endless journey

If co-op were a novel, this would be the last chapter...

2011-03-10T23:32:00.001-06:00

I can't believe all that I've done so far in my life, especially over the past five years! I'm 22 and I've lived in seven cities. Out of those seven, I've lived in five of those cities (plus Cincinnati) over the past 2 1/2 years:

1. Aurora, IL
2. Cincinnati, OH
3. Milwaukee, WI
4. NY, NY
5. Fort Myers, FL
6. London, ENG
7. Madison, WI

Over co-op, I've lived in almost every housing situation a person can live in...

Milwaukee- I lived in a hotel room. This was insanely awesome. Someone made the bed every day, took out the trash, washed the dishes, cleaned the room, and gave me breakfast and birthday presents.

NYC- I lived in an apartment on St. Mark's Place over a porn shop appropriately named "Cherries." I was in an attic that had a trundle bed that literally extended to the size of the room. I lived with a guy I didn't know and I didn't even have a bedroom door. This lasted 3 days before I moved out.
From there, I moved into "The Pod" for about two weeks. The Pod was a hotel on the east side. I had a room with a sink and mirror and shared a bathroom in the hall. The hotel was mainly filled with student travelers.
Finally, I moved into Webster apartments in Chelsea. This was a female hostel/ dorm. I had my own little white room with a concrete floor. I swear it wasn't an asylum (I'd know... I'll get to that later).

Fort Myers- I lived in a sweet FL condo (pastel walls, dolphin statues, pool and golf course included). Amazing. Enough said.

London- I lived in dorms. And these dorms use to be an asylum. In fact, some of the buildings weren't transformed from the asylum. I guess there were issues with the government. So technically, I can say I lived in an asylum (though I don't feel it's wise of me to walk around claiming such things). The bathrooms were hilarious. They were like airplane bathrooms. You could stand in the shower and reach out and touch the sink on the other side. And in between the shower and the sink was the toilet. Oh London, you are missed.

Verona/ Madison- I'm living in a house (something normal for a change). I'm renting a room and live with a UW professor during the week as well as two cats and a guinea pig. On the weekends, I live with the pets plus a golden lab, the woman who owns the house, and her daughter. I'm the only person who is actually living in the house 7 days a week.

It's been quite the crazy adventure for me over the past few years. I've grown a lot as a person. There were deaths in the family, relationships and friendships ended while new ones formed, goals changed, skills improved, knowledge expanded, and so on. I've learned how to draw, how to construct patterns, how to sew, how to use a mac (and fall in love with it), how to appreciate art and design and what the difference is between the two.

Co-op has only re-affirmed for me that work must come second. I value relationships above all. I've made new, and have, amazing friends. My family has been the best support system around. Without people to share my stories and journey with, what would I have? With that said, I have no intention of holding myself back from accomplishing what I desire. Co-op hasn't always been easy, but I've grown immensely through these experiences. I'm extremely proud of where I am now. I'm on the right path, without a doubt, and I certainly don't regret any of it. I'm ecstatic and frightened of what's ahead, but I know wherever I go next, it will be with purpose.

I probably won't post again from Madison. I leave in about one week and I really want to enjoy the time here with my friends.

Love you all and see you soon!

Sam

Foggy Thoughts

2011-02-19T18:10:00.000-06:00

One thing that I've learned from spending the winter in Wisconsin is how to drive in terrible weather. This week I endured driving in dense fog. It was unlike anything I've seen (or not seen in this case) before. And frankly, I don't want to experience it again. I fear that won't be the case. The fog was so bad that parts of the highway between work and home closed down on Wednesday and Thursday due to pile ups. On Wednesday, they passed out maps at work on how to take back roads to Madison (probably 3/4 of LE employees live near/in Madison, if not more). Pretty much everybody began to rush out of work to tackle the longer drive, the fog, and the setting sun. Not a great combo.

Thursday morning wasn't much better. There was another pile up on the highway. About 50 feet up there were fire trucks, flares, cop cars, and ambulances blocking off the highway and pushing traffic off to a side street. And on the side street, there was a line of cars pulled over because nobody knew how to get to work. I joined that line and tried to use my GPS on my phone. Unfortunately, the perks of being in the country is little/ no cell service (every phone call gets disconnected AT LEAST once, if not 3 times). Essentially, my GPS couldn't determine my location. But in all seriousness, a perk of living in the country is being around friendly people. A man with a chicken coop on his truck pulled over and walked down the line of cars and and helped give directions. He was so helpful and quite the gift to me that morning. I was really hating the country, Madison, Dodgeville, weather, the commute, all of it. But when that man pulled over, he reminded me about how great the people really are here. I'll miss that. I'll miss them.

