Today is officially Day 30 of living in New York. It's a little hard to believe it's only been four weeks... with all of the craziness of moving in and getting everything organized, tearing up the kitchen, building and repairing things in the apartment, as well as job searching and interviewing and meeting all kinds of people, I now understand the meaning of a 'New York Minute.'
The job search has been a slow and frustrating process so far, but I'm keeping at it. Craigslist is worthless, as far as I'm concerned - every response I've gotten has been a scam. Career Builder hasn't been much better - it seems like the only companies that are using the site are desperate insurance companies looking for goonies to do their outside sales work - definitely not a job for me. So, about three weeks ago, I sent my resume into a local temp agency. I've worked with temp agencies in the past, and they usually have one large company that they send their new employees to, and that's it. However, temp jobs in New York are much easier to come by. In the last 20 days of being with them, I've had two serious interviews and three temporary jobs. Both interviews went well, and I was actually offered a position after the second... but I turned it down. (Maybe I was being too picky, but it was just a gut feeling that I had to go with.) The temp jobs have also been abundant - in the past two weeks, I've been running around Brooklyn as a secret shopper, I've been a "go-fer" at a small business event (led by a group of professionals with adorable French accents), and for the past three days I've been working at a booth at a huge gourmet food convention held in Manhattan.
While the pay for the temp jobs has been great, I've come to realize that there is a very good reason these are temporary jobs - they are absolutely mind-numbing. As much as I've enjoyed the perks (ie: free thumb drives and pens from the French people and two huge cases of chocolate from a neighboring booth at the food convention) I am most definitely looking forward to having a steady job that requires a little more brain power. That's not asking too much, is it?
Malice
6.30.2010
6.17.2010
Home, Sweet Home
6.17.2010
0
Apologies are in order once again - I haven't been keeping up with this very much over the past couple of weeks since arriving in NY, both for a lack of time and internet access. Good news - we'll have internet at the apartment next week! *applause*
For not having a job yet, I've definitely been keeping myself busy. Between organizing the apartment and making trips to the wifi "hotspots" in the neighborhood to hit the job search, it makes it hard to believe that we've only been here for 17 days. I feel like I haven't been this productive in ages.
The apartment was kind of a mess when we moved in, but Andy and B. have really put their manly skills to good use, building an extension of counter space and extra storage in the kitchen, as well as creating a bookshelf in the living room from leftover materials between the two awkward posts in the room (which are very likely supporting the entire building). H. and I kicked some butt in the backyard this week - I spent Monday afternoon pulling up all of the monstrous weeds, raking up years of decaying leaves, glass, and other debris, and sweeping dirt and berries off of the concrete space. H. came home that night with a carload of plants and potting soil, as well as some awesome patio lights. We had almost everything planted and plugged in by midnight. In the meantime, B. was busy in the kitchen making a fantastic "family dinner," which we got to enjoy in our new green space.
It occurred to me last night as we were enjoying another dinner on the patio that my "life" right now is completely inverse to the way it was in Minnesota. I used to live to go to work - that was my social life, my entertainment, and I would come home at night to an empty apartment, dinner in front of the TV, and maybe a Skype date with Andy. Now my evenings are filled with good food, music, and conversation. It's not that I had it bad in Minnesota, by any means - but I really do love the company that I'm surrounded by. :)
I've had a few adventures getting lost in the city since the last time I wrote, mostly going on interviews or finding stores that I'm familiar with. My main problem with finding an address in Manhattan is that in most cases, the address doesn't actually reflect their location. For example, I was trying to find a building with an address on Park Avenue - after wandering up and down a 3-4 block stretch, I discovered that the entrance to the building was actually on the other side of the block, facing 4th Avenue. Google Maps is somewhat helpful, but when it comes down to finding the entrance to a building, it's totally worthless. I have no idea how anyone survived being a newcomer to the city before internet was available. Did everyone carry a phone book with them? Or a city map? I've gotten to the point where I may actually consider getting a phone plan with internet included - I've always thought that was one of those "extras" that people have because they're too lazy to figure anything out for themselves, but I can see where it may be a genuine necessity here. Until then, I guess I'll just keep calling my mom every time I need someone to look up directions for me. :)
On that note, I've got more neighborhood to explore today, and plenty of yard work to do. Any home remedies for getting rid of monster-sized slugs and army-trained mosquitos would be greatly appreciated.
Malice
For not having a job yet, I've definitely been keeping myself busy. Between organizing the apartment and making trips to the wifi "hotspots" in the neighborhood to hit the job search, it makes it hard to believe that we've only been here for 17 days. I feel like I haven't been this productive in ages.
