Hello! It's been over a year since I last wrote. Does anyone even read this thing anymore?
Since our last episode, I've completed work on OSL. We have the occasional bit of paperwork here or there, but are for the most part done. I will miss seeing mr. Baryshnikov in passing, but alas, on to bigger and better things.
After spending some months in limbo, the company finally put me onto a pretty cool project for a retail store. It's on hold for the fourth time, so I'm working on a synagogue in the time being. If the retail thing happens, I go back onto that in January. If not, I get to stay on the synagogue at least through design development, but very likely through construction documents. I have to read up on things like mikvahs and torahs and bimahs, and figure out the difference between all the different sects of Judaism. It's kind of interesting, but my heart lies with the retail store. It's mostly because I have gotten to know the team very well everyone has a wonderful attitude and I have a lot of respect for all of them. It'll also be a fascinatingly complex project - it's not just any old store, it's a ginormous flagship store! How cool, no?
In my personal life... My roomies are still Chelsea and Emily - the girls I met while living in Bushwick. We celebrated year number 2 awhile back and just signed the lease for another year. The apartment is huge, sunny, and is in a great part of Astoria. It's the first place in NY where I've lived that my parents actually liked. I'm not sure how much longer this is going to last for me though, because Axel and I have been discussing the big move-in more and more. It will be a while still, but I doubt I'll be renewing the lease with the girls after the year is up.
Axel and I are going to Argentina this year. We'll be leaving right after Christmas, spending new years in Montevideo, Uruguay with his friend James, and spending at least 3 days as gauchos. I've never ridden a horse before. I wonder how similar it is to riding a motorcycle. I also am insisting on at least one evening of tango dancing. Axel refuses, not because he doesn't dance, but because he hated argentine tango. Too brainy, supposedly. Well, maybe James will dance with me. Eh, Axel?
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Friday, October 01, 2010
Overwhelmed
Work has been picking up - I mean really picking up. About a month and a half ago, they moved me off of Jackson and on to TFANA. Sitting in a new spot and working on these pretty much independently. I already thought that was pretty stressful - now I go to coordination meetings, client meetings (which I sleep through...).
Now, on top of that, I also get to run OSL. The girl that runs the project went on vacation for essentially a month and left it in my hands for these reasons: 1) I'm the only other person who has done any construction phase work for the project so I'm most familiar with it and 2) there's simply no one else to do it. On the one hand, it's awesome that I get to do this. Last year when James was gone, I ran Jackson alongside two of the partners, but they had a heavier hand in the correspondences. This time around, the partner is just as swamped with projects as I am, so I'm pretty much left to my own devices. Lee left me a lot of notes, but most of them are pretty abbreviated so it isn't very helpful. I'm fairly sure there's a ton of stuff that is due, but I've just decided to take them as they come, do what I can in a reasonable amount of time, and what happens happens. But boy, talk about trial by fire. I'm getting 10 times the amount of emails I used to get, and am on the phone all day. On top of that, I have a cold. Today, by the way, I discovered that Dayquil and Claritin-D have this amazing affect in combination. I feel like I just took pound of ritalin. EEEeee!!!
And somehow I'm still also supposed to get stuff done on TFANA... I can't wait for her to come back. And why won't they hire anyone else?
Now, on top of that, I also get to run OSL. The girl that runs the project went on vacation for essentially a month and left it in my hands for these reasons: 1) I'm the only other person who has done any construction phase work for the project so I'm most familiar with it and 2) there's simply no one else to do it. On the one hand, it's awesome that I get to do this. Last year when James was gone, I ran Jackson alongside two of the partners, but they had a heavier hand in the correspondences. This time around, the partner is just as swamped with projects as I am, so I'm pretty much left to my own devices. Lee left me a lot of notes, but most of them are pretty abbreviated so it isn't very helpful. I'm fairly sure there's a ton of stuff that is due, but I've just decided to take them as they come, do what I can in a reasonable amount of time, and what happens happens. But boy, talk about trial by fire. I'm getting 10 times the amount of emails I used to get, and am on the phone all day. On top of that, I have a cold. Today, by the way, I discovered that Dayquil and Claritin-D have this amazing affect in combination. I feel like I just took pound of ritalin. EEEeee!!!
