The Next Chapter

I quit... again

2010-09-27T20:39:00.003-04:00

Again, I've completely been failing at maintaining regular posts on this thing. I'm honestly too exhausted to even post some sort of witty sign off, let alone keep up with writing on a regular basis.

So... I quit. Again. Well, kind of. I'm giving Tumblr a try, it seems like it requires less maintenance and I might be inclined to post more often. We'll see how this goes...

http://jessslevin.tumblr.com/

Hi Kitchen, I'm Jess. Have we met?

2010-08-17T20:02:00.003-04:00

So I'm getting almost as bad about actually using my kitchen as I am about updating this blog. And that's saying a lot. Whoops :) At least it's been less than a month... for the blog anyway.

I truly do enjoy cooking, but between having an absurdly small dysfunctional kitchen, having little to no free time to cook let alone find a recipe I'm interested in making, and trying to have a social life I just eat out way too much. I always wish I'd just make the time for more meals at home, but every week nothing changes.

Until now.

My lovely friend/coworker Lauren and I have made a pact. We're not allowed to eat out for the next month. Coincidentally, a month from today happens to be both Lauren's birthday and the night I'm flying to GA for a much needed reunion with my beloved Athens. Both clearly cause for celebration. So you can bet on September 17th we'll both be eating fantastic meals in some of our favorite restaurants! But until then... we're both in this together.

I'm not sure what the hardest part will be - finding the time to prepare good meals or passing up social events with our friends (they can't believe we're not even going to break the pact for brunch). It's very much a part of my job, social life and the culture we live in to go out to eat. You're probably wondering why we're voluntarily giving that up for a month?? It's a combination of trying to save a few dollars and challenging ourselves to do something that really kind of scares us.

Luckily we do have two exceptions: Sarasota (we're going home for Labor Day weekend and will absolutely be taking advantage of yummy Florida seafood and some of our old favorites), and dates. Well really any meal that someone else pays for.. so dates, work functions or if friends pity us and want to buy us dinner (but that's kind of cheating). So here goes... time for some quality time in the kitchen.

Getting Situated

2010-07-27T19:23:00.005-04:00

"I'm going to a friend's beach house in Jersey"

"... the Jersey Shore?"

"Yep."

"Are you going to be on TV?"

So this past weekend I was lucky enough to venture to the Jersey Shore after a whirlwind work trip to LA. My friend and colleague Lauren grew up with a house at the shore, and still goes back from time to time to relax and get away from the city. Considering the summer has flown by and I have barely even had time for day trips to Long Island, I jumped at the opportunity to escape the miserable heat of the city for a couple days at the beach.

I'll admit, I had some preconceived notions about "the Shore," even though Lauren insisted we weren't going anywhere near Seaside Heights. Although there were a few questionable characters out in the local beach bars on Saturday night, I'm pleased to report (okay maybe secretly a little disappointed) that Snookie and The Situation were nowhere to be found. Unlike what MTV will have you believe, there are nice parts of the Jersey Shore - and Longport is definitely one of them. We stayed at Lauren's friend's beautiful beach house, ate amazing seafood, and got to sleep in later than I can ever remember sleeping in. Oh, and we soaked up as much sun as possible during the short trip.

Thanks Lauren and Ashley for a fab weekend away, and for dispelling bad rumors about the Jersey Shore :)

It's Great to be a Georgia Bulldog!

2010-07-21T08:23:00.003-04:00

Yep, it's almost that time again, my favorite time of the year. College football season is (finally) right around the corner! UGA's football season starts at home on September 4 against Louisiana-Lafayette (is that even a real school? where do they find these openers?). Okay... I know I graduated well over a year ago, but I still (and will always) get so excited about football season starting back up - and it helps me deal with the fact that summer is coming to a close (didn't summer JUST start??).

Oh, and I just booked a flight to ATL for the UGA/Arkansas game with two of my favorite NYC friends who also happen to be UGA alums. It's hard to believe this will be my second season as an alum, but fortunately I'll be at atleast one game (maybe two - fingers crossed GA/FL will work out). I got the chance to go back for one game last year, LSU (which we lost in the last 41 seconds.. brutal) and now that I've made arrangements for a game this year I'm literally counting the minutes until my flight lands in Atlanta on September 16th (good thing my boss understands how important football is and what a valid reason that is to take off work on a Friday).

It'll be interesting to see how different it is to go back now vs. just a few months after I'd graduated. Being the party/football school that it is (sorry Michael Adams, but it's the truth), many people go for the 4 and a half or 5 year plans, so quite a few of my friends were still in school when I went back last year - or at least right around the corner in Atlanta so they came back for it. Many of them are still in Atlanta, and I'm sure those that have graduated will still come back for the home games but it's weird to be more and more removed from my college experience... I can't even imagine how much has changed since I was there last. Georgia Theater is in the rebuilding process after the fire last summer, many of my favorite bars and restaurants have closed and there are strangers renting out my house that was the scene of so many memories from my sophomore to senior years. But while it'll be sad not to see so many familiar sites and faces, I know parts of Athens will never change and that sweet little town will always have a special place in my heart. I have a feeling the minute we merge onto the loop from 316 I'll forget I ever left...

The Never Ending Birthday Comes to a Close

2010-07-13T19:49:00.010-04:00

There's nothing I love more than birthdays. Not just mine, I love all birthdays because they're a reason to be excited about life and to celebrate. Okay fine I'll have to admit, I do love being treated like a princess for a day on my birthday, and it didn't hurt this year that it was preceded by a week of vacation and followed by a short week at work because my office was closed on the big day.

Being that my birthday is July 5th, it somehow gets wrapped up with celebrations for the 4th and turns into a full weekend of celebrating - but this year it just seemed to never end...

celebration night #1: big group dinner...

... followed by out for rooftop fun - complete with incredible views

celebration night #2: 4th of July...

fireworks!

...watching fireworks with my favorites

celebration day #3: birthday lunch with my faves...

... birthday cupcakes, round 1.

celebration day #4: office birthday = flowers and more cupcakes, followed by another bday dinner

celebration night #5: I know, this is getting ridiculous. work bday dinner, cava and yummy desserts

So I guess it has to end at some point... although I did still get to do some birthday shopping over the weekend, and still have a birthday massage to schedule so I suppose it's still going! Thank you to my amaaaazing friends, family and colleagues for treating me like a princess for the best extended birthday ever :) xo

Highlights from BA

2010-07-03T20:40:00.000-04:00

Figured since pictures speak louder than words I could recap Buenos Aires better this way...

First few days staying at a hostel in Palermo Soho, exploring the city and hanging with little bro:

outside the hostel

hostel common area

my room

going out with little bro & his study abroad group

San Telmo Market

watching soccer! Argentina vs. Mexico

Casa Rosada, their "White House"

Family arrives! Moved into their nice apartment in Palermo Hollywood for the rest of the trip:

apartment

view from the balcony

soccer watching party... all this crowd and it wasn't even an Argentina game!

Plaza San Martin

amaaaazing tango show at Faena Hotel

La Boca

little bro, the pro tango dancer

Recoleta Cemetary

Buenos Aires so far...

2010-06-29T09:23:00.004-04:00

Hello friends in the US! Of course I couldn't stay away from a computer and Internet as much as I'd hoped to disconnect during this trip... It definitely makes it easier having free wifi in the apartment we're staying in, and since my family is still tired from traveling (hence why I got here two days earlier) I'm sneaking onto Mom's computer to catch up on life.

So Buenos Aires has been amazing so far, spent the first two days exploring on my own/hanging with my brother and his study abroad group. Although his program is really different than mine (his was 14 kids and they all lived with host families, mine was 60 of us and we all lived in the same apartment building) it makes me really miss my study abroad "family" from Verona.

The area we're staying in is called Palermo, which is definitely walkable and for the most part safe to roam around and explore. The first day I just checked out the markets and shops around my hostel and then met little bro and friends for drinks after. The exchange rate definitely works in our favor, and I'm glad I left lots of room in my suitcase to bring back the clothes and jewelry I have bought/still plan on buying :)

Sunday we went to San Telmo, another part of town that has a super cool market/antique shopping area that I'd heard all about from friends and guidebooks alike. First order of business was to snag seats for the Argentina vs. Mexico soccer game (just like tailgating in the US - need to get there a good 4 hours before the game to get seats!) but once we had staked out our territory in the bar, we wandered around the market a bit and did some shopping (pics to come when I'm back in NYC and have access to my camera cord). Considering the game was literally the first soccer game I've watched during the World Cup from start to finish, it was a blast. I'm not a huge soccer fan to begin with, but as I discovered recently after watching about 30 minutes and having a few drinks I will become a fan of any sport (basketball included, which I really didn't think was possible). So for those of you who don't care about the World Cup now that the US is out of it, Argentina won 3-1 and of course insanity ensued in the city. They were lighting off fireworks, everyone was honking horns and hanging out of car windows waving flags. And I thought Athens was crazy after UGA wins a football game...

Mom and Dad got here yesterday so we're all in an apartment on the other side of Palermo. I'd been saving the super-touristy activities for once they arrived, so the next few days will be jam-packed with sightseeing. The highlight on the itinerary so far is the Tango show we're going to tonight, cannot wait! Aaand everyone's starting to wake up, guess I should get off the computer and get started with the day :) xo

Argentina Here I Come!

2010-06-24T18:05:00.000-04:00

So a year into this whole "having a grown up job" thing I'm finally taking a real vacation! I can't even remember the last time I traveled to somewhere I haven't been before... it honestly may be my study abroad program between sophomore and junior years of college! The last big I trip took was to Barcelona with my family two years ago, but I'd already visited Barcelona when I was studying in Italy a few summers prior... so while it was fun to have more time to explore the city (somehow on study abroad we did more sangria drinking and less cultural activities), I cannot wait to go somewhere completely new.

And that brings me to my trip on Friday! I'm meeting my family in Buenos Aires, Argentina where my younger brother is studying for part of the summer. Usually when I take trips I tend to let other people do the planning - whether it's the group of friends I'm traveling with or my parents or if it's a work trip, I usually just go with the flow... This trip is different.

First of all, I'll be alone for the first two days - Mom and Dad arrive on Monday, and baby bro is traveling/in class when I first get there. Since I can only take so many days off work, I figured I should take advantage of the weekend so I can soak up as much of the city as possible. Little bro tells me it's a grid/"just like New York" so I should have no trouble getting around on my own... although I have a feeling the fact that I speak not a single word of Spanish may be a tiny hindrance.

Second of all, I'm now lucky enough to have some fantastic contacts at top travel magazines and web sites (not to mention some very well traveled friends) so I've managed to compile the ultimate to-do list for my visit. I literally have a file with pages of notes, scanned articles and recommendations from some of my favorite editors so I can check everything off as I go!

Not sure how many time I'll get to check in and access the internet, planning to try to disconnect a bit but I'll be back next weekend full of fabulous stories! Until then...

The Beach is That Way

2010-06-20T08:51:00.005-04:00

Growing up in Florida, I was definitely spoiled having the beach a 5 minute drive away and a sailboat in my backyard. I'll admit I had a bit of separation anxiety leaving the beach in Florida when I moved to Athens, GA and I still whine constantly about the weather and lack of good beaches in NYC (I guess you can't have it all).

Although I don't think I'll ever get used to an hour train ride and paying to go on the public beach, yesterday I discovered that good beaches aren't as impossible to get to as I thought.

Not bad for a day trip! Now that we've ventured to Long Beach, we have the rest of the summer to discover new beach spots...

Limelight... a month ago

2010-06-18T08:25:00.001-04:00

Whoops. Usually I'm better about posting about new NYC discoveries, but this one is way overdue. After reading this New York Mag article, I was intrigued to go check out the new Limelight Marketplace that opened a few months ago. I can't decide if I was more excited to check out the fun shops and restaurants or walk around imagining what this place may have been like when it was a crazy 80s club, but it was fun to do a combination of both.

From the outside, the Limelight still looks like an old church. In fact, from the inside certain parts still resemble a church - I love that they kept the stained glass and arching ceiling structures.

While we didn't buy anything, it definitely was a fun place to wander around and explore for an afternoon - and close to home on 20th and 6th! In addition to the shops, there's a cute little market, Cupcake Stop (our favorite), a gelato shop and more. AND there will be a Grimaldi's/maybe already is - it was supposed to open in May when the whole mall opened but apparently has been delayed to who knows when. It wasn't open when we visited, but I'm excited to go back and check it out. Since I still have yet to eat at the Grimaldi's in Brooklyn (boo for epic lines and not enough time), I'm pretty excited to try the place - despite what everyone says about the best part being walking over the bridge to get there. I've already done the walking over the bridge part, now I just want to try the pizza :)

Super Swarm

2010-06-14T21:36:00.004-04:00

Of course I haven't had time to post since I've been back from LA... back to NY, back to hectic reality. Can't really complain though, I like keeping busy and have had lots of fun stuff going on since I got back.

Had a perfect NY weekend after having withdrawals from my city and my friends. Fun nights out on Friday and Saturday. Highlights of the weekend night outings was definitely the intense 80s bar crawl we found ourselves a part of. Never again will I NOT dress up for a theme party. Who knew you could possibly feel so out of place in a black dress?

Saturday was suuuper relaxing. The first day I haven't really had to be "on" in quite awhile so it was nice to enjoy an Ess A Bagel and chill for a bit. Sunday was my favorite kind of NYC day, which was spent brunching and basically wandering around. We discovered a new brunch fave, The Park (I'd only been there for an event at night - had no idea it was open for brunch), walked the High Line, and eventually made our way to the Big Apple BBQ.

For the second year in a row, I went to Big Apple BBQ and didn't actually eat BBQ... I don't know how to alter my plans for next year so I can actually get there at a good time with no lines, but I've now tried Saturday and Sunday and both are insane! I guess it's just an example of how any good thing that you get excited about in this city just comes with insane lines. That includes everything from BBQ festivals to a trip to Trader Joes (am I the only one excited by shopping there?)... it's just one of those things you get used to in the city. At least now there's an upside to the crazy lines....

Disconnect to Reconnect

2010-06-07T23:06:00.000-04:00

There have been tons of stories and studies about how dependent our generation is on technology. There was Gen X, Gen Y, now Gen V – “Generation Virtual.” I like to think I’m not that dependent on technology, of course I need it to do my job but I can also enjoy some quiet time away from my laptop and my iPhone.

I guess I didn’t realize how attached I am to my email until the flight attendant on my JetBlue flight just informed me that there is no WiFi on board. I’m embarrassed to say I literally gasped and just stared at her blankly. Maybe I’ve just been spoiled the last few times I’ve flown, but over the last few months I have yet to be on a flight without WiFi and assumed that all flights are equipped with it now – especially a five hour flight from LA to NY!

Sometimes I take advantage of in-flight WiFi, sometimes I don’t, but there’s a certain level of security knowing its there if I want it. Today would definitely be one of those days that I’d like to use it and get some work done (not to mention I told my boss I’d be online as soon as wheels were up… whoops). And yes, I’m typing this into a word doc and will have to copy and pasted it to post later but I thought I’d go ahead and write it while I can.

So I take it back. I’m not someone who can be away from technology for extended periods of time. I know it’s good to take a break from it every now and then to “detox” but I think I’d much prefer that on a choice basis, not because someone took my precious WiFi away from me.

Now what to do for the next 4 hours and 30 minutes to JFK? Good think for that marathon of Real Housewives of New York…

"We draw our neighborhoods around us like a comforting blanket"

2010-06-05T07:00:00.000-04:00

Oddly enough after my two posts about NYC vs. LA, I just read a great article in LA Mag (I can't find my love, NY Mag, here anywhere!) about growing up in LA and loving everything about it. One of the things that struck me as true (which applies to New York also) was how the author really saw the sprawling city as many little neighborhoods, and she just embraced her neighborhood as a comfort zone.