Work is going well. I've been put in charge of designing three tops for LEBO (Lands' End Business Outfitters). Companies like Best Buy, AT&T, and Chase bank buy from LEBO. So this is actually pretty awesome! One day I'll walk into Best Buy and say to the greeter, "Hey... Hey, guess what? I designed that shirt you're wearing. You're Welcome. " ;) Jokes. But, it's pretty exciting. I'm also still working on bottoms for Core and Canvas lines. Also pretty cool.

This week I was in a fashion show at Lands' End. The goal was to raise money for women's heart disease. We ended up raising over $500. All of the UC interns and merchants in training (17 of us total) were instructed to create a red outfit from LE clothes. We then modeled the clothes in a fashion show where employees voted for the best outfit. The catch was that they had to pay at least $1 for each vote. It was a lot of fun! Here are some pics

I think the next post is going to be a reflection over where I've been in the past 2 1/2 yrs and where I'm heading. Something to look forward to. Love you and miss you all. Prepare yourself to be hugged tightly upon my return.

Digging My Way Out

2011-02-05T10:38:00.002-06:00

I’m half way! Co-op always goes by so fast. Or perhaps that’s just life. A lot has happened since I last wrote. Here’s a breakdown:

1. I had car problems that resulted in me getting a new battery (despite it being a young 3 years of age). In addition, I had to get a new alternator. It was during this little situation that I experienced small town love. The mechanic gave me a ride to and from work (from the shop). Co-workers drove me to and from my house. People are so nice here. Also, the mechanic was insanely cheap. I’m not complaining.

2. There was the great Blizzard of 2011 (and I survived). I bought up all the pretzels and 20 oz cokes at Walgreens in order to prepare for at least two days worth of isolation. Little did I know that I would be trapped for less than 24 hours. Don’t get me wrong, the roads weren’t great, but Wisconsin knows how to prepare and clean up. Props yo. Here are a few pics of the aftermath. There were (and still are) piles of snow taller than me. It’s pretty crazy and cool. I wish I brought my sweet snow suit. Bummer.

You can't tell, but the driveway is to the left of those giant piles.

The piles are taller than the shovel. You can see where I shoveled the pathway to the house. It was about 1 1/2 feet tall.

The pile of snow was over 4 feet tall. Probably around 5 feet. I'm 5'6". This kinda puts it in perspective.

3. I’ve been bored at work for the past two weeks. I do love my job, don’t get me wrong. But it’s so boring right now. I literally spend 8 hours a day surfing blogs for fashion trends. You can only do that for so long without seeing stars and stripes….well, stripes are actually a big trend this year. I’ll leave them out of this.

4. My living situation is interesting. People are coming and going all the time. During the week, a UW professor lives with me. She’s nice (too nice) and makes sardines and oysters. On the weekends, the mom comes home and sometimes her daughter from college. I adore them. With the mom comes a lab and with the daughter, two cats. This co-op has taught me that I am NOT an animal person, except for my fishies Gill and Ted (God rest his soul). Cats are sneaky and jump out at you because somehow YOU managed the scare THEM. They have it all backwards ;)

5. I knitted a cozy cowl neck scarf. I’m pretty pleased with it. The quality of construction could be better. But I try not to stress over knitting. It’s suppose to be relaxing J Here’s how it turned out:

6. I’m starting to look for full times jobs. I have no idea what I’m looking for or where I’m looking to go. I'll update you on my progress, but please don't ask about it. It's stressful and I have to focus on graduating first.

7. I miss London and Paris and all of their quirky qualities. I’m open to opportunities in either location. Thankfully, I’m in the right field for relocating there. Gotta love fashion.

And here is where I fare thee well. I hope I haven't bore you. If I have, you should have stopped reading back at #3. I can’t be held responsible for your choices.

Lovez.

Key to My Heart, Key to Success, Key to My Car?

2011-01-19T21:57:00.000-06:00

Week two has left me and week three said, "hello," with snow. In fact, it snows every day here. Just in case you were curious.

I'm still enjoying my job. My team is amazing and I've had the opportunity to do some cool things in the past week. We're wrapping up Fall/ Holiday 2011 and I'm pretty pumped to start designing for Spring 2012.

Madison is a lovely city, but I'm not sure it's for me. There are two "parts" to Madison: University of Wisconsin and a giant capital building (neither of which I have too much of an interest in). So now you may ask yourself, "Self, what is there to do in Madison on the weekends?" And now I shall pass along the great knowledge that has been so forcefully fed to me: "You eat."

Twice in the past week I went down to "The Square" (downtown) for dinner. The Old Fashioned is a hot spot for tourists and locals alike. They offer at least 4 cheese platters, fried cheese curds, a wide array of Wisconsin beer, and their famous "The Old Fashioned" drink. My taste-buds were pleased, but my wallet cringed. I also checked out Cooper's Tavern on The Square. The food was pretty good. The atmosphere was quaint and it actually reminded me of a restaurant I went to in NYC. Once again, the food was overpriced. Perhaps what I really paid for was the view:

I feel as if I have a calling to find fabulous local coffee shops every time I move to a new city. However, I now realize that my mission has expanded.

