Tourist alert!

Evening, friends!

It’s a cold, rainy night here, and all I wanted to do since, oh, 3:00 this afternoon was get home, turn on the TV, and enjoy some quality time with my couch.  Blogging from said sofa seemed to fit perfectly into this equation.

Though I only became an official New Yorker  circa 3 months ago, I never considered myself a tourist, a truly loaded word.  Obviously cities rely on out-of-towners for revenue, and no booming metropolis would be complete without wide-eyed strangers, oohing and aahing at every building and landmark, flashing their cameras and flaunting their fanny packs (just kidding.  Kind of.)

Although I am all for people coming to NYC for the first time, experiencing the magic and the buzz and the rush of it all, falling in love just like I did many years ago, I cannot deny the rush of pleasure that surges through me when people stop and inquire about directions or restaurant recommendations, mistaking me for a native and not a recent transplant.  Bottom line? I don’t want to be the rookie anymore.

That being said, some things about New York continue to overwhelm me in the best possible meaning of the word.  In the past, I would come to the city over the holidays for the occasional Broadway musical or Christmas show, taking a glimpse at the tree in Rockefeller Center (which is being lit tonight!) and hustling through a holiday-adorned Times Square.  This is the first time I am literally living in the season, admiring the beautiful juxtaposition of tiny white lights amidst massive skyscrapers.  Last night, some point on my two-mile walk home, I couldn’t help but to whip out the camera and take some shots of some of my favorite holiday scenes thus far.  Did I get in the way? Absolutely.  Did I look tourist-y?  For sure.  But when it comes down to it, being a tourist in my new city is what keeps me curious, excited, and enthralled with it all.

Reinspired.

What’s with the once-a-month posting deal?!

At my old blog, Making Moves, I was so diligent.  Blogging every single night was as crucial as doing my homework and showing up for class on time.  No meal went undocumented, no story untold.  So what the hell happened?  I seemingly lost my blogging mojo, so to speak.

I chalk it up to trying to be an adult.  Truth be told, I come home from work in a catatonic-like state each night on a mission for dinner STAT.  Sometimes I go to the gym if my energy levels allow, and I confess that I spend far too much time on my couch catching up on ridiculous TV shows (hello Real Housewives!  I love you!) and other bloggers’ lives.  I’ve been going to networking events, planning happy hours with coworkers  (my two cents: always fun but potentially embarrassing; let’s just say don’t get too happy, ya know what I mean?) and enjoying the company of both new friends and old, as well as some special visitors to my humble apartment abode.

But here I am, strangely drawn back to blogging, though I am not in Manhattan at the current moment, but instead in Pennsylvania, home, where I’ll be spending the holiday living it up with friends and cherishing times with my family.   Meeting up with some fabulous bloggers for a lovely dinner at Whole Foods, naturally, (pun intended?) spurred my interest in dusting off the old blog and giving it a shot for the second time in a row.  Christmas season is upon us; the city is slowly transforming to an urban wonderland and friends are flocking in for festivities and food.  I walk by countless store windows, in awe of the creative displays, cursing myself for not having my camera handy.  I’ve been sampling some amazing cuisine on my punative budget, fondly remembering the days where I could search for the best angle and lighting to document the texture and color of the meal.  I’ve been meeting up with amazing people, both from the blog world and “real life,” and want to remember those details and precious moments in time.

So onwards and upwards, this second chance is mine for the taking; blogging is something I obviously just can’t quit (cue the “I just can’t quit you!” line from Brokeback Mountain.  True story:  I use this line in normal conversation in response to a myriad of topics), so it’s time to make it a staple in my life again.  Every day?  Don’t hold your breath.  But more than once a month, absolutely!

I have no pictures to share, and don’t know where to even begin chronicling the debauchery, intense highs, low lows, amazing moments, life lessons, and full-circle experiences that this past month alone has brought me.  I do have much to be thankful for, however, and I leave you on this Thanksgiving with a deep appreciation for my loved ones, my new city, my health, and my never-ending, somewhat fanatical passion for the blog scene. 

On that note: I’ll be back!

Life turned upside down.

September 1st seems like forever ago.  That was the date of my last blog entry, back when I was wading in sea of doubt and excitement and nervousness and optimism, feeling both conflicted and ready for my impending move to the Big Apple.

Before I was a New Yorker.

Before I became gainfully employed, through strokes of fate mixed with a little luck and a lot of answered prayers.