And somehow I'm still also supposed to get stuff done on TFANA... I can't wait for her to come back. And why won't they hire anyone else?
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Update
It's been a really long time since I've posted, isn't it? Lots have changed.. let's see...
After having a horrible "fight" over the electric bill with Erica, I have moved back to Astoria with the other two girls that were living at the loft with us - Chelsea and Emily. The new place is awesome - the space is really big, well laid-out and the neighborhood is really vibrant. May visited for the first time today and she really liked it. It's definitely the nicest space I've lived in thus far in NY, and the girls are awesome. We're just much more comfortable together - we can all hang out or be apart, we talk to each other about our jobs, boys, etc. I feel like this is an apartment that the three of us share, we're all invested equally. I can have guests over, I don't fear that my food will mysteriously disappear, there's no poor un-cared for cat to make a mess. It's CLEAN! Happiness is a new, nice apartment. As for Erica - I was mad at her, still am I guess. Unfriended her on Facebook and while I was tempted to find ways to make her miserable after the whole blowout, I decided not to bother. She's just too pathetic with her going-nowhere life, living off of her parents at the age of 30 and never having a job in her life. And we're in a less expensive, higher quality space while she gets stuck with her $527 electric bills. Who's the winner in that situation? *sigh
Axel and I are still going well. Nothing new there! Well, he seems to be just as enthusiastic about my new place as I am. Said something about how it's very nice and that if he had to choose between his place and mine, he'd pick mine. But not that he'd ever live here, because it's too nice and girly. Of course, of course... He left a toothbrush here - first time that's happened in the 1 year and 7 months we've been together. I think that's a testament to how much he likes the new place. O, and last night we were taking a walk in my neighborhood and we came upon a kitty who was so excited to see us and come play that he mewed and pranced his way over to us and insisted we pet him. I wants a loveable little kitty just like him!
Work is...well, I'm a tad dissatisfied. They finally moved me off of the courthouse project, and onto TFANA and OSL. In a way, it's nice to know that I've been upgraded to a true Designer level. No more being someone's personal assistant. On the other hand, I feel like I'm doing the same things over and over, while the other kids that have a year less experience than me are doing the things that I want to be doing - aka designing. Mini-boss went to bat for me when the CFO moved me, asking why I haven't gotten any design phase projects. For some reason, the secret project didn't seem appropriate. I guess next project our office gets, I'm on it. But WHEN?!! I'll never finish my training hours at this pace. Seriously, if they don't put me onto the next new project, I'm out, seriously! We'll see... I guess I'm still learning a lot and it's just a bit of a plateau. One of my best friends at the office just moved on to greener pastures, and I guess I'm just jittery and want to follow...
After having a horrible "fight" over the electric bill with Erica, I have moved back to Astoria with the other two girls that were living at the loft with us - Chelsea and Emily. The new place is awesome - the space is really big, well laid-out and the neighborhood is really vibrant. May visited for the first time today and she really liked it. It's definitely the nicest space I've lived in thus far in NY, and the girls are awesome. We're just much more comfortable together - we can all hang out or be apart, we talk to each other about our jobs, boys, etc. I feel like this is an apartment that the three of us share, we're all invested equally. I can have guests over, I don't fear that my food will mysteriously disappear, there's no poor un-cared for cat to make a mess. It's CLEAN! Happiness is a new, nice apartment. As for Erica - I was mad at her, still am I guess. Unfriended her on Facebook and while I was tempted to find ways to make her miserable after the whole blowout, I decided not to bother. She's just too pathetic with her going-nowhere life, living off of her parents at the age of 30 and never having a job in her life. And we're in a less expensive, higher quality space while she gets stuck with her $527 electric bills. Who's the winner in that situation? *sigh
Axel and I are still going well. Nothing new there! Well, he seems to be just as enthusiastic about my new place as I am. Said something about how it's very nice and that if he had to choose between his place and mine, he'd pick mine. But not that he'd ever live here, because it's too nice and girly. Of course, of course... He left a toothbrush here - first time that's happened in the 1 year and 7 months we've been together. I think that's a testament to how much he likes the new place. O, and last night we were taking a walk in my neighborhood and we came upon a kitty who was so excited to see us and come play that he mewed and pranced his way over to us and insisted we pet him. I wants a loveable little kitty just like him!
