a weekend in the city that never sleeps

hello blog. this weekend (edit: last weekend, posting way late) i went on a grand adventure to the city that never sleeps, aka new york city. true to reputation, i didnt get much sleep but sure saw a lot and had a great time.

the weekend started Friday when i took the Vamoose bus up to NYC. it was a pretty nice ride, i just listened to some CPA lectures and by the time i knew it, i wasn't in kansas (ahem, dc) anymore, but in the BIG APPLE. my lovely boyfriend met me at the bus stop (thanks sweetheart!) this was actually great becuase i had no idea how i was going to navigate the NYC streets/subway alone.

we dropped our stuff off at the hostel (romantic, si?) and made our way to MoMA for an afternoon of art. stopped to get some authetic NYC street food along the way - kebab-ish fare. we picked our spot based on the longest line, a good indicator of quality, right?

MoMA was sweet, although after about 2.5 hours i was growing weary of art. leaving MoMA we decided to try and grab some tickets for a Broadway show and ended up in the TKTS line in Times Square. after waiting for a while, a british dude approached us and asked us if we wanted tickets to jersey boys. my mom had recommended this show, so, although i was skeptical of this "good luck" we purchased tickets from the brit, mainly becuase he had an innocent sounding accent and a cute wife. jersey boys was pretty awesome, minus the large woman sitting next to me who occasionally sang along. we drank beverages from sippy cups, enjoyed some amazing singing, and laughed at a few jersey shore-esque jokes. after the show, we wandered times square for a bit, until we became fed up with the mass of people and went home.

saturday was another day of adventure - a few highlights include the brooklyn flea (i decided i would move to NYC if i could shop there everyweekend, it puts the eastern market flea to shame), a hipster safari, an art show in queens, KELLY Q, and randomly bumping into one of our good friends from college (who, may i add, does not live in NY). we stayed up too late and probably drank too many over priced drinks, but hey, when in NY...

sunday, the final day of tourism, included wandering central park and shopping in soho. we ended up literally just making our bus home (like, the last two people were boarding as our cab pulled up to the bus stop), after failing miserably at the art of catching a cab in NY.

needless to say, it was a wonderful weekend, but i crashed hard when i finally made it home sunday night. now, everyones question for me seems to be "do you want to live in NY now?"

before this weekend, i would have said no, definitely not. NY is too big for me, i'm just now adjusting to DC. and while i still don't want to get up and move to NY, i did see a lot that made me think, hey, maybe NY isn't so big and bad after all

(friends to) fall back (on)

this blog is brought to you by french vanilla coffee and daylight savings time. i was so delighted when i looked at my clock this morning and saw that it was almost 9am. my thoughts: SCORE i "slept in" (especially a feat after a night out, usually my body does not allow such pleasures) and SCORE, the farmer's market starts soon! love fresh produce, funky people, and (most importantly) free samples!

then i turned on my phone and saw that the time read "7:45" am i going crazy? no, i remembered its daylight savings time! i was both happy (yay another hour of the weekend to enjoy) and sad (man, farmers market isn't for another whole hour) so i decided that i could blog or clean my room (a disaster from trying to choose an outfit last night, whoops)

last night was a blast though, despite the wardrobe disaster (how to dress for going out in the cold weather??) - gwood was in town and it was so great to see her and a bunch of other ghouls who i have not seen in forever due to the work overload. after some delicious chili, a good malbec, and great catch up conversations, i have decided that i need to make more of an effort to hang out with my friends, even if they don't live super super close and even if i am working long hours. because, when it all comes down to it, the relationships you build and keep are the most important thing in life. if you have friends and family to whom you can turn, you can be happy even in hard times (which i have seen to be true very recently) i am lucky that i have great people in my life, but relationships should not be taken for granted, they require upkeep, which is something i want to work on.

thats my life lesson for now. hasta luego amigos!

blog epic fail

blog = epic fail. busy season rules my life. surprisingly, not sad about having no free time right now (except i probably will be once i hear stories about the fun people had at homecoming this weekend) every day i am super busy so the work day (ahem, every day) flies by.

working in chinatown is pretty cool. have yet to have chinese food (go figure), but i'm feeling that its gonna happen sometime soon considering we have been ordering dinner most nights. its funny that every store sign is in chinese - so tourist-y (speaking of which, saw so many lost tourists on the metro this weekend. not that i can poke fun, i have been a lost tourist, and, more recently, a lost city newbie many a time). i often wonder if 1) the chinese actually reads the store names correctly and 2) if it is someone's job to make sure all stores have chinese signage. big life questions.

anyways, working a lot has made me completely appreciate the free time i do have. last night my high school friends came and saw my apartment and we just had a relaxing night filled with wine, pretzel m&m's, and lots of juicy gossip. and i know the next weekend i am not working, we will go out on the town and rage.

