Weekend in The City

This weekend has been a breath of fresh air for me. I always knew that the city has so much to offer but I think this weekend it really sunk in. I didn't even do anything extravagant and yet I'm still amped about being here.

Saturday night I went out with my college roommate to dinner and a movie. We got cheesesteaks and then grabbed a couple of cold ones before the must-see movie The Hangover at the Village Pour House (great selection of brews, by the way). It was all too familiar because she and I had visited this same bar and theater a year ago while going to the Sex and the City premiere. Except this time, we were much more sober. It was nice to have a low key but fun night in the city with a dear friend.

Today I started the day off my checking out mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral--such a beautiful and immense church. The service was just like a typical Catholic service and I have a feeling the church often has one-time attendees from out of town. The seats were filled with tourists with tour books, cameras, and I ♥ NY t-shirts. Nothing wrong with that I suppose; undoubtedly comes with the territory of being the largest cathedral in the U.S. Great experience nevertheless.

Afterward I walked down the 6th ave food festival for a bit since the weather was terrific. I didn't get anything to eat although everything looked appetizing. The corndogs, funnel cakes, and candy apples was very reminiscent of walking through the NC State Fair, except in New York City. Excluding the deep fried candy bars and cows (not deep fried cows, just cows. Live cows, I mean). I decided to go back to Chinatown and hit up a local bakery for a cheap, delicious and filling steamed bun. I returned back to the apartment to check out what was going on in the city today. Summer Jam looked fun, but expensive and probably too late to get tickets. Then I found out there was a Philippine Independence Day Celebration going on in Madison Square Park. That was PERFECT! I had been wanting to check out a Filipino restaurant in the city. In fact, I checked out citysearch and zagat to find a good one and I was going to have dinner there today (which by the way, both citysearch and zagat came up with Karaoke Bars as suggested other locations "that I might like" or that "others that enjoyed this place also enjoyed..." Haha...I'm not going to lie, that stereotype is 100% true. I am Filipino, and I love karaoke. Guilty as charged. But I digress...) so I figured this celebration would be a blend of good food, my culture, and the city. Once I got there I was immediately overwhelmed by all the brown people. LOL! Spanning from 23rd-26th Street and all throughout Madison Square Park, the celebration reminded me of an annual festival (Pista Sa Nayon) my family and I would attend when I was growing up in Seattle, WA. Except way bigger. I walked around for a bit taking it all in. It has been a while since I've been immersed in my Filipino culture, hearing Tagalog everywhere. I was then stopped by a psychic lady who prompted me that she "saw something in my future that she needed to tell me". After trying to refuse her 5 times, she insisted that she saw great things coming from "Hawaii or California" for me. LMAO! Sure...I bet she gets people with that statement all the time. Once she said that, it kind of enticed me but I'm not one to meddle in that silly stuff. So after she took me back to the reality that I was in New York, I quickly diverted my mind back to this Philippine-land that had been created in front of me. I got a plate of kare-kare (my FAVORITE that I hadn't had in years), a BBQ stick and halo halo. :)


Halo Haloooo!

Sitting there among "my people", listening to the language, watching the dancers on stage, and listening the Filipino rap music blaring really made me miss a part of who I used to be. Moving around so much as a military brat, I lost sight of my heritage and culture. It was nice to finally get back here. The only sad part about this whole ordeal was I was by myself. LOL! Hopefully I can get involved with some sort of Filipino organization so I can meet some fellow pinoys/pinays. :)

So I guess this weekend really wasn't about what I did that made it so exciting, but more so a preview of what I have to look forward to here in the big city. Thanks for a good time, New York. Keep it comin'. :)

Update of My Rollercoaster Ride

I sometimes wonder how different my life would be if my mother allowed me to skip the 1st and 3rd grade when I was younger and I was 2 years ahead of schedule on my education making me a 2007 college graduate versus a 2009 college graduate. Meaning, I probably would have had better luck finding a job in 2007 instead being stuck in the predicament I'm presently in. (Where was I going with this again??? Oh yeah...) I've been told by many people that this huge leap I'm taking is "badass" and "pretty impressive". Well, this rocky ride is telling me otherwise because if this is what being a badass feels like then I'm not sure I'm cut out for this life on the edge.

