Thievery Corporation and Buckminster Fuller

Hello friends and family, and welcome to another fabulous weekend in New York City.

The best part about working for a huge company like Time Warner, are all of the side perks. Because the company donates so much money to the various foundations and programs around the city, my little Time Warner ID badge is like a golden ticket to the wonders of the Big Apple.

Thursday, for example, I joined my cubicle neighbor, Alon, and two of his friends, Loretta and Whitney, for a benefit concert in Central Park. Because of our little badges, we got the tickets for free. The concert was headlined by a group called Thievery Corporation. Their music is a sort of world-folk-techno-pop-lounge blend that I weirded me out at first, but which I loved after I got used to it. Best of all was that I totally clicked with Loretta and Whitney and I made two wonderful new friends.

Friday, I got a little tour of Queens, which checks off borough #4 out of 5. Despite my hosts emphatic declaration that Queens is the superior borough, I remain convinced that nowhere can compare with the wonders of Manhattan.

Saturday, I met another friend from work for brunch and a tour of the Whitney Museum on the east side. Once again, that fabulous little ID badge got us in for free. At the Whitney there was also a large exhibit on the life work of a futurist inventor named Buckminster Fuller, who occasionally signed his name as "Bucky." Years ahead of his time, Fuller was all about sustainable resources and low-impact housing that utilized energy efficiency for a more environment friendly lifestyle.

After the museum we walked back through Central Park to the west side. It was one of those amazing Saturday's in the park, where it feels like the entire world has come to spend a day playing in the grass. There were teams playing softball, people rowing on the lake, kids doing flips and stunts by the fountain, and everywhere you walked you heard bits of conversation in heavily accented English.

I love living here. I love that everyone is from somewhere else, and everyone has an accent. I love that there are always a hundred things going on and that I make a new friend every day. I love that people have high hopes and big ideas about the future. I love that living in New York makes the whole world feel like a rich, diverse and exciting place.

Living in New York just makes me a little ball of love.

XOXO

theblackboxes.com

Well friends and family, its been a busy week, and to tell you the truth, I'm somewhere in that vague haze between exhausted and dead. But I couldn't put it to rest without sharing the brilliant result of many months hard work and some top notch collaboration.

Back in January, my friends Matt and Jonathan, shared with me their idea for a new kind of branding solution. I thought it was genius and they invited me to join them. Six months and many meetings later, that idea has evolved into The Black Boxes and its virtual identity:

www.theblackboxes.com

This is the first iteration of the website, and no doubt it will continue to evolve and improve. Even now, however, I'm extremely proud of what we've created together and it continues to be my great pleasure to work with Matt and Jonathan.

Your feedback, both positive and negative, is welcome and appreciated.

Be remarkable!

Have MBA, will travel...

Well this week is off to a good start... Two nights in a row I've been able to meet up for dinner with friends from my MBA program back in California!

The lovely Jennifer Campbell and her husband Ian are spending the week in New York City on vacation, so they carved out a night between seeing Wicked and Spamalot to meet me for dinner. It was oh so fun to see people from home!

And tonight was also wonderful when I met up with Jennifer Bertrand and her husband Josh. They moved out here just before I did because Jennifer was promoted to a corporate position in her company, so they live across the river in New Jersey and I was able to meet them just off of 5th Avenue at my favorite restaurant yet: Fig & Olive.

It seems like visiting me is now the trendy thing to do.

So come on, every body's doing it...

Rooftop Party

Apprently, I have a roof. Not just a roof, but a big wide roof with a beautiful view of Central Park and the Upper West Side.

I discovered this roof courtesy of my next door neighbor Thomas (pictured below), who threw a party on top of our building on Saturday and invited our apartment to be there.

We dragged the futon from my room up so we had something to sit on and Thomas was a fantastic host: white lights, candles, pasta, the works. We were even treated to a spontaneous firework show from a few blocks away. All of my roommates were there and I met a few more really interesting people in our building. A lovely evening was had by all.

Me and Roommate Sarah...

Roommate Katie and Roommate Sarah...

All three roommates...

Cheers!

The Mermaid Parade

Today we participated in one of New York's finest long standing traditions: the Coney Island Mermaid Parade!