So why did I neglect to share this on my blog, the outlet I created to document such moments in my brand new life?

I’m not really sure I know the answer to that, and I don’t have a valid excuse other than the fact that finding out I got a job, moving to a city, trying to set up an apartment, paying a bajillion start up fees and settling into my new life has been overwhelming, exhausting and amazing all at once.

Gone are they days when I would wake up whenever I felt like it, enjoy a leisurely breakfast while listening to Regis and Kelly yammer on, mosey my way to the gym and then just bum around with my best friends at night.  I said goodbye to free groceries and rent at my mother’s house, swapping it for becoming overly budget conscious in order to make sure all ends meet up by the end of the month.  I traded in all the free time in the world to arise at 7 each morning, working for 8-9 hours, rushing home to eat dinner before I gnawed my arm off, making it to the gym when my energy levels allowed me to do so, and living and experiencing life as an adult for what seems like the first time in my entire life.

Overwhelming, yes.  Amazing, that too!

I thought that this blog was irrelevant; the point was supposed to be me chronicling what would be a ridiculously tiring and damn near impossible job of making enough money to survive while interviewing my little heart out to find something “legit” in my career field.

It was supposed to showcase my determination and new-found strength.  It was going to document the good, bad, and ugly.

After meeting fabulous and lovely friends involved in the blogging community as of recent times, I’ve been inspired to give this bad boy a shot again.  No, the original focus of the blog is not true to my life today. But I am new to an amazing, diverse city, mostly untouched by my novice hands, and I think I owe it to myself to document my first year as a New Yorker; a year that is completely different than any other in my life.

So again, I invite you on my quest, not for the job, but for irreplaceable life moments and experiences.  For new adventures and with new friends.  For the ups and the downs and some of the best eats and fashion finds.  For the little things that make my New York life…my New York life!

I’ll sign off with things I’ve noticed in my first month here:

• Happy hour is a beautiful thing.  No one is too old or too busy to enjoy a brew or two… or four.  Whatever works!
• Working for the weekend has taken on a whole new meaning.  48 hours all to myself, sans papers and projects and studying, is a precious commodity.
• The bus takes a long time to go across town.  It takes even longer when it’s pouring rain and wet, tired, hungry, and grumpy people all shove you to get a coveted spot  – so that they too can just make it home and call it a night.
• Walking to work is good exercise.  Walking to work down 5th Avenue is good exercise in self-control and restraint.
• Packing a lunch > buying lunch.  Saves crazy amounts of money, and a turkey sandwich really is just a turkey sandwich, no matter where it comes from.
• Guys who buy you drinks at a bar are your best friends.  Note I said friends.  Nothing more.
• It is perfectly acceptable to “rage” like your former 18-year-old self every once in a while… dancing on bars included.
• Going to the gym is the hardest part, especially after a loooong day.  Getting there, doing your thing, and walking home drenched in sweat is the best feeling ever.
• Meeting and getting to know new friends is still exciting and fun, and something that should be done on a regular basis.
• Central Park is a runner’s dream.  Lush fields, people everywhere motivating you to go faster and work harder — I can’t get enough.
• NYC has the best froyo ever.

And with that last, oh so profound statement, I’m off to see what this rainy Saturday brings!

New York state of mind.

Countdown to move in: 14 days.

Well.  It’s official.  Come Thursday at 3:00, when I scrawl my name on a dotted line and fork over thousands of dollars I’ll be a real live New Yorker.  Currently thinking: alkfhasdkjfsdjkfh!

When I got the e-mail congratulating me and my roommate on our application being accepted, I wanted to jump up and down from excitement and throw up all at the same time.  I am beyond excited, obviously, and really can’t believe that one of the items of my life long “TO DO” list can be crossed off, but I am terrified all the same.  Scared that I won’t ever find a job.  Worried that I’ll have to haul my sorry self back to Pennsylvania because I can’t make my rent.  Petrified of infamous NY cockroaches.  I could go on, but I don’t want to be ridiculous.

In all honesty, though, this impending move/life decision has truly lit a fire within me.  I said that I was job searching all summer, but in reality, I was out and about, living it up like a kid, interviewing occasionally between happy hours and baseball games and trips to the beach.  I lived for free, ate for free, and spent my days lounging by a pool and getting my fitness fix a fancy gym.  I am beyond grateful for this last summer, the “ultimate” as I proudly dubbed it, and for my parents for letting me just let loose and live.  But it’s time to move on.