As most of you know, my family own a cupcake shop called Manna Cupcake Cafe. And now, because of Manna, I feel obligated to seek out all cupcake shops in a 30 mile radius of my current location and indulge in, I mean taste test, our "competition." This philosophy also applies to coffee. My perspective on coffee has changed since I've been a barista. I now have urges to jump behind the espresso bar at said local coffee shops and say to them, "Here, let me show you how to do this," and "I'll pay you the $5.00 if you just let me make it myself."

Sadly, I am yet to fall in love with a coffee shop here. No worries though, I'm not giving up on finding a temporary replacement for the glorious coffee that is handcrafted at Manna. I also am not giving up on finding cupcakes in the Madison area that can cure my hellish nights when I'm in delicious Raspberry Bismark cupcake withdraw. I did find a place downtown that sold cupcakes, but the cupcakes simply did not compare:

I leave you with a confession: I was grateful to be in a small, safe town such as Verona this past Saturday. I was getting ready to start my Saturday adventures when I realized that my car needed to be scraped off. Like most people, I wanted my interior to heat up to a toasty marshmallow temperature as I scraped my car. When I got out of the car, I locked the door behind me out of habit.

Like a hungry puppy, I looked through the car window just to stare at my keys dangling in the ignition, my purse on the passenger seat, and my cell phone nestled inside my purse. Perhaps it was out of human instinct, or stupidity, but I continually tried to pull my locked car door open. It was almost as if I told myself that I could will it open if I just thought about it hard enough. Then again, if I had OnStar that would have worked (but I don't). Instead, I walked my flustered self across the street and made friends with my neighbors. They took me in and let me make long distance phone calls on their cell phones. If that doesn't scream, "New Best Friends," I don't know what does. That reminds me, I need to send them a Thank You note and some cupcakes. If only I had access to a cupcakery...

Cold As Ice

2011-01-08T23:27:00.001-06:00

Join me as I milk cows and make cheese in Verona, Wisconsin. Or at the very least, you can read my blog all about it. And come to think of it, I most likely won't be doing either of the above. However, I do plan on eating plenty of fried cheese curds (don't judge until you try). So, here we go...

I have an awesome brother who drove with me up to Verona/ Madison, WI. We went up through Chicago (love you, I do) and spent the night in Milwaukee (mon ami). It was such a throw back. I've always wanted to go back to Milwaukee. I've longed for Alterra coffee and Bella Cafe's almond with raspberry filled scones. It was awesome to share these things with Michael.

It's almost been a week since moving back to Wisconsin. The Madison area is definitely different than Milwaukee. It's almost like Columbus. It's a very big college town with a huge emphasis on sports (blah). But with sports aside, it seems like a nice place. I haven't had the chance to really get out and explore, but I've done a little. I live in Verona which is about 20 minutes west of Madison and 35 minutes East of Dodgeville (where I work).

And that brings me to the reason I'm here: Lands' End. I'm working in the womens wovens design department. This co-op is already intriguing simply because I'm not working on a product development team. I'm really excited to see what opportunities come from this co-op. My team is pretty small (4 people) and they're all in their 20s/ 30s.

Lands' End as a company treats their employees well. There's an awesome rec center on campus. It has an olympic size pool, hot tub, track, work out machines, tournaments, and classes (such as yoga and pilates) during the day. I'm excited to take advantage of it. But what I don't understand is why Lands' End moved from Chicago to Dodgeville. There's really not much going on in Dodgeville. It mainly consists of Lands' End corporate, Wal-Mart, and McDonald's. To me, the 35 mile/ minute commute from Verona to work is worth it despite the toll it takes on my tank.

Well, I best be off. The fashion world needs me tomorrow.

P.S. I can't believe this is my last co-op! yikes.

London Calling

2010-07-07T13:59:00.000-05:00

Hello, hello!

The last time I blogged I was in Florida! Now, I am in England! What an amazing adventure. Today is my one week mark for being here. Time is flying by and I am exhausted.

To bring everyone up to date, I am attending Kingston University in Kingston Upon Thames in England. I live in a flat and have my own room with a (very very tiny) bathroom. I have four flat mates and we all get along well. The flat across the hall from mine is pretty cool too. Needless to say, I've made fast friends :)

Every day has been packed full. I'm pretty much taking tons of field trips for my classes (British Culture and Society, Museums and Galleries). I can already say that I am enjoying my Museums and Galleries class more than Culture and Society. It's an amazing feeling to see artwork, in person, that I've previously studied!

