Uh Huh

Everything has been moving so fast. Have I been in New York for two minutes, two days, two weeks, two months, or two years?

The answer is two months.

I have been here for what simultaneously feels like a lifetime and a millisecond. I suppose that’s what a city this large and in charge can do to a person – make time relevantly irrelevant.

July has been such a whirlwind! Between picking up two part time jobs which leads to having sleep for dinner, getting more hands-on with my internship, and moving from one end of Manhattan to the other, I can still firmly say I have zero intent of leaving this crazy city any time soon.

The part time jobs are great, the wine store is EASILY the best job ever – I get a discount on the wine and spirits AND last hour we’re open we get to try the wine – the job is a dream!

This month my internship has also been getting more in depth.

In the fall, we have a Mercedes-Benz press drive event that has our journalists driving around New York and some surrounding states. Which leads me to my first hands on experience with OSK, a couple weeks ago two girls I work with and I got to test out the routes we had planned for the journalists which to put it simply, was amazing.

It was my first time ever being in Connecticut and it was so gorgeous. Greenwich is so cute, like imagine taking Pendleton and giving everyone who lives there 1 million dollars and adjusting the town to look like it’s a home for millionaires who still want that ‘small town’ feel.

If I end up living in Greenwich one day, I will not complain.

What was also cool about testing out the routes for our journalists, was realizing that this is a large part of the job.

Driving around, testing out the restaurants we’ve been doing research on, and making sure it’s the right vibe for the client… that is essentially what this career is.

So this has made me incredibly introspective.

This job is basically researching places across North America I’d like to visit – hullo vacay planning – driving on random beautiful roads, and drinking wine and tasting random foods.

This is what I’ve done in my leisure time essentially my entire life.

Have I found a career getting paid to do what I enjoy doing in my spare time?

I seriously think so.

Which leads me to some HUGE news that most of you know by now:

I AM OFFICIALLY PART OF THE OSK TEAM, AU REVOIR INTERN *low budget* LYFE.

The reason behind my incredibly quick promotion at OSK – note that my internship is 6 months and it’s only been two – is that our office manager has put in her two weeks. My bosses Andre and Mara have both expressed that I fit incredibly well with the team and they wanted to offer me her position before seeking anyone else. They also mentioned I would not be at all obligated to stay on past my internship, but to note that the minute a project coordinator position is available I would be up for it if I wanted it.

In the midst of moving up in the world, I’ve also been moving OUT.

This apartment hunt has been incredibly difficult and stressful and I am so grateful to be moved in somewhere that I am allowed to stay as long as my heart desires.

Shoutout to my fam for helping me move this weekend, and also giving my bank account a breather while visiting!

The lease at the place in Harlem was up the 31st (today) and for weeks I have been seeing several apartments across Manhattan and Brooklyn desperately trying to find one that was within my budget and close enough to work.

I had been through it all, and was at such low points in trying to find a space that I nearly settled with a room that was just cleared of bedbugs.

Then the clouds parted and God shined a light down on an apartment in Harlem that I desperately wanted and that was seemingly perfect.

But the rooming situation in NYC is super competitive right now due to school starting back up and everyone moving to the city, so there was a handful of other people also looking at this apartment.

And to quote one of my colleagues, Khue, “In NYC, there’s always someone better,” which kept running through my head with the Harlem apartment and naturally lead me to bribery.

I get a killer discount at the wine shop I work and what 20 somethings don’t like having a connection to cheap alcohol?

The bribery worked.

I got the apartment. But for some reason I still felt like I needed to keep my options open or have a backup if Harlem didn’t work out.

Which was a good call because after God parted the clouds to shine the light, he tossed a rainbow down on Chinatown.

I found a place that was nearly $200 cheaper and WAY closer to work AND has a closet AND came furnished with a queen size bed and desk.

Where’s the downside you ask?

Five other people live there, there is one bathroom, it’s a third floor walk-up, and it’s above a Buddhist temple.

But that’s no biggie, right?

Only time will tell because I ditched Harlem, and I am currently a Chinatown resident with the sweet, sweet smell of Chinese food at my fingertips and the Lower East Side just a block away.

Two months in and this has already been such a crazy, surreal ride. I cannot wait to see where I am two more months from now.

 

 

**Pic is of oculus near the World Trade Center

 

Like reading my experiences? Check out my Travel Blog from when I studied abroad in France and ran around Europe for 5 months.