Work is...well, I'm a tad dissatisfied. They finally moved me off of the courthouse project, and onto TFANA and OSL. In a way, it's nice to know that I've been upgraded to a true Designer level. No more being someone's personal assistant. On the other hand, I feel like I'm doing the same things over and over, while the other kids that have a year less experience than me are doing the things that I want to be doing - aka designing. Mini-boss went to bat for me when the CFO moved me, asking why I haven't gotten any design phase projects. For some reason, the secret project didn't seem appropriate. I guess next project our office gets, I'm on it. But WHEN?!! I'll never finish my training hours at this pace. Seriously, if they don't put me onto the next new project, I'm out, seriously! We'll see... I guess I'm still learning a lot and it's just a bit of a plateau. One of my best friends at the office just moved on to greener pastures, and I guess I'm just jittery and want to follow...
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Work Rant and then Dance Rant
Part of the joy of being the lunch and learn person is that I get to move all the food to the back room. Yesterday, as I'm placing the first tray on the kitchen table, Jason is already there picking at it, and goes, "Aren't there any desserts?" and I go, "yes" and he goes, "O, well, I'll just wait right here for it." Seriously? SERIOUSLY? So I'm walking back and forth, bringing the desserts, then the salad, then the silverware and finally the drinks, and he's just sitting there stuffing his face going, "God, you volunteered to do this?" No, Jason. I volunteered to set up the presentations. This is just part of the responsibility. I did NOT volunteer to be your waitress, so next time you decide to skip out on the lunch and learn and partake of the food you do nothing to deserve, try offering to help me carry some things over.
Commence Dance Rant:
I had a doozy of a dance class last night. I think I get on the teacher's nerves. It was that really hard advanced level dance class again. There was a really cluless girl who i thought was Chinese taking the class. I didn't think she was that bad, but at one point the teacher was telling her to do a croise (means "cross the legs" in ballet ), and she had no idea what he meant and it was mostly a language barrier thing I think. After class, I was heading out the classroom and i heard him talking to her. He started by just straight out saying, "this class is too hard for you. you need to take an easier class." and when she looked really confused, he started trying Japanese. She kind of nodded and smiled, as in "I have no clue what you're saying," and he got very frustrated and said to her that she also needed to learn English.
By that time I had already waved and said thank you and scootched out the door to what i thought was safety, except that he followed me out and then had a little chat with me about how when he gives me comments, he needs me to give him some sort of acknowledgement that tells him that I understand, like a "thank you." I've been nodding and saying okay, so I guess it really annoyed him that it never occurred to me to say thank you. I guess I just fell out of that habit, because my dance teachers are usually less scary and I can smile and they get my thank you without me really saying it... And then I explained to him that a lot of times, I'm not sure that he's talking to me because I can't see his eyes without my glasses on and then he kind of had a eureka moment and figured I dance in a very small space and don't project because I can't see anything to project to and to focus on. And he mentioned that I should get contacts or some straps for my glasses. Maybe if I was going to be pro, I'd invest in some handy little contacts, but those things sting my eyes and I'd rather not spend the money on them. Didn't tell him that. And then things were really awkward and I didn't know what to say to him so I made some comment about the weather and how I had to beat the rain home and practically ran out the door.