The food in Britain isn't the best in my opinion. It's hard for a vegetarian to find variety here. One thing I am loving is chips (french fries). yummm. Even though everything here is expensive, it's not too hard to find a cheap meal. At Pret A Manger, I can get a baguette sandwich, crisps, and a water for 3.80 pounds ($5.70). But I don't expect to be eating the infamous British Breakfast any time soon. They do however have wonderful scones and jam here!

This week I went to Hampton Court Palace where Henry VIII lived. That was interesting to see, but I wasn't over the top excited about it. Yesterday, I went to the National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, and the Transportation Museum. I must say that I really loved the National Gallery the best. I got to see Jan Van Eyck's "The Betrothal of the Arnolfini."

That was absolutely amazing. I really wanted to see Velazquez's "Venus at the Mirror," but we didn't have time for that in the tour. I plan on going back there this weekend :). The great thing about the museums here is that the majority of them are free! They think that everyone should have the opportunity to learn about art. Such a a great philosophy!

Tomorrow I am going to the Tate Museum and Tate Modern. I'm very excited for that. This weekend will consist of a lot of independent trips (the majority of people are going to Scotland this weekend). I feel like there's still so much in London that I want to explore.

Next week I'll be going to Oxford University, Imperial War Museum, Bank of London Museum, Museum of London and Dockland's Museum.

Alright, that about sums up my first week in Kingston/ London.

Until next time...

What Happens in Fort Myers Stays in Fort Myers

2010-02-10T21:39:00.000-06:00

It's been quite some time since my last update! I've been busy enjoying everything here! True, Fort Myers isn't the most lively place, but it still has some things to offer. It also doesn't hurt that I know people here. Here's the gist of what's been goin' on...

WORK: This subject likes to circle round 'n' round. There seems to be a lot of down time for a few days and then it picks up for a few days (and back and forth). Normally I'm sketching in illustrator or creating and updating technical packs. The other day was exciting because I went to a Soma store and tried on the majority of the clothes there (during the work day). The other intern and myself did this as part of a "customer experience" which was organized by HR. This was to help us better understand the current merchandise in the store and have a better idea for the fit and quality when it hits the floor. Later that day I also modeled some yoga wear and a 7 way dress for a District Managers Meeting. It was nothing fancy, but again, it was a nice break from a banal work day.

SOCIAL: It's been great hanging out with the interns here. Everybody is getting along really well and we've actually been able to find things to do (or rather they find us?). There really aren't a lot of young people down here, but we've found a few. Last Saturday we made some friends at a restaurant/ bar by the beach. One of them apparently just got signed on as a player of the Yankees and is training in Tampa for a few months. I'm not sure how much I believe of that, but that's ok. I think next week we'll be singing karaoke with them, so that's something to look forward to. On Sunday, my roommate and I hosted a Super Bowl party! It was so much fun pulling everything together and I'm so happy that everybody was able to come! And on another positive note, the smoke detector didn't go off once while I was cooking for the party. I think I'm getting better at cooking!

CINCINNATI: I'm coming home to visit in LESS than 2 weeks! I'm so excited! It will be great to see the family! I always miss them and all of my friends when I'm away, so this will be a great break. It's kind of funny that going to Cincinnati is a break for me. Most people come to Florida for a break! On a superficial note, I'm also excited because I get to change out some of my clothes down here! Nobody could have predicted this chilly weather and I certainly didn't pack the best clothes for it. Burrr!

TAMPA: This weekend I'm heading up to Bradenton, FL (not far off from Tampa). My roommate and I are visiting her aunt up there. We already have a packed schedule for when we're there! But I think it will be a great time.

As you can see, I've been enjoying it a lot down here and I'm looking forward to everything that is still ahead (my trip to Tampa and my visit home especially)!

Sorry for the delay in updates!

xoxo

I'm too busy relaxing...

2010-01-17T20:34:00.000-06:00

The weekend is over and here I am embarking upon my third week. Yep, THIRD WEEK! How crazy. The time is going by really fast!

This past week was pretty eventful. First of all, I got hot water turned on in my condo! So that was nice. But later that night there was an intense smell that filtered through the vents in the condo. It smelled like a firecracker had just gone off. Considering the smell came on instantly and was increasingly getting worse, my roommate and I figured we should have someone take a look at it that night. The service guy said that it was probably just a dustball or a piece of paper that caught on fire on top of the heater. That doesn't even make sense... I think we would know if there was a fire in the condo. After that night we decided to turn the heat off. Seemed like the safest thing to do; and thankfully, we haven't needed it since!

Friday was the last day for the senior product developer in active wear at Soma. As of yet, there's nobody to replace her. That means that my work load should be increasing for the remainder of my internship. Which can be good and bad ;) Speaking of bad, I found out this week that interns don't get the 40% discount that permanent employees get in store. Pretty disappointing, but perhaps I can now have a bit of self control....then again, I can always go to the sample store! I kid, I kid. Well, sorta.

