Hello from NYC(home)

Hi faithful readers. I am coming to you tonight from the delicious comfort of my king-size bed in Manhattan/East Harlem. I started an unpaid internship at a .com yesterday; it was a very busy day! My supervisor kept me busy from 10 to 6:15--I posted content to the site, wrote a post, and put together a couple of blog entries. I am really excited to get some Web experience, even if it's unpaid. Some of you may know, but most of you don't, that one of my dream jobs is to work for Jezebel. It's a snarky feminist blog that comments on news, politics, and pop culture. Basically, loves it.

So the inauguration was insane. All in all, I am glad to say that I was there for such an historical event, but there's a reason it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity--because most people in their right minds would never do it more than once. As some of you may have heard (there are groups on Facebook too!), lots of people with purple, blue, and silver tickets were left out in the cold (literally) that day. The whole event was so poorly organized that some ticketholders could not find their way inside the gate.

A and I were among the purple ticket holders who were confused and angry; when we got off the metro to walk to the gate/entry point, we found that a bus was blocking the way in. A police officer told us that someone had been injured/gotten stuck under the bus (probs a lie), so they couldn't move it yet. Anyway, eventually the mass of people in which we were standing started moving forward, and we went along. When we got closer to the bus, however, it was clear we had two directions we could go, and neither was toward the gate. We asked some police officers which way to go, and each one gave us a different anwer. None of the cops had megaphones or bullhorns or any method of being loud at all. We eventually wound our way around to another purple gate, and by sheer force of will, found our way in. Now I know we were among the lucky few. Had we walked a different way, we probably would not have made our way in.

The event itself was great. At first we were standing behind a group of really tall people who also happened to be on an incline, so I literally could not see anything except the backs of their heads. I was so frustrated at this point that I almost started crying. I was cold, hungry (we didn't eat breakfast that morning), distraught, frustrated, and I couldn't see. So we moved back a little bit, away from the Capitol, and it was like opening a window or something. I could see everything, and it was officially amazing. His speech was great, I actually really liked Rick Warren's prayer, and the music was beautiful (though pre-recorded).

The whole (really long) weekend was kind of overshadowed, however, by some major drama that went down with A and me. I won't go into details here, because frankly it's nonnayobiz, but I will say that he and I are taking some time apart. I mean, we're always apart because of distance, but like apart-apart. I just got to a point where I felt more unhappy than happy, and that is never a good sign. So now I'm alone, living in New York City, unemployed, and feeling kind of low. I mean, my life is great; I have a warm bed, a place to call home, great friends, a supportive family. But everything is still not settled. My room still feels bare and empty. It's also kind of dirty from the girl who lived here before me, so I need to remedy that. I still don't have a microwave. It's hot in herr and my window is stuck shut. In all honesty, I'm terrified of being alone in this city. I know it's what's right for me right now, but it's still scary, you know?

Ah well, I need to go do some shopping for apt stuff.
Majorly yours.

Hello from DC

So tomorrow is the big day. A and I went to The Mall yesterday -- just in time to see the very end of Beyonce's performance in the big concert honoring Obama's inauguration -- to check out where we will be standing on Tuesday. We didn't have the seating/standing map with us and our iPhones were failing us, so we just kind of walked the length of The Mall, up to the reflecting pool, and around the side of the Capitol, taking notes of the cross streets for later reference. The reflecting pool is, like, really close to the Capitol, and my exact words to him were: "If we are standing in front of this pool, I will probably shit myself." To which he responded, "I'm not sure how I feel about that. Maybe we should stand farther back."

Anyway A sent me a text from work this morning (I am at home allegedly working on an edit test for a freelance position I applied for last week) that said: "We are on the Capitol side of the reflecting pool." I had a small heart attack. Here is a map, for your reference:

I had to crop the map down for blogging purposes, but you get the idea: the reflecting pool is right behind the west standing section, where we will be. Right in front of us is the seated center section, then a couple staircases, and then the Capitol. Holy shiiiiiiit.

Possibly the best birthday gift ever.

Majorly yours.

Brrrrrrrrz

It's cold. Since I moved up here, it's been pretty temperate. I mean, there have been a couple days where I was like OMFG it's srsly cold and snowing or something, but overall, it's been more than tolerable. Yesterday was so nice that my landlord decided to turn the heat off for the day. Today, I assume, he will not be.


That's right, it "feels like 4 degrees F" outside. I have my window open because my radiator (which is controlled from my landlord's office downstairs) is cray cray and really hot, so typically I need some fresh chilly NYC air because I can't stand to sleep while I'm hot. Well I woke up this morning, about 30 minutes ago, and was like brrrrrrrrrchhchchchrrrzzz it's cold in here. I'm too lazy to even close my window. I just put a sweatshirt on and am bundled under my covers. Fail.

On the job front: I heard back from the mag I did the edit test for. They decided to go with someone more experienced. Sad face. BUT I am staying positive, because I fully acknowledge that that job was pretty much my dream job, and that I probably will have to work up to it. To get it right out of the gate would have been too easy. I need to start smaller.

I have had several interviews since I got to NYC: one to be a style intern at a major women's mag (but it only pays $7/hr and it's a closet internship, not an edit one, boo), another to intern at a woman's mag web site (this one is unpaid but it's only a couple days a week, and I would pretty much get to set my schedule, while getting web and blog clips, which is good), an HR interview, and one later today for a part-time temp position writing newsletters for a large media company. The last one is more a PR position, but it would be a foot in the door, it pays really well, and I could spend my extra time applying and interviewing elsewhere.

Whew. I've basically been running around town interviewing and trying to become familiar with my neighborhood for the past few days. It's pretty tiring. In case you haven't seen, I uploaded photos of my apt to facebook, so check 'em out!

Other big plans: Going to DC this weekend to see A and to go to the inauguration. I can't believe I will be there to witness the most historical event probably in my lifetime (aside from Obama actually winning the election).

Majorly yours.

Quick NYC update, minus the sigh

I don't really have time today for a deep, thoughtful post (sorry, I know y'all are used to those), but I wanted to update everyone really quick about some major happenings in preparation for NYC.

I applied to an assistant editor position at a national magazine in NYC, kind of on a whim. It's actually a step above entry-level; the order is (generally) editorial intern-->editorial assistant-->assistant editor-->associate editor-->editor. I didn't really expect to hear anything back, but the job sounded amazing, so I was like, why not. Well, they e-mailed me back yesterday and wanted me to come in for an interview! I was like oh noez I can't, I'm in Birmingham. But they were open to doing a phone interview. So it's this afternoon at 5 EST/4 CST. As I drove home from work yesterday, it suddenly dawned on me: this is my first-ever interview for a real job. Not an internship, not a college job. A real, 401K, benefits, and salary job. OMG amazing.

Also, A and I are officially going to Obama's inauguration. He got us tickets. It's the day before my birthday: January 20, 2009. Best b'day present ever. <3 Big Jackie O sunglasses might be required.

Back to work. I need y'all's help. Please be thinking of me this afternoon/early evening when I have my interview. I really believe in the power of positive thought.

Majorly yours.