Faves

Complaints:
5. Always getting caught behind a smoker
4. That the sun sets by 4:30
3. How something can be only 1 mile away, but take you 45 minutes to get to
2. The slow death occurring to the bottom hems of all of my pants
1. How Duane Reade can sell you a box of Cheerios for $7 without flinching (Ha, even Two-Buck Chuck costs $3)

Raves:
5. The Park
4. My morning walk to work
3. The endless list of things I want to see, taste, experience
2. Public transportation
1. This view of the Empire State Building from my office window today

Team Rockman

I got this email from Jason (my boss at TRG) today. It literally made me laugh out loud, so I decided I had to share.

In reference to my advertising star sighting (see previous post):

"Anyway, that guy who wrote the McD’s jingle is a total hack. How is that guy not on life support by now? It probably has something to do with the amount of residual coke still pumping through his veins and number of interns he has “taken under his wing.”"

In defense of his best boss title:

"And what’s up with sharing an office? Great for you, not so great for your boss. She will grow to hate the fact that you are smarter than her. She will become extremely paranoid and start taking all her files home with her every night. Wait for it. It will happen."

And he closed with:

"I’m outta here. Going home to my warm, safe, suburban existence. Maybe if I’m lucky my wife will let me drive her Volvo wagon to work on Wednesday. Fingers crossed. Tell your boss it is only a matter of time until everyone finds out she is an empty suit.

I’m the best,
Jason (the most influential person in your life to date) Rockman"

I will always be Team Rockman.

On A Sesame Seed Bun

My account group was invited to the Partnership for a Drug Free America (think "This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs.") gala last night at the Waldorf-Astoria. The hotel is s-w-a-n-k and dripping with Christmas decorations this time of year. I walked into the hall where they were holding the cocktail hour to find a swarm of suits sipping whiskey and discussing quarterly earnings. I thought to myself, this is the best party I've ever crashed. Well, at least it felt that way. Fortunately, the hostess did in fact find my name on the list and the party proceeded into this huge theater space lit by hundreds of candles and filled with the sound of shameless networking. As I sat down, my co-worker leans over and points to the older gentleman sitting a few seats over from us. (Brace yourself for this) It was the guy who wrote one of the most famous commercials of all time:

Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions...

As I'm drooling over the McDonalds guy, the chief creative officer of BBDO (another powerhouse ad agency) walks over to shake his hand. Welcome to New York. The night was filled with a slew of recognizable faces -- Hannah Storm, Charles Rangle, William Weldon. The food and wine were yummy. And, I got to take home one of the coveted gala goodie bags.

(A little juxtaposition just for fun) At the end of the night, I picked up my Target purse from coat check, walked backed to my crowded apartment (all 5 roommates were home last night), made up my couch bed, put my ear buds in to drown out the next door neighbors who think they are a rock band and the angry Italians outside that yell for no reason, and fell asleep happy.

Happy Thanksgiving

The 4-1-1 on my first New York Thanksgiving...

I met Sarah, Whitney (a CHS friend), and Lauren (a UT graduate school friend) for the ceremonial Macy's Thanksgiving Day Pre-Parade. We stood in line with thousands of bratty, sugar-high New York kids to see all of the balloons. The parade is my favorite. It's taking forever to upload these tonight, but here's the Dora pic as promised (the rest are on my Facebook page if you're interested):



Afterward we drank hot tea and ate really delicious Chinese food at a restaurant on the Upper West Side. I'm not sure what it means, but my fortune seemed oddly appropriate. So, I slipped it in my wallet for safe keeping. It read, "Swimming is easy. Staying afloat is hard."

I spent the night at Sarah's place. We woke up that morning, watched some of the parade, and walked to the market. We bought a few necessities -- you become a lot more conservative at the grocery store when you know you have to carry it all home. Lauren came over later and we cooked and drank mimosas. It didn't compare to the Norris family Thanksgiving, but it was a respectable holiday meal. Food pictures never turn out well, but here are a few:





That night, my high school friends, Dennis and Robert called to invite us to another feast. Robert gave us the address and said to look for the "house on top of the building." We begrungingly changed out of our sweatpants into party clothes and took the train into Manhattan. Indeed, this apartment was actually a building on top of a building. This place was really incredible. The view was great and the desserts were even better. Some Clement's reminiscing, hot apple cider, and a heated game of Taboo. It was a fun night.