Some people just make me sooo uncomfortable. He's a good teacher though. Boy that was a long story... Going to my usual contemporary teacher's class tomorrow. That will be fun. I'm going to chat with her about this teacher. He's her mentor which is why I started to take his class. She adores him and I've seen them chatting very comfortably together. I guess what I want to figure out is if he's so annoyed by me that I should just give up and take someone else's class. Though, I suppose if I was too horrible, he'd have told me straight out as well that this class is too hard for me. Now he just thinks I need glasses. I'm mildly horrified by the thought that he'll be criticizing me for the rest of the summer about not wearing glasses or contacts. God...
Commence Dance Rant:
I had a doozy of a dance class last night. I think I get on the teacher's nerves. It was that really hard advanced level dance class again. There was a really cluless girl who i thought was Chinese taking the class. I didn't think she was that bad, but at one point the teacher was telling her to do a croise (means "cross the legs" in ballet ), and she had no idea what he meant and it was mostly a language barrier thing I think. After class, I was heading out the classroom and i heard him talking to her. He started by just straight out saying, "this class is too hard for you. you need to take an easier class." and when she looked really confused, he started trying Japanese. She kind of nodded and smiled, as in "I have no clue what you're saying," and he got very frustrated and said to her that she also needed to learn English.
By that time I had already waved and said thank you and scootched out the door to what i thought was safety, except that he followed me out and then had a little chat with me about how when he gives me comments, he needs me to give him some sort of acknowledgement that tells him that I understand, like a "thank you." I've been nodding and saying okay, so I guess it really annoyed him that it never occurred to me to say thank you. I guess I just fell out of that habit, because my dance teachers are usually less scary and I can smile and they get my thank you without me really saying it... And then I explained to him that a lot of times, I'm not sure that he's talking to me because I can't see his eyes without my glasses on and then he kind of had a eureka moment and figured I dance in a very small space and don't project because I can't see anything to project to and to focus on. And he mentioned that I should get contacts or some straps for my glasses. Maybe if I was going to be pro, I'd invest in some handy little contacts, but those things sting my eyes and I'd rather not spend the money on them. Didn't tell him that. And then things were really awkward and I didn't know what to say to him so I made some comment about the weather and how I had to beat the rain home and practically ran out the door.
Some people just make me sooo uncomfortable. He's a good teacher though. Boy that was a long story... Going to my usual contemporary teacher's class tomorrow. That will be fun. I'm going to chat with her about this teacher. He's her mentor which is why I started to take his class. She adores him and I've seen them chatting very comfortably together. I guess what I want to figure out is if he's so annoyed by me that I should just give up and take someone else's class. Though, I suppose if I was too horrible, he'd have told me straight out as well that this class is too hard for me. Now he just thinks I need glasses. I'm mildly horrified by the thought that he'll be criticizing me for the rest of the summer about not wearing glasses or contacts. God...
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Update!
Wow, where has the time gone? Let's play catch-up:
Work: Jackson is winding down. Recently underwent a ridiculously complex security procedure that required providing alibis and character references for the past 7 years of my life, and fingerprinting. Worked on BAM and heard a lot of discontent from my coworkers which somewhat reflected mine. I think my issues are much more deep-seated. They're just upset at the superficial things. Now I'm spending my time working on Orchestra of St. Lukes. I like the project, but what annoys me is that our office finally got a new project and put the other two interns on it despite the fact that they've already worked on that phase a lot, and I SPECIFICALLY requested that I need to work on that phase. Okay, anger showing, time to move on. On the upside, I got to sneak all around the 37 Arts building today, and the super let me peek into Baryshnikov's personal office. Soooo cool! I think it's even better than seeing him, to tell the truth. What if he's a jerk? What if he just completely ignores me? But this way I learn something about him without having to meet him.
