Celebration - Cool & The Gang

It is seriously time to celebrate good times because...


I GOT A FULL-TIME PAID INTERNSHIP AT ALLISON & PARTNERS!!! Allison & Partners is a PR firm that has offices all over the country, and a variety of clients, from Johnny Rockets to L'Oreal. My friend McClain works in the DC office, and she recommended me to the New York office. I have been persistently following up with them since my interview in January, and it's finally paid off! They finally have space in the office to bring on an intern, and that intern is ME! I can't even contain my excitement!!! I'm well on my way to having a big-girl job!

Another reason to celebrate: today was my day off. It didn't really feel like I had last weekend off because my friends visited from DC, which was also one, long celebration. It was just nice to have some peace and time to myself, as well as some time to run errands.

I just realized I haven't mentioned it in my blog yet, but for Lent, I decided to give up meat. That being said, this morning, I made a "frat sandwich" - Carlton's fraterminology - for breakfast, with a veggie sausage patty and it was honestly so delicious. Don't hate on the fake meat until you try it. It's got all of the flavor, and none of the guilt. Morning Star should totally pay me and use that as their tagline.

I didn't give up meat because I indulge in it. I actually don't eat it all that often. However, sometimes I subconsciously eat it, and if it's the only good option, I'll eat it. I haven't eaten meat for the past three weeks, and lately, I have become so cognizant of what I'm putting into my body. Without it in my system, I don't get indigested, which has always been a huge obstacle for me. I also feel more energetic and I feel better, overall: mentally, morally, and physically.

I've been thinking about going vegetarian since last March, when I went to Honduras and saw chickens happily running around the hotel in the morning, and a grilled chicken thigh on my dinner plate that evening. It just seemed wrong that I was playing with the little chicks, and then eating their mother's leg for dinner. So when I got back from Honduras, I reduced my meat intake in honor of those hotel chickens.

For Lent, I took it a step further and cut myself off, cold turkey, pun intended. I thought this would be a good way to try out vegetarianism, and see if it's something I can or want to do. So far, it hasn't been very difficult. I did crave wings the other day - which I don't even like - when Carlton and Jay got them last Saturday, but other than that, I haven't missed meat in my diet. I'm so glad I decided to give up meat for lent because it forces me to cook, which I rarely do! Plus, eating out all the time in New York breaks the wallet. I make sandwiches, salads, omelettes, pasta... just call me Chef Chi.

I work at Madewell tomorrow through Monday. Oh, happy day. Sarcasm aside, my A&P internship starts in two weeks, and I'm thrilled about it, which is so refreshing and relieving. It'll be nice having some consistency in my life, for a change.

This weekend, I insist that you get yourself a drink (or four) and celebrate my employment at Allison & Partners! Tootles!

c.k.

NOTE: I wrote this at 2 AM, and I fell asleep before posting.

A Beautiful Day - India. Arie

Life is a journey

Not a destination

There are no mistakes

Just chances we've taken

Lay down your regrets

Cause all we have is now

Wake up in the morning

And get out of bed

Start making a mental

List in my head

Of all of the things

That I am grateful for

Early in the morning

It's the dawn of a new day

New hopes, new dreams, new ways

I open up my eyes and

I open up my mind and

I wonder how life will surprise me today

Early in the morning

It's the dawn of a new day

New hopes, new dreams, new ways

I open up my heart and

I'm gonna do my part and

Make this a positively beautiful day

Na na na na

Na na na na na

It's a beautiful day...

India Arie is so damn inspirational. These are some of her other musical gems:

• Heart of the Matter 
• Wings of Forgiveness
• Long Goodbye
• Video
• Yellow
• Therapy
• Summer

Her songs always put me in such a great mood, but just as importantly, I love that she sings about matters that actually matter. Don't get me wrong: I am a sucker for solid beats accompanied by brainless lyrics. But my favorite artists sing about real things. Her lyrics actually mean something, and it's so damn refreshing. She's so underrated, so go buy, Youtube... or illegally download some of her songs. She will move you.

New York has been a total whirlwind. It's only been two weeks, and it feels like I've been here for a month. During my first week in Brooklyn, I either hung out in my room, living room, or a local coffee shop, fittingly named Sit & Wonder. My daily regiment was: sit in front of my computer writing a million cover letters, search for jobs, and exercise. I got lost a countless number times. I felt so paranoid, while walking home, that I was going to be mistaken for a child and get kidnapped. I felt so small in this big, bustling city. I was trying to get acclimated with Prospect Heights, learn the subway routes, and find the best grocery store.

During my first week in the city, I applied, interviewed, and accepted a job at Madewell in SoHo, working part-time while searching for a big-girl job. I started working two Sundays ago and worked almost forty hours in five days. Going from my first week, where I worked zero hours (although applying for jobs is a job in itself), to working almost forty hours, was like going from zero to sixty in 3.5 (If you caught the Rihanna reference, there's a reason we're friends). There were days where CLIF bars were my only form of sustenance, and nights I spent folding cardigans and spacing hangers. Let me tell you: Madewell SoHo ain't no joke. It gets chaotic on a Monday. But I really like the people that I work with, and I get a serious rush from being inexorably busy. So, Week 2: I met a ton of people, worked too many hours, and started feeling like a real New Yorker.