It has been nearly three weeks since I've moved migrated to New York. I say migrated because I still don't consider myself fully moved yet. Although I have no intentions of leaving I still have trouble breathing easy until I secure a job. Until then, its the same ol' searching for a job like its my job. Funny as it may sound, this process typically is time consuming and fills up a full working day for me. And I think in these past three weeks, this full-time job hunt could perhaps be drawing to a close. Here's where I'm at now:

I've left Connecticut and now am in the city house-sitting and dog-sitting for a couple while they are on vacation. Pretty sweet gig, the dog bull terrier scary creature is actually pretty chill. Their apartment is a huge full floor artist loft in Chinatown. Lol...yes me, being an Asian girl, has managed to have my first (although temporary) place of residence be ironically in Chinatown. I like the area I live in though, good food around and an easy walk to the subway. Unfortunately, its only until the 15th which means I need to find a.) another place to stay i.e. friends couch or b.) a semi-permanent residence. The only degree of difference between the two options is me getting a job.

I interviewed with another company earlier this morning and it went extremely well. I'm supposed to hear back from them by the end of this upcoming week so I'm crossing my fingers because the outcome of this job dictates whether I am on a friends couch continuing my full-time job search or finding a place of my own and finally working.

On top of this interview I'm waiting to hear the results of, I'm also still in communication with the company I originally came up here for. They still want me on board and have suggested that I go ahead and start working with them to ramp things up with their current major project. However, we have yet to discuss the terms of my employment (salary, benefits, job security, etc...) so I'm extremely hesitant. I am in no position to work for free or offer my services without a sense of where its going to take me. It's hard because I really like this company and it is exactly what I want to do career-wise. Hopefully they come back at me this week with some sort of assurance, or even better, a job offer.

Either way, this upcoming week can be a crucial turning point for me. I'm hoping I am offered both positions versus none. I'd rather have to make a tough decision with two great companies than be empty-handed. I'm extremely hopeful, and am itching in anticipation for what this short week has ahead of me. In the meantime, I'm going to take some time and enjoy being in Nyc. I mean, the ball is in their court now and out of my hands; I might as well just relax and explore what this beautiful city has to offer. :)

My Crazy Week in Review

Do you ever look at where you are in life at this moment, and wonder how on earth you got there? For instance, I am currently in Danbury, CT for the first time sleeping on my dear friend's boyfriend's couch. Exactly a week ago I was waiting tables in Raleigh. And somewhere in between there I moved out of my Raleigh apartment, drove up to New York, interviewed with a great company right up my alley, and have no clue what life will throw at me next. Talk about spontaneous, right? Well let me recap everything in hopes to map out where I'm headed next.

Thursday, May 14th: I receive notice from the company that they're interested in interviewing me. They suggest Friday (the very next day) or Monday. Given that I am still in Raleigh, I agree to a Monday interview. So that left me frantically packing my whole apartment up, selling stuff on craigslist, donating everything else to Goodwill, and continuing to work my shifts at the restaurant until my departure date of Sunday morning.

Friday, May 15th: I have not received confirmation back from the company for an interview time all day. Still, I pack, sell, donate and work as planned. They're just busy, I think, they'll get to me soon.

Saturday, May 16th: Still packing, selling, donating and working a double. Biting my nails all the while because I still have received no confirmation time--and I'm scheduled to leave tomorrow. Thoughts race through my mind about if I don't hear back, should I still go up there and gamble it all? Though they left me on the edge of my seat, I fortunately heard word back around 7p. *Sigh of Relief*

Sunday, May 17th: Finally done packing, I turn in my apartment keys for good, bring the last of my things to the storage unit, and take off. The drive is really mundane. I'm drowsy the whole way because I've been running on four hours of sleep for the past three nights preparing for both moving out and the interview. At some point during my drive, I'm certain I fall asleep with my eyes still open only to regain consciousness when I hear myself sleep talking when I was initially singing a song in an attempt to keep me awake. Strange, but definite wake up call to pull over and grab some coffee. I stay on the phone most of the drive with loved ones to keep me company. Twelve hours, a tank and a half of gas, an hour of getting lost in the city, and surprisingly only two annoyed honked horns at my NC vehicle later, I arrive in Brooklyn with my friend.

