NYC: Highlights

It's been a little over a week since I've been in NYC, and it has been an excellent start so far!  Let's recap some of the fun activities in the city...

I met up with Ben for lunch in lower Manhattan. It was great to have some East Coast seafood. Yum!

It was so nice outside that we even got to eat near the water with a great view of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Then we checked out the view from the top of Ben's apartment building, where a bunch of people were tanning.  Can you get tan from a New York sun?! I guess you can try, like they do in Portland. Anywho, it was a SWEET view of NYC!

Then we decided to just walk around...EVERYWHERE! It has been a while since I've walked that much. Kinda reminds me of my study abroad summers and walking all around London and Montreal. Ah. Good times! ;)

Luckily, we rested in Central Park. Whoever decided that putting parks in the middle of large cities is brilliant!  It was amazing to somewhat escape city life and enjoy the grass and sunshine! :)

Definitely coming back to daydream....

It was so great to reunite with Ben! It's been such a long time since we just hung out, especially after he graduated.  But now that we're in NYC together, we can hang out all the time...well, kinda.

I spend lots of time in the library to apply for jobs. Nothing special. I mean this library is amazing but what I do on a daily basis isn't. I think once I get on a regular schedule things might get more interesting. Maybe...

Sometimes I go to Central Park just to walk around. It's so nice. I haven't stopped to daydream though...just walking around.

I also like walking around the oh-so-crowded Times Square. I'm not sure what is it that I like about walking there. Maybe because it is a New York icon.

Good times so far.  I think one of the coolest things Ben and I did was go to Fashion's Night Out...but I'll leave that for another post. :)

BOOKS: The Bell Jar

Remember when I mentioned The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath at the beginning of my New York adventures?  Well, when I wrote about it then, I was still at the beginning of the book when Esther Greenwood, the female protagonist, was doing a magazine internship in New York City.  I had so much hope for her to see where she would go after finishing the internship and continuing her college career.  However, things took a turn for the worst.

After coming back home from New York City, Esther stopped sleeping, eating and writing for weeks.  She was going through some kind of mental condition that she was sent to a mental asylum.  The rest of the book follows her as she moves from different mental hospitals and as her condition continues to get worst.  She has suicidal thoughts as well as moments of depression.  She undergoes several sessions of shock therapy, but does it really work?

I had no idea all that was going to happen when I picked up the book.  It was an interesting read yet quite depressing to see such a strong character lose it.

When I started reading, I was thinking of all the different ways Esther and I were similar, especially since she had a magazine internship in New York City and was a college student.  It made it easy to relate to her from the get-go, but everything changed...

I read the biography of Sylvia Plath in the back of book after completing the novel and discovered that The Bell Jar was a semi-autobiography.  Some of the events in the book were parallel to those in Plath's.  I was surprised to see that those events happened to her in real life.  It's so depressing because she had it all - a good family and a successful writing career.  I wonder what makes people change so drastically in just a short period of time.

Some reviews claimed that The Bell Jar was the female version of The Catcher in the Rye, which is one of my favorite books.  I can somewhat see why they would think that because both books cover that moment in a young adult's life where his/her life changes as he/she enters adulthood, kind of like the moment I'm living in right now.  However, I think the books have different endings about how the protagonist accepts that change in his/her life.

Overall, I was surprised by the book, and I thought there were moments when I wouldn't be able to continue reading.  However, I felt a need to see what happens to Esther - to see if she gets better, to see if she returns to school, to see if she remains friends with Buddy, and more.  I'm glad I was able to finish the book though because I was having a hard time getting back into reading.

P.S. This is my first subway book.  What's next...?

JOB HUNT: HIRED!!

After a summer of applying for jobs and getting no positive responses,

I finally got a job at Macy's in New York City! :)

I interviewed with Macy's in Sacramento after coming back from Portland, and the interview went really well.  However, they did not have any openings, so they benched my application.

With no job offer yet, I figured I'd try applying for a Macy's job in NYC, home of the world's largest Macy's! What was there to lose?  Only days after sending in my application, I was surprised to get a response to schedule for an interview.

Today was the day, and everything turned out great! I'm so glad I'm finally hired!

Now it is just a matter of landing an internship...!

