New York: Week Two

Monday, May 13, 2019

Monday felt like a Monday – I did not want to leave for work while I still had a guest.

Today one of my co-workers gave me a list of some recommended lunch restaurants so I checked out Bombay – a vegan, Indian restaurant. I recently found out that I recieve $20 per day as a meal stipend so I am trying to balance home cooked meals with delicious lunches.

My long day was made better by coming home to a smiling face! At the end of my work day, we met up and got take out from… Rama Thai. The food is AMAZING.

We then ended the night by watching the very last GOT episode… needless to say we were not impressed.

Tuesday, May 14, 2019

Tuesday was a great day! One of my goals for New York was to be a “regular” somewhere. I was envisioning some classic NY thing such as Italian guy named “Tony” at a deli to know me & my order. I was thinking that it would be my “grounding” point, that somewhere in the millions of people, someone knew my name.

But then on Tuesday morning, I realized something – I have already become a regular somewhere. That somewhere is a fruit stand on 6th avenue. Every morning I had stopped and gotten a banana without thinking about my “regular” goal. On Tuesday, the fruit stand man gave me three bananas for the cost of two! Goal one down, a million more to go.

Yay free banana!

Not to keep talking about bananas BUT the story isn’t over. During my lunch break I decided to give away my free banana to a homless man/woman. I saw someone asking for change so I held out my banana and smiled and said, “I don’t have change but you can have this banana.” The person took a minute and then screamed at me: “F*** YOU AND YOUR BANANA.”

New York is such a lovely city!!!!!

After work, a co-worker invited me out for tacos at Tacombi. It was super loud but extremely delicious!

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Wednesday I woke up early to register for my Social Security Number. I expected a long long line but instead I was processed in 4 minutes and then had my morning to walk around (and get my steps in – I want to get a minimum of 10 000 every day)!

At work I had to run a few errands to the Upper East Side – how glam? It would be glamerous if I wasn’t running back and forth in the summer heat. I don’t know how I am going to survive August in NYC! I miss my igloo back in Canada already.

After work I met up with a friend from Quebec for little drinks & snack at The View. It is a rotating restaurant on the 48th floor of a hotel. We met at the perfect time to see the sunset on the skyline. I would not come back as the drinks prices were outrageous (even for NY) but it was a cool experience!

Thursday, May 16, 2019

Thursday was another long work day. I discovered how lucky I am to have Madison Square Park so close to the office. As I mentioned before, being in NYC feels very natural. Some days I reflect upon how lucky I am to be able to here. It’s so easy to take advantage of things here, such as eating lunch beside the iconic Flat Iron Building.

There was a private event planned Thursday evening, so I spent the day going inbetween calligraphers, the UES, and the office. I can’t say much other than it was quite an exciting event – quite possibly the epitome of what I expected (and feared?) from my office & line of work.

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Friday, May 17, 2019

Finally Friday! Today I felt the affects of commuting 40 minutes each way every day.

To celebrate the weekend, I went to the Morgan Library and Museum. On Friday nights admission is free for a few hours! Looking at all huge library made me feel like I need to read more books!

When I was looking at the Egyptian artifacts I felt this twang of regret – I am absolutely fascinated with ancient Egypt. I think that I should start saving up for a trip there (after Russia of course).

It made me think about how my plans have changed drastically. Of course I am beyond thankful to be in NYC this summer but it is so different than what I ever planned on doing. I think that 1st year university Tara would say that graduated university Tara is a capitalist sell-out. I mean I would be right, I had always planned on taking summer off of work to volunteer to make the world a better place. But instead I am volunteering to help the people who help the 1% throw parties! What I am doing this summer is purely for selfish (but essential) reasons – professional skill development and resume building. I would have been crazy to turn down this opportunity.

But hey world don’t worry, just you wait! Once I am successful and established in my career then hippie philanthropic Tara will be back and better than ever!

So far after just two weeks of being an intern, I have learned that I want to be a boss. This experience is very humbling but I just cannot wait to have my opinion heard and respected, be asked for advice and to guide others. I just need to find something that I am passionate about enough to become an expert!

Thanks for reading!

Xoxo,

Tara