In case you aren't familiar with the festivities, let me enlighten you. Basically, freaks and geeks from far and wide don MERMAID costumes and parade down the boardwalk, and thousands of people come to watch. Some of them are draped in fishnets, some are covered in seashells, and some aren't really covered at all... But everyone has a grand old time.

There was a 2o foot seahorse...

An octopus...

The Marine Antoinettes... (get it?)

"H" and "No-H," enjoy it all from the sidelines, while secretly wishing we had brought our fins...

Bon Voyage reality, hello Coney Island!

Robbie Gil and Katz's

This is why I'm here... because at 10pm on a Friday night, my roommates and I set out on the subway for the Lower East Side, met up with a few more friends, we all went to a lounge/bar for a seriously good live music performance and then to a famous deli in the neighborhood for some food before rushing home and nearly getting caught in a summer down pour.

The Living Room, great little venue...

Robbie Gil and his adorable bass player...

The girls, Sara, Katie, Sarah and Sarah...


Katz's is FAMOUS, and a little intimidating. When you walk in the front door they hand you a pink ticket and you're thinking, "Uh, what am I supposed to do with this?" And then if you order the wrong thing at the wrong counter they look at you like you're a complete imbecile for wasting their time and send you away without giving any real instructions for finding the correct counter...

Another reason Katz's is famous...

Me and roommate Sarah...

Roommate Katie...

I liked Katz's, it felt very authentic. As evidence by this disturbing display on the menu...

... tongue and eggs? Yummy.

Go Yankees!

I checked off Borough #3 by attending a game at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx tonight.

When we showed up it was pouring rain, and the seats were a little wet, as demonstrated here by my roommate Sarah and our friend Amy:

This is Sarah from the front...

We also brought along Maurice, our resident New Yorker and actual life-long Yankees fan, just to make the experience authentic...

... Plus, when you're sitting in the bleachers, it helps to have muscly guy along to scare off the crazies.

After the rain subsided we enjoyed the great All American pastimes in one of its most famous venues:

A-Rod hit a home run, and by the time we left it looked like the Padres were going down in flames.

Go Yankees!

The BIG Gamble

I started my job today. And I came up with this analogy...

Accepting a job offer after one interview, is like accepting a marriage proposal after one date. It doesn't mean it won't work out, it just means you're taking a really big gamble.

It's still too soon to tell if the gamble will pay off, but I'm an optimistic sort of person. I like my boss, I like the culture and the environment, and I think I like my role in the whole thing. I was feeling a little iffy about it all until my boss said to me this afternoon, "The way I see it, socializing is part of the job. You're a relationship builder. And socializing is building those relationships."

This might work out after all.

The True New Yorker

So I've been reading up on this, and everyone seems to have a different opinion. So here is MY list of what you have to have experience to be a true New Yorker:

1) Choose a side in the Yankees/Mets rivalry, and then passionately defend your side despite all logic.
2) Go to a Knicks game.
3) Frequent a cafe in your neighborhood until they know your name and you can say, "the usual."
4) Visit all five boroughs.
5) Join the throngs in Times Square after midnight on a weekday.
6) Get comfortable hailing a cab.
7) Orient yourself east to west by which side of the park you're on.
8) Figure out the difference between local and express trains.
9) Start calling the subway, "the train."
10) Buy pizza and hot dogs from street vendors.
11) Attend summer events in Central Park.
12) Be verbally accosted by psychotic ranters in the subway.
13) Identify summertime by the smell.
14) Learn to cross the streets no matter what the signs say.
15) Always carry cash.
16) Love the city life.

I'll be interested to see if this list changes after I've really been here for awhile. I'm still a California Girl at heart, but for now, I'll give John Updike the last word:

“The true New Yorker secretly believes that people living anywhere else have to be, in some sense, kidding.”

Borough Bingo

Last night I checked off #2 of 5 in Borough Bingo by hanging out in Brooklyn for the first time.

We drove across the beautiful and historic Brooklyn Bridge and then went down by the river to check out the view. Down on the boardwalk they had this amazing "telescope" thing that showed Tower Bridge in London... You could see the people walking around on the banks of the Thames and they could see you, it was a trip! But very cool.

