No Day But Today

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.

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

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!