On Friday, Nancy and I went to Roy's Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine ( http://www.roysrestaurant.com/ ). We had gift-cards from work to use, and let me just say, this restaurant is AMAZING! For an appetizer we got lobster pot stickers, for dinner I had two chicken breasts with almond green beans and sweet potato puree, and for dessert a chocolate molten soufflé! It was such a great meal! I wish we had Roy's up in Cincinnati and I wish it was a bit cheaper! Our dinner for two cost $70 with tip. But we only had to pay $10 because of the gift-cards. lucky us!

On Saturday, I went to Fort Myers Beach for the first time since being here. The sand was beautiful, but the water was nasty. My roomie and I didn't go swimming (it was still a bit chilly) instead we walked around on the boardwalk and actually ran into a few of the other inters. Pretty random! My roommate Nancy and I also bought a bike!! It's a pale yellow cruiser with a whicker basket from the 1960s! I'm really excited about it! It was only $45 (so a little more than 20 each) which is a great price. This bike gives me freedom. Target, Barnes & Noble, Starbucks, a movie theater, and more are all two miles away from the condo. I rode there today and I realized just how out of shape I really am. Yikes! But it was a nice 4 mile work out and I'm looking forward to riding it more and having some "me time".

Also, today was the first day of going to the pool! It was in the mid to high 70s today! Such a beautiful and long day! I hope I have plenty more like this one over the next few months.

Well, I guess that pretty much sums up the highlights of the week. Here are a few pictures!

Until Next Time!

The Sunshine State

2010-01-06T22:15:00.000-06:00

Here I go! Last Saturday (Jan 2) I headed to Fort Myers, Florida for co-op. As many of you know, I've never been to FL before. Needless to say I was excited and uncertain on what to expect. It was definitely tricky to pack this time around. Everybody kept telling me it was going to be really warm, so I trusted them and packed light clothes. And here I am now in Fort Myers under a freeze warning. Just my luck? I will say that it's rather amusing to hear all of these Floridians complain about it being frigid at 50 degrees. I'd love to see what would happen to them up North for a few months ;)

In case you're out of the loop, I'm working for Soma Intimates . Soma is apart of Chico's and White House Black Market. I am working on the apparel side of Soma (lounge, sleep, active wear). Though it's only been a few days, I'm finding myself to like this job a lot. The team I work with is wonderful. Everybody has been so helpful and genuinely enthusiastic about having the other intern (my roommate) and myself there.

I'm going to backtrack to Saturday real quick. I flew out of Dayton and got to Fort Myers around 10am. My roommate Nancy and her boyfriend came and picked me up from the airport. I had briefly met Nancy earlier in the week, but other than that she was a new face. She goes to UC for Fashion Design as well, but she's in her 3rd year. After they picked me up, we headed to our apartment/ condo to drop off my bags. The condo is a typical beach condo consisting of dolphin statues, sailboats, and a lovely pastel color palette. ;) We also have a really nice view of two ponds on the golf course. I really can't complain about this place. I'm so grateful for how easy the housing situation has been this time around. In case you forgot about my NYC experience, feel free to read my older posts to refresh your memory (enter at own risk).

I got a bit off track. After we stopped back at the condo, we headed to the Everglades. HOW AMAZING! It was a quick 2 hr car ride, seeing as I napped it away. Our intentions were to rent a canoe and paddle through the mangroves. But we got there a bit too late for the canoe rentals. Instead, we took a water tour. We didn't see any alligators (they were apart of the mangrove tour we missed) and we didn't see any manatees (feeding time). With that said, it was an amazing experience. We did see several beautiful birds and dolphins that swam close to the boat.

I have always wanted to go to the Everglades and I'm so excited that I was able to go there on my very first day in FL. The perfect end to the day consisted of us driving back to Fort Myers while I watched the sunset behind rows and rows of palm trees. How blessed am I?

Here are a few pics from the Everglades :)

Work has been wonderful. I haven't been able to do too much so far because I can't connect to the network. Once that gets going I'll be able to do flat sketches. My team is wonderful and I'm so excited to work with them.

Well, that pretty much brings you all up to date. I'm going to try my best to keep updating this once a week. Sorry this post was kinda scatterbrained and choppy. I wrote it in sections J_

If you miss me, come and visit...I have an extra bed and it's gonna be in the 70's next week ;)

x0x0

Final Chapter

2009-03-19T06:16:00.000-05:00

Some lovely pictures to start off the post:

I have less than a week before I leave NYC. Even though some of the days were long, the weeks went by so fast. Today is my last day of work at GK, which means mom comes tomorrow to visit :) I'm very excited for her to come here and see the city with me. It also means that I get to go home and see my family and friends! I've missed everyone since being here.