So the five boroughs of New York City are:
1) Manhattan
2) Brooklyn
3) Queens
4) Bronx
5) Staten Island

As I understand it, you are not a true New Yorker until you have been to all of the boroughs at least once. So, I live in Manhattan, check. I just had dinner in Brooklyn, check. My friend Maurice lives in Queens, so I'll get there eventually. Yankee Stadium is in the Bronx, and we're going to a game next week. And for work, I maybe traveling a bit and one of the places they'll be sending me is Staten Island.

I will conquer them all.

The precious value of space

So, it's true what they say about apartments in New York being rather small.

I brought less than half of my stuff from California with me, and it barely fits in my "huge" New York bedroom.

Pardon me while I scale the mountain of boxes to get out of my room. I'm going out and hoping the un-pakcing fairies come while I'm gone. Tinkerbell put in a good word for me, so I'm optimistic.

I Got Off The Island

Pardon the cheesy "Lost" reference, but I couldn't resist.

Today, I played tourist one last time and took a three hour Circle Line boat tour around Manhattan island. It was fun to see my city from the water, plus it yielded some fantastic pictures.

First, one to prove that I'm really here:



Skyline...

Ellis Island...

Lady Liberty...

Brooklyn Bridge...

Yankee Stadium...

Also today, I installed my air conditioner... Did you get that? INSTALLED... as in, with actual tools and heavy lifting, all by myself.. my air conditioner. I feel very handy and somewhat proud of myself. I am also very happy because this means that I will no longer be subjected to the whims of New York's very temperamental weather.

I was so excited, that I almost took a picture of the air conditioner in its fully-installed state to post on the blog. But then I really would be one of those weird crazy bloggers who thinks that their audience (if they have one) actually cares about their air conditioner, and having already spent to paragraphs on it, I draw the line at pictures.

Rothko And The Tomato Soup

After doing some work with my fabulous blackboxboys back in California this morning, I went downtown to sign some paperwork for my new job and then decided to make use of my residence in the cultural capital of the world and spent the rest of the afternoon at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

It has been one of my goals for quite some time to see an actual painting done by my favorite artist Mark Rothko. His work is surprisingly difficult to find, however today, with the help of Dan the Security Guard, I prevailed. See...

Here are some of the other highlights of the trip...

Jackson Pollock:

Van Gogh:

Andy Warhol, that's right, its THE original Tomato Soup:

I was nearly moved to tears when Dan the Security Guard told me that the museum was closing and I had to leave. No amount of eyelash batting could get him to let me sneak behind a sculpture to stay for awhile longer, so I left with a vow to return again... Which I can do whenever I want because I'm three subway stops and one bus ride away!

Ha! I love this town.

Employment Comes At You Fast...

... if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you might miss it.

Uh, I have a job...

I wasn't even really looking yet, at least not with any degree of enthusiasm. I feel like it snuck up and sneak-attacked me... SNATCH! Just like that.

How did that happen? Well, let me tell you.

In days gone by, when I was still in lovely California, I felt the urge to begin seeking employment, so I posted my resume with all the usual suspects: Monster, Hotjobs, CareerBuilder. Not much else happened.

On my first day in New York, whilst searching for window coverings, I got a call from one "Kevin," who claimed he saw said resume on the internet and wondered if I was interested in a position with Time Warner as a Project Coordinator. According to my "any interview is a good interview" policy (thanks Mom), I said, "Sure!"

We chatted, we bonded, he scheduled an interview for me a week hence for the next Monday.

Monday came, it was blistering, boiling-lava, surface-of-the-sun HOT. Still, since my daddy raised me right and taught me to wear Brooks Brothers suits when acting as a professional, I doned my first and favorite black suit and arrived at 23rd St between Lexington and Park Avenue at 4 pm as instructed. OK, I didn't put on the suit jacket until I was in the air conditioned elevator, but still.

In interview #1, I met with Lawrence Rizzo, potential boss man. Super nice, down to earth, sharp guy. Not as smart as anyone in my family, of course, but tolerably intelligent. We chatted, we bonded, he did most of the talking, and he asked me to come back the next day to meet with the VP.

In interview #2, (again in suit, despite fry-an-egg-on-the-sidewalk temperatures) I met with Mark Troller. Again, nice guy, down to earth, obviously not an idiot. This time, I did most of the talking, he seemed pleased, said he'd chat with Lawrence and they'd talk to Kevin and let me know soon.