Although NYC (and by NYC I typically mean Manhattan, not the 5 boroughs. is that PC?) is much more compact than Los Angeles, it's true that you have to find your neighborhood and niche within any city, no matter how overwhelming the overall city may be.

When people tell me they could "never live in New York," most of the time I really think it's because when they picture New York, they picture Times Square, Broadway, bright lights, etc. And let's be honest... who wants to live in Times Square? I basically did for a summer, it's not fun, and I spent as much time as possible far away from my apartment exploring other parts of the city.

The real way to live in New York is to find your niche and get comfortable in that area. You find your bagel shop, your laundromat, your CVS, etc. and it feels like home. No matter where I move in the city, Gramercy will always feel like home since it's the first place I really settled down - any lease over a year in Manhattan is settling down right?

Side note: Gramercy may literally be home for awhile because I refuse to move out of the neighborhood until I can get into this park. Can anyone with a key help a girl out??

Middle of the Year Resolutions?

2010-06-04T00:50:00.009-04:00

I thought traveling for work would be the busiest I've ever been, but somehow I have more downtime on this trip than I'd expected. I guess it makes sense because my friends are all back in New York, so once my work is done for the day I'm not tempted to run off to happy hour, dinner, shopping, the movies, etc. I have to say, it's kind of nice to catch up on my Netflix queue (new obsession) and apparently it makes me much better at keeping my blog updated.

With this newfound free time, I've been reading back through some old posts and reflecting - I'm still in my nostalgic omg-I've-lived-in-NYC-for-a-year phase. Going back to the beginning, I came across some old stuff at the beginning of 2009. Crazy how I had no idea where I would be now and it's all fallen into place!

The best thing I found had to be my "2009 New Years Resolutions" ... while I can't do a look where I am a year later post since I was anti-blog at the start of 2010, I'm taking this free time to look back anyway. Who says you can't have June Resolutions?

Jess's 2009 Resolutions:

~~Find a way to balance school, 2 jobs, an internship and a social life. I kind of lacked on the last part last semester, so it's a good thing my jobs are my social life.~~ Okay so this one is now irrelevant... but I guess I survived?
~~Put enough money in my savings account before I graduate to at least cover my first month's rent in NYC.~~ Check more or less... although at this point I don't think I realized "first month's rent" = first month's rent, last month's rent, several month security deposit, and brokers fee... thanks Mom and Dad.
Become more knowledgeable about the Internet & social media. Not sure I can check this off. You can always learn more... ongoing life goal?
Work on my blog's exposure and getting more readers. Eh, not crossing this off. I think I keep this guy updated more for me than anything, it's like a journal. Readers/comments are just added fun.
~~Graduate.~~ CHECK! *pat on the back*
~~Find an apartment I like/can afford in NYC. The first requirement should be easy, we'll see about the second one...~~ Check! It's definitely a starter apartment, but I love it and am staying for at least another year.
Make a true effort to keep in touch with friends after graduation/moving. My best friends from home have an email chain (which they like to make fun of my blog on, so maybe this post will make it into said email chain) that does wonders for keeping us all in touch. Not checking this off though because I can always get better.
~~Start an entry-level job or internship (ideally shortly after graduation).~~ Check! *another pat on the back*
Finish cleaning out my room at my parents' house. And accept that I really now have to start calling it "my parents' house" instead of "my house". Big fail. Mom had to do this and redecorate. Whoops...
Clean out/re-paint my townhouse in Athens. Another fail... again, thanks Mom :)

So I didn't do so bad! Checked off all the big life goals for 2009. Now I just need to come up with plans for 2010 (now that we're 5 months into it). More to come...

NYC vs. LA part 2

2010-06-03T00:17:00.000-04:00

Elle and Wendy, you completely made my day with your comments! It's really fun to get perspective, especially from two girls who have spent a decent amount of time living in both NYC and LA - definitely makes you think.

I guess what it comes down to is that there's no real perfect city for everyone, there's just somewhere that is perfect for you, and that place may change day to day. Like I said in my last post, Sarasota was perfect for me up through high school, Athens was perfect for the next four years, and New York has my heart for now. You can analyze pros and cons, but everywhere has its advantages and disadvantages - and so does every situation. The one thing I really really can't stand about New York is the winter, but there truly is something charming about walking through snow flurries and getting excited about the holiday decorations throughout the city. Yes, people are mean in New York but it makes you stronger... you know what they say, live in New York but leave before it makes you hard; live in California but leave before it makes you get too soft. Maybe that's how I'll decide I need to leave New York... right when I'm on the verge of becoming a terrible person. Kidding :)

Most of my pros and cons were just me trying to be silly. No matter how many things I can pick apart to love or hate about New York, it's right for me at this point on my life and who knows how much longer. Aaaaaand on that note, it's only appropriate to end this with a genius quote from Sex and the City (that I think Elle, you introduced me to actually)...

"If you can only have one great love, the city just may be mine. And I can't have nobody talking shit about my boyfriend."

NYC vs. LA

2010-06-02T19:48:00.006-04:00

Being a certain age (20s-30s) and working in certain industries (PR being one of them), it's easy to forget that any cities exist outside of New York and Los Angeles. While I'm clearly obsessed with life in New York (see my post from a few days ago... or pretty much any of them since I've moved to the city), I always wonder what it might be like to live in LA at least for a little while. I'm sure it'll happen at some point... the weather is clearly way more my scene (fortunately for you, dear readers, this blog stopped existing in the winter or you would have heard lots of whining from this girl), I could still do my job there, and it would be a new adventure which I'm always up for...

So when I do have the opportunity to visit LA, I always spend the majority of time thinking about what it would be like to live there and picking up on the subtle... and not so subtle... differences between the two cities. Here are some pros/cons I observed on my last trip:

Nobody walks in LA. Well at least not as much as they do in New York.. I'm quite enjoying life sans car, so I'm not sure how I would adjust to driving/sitting in traffic again. We'll call this a con.
Strangers talk to you in LA. I've found myself in situations on my last few trips where strangers just strike up a conversation about whatever they can think of. It always catches me off guard and then I remind myself that only in New York are people too mean or self absorbed to realize that there are other people on the street they're walking on. Let's go with pro.
Bars close really early in LA. Not that I'm a huge party girl or anything, but I'm always up for a late dinner and night out on the town. Apparently this is not something people do in LA since last call is at 12:45 a.m. That would take some getting used to/strategic planning, con.
People care what your zodiac sign is in LA. Okay, I'm a Cancer... aside from the fact that I was born in early July, I have no idea what that says about my personality. Apparently people in LA do know and judge you for it. Creepy, con.
Cost of living is lower in LA (or anywhere). As much as I love throwing my life savings away on rent every month, I wouldn't mind living somewhere a little bit cheaper. PRO!
Cabs don't take credit cards in LA. Well, most of them don't. I don't believe in cash, this would be a problem for me. Con until I learn to start going to ATMs more frequently.
There are real beaches and palm trees in LA. I miss nothing more about Florida than the palm trees. Humidity I'm okay without, but growing up with palm trees was the best and I definitely haven't seen any since I moved to New York. I don't even think they exist in the Hamptons. Pro.
Before I get too carried away with my list, I think my parents would disown me if I didn't mention how much farther away LA is from home than NYC. Pretty sure they're just getting used to the fact that I'm no longer a drive away, and really can't just go home on a whim. CON (happy Mom and Dad?)

From my limited knowledge I acquired over the last few days, it appears that the cons still outweigh the pros.. although I'm sure I could continue the list endlessly :)

The real reason I'm not moving to LA any time soon is because I want to feel like I've really done New York before I leave. As much as I loved growing up in Sarasota, I was so ready to escape by the time I graduated high school I was almost running for the Florida/Georgia border. College was an amazing four years and I loved Athens while I was there, but by the end of it I knew it was time to grow up and move on. I may stay in New York for the rest of my life, or I may just wake up one day and decide I'm done. Who knows... but for now I have many more streets to wander down, museums to lose myself in, and of course restaurants to eat in before I'm anywhere near done with the city.

The Pier is to Santa Monica....

2010-05-30T22:17:00.000-04:00

...as Times Square is to New York City?

As I weave through the tourists (who am I kidding, I'm sure I blended more than weaved) I can't help but wonder if this is true. Do people that live in Santa Monica ever go to the Santa Monica Pier? I of course found it endlessly entertaining to wander and people watch in this foreign territory for the last few hours, but I think it's safe to assume that locals avoid it like the plague - or like New Yorkers avoid Times Square...

oh well.. I thought it was fun.

NYC, I miss you. But I guess I can't complain with palm trees and the beach in my back yard for the next few days...

Hope everyone's having a wonderful holiday weekend!

New York, I Love You.

2010-05-29T11:00:00.003-04:00

Wow, I really haven't gotten any better at updating this thing frequently have I? Been crazy busy with work, friends, and just life. I feel like over the past few weeks I've literally spent a grand total of 5 hours actually awake at my apartment... no complaints though, busy is good. Guess I'll just have to be more realistic about my blogging expectations of myself :)

So Thursday was my *one year in New York* anniversary. One of my longer and more serious relationships I have to say. New York and I have had our ups and downs, but we're doing really well now - better than ever. Sadly we didn't truly get to celebrate the anniversary since I had a 7 a.m. flight to LA on Thursday, ah the life of a jetsetter. Okay my life isn't that glamorous, but I did have an early flight on Thursday...

Well, that early flight didn't keep me from semi-celebrating the big one-year anniversary on Wednesday night.. eh I guess technically Thursday morning. Being the silly girls that we are, my friends and I bought 12:01 a.m. tickets to Sex and the City 2. Yes, the movie got horrible pre-opening (and post-opening) reviews, but we just had to see it. And we had to be among the first to do so. I saw the first movie at the 12:01 premiere two years ago with my roommates at the time at the Times Square theater (insanity) and it only seemed right to repeat the ritual. I'm not going to lie, I liked the first one better (or if we're being honest, the TV series blows either movie out of the water).. but I still love those girls and could have just stared at their shoes for two and a half hours and would have been content. I was a bit disappointed at how little of the movie really took place in NYC, it could have more appropriately been titled Sex & The Desert... but that's just my personal thought. Anyway, still glad we went - no matter how awful the movie was, the energy in the theater was so fun and so New York. I know they have midnight premieres all over the country (right?) but something about seeing it in the city is just fun.

Anyway, enough with that random tangent and back to work. New York, I love you. It's been a great first year and I see many many more together in our future.

Thought it would be appropriate to end with this quote that I recently heard and just love...
"The true New Yorker secretly believes that people living anywhere else have to be, in some sense, kidding." - John Updike

Playing Tourist

2010-05-15T19:41:00.001-04:00

One of my absolute favorite things about living in NYC is that people always seem to be visiting. Not only is it always great to catch up with old friends (that goes without saying), but it's also fun to have an excuse to do the touristy things I wouldn't typically do on my own. New Yorkers seem extremely averse to any sort of tourist attraction, but I have to admit that sometimes its just fun every now and then! Sooo here are some of the highlights of my touristy weekend with my darling friend Mindy, who is also way better at taking pictures than me so I have her to credit for the majority of these...

Top of the Rock

There are a lot of touristy things I'm okay with, but it takes a lot for me to take pics in Times Square! Mindy you're lucky I love you..

walking over the Williamsburg Bridge

Back in Manhattan

Finally went to Katz's! This picture doesn't even do this sandwich justice, it was the biggest thing I've seen in my life

There's No Place Like Home

2010-05-10T08:18:00.012-04:00

Wow I'm not doing very well at keeping this thing updated am I? Guess it's been a busy few weeks..

Fortunately I was able to escape to Sarasota for some much needed family time and pampering over the weekend. My brother and I both got to be home for Mother's Day, which was a huge surprise to our amazing mother (my ears are still ringing from her squeals when little bro snuck in late Saturday - she wasn't expecting him home until this morning). Somehow in the less than 48 hours I was home I managed to soak up everything amazing in Sarasota and unwind a bit from hectic city life.

Siesta Key Beach

100+ SPF sunscreen... who even knew this existed?? What's the point of even going in the sun?

After minimal sleep the night before (who was I kidding about calling it an early night on a Friday?), I wasn't too thrilled to be up at 5 a.m. to catch my flight home on Saturday but it was definitely all worth the lost sleep. First stop was lunch at a cute little cafe, and next stop was definitely the beach (no I didn't use the 100+ SPF, and yes I'm sunburned). After a mini nap on the warm sand, Mom and I headed off to mani pedis, and then I was off to the massage that I managed to schedule at the last minute. With my newfound food obsession in mind, Mom and I decided to check out a "new" restaurant in downtown Sarasota (well new to us), Mozaic. SRQ friends, you must go. The menu and service was absolutely amazing.

Sunday morning we had a yummy Mother's Day brunch with my grandparents and aunt (Mom even bought Lox after I took her for the most amazing bagel of her life at Ess-A-Bagel). Great to see extended family in my quick trip and catch up a bit.

Brother/Sister love

After a little quality time by the pool, Dad took us out sailing. I have to say, I expected it to be much more relaxing then it ended up being... I think when I hear sailing I picture myself lounging on a huge boat, margarita in hand, watching the palm trees go by. Sailing is apparently much more than that, as I've now learned, and I managed to add a few new words to my vocabulary in the process (winch, tack, keel - who knew sailing had its own language). All in all, still fun to be out on the water with the fam.

The weekend ended with a delish Mother's Day dinner at our favorite (well mine and Mom's anyway) restaurant in Sarasota, Roy's.

As much as I love life in New York, it's always great to get away for a few days - especially when the getaway involves home and family. Despite getting up at 4 this morning (I'm on my flight back now, gotta love that in-flight wifi), I feel so refreshed from the weekend and ready to take on the week! Thanks Sarasota, always a pleasure. And it's exciting to know the next time I see my family will be in Buenos Aires! Counting the days until that trip... Until then, it's back to city life for this girl.

"If people read your blog, they would think all you do is eat"

2010-05-04T23:21:00.006-04:00

Yes, that was a recent comment from my Dad... and I really can't argue with him (he's referring to my picture blog, which by the way does feature a disproportionate amount of food pictures). I think what he really meant to say is "you're using that gym membership we got you for Christmas right?"

I can't really nail down whether it's a result of living in New York, having the job that I have (which involves a lot of great food/food related events), or hanging around with a group of girlfriends that are equally obsessive, but I've somehow managed to become a bit of a foodie. I guess I can't fully claim it, since being a true foodie in this city is a bit out of my (and many people's) price range, but as one of my darling friends said this weekend... my friends and I are "ballin' on a budget." We're all constantly sending eachother e-mails about the latest restaurant we have to try, latest bar, etc. Yes, we even have a Google Doc of all the restaurants we want to try so we can cross them off the list as we go (our "restaurant queue" if you will).

Anyway, my foodie friend Lauren recently told me how she has a Zagat guidebook and highlights each restaurant that she's been to - I love it! Soo I ordered mine on Amazon, should be arriving any day now, and I can embark on my goal of trying every restaurant in NYC. We'll see how my wallet (and waistline) handle this...

NYC friends, any must-try restaurants? I have a few that are top of mind, and we have quite an extensive google doc started, but always up for suggestions!

I'm on a Boat!