i know i posted pictures of the apartment a few weeks ago, but it has really transformed since then. the roomie (and her wonderful mother) have been hard at work decorating, and the place definitely is beginning to feel like home. if only i could finish decorating my room. hmmmm...will post updated pics soon.

one final note - i am officially a car-less urban hipster. well, the hipster part is a little bit of a hopeful exaggeration on my part, but i sent my car home to the parents this weekend. this should be interesting...

promise to blog more often. happy fall and yay for all things pumpkin.

apartment

finally hung up pictures and the apartment/my room is starting to look like a real person's place. sweet. here's a few shots of the place i now call home ....

our kitchen tv area

shot of my roomother side of the room

all you need is positivity (and lots of endorphins)

and the infamous 'busy season' (sort of) begins... busy season... the ominous period between fiscal year end and report release date. all rookie auditors are warned of it by those older and wiser, who have experienced the phenomenon first hand.

some of the things i have heard thus far include "you will gain the first year 15" "i saved a lot of money by not going out at all" "hey, staying until 9, 10, 11, or 12 at night isn't so bad if you get free dinner!" among other equally encouraging comments


as someone who likes to be in control, this unknown commitment of my time (ahem, life) concerns me a little. how will i deal with not being able to make my own schedule? allocate my own time? run my own life? two weeks ago (BUSY season... hence i've been a little slow to post) i was placed on a project working busy hours, and got to "test drive" how this whole busy season thing works.

here's what i learned: i (think i ) can survive busy season if i do two things:

1) get those endorphins flowing early in the day - while it sucks waking up before the crack of dawn (literally before the sun), getting a good run in before going to work focuses me and puts me in a good mood immediately. also, when i have already worked out, i don't feel as anxious to leave work. i've already taken care of what i want to do for me for the day, so i can really devote my attention to my work.

2) have a positive attitutde - while it also sucks working 10+ hour days and saturdays, it is going to happen to many of us professionals in entry-level positions, or anyone who works in a team-based environment. the only thing worse than working long hours is working long hours with someone who constantly complains about it. by having a positive outlook, i not only was able to trick myself into feeling happier, but i'm pretty sure i made work a little more enjoyable for those around me.

this may be my overly optimistic (positive attitude !) and naive view of how to approach busy season, but hey, it can't hurt to start off believing that the glass is half full. and if that glass comes with free dinner every night, things can't really be THAT bad........ right?

until nextime!

good morning washington

It's done. I've officially moved out and into my apartment in DC (although I write this sitting in my parent's house... explanation later). Saturday was the big day. I will spare you the gritty details, and simply outline the highlights of my moving weekend:

- Purchased my first TV. Got some advice from Dad, but it was my credit card that did the deed.
- Had some delicious food at Agora with the rents & boyfriend (BF) - Mediterranean + small plates = Emily in heaven
- Had some equally, if not more, delicious froyo two blocks from my house. Decided that this place is going to be bad for my budget...
- Purchased some tasty (but I think, overpriced) produce at the farmer's market.
- Listened to some free jazz near the apartment, and the BF got ogled by more men than I did. Gotta love Dupont...

So far I love the city. I love walking everywhere. I love the eclectic mix of people, and how there are people everywhere (great for one of my favorite activities, people watching). I love that everyone uses reusable shopping bags. Granted, I have only "lived" there for one (long) weekend. I say "lived," because, as I mentioned, I'm back at home. Turns out I am working long hours out in the burbs this week, so I made the executive decision to sleep at home to save gas, time, and my sanity (DC traffic gives me anxiety).

So one more week in the burbs. Then back to the people, and froyo, and free jazz, and vintage stores, and metro stops, and farmers markets, and blaring horns, and craziness that is DC, that is my new home.

Goodbye home sweet home

This next week marks my last week at home. Starting September 1st (well, not exactly the 1st since that’s the middle of the week, and who wants to move in the middle of the week?), I will be out on my own (well, not exactly on my own, I have a wonderful roommate, but you get what I mean). While I have lived “on my own” before (college!) it feels a little different this time. This time, I will only be 30 minutes from my parents. This time, mom and dad will not be footing the grocery bill (or the gas bill, or the rent for that matter). So instead of feeling like I am going away for a while (like leaving for college felt like), it really feels like I am splitting off from my parents, my home, and… my adolescence. I have to face the facts, and the facts are that I am going to have to be a full adult (instead of the half-real person I have been for the last 4 years).

Normally, I would be super stoked to leave my house at the end of the summer. Don’t get me wrong, I love my parents, but we tend to rub on each other after a while. Under the current circumstances, I’m not such an eager beaver to leave. First, I didn’t live with my parents for a whole month of the summer – which I think makes us less sick of each other. Second, I really enjoy coming come to dinner made and (sometimes) laundry done. Third, its comfortable. I know where everything is around home, I have my routines, haunts, etc.

