Movin' on up

Today I said goodbye to Washington Heights and hello to Chelsea. The Heights will always have a special place in my heart. It was the place I got my start in New York. If Chris hadn't had an extra room, I'm not sure how I would've made the move in time. It might not have been a glamorous place, but I was right next door to beautiful Tyron Park, the subway was right around the corner, and it had a great Chinese take-out place across the street. Your first apartment in New York isn't supposed to be glamorous anyway, right? I had a lot of fun there.

But like I said, I said goodbye to it today, and moved in to a super-cool loft studio with my boyfriend in Chelsea. I really love everything about Chelsea. There are a million restaurants around the apartment, including Moran's, and the people and atmosphere are great. I feel very lucky to be here, and am very happy about making the commitment to live with him. =)

Here are a couple shots of the apartment:

  

Yep, that's a backyard! A prized possession in New York.

I'm a lucky girl.

New job!

So things at ICE have been a little rocky lately. The job is still solid and isn't near ending, but I feel like I've been there long enough and it's time to move on.

So this morning I set out to get a job serving. I know I didn't spend four years in college to wait tables, but at least this way I don't have to be behind a desk copying and pasting and can meet some fun new people. Plus, it'll give me more time to work on my internship with Laurie. Let's be honest, I didn't spend four years in college to do data entry either. 

Now, trying to get a serving job in NYC is no easy task. It's the fall-back job for everyone - actors, models, out of work journalists, etc. And in this city, that's a LOT of people. I went on an open call at a restaurant last week and within 10 minutes 20 people were in line for one hostessing position. It's no joke.

But this morning was different. There's this great historic steakhouse literally around the corner from my apartment called Moran's, so I went there first. I gave the owner my resume, answered a few quick questions, and then she said, "Ok, when can you start?" "Um, tomorrow?" I answered. And that was that. I start at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow. It's a small place but has great food and wine and has been around for more than 100 years. Best of all I can expect to get around 35 hours a week, which is a lot for a restaurant. I really only need three or four good tables a night to make enough money at a place like this.

I know turnover is crazy in the hospitality business, especially in NYC, but I think if I do a good job this will stick at least for a while. Rich and I have eaten here several times and it seems like a good place to work. Yay!!

eFlirt Expert promo video

Here's the new super-cute promo video from eFlirt Expert! Check it out and tell your friends!

eFlirt expert promo from Laurie Davis on Vimeo.

Hooray internship!

I'm so excited about my great new internship! It's with my friend, Laurie's, new company called eFlirt Expert. Basically I'll be doing a lot of guerrilla marketing, including posting fliers, passing out cards, posting things online, etc. But I'll also be helping out with events and other fun stuff. We already have a networking event next week! It's just part time for now, but it has a lot of opportunity for growth and I can still work while I do it.

The company is really smart. Laurie has a lot of experience with online dating and marketing, so she turned that into her job. She does everything from revamp and create online dating profiles to being your own wing woman! She's really trustworthy and knows what she's talking about, and her prices are really reasonable. To get a full list of her services click here. She just started a few months ago and already has a few couples that are moving in together! I really think eFlirt will take off soon and I hope I can be a part of the company for a long time to come.

So do you or someone you know need a little push in the dating department? Talk to Laurie! She can help anyone from any state, so Florida people this is for you too!

Go to eFlirtexpert.com for more information! (Picture is of Laurie)

The point of no return

Whenever I used to talk about moving to New York, people would always say, "Well, the worst thing that could happen is you move up there for six months and it doesn't work." It was weird, that was every single person's first comment. I remember thinking that if I could just make it to six months I would be home free. Well, I'm nearing my seven month anniversary here and there's no sign of it not working.

It's so strange to think that I've already been here for seven months. It's gone by so fast. A lot has happened. I was laid off, found a new job, fell in love, made some great new friends and had scores of great experiences. New York is everthing I thought it would be and more. I used to worry that I would move up here and be disappointed, but that's definitely not the case. This is where I'm supposed to be and I'm so glad I took the risk of coming here. I can't imagine looking back on my life and regretting never taking the plunge, selling off my life, leaving my friends and family and everything I knew to follow a dream.

I followed that dream, and it's become my reality.

New York wrap up

I know, I know, I've been a slacker. I'm sorry. The more I settle into day-to-day life here, the less there seems to post about. BUT here is a wrap up of what's been going on:

* One thing that I definitely should have posted about was going to see Rocky Horror Picture Show for the first time. Now, this isn't necessarily a "New York" thing because you can see it almost anywhere, but the fact that I got to see it for the first time here made it that much cooler. We found a theater in Chelsea that plays it every Friday and Saturday at midnight. For those of you who don't know, (which hopefully isn't many) actors act out the movie as it is being played behind them on a big screen and lip sync the lines. It adds to the humor and overall strangeness of the movie. I've seen the movie before, but have never seen it live, thus making me a "virgin." I won't tell you what they did to "devirginize" the virgins, but it was pretty hilarious. Overall the cast was awesome, especially Frankfurter.

* I helped redo my boyfriend's apartment and it turned out really great. It went from a small, midnight blue loft studio to a modern, cool, warm apartment with great furniture and art and an awesome backyard. Yep, it has a backyard in Chelsea which is pretty rare. I think I missed my calling as an interior designer. We threw a housewarming/Memorial Day barbecue last weekend and it was a big hit. I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun there this summer.

* The weather is still pretty strange. It'll go from being 80 degrees to 50 within a day, which kind of sucks. I'm just ready for summer already!

* Things are okay on the job front. Still temping for ICE doing data entry. That should hold up till July or August. A new opportunity just opened up here yesterday, so that would be great if it came through. I'll tell you more about it if it does. Fingers crossed.

* The months of June and July will be absolutely crazy. We literally have something to do every weekend. The first weekend in June is Rich's birthday, then it's his parent's big 40th anniversary party which we are helping put on, then the Rays are in town, then I'm going to Florida for a week, then we're spending two weeks at the Jersey Shore for July 4th. Phew!

Well that's about it from here. I'll try to keep you updated more often! Miss you guys!

The fashion 'Onion' = Genius

Like The Onion? Like fashion? Like making fun of fashion? Well, your dream has finally come true. Introducing WWWWD: the fashion equivalent of the Onion. The name obviously coming from the highly respected WWD, it debuted during Fashion Week in February and was so popular that it has come back for a second newsletter and will continue until it collapses (so who knows how long).

Now I love and respect fashion as much as the next fashionista, but I also love how ridiculous it is. Now we actually have a site devoted to making fun of every downright stupid fashion disaster with totally fake parody articles! Why did this take so long??