2010-05-02T09:50:00.012-04:00

How I've lived in New York for almost a year (and technically two summers including when I interned here in college) and NOT gone to Frying Pan until yesterday completely blows my mind. For those of you who haven't been, it's a huge bar/restaurant comprised partially of an old pier in the Hudson and partially of several random boats (one of which looks like the Titanic inside.. more on that later).

It's a completely genius concept that really makes you feel like you're on a cruise/living somewhere much more tropical than the city. Since I moved here I've complained that I miss the water (and cringe when people snarkily inform me that Manhattan is an island... yes, I've noticed). Growing up, I've always lived on the water and had boats. Granted I rarely actually spent much time on the boats (sorry Dad) but having them in the backyard and knowing they were there if I wanted to take advantage was enough. And after 18 years of living in Florida, I definitely fell in love with all things beach/ocean related.

So yesterday being the first real day of summer (not officially, but in my mind yes), it seemed like the perfect day to finally venture to West Chelsea and check this place out. Oh, that and the fact that about 15 people we knew were having birthday parties there. And I can see why.

As much as I love being outside on days like yesterday, it ended up getting cold and some point and we drifted over to the pirate ship/Titanic as we were calling it for one of the aforementioned birthday parties. It's literally a sunken ship (or its expertly made to look that way) that is docked and available for private parties. Knowing only a few people at the party, we took it upon ourselves to explore rather than socialize...

Oh the things you'll find on a pirate ship... Anyway, the last thing I have to say about Frying Pan is props on having your very own foursquare badge.

New Yorkiversary

2010-04-28T20:58:00.000-04:00

So after my post yesterday I did a little research (via google, duh) on various opinions about when you become a New Yorker. Obviously there is no correct answer, however I did stumble upon this article on Examiner that kind of rained on my parade of celebrating a certain number of years in New York (but doesn't the fact that Sex and the City 2 comes out on my One Year New Yorkiversary seem like fate??)...

I guess it's true that you can't arbitrarily pick a number of years and decide at that point you'll become a New Yorker, and I'm sure it varies from person to person how quickly they adjust to life here. I guess I have to agree with the author of the Examiner article that there are just moments that you realize you've become a New Yorker. This is my favorite from the article...

“...it's the little things that really make you know you're a native... I decided I was a real New Yorker, when my friend Reid drove me home from dinner one night and, upon arrival, I instinctively reached into my purse to pay him. As though he were a taxi."-- Lara Naaman, quoted in the New York Post

Even after my mere 11 months (and 1 day!) here, I do feel like I have these moments where I really feel like a New Yorker rather than a tourist, like when I'm visiting my family in Sarasota and I can't sleep because it's too quiet, and when I come back into the city after that weekend in Florida and am comforted by bright lights and honking taxis. And I definitely feel like a New Yorker when I'm shocked that my friends in other cities pay "only" $800 for rent, or a Cosmo is "only" $8. I know you can't become a New Yorker in less than a year, but I do feel like I've adjusted to life here much better than I would have expected...

I'm curious about other people's "I know I'm a New Yorker" moments though, any to share?

One Month and Nine Years to Go...

2010-04-27T19:15:00.004-04:00

They say you're a real New Yorker after living here for 10 years... Who is they? Great question. I feel like that's a relatively widely accepted statement, although I'm sure native New Yorkers would disagree... Regardless, I like to think it's true because one day I can really claim to be a New Yorker, despite growing up below the Mason-Dixon line (although let's be honest, most Floridians seem to be blissfully unaware that they're technically in the South).

Well, I've been here 11 months. That means I have 1 month and 9 years to go... think I can make it? I guess only time will tell :)

Street Fair, Tim Burton and Naked People

2010-04-26T08:00:00.003-04:00

My favorite thing about living in New York is there's always somewhere new to go or something new to see. I was talking with a friend today about how I feel like you could spend your whole life in this city and barely scratch the surface of trying all the restaurants, and visiting all the galleries, museums and landmarks. Having a "9-to-5" job (do those even exist anymore?) makes it even harder to get out and experience all the city has to offer, but since moving here I've tried to squeeze as many fun activities into my little free time as possible. This weekend was the perfect, filled with interesting experiences...

Saturday we went to the Hester Street Fair, which just opened this weekend and is filled with vendors of all kinds - food, coffee, smoothies, art, clothes - you name it, it's there. Apparently this area was once the home of NYC's oldest and largest pushcart market, who knew? Anyway, it was fun to roam and around tasting everything and checking out the art and jewelry... They're open for the next few months so stop by and check it out if you missed the crazy opening weekend!

Unlike Saturday, which was a beautiful spring day in the city, yesterday was completely miserable and rainy. Fortunately a friend and I had already snagged tickets to the Tim Burton exhibit at MoMA, which was in its last weekend after being sold out basically since it opened so we spent the day indoors and quite entertained.

The exhibit was really interesting, and definitely made me want to go watch all of Tim Burton's movies immediately. Must finally get around to signing up for Netflix...

We also wandered through a few other random floors (I've been to MoMA a few times and can never manage to see everything), but the exhibit we still needed to see was "The Artist is Present," by Marina Abramovic. I use the word "by" loosely, since the artist actually is the exhibit. You can read all about the idea behind it in this article from the New York Times, but essentially she's sitting at a table staring at whoever is next in line to sit across from her. Based on the picture on the Times article, she seems to at least wear different clothes day to day... it's a pretty bizarre exhibit, and continues upstairs with people in various positions, some clothed and some not.. I won't go into all the details, but it's definitely worth checking out. If nothing else, it seems like it'll be something everyone in NYC will be talking about soon so it's worth knowing what all the fuss is about. New York just may be one of the only cities in the world people will pay and stand in line to see someone sitting at a table and staring straight ahead..

PS, if you're a Sex and the City fan, you may recognize the picture with the ladder from the episode where Carrie meets the Russian... remember the crazy woman on exhibit not eating, drinking or sleeping? Same as the one we saw today :) Who said Sex and the City isn't cultured?

I'm Baaaaaaack

2010-04-25T20:30:00.003-04:00

Okay, just kidding on the whole "retiring the blog" thing... who was I kidding? This stuff is addictive.

Those of you who know me (hi Mom & Dad) know I've been semi-active in the blog world with my post-graduate picture project, 365 Days After Walking Under The Arch. Since the day I graduated from UGA, I've posted a picture a day to chronicle my adventures of apartment hunting, moving to NYC, landing a job, and just life in the big city. I've had a blast keeping up with it, and even better time looking back on it - which is why I started it in the first place, so I would have it to reflect back on. Now as April comes to a close, my 365 days are about to come to an end (nostalgic "OMG I've been out of college for a year" post to come, don't worry)... but I've really enjoyed the experience and don't want the blog to end! Sooo through an informal Twitter poll and conversations with friends and colleagues I've decided to bring this guy out of retirement. I thought about continuing on with the 365 days after that year was up, but that blog had a theme and a purpose and it will be over after May 8th.

So here I am, back to the original, since "The Next Chapter" can really still be applicable for the rest of my life (or however long I keep the blog around..). Being young and still figuring out where I belong in this city and in life, there are sure to be many changes for me in the next 365 days and beyond, and I want to document them. I'm doing this for me, so I'll have something to look back and reflect on (although I love comments so keep them coming!). Yes, I've been made fun of by some friends for my nerdy blog, etc. but I'm just going to embrace it... because I've decided I really am a bit of a nerd and that's okay :) Expect rambling, random posts about whatever I'm interested in at the moment. Hopefully I'll be able to stick with it better this time, but who knows...

Here's to seeing what the next chapter will be!

All Good Things Must Come To An End...

2009-09-20T23:02:00.003-04:00

Every week I find myself making excuses of why I can't post on here. Busy with work. Out of town. Internet doesn't work (excuse for the last 2 weeks, thanks TWC). Nothing relevant to post.

So I've decided to retire my blog... I've really enjoyed having an outlet for my random thoughts and ramblings, and I've learned a lot about the blogosphere through maintaining this page (the reason I started the blog in the first place). However, I just can't seem to commit to updating regularly and that defeats the purpose of having a blog!

Thanks to anyone who has been reading and commenting :) I'm still planning on keeping up with my project I started right after graduation so check out my picture a day blog.

All the best,

Jess

SRQ

2009-09-07T22:00:00.008-04:00

"You know you're from Sarasota when... you don't know where the "Q" in SRQ comes from but you still refer affectionately to your city by those three letters"

A few highlights from a relaxing weekend at home...

Tampa Airport, welcome homeee

First stop: checked out Dad's new sailboat. Oh, Florida.

Why did I ever leave this?

Village Idiot, classic Sarasota.

home sweet home.

I have to admit, after a few days spent soaking up as much sun as possible and bonding with the parents, I was strangely ready to get back to my crazy cat, tiny apartment and hectic city. Who would have thought after only a few months I'd be calling NYC home...

Home Sweet Home

2009-09-05T10:15:00.002-04:00

No matter how great things are going in life, there's always something so special about going home for a few days. Knowing that I don't have to do anything but relax and spend quality time with friends and family for the weekend is just so settling.

Is it weird that within a day I feel right back at home in my old bed from high school and having my mom make me coffee in the morning? It's like I never left. Sure, my room has been rearranged, I haven't lived here for four years, and my baby brother is off at college (all details that force me to realize I'm no longer 17), but it somehow feels like nothing has changed.

I feel so lucky to have a place to go home to that will always feel like home. Unlike many of my friends, I was born and raised in Sarasota. My family has been in the same house almost my entire life, and they have no thoughts of leaving this beautiful city any time soon (as far as I know). It's so sad to me when families move away and my old friends no longer have their home here to come back to. I can't imagine spending Thanksgiving anywhere but here, or going somewhere for Christmas that I can't spend the day at the beach because it's 70 degrees in December.

It's just nice to know that no matter what I'm doing, no matter where I'm living, home and all the emotions that come with it are only a plane ride away.

(PS - While I'm raving about being home, I have to give a little shout out to Siesta Key, which was featured in the New York Times "Escapes" Section yesterday, including pictures from an old friend of mine!)

Now I'm Really Grown Up

2009-09-02T20:30:00.003-04:00

It finally happened, the moment I've worked for basically my entire life; I was offered my first entry-level position today.

When you think about it, this is really the reason people go to high school, go to college and beyond. Moving out and getting my first real "big girl job" as I've been calling it has been my goal for as long as I can remember, and I can't believe things are finally falling into place. My risky move of coming to New York without full time employment, my six internships (five of which were unpaid), my exhausting months of working three jobs to support myself, everything is paying off.

I can't even put into words how exciting it is to be truly independent from my parents. Although I've been paying my rent and basically handling everything on my own since I moved to New York, they've been there for me to fall back on and I definitely have had to on a few occasions along the way. Being the great parents that they are, I know they'll always be there for me to fall back on, but I finally feel like I won't have to for the first time.

Another thing that's exciting to realize is that I'll never again be an intern. I've been fortunate enough, through college and after graduating, to have had six amazing internships with great companies that I've been able to learn so much from. There comes a point however, where you just feel ready for the responsibility of a full time job and I've reached that point.

So it goes, another new chapter of my life begins on Tuesday... can't wait to see how this one turns out!

Dear Athens, I Miss You.

2009-08-31T18:52:00.007-04:00

It's nearing four months now that I've been out of college (115 days to be exact), but I think I'm just really grasping it for the first time recently. Up until a few weeks ago, it's been summer. For me, and for everyone. I'm never in school at this time of the year, and having so many friends living in New York for just summer internships made me feel like I was one of them. I was last summer, after all.

Somehow it was easy to think that come the middle of August, I would head back to Athens with the rest of my friends. Now it's so weird for me to grasp that my younger friends are sitting in class all day while I'm working and paying my own bills! I guess I had to come to terms with it at some point, but its funny that it took the start of the semester for me that to happen (how much longer can I talk in "semesters"?).

As much as absolutely love living in New York, there's a part of me that really misses sweet little Athens, Georgia. I knew people everywhere I went, I was comfortable in the same home for three years, and I had my safe routine of class and working occasionally... and a little part of me definitely misses that! But the more I think about it, the more I realize it's the just the memories I made in college that I miss. I wouldn't in a million years trade going to class tomorrow for going to work; I'm past that point in my life and it feels good. It's just hard not to miss the friends I made and the traditions that are still going on without me.

Another thing that's hard to swallow... this weekend is the first UGA football game. The first game I'll watch the bulldogs play as an alum, not a student. They'll always be my team, but it's weird to get in the habit of telling people "I went to UGA," not "I'm a student at UGA." It's an away game, so I wouldn't be at the game anyway (Oklahoma is too much of a haul, even for me)... but it's still a weird feeling. I'm used to watching the away games in my living room with my roommates; this weekend I'll actually be home in Sarasota, watching the game with my parents!

I know this is all part of growing up, and as the rest of my friends graduate and move on I'll have less of a pull toward Athens, but right now it's just really weird to realize that chapter of my life has closed.

Checklist, Revised.

2009-08-24T21:12:00.007-04:00

Apparently I either have time to update several times per day or not at all for weeks... I really am working on being more consistent, I swear (have I mentioned the whole working three jobs thing?).

So I've decided to expand my checklist. I got a good start to it last weekend, but this past week was a crazy busy blur so I need to get going on it again. I got a letter from my grandfather last week that inspired me to add to the list so I can make sure I see all of the great things this city has to offer. He put it best when he said that many New Yorkers take things for granted here and don't do all of the great things that tourists come here to do. There are so many beautiful parks, amazing museums, and unique experiences to be had in this awesome city and I don't want to ever take it for granted! So here goes, the Revised Master Life Checklist:

1. ~~High Line~~ (check!)
2. Thoroughly explore Central Park (considering saving this for when it's a little cooler out/when the leaves start to change)

3. Get into Gramercy Park (ongoing life goal)

4. Top of the Rock/Empire State Building Observation Deck (per a friend's advice, I think I'll opt for ESB at night)

5. ~~Brooklyn Bridge~~ (check!)

6. ~~Walk along the Hudson~~ (check!)

7. ~~Chelsea Piers~~ (check!)

8. Frying Pan

9. Astoria Beer Garden

10. Ferry ride from Battery Park to Staten Island/Circle Line boat ride around Manhattan

11. Giants game (in order to fill the void of UGA football/Athens, I'm becoming a pro football fan. I have a lot to learn!)

12. MoMA (I've been but need to go back and spend more time there - free on Fridays from 4 - 8 p.m.)

13. Museum of Natural History

14. The Met

15. The Frick (free/donations only entry on Sundays before 1 p.m., only $5 for students otherwise - good thing I still have that student ID!)

16. The Whitney (Fridays, 6 - 9 p.m. - free/donations, also has deals for students on a regular basis)

17. Guggenheim (Saturdays, 5:45 - 7:45 p.m. - pay what you wish)

That's going to have to do for now, I'm already getting exhausted thinking about doing all of this! Any other suggestions would still be welcome though :)

Killing Several Birds With One Stone

2009-08-15T18:26:00.001-04:00

I'm on quite a roll with my checklist - I knew all I had to do was put it in writing to get started on it! I finally went to the High Line today, I can't believe it's taken me this long to get over there. Walking the High Line turned into exploring all of Chelsea, so I can now check off Chelsea Piers, walk along the Hudson, and Chelsea Market (okay, that wasn't even on my list but I've been wanting to do it).

Walking across town, came across this on Park Ave. - apparently NYC closes down major streets for a few hours on certain days for biking and running. How cool!

random street fair I manage to stumble upon every weekend

I made it!

such a cool concept

under the High Line

Chelsea Market is amazing - I need to go back when I'm hungry because everything looked delicious!

inside the Chelsea Market

the closest I've been to water since moving to NYC (Hamptons don't count)

#5, Check!

