home , Sweet , Carolina

Phone Photo Op - En Route To Time Out
2007-11-18 23:19:00
So I made Friday and Saturday into one long day by pulling an all-nighter before flying to North Carolina for the Thanksgiving Holiday.Tokii and I joined friends for an album-release party at a club in the Lower East Side before returning to my apartment at 4am so I could pack and catch a 8:50am flight out of La Guardia. Surprisingly I was not regretting the up-all-night extravaganza as much as I thought I would as I wheeled my suitcase out of my apartment and hailed a cab to the nearest M-60 bus stop.Tokii has her own set of keys to my place so she saw me off before crashing on my side of the Hudson River rather than hauling it back to Jersey. We had to admit though that we were both a little shocked at how alert we were at 5:30am - especially as our bodies get farther and farther from those college days. In fact, it was probably easier to get rolling (literally) at that hour without napping.I don't know what it is about leaving New York for me. Even when I know I'm coming right ...
More About: Photo , Phone , Time , Route , Time Out

New York By Air
2007-11-18 23:01:00
Photos with my digital camera upon take-off from La Guardia featuring my office building in midtown and my apartment in Harlem.
More About: New York , York , New-York

Phone Photo Op - Autumn in New York
2007-11-18 00:17:00
More signs of autumn arriving in mid-November as seen looking up from a New York taxicab.[photo to be added]A canopy of leaves in Madison Square Park
More About: Photo , Phone , New-York

Phone Photo Op - Dinner in the Dark
2007-11-17 01:14:00
Enjoying exotic food by candlelight last night courtesy of my club promoter friend and the fabulous dinner parties she throws each week.[photo to be added]I'm not sure what I ate, but it sure was good. It might have helped if I could see, but the dim lighting set the mood, and everyone looks more attractive in the dark.
More About: Photo , Phone , Dinner , Dark , The Dark

Phone Photo Op - Subway Rules
2007-11-17 01:12:00
On my way to a downtown dinner party last night, I realized that I have made it over a year in New York without ever knowing the rules of the subway.[photo to be added]
More About: Photo , Phone , Rules , Subway

"Things I Love" Thursdays - Metro Book Club
2007-11-16 00:04:00
I love opening a novel on the subway. It makes the ride go faster and I can catch up on some reading."Things I Love " Thursdays are inspired by "I Love New York" (BNY, February 14, 2007).
More About: Book , Metro , Club

Phone Photo Op - Fall is the Air
2007-11-10 23:11:00
Or on the leaves anyway. It's warm one day, bitter cold the next. I, and my wardrobe, wish that the temperature would make up its mind.West 135th Street[photo to be added]
More About: Photo , Phone , Fall

Phone Photo Op - Returning from Sick Leave
2007-11-10 00:07:00
Call in sick for one day and return to 100 emails.[photo to be added]Enjoy this last shot of Lotus Notes; our company switches to Outlook soon! Thank God!
More About: Photo , Phone , Leave , Sick

"Things I Love" Thursdays - Fall Fashions
2007-11-09 04:00:00
The wardrobes change as dramatically as the autumn leaves in New York."Things I Love " Thursdays are inspired by "I Love New York" (BNY, February 14, 2007).
More About: Fashions , Fall , Fash

Phone Photo Op - Becoming a Knick
2007-11-07 05:56:00
"If you want to make it through the Knicks game tonight, you better go home and take a nap." - That is how cool my boss is. So I left the office early since I (a) was sick and (b) had a ticket to the Knicks game with my name on it.And so it was that I went to my second Knicks game tonight with my girl Iris. Her boss is a season ticket holder and gave her two tickets to tonight's game versus Denver.[photo to be added]The two guys sitting in front of us (backs of their heads featured above) turned around to high-five us every time the Knicks did something good. After awhile my hand started to hurt. I'm not a huge sports fan, and I've been trying to get over a dual case of severe head cold and bronchitis. Even though the game was fun, poor Iris had to deal with my low-key, docile demeanor.I really wanted a hotdog while we were there, but they were too expensive so we had a New York slice down the street from The Garden afterward and talked ourselves out of meeting friends at Tenjune...
More About: Photo , Phone

Night Out Summary via Text Message
2007-11-05 01:47:00
A text message from my friend Natasha summarized last night out with the girls:"Had a blast last nite! Love you girls! Highlites: limo ride, porn, finding my $30 lip gloss after I lost it, and Iris falling on 27th Street!"All correlated details have been omitted from this post.
More About: Night , Message , Text , Summary , Mess

