"The city never sleeps better slip you an Ambien"

Truer words have never been spoken. This city really never does sleep. Friday night a bunch of girls went to see Sex and the City. I LOVED it and it was so cool to watch it in the city. Saturday the program organized a bus tour of the city, which turned out to be fun. I was kind of iffy on whether or not I'd enjoy it because it seemed like such a touristy thing to do, but getting to see all of the sights without walking around is fine by me anyday. We ended in Times Square and ate lunch at the Hardrock Cafe. The meal was paid for but we only had four options to choose from: hamburger, cheeseburger, veggie burger, or chicken caeser salad. Considering I don't like hamburgers, I was left with the salad. In New York, it's state law to put the calories on the menus, and it really makes you think about what you're about to eat. Well, the salad was more calories than the burgers. After lunch, my two suitmates, Allison, Heather, and I walked up to Central Park and around Columbus Circle. That night we went to dinner at the Riviera Cafe in Greenwich Village. And of course we stopped to get FroYo at Pinkberry on our way back to the dorm.

Sunday, a big group of us went to the Lexington Street Festival. It's great place to sample greasy food (no calories listed) and do some bargain shopping. After that, Allison and I went shopping around SoHo. Which reminds me that on our bus tour, the guide informed all Texans that Houston street is pronounced 'How-stun.' SoHo is the area south of Houston street while NoHo is north. We stopped by Magnolia Bakery and bought four cupcakes each. We just couldn't contain ourselves. We also saw some paparazzi chasing down who we think was Whitney Port. Just around the block from Magnolia was Carrie Bradshaw's apartment. It was absolutely adorable. That night we went to Caliente Cab and had some great Mexican food. I would go back now in a heartbeat. Today, a group from the program went to Coney Island, which from Union Square is about a 45 minute subway ride. Oh and let me tell you, chivalry is dead in New York City. I stood the entire way. Once we finally arrived at Coney Island, it was CrAzYyYyY. It was opening weekend and Memorial Day. My roomates and I didn't stay very long. The lines for the rides were miles long and the beach was packed. One week down and I am exhausted.

First Days in the City and on the Job

I've only been here four days and I feel like I've lived here my entire life. I'm in love. I moved into my room on Sunday and met my roomate and two suitmates, who are all really sweet. Then my dad and I went shopping to get some much needed necessities. We didn't have time to really go out to dinner because I had a welcome reception that night, so we just grabbed Chipotle which is always fine by me. It's right across the street and as my roomate Allison says, it's both a gift and a curse. Monday I had orientation for four hours and they just told us about the program, NYU policies, and about our course credit. After that, dad and I practiced my route to work. My program provides us with unlimited metro cards and luckily Wall Street is just a few stops downtown. We went to a late lunch an Italian restaurant called Tony's and then for dessert that night, we went to Max Brenner. I had the smores pizza. DELICIOUS! It may just be the next Serendipity and fortunately/unfortunately it too is only a block away from my dorm. My dad left the next morning. I miss him already!

Tuesday was my first day of work. I was so nervous. I started at 8:30am, but if you know me at all, you know that I was sitting outside at 7:50. I know, I'm crazy. When I finally went in, I had to show my ID and check in to get my daily name tag. Then I walk past the security guard and go to the elevators for the 40-55 floors. I'm on the 47th and my ears pop everytime. The first hour or so consisted of me filling out tons of forms and then I had to go to a place on Broadway to get fingerprinted. I was not too thrilled considering I just got my nails done. The rest of the day, I just called different companies and asked them if they're currently working with a broker, if it's local or out of state, and so on. For the first week or so, I'll mainly be working on the sales aspect and then for the majority of the summer I'll get to help with the investments. My boss, Rodney, is the Senior VP of Private Client Services.
I love my job and I love this city.

Packing

Packing: there is currently no word or task I despise more. Packing is always unenjoyable but it is especially daunting when you're packing for two months. I feel like I have to pack my entire closet. What if I don't bring those pair of shoes but end up wishing I had. Or that blue top with long sleeves because I think it will be too warm for it, but one night the weather happens to be chilly. It's an exhausting process. Luckily, I have the world's #1 organizer/packer at my disposal. My mom is the BEST. Without her, I'd just be staring at my clothes and nothing would get packed. Maybe I'll stuff her in one of my suitcases so she can unpack everything once I get there. She's pretty good at that too.

Where I'll be spending most of my time...

In 18 days I'll be in New York. It feels like it's going to be the longest 18 days of my life! All day, everday I sit and think about what my summer in New York will be like. You might say I obsess over it. I find out my roomate in less than two days and am SO excited. I constantly keep checking my email and our programs facebook group to see if there has been an update. I've known for months now that this summer I'll be staying at NYUs Palladium dorm. Well today I decided to use my creeper skills and went on Google Earth to try and find it. It's kind of hard to see and it goes up wayyyy higher than the picture shows, but you get the idea. And if any of you would like to write me over the summer, I would love it. I promise I'll write back! Once I find out my room number, I'll post the address. I also went and found where I'll be working this summer. The Chicago Investment Group's office is located in the Trump Building in suite 4700. I already feel like a real New York business woman. Ahhhhh! This is making me too excited. 18 days. 18 days. 18 days.