2009-08-15T10:15:00.014-04:00

I'm proud to say that last night I accomplished my first item off my Summer Checklist - walk across the Brooklyn Bridge! It turned into quite an adventure which included getting slightly lost in Brooklyn, almost getting run over by crazy cyclists on the bridge and $5 martinis but I think it was a success....

heading across the bridge

Elle & I

goodbye Manhattan...

...hello Brooklyn!

sketchy hidden stairs under the bridge

Old Fulton St., thought we'd never find you!

After searching all over, we finally found Grimaldi's... and a TWO HOUR wait. That wasn't happening.

We were about to give up on Brooklyn and head home when we saw a sign for $5 martinis... Lychee & pomegranate pear martinis are better than pizza anyway.

Heading back into Manhattan. I can't decide if the bridge is more amazing during the day or at night.

The End.

Checklist: Summer in the City

2009-08-12T21:37:00.004-04:00

A lot of my friends who lived and interned in the city made "to do lists" as the last few weeks of the summer wound down. It's a great idea, especially since for so many of them this may be the only time they're really living in New York. I meant to do this last summer but I never wrote it down and before I knew it I was packing up my tiny apartment and heading back to Athens for one last football season (oh yea, and one last year of college. details, details...).

Since I've moved here permanently, I feel like I don't really have an excuse to make one of these check lists. I have no pressing deadline of when I'm leaving, so I can do all of these fun activities whenever I want, right?

Wrong. In a few months (weeks?) it will start to get cold, and this Florida girl will be hibernating in her warm apartment for the few hours a day she's awake but not working. Sooo I've decided to make my own version of the checklist, I'll call it the "things I want to do before it gets too cold to move" list. Since I'm one of those people that has to write things down and check them off to ensure that they actually get done, I figured my blog would be a good place to keep my list safe and sound. Here goes, suggestions are welcome...

Go to the Highline Park. Am I the only person in all of Manhattan who hasn't been yet? I think so. This needs to happen ASAP.
Explore Central Park. Of course I've been to Central Park, but I usually go straight to my normal spot so I think I need to branch out. And also under this category, I can tentatively put "eat at Tavern on the Green." Tentatively because I first need to fit it into my monthly budget. I have been in at night for a party, but I need to go eat a meal there. Or maybe just get a mimosa and call it a day.
Get into Gramercy Park. While I'm on a roll with parks, I figured I should throw it in there. It should be noted that this is more of a life goal, and if I had the opportunity to get into Gramercy Park in the middle of a blizzard I'd leap at it.
Go to the Top of the Rock and/or Observatory Deck at the Empire State Building. I'll probably go with the latter since I now work in the Empire State Building and I think it's cheaper. Anyway, I want to go to one of these places and see the amazing panoramic view of the city just because I never have. And it will probably be more enjoyable in warm weather. Most things are.
Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge (and ideally get pizza at Grimaldi's).
Walk along the Hudson River (I think this can be accomplished in conjunction with #1).
Go to the Chelsea Piers (see above).
Go to the Frying Pan. A bar and restaurant on an old sunken ship, what's not to love?
Go to The Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden in Astoria. I keep hearing great things about this place as a fun daytime activity on the weekends & they apparently have a great beer selection. Also it would be my first time in Queens (if you don't count switching trains at Jamaica Station).

I thing I'm going to leave it at this for now, although I know I'm missing things. Any suggestions?

Another New Chapter

2009-08-10T13:15:00.007-04:00

Once again, I've fallen off the face of the blogosphere for a bit. I feel like I go through these phases where I update daily and have all sorts of things to write about and then there are weeks where I just can't managed to post a single thing. This time I'm not lacking material, I've just been way too busy to post. Between planning a best friend's birthday, saying goodbye to other friends leaving the city after the summer, and making the transition to a new job (!!) I've been swamped.

Yep, you read right: I'm starting work at a new company this week. Tomorrow will be the last day of my wonderful Peppercom internship and I start at Parasol on Wednesday. I'm sad to say bye to everyone at Peppercom but excited for a new challenge and the next chapter of my career. I'll keep you all posted once I get going with this new job!

Never Stop Learning, Part 3

2009-08-02T19:35:00.003-04:00

Since I've talked a few times now about how important it is to keep learning, even after graduation, I'm thinking about making this into a regular weekly topic on here... we'll see if that really happens. Anyway, last week I had the opportunity to listen in to Bad Pitch Blog's "Night School" Teleseminar thanks to a scholarship they gave to several students and professionals (I'm still not really sure which of those categories I fall into these days). Being familiar with Bad Pitch, I knew it would be both informative and entertaining and I wasn't disappointed.

As anyone in PR knows, pitching is crucial to our job but surprisingly many people still don't know what they're doing when it comes to reaching out to reporters (this became obvious through the many examples of material forwarded to Bad Pitch Blog on a regular basis). There was a lot of good information about the art of pitching, but there a few things that stood out to me.

Spend the extra time to make sure you're pitching the right person. This led into a conversation about sending mass e-mails and how it should never be done in pitching. By sending out generic e-mails and not respecting the needs of a reporter, we're further and further eroding the credibility of our industry (we've all seen this infamous blog post, case and point). PR professionals should be someone a reporter can trust and even approach for sources, not dread hearing from. Building relationships is key.
Journalism vs. blogging = paid vs. passionate. When pitching a blogger, realize that they're writing this blog because they love the topic. Chances are they have another job and life outside of this blog, so take that into consideration as far as how much time they have to read your pitch. Take the extra 10 minutes to become familiar with their content and even leave a comment or two before reaching out to them with a pitch.
Reporters complain about the lack of follow up from PR people. I have to admit, this absolutely shocked me. Most of the time when I'm following up with reporters I just feel like I'm harassing them. There were several good points made about how to follow up effectively, such as not starting a follow up call with, "so... did you get the pitch I sent you?" They got it, open with something original and provide new information to go along with your pitch. As was pointed out in the seminar, "pitching isn't a buffet, it's a 7 course meal." Don't give out all the information you have in your pitch, keep it short and continue following up with additional relevant information.

Overall the seminar was definitely helpful, as I know I can always use some tips when it comes to pitching. Thanks to Kevin Dugan and Richard Laermer for this opportunity, and Dr. Karen Russell for bringing it to my attention in the first place.

Time for a Change

2009-07-28T08:14:00.004-04:00

As much as I loved my skyline banner, I decided over the weekend it was time for a blog makeover. I wanted something more personal, so I made this one with pictures from all of the "chapters" of my life (if I'm sticking with the book metaphor, which I think I am) - growing up in Sarasota, college in Athens, and now whatever this stage of my life is in New York (adulthood? ah!). Anyway, I'd love some feedback! :)

How Do You Measure Success?

2009-07-20T21:19:00.005-04:00

One of the things that is constantly debated in public relations is how to measure the success of a campaign. Now, more than ever, we have to prove our worth as practitioners in order for our clients to appreciate our value to their business.

Last semester, I worked on a campaign to fight poverty in Athens-Clarke County for my capstone public relations class at UGA. There were countless times throughout the grueling semester that we wondered if we were truly making a difference to this daunting problem. We conducted student focus groups, interviewed faculty and attended community meetings to try to figure out what we could do to help. The best solution we could come up with to the problem, from a PR front anyway, was to create an umbrella organization to unite the efforts currently on campus working toward this cause. The presentation to our client (or should I say clients: we had a full classroom of attendees!) went very well, they loved our ideas and were very excited to take what we had come up with and move forward. And then the 21 students who created this initiative graduated and left Athens behind, hoping that the best would come of their plan.

So why am I bringing this up now, months after graduation and after I have moved far away from Athens? Because this article on UGA's Grady College web site popped up in my Google Alerts a few days ago.

Our presentation opened with the quote, "the greatest danger is to let this initiative die out." This article is proof that it won't die out, because there are people who care and are dedicated to carrying out our initiative. If that isn't a successful campaign, I don't know what is.

Never Stop Learning, Part 2

2009-07-19T10:16:00.006-04:00

Friday afternoon I had the opportunity to attend Internfest, an event for public relations interns in New York City hosted by the Council of PR Firms and Fleishman-Hillard. There were about 100 interns there from 14 different firms, all eager for advice about entering the job market. The event consisted of two panels and a session with a recruiter from APCO Worldwide, Jessica Lee. The panel speakers discussed what they like about public relations, how they got into the field, and their recommendations for those of us looking to land that coveted entry-level position (check out my post on Pepperdigital about our discussion on social media).

It was especially interesting to hear from a recruiter and learn a little bit more about what they're truly looking for. One of the first things Jessica said, and this shouldn't surprise any of you, is that when she gets an application one of the first things she does is Google the candidate. This reinforces how important it is to always be aware of what is said about you on the Internet, whether it's on one of your own personal sites or otherwise. She also recommended five sites that anyone trying to build a personal brand should be active on: Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, VisualCV, and Google profile. I was proud to realize I'm on four of the five sites (task for today: set up my VisualCV).

Jessica equated establishing a personal brand to the way companies establish their brand. After asking for successful brands that resonate with us, she recommended we figure out how to turn ourselves into a Target or a Starbucks. I also liked her point about building our brand even when we're straight out of school and don't have much experience to reference. "Think of Paris Hilton," she said. She is the perfect example of someone who has built her brand based on basically nothing. Does anyone really know what she's famous for? Probably not. Is she a household name? Absolutely.

I definitely enjoyed hearing from the speakers and was so inspired by meeting successful people in the industry as well as my fellow interns. Now to go work on that Visual CV of mine...

Never a Dull Moment

2009-07-15T23:22:00.004-04:00

A few days ago, I was asked (as I often am) what exactly I like about public relations. For some reason this is always a hard question to answer, not because I don't know what I like about it but I guess it's just kind of hard to articulate.

When I first applied to the PR major in UGA's Grady College of Journalism, I have to admit I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I remember some mention in a class of event planning as a career, which I thought was the coolest thing you could do for a job, and after doing some research PR seemed like the logical path to get me there. However, I still didn't know what exactly public relations was. I'd taken marketing classes for my business major, and don't think I really grasped the difference between the two industries.

The farther I got in my classes, the more I fell in love with the field of public relations. I love the writing, the pitching (as much as anyone can actually love pitching) and all of the opportunities to be creative. I also love the constant interaction with people. I'm really fascinated by people and the way they communicate, so figuring out how to get a client in the public spotlight is so interesting to me.

The one thing I heard over and over about PR, which remains my favorite aspect of a career in this area, is that there is no typical day and there is no such thing as "9 to 5." My worst nightmare would be to go to a job and do the same exact thing every single day without any sort of excitement or variety. This is the opposite of PR. Just this summer I've had so many fun, random experiences from painting baseballs for a giveaway to writing for a newsletter, posting to the company blog to researching why people prefer a certain franchise over competitors. Aside from a few daily monitors, I go in to work every morning having absolutely no idea what to expect from the day - and I wouldn't have it any other way.

100th Blogiversary

2009-07-13T23:41:00.004-04:00

I had another idea for a post tonight but when I logged in I realized I've reached a milestone with my blog - this is my 100th post! Aaand let the nostalgic tangent begin...

I took a minute to read my first post, from the middle of December after a hectic week of informational interviews in NYC. I literally remember that night, staying up all night at my aunt's house in New Jersey thinking about where I would be after graduation. I was so determined to get back to New York after living here last summer, and that week in December was just the beginning of my journey to becoming a New Yorker. One of the interviews I went on was at Peppercom, and after several more rounds of interviews and writing tests, I'm so happy to be interning there. I'm learning so much from some incredible people in the industry I've dreamed about working in, and am having an even more amazing experience than I could have ever hoped for.

The second part to that dream was moving to New York by myself and supporting myself - which I think I'm actually succeeding at too! I have a lot of friends here, though most are just up for the summer, but I'm meeting new people every day and thanks to a few part time jobs I'm avoiding depending on my parents for the most part.

It's so cool to look back to just six months ago and realize how much I've done, and how I've truly accomplished everything I hoped I would by now. Happy anniversary blog, thanks for the memories!

What are the odds?

2009-07-12T19:12:00.005-04:00

Almost 2 million people live in Manhattan. I know less than 100 of them. The island is about 20 square miles. So what are the odds that on any given day I'll run into someone I know?

Apparently pretty small.

I can't get over how frequently it happens! I was keeping track when I first moved here but I lost count. Yesterday while walking to Central Park, my friends happened to be driving right past me on 3rd Avenue (I can't decide what is more bizarre - that I ran into them or that they were driving?). This afternoon I was wandering around near my apartment and ran into a friend I graduated with. These are just two of about 20 random run-ins I've had since I moved here!

I used to get annoyed when Carrie would run into Mr. Big at least once per episode on Sex and the City. Come on, the city is packed full of people - how does she see him that much? Apparently it's not that weird.

Does everyone experience this or do I just have crazy luck?

Never Stop Learning

2009-07-08T18:53:00.006-04:00

When I first started this blog, I was in college and wrote a lot about my internships and what I was learning in class. I realize lately it has evolved into more of a "Life in New York" diary since I've been so caught up in exploring my new city. However, just because I'm out of college doesn't mean I'm not still learning about PR - that's what interning is all about (not that it should stop after that)! One of the things I love about my particular internship is the emphasis on our professional growth, which was apparent today in our pitching and writing workshop.

Of course we're all busy, interns and account executives alike, but it was nice for people to take time out of their day to teach us a thing or two. There were a few key points that really stuck out to me from our workshop that I wanted to talk about and think all people in PR should know.

First, a great quote from our writing workshop:

Substitute "damn" every time you're inclined to write "very"; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be. - Mark Twain

This perfectly articulates the difference between PR writing and creative writing. In PR, we need to say the most we can in the least amount of words. We need to be able to get our point across quickly and effectively to our specific audience, not spend extra time (and words) with superfluous descriptions.

Next, my favorite takeaway from the pitching workshop:

Put yourself in the mindset that when you call to pitch to an editor or reporter, talking to you will be the highlight of their day. Thinking positive will come through in your voice and they will be much more receptive to your pitch.

I love this. There are very few people I know in PR that truly enjoy pitching, even though it's a big part of the job. This silly little tip honestly works though! Pitching is so much easier when you just relax and talk to a reporter like a real person. Be casual, have fun with it. Sure, you'll get the reporters that are still very formal and short, but in general people are much more receptive if you come across as someone they could get along with.

I won't bore you with all of my notes (even though I still need to type them up for my "intern guide book" - a great idea from one of our intern coordinators), but I just wanted to share those two main points. I think it's easy to assume that once you're out of college, the learning stops there. I'll admit, it did feel weird taking notes from a powerpoint presentation (and I've only been out of school for two months!). I truly enjoyed it, as anyone does when they're learning about a subject they really care about. It's so much easier and more fun to learn about things you're passionate about from successful people in that industry than to sit through a boring lecture on a topic you couldn't care less about in college.

Hostess With the Mostest

2009-07-07T21:48:00.012-04:00

Before my very much needed mini Hamptons vacation, I got to entertain one of my best friends in the city for a few days. I love having visitors wherever I'm living because I get to show off my city, but it's especially fun in New York because I get an excuse to do all of the touristy things I secretly want to do but can't because I live here now. Here are a few of the best pictures from the week...

Strand, the most amazing book store in the world.

Union Square.

Of course we had to go to Crumbs. We got the caramel apple cupcake, it was amazing.

Farmers Market in Union Square.

It wouldn't be a touristy trip without stopping by Times Square. A little reminder of where we lived last summer.

Ground Zero. I hadn't been in years but it looks frustratingly the same as it did last time I was there.