Dance: Summer time sucks for dancing. I've been taking Kristin's class all year round, but as she's on tour in the summer and my summer hours don't permit me to make it to Crunch's classes, I've looked into Peridance more. Got my 10-class card. Went to three last week and was completely dead by Saturday. I've taken Sunday, Monday, and I guess Tuesday (because Axel's friend is on tv, and the show is premiering tonight) off to recuperate. Still, going well. Looking forward to kicking things up a notch for the summer.
Roommates: Loud, crazy-sex, sloppy roomie moved out into a place that has bed-bugs. Now she is homeless and surly to the new roommate, Emily. Emily, on the other hand, is lovely. I don't really know what she's like as a roommate, but I like hanging around her, and she does dishes. Chelsea's still awesome, Erica's still great. Maybe is...still Maybe....
Friends: Waz is getting married!! I got my bridesmaid dress, put in my vacation time, bought my flight (well, actually, Axel bought my flight...) and I'm rooming with Hannah, though we don't know what the deal is yet since she's staying an extra night. Waz will be coming to visit at the end of the month. We're going to dinner with probably all the other CMU people in NY. Hopefully we'll get more time to just hang out. Marlen and I have been on the verge of hanging out forever. I think the not-living together has eased my frustrations, but now I never get to see her. I think we'll both be tango dancing on Saturday night, so I'll get to see her then. She sounds like she's doing well with Mark.
Boyfriend: Things are going quite well in this department. His little sister (who's 2 years older than me) came to visit. She came by my place for tacos, and then I brought dinner over there another night (steak, caprese salad, ciao bella sorbet), and then one night when Axel was too busy to entertain, I took her out with me and my coworkers for drinks after work. I had a little too much, or maybe it was mixing beer and liquor, but I felt downright sick at one point, and let out a weird burp thing that made me feel so much better. Fortunately, little sister was unphased. As for boyfriend and I, we have fallen into a routine I think, but in a nice way. Mom finally wants to meet him, don't know when I'll work up the courage to drag him with me to Flushing though. I think she's pretty much decided that he and I will be getting married and having kids together. O dear....
Family: May's currently living in NY. Her office moved temporarily down to the meat packing district so she's no longer able to just walk to work from Grand Central. Meat packing district also sucks because there's nothing there to eat! May and I randomly had lunch one day - we decided to go to "the Bistro Truck" for sandwiches and fries and ate in the park. She mentioned me going over for lunch on my days off, but what to eat there? I've been on everyone's cases about exercising more and eating better. May's been strongly considering getting a Wii and I said if she did, I'd get her the Wii fit package. I'm also going to get Dad the Gazelle elliptical for Father's day. Even if it's only May using it, at least SOMEONE is....
Work: Jackson is winding down. Recently underwent a ridiculously complex security procedure that required providing alibis and character references for the past 7 years of my life, and fingerprinting. Worked on BAM and heard a lot of discontent from my coworkers which somewhat reflected mine. I think my issues are much more deep-seated. They're just upset at the superficial things. Now I'm spending my time working on Orchestra of St. Lukes. I like the project, but what annoys me is that our office finally got a new project and put the other two interns on it despite the fact that they've already worked on that phase a lot, and I SPECIFICALLY requested that I need to work on that phase. Okay, anger showing, time to move on. On the upside, I got to sneak all around the 37 Arts building today, and the super let me peek into Baryshnikov's personal office. Soooo cool! I think it's even better than seeing him, to tell the truth. What if he's a jerk? What if he just completely ignores me? But this way I learn something about him without having to meet him.
Dance: Summer time sucks for dancing. I've been taking Kristin's class all year round, but as she's on tour in the summer and my summer hours don't permit me to make it to Crunch's classes, I've looked into Peridance more. Got my 10-class card. Went to three last week and was completely dead by Saturday. I've taken Sunday, Monday, and I guess Tuesday (because Axel's friend is on tv, and the show is premiering tonight) off to recuperate. Still, going well. Looking forward to kicking things up a notch for the summer.