Sarah and I had decided earlier that night that we wanted to go Black Friday shopping the next day. It didn't make much sense to take the train back to New Jersey, so we headed to Midtown to crash at Stephanie's place. This idea didn't seem so brillant when the alarm went off at 5am, but we managed to get dressed and headed to Chelsea. Because stores are generally spread out from each other, the crowds weren't so bad. I found the perfect party dress for a gala I was invited to on Monday -- and it will probably double for Sarah and Andrea's upcoming Christmas party. We found a lot of great deals. I wish I had gotten more of my Christmas shopping done, but I guess that will have to wait until later.

Exhausted, Sarah and I went back to Stephanie's place to take a nap. The alarm went off again around 2 and we headed back out to watch the UT-A&M game. Alot of the alumni go to a BBQ restaurant called Hill Country. It's definitely fake Texas BBQ -- I even get the impression that the restaurant is making fun of Texans. But, the TVs are big and Longhorns are abound. I had been there once before when I was visiting. Whitney, Shannon (next door neighbor in college), and Greg (Shannon's friend) met us there. Oddly enough, there was a whole slew of Clements alumni -- small world. (The game was pretty terrible so I will leave out any football commentary).

Now I'm back in New Jersey about to get ready to go out with Sarah and Andrea. Tomorrow's plans are to sleep in and go see a movie. It's my turn for the shower, so I better run. Cheers!

You Moved Here...3 Hours Ago?

My first five days in New York City have been a blur. I packed up my apartment in Dallas...



...said goodbye to my friends...



...and Dad and I drove the stealthy moving truck to Sugar Land.



Then, I repacked for my new life...



...and caught a plane to NYC. When I arrived, I stood directly at the shoot of the baggage claim sweating in anticipation of my only belongings having made it 1,500 miles from where I had left them. Fortunately, the luggage gods were on my side and my nondescript, embarassingly heavy luggage appeared. I lugged my things to a cab and proceeded to make my first NYC mistake -- I gave the driver the wrong address. He was not pleased and proceeded to punish me by blasting acid jazz all the way from Newark to Manhattan. And, I'm not sure, but I think he passed gas too.

Stephanie met me outside of her brownstone and we hauled what felt like 10,000 lbs up four flights of stairs. Panting, sweating, and totally exhausted, I set up my corner in the my new temporary home...



After a quick shower and a drink, Stephanie and I left for a welcome-to-NY celebration. We met up with some of Steph's friends in the Meatpacking District. Here are a few highlights of my first few hours in the City -- excellent people watching, a lost cell phone returned by a very generous cabbie, some unidentifiable, yet delicious Korean food, and the best view of the City I've ever seen. Stephanie even vowed to introduce me to a "tall, white, handsome man." I'm pretty sure that's not how the saying goes, but oh well.

The next day, Sarah met me for lunch and the most intense Target shopping experience ever. I nerded it up by taking a dry run to my office. Here I am posing in front of the building...



While Sarah snaps my picture and creates hard evidence of my dorkiness, I spot Stephen Colbert walking inconspiculously by on the sidewalk. My first NYC star/presidential candidate sighting!

Afterward, Sarah and I made the trek to the Target in Brooklyn. It was definitely sensory overload. Apparently New Yorkers aren't used to having shopping carts because they were out of control. It was like Supermarket Sweep. You'll be happy to know that we did survive with minimal injury and no permanent scars. I plan to carefully ration my soap and shampoo usage however to minimize future Target trips.

There's so much more to tell, but I will save it for later posts. Once I have my own computer (a story worthy of its own entry) I will be more consistent. I must rest up for tomorrow's Thanksgiving feast!