9/11 Memorials

Empire State Building lit up for the 4th of July.

A Quick Vacation

2009-07-06T20:18:00.009-04:00

Any New Yorker, no matter how much they love the hustle and bustle of the city, will tell you it is necessary to get out of Manhattan every now and then in order to keep your sanity. After living here a little over a month (does that even make me a New Yorker yet?), I jumped at the opportunity to spend the 4th of July with girlfriends the Hamptons.

Beautiful sunset before the fireworks started.

Happy 4th of July!

Having grown up in Sarasota, I'm a total beach bum at heart. I love love love living in the city, but sometimes I just need to be by the water (I'm aware Manhattan is an island, but dirty rivers just don't do it for me). East Hampton even reminds me of where I grew up a little bit, so this weekend was very nostalgic and a nice change of pace from what I've experienced since I moved away.

Who knew kids even had lemonade stands anymore? This was way too cute not to stop.

Beautiful day at the beach.

Lazy day in the sun with a silly girly book = perfection.

It was nice having a change of scenery, but I'm glad to be back in the city, sunburned and exhausted. It was cool coming home to my apartment from a night away and truly feeling like I was back home. Even after living here last summer, I could never really call New York home... now I'm finally able to.

Are There Trees in New York?

2009-06-29T18:10:00.008-04:00

When I was looking at apartments a few months ago, one of my mother's biggest concerns was where the nearest park was (that, and the fact that the Police Department be across the street from my apartment - check!). I laughed at her of course, I mean who really cares where the closest park is? Who even goes to parks?

I think part of the reason I never really appreciated parks was that I grew up in Florida. On the water. There were palm trees in my backyard, so I really never had to go far to feel close to nature (yes, I consider palm trees nature). Although I laughed at my silly park-seeking mother a few months ago, I now completely understand her park obsession. Not that there have been many park-friendly days since it's been monsooning pretty steadily since I moved here, but on the rare days that the sun comes out I go straight to a park.

Last summer, I lived 6 blocks from Central Park so that was my go-to park. I actually may not have even realized there were other parks in the city. While Central Park is still my favorite, I've been trying to branch out now that I live in Gramercy, a good hour walk or 20 minute subway ride from my beloved Central Park. Here are a few of my new favorites...

Stuyvesant Square (on either side of 2nd Ave, between 15th & 17th Streets)

Washington Square Park (at the foot of 5th Ave, between Waverly Place and 4th Street)

Madison Square Park (between 23rd & 26th, 5th & Madison).

Okay, so maybe Gramercy Park shouldn't be on my list since I don't have a key to actually get inside, but I do enjoy walking past it almost every time I leave my apartment since its just a block down. Goal while living in Gramercy = to get inside the park.

According to Wikipedia, there are 1700 public parks in NYC so it looks like I have much more exploring to do. What is your favorite NYC park?

These Are A Few Of New Yorkers' Favorite Things

2009-06-28T22:34:00.014-04:00

Every city is known for certain food: Philadelphia has its cheesesteaks, Boston has its clam chowder, New Orleans has its crawfish. However, if I had to pick one thing New York is known for, I'd have a pretty hard time. While the most common answer would probably be pizza, there are a few other random things I've noticed New Yorkers are obsessed with.

Frozen Yogurt. I'm partial to Pinkberry, but there are thousands of places in the city that are the exact same concept. It's not that bad for you, especially when topped with fresh fruit instead of chocolate sprinkles.

Cupcakes. Of course everyone loves cupcakes, but New Yorkers seem to be particularly obsessed with them and there are fancy cupcake shops every where you look (Crumbs, Magnolia Bakery, etc.)

Bagels. I'm pretty sure people in the South don't even know what real bagels are. True story: I had friends home from school for Spring Break and they really didn't know what to do when my mom brought us home a dozen bagels (we all know Florida is more similar to New York than the South when it comes to food/just about everything).

Falafel. I'll be honest, I had my first falafel experience last night so that may be why I felt the need to include it in my list. There are stands on every corner, they're super cheap and soo good! Side note: gyros are equally as cheap and delicious.

The list goes on, but these are a few of my favorites that I've noticed seem to be widely appreciated throughout the city. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to end this post before I try to eat my computer screen...

One Month Down, Many More Fabulous Ones to Come

2009-06-27T19:12:00.002-04:00

I can't believe I moved to NYC a month ago today. In some ways, that month has flown by since I've been so busy, but in other ways I feel like I've been here forever! That first whirlwind week of furniture shopping, apartment decorating, and settling into the city seems like ages ago.

A lot of people lately have asked me how long I've been in the city, I feel weird saying a month since I feel like I've been here so much longer. After living here last year, I knew the basics of what to expect so it was an easy transition. Maybe that's why people are surprised when I tell them I've only been here a month - I'm not stumbling around wide-eyed, taking everything in - I've done this before. Sure, it was only three months last summer but it made all the difference in the world. Not to mention, I've known in my heart since last summer that I would be back here after graduation so it just seems so natural for me to be living here.

It's nice finally feeling settled, and I really feel like my apartment is home. It's so tiny and cozy, I really love coming home to it and knowing that of all the crowded craziness of the city, there is a tiny little piece of it that's all mine. My internship is going great, everyone is so nice and helpful and I really feel like I've got a good handle on my accounts. I'm having a blast exploring, going out and meeting people. I really couldn't ask for anything more right now, I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to be living the dream I wanted to live after college, as cliched as that sounds. Living in a small studio and living paycheck to paycheck may not be "the dream" most people have for post-graduation, but it's all I've wanted since last summer.

Southern Hospitality

2009-06-26T20:21:00.006-04:00

After work on Wednesday, I got to go to my first "SEC Alumni Happy Hour," which I've heard about for months now. I gathered up as many of my SEC friends as I could (okay, so they were all UGA or UF alums/students but I tried) and off to Soho we went. The happy hour felt like a big tailgate, I really felt like I was back in Athens! It was so fun seeing people I knew, and got that same feeling that I have had so many times at games, home or away - the SEC is one big family, filled with love/hate relationships. Football brings a healthy amount of friendly rivalry, and there will always be trash talking between schools in the same conference, but when it comes down to it we were all just there for a good time.

This all seemed perfectly normal until I told a friend that I was going and he was confused by the whole concept... "There's a happy hour for your conference? Do other conferences have this?" It never even occurred to me until then that they probably don't. The SEC is the most fun conference to be in because it's a big social network. Being around people who had the same traditions as I did in college made me feel right at home. Stepping into Firefly that afternoon made me feel like I stepped out of NYC and into the South! While I'm absolutely loving every minute of being in NYC, it's good to know there's a big group here to hang out with that knows the meaning of southern hospitality and won't make fun of me when I let "yall" slip out.

Always Carry a Camera, Volume II

2009-06-21T22:03:00.012-04:00

Another week, another collection of random pictures.

I pass this every day on the way to work and really wonder how nobody has realized "mistakes" is spelled wrong.

Gramercy Park, the beautiful park right down the street from my apartment that you need a key to enter. I'll get in there one day...

"Tiles for America," Greenwich Village.

Only in New York... clothing stores for dogs. I guess they're getting ready for the 4th of July?

Not really sure what this means, but thought it was cool regardless.

Questionable ad for a wine company. Apparently if your small child likes it, that means it's good wine?

Twitter Does it Again

2009-06-19T14:08:00.010-04:00

I've been contemplating all week if I should write something about the whole Twitter/CNN situation but haven't yet because I (a) just haven't had the time and (b) don't feel the need to "re-invent the blog post" so to speak, since there are so many great articles out there already (check out The Power of Twitter, written by a PepperDigital co-worker, or scan through the latest New York Times articles - there are new ones every day!).

The bottom line is that Twitter has once again made a huge impact on current affairs, and continues to beat out traditional news as a means of communication. We saw this a few months ago with the first pictures of the U.S. Airways crash being posted to Twitter before they made it to a broadcast news station. Today, Twitter once again "beat out" traditional news with the quickest updates on a story that hit close to home for me. Or should I say, close to my old home.

Having gone to the University of Georgia, I fell in love with the sweet little town of Athens over the last four years. Athens, affectionately known as "the Classic City," has an amazing downtown scene with tons of old buildings and hundreds of years of history. There are so many landmarks around the town that are well-known and loved by students and locals alike, but today there is one less.

When I woke up this morning, the first thing I did was check my e-mail, Twitter, and Facebook like I do every morning (okay, after I hit the snooze about 4 times - Fridays are rough). One of the first tweets I saw was about the Georgia Theater catching fire. WHAT?? I was immediately wide awake and began frantically searching the news for more information. (For those of you who don't know, the Georgia Theater is an old movie theater in downtown Athens that was converted into the most popular music venue in Athens, with headliners like R.E.M., Widespread Panic and other Athens legends over the years.)

I first did a Google News search to see what was going on... which gave me frustratingly few details (the theater caught fire this morning, more information to come..). So, I posted a question to Twitter...

... and within minutes had responses from complete strangers filling me in on what had happened. All morning, people have been posting live updates, pictures and videos. Even now, there are few details to be found on traditional news outlets but Athenians continue to post the latest snippets of news on their Twitter feeds.

When the U.S. Airways crash happened, people started saying that "it would only be a matter of time" before citizen journalism truly overtakes traditional media. Where do we officially draw that line? Did it start to happen with the Twitter picture of the U.S. Airways plane down in the Hudson River? Can I say today, since I have relied solely on Twitter and have stopped bothering checking the local news sites, that Twitter has actually taken over? Or what about the situation in Iran, where citizens there can only rely on this one means of communication and all others are blocked? When will people stop saying it is "going to happen" and realize it is actually happening before our eyes?

Just a Poor College Graduate...

2009-06-16T21:35:00.005-04:00

It seems like there has always been a stereotype of poor college students. You know them, they eat pizza and Ramen noodles and go to whatever bar is serving penny beer that night. It may be a newly emerging phenomenon, but why does nobody talk about poor college graduates? I guess up until recently it has been expected that the cheap lifestyle ends once you get a diploma and make a seamless transition into a career.

Let's be honest... how many 2009 graduates actually jumped right into a full-time position? I have quite a few friends who did, and I'm so proud and happy for them. But of all my friends who just graduated, a ridiculous number of them are living at home or going to grad school. These are the options if you can't find a job: either live with your parents (I couldn't do it), incur even more debt at grad school (hellooo, why do you think we're in this mess?), or throw yourself into the real world and try to make it.

I fit into that last category. Maybe it wasn't the smartest financial decision to move to the most expensive city in the world right after graduation, but what can I say... I'm an optimist. And I'm determined. I know I'll make it and one day look back on my poor college graduate days and laugh.

For now, I'm enjoying being a poor college graduate. I'm okay with having a budget, I think it's a right of passage. I'm 21 years old, I don't need a huge apartment with a doorman on Park Avenue. I don't need to go out for nice meals every night and go shopping on 5th Avenue. I happen to love my tiny studio apartment that's still barely furnished, buying groceries from Trader Joe's and looking for sample sales to buy clothes.

Always Carry a Camera

2009-06-14T19:09:00.010-04:00

I said I was going to start taking more pictures of random things that catch my eye around NYC, so here are a few from the week...

One of the amazing parks right by my apartment.

The Flatiron Building, my favorite building in the whole city.

Only in NYC can people walk around this and not get strange looks.

Big Apple BBQ... good in theory, but a bit of a letdown.

Washington Square Park.

I love this, it reminds me of something from Europe.

Random festival in Washington Square Park.

No Day But Today

2009-06-11T19:16:00.004-04:00

As I mentioned in my last post, I started a "picture of the day" blog about a month ago. Each day, I post a picture of something I did that day or something that caught my eye. When I started this, I figured it would just be cool to look back on in a year. I know, without a doubt, that this first year after graduation will be the most exciting and life-changing thus far. I'm living in a new city, interning for the summer, and for the first time paying my own rent and supporting myself the best I can (hello, 2 jobs). I literally have no idea what I'll be doing in a year, which I'm actually really excited about for once. Up until now, I've always known where I would be a year from the day. Life was always dictated by what I was "supposed" to be doing... elementary school, middle school, high school, college, with some traveling, jobs and internships thrown in the mix. For the first time ever, I have no plans, which is a great mixture of thrilling and terrifying.

Anyway, back to what I intended to write about. Rather than something I'll look back on, my picture blog has turned into a part of every day. Now that I have an iPhone, I find myself snapping pictures of random things I pass in the city that make me smile. There are so many cool/funny/quirky things going on at any given moment in this crazy city, and I always end up with many pictures to choose from.

Taking a picture every day makes me truly appreciate what I did that day. Even those relaxing days where you do nothing but read 100 pages of Twilight and watch an entire season of Sex & the City (oh... just me that has days like that?) are special, and everyone deserves them every now and then. It will definitely be cool to look back at the end of the year (well, May 2010) and see what I've done and where I've been, but for now I'm enjoying every day and what it has to offer... even if it's just vampires and HBO re-runs.

There IS Such a Thing As Life After College

2009-06-08T18:39:00.002-04:00

I realized as I was posting my "picture of the day" that an entire month has passed since I graduated from college. I can't believe how fast that month has gone by, and I really can't believe how smooth the transition has been.

For your four (or five or six, depending on who you are...) years of college, all you ever hear is, "These are the best years of your life! It's downhill from here!" Of course I loved college, and my four years in Athens were incredible. I had a blast, met so many wonderful people and got a great education to prepare me for where I am now. However, I truly dreaded the responsibilities of adult life because that's what I was supposed to do. Its ingrained in your head as a college student that this is the only time you'll have true freedom, and you should want to stay a college student forever.

I have to admit, being a college graduate isn't so bad. I'm living in a great city that I fall more and more in love with every day, I'm enjoying my internship and I'm meeting interesting new people everywhere I turn. I even kind of enjoy the "adult" responsibilities of going to bed early on weeknights and keeping up with paying my own bills because it gives me a sense of accomplishment. Sure, I still go out with my friends and have fun on the weekends but I'm easily settling into a routine and loving it.

Last summer, I remember one of my co-workers telling me that she actually had more fun in her first few years out of college than she did in college. I laughed at this silly statement at the time, but I'm actually starting to understand what she's talking about.

Takeover of Twitter

2009-06-07T11:14:00.005-04:00

When I first joined Twitter back in September, I had no idea what I was getting into. I was participating in UGA's Connect Conference which featured a "social media boot camp" and many influential speakers from the world of public relations and social media. One of the first things everyone did was set up a Twitter account, and although I had never heard of it I quickly got the hang of it and was live tweeting the conference in no time. And so the obsession began...

It took me a few months to really get into it, but once I started following all of my PR friends (they seemed to be the only people who knew about it) from classes I got hooked. It was an easy way to communicate with everyone and as addicting as Facebook. I also started following PR professionals and news services, thus turning Twitter into an educational tool as much as anything. But while Twitter became immensely popular with the PR people I knew, my "normal" friends still had no idea what it was. I can't begin to tell you how many times I had to explain Twitter, and even once I did I usually got blank stares or questions along the line of... "so what's the point?".

Fast-forward to now, almost a year later. My "normal" friends from other majors have started popping up on Twitter. It's all over the news. I'm even doing Twitter searches at work as part of a daily monitor. When did Twitter become cool? My friends that didn't understand it three months ago and thought it was weird/"stalkerish" are now jumping on the bandwagon! It's funny to see these social media trends evolve, and it's even funnier to tell my previously skeptical friends, "I told you so!"