I think I am just scared becuase, pretty soon, I will be completely cut off and totally out of my comfort zone. I'm afraid that somehow, I will not be able to survive without the support of my parents. Which, OF CORSE I will be able to do (right?).

Today I went to my apartment to move a few pieces of furniture in. It really hit me then, that this place was going to be my home for at least the next year. And when I realized that, I was suprised that I didn't feel much sadness at all. Yes, I am still a little scared about leaving home, but now that feeling is starting to be overcome by one of excitement: I am going to be one of those hip (okay, that's questionable), 20-something-year-olds, living in the heart of the city, exploring, experiencing, and soaking up all the life that pulses through those crowded streets. How could I be sad when I have so much to look forward to? Before, I was focusing too much on the things I would miss about home, and forgetting about all the things I loved about the city and being on my own (and WHY I was moving in the first place).

So as of now, I'm ready, city. Let's do this.

its only been 2 weeks, but its official

ive been through this before, but this time its real. im committed to this (i mean, 2 weeks is a pretty long time, at least considering my track record).

no, i have not met the man of my dreams, but almost as good. i have officially stopped biting my nails. FOR REAL. im going on 2 weeks now (but whos counting?).

i know i have said this before. the first time i decided to quit was when i was accepted into UVA's business school. i said to myself "emily, you absolutely cannot be a business professional and have your fingers in your mouth." i think that was a legitimate rationalization, and it helped me quit for a little bit. but pretty soon, i was at it again.

i dont know about most people (except my one friend, who you can tell how much stress she is under by how gnawed on her fingers are - love you yin), but i dont bite my nails when im nervous or stressed or scared or whatever. frankly, i bite my nails because i hate having them long. anytime they get long enough to show a little white tip, i cant find nail scissors fast enough to trim that away. i figure its just more efficient to bite.

so back to me quitting. i quit, and relapsed, after getting into business school. i decided to have another go at it this year, as one of my many new years resolutions. i was actually pretty successful at not biting. instead, i trimmed my nails compulsively, so they basically looked the same as when i was biting them. then, this summer, i was studying for the FARE section of the CPA, and all my willpower went to crap. biting was definitely better than budgetary accounting, foreign currency transactions, and consolidated financial statements.

two weeks ago at work i was, once again, inspired to quit. a co-worker had really pretty, but not too long, nails. she said she polished them everyday, and if i did the same, then i would have pretty nails too! im not sure why, but i believed her, and quit right then and there. cold turkey.

i definitely have not polished my nails everyday, but two weeks later, i am still going strong. i have not trimmed my nails to stubs, and have only really felt the urge to bite a few times. im starting to believe that this could be a new me - beautiful, womanly nails.

the only thing is, while i like the new look, it just doesnt seem like me. i didnt have a problem with my short nails, but i was constantly nagged and scolded for the sorry state of my hands. and so, i changed to a more socially acceptable version of me. at first the novelty of being a girl with pretty nails thrilled me, but now i just feel like an impostor. i dont know if i will ever be that girl with nice hands and nails and perfect hair and makeup, and i dont think that i really want to be. (hm... life lesson coming here?)

while i dont think i will go back to biting (fingers in the mouth is gross, i agree), i have a feeling i will be searching for some nail clippers sometime real soon. because no matter hard how you try, there are certain parts of yourself that you dont want to change, even if other people would like you to.

clarification

i think, if this blog were a business, my first post would be the vision statement. a little vague and a lot idealistic. so, i think i should clarify myself a little bit.

first, about me: i graduated from the university of virginia in may, with a degree in commerce (our schools prestigious name for business) and concentrations in accounting and information technology (yea, huge nerd alert) i spent the summer studying for my CPA exam (not cool) and hanging out with my grandma (actually so cool, don't judge). i started work at a big 4 accounting firm at the beginning of august, and will be moving into DC in september.

i like running, baking (sweets, that is), cooking (mostly as a sous chef), elephants, wine, pilates, fashion (especially shoes), singing, and, recently, crossword puzzles. oh, and of course, financial statements.

i dont like ketchup, cold weather, and pets.

and, about the blog: i plan to use this blog as part documentation, part venting outlet, part soul search. i dont really have a concrete plan yet, but im sure i will figure something out. maybe.

TGIF.

hello world. this is me...

hello world. this is me...

a recent college grad, i now face the real world. like so many others i am excited of the prospects of a new city, new apartment, new job, new money, etc. but also scared shitless.

up until now, things have been pretty planned out, there always was the next goal - get into college, pass your exams, be accepted into your program of study, earn your degree, get a high paying job. now what? ive done all that, and find myself wondering "where do i go from here?" i find myself (already) wanting more than just a 9-5 distraction.

i dont really know what i expect of this blog, or what it will turn out to be. what i do know is, as a chinese proverb states, "the reward is in the journey."

bon voyage!