My friends drove four hours from DC to visit me in Brooklyn last weekend, and we had so much fun exploring Brooklyn and catching up. But when they left on Sunday, I started feeling homesick for the first time since I've moved here. After they left, I called my mom to tell her about my weekend, and that made it worse. I am so happy I took such a bold leap of faith by moving to Brooklyn by myself, but I still miss the comfort, security, and loving company of home, without question. It's exciting to meet new people, explore new places, and create a new "home," but there will never be anything like Great Falls, Virginia. And it doesn't help that I am having serious separation anxiety from being apart from Sadie for this long, and everyone and his mom has a dog in Brooklyn to remind me that my psychotic, energetic priss of a dog isn't here.

Good news! I just got an internship working at a showroom for a clothing company called Sienna Rose. I'm starting next week, working twice a week, and I'll be doing marketing, researching competitors, and promoting the line to buyers from department stores, like Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom, and Macy's. It's unpaid, but I'm really excited to get some exposure and experience in the fashion industry. I'm continuing to apply places and interview with people, so hopefully I'll find something more permanent soon. But for now, my Madewell paychecks will suffice, and my internship is just the beginning of my career in fashion.

Let's end this blog-novel with an amusing story.

So at Crunch Fitness, they offer an African dance class, and I went two Tuesdays ago. I had high hopes but zero expectations, and I honestly have never had so much fun working out in my life. There were three guys sitting at the end of the dance studio, wailing on their djembes, and we would dance across the floor, flail our arms, legs, and head to the beat of the drums, and it was totally liberating. Now, with all that said, I think I had a little too much fun. Holding my head up for the next five days was utterly painful because I flailed my neck so unabatedly during the class and crucially strained it. I always fully commit, especially when it comes to dancing, and I just pushed myself a little too hard. Basically, I'm an idiot, and looked like one for five days straight. I haven't been able to go back since my exhilarating (yet excruciating) dance experience because I worked late last Tuesday, and I'm working late tomorrow. However, I am impatiently anticipating next Tuesday!! Seriously, it was so much fun. Even if you don't dance, you should try it. There is something so cathartic about moving your body to the beat of a drum.

Now go listen to some India.Arie, take an African dance class, and be bold. I am keeping up with my new year's resolution to live unabatedly. I think it's time for you to hop on this one-woman bandwagon.

c.k.

Empire State of Mind - Alicia Keys, featuring Jay-Z

I'm officially living in New York!

So why the sudden move? Well, let me tell you! Last March, I met a girl, named Kelly Ryan, on my very first service trip to Honduras with Students Helping Honduras. We became really good friends, and I visited her at her Brooklyn apartment all the time. Fast-forward exactly one year: she gets a job in Honduras working for SHH, she has a room in a four-bedroom Brooklyn apartment that needs to be filled, and I've been wanting to move to New York since... forever ago. She left most of her furniture, so all I had to do was bring clothes. Sans job, I took a leap of faith and moved into her apartment. It's probably one of the boldest moves I've ever made in my life, but I'm the biggest proponent of living outside of your comfort zone, and I could not be happier about my decision. Of course I'm nervous, overwhelmed, and a little too paranoid that I'm going to get kidnapped, but I'm also looking forward to this new chapter of my life, living in this huge city, learning to live on my own.

I moved half of my stuff in last Wednesday, went home for the weekend, and came back with more stuff on Sunday and officially got settled. HUGE thanks to Becky, Erin, and Zack for driving me all the way to Brooklyn and helping me move in. You guys are definitely city girls (and boy) in my book!

Yesterday was my first official day living in the city, so I ran a few errands. I signed up at the Crunch Fitness in Fort Greene, and worked out next to Adrian Grenier from Entourage. Totally normal. On my walk to the gym, I saw a man lying in the middle of the sidewalk with a plastic Iron Man mask on with half his crack revealed and five policemen surrounding him. He seemed pretty harmless, but I guess they wanted to create a barrier around him just in case he awoke from his sidewalk slumber.

I ate lunch at a vegan/vegetarian deli called Healthy Nibbles, took a peek inside a vintage store called 1 of a Find, and applied to the Madewell in Soho. I got so lost on the way home on the subway, and ended up in Sketchville. I asked some reliable-looking ladies for directions, and I got back fine. I did some light grocery shopping, which means I bought the essentials: fifty CLIF bars, hot sauce, soup, and rice. Then I spent the rest of the evening watching The Bachelor, sending my resume out to the world, and chatting with my roommates. It was a pretty solid first day.

Today, and probably the rest of the week, will be more running errands, more working out (and hopefully an Adrian Grenier sighting!), and more applying to jobs. I am looking forward to having more run-ins with celebrities and sloshed superheroes.

c.k.