A year ago, Facebook was the hottest thing in social media with people my age, and started the "stalker" element that Twitter has continued. Everyone has had the experience of starting to tell their friend something they did over the weekend, only to be cut off by "I know, I saw your pictures on Facebook." Now it's not so much this as, "Yea, I saw your Tweet about that." Is Twitter becoming more popular than Facebook?

According to this article on TechCrunch, Facebook is still "worth" much more than Twitter, and therefore has a bigger following and more popularity. However, I can't help but wonder if in a year from now Facebook will be long gone (like Livejournal... anyone remember that craze?) and Twitter will still be around.

Week 1, Accomplished

2009-06-06T16:54:00.004-04:00

Good news first... now that I have Internet in my apartment, I can finally start posting more frequently than once a week when I go to a coffee shop that has free wifi!

So I finished my first week of the internship, and it was great. It was a short week because we started on Tuesday, and Friday was a half day because we have "summer Fridays" where we get out early every other Friday (assuming our work is done for the day). I'm working on some really cool accounts and they're all very different which is exactly what I had hoped for! No day is the same, and there's so much work to be done so I've been very busy. To top it off, everyone is so nice and helpful! It's obvious that everyone in the office gets along very well, and they have a lot of fun social events (that interns are included in) so there's so much fun stuff to do.

I've been thinking of a lot of things I want to write about, so check back soon and there should be some good posts coming up!

Home Sweet Home

2009-06-01T18:24:00.010-04:00

Here I am again, borrowing Internet from Gregory's Coffee... just 5 more days until my cable and Internet get hooked up! Aside from my lack of cable though, my apartment is really coming together. I'm making a trip out to Ikea (my first time, I'm very excited about it) on Wednesday to get some more furniture but I'm finally done unpacking and decorating! My parents have been asking for pictures, so I figured this would be the best place to post them. They're a little blurry since they're from my iPhone, but they're better than nothing...

The "bedroom" ... okay, so it's a studio but I still like to pretend there are separate rooms.

The "dining room" / table that made me cry because it had to be taken apart to fit through my front door.

The "living room" ... I'm planning to put a dresser between the windows, put my TV on top of it, and have a couch across from it.

Kitchen.

Little pieces of Athens in the kitchen (go dawgs!).

More UGA stuff...

So that's pretty much it! It probably looks bigger than it is because of all the different wall shots, but I'm okay with it being tiny and I love it. Having pictures of all my friends and family definitely makes it feel like home, so I'm happy!

Tomorrow is my first day of my internship at Peppercom, I'm so excited to get started and meet everyone! Everyone I've talked to and met so far that works there has been so friendly and nice, and I know I'm going to love it. I'll report back after my first week/whenever I have a reliable Internet connection next!

I Want To Be A Part Of It... New York, New York

2009-05-29T19:02:00.002-04:00

Finally, I've found reliable Internet access (thank you, Gregory's Coffee) so I can make my official first NYC post. Up until now, I've been using my iPhone for everything Internet related (how did I survive without it again?) but there are just some things that work better on a laptop... (iPhone sidenote: the Google app, specifically the "local" feature has become my new best friend to find everything in my neighborhood).

So here I am, finally living in the city I've dreamed about living in since the moment I left last summer. After a hectic travel day (read: my flight was delayed 3 hours), I finally got here Wednesday afternoon. Fortunately my super was able to let the delivery guy in with my bed so I wasn't stuck sleeping on hardwood since I missed the delivery time. I didn't have the energy to accomplish much, so I just picked up some basics for my cat, got takeout for myself, and got to bed early.

Yesterday was my first big productive day. I went to Bed Bath & Beyond and bought kitchen stuff, curtains, and random things I needed for my apartment. I shipped a lot of my things, but I figured it would be easier to re-buy a lot of the kitchen stuff rather than shipping it and risking it breaking. Only in New York does Bed Bath & Beyond have a built-in cafe and doorman, so I was able to survive the trip thanks to a large iced coffee and the helpful man who carried my things out to a cab. I also set up my gas and electric, and called to schedule the activation of my cable and Internet (couldn't get an appointment until a week from now, hence the coffee shop excursion). Last night I got my first big shipment of things from UPS, and the rest of it came today. I've spent the last 24 hours unpacking, hanging shelves, and making my apartment home. It's amazing the difference little things like curtains and pictures can make!

Needless to say, it's been a crazy couple of days. I know I've made a lot of progress but my apartment is still a disaster (I posted a few pictures on my other blog, click here to see them). I've had to call my parents with all kinds of random questions, but other than that I'm proud of myself for doing this on my own. My mom wanted to come help me but I insisted that I had to do this on my own. I had a brief moment in the kitchen section of Bed Bath & Beyond where I regretted that decision, but I know I'll be happy when it's all done and I can say I did it by myself. I even hung my curtains, shelves, and some frames with a borrowed power drill!

I'm looking forward to starting my internship on Tuesday, but I'm glad I have this time to get my apartment all set up and how I want it before I have to get into the work routine. I should probably get back home and keep working on unpacking, but more to come (and better pictures) soon!

These Are A Few Of My Least Favorite Things...

2009-05-26T18:44:00.002-04:00

I found something I hate more than moving... which I didn't think was actually possible. I guess it's all part of the moving process though, so it's to be expected.

I hate saying goodbye. I'm terrible at it. I can't really imagine anyone out there that doesn't hate it and has actually gotten good at it, but I feel like I have an especially hard time with it. I also feel like it's all I've been doing lately... all part of the bittersweet process of moving.

Sunday I had to say goodbye to my life in Athens. Like I've mentioned, I know I'll go back to visit my Alma Mater, but it was still hard leaving knowing things will never be the same. A lot of my friends had already left and I'd said bye to them over our last few days there, but saying bye to my roommates was next to impossible. How do you go from living with someone and seeing them every day for a year to having to say goodbye and not know when you'll even see them next? I basically cried the first hour of the drive and then listened to music and Dane Cook on my iPod to cheer myself up for the rest of the journey down to Sarasota.

Now I have to say goodbye to my family and friends in Sarasota. Saying bye to my parents is always hard, especially because once they start crying I absolutely lose it. I know they're so excited for me and proud of what I'm doing, but that won't make the tearful goodbye at the airport tomorrow any easier. I know they'll come up as soon as I give them permission to (I insisted that they let me do the majority of the move and unpacking on my own since I'm supposed to be an adult now), but it will still be sad leaving them. Then there are my high school friends. Thanks to the fabulous economy we're facing, a lot of them are kind of unsure of what they're doing, which makes things even harder since I really don't know where they'll be in six months. Some have jobs and are starting in a few months, and some are staying at home while they figure things out. Either way, I don't know when I'll see them next.

I guess that's what makes this so hard, that "unknown" factor. In college, I always knew when I would see everyone next. We would hug goodbye at Thanksgiving, knowing we would see each other in a few weeks when we all came home for Winter Break. Now I just don't know, which is so hard to even wrap my head around. We're all growing up and going in our own directions, which is so exciting but also terrifying.

Bye For Now, Athens...

2009-05-23T15:36:00.012-04:00

Dear Athens,

Thanks for giving me a better college experience than I could have ever imagined. Five years ago, when I visited here in high school, I knew right away that I would be so happy here and I was right.

Thanks for providing me with a great education at a wonderful school that will always be near and dear to my heart. I could have stayed in state for free, but now I can't imagine my life if I had gone anywhere else.

Thanks for forcing me to learn about football... because before I moved here I didn't even know how many points a touchdown was worth. Four years ago, I went to my first football game ever. Not my first college football game... my first football game of any kind that I actually sat down and tried to understand. Four years later, I talk football with the boys and could do all the Georgia cheers in my sleep. Now I truly know the meaning of "bleeding red and black."

Thanks for introducing me to so many amazing people, whose friendships I will treasure forever. I came here knowing nobody, and met so many friendly and outgoing people that I felt at home right away. It has been impossible to say goodbye to all of these amazing people, but I know most of them will be in my life forever.

Thanks for teaching me about what it means to truly live in the south. I still don't like sweet tea or wear pearls, but I got to experience a whole new culture I truly knew nothing about before moving here... and now all of my northern friends make fun of me for saying "yall."

Most importantly, thanks for being my home for the past four years. Now I know why people say college is the greatest four years of your life.

This isn't goodbye... This is "see you later," because I know I'll be back to visit, dress up for the games, tailgate with old friends, and go downtown like we did every night when we were freshman.

Thanks for the memories.

Love,

Jess

Moving Rant

2009-05-22T22:32:00.006-04:00

Whenever I tell people I'm moving to New York, they have one of three reactions:

"Oh my god, that's so cool! Congratulations!"
"Didn't you grow up in Florida? You're going to freeze!"
"Isn't New York sooo expensive?"

I've kind of got my standard answers for each of these reactions since I'm so used to getting them all the time ("Yes, it is very cool," "Yes, I'm going to freeze... but I'll buy cute boots and scarves so I think I'll be okay," and "Yes, it is expensive but that's why I worked all through college"). The third one is the one I get the most though, and I can't argue with it, New York is probably the most expensive city in the world. But one thing I didn't realize until very recently was that moving anywhere is expensive! Sure, moving to New York is expensive because the cost of living is extremely high there, but the actual physical moving part is way more expensive than I could have ever imagined.

Let me preface this rant with saying that I have lived in the same townhouse all through college for this reason. I hate moving. I nest, I hang ridiculous amounts of shelves and picture frames, I paint my walls, and I have absurd amounts of clutter. I haven't had to move in three years, and even then I didn't have much more than my clothes.

On Wednesday, I'm moving to New York. Not for a summer like I did last year... I'm really moving. Over the last few weeks I've been packing up my entire life to move it up there with me and didn't really spend much time thinking about how it would all actually get there. I had planned to drive up with a friend, but our schedules didn't work out, so now (two days before I'm supposed to leave Athens to go home for a few days) I'm stuck. My options were to drive (mom vetoed that immediately, for safety reasons and the fact that then my car would be in the city), hire movers (wayyyy too last minute for that apparently) or ship everything. So tomorrow I get to go to UPS with my 14 boxes/suitcases/bags I have packed and pay ungodly amounts of money to have it shipped directly to my apartment. I just booked my flight, which was even more money, and had to get a health certificate for my cat to fly with me, so there's another $100. Not to mention the money spent at Kinkos last week faxing and overnighting my lease, and so many more expenses coming my way. In the end I know it will be all worth it when I'm settled into my apartment and I have it set up exactly how I want it, but right now this is the most frustrating thing I've ever dealt with. Aaaaand *end rant*

Growing Up

2009-05-16T10:32:00.006-04:00

So I'm officially an adult. I put down my security deposit for my new apartment, signed the lease, and even bought my first piece of furniture on my own. Here's a few pictures of my apartment (obviously from the broker's website, I'll have new ones once I get it all decorated and homey).

The location is perfect, the space is great, and I just love everything about it! I feel so lucky that I found this apartment and everything is falling into place as I had hoped it would. My lease starts in 11 days... which gives me about a week to finish up everything in Athens and work as many shifts as possible, and then a few days to go home to Sarasota before I move.

The next two weeks are going to be extremely emotional and bittersweet. Half the time when people ask me about moving I get really excited and can't stop smiling, but then I think about all the memories and good times I'll be leaving behind in Athens and want to cry. I've met such great people in my time here, and truly feel like I'm leaving a family behind. And it's not just Athens, I'll have to say a sort of goodbye to my best high school friends. Up until now, we've always had the same breaks from school and I always see everyone over Thanksgiving, Winter Break, Spring Break, and in the summer. Now, everyone is moving their separate ways, going to grad school, getting jobs, and growing up! It's crazy to think of my friends that I've known for 15 years scattered across the country, and in a much more permanent way than college. Of course the ones that matter will always stay in my life, but it's just hard to imagine not seeing some of these people on the regular basis I'm used to. And then there's my parents... I think they kind of accepted my growing up and moving away when I left to go to school out of state, but this is more of a real move. Their baby is growing up and moving to the big city, and I know they're terrified and excited and sad and happy all at the same time.

I guess all I can do is keep busy, like I have been, and let things happen as they're supposed to. Saying all these goodbyes will definitely be hard but I know I'll be back... back to Athens for football games and homecoming weekends, and back to Sarasota for beach trips and holidays.

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things...

2009-05-12T16:53:00.012-04:00

A month before graduation, I wrote a post reflecting on my favorite things in Athens. The day after graduation, I went to campus with my mom and took pictures at all of my favorite spots. I wanted to post a few on here, as I continue to reminisce about my amazing four years in Athens and prepare for my future after college.

The Victory Bell - traditionally rang by students and fans after winning home football games. Broken in 2007 after victory against UF.

Herty Field - where the Bulldogs played (and won) their first football game.

The North Campus Fountain - one of the most recognized places on campus, but it has been turned off since the summer of 2007 because of the drought in Georgia. The fountain was turned back on a few days before graduation.

Terry College of Business - where I got degree number one, BBA in Management.

Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication - where I got degree number two, ABJ in Public Relations, and met so many wonderful people over the years.

Sanford Stadium - our football stadium, where graduation was held, and hands down my favorite place on campus.

New Project

2009-05-10T22:57:00.001-04:00

I'm about to start the crazy adventure of life after college. A year from now, I have no idea what I'll be doing and I couldn't be more excited about it! The first year after graduation will surely be filled with exciting milestones and accomplishments, and I want to be able to document that.

Starting yesterday, the day of graduation, I will post a picture every day for the next year that has some significance of what that day represented to me. Of course yesterday was too hectic to post any so I'm already starting off by cheating, but from now on I will post my pictures daily. This project was inspired by a friend and classmate of mine who did something similar (the year leading up to graduation) and I thought it was the coolest idea so I wanted to try it. So here goes...

Click here to visit my new blog, 365 Days After Walking Under The Arch.

Alma Mater, Thee We'll Honor... Georgia Hail to Thee!

2009-05-10T22:02:00.008-04:00

I guess I finally need to stop saying it doesn't feel real, because it is real now. Yesterday was the Spring 2009 Commencement ceremony, and I am officially a University of Georgia alumnus. I can't even begin to put into words all the emotions I have felt over the last couple of days, and I think my eyes have run out of tears because I'm past the point of being able to cry anymore.

The Grady Convocation was held on Friday afternoon at the Classic Center, and was just as exciting as the big commencement ceremony. After the speakers, each graduate's name was called and we walked across the stage of the Classic Center theatre to receive our Grady Society pin. I loved being there with the friends I've made in my wonderful major over the last two years, and am so proud of all my fellow Grady grads. I love you all, especially the C-Painers, and can't wait to hear about all the amazing things everyone accomplishes in the next stage of their lives.

Yesterday's ceremony was obviously less personal, but it was still so cool sitting on the field of Sanford stadium with the class of 2009. I loved the speakers, and being able to stand and flip my tassel to the left side (twice - once for Grady, once for Terry) made everything feel worth it. Not to mention, Grady was definitely the best section to sit in and we cheered the loudest when our dean introduced us!

The weekend was filled with celebrations, friends and family. I was so lucky to have my wonderful parents and little brother here to laugh and cry with me, and to support me through everything. So now it's over. The best four years of my life have come to a close, and I'm preparing for the next step and my big move. In two weeks, I will leave Athens to go home, say goodbye to all my high school friends, and then move to New York a few days later. This is the most exciting time of my life, and I can't wait to see how things unfold.

Cheers to the class of 2009 - we did it! As they pointed out yesterday, sure we're graduating into a difficult economy... but we're ready, and we have been prepared to handle anything life throws our way. The world will now expect uncommon things of us, because WE are graduates of the University of Georgia. Congratulations everyone, and GO DAWGS!

Getting There...