New York City is so full of opportunity, and I feel truly blessed to have this chance to pave this path I've been trying to unsuccessfully construct in California.  Honestly, it was so frustrating turning in all those job applications and not getting any response back or finding out I wasn't what they were looking for.  I may have mentioned this before but seriously, as a college graduate, I feel like we have this feeling that we should be hired on the spot because we're fresh and new experience that can really enhance the productivity of a company.  Maybe I'm just optimistic, but I really thought that's how it would work.  With this economy, it's a sad reality that getting a job is harder than it looks.  Congrats to all those who were able to get a job directly after graduation! I don't know how you did it, but hey! now I'm part of the club...well, sorta.  

With a new job and more to come, I can't wait to see what else happens as this NYC adventure continues! :)

NYC: Library

Check out my other blog, The Library Adventures, to find out about the New York Public Library! :)

NYC: Halfway There!

We made it to Chicago Midway! 

Did you know their internet only lasts for 20 minutes? What a bummer! All of the other airports I've been to provide free Wi-Fi.

Did you know there's a chapel inside this airport? Probably for people to pray when they get stuck here due to some crazy Midwest weather.  I can see it happening with some kind of blizzard.

Did you know that above ground pools are fairly popular in Chicago?  Flying into the airport, there were so many pools.  I wonder if they take them down in the winter time.

Gah...Internet connection just ended.  This will be posted when I reach NYC. Later! :)

NYC: En Route

Today's the day....! :)

I'm at the San Jose International Airport, waiting for my flight to Chicago/New York.  Thank goodness there's free wi-fi because we got here really early; we're talking a good two hours early.  With no one in line for tickets or security, we got through everything quickly.  Now it's just a matter of waiting...

So in the mean time...

As I embark on this journey to New York, I'm reading The Bell Jar, which just so happens to take place in New York City.  It's about a college girl who has a magazine internship. Oh boy. That's been a dream of mine; maybe I can make it happen!

I also started journal writing again.  As much fun as writing a blog, it's nice to go back to the paper and pen to jot down my thoughts of the day before going to bed.  The light of the computer keeps me up for an extended amount of time anyway.

The job search continues, but I do have an interview this week with Macy's. I'll have to give an update about that in another post...

Reading the New York Times, I found out they started building the new structures of the World Trade Center in New York City. It looks good so far! Hopefully I can check it out myself when I visit Ben, who is super stoked that I'll be there. Ah...It'll be good to see Ben and actually hang out.  Last time, he came to Portland, and I was super busy doing schoolwork and CPB events.  We didn't get to hang out much, but now that we'll be in the same city...! It'll be like ol' times in the ASUP office; well, kinda.

So I'm going to finish applying for a job with the New York Times...

See you in Chicago! ;)

NYC: What if...

...this actually happened?  That would be too crazy.  haha

Anyway, I really want to see this movie. It looks good!  Plus Justin Long and Drew Barrymore seem like a fantastic rom-com team! YAY! :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Mama! :D

NYC: 3 days

Sacramento

New York City

With three days left until I leave for New York, I'm starting to feel a bit apprehensive about leaving the Golden State for the Big Apple because...

1) I have a lot to do before even preparing for the trip, like celebrate my mom's birthday, apply for jobs/internships in NYC, run errands, visit relatives and more.

2) After getting a job interview with Macy's in NYC, I thought I'd be happier, but then I started having those feelings of being stuck and not being able to come back to California. Terrible thoughts, right?

3) Applying for jobs/internships is still crazy.  Anyone apply for jobs on Craigslist have any advice??

4) Only having less than a week to prepare for this transition has been anything but relaxing, which doesn't help at all.

This is a huge opportunity, and I know I should take it with open arms because seriously, it's not every day you get a chance to go to New York to try to find your dream job. I think it's just those natural feelings before making a big move in life, like going away for college.  I probably just got so comfortable being home that I'm trying to find reasons to stay but know that NYC is where I should go if I want to gain that experience I'm looking for. 

Plus, I really want to help my auntie with her new baby. I can't wait to meet my cousin. I think this reason for going to NYC makes up for all the horrible, apprehensive thoughts I've been having.

With three days to go, I hope I find time to do everything on my to-do list.