This last weekend, my friend Sam Anthony came up and visited me from Thur to Sun. It was a long and enjoyable visit. We did A LOT! Saw the statue of liberty, walked around the financial district a bit, shopped in SOHO, ate lots of cupcakes, went to Moma, ate at Serendipity, visited the West Village, went to Times Sq and Rockefeller Center. It was pretty tiring, but very fun.

Saturday night we went to dinner at this restaurant in Soho with a group of her friends from studio. It was in a little wine cellar and they could barely accommodate an 8 person table (there were about 5 tables total in cellar). And of the 5 tables, one of them was reserved for a "rock star". Of course we were all curious especially since we would be sitting right next to them. Around 9:30, Counting Crows came in to eat there. I don't listen to their music, but I recognized them because of the lead singer's hair, haha. It's a cool thought that a group of friends were just out to dinner and a famous band decided to eat at the same place. That's one of the excitements of NYC.

Speaking of celebs, I went shopping on Monday in Soho for work. I went to this really cute Japanese children's boutique. It was really small, so just my co-workers, myself, and one other person was in the store. That one other person just happened to be Kerry Russell! For a minute I freaked out a bit at the irony of running into Kerry Russell right outside of NYU. *Felicity fans will understand :) She walked past me and said "excuse me" and I said "oh, sorry!" and she told me, "ohh, you're ok." :sigh: It was a beautiful moment in time. But of course, trying to be a true NYer who doesn't care about such trivial things, I pretended like I had no idea who she was....that is until she left the store. :)

Ok, I guess this is my last post from NYC. It's been quite the adventure. I think I'll keep this blog for updating about CO-OPs from here on. It seems to be a good way of staying in touch with family and friends. I wish you all the best for now!

Love you and miss you,

Sam

Another Week, Another Adventure

2009-03-01T22:55:00.000-06:00

Hey! Here are a few pics to start off :)

That first two pics are from Rockefeller Plaza outside the Today show. I happened to be up in that area last Wed. because I was at St. Patricks (down two blocks) in the morning. I decided that I still had time before I had to get to work, so I stopped by the Today show and waved at the camera as Mom, Meg, and Finn watched back home :) Mom was performing her motherly duties and taped it for all to see. ;)

The third picture is from when I went to the Guggenheim. The building looks so out of place considering it's resting between Central Park and some historic apartment buildings. Nonetheless, it's a really cool building to gawk at! The museum itself was rather interesting. The artwork rests on the walls as you walk up the spiral. It was pretty wild.

On the work front, last week was decent. I remained busy for the entirety of the week, so that was exciting! I've been working a lot in illustrator and working on technical sketches, so that's actually fun! I also made a pattern last week for an infant toddler girl poncho. It wasn't a legit pattern in the sense that it will be used for cutting fabric, but it was still something fun and different that I got to do!

Even though this co-op isn't over, I can't help but think about where I'm going to be heading to this summer. As a lot of you know, this co-op hasn't been the best for me. It's taken it's toll on me in plenty of ways. But in the end, it's one more experience to add to the list. I pray that I am able to stay in Cincy this summer. It would just be so great to be with my family and friends. But just because this is what I want, doesn't mean it's what's best for me. I guess I'll have to wait and see what God has in store for me.

Hmm, what else is there to share...

I went to the Natural History museum Sunday :) The cool thing about a lot of the museums here in NY is that most of them have "Suggested Donations". This means that even though it says a student ticket is $11, you can get away with handing the cashier $2 ;) But no worries, they get their money from all of their different exhibits in the museum. For instance, the planetarium cost $16.50!!! Honestly, I was more excited about going to the planetarium than the rest of the museum! So my friends and I paid for that :) I hadn't been to one in so long! The show that was playing was called "Cosmic Collisions" and it talked about how the earth became the way that it is now, how the moon evolved, and what the future holds for our galaxy. It was really fascinating and scary all at the same time! It was worth the $16.50 though. After-all, that money is needed to pay Robert Redford for narrating the intriguing documentary. ;)

Yesterday, I helped give a baby shower for a co-worker! It was so much fun. We had food that people made, games (which the interns worked on :), and gifts. It was so much fun, and my co-worker genuinely loved it. She was so surprised and so grateful for it. I think we all had a lovely time. Who knew work could be so difficult :P

Well, this is where I'm gonna say goodbye tonight! I'll post again soon!

A New Week

2009-02-16T20:54:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the delay in posts! I've been pretty occupied with quite a few things...

Last week was a very busy week for me at work. I compiled a denim trend book for both newborn boys and girls. This was pretty stressful for many reasons, but now I am happy to say that the project is finished and it looks fairly good. This is going to be an awesome piece to add to my portfolio *with a few minor changes ;) The other cool thing is that people at OshKosh, Target, and Carters will be seeing the book I created! That's rather exciting!!