Immediately after I get out of my car, we go out for dinner and drinks. We hit up this place on Bedford Ave called Sea. Right when we walk in house music is blasting, and everyone is dressed so trendy. Definitely a "Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore" moment. As we sit at the bar waiting for our table, we grab a lychee martini (recommend this!) and a pomegranate mojito (very strong). I have to say something I must get used to is the price of drinks in the city. At the restaurant/bar I work at in Raleigh, martinis and mojitos are $5. The ones we ordered were $10. Very good and strong, nevertheless. She and I catch up, talk about her life in the city, and my interview tomorrow morning. We get our table, order some lettuce rolls and Brooklyn Lagers to start. That was my first time trying it, and I must say it has to be one of my favorite Lagers. I am a heavy beer drinker too, so I was thoroughly impressed. :) So we order shrimp pad thai and curry, both I recommend, and got our checks. Another thing I must get used to is the whole bring-out-only-one-check-and-divide-it-amongst-yourself thing. Quite frankly, as a server myself, I just think it's plain lazy to not split checks. But apparently, being a naive noob that I am, this is the norm up here so it's just easiest to bring cash when going out. Lesson learned.

Afterward, she walked me through the subway route I would take to my interview tomorrow. Pretty simple route with only one transfer, luckily. We got out at the 42nd St/Times Square stop. I must say, it doesn't matter how many times I've seen Times Square at night, it still takes my breath away. As we exited the subway and walked up the stairs, I plastered on a perma-grin at the first sight of the bright city lights and tall skyscrapers. I'm really here.

We return back to her apartment in Brooklyn, and for the first time get a glimpse of a NY apartment. I must say, I was thoroughly impressed with the space she had. TONS of room, great location, and pretty safe. Though I was completely opposed to Brooklyn initially (thank my preconceived notions to Sex and the City), I'm totally loving Brooklyn now. Shortly after we arrive, we hit the sheets. I've got a big day ahead of me.

Monday, May 18th: Today is the day! Though my interview isn't scheduled until 11am, I start my day off early to mentally prepare. I get into the city around 9a, and head to a FedEx Kinkos to print out my resume. While I'm pulling up my resume from my e-mail, I notice an e-mail from the person I've been corresponding with regarding my interview. My interview that was supposed to happen in two hours got pushed back to Friday. Nooo! Completely changed my plans. I was upset at first, but took it as a test. How bad do I want this? So I did some readjusting, had people pick up more shifts for me at the restaurant in Raleigh (I hadn't told them I was leaving yet--I didn't want to burn any bridges if this job in the city fell through), and told them Friday was no problem at all. Since I was so upset, stressed, and sleep deprived for the past four nights, I decided to head back to the apartment and take a nap. The city and I would catch up later when I am in a better mood.

I woke from my nap refreshed and less stressed. Shortly after my phone starts ringing with an unknown number trying to reach me. I answer and am elated to find out there was some schedule shifting done at the company and they could meet with me earlier--tomorrow at noon. YAY! *Another sigh of relief*

I head back to the city to meet my friend for 10 cent wings in East Village. I meet some of her colleagues during dinner and am intrigued at the conversation they have about this thing called foursquare. Definitely something I want to get involved with once I am here permanently.