The apartment was kind of a mess when we moved in, but Andy and B. have really put their manly skills to good use, building an extension of counter space and extra storage in the kitchen, as well as creating a bookshelf in the living room from leftover materials between the two awkward posts in the room (which are very likely supporting the entire building). H. and I kicked some butt in the backyard this week - I spent Monday afternoon pulling up all of the monstrous weeds, raking up years of decaying leaves, glass, and other debris, and sweeping dirt and berries off of the concrete space. H. came home that night with a carload of plants and potting soil, as well as some awesome patio lights. We had almost everything planted and plugged in by midnight. In the meantime, B. was busy in the kitchen making a fantastic "family dinner," which we got to enjoy in our new green space.
It occurred to me last night as we were enjoying another dinner on the patio that my "life" right now is completely inverse to the way it was in Minnesota. I used to live to go to work - that was my social life, my entertainment, and I would come home at night to an empty apartment, dinner in front of the TV, and maybe a Skype date with Andy. Now my evenings are filled with good food, music, and conversation. It's not that I had it bad in Minnesota, by any means - but I really do love the company that I'm surrounded by. :)
I've had a few adventures getting lost in the city since the last time I wrote, mostly going on interviews or finding stores that I'm familiar with. My main problem with finding an address in Manhattan is that in most cases, the address doesn't actually reflect their location. For example, I was trying to find a building with an address on Park Avenue - after wandering up and down a 3-4 block stretch, I discovered that the entrance to the building was actually on the other side of the block, facing 4th Avenue. Google Maps is somewhat helpful, but when it comes down to finding the entrance to a building, it's totally worthless. I have no idea how anyone survived being a newcomer to the city before internet was available. Did everyone carry a phone book with them? Or a city map? I've gotten to the point where I may actually consider getting a phone plan with internet included - I've always thought that was one of those "extras" that people have because they're too lazy to figure anything out for themselves, but I can see where it may be a genuine necessity here. Until then, I guess I'll just keep calling my mom every time I need someone to look up directions for me. :)
On that note, I've got more neighborhood to explore today, and plenty of yard work to do. Any home remedies for getting rid of monster-sized slugs and army-trained mosquitos would be greatly appreciated.
Malice
6.07.2010
Week 1 in Brooklyn
6.07.2010
0
I suppose I should spare a few minutes to update this thing. :)
If you haven't already guessed, we made it to New York! After about eighteen hours of driving in sporadic downpours, we finally pulled into our new neighborhood at about 5 AM last Tuesday. We were able to move into the new place by mid-morning, then head back to the old apartment to pick up Andy's things. Dad flew in that morning to help us with the move - and thank goodness he was there. Andy and I were both too tired to think straight for the next couple of days, and I know we would've forgotten to eat if Dad hadn't been in town. It was great that he got to see the apartment and the neighborhood and help out with a few major/minor fixes before he made the trek back to Iowa on Thursday.
It's hard to believe I've been here for almost a week already - it's been a whirlwind. Here are a couple of my city "first" highlights:
If you haven't already guessed, we made it to New York! After about eighteen hours of driving in sporadic downpours, we finally pulled into our new neighborhood at about 5 AM last Tuesday. We were able to move into the new place by mid-morning, then head back to the old apartment to pick up Andy's things. Dad flew in that morning to help us with the move - and thank goodness he was there. Andy and I were both too tired to think straight for the next couple of days, and I know we would've forgotten to eat if Dad hadn't been in town. It was great that he got to see the apartment and the neighborhood and help out with a few major/minor fixes before he made the trek back to Iowa on Thursday.
It's hard to believe I've been here for almost a week already - it's been a whirlwind. Here are a couple of my city "first" highlights:
- First Grocery Run: I now realize there's a reason that a lot of people prefer the vegetarian lifestyle... meat is expensive! Not only meat, but food in general - $5 for a box of cereal? I'm looking for new breakfast options...
- First "Wildlife" Sighting: As we were waiting for the train the other day, I saw my first New York "wildlife" scurry along the tracks... I suppose it's somewhat like spotting a deer along the highway in the Midwest. Just a whole lot creepier.
- First Taxi Ride: terrifying, as always. I could never drive in this city. There's really no way to describe it... maybe I'll take a video someday and post it here. :)
Well, I need to head back to the apartment before everyone gets home from work - hopefully I'll be able to write about my "First Job Interview" next time...
Til then,
Malice
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