Even though last week was a great learning experience, I am nearly confident when I say that I am not here in NYC for this job. Of course, the job took me here, but this whole experience has been more about knowledge, growth, and understanding in life. Twice this past weekend I felt judged. Neither time was directed at me specifically, but at both Catholics and Caucasians. Never before in my life have I really felt like a minority. It wasn't until moving here that I began to really understand what it means to be one of few in so many different demographics.

On a different note...

As I mentioned before, my friend Sam came for a visit this past weekend. I took Friday off of work so that I could spend the day with her and two other friends (Nick and Sarah). It was such a great day. We walked around Soho, the East Village, went to Chinatown for dumplings (8 for $3!!!), and of course got some lattes from a cute cafe on Mott st. Friday night the four of us went to Brooklyn to see Sam's brother (Keith) and his band play. We also got some amazing pizza before the show. I ate the largest slice of pizza that I've ever seen in my life! It was so good!

Saturday was filled with walking...lots and lots of walking. I met up with Sam, Keith, and his friend for some "authentic belgian fries" at Pommes frite ( www.pommesfrites.ws ). I learned a lesson for us all that day....NEVER eat a regular batch of french fries from there by yourself. It's simply way too much for one person. After fries we went to Chinatown to get Vietnamese coffee (which is apparently coffee with sugar and condensed milk). It tasted great and it was only .85 c for an 8oz cup. Doesn't get any better than that. Afterwards we walked the Williamsburg bridge to Brooklyn where we ate at a Mediterranean restaurant. It was a cute little place and they served an awesome drink that was Lemonade made with Rose Water & mint. I've been thinking of it ever since :)

Celebrity Spotting:

On Saturday I saw Heidi Klum outside of the tents for Fashion Week at Bryant Park. And yes, she is every bit as beautiful in person! On Sunday I saw Lucy Liu outside of the tents as well. Who doesn't love Fashion Week in NYC!

Well, I best be on my way! Hopefully I'll update again soon. I have so much to share :) Until Next Time!

Times Square

2009-01-25T15:51:00.000-06:00

At the moment, I'm sitting at a starbucks in Times Square. Things have been rather nice lately. This week at work I went to a vintage shop which is by appointment only. It was extremely organized and had an amazing selection of clothing from different eras. It was a lot of fun to be able to go there!

Other than that, there aren't too many things to report on right now. Yesterday I went out with a few friends to the J.P. Morgan Museum. While that may sound a bit dull, it was actually rather amazing. There was a library that housed 15,000 books! It was gorgeous, Megan--you would have loved it! There was also a gallery with Morgan's art collection. There were pieces from Degas, Pollock, Monet, OKeeffe, and plenty of others. That's definitely something that I love about NYC...all of the artwork. I can't help but laugh at myself over that. I use to despise museums. I found them so boring and I had no idea about art or design. It just shows you how someone can change!! ;)

From a food aspect, I've tried something new this week! I had korean food for the first time!! Actually, I had it twice in one week! It's fairly good, but it can be pretty spicy!!!! Haha. I had some squid without realizing it, so that was an adventure! But another positive thing that has resulted from all of this is that I can use chopsticks now!! This is a great accomplishment in mind. :)

Mom booked her ticket today to come and visit me in March! I'm so very excited! We're going to see the Statue of Liberty, go to the Met, and try to see a Broadway show! We're also trying to get tickets to see Regis and Kelly! :D ***Crosses Fingers*** Mom also informed me that I have about 58 days left. This co-op is flying by in comparison to my last one!

My friend Sam is coming up to visit the wknd of Valentines Day! That will be a lot of fun!!!! I'm not sure exactly what we will be doing just yet, but I know that her brother Keith is playing a show in Brooklyn and we'll be in attendance :)

Things have definitely turned around for me since being here, and I'm so glad to be where I am at this moment in time. For once, I'm finally soaking in the present and not worrying about the future. :)

Talk to you all soon.

Life's Not So Little Adventures

2009-01-18T16:09:00.000-06:00

I know I haven't updated in a while, but I have a few good reasons! Well, mostly just one: my internet isn't working!! I'm writing this from Starbucks! It's frustrating all around, but hopefully the kinks will be worked out soon :)

I'm finally posting a few pictures! Sorry for the long wait!! I just didn't have many images truthfully! But this weekend was simply wonderful! I went out with a new friend from UC, one of her friends who also goes to UC, and his friend. I went to Chinatown for the first time and ate at a restaurant there. I tried lots of new things there!!! I had some kind of shrimp dumpling, fried tofu, some kind of green veggie, a sesame roll, a custard tart, and some lovely tea! It was a lot of fun to try all of these new things. I did resist a few things though... like chicken feet. I realized that I'm not that adventurous!