2009-05-05T22:00:00.003-04:00

Graduation is just a few days away, and somehow it still doesn't seem real. Maybe it's because I've been so busy studying for exams, finishing up projects, and making the arrangements for my family's arrival that I haven't actually sat down to think about what this is all for. My last exam of college is tomorrow at noon, and after that all I will have left are the final corrections on my Campaigns book and I'm done!

I think when it will really hit me is when I have to start saying goodbye to all the amazing friends I have made over the last few years. Because, as cliched as it is, college really is so much more than just classes. Its a personal growing experience filled with friendships that will last a lifetime. Maybe this is why the end of classes didn't really effect me, and why even after tomorrow I won't truly feel like college is over. Let's be honest, I'm not that heartbroken that I'll never attend another college class. I'm starting an internship in a few weeks, and I know I will continue learning new things about the industry I've chosen for the rest of my life, so the learning aspect of college will never truly be over. From now on, I will be learning only the things that I'm interested in and passionate about. I will never have to take another exam, or be forced to write a research paper on something I don't care about. I'm excited to finally learn things on my terms, and not have to take any more pre-requisite courses just because they're required.

The things I'll be sad to leave behind from college will be my amazing friends and the charming little town I've come to call home after the last four years. Between classes, part time jobs, and especially my study abroad program, I have met some unbelievable people in my time at UGA. I'm very fortunate that many of my friends will also be moving to New York after graduation, and some others will be nearby throughout the Northeast. Most of the rest of them will be in Atlanta, and I'm sure I'll be down to visit and go to a Georgia football game when I can. But we will never all be together like we are now and have the freedom we do now. After Saturday, my life will change forever... and I'm just waiting for it all to be real.

When Will This Feel Real?

2009-05-01T12:56:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was my last day of college classes. Ever. One of my classes is completely done, and the only things separating me from graduation are 3 exams, a paper and the finishing touches on our Campaigns book.

I've put in my last day at work.

I have boxes all around my room so I can start packing up my life, and I've sold the majority of my furniture.

In a week and a half, I'll be meeting with brokers to look at apartments, and in less than a month I'll be moving.

But somehow, none of this has sunk in. I don't know if I've just been so busy and caught up with school, work, and life in general, but I can't believe this is all really happening. This is what I've been basically working toward for my whole life up until this point, and I'm really graduating a week from tomorrow and starting my independent adult life.

I keep waiting to get emotional and start freaking out about everything ending, but it just hasn't happened. I suppose it will sink in next week, when all is said and done with my exams and my parents get here to celebrate my graduation. Until then, I guess all I can do is keep getting my work done and keep preparing for the next big step...

UGAAlert: Getting Better, but Still Needs Work

2009-04-28T11:30:00.003-04:00

A few months ago, I wrote a post about UGAAlert, the University of Georgia's crisis communication plan via text messages and phone calls. These alerts, which began after the tragedy at Virginia Tech, were intended to alert students, faculty and staff as quickly as possible about any crisis on campus (severe weather, dangerous individuals, etc.). In my previous post, I complained about how unreliable the alert system is. For this reason, as well as the fact that I'm graduating next weekend, I cancelled my subscription to UGAAlert when I was prompted to update my contact information last week.

Over the weekend, an unthinkable tragedy occurred in Athens. A marketing professor from the University of Georgia, George M. Zinkahn, fatally shot his wife and two other members of their theater group. The shooting occurred on Prince Avenue, just minutes from campus and downtown. I was working downtown at the time (this weekend was the Twilight Criterium, one of the biggest weekend celebrations in the history of Athens) and found out when one of the customers at the bar asked me to turn the TV to CNN, because Athens was on the national news.

I had no idea what he was talking about, which I realize is completely my own fault for cancelling UGAAlert. When I cancelled it, the website asked if I was sure that I wanted to cancel the subscription, and explained the risk that this may entail. Looking back, I can't help but realize how ironic it was that I cancelled it right before the biggest crisis to occur in my time as a UGA student. In all honesty, I probably wouldn't have even seen the text message or received the phone call (if I even got one, since they were known to be unreliable). I was busy at work and certainly didn't have time to check my cell phone every time it vibrated in my pocket. But now I keep wondering if UGA could somehow require all students, faculty and staff to sign up for this service. Sure, it was annoying to get three texts in a row when Athens is under a tornado warning, then the warning has been lifted, then its back on. And for some reason, even though I asked for only texts (so I could read them in class), I still always got multiple voicemails whenever something happened. However, I think most students would rather be safe (and slightly annoyed) than sorry.

After speaking to several of my friends who still did have UGAAlert, I found out that a message was sent out - an hour and a half after gunshots were heard at the community theater. Apparently the message was held up because the University wanted to ensure that Zinkahn did not receive the message, alerting him to the fact that everyone knew what he had done and was looking for him. While I commend them for realizing this important detail before immediately sending out a message to everyone on the contact list, this is something that should have been realized years ago when this system was started. Our system was prompted by the Virginia Tech shooting, therefore the University should have thought about the fact that there may be a need to exempt certain people from alerts. An additional 20 minutes was spent figuring out how to do this, at which point the University realized that Zinkahn's only contact number was a landline at the University.

Thankfully, nobody else was harmed after the initial shooting, so the delayed alert did not have any negative effects. I realize that an innovative system such as this takes time to perfect, and I can only hope that the University gets the details figured out before the next time they need to use it.

Just Keep Swimming...

2009-04-26T17:32:00.004-04:00

Last Thursday, I was lucky enough to be able to attend the PRSSA Senior Banquet at Depalma's. Although I haven't always been able to be as involved as PRSSA as I would have liked (between jobs, internships, etc.) I truly do feel close to so many of my fellow graduating PR majors and had a wonderful time celebrating with everyone. Before going to a big school, I was warned by so many people that you simply get lost in the crowd and don't really feel like you're as much a part of things as you do at a smaller school. However, Thursday night showed how being in such a great school as Grady can truly make you feel special and recognized on an individual level.

PRSSA President Stephanie Perrett gave a great welcoming, which was followed by greetings from Dean Cully Clark and Dr. Karen King, the Head of the ADPR Department. Dr. Parker Middleton also spoke and was so inspirational and amazing to listen to. A few seniors were recognized (Katherine Strate, Kaitlyn Darr, and Leslie Emanuele) for their outstanding work with PRSSA over the years.

As a graduating class, we have heard our share of discouragement about entering the job market in such a tough economy. It was refreshing to be told how much people are supporting us and how amazingly qualified we are because we will be graduating from one of the best journalism schools in the country. I know I'm graduating with an incredibly talented group of girls (and a few boys!) that will accomplish such great things in the PR world and I can't wait to hear about everyone's adventures after college. And for any of you who are still worried about the job market, remember the advice that was quoted from Finding Nemo, "Just keep swimming..."

It's Always Something

2009-04-21T23:09:00.006-04:00

Whenever I'm stressed out about school, work, or life in general I always feel better if I call my mom to vent. Today was one of those stressful days, and after about 15 minutes of my ranting and frantically listing everything I need to get done in the next few weeks, she said something that really got me thinking.

She pointed out that as soon as I make it through graduation, it'll just be on to the next huge life changing event: finding an apartment. And then on to the next: moving 800 miles away. And then on to the next: starting a new internship. And then who knows what? The point was, as soon as you get through one stressful event, it's already time to tackle another. Don't get me wrong, these are all exciting things that I'm stressed out about in a good way. I just have a lot to think about and my mind is going a thousand different directions and it seems like it's never going to end!

This made me think about how I can cope better with my stress. What kind of life would it be to constantly be anxious about what is coming next? I need to enjoy each thing for what it is, and not rush through these huge milestones just so I can reach the next. In the next few weeks, I'm going to make a serious effort to relax and enjoy being a college student. After that, I'll move on to the details of my move to NYC. I just need to remind myself to take things one day at a time, one event at a time, and relax and have fun while doing it.

Could YOU Go One Day Without Shoes?

2009-04-15T09:20:00.001-04:00

Throughout my Campaigns class, I've learned all kinds of terrible statistics about the poverty rate in Athens-Clarke County. Athens has the fifth highest poverty rate (28%) for counties its size in the nation. One in four children in Athens lives in poverty. The list goes on and on.

I recently learned another poverty-related statistic that shocked me - more than 40% of the world goes without shoes every day. Most of us stress out on a daily basis about finding the perfect shoes to match our outfit (admit it ladies), so not owning a single pair is unfathomable. That is why TOMS at UGA (a client of one of the other PR Campaigns classes) is joining in the national campaign, "One Day Without Shoes," to raise awareness of what it would truly be like not to own a single pair of shoes. The purpose of the event at UGA is to get as many students as possible to spend time barefoot in honor of those who must walk shoeless every day.

Tomorrow, join TOMS at UGA from 12 - 6 p.m. on Brumby Beach and "bare your sole" while listening to live music and bouncing on the moonwalk. At 5:30 p.m., a group will walk barefoot from Brumby Beach to Bolton dining hall to conclude the event. Students who already own a pair of TOMS can participate in the “Style Your Sole” activity and design their own signature pair. TOMS at UGA will also show “For Tomorrow,” a documentary detailing the company's mission and history.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with TOMS Shoes, the company donates one pair of shoes to a child in need across the world for each pair purchased. The name "TOMS" comes from the word “tomorrow,” as the company strives to provide shoes to help the futures of countries worldwide. Since 2006, TOMS has donated over 100,000 pairs of shoes.

For more information about TOMS at UGA, check out their blog, follow them on Twitter, or search "TOMS at UGA" on Facebook.

More Advice for Graduating Seniors

2009-04-14T11:26:00.003-04:00

Even though I've figured out what I'm doing after graduation (well, at least for the summer), I can't stop soaking up all the advice I can find for life after college. Last week was PRSSA's Senior Night, which was a small meeting geared specifically toward PR students graduating in the coming semesters. Speakers included Tom Strate (Strate Insurance Group), Mike Emanuele (Horizon Staffing), Lindsey Berryhill (Fleishman-Hillard), Kate Griffin (Kleber & Associates), Allie Carswell (Spanx), Nadine Randall (CDC), and Katherine Mason (Porter Novelli).

Unfortunately, I had to leave for work part of the way through the meeting so I only got to hear the first section. Luckily, the meeting is summed up on PRSSA's blog. Check out that link for helpful information on insurance, budgeting, networking, and proactively searching for your first job.

More "Great" and Less "Unknown"

2009-04-10T23:09:00.007-04:00

A few days ago, I wrote about embracing my uncertain future. After much anxiety about what direction my life would go after college, I finally decided to just go with the flow and stop freaking out about everything.

Well, you know how when you're waiting on food at a restaurant, it always seems to come faster if you leave the table to go to the restroom or something? Well, this apparently applies to waiting on internships as well. Four days after I adopted my new carefree outlook on life, I got the phone call I've been dreaming of for months!

Finally, when people ask me what I'm doing after graduation I don't have to stare blankly at them or mumble something about the economy and the tight job market. I will be able to tell them that I will be moving to New York in the end of May and interning with Peppercom for the summer! I couldn't be more excited, and now I have so much to figure out and plan in the next month and a half.

The Countdown Is On

2009-04-09T16:41:00.008-04:00

One month from today, I will graduate from college. I have been anxiously anticipating this day for basically my entire life, and it's exactly one month away. As I prepare for the grueling 30 days of exams, papers, group projects, and interviews ahead of me, I wanted to take a minute to reflect on the last four years.

In my humble (and maybe somewhat biased) opinion, Athens is essentially the perfect college town. There is an endless supply of fun things to do and interesting people to interact with. I came here knowing nobody, and am leaving with friends I'll know for the rest of my life. Here are just a few of my favorite things from the last four years...

School Spirit. I went to a very small, academically-oriented high school that had no sports. Yes, you read that right. If we wanted to participate in a sports team, we had to join the team at our district school (I ran track, but it wasn't the same as representing my own school). That being said, my first football game was a UGA game, and I never imagined how awesome the experience would be. Dressing up for the home games, taking road trips with friends to the away games, and cheering on the team for the last four years has been one of the highlights of my college experience.

UGA's traditions. Athens is full of history and traditions, and I can't help but smile every time I walk past (not under) the Arch, and hear the victory bell ringing after a home victory. Leaving these all behind will be very sad, but I know I'll always be able to come back to the same old Athens after I've graduated and moved on.

(For those of you who don't live in Athens, the Arch marks the entrance to campus from downtown and has become somewhat of a symbol of the University. Legend has it that if you walk under the Arch as an undergraduate, you will not graduate on time. Any time of day, you will find students going out of their way not to walk under the Arch. In fact, the cement steps are worn down on the sides of the Arch from so many people bypassing it.)

Experiencing a new culture. I never realized when I moved 8 hours north from my Sarasota home, that I would end up in the South. While Florida is geographically in the South, culturally it certainly is not. Sweet tea, pearls, and southern accents were all foreign to me, but they have all become dear to my heart over the last four years.

Downtown Athens. It goes without saying that downtown, with its 100+ bars and music venues, is quite popular among students. More than the bars though, I've come to love the unique little restaurants you can't find anywhere but downtown Athens. Last Resort, East-West, Farm 255, Five Star Day, etc... these will always be some of my favorites.

That small town feel. Although Athens has over 100,000 residents, it still manages to feel like a small town. I rarely have to drive my car more than 5 miles each day, and after four years I feel like I know everyone. I literally can't walk around town or across campus without running into a familiar face, and I absolutely love that.

The list goes on and on, and I could probably write a whole book based on my amazing college experience. But (not to be cliche), all good things must come to an end... One month from today, I will walk under the Arch for my first time proudly wearing my cap and gown and ready for life after Athens, but I'll always be a bulldog at heart.

Are College Towns Recession Proof?

2009-04-08T10:25:00.003-04:00

I have always thought living in a college town like Athens is kind of like living in a bubble. Being in the transition phase of college, where you're finally living on your own but can still turn to your parents to support, can feel like a dream. You have all of the freedom you wanted in high school, but don't technically have the "real" responsibilities of adult life. In all likelihood, everything you need is within a one mile radius of your apartment. Life is basically perfect.

Sometimes I wonder if, for these reasons, it seems that college towns are immune to the bigger problems of "real" cities. I realize that Athens is a real city and definitely has it's share of real problems (see my posts on my Anti-Poverty Campaign). However, sometimes it's easy to feel like we don't have it as bad as everywhere else. The unemployment rate is far lower than it is in other cities, generally because the University provides so many jobs to the community. Unlike some of my friends in the "real world," all of my peers are students, so I'm not constantly hearing about co-workers being laid off. Students can still turn to mom and dad to fund their expensive meals out and nights drinking downtown.

Maybe it's this mentality of "living the dream" that will make it that much harder to graduate and leave this all behind. Only once we start searching for jobs do some of us start to truly realize the gravity of the situation our country is facing. I guess we all have to grow up some time, but as I said in my last post, for now I'm going to enjoy every minute of living in my little college bubble.

Embracing the Great Unknown

2009-04-06T12:17:00.006-04:00

For the first time in my entire life, I don't have a plan. Throughout high school, I always had a comfortable routine - a balance between school work, part-time jobs, riding my horse, and track practice. By my junior year, I started looking at colleges and quickly decided I wanted to go to UGA. I got accepted and finalized my enrollment by December of my senior year. I knew where I would be after high school while many of my other friends continued to fill out applications and go on campus visits.

Aside from picking up a second degree, I have stuck with my original major that I declared in my freshman year of college. While many of my friends have changed their majors and signed up for the "five year plan," I have done what I needed to do to graduate in four years with a dual major in Business Management and Public Relations. I have spent my summers working, studying abroad and interning. I have done everything I could over the last four years to prepare for the next step after college.