Tuesday, May 19th: Today is the big day! I woke up, checked my e-mail just in case there was another schedule shift. Nope, all systems go. This time was for real! Got ready early again, and made it to the city about an hour and a half before my interview. I sat in a nearby Starbucks and absorbed everything I knew about the company and industry, reread parts of my book What Color is Your Parachute? (for any job hunters/career changers/finding yourself people out there, this book is for you!!!) As I sipped on my caramel macchiatto with soy milk and nibbled at my banana nut loaf, I felt a strange calmness and excitement about the interview. Before then, I was nervous, frightened, self-conscious, not confident. But now, I was quite the contrary. I was ready to kick ass! Perhaps it was just because there were so many schedule changes, I just wanted to get it over with.

I arrived at my interview ten minutes early, met with the two gentlemen that would interview with and potentially work for. The interview lasted only thirty minutes long, but it was a great interview. I really felt good leaving the interview and couldn't have asked for a better way for it have gone. I answered their questions honestly and articulately and they kept reiterating "how much they liked me". They told me I would hear back by the end of the day or tomorrow. I'm keeping my fingers crossed still.

After the interview, I walked up to Grand Central to meet my other friend coming from CT. Since my Brooklyn friend had a lot going on in her schedule for the rest of the week, I decided to get out of her hair. My other very good friend who recently graduated the MAC program at Boston College welcomed me to stay with her and her boyfriend for a little bit until I hear back about the interview. So we met in the city, grabbed lunch, and sat in Bryant Park to catch up. We then walked through Chelsea up to Murray Hill to pass time before we drove back to CT. We wanted to avoid rush hour traffic, so we dipped into an NC bar to grab some drinks. I must say, though they had country music and water out of mason jars, it just didn't work. I guess I'm just so tuned into what is "redneck" and southern enough to be considered part of below the mason-dixon line. Nevertheless, it was a close replicate and close enough--asking for a duplicate is like asking NC to make NY pizza, it just doesn't work but it's good enough.

We left after just one drink, drove to CT and went out for trivia night with her boyfriend. After taking last place in trivia night (lol), we headed home and crashed.

Wednesday, May 20th: And here I am. Still haven't heard back from the company, but still have a really good feeling about it. I will continue to keep you posted on this journey. :)

I think I've discovered what I want to rename this blog if I get the job. Obviously if I get the job, I will no longer be "NYC Bound". I think Naive NYC Noob is most appropriate. hahaha...partially because I love the alliteration.

Urgent Update!

ATTENTION!!! There has been a breakthrough on my journey to NYC!!!

So after contacting every person I know who may have contacts in the city, I finally received word from a friend who I met through the professional business fraternity I was affiliated with. I applied for the position, she put in a good word for me, and I have an interview this Monday for the job. I should have known New York would sweep me off my feet just as fast as its very streets are. I guess New York City being a fast-paced place covers all grounds. So I will be arriving Sunday night, interviewing Monday, and hopefully hearing back within the next two days whether I get the job or not. Luckily my friend, who is the same person who got me this opportunity, is allowing me to crash on her couch until the interview process is over. She is the epitome of the perfect person to have in your network. I've talked about how an unhelpful network is worthless. Well, she sets the perfect example of how great networking really is. If you're reading this, words cannot express how thankful I am for you. If I get the job, the first thing I want to do is take you out for dinner and drinks!

I never imagined I would get a bite this fast. I only graduated a week ago and expected to be working at the same restaurant I have been for the summer. But for some reason, I feel this opportunity is perfect for me. It could not have come at a better time since my lease ends this Tuesday and I was going to literally be homeless if I did not figure out what I was going to do/where I was going to be. I truly feel the puzzle pieces coming together for me and cannot contain my excitement. The only thing separating me from New York is this interview. No pressure, right? Ha!

And on top of that, being a college graduate has finally hit me. I was numb of the concept until now. Knowing that I'm about to start being a "real grown up" in the big city, away from family, friend, the familiar has really made me an emotional mess. First I'm jumping up and down elated, then the next second I'm teary-eyed thinking about people whom I've grown incredibly close to in a short amount of time. I'm so anxious to see my dream unfold in front of my eyes, but at the same time am saddened that I may lose contact with people I really care about. Of course, nothing lasts forever--I've done the whole moving up-and-leaving thing before (I'm a military brat, I've done it a million times). I guess being a military brat has really opened my eyes on this process. Because I know that I will lose touch with these people since it's happened before to me with other close friends I've had in the past. I have a chance to change the pattern this go-round though. Hopefully won't get to swallowed in the city and lose sight of my loved ones below the Mason-Dixon line.

