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

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.

Disconnect to Reconnect

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…

Middle of the Year Resolutions?

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

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

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.

New York, I Love You.

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

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

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!

All Good Things Must Come To An End...

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

100th Blogiversary

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!

Update on Life

I've realized I become kind of MIA over the weekend as far as this blog goes, but I guess it's just because I have so much going on right now... here's a little update on life (this is as much for me as anything so I can get my life in order).

Classes are going well, it's about that time for the first round of exams - I have two this week.  So far I'm still really liking all the classes I signed up for, which is nice for my last semester.  We're getting going on our research for Campaigns, so hopefully I'll have an update soon of the direction that is headed.

My internship is awesome, we have so much flexibility which is a nice challenge.  Starting Wednesday, we're going to meet on campus so we can use InDesign or Photoshop to make some of the pages for our style book. 

I've been working a lot and basically saving every penny I earn for life after graduation.  If all goes according to plan, I'll have some kind of income post-May, but it's always good to have savings put away (I have an interview on a week - cross your fingers for me!).

On a completely random tangent, Spring Break is 32 days away and I've managed to stick to my work out plan so far, which is great news.

And yea, that's my life in a nutshell.  Nothing all too exciting to report, just keeping busy and happy :)

Service Industry: Good Work Experience?

After a discussion with my roommates yesterday about part-time job opportunities, I started thinking about all of the work experiences I've had throughout high school and college (server, cocktail waitress, bartender... you name it, I've done it).  One roommate said her mother didn't want her to work in a bar because doing secretarial work would look better on a resume... I kind of think the opposite.  

As someone who has worked in the service industry since the age of 16, I'm a firm believer that everyone should have the experience of working in a bar or restaurant at some point in their life.  I sometimes wonder if my part-time job experiences are something I should include on a resume, or at least mention in interviews.  I say this not because I think my future employers in the PR world will be impressed with my skills at balancing four plates of food or mixing Alabama Slammers, but because I think working in the service industry says certain things about a person.

I've learned a lot about customer service and how to be patient in dealing with difficult people.  My people skills definitely have benefited from waitressing and bartending, since these jobs require me to carry on conversations with and basically entertain complete strangers.  In an industry like public relations, where I need to be comfortable and confident talking to strangers, I know my practice in part-time jobs will help me.  

I've also learned to be professional and responsible.  This kind of goes along with good people skills, but the service industry has taught me to always behave like a professional so as to represent the bar or restaurant I'm working for in a positive manner. 

Lastly, I've learned time management.  Balancing a full load of classes and two part-time jobs is hard work, but it helps me prioritize so I can get everything done.  I stay motivated to finish my school work because I know I need to go to work (and I'm motivated to go to work so I can afford rent in NYC in 5 months!).

What do you think - are restaurant and bar jobs something important to include on a resume or in an interview?