Phone Photo Ops - The View from the Top
2007-11-03 03:47:00
So we aren't exactly at the top yet, but if kind of feels that way. My best friend will now be in 23 episodes of Tyler Perry's House of Payne. She'll be flying down to Atlanta from New York every Sunday through Wednesday until January.Last night, I left midtown after work and went to her apartment in Jersey to hang out before she leaves on Sunday for her first week of filming. Tonight some friends and I are taking her out for a little V.I.P. treatment at our favorite Lower East Side lounge.The view of the city from Tokii's apartment before I fell asleep last night[photo to be added]And the rainbow sunrise looking East over the Hudson River when I awoke this morning[photo to be added] The city becomes even more beautiful when you are feeling on top of the world.
More About: Photo , Phone , The View , View

Corporate Farewells
2007-11-03 02:04:00
Today I sent a message to my [former] boss's personal email account:Dear [named removed],I just want to thank you (again and again) for the opportunity to work for you over the past year. You have no idea how much my job here has affected my life in New York. So many of the things that I had hoped for have happened to me already in this amazing city that I now call home. And a lot of those things might have never been possible, or would have happened to me at all, if you and [other boss] hadn't taken a chance on a naive, fresh-off-the-farm (or near it) temp. I've always been more of a shit-happens kinda girl, relying on coincidence as an explanation for most of the lucky breaks I've had in my life, and I can't tell you how many times I woke up in my overpriced, tiny 350-square-foot apartment in Harlem and felt like the luckiest girl in New York because I got to come to work here.I have admired and appreciated your guidance, compassion and patience with me as I strived to learn ...
More About: Corporate , Well

"Things I Love" Thursdays - New York Moments
2007-11-02 00:55:00
So here is how a moment in New York feels more magical than anywhere else in the world. Last night, I received great news that would have been good to hear anywhere, but to receive it while walking through the Village in a Halloween costume on a brisk New York night felt iconic - and ironic - in ways I can't describe. Maybe because this is my life, and this is New York.I was exiting the train station at Christopher Street-Sheridan Square between Marilyn Monroe and Cat in the Hat when my phone rang. I am not a habitual call screener, but I am also not one of those people who feels the need to answer my cellphone every time it rings, and I was in no mood to chat. I wasn't feeling irascible, but to briefly describe the atmosphere, I was amidst an intense crowd created by the Halloween Parade on Sixth Avenue, in which the scuffle to either enter or exit the train station prompted one stranger to yell at another: "Bitch! I will slap you!"But since my best friend's name popped up in th...
More About: Love , Things , Moments

Phone Photo Ops - Penis in Penn Station
2007-11-02 00:04:00
Just behind the mouse and adjacent the French maid, a large penis stands tall in Penn sylvania Station .As seen through the window of a downtown no. 2 train.And other characters crowd the subway on Halloween.No one does Halloween like New York City.
More About: Photo , Phone , Penis

Pricing Out
2007-10-31 22:45:00
Tomorrow, with the official renewal of my lease, my rent goes up $200. I will now be paying approximately $40 per night (the cost of a low-budget motel in North Carolina) to live in my 350-square-foot apartment (fittingly equivalent to the space of a low-budget motel room).

Phone Photo Ops - Blood Manor
2007-10-31 02:47:00
Since the line to Blood Manor had reached a three-hour wait by the time we arrived on Saturday night, my friends and I decided to redeem our online-purchased tickets on Tuesday. We arrived directly from our respective offices and waited about 30 minutes for a disturbing jaunt through the Chelsea club turned haunted house.Only in New York is a haunted house featured on a 4th-floor walk-up.The two-headed monster outside of Blood Manor."This monster actually has three heads," our gorgeous, former Miss Indiana friend reminded us ... Gotta love my girls.
More About: Photo , Phone

Corporate Restructure Hits Home
2007-10-30 02:48:00
I learned today that one of my bosses (the AVP one) will be leaving the company due to further restructuring. Though I know that someone, who was named one of the top 25 women to watch by Advertising Age, will be fine (her resume is amazing and she already has new offers lined up), I could not help but feel bummed most of the day.I have been so lucky in my relocation to New York to land a job assisting two fabulous women, who not only guaranteed a great paycheck for someone starting out from scratch in this city, but who also became mentors and friends. Even a year later, I still can't believe that I found two people who took me so far under their wings, investing heavily in both my personal and professional growth. They took great risk in hiring an inexperienced individual to fill an assistant role as demanding as mine and quickly and willingly assumed their unexpected roles as my mentors. Not only have they gone above and beyond in teaching me the industry, but they have taken ca...
More About: Home , Corporate , Hits

Phone Photo Ops - Saturday Night with the Girls
2007-10-28 21:26:00
With girls like mine and a city like this on a Saturday night ... I actually surprised myself with a productive Sunday. I did laundry, cleaned my apartment and caught up on some personal projects.The champagne arrives ...... with strawberries and chocolates
More About: Photo , Phone , Girls , Night

Phone Photo Ops - Wellies
2007-10-28 01:20:00
So I finally gave in and bought a pair of these.I'm actually not sure how I made it over a year in New York without them.
More About: Photo , Phone , Wellies , Well