As I'm writing this blog, I have an apartment full of stuff that needs to be out by Sunday before I leave. I'm posting a picture to show you all how much work I still have to do:



Needless to say, I will be up all night. But I'm praying all this stress will be worth it after Monday. For those of you that are reading this, please say a little prayer for me as well. I'm a big fan of The Secret (i.e. the Law of Attraction...read this), so if I get many people joining me with positive energy and thoughts of me successfully getting the job then we can really put the Law of Attraction to the test. I will keep you posted. See you in the city in two days! Ahhhhh! It's really happening!

The Countdown is On!!!

We are at t-minus 23 days until graduation, and a month and three days left until my lease is up in Raleigh, I'm still a jobless, yet hopeful NYC Bound "New-Yorker-wannabe". I started this blog late last year in hopes to document my progress to the city. And after reading back through some of my older posts (particularly here and here), it's truly feeling like the same shit, different day.

But this post is not intended for me to bitch and complain about how hard it is (I'm pretty sure I've already done that...). Instead, I want to take the moment to say I'm not giving up that easy. In fact, since it is coming down the wire I've become more amped about the thought of living in the city. And with my heightened excitement, comes mounds of ideas of what I will do when I arrive. Here are just a few things I cannot wait to do as a New Yorker:

-Be able to give directions to lost tourists
-Sit in Bryant Park at lunchtime and observe swoon over the handsome suited men on their lunch breaks
-Have a night out with my friends and know that my dependable DD will always be there
-Go to a Yankees game [against the Bo-Sox]
-Eat REAL NY pizza whenever I crave it without the disappointment of imitations
-change my phone number to a NYC area code
-design my first apartment hole-in-the-wall and make it appear chic

And the list goes on...can't wait to check these items off my NYC bucket list!

Gap in the Dream

Like many young ladies, the popularity of Sex & The City contributed to my profound interest in becoming a New Yorker. For me, it wasn't just about the glitz and glam of their lives--it was more about how each of the four gals were extremely successful in their crafts. Carrie, the witty columnist. Miranda, the cynical lawyer. Samantha, the PR go-getter. Charlotte, passionate & well versed of the arts. Each very different, but all held power that was impenetrable. This kind of success is what I thrive for.

Curled up in my bed, I watched the movie, aching to be a part of what is being a New Yorker. Carrie says at some point [to Miranda and Samantha] "You two could rule the world..." . That's when I got to thinking...how did they get to this point? Four very independent, head strong, and successful New York ladies with no story of their journey to this state. No story of their struggle to make it in the city. No story of how they made it to the top. No story of who they were before New York. How did I never realize this before?

The negation of these facts prompted me to turn the movie off. I was thoroughly upset at first. But then, I no longer cared. Perhaps having this omitted does more good than some would like to think. Those that are independent, head strong, and ambitious will figure it out on their own. I guess that's part of the transformation to New Yorker.

I returned to my bed, and pressed play.

Only the Strong Survive

People who live in New York are some of the strongest people in the world. Just the other day, I was second guessing myself, and my ability to hang with some of the toughest people. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to make it. There are so many people that are just as thirsty as I am to make it in the city. What sets me apart from these other people? How can I stand out above the rest?

And then it hit me. All my weak questioning, and fear would be my demise in the city. What was I thinking? No one's journey to the top is ever easy. If it were easy, NYC wouldn't house such strong-willed individuals. I decided that I would set all my inhibitions, and fear aside- no more second guessing myself. Yeah, there may be people just as thirsty in the city, but damn it, I'm thirsty and willing to do anything to quench this thirst. I believe I have the qualifications and ability to be a part of this elite and envied group that is being a New Yorker.

Watch out. Another breed of bitch is coming soon. And she is so incredibly parched.