Roommates: Loud, crazy-sex, sloppy roomie moved out into a place that has bed-bugs. Now she is homeless and surly to the new roommate, Emily. Emily, on the other hand, is lovely. I don't really know what she's like as a roommate, but I like hanging around her, and she does dishes. Chelsea's still awesome, Erica's still great. Maybe is...still Maybe....
Friends: Waz is getting married!! I got my bridesmaid dress, put in my vacation time, bought my flight (well, actually, Axel bought my flight...) and I'm rooming with Hannah, though we don't know what the deal is yet since she's staying an extra night. Waz will be coming to visit at the end of the month. We're going to dinner with probably all the other CMU people in NY. Hopefully we'll get more time to just hang out. Marlen and I have been on the verge of hanging out forever. I think the not-living together has eased my frustrations, but now I never get to see her. I think we'll both be tango dancing on Saturday night, so I'll get to see her then. She sounds like she's doing well with Mark.
Boyfriend: Things are going quite well in this department. His little sister (who's 2 years older than me) came to visit. She came by my place for tacos, and then I brought dinner over there another night (steak, caprese salad, ciao bella sorbet), and then one night when Axel was too busy to entertain, I took her out with me and my coworkers for drinks after work. I had a little too much, or maybe it was mixing beer and liquor, but I felt downright sick at one point, and let out a weird burp thing that made me feel so much better. Fortunately, little sister was unphased. As for boyfriend and I, we have fallen into a routine I think, but in a nice way. Mom finally wants to meet him, don't know when I'll work up the courage to drag him with me to Flushing though. I think she's pretty much decided that he and I will be getting married and having kids together. O dear....
Family: May's currently living in NY. Her office moved temporarily down to the meat packing district so she's no longer able to just walk to work from Grand Central. Meat packing district also sucks because there's nothing there to eat! May and I randomly had lunch one day - we decided to go to "the Bistro Truck" for sandwiches and fries and ate in the park. She mentioned me going over for lunch on my days off, but what to eat there? I've been on everyone's cases about exercising more and eating better. May's been strongly considering getting a Wii and I said if she did, I'd get her the Wii fit package. I'm also going to get Dad the Gazelle elliptical for Father's day. Even if it's only May using it, at least SOMEONE is....
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Revolution!
I've been watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution lately. He's a cry-baby compared to Gordon Ramsay, but I think he's really onto something. Getting processed food out of the school system is incredibly important. Parents always tell their children that school is important, school is right. So, following that line of thought, then isn't the food that they serve in teh school cafeterias also alright? We're telling children that french fries are considered a vegetable, and that chocolate milk all the time is okay as long as you're drinking the milk. I was fortunate that at home, my mom cooked dinner every night so I knew that one could cook and the food can be good if not better. But what about the kids that don't have parents at home who cook? If they eat chicken nuggets at home and then have chicken nuggets at home, then they probably think that chicken nuggets is what they should be eating. Shouldn't school be where kids learn things that their parents can't teach them? Shouldn't schools not only teach us what a food pyramid is, but also put their teachings into practice? I love this show. Jamie's using reality television and turning it into a tool to fix what's wrong with our society.
Friday, April 09, 2010
Why I Love My Boyfriend
Last night's text conversation:
Me: Finally leaving the office (10pm). Yuck. The OT is looking really crappy for the next week.
Axel: Yikes, evilness.
Axel: The good news is that I am going to cook tomorrow night and we can watch "Precious" afterwards. :-)
Me: Yay! Best boyfriend ever! :)
Axel: Right on cue :-)
Me: Finally leaving the office (10pm). Yuck. The OT is looking really crappy for the next week.
Axel: Yikes, evilness.
Axel: The good news is that I am going to cook tomorrow night and we can watch "Precious" afterwards. :-)
Me: Yay! Best boyfriend ever! :)
Axel: Right on cue :-)