I’ve been scouring the internet and applying for 4, 5, 6, a million jobs every day.  I am actively trying to build my network of contacts and talking to anyone about anything advertising or PR related.  I am ready to get serious, and I’m ready to put my hard-earned degree to use.  And though everything is happening so fast, I’m embracing this challenge with open arms, though I sometimes want to shut my eyes and plug my ears and pretend it’s not happening quite yet.  Hello reality check.

So now that the apartment is locked in, get ready for the drama that will be my transition from Pennsylvanian to New Yorker.  Though I’m not fully prepared, I know that everything in life happens for a reason, and I’m choosing this path and this destiny.  The job?  Bound to happen eventually!  Optimism and faith, optimism and faith, optimism and faith.

Tonight’s plans include ice cream from the old-fashioned shop down the street, a place steeped in memories from my childhood and home to a killer sundae.  I’ll leave with this: is there anyone out there? ANYONE?!

Game plan.

Countdown to move in: 19 days.

This post is titled “Game plan” as if I have a solid and thorough course of action already put into place.  Don’t be fooled.  I don’t.

My entire life has been about planning and routines;  I used to thrive under the safety and comfort of knowing exactly what was going to come next.  Predictable, yes.  Fun?  Not so much.

Over the past four years I’ve come to realize that this is just not how life really is.  There’s no drawn out course pointing you to your next move and destination.  Sometimes there’s detours and broken bridges and obstacles before you, and other times you’ll smoothly find your way. I know, obvious to many I’m sure, but this was a huge revelation to me.

So in the spirit of embracing the unknown and diving headfirst into unchartered waters, I’ve decided to quit talking about the life I’ve always dreamed of (fearlessly and fabulously roaming the streets of NYC, obviously) and to start conquering it.  I have no doubt it’s going to be hard and there will be times where I want to quit and just go home, but I am confident that the thrill of making my own moves and proving to myself that I can be self-sufficient and independent will be worth more than words can even say.

As I said above, there is no real game plan except for the fact that I will be moving into an apartment with one of my best friends from high school (who, I might add, already has a job.) and will be doing just about anything it takes to come up with enough money each month to make my rent while simultaneously doing my best to find a job in the ad world or PR biz to help me launch a “real” career.  I am open to ideas of how to do so, but I do plan on networking like crazy, talking to anyone and everyone who will give me a chance, attending meet ups and walking around with my resume stapled to my forehead.

If said “real” job doesn’t happen right away, you can bet that I’ll be the best server/hostess that Manhattan’s ever seen in the mean time.  My prior experiences in the food industry have been less than stellar, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

So basically, if you’ve made it this far, you can tell that my ramblings parallel my plan; not quite to the point, a little complicated, but ultimately coming to some sort of end.  I’ll leave all my readers (ha ha) with these questions:

What’s the biggest, most rewarding risk you’ve ever taken?  How do you personally make the most of your potential and realize your dreams?  And finally, is your company hiring?  Kidding about the last one.  Kind of.

Off to the EAGLES game tonight — gotta root for my Philadelphia teams with the best fans in the world while I still can!

Here we go…

Countdown to move-in: 21 days.

Where to begin?

As a former food/fitness blogger, spilling the details of my favorite sandwich creation or my latest workout adventure seems so… trivial in comparison to where I see this blog going.  I’ll tell you upfront that I’ll be getting into the nitty gritty, telling the gruesome tales of a city girl at heart who is desperately trying to thrive live in the land of her dreams — the Big Apple.  Doesn’t sound too bad, right?  No big deal, ya know?  Well, as move in day approaches, the fact that I have no job (thanks, economy!) and a savings account that rivals a 6-year-old’s makes things just a little more complicated… but a lot more interesting!

I will definitely be detailing the impending move, my reasons for going, my current job search and more as time marches on, but I’ll start you off easy and lay out the basic 411:

Lauryn.  Age 22.  Recent college graduate from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in advertising and minor in Spanish for Business (whew!).  Originally from Bucks County, PA.  Only child (minus the syndrome).  Lover of the triple Fs: food, fashion, and fitness, in that order.  Former Account Executive at the best college newspaper in the country. Hopeful employee, eternal optimist, and slightly insane a major risk taker!

Like I said, this is merely a glimpse of what’s to come — gotta keep you coming back for more, right?  Let’s just say it will be very challenging, entertaining, and hopefully rewarding to follow me on my quest to be a working woman in Manhattan!  Stay tuned… the countdown is officially on.