Now that I'm a little over a month from graduation, I have no idea what that next step will be. Like the majority of my peers, I have no job lined up yet. I haven't looked for apartments in the city I hope to move to. I haven't figured out how I'm going to move my entire life to a new city. This is a strange feeling for me... I'm used to having all the answers to such pressing questions, but for once, I don't.

I've been going through phases where I panic, start looking for more jobs and internships to apply for, look at apartments on craigslist, and research moving companies. But I've realized there's really no use. I have leads with several companies, and all I can do is wait for their responses. I can't rush my future, I just have to know that things will fall into place. So I'm waiting patiently, enjoying the last few weeks of college, and embracing my unknown future for the first time in my life.

Advice on Preparing for Graduation & The Job Search

2009-03-31T12:44:00.004-04:00

Last week, I posted about differentiating yourself in the tight job market. After writing that post, I contributed to a podcast produced by Peppercom to give advice to my fellow seniors and job seekers. The podcast is an open discussion moderated by Ted Birkhahn, Steve Cody, and Alicia Wells. A few current Peppercom interns (Tom Showalter, Elle Kross and Amelia Denson) participated, as well as seniors Meredith Hutchins (College of Charleston) and Katie Green (Syracuse University).

I really enjoyed participating in the podcast. It was great hearing advice from students in the same position as I am, and hopefully I was able to provide some insight as well. Click here for a link to the podcast.

Shock Value: Is it Really Worth it?

2009-03-30T15:58:00.004-04:00

Walking to class today, I was confronted with some disturbing images. Despite the warning I had already gotten (via Twitter) to avoid the Tate Plaza today, I basically had to walk through there to get to my class in the SLC (I refuse to start calling it the 'MLC'... it just doesn't sound right). For those of you who don't go to UGA, the Tate Plaza is basically an open forum on campus where various interest groups usually congregate and try to get out whatever message they are passionate about (and the SLC/'MLC' is our Student Learning Center, recently renamed the 'Miller Learning Center' after a former Georgia Governor).

So as I came down the stairs into Tate, I was bombarded with horrifying images of aborted fetuses. Not just horrifying, but HUGE - the billboards must have been 20 feet tall (where do you even go to print something like that?). There was a tiny sign in front of the display that said something to the effect of "Caution: Disturbing Images Ahead," but by that point there was no way you hadn't already seen the images. There were posters with all kinds of facts about abortion, and a man preaching to passersby about why abortion is wrong.

Abortion is a controversial issue, and I'm not going to get into my own views on it. However, no matter what your views are, this display got your attention. I understand what the protestors were going for - hoping to shock people into thinking abortion is wrong. But how effective is that really? The display definitely got people thinking and talking about the issue, but could it really change someone's mind? When it comes down to beliefs about such personal issues, can something as simple (albeit shocking) affect their decision?

The main reason I'm so curious about this is that these exact abortion displays came up in our focus group for my Campaigns class. We were discussing how to really get the attention of UGA students when it comes to the anti-poverty effort in Athens-Clarke County. One student brought up graphic images like the ones in the anti-abortion displays. Students agreed when something is so big and staring you right in the face, you can't ignore it, which I agree with. However, it's one thing to create buzz and get people thinking about an issue, and it's another thing entirely to get them to act on these thoughts. Would oversized posters with images of impoverished children and statistics about dropout and pregnancy rates in Athens get attention on campus? Sure. But the real question is, would these posters actually drive people to join the anti-poverty effort?

Epting Update

2009-03-29T19:52:00.008-04:00

I realized over the weekend that it's been awhile since I posted anything about my internship at Epting Events, so now seemed like a good time for an update!

We're getting very close to being done with the wedding style book, and I'm so excited to see how it turns out. It has taken a little bit longer than expected because a few of the girls stopped working on the project, so we had to re-assign the themes. I'm now working on Beach Casual, Global Chic, Nature Inspired, and part of Contemporary. We also changed the layouts of our divider pages so they would look more like the inspiration boards on popular wedding websites like The Knot and Style Me Pretty. Here are a few of my new dividers:

We should be finishing everything up in the next few weeks, which will give us time to run everything by our bosses and order the book before I graduate! We've come a long way on this project and it will be so cool to see the finished product.

On a side note, Epting Events just started a blog so check that out for more wedding pictures and information.

At Least They're Getting Social Media Right

2009-03-26T11:13:00.007-04:00

As someone who is planning to move to NYC in the near future, I've been trying to follow the MTA fare hike votes as closely as those already living in the city. Yesterday, the plan was approved to raise single rides from $2 to $2.50, and monthly MetroCard passes from $81 to $103. These changes will go into effect on May 31st, and the Metro-North Railroad and L.I.R.R. will also see rate increases starting June 1st. There will also be service cuts, which

will likely cause even more crowding on busses and subways (is that possible?).

According to the New York Times, these will be the most sweeping service cuts since the city’s fiscal crisis of the mid-1970s. Only once before in the 105-year history of the subway have fares risen two years in a row (fares last increased in March 2008). These higher fees and service cutbacks are intended to help MTA with the $1.2 billion deficit it is currently facing.

After reading a few articles on the topic, I posted this comment to Twitter:

Within 30 seconds, I had an email in my inbox notifying me that "NYC MTA Alerts" is now following me on Twitter. Wow. Upon further investigation, I realized the Twitter feed provides up-to-the-minute service updates, and never actually mentioned anything about the fare hikes. However, I was still impressed with how quickly my tweet was detected (maybe it's automated? is there even a way to do that?).

Well, slightly impressed. Not enough to make up for the extra $22 I'll be spending every month to get around town.

Ups and Downs of Campaigns

2009-03-24T13:22:00.008-04:00

Throughout my life as a PR major at UGA, I've heard countless stories about how much work to anticipate in my capstone Campaigns class (see Dr. Kaye Sweetser's video, "True Life: Campaigns"). The class is designed to draw on every concept we've ever learned in our PR classes, from writing to strategic planning. Even though I've had quite a bit of internship experience, this class has provided me with a whole new learning environment. There have definitely been some ups and downs along the way, but as we get closer to the end of the semester I'm so excited to see how everything turns out!

I've posted before about this class, but here's a quick little aside about what we're doing...

Our class is helping various entities involved with combating poverty in Athens. Most students don't realize that UGA's host, Athens-Clarke County, is the 5th poorest county in the nation. Obviously, this project is a huge undertaking, and a class of 21 seniors can't solve the problems that have existed in this region for generations. Our hope is that we will be able to re-energize the campus and make students more aware of the situation so they will be inspired to help. Our main thought was to form an umbrella organization to bring existing anti-poverty student organizations together.

Everyone was so enthusiastic about the project at the beginning and couldn't wait to get started on forming a solution. However, there was a lot of research that had to be done before we could jump straight into tackling the problem. We have spent the last few months conducting student focus groups, interviewing faculty, and gauging the general interest on campus in the fight against poverty. While everyone is anxious to "get something done," we have had to realize that our efforts would be wasted if we didn't put in the proper research first. As graduation quickly approaches, we have had to adjust our strategy to more of a research-based campaign. In the next few weeks, we will be creating a book to present to the client that includes all of our research and case studies. It is our hope that our work will lay the groundwork for future classes. While we may not get to see the direct outcome this semester, I know we will one day.

I think the biggest lesson I have learned in this class has been about delegating. I've always been someone who likes to get things done myself, and hates depending on other people for anything. However, as a co-leader of a class of 21 students, I can't possibly do everything myself. Myself and my other co-leader have spent so much time delegating work and planning assignments, which has definitely been a new experience for me. I never realized how hard it is to get college students to turn things in on time! It's hard sometimes to enforce deadlines, but I've gotten great practice in leadership and project management.

All in all, Campaigns has been a wonderful learning experience, as I knew it would be. There is no better way to prepare for a future career in public relations than actually executing an entire campaign. I know I will look back to lessons I learned in this class for years to come.

Personality Mosaic

2009-03-23T09:43:00.004-04:00

I usually don't do those silly Facebook notes that go around ("25 Original Things About Me," etc.) but I thought this one was kind of fun...

Directions:

Go to Google image search.
Type in your answer to each question.
Choose a picture from the first 3 images.
Use this website to make your collage.

Questions:

What is your name?
What is your favorite food?
What is your hometown?
What is your favorite color?
What is your favorite movie?
What is your favorite drink?
What is your dream vacation?
What is your favorite dessert?
What is one word to describe yourself?
How are you feeling right now?
What do you love most in the world?
What do you want to do when you grow up?

Here's mine:

Okay, so I cheated a little bit... when I searched "Public Relations," I picked the 4th image instead of one out of the first three. I couldn't resist the "create some buzz" chihuahua!

How are YOU differentiating yourself in the job market?

2009-03-22T11:24:00.007-04:00

Tomorrow, I will be participating in a podcast discussing the difficulties upcoming graduates are facing in the job market, and how to differentiate yourself. The conversation will be hosted by Peppercom's Co Founder Steve Cody and COO Ted Birkhahn, and I will be among one of a group of senior PR students answering questions.

(For those of you who aren't familiar with Peppercom, it's a PR agency which offers global communications services with offices in New York, London, Chicago and San Francisco. It was also ranked by the Holmes Report as one of the nation's best places to work for three consecutive years, which is why I'm hoping to intern there this summer!)

I've been thinking a lot over the last few days about what advice I can give my fellow upcoming graduates. With the media constantly in our faces about how bad the economy is and how impossible it's going to be to find a job when we graduate, it's hard to stay positive about our future! We've all worked hard through college, we have internship experience, and we're almost done earning our degrees... so now what?

No matter how bad things get, the fact of the matter is - there are still jobs out there. You just need to be able to differentiate yourself and prove to potential employers why you are the best one for the position. Competition is fiercer than ever, but rather than getting discouraged and resigning yourself to move home with mom and dad in a few weeks - do something about it!

Here is some of my humble advice, based on personal experience and recommendations I've gotten from professors and fellow students:

Use your network! HR departments get hundreds of resumes and cover letters a day, why should they read yours? Talk to professors, other students, family friends - see if anyone has any connections that might be useful to you. This may sound like you're just using people, but based on my experience people are more than happy to help if they can.
Do your research. If there is a company you're interested in working for, know them inside and out. Read their blog, follow them on Twitter, find out everything you can about them. Being knowledgeable about a company will set you apart from other candidates when applying for a job.
Be proactive. After living and interning in NYC last summer, I knew it was where I wanted to be after graduation. So, in December, I flew up for a few days for informational interviews with a few companies I researched and was interested in. Just showing your face and talking with someone shows your interest and can teach you a lot about a company, more than you could ever learn from their website.
Be open-minded. Don't just look at big agencies, research smaller companies and internal communications positions. There are a lot of opportunities in public relations, so look outside your comfort zone to find other jobs than you had imagined you would be looking for.
Intern! By now, we all should have internship experience, but you can never have too much. There's nothing wrong with interning after graduation, and you never know where your connections with a company may lead you.
Immerse yourself in the industry and keep up with the trends. There is so much to learn about public relations outside the classroom, it's almost intimidating. Spend time every day reading relevant news articles, follow the latest social media trends. I learn so much every day just by clicking through links on my Twitter feed. There are so many knowledgeable professionals out there with great information, so follow them!

Hopefully some of this has been helpful. I'm really looking forward to hearing what other seniors have to say, and am so honored to be participating in this! I'll post links once the podcast is finished.

I'd also love any feedback on what you are doing to differentiate yourself, or just any thoughts in general on this topic!

Is This Real Life?

2009-03-20T13:53:00.002-04:00

It seems like every few months, a new video comes up on youtube that everyone and their mother can't stop quoting. The latest popular video has been David After Dentist... if you haven't seen it yet, take a minute to watch it:

Before everyone was asking if "this is real life" and if "this is going to be forever," all my friends were watching and obsessing over an adorable little girl's narration of a picture book of kittens:

And before that, who could forget about "Charlie Bit Me":

Each of these videos have millions of views, comments, and ratings. People have made their own spinoff versions, some even have blogs and are selling products with the most popular catch-phrases inscribed on them. And while I'm one of those people that gets sucked into it, and can't wait to pass these videos along to everyone I know, I can't help but wonder how it all gets started.

Who was the first person to watch a video of a 7-year-old doped up after surgery and decide this would be the next biggest viral video? How do these simple home videos get so much visibility that everyone knows about them, no matter what city or state they live in? And what are these kids going to think when they grow up and realize they were social media celebrities before they even knew what youtube was?

Google Analytics: A Nice Ego Boost

2009-03-19T11:56:00.004-04:00

When I started this blog in December, the purpose was to give me an outlet to express myself, to get some practice with writing, and to figure out how this whole blogging thing works. So yes, I blog mainly for me, but let's be honest... it's nice to know there are some people out there who are interested in what I have to say. As with all forms of social media, it's hard to measure the visibility and effectiveness of a blog. Do I measure my readership by the number of comments I get? By the feedback my fellow students and professors give me in class? While these are great ways to gauge my readership, the only way to truly know who is visiting my blog is Google Analytics.

I first learned about Google Analytics in Dr. Kaye Sweetser's PR Research class last semester, in which we used the tool to analyze the traffic to certain blogs. I was amazed at all of the things you can discover using Google Analytics, and best of all - it's FREE!! So a few weeks ago, I decided to set up an account of my own and see who is reading my blog.

The statistics include number of visits, pages per visits, average time on the site, and bounce rate. You can delve deeper into each of these topics, such is finding out demographic information about your visitors. My favorite feature is the map overlay - it tells you how many visitors come to your site from different states, how long they spend there, and how many pages they visit. Who knew there were people from Texas, California, and Michigan who have read my blog?

Reading these statistics gave me a little ego boost that my blog is worth reading, but what I really would like is some kind of interaction with my readers. If you're one of those people who came across this site on a search engine, or I've never met you before but you're interested in my humble little blog - say hello! Introduce yourself! I like meeting new people, even if it is via a comment box :)

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

2009-03-18T14:49:00.009-04:00

I realize this post is a little dated but it's taken me awhile to get back into the swing of things since my work trip last week. Between my spotty internet access and very limited free time, it took me a few days to notice what happened when I was gone.

Yesterday, when I got on Facebook to jealously stalk my friends' cruise pictures from Spring Break, this was the first thing I saw:

A few weeks (months?) ago, the layout of Facebook drastically changed, and it seemed that nobody was happy. All of my friends' statuses lamented the new format and hundreds of groups started popping up petitioning for the old Facebook. But of course within a week or so everyone quieted down and resigned themselves to the new layout. We all got used to it, and I can barely even remember what the old layout looked like.

So now that everyone has gotten used to the new Facebook, Mark Zuckerbeg has done it again. The layout has completely changed, I can't find anything, and everyone is confused all over again. Why, Facebook, why are you doing this to us? What was so wrong with the original Facebook that it needed two makeovers in the last six months? Facebook has been hugely successful since it was introduced in 2004. Are the people at Facebook just bored, so they keep switching things up on us?

Whatever the reasoning is behind it, I'm sure this new layout will get just as much flack as the previous "new Facebook." Maybe it's time Mr. Zuckerberg started sorting through the inevitable hate groups and realized the value behind the phrase, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Happy Spring Break

2009-03-06T08:19:00.006-05:00

I'm off to the beach for 12 days, so adios my loyal followers (...bye, Mom and Dad)! I'll be in Panama City for work (tough job, I know), and I'm sure will return with some great stories.

Hope everyone has a safe & fun Spring Break!!