Kevin calls me, wanting to know how it went. I feel like he is the awkward go-between after a blind date, because I know he's talking to both sides. I don't want to kiss and tell, but I kinda have to give him my report and be a good sport about it.

A few hours later, Kevin calls back, offers me the job, I accept and I'll start on Monday.

Voila! I should write a book, "How to get a job in New York City in one week or less."

It will sell millions.

Too beautiful not to share

Forgive me, but I took these a few days ago and they're just too gorgeous not to share:


Manhattan skyline at sunset, my day of arrival:




Times Square, darling:




The Empire State Building, from 5th Avenue:

Have I mentioned yet that I kinda like it here?

Peacocks and Pinkberry

As if the lovely children's fair and the draping fiasco weren't quite enough excitement for one day, the fun and charming cliches continued.

I later on met up with my friend Richard (just a friend, he's dating someone, so don't get all excited... Family, that means you.) Because we were both, as I mentioned before, melting, we found a lovely, air conditioned locale serving only food that was frozen. Cold on the outside and cold on the inside were my only two criteria at that point.

Pinkberry, for those of you who have yet to experience the oddly modern, space-agey, asian-retro decor cannot trul appreciate the oddness of being inside of a Pinkberry. The frozen yogurt, however, has an unexpected tangy quality, which is why I think people get hooked on it. Whatever. Like I said before, cold on the outside, cold on the inside. Perfect.

We sat. We chatted. We un-melted.

And then we braved another excursion outside, which led us down 110th toward Central Park... So apparently, there is a CATHEDRAL in my neighborhood. Yeah, a cathedral. At 110th/Amsterdam, I looked up at a very large, very gorgeous building with wonder and amazement. We ventured inside, and I must say, the Catholics do their cathedrals better than the Episcopaleans, in my opinion, but it was still immense and remarkable.

Ta da...

And, as if that weren't cool enough, apparently they keep albino peacocks...

... And I thought they only existed in Harry Potter books.

Cupcakes and a Pony Ride

I had my first surprise, "I love this City," moment today...

I was walking all over my neighborhood trying to track down the components that I needed to put coverings over my windows: fabric, nails and a hammer. Now, in California, all of these things could be obtained at one simple location. In FACT, there are several different locations that would have accomodated my needs in one fell swoop. But not here. My fabric, nails and hammer all had to be tracked down at different locations all within a 12 block radius of my apartment.

So, as I was tromping up and down Amsterdam Avenue, melting slowly with each step, I happened quite unexpectedly came across a children's fair. 91st Street had been closed down between Amsterdam and Columbus and all up and down there were munchkins running about riding ponies, faces painted, eating cupcakes and corn on the cob. A children's fair!

Just in case my description failed to capture the joy and charm of the moment, I took a picture:

I saw no Tom Hanks and no goldfish, but I kinda like my story better anyhow.

New York, New York

Before I arrived here on June 2nd, I spent some time brushing up on my NY cliches... This was accomplished by creating a "New York" playlist on itunes and playing it on repeat for a week while I packed.

This course of study, along with recommendations from former New Yorkers themselves, yielded a lengthy "to-do list" of "Classic New York" experiences that I absolutely HAD to have.

So far from the list I have accomplished:

1) Talking to the squirrels in Central Park (it's from a Wiggles song, I blame Michelle) - check.
2) Late night cab ride - check.
3) Drool over all the great shopping - check
4) Tragically come to grips with the reality that I can't buy anything because my rent in Manhattan is equal to the operating budget of a small country - CHECK.

Still to come:
1) Broadway Shows
2) Free concerts in the Park
3) Mermaid Parade
4) Pizza and Hot Dog stands
5) Many many more...

Things I've experienced that I did not anticipate:
1) Having cocktails (and by cocktails, I mean I had sparkling water and they had white wine) with half the PR department from Conde Nast publications and Glamour magazine.
2) Repeatedly beating three boys with engineering degrees at Connect Four.
3) Conducting a phone interview with a headhunter for Time Warner from a dressing room at Banana Republic. (Yes, I got the interview).
4) Making a new friend over dinner at Cafe Lalo (made famous in "You've Got Mail").

More adventures await, stay tuned...