After Chinatown, the four of us went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I was very excited to go here!! Let me just say that the Met is everything you imagine it to be and more! It took 4 hours to go through 1/2 of the museum. Needless to say, I'll be returning before I head home. :) Aside from the amazing artwork there, I had a fabulous time with these new found friends. Everything in NYC is so much better when you get to share it with someone else. I'm so fortunate to be getting to know some fellow UC students better while I'm here. These are friendships that I get to take back with me :)

As for my housing situation, I am all settled into the Webster Apartments! It's a great place to be for sure. I'm located on W. 34th st which is a perfect location I'm finding. I'm not too far from the bottom of Manhattan (makes for an easy trip to see the Statue of Liberty when it warms up a bit!), I'm less than ten blocks from Time Square, I'm on the same st as the Empire State building, I can walk to Bryant Park and the midtown Manhattan Library, and I'm only 25 mins away from work!

Speaking of work, I got to go to NJ on Friday! It was pretty exciting. My supervisor and I took the Path train over and went to Target to go shopping. That was a lot of fun :D Work is getting better for me. The people are so kind, and everything is so laid back. Lets just hope I get to do more design work!

Well, it's about dinner time for me here! So I best be going, but I'll leave you with a few images :)

Miss you all

The New York Dream?

2009-01-10T22:20:00.000-06:00

Today, people of all ages seem to make their way to New York City. Even during the early 1900s, the Titanic made an effort to reach the great city of New York. Everybody comes here in hopes to get something out of the city that they somehow hadn't miraculous obtained elsewhere. So what is so magical about this skyscraper city? Why do people from all over the world feel drawn to make a voyage to NYC? If I find out, I'll let you know.

It's been a week now since I've moved here, yet it feels like it's been a month. I moved out of the original apartment I moved into, started work, and best of all, have been sick. Let's start with the apartment.

First of all, the bedroom I was in was about 10 x 10 ft. No joke. and somehow I was expected to share this doorless "bedroom" with another girl from UC. The powder room was barely big enough to dust your nose, the dog that was living in the apartment was trying to eat my food and enjoyed releasing various things from its body onto my "bedroom" and kitchen floors, and the apartment was in one nasty location (we can just leave it at that). I guess I am just high maintenance. I know that NY apartments are notorious for being small and delicate, but maybe I'm just not cut out for the typical NYC apartment. All I ask for is cleanliness and some form of personal space. Is that asking a lot? Maybe it is, I don't know. Anywho, now I'm staying at the Pod Hotel on E. 51st st. I have my own little room and share a bathroom with the rest of the floor. There are lots of youngins here and plenty of accents to go around. *Shout out to my mom for finding this stellar deal ;). However, my housing adventure doesn't end here. I'll be making one more transition next wed. as I move into the Webster Apartments on W. 34th st. Webster is pretty much an all female dorm with single rooms for all. One of the other interns at Osh Kosh raves about the Webster and claims the food they serve you isn't too shabby. Sounds good enough for me :)

Second, I started work this week. It's super laid back and it's everything you imagine it to be. Osh Kosh is on Broadyway ave in SoHo (Which I love!). It's in an open loft with hardwood floors, green walls, and racks of baby clothing as far as the eye can see ;) For those of you slightly unsure about what I actually do, I'm a technical design intern for Genuine Kids--Osh Kosh. Genuine Kids is a line of Osh Kosh's that is only sold in Target stores. I work on both the boys and girls lines for GK. It seems like I'll be working a lot in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop which is pretty exciting!!! I'll be doing sketches on the computer and making technical flat drawings of garments to send out to manufacturers. I even get to use a wacom tablet, which I actually love!!! Other perks about the job: Get to wear Jeans, don't start work until 9:30, there's a nice kitchen for making waffles for breakfast, and Dean and Deluca is just down the street :P

Third, I've been sick for half this week. Not just a manageable "I have a cold" sick. More like the "hey, I'm not going to work for 2.5 days" sick. I'm not a 100% sure what I have, but it's either the flu or strep. Let's just hope the antibiotics work, because I haven't gotten to explore too much of NYC yet! I guess I have a few months to do that tho. Patience is a virtue, right?

i hope this post doesn't sound like a complaint. This week has been a challenge for sure, but I have faith that things are starting to turn around. I'm so fortunate to be here right now and experience a new environment on my own. Yes, it's a bit scary, but this is sure to be a growing experience. One more thought before I leave you: Thank you to everybody that helped me in my search for housing. I have a great family and amazing friends that really stood by my side and threw lots of ideas my way. (Esp Mom, Dad, Meg, Brian, Amanda, Mike, Melissa, Sam V, Keith, Rich, Mike C, Rachel, and anybody else I left out!!).

**I'll post pictures soon!!!

Ok, that was a long post, hope I didn't bore you!

-Sam

New York City

2009-01-04T07:26:00.000-06:00

I thought keeping a blog would be a good way to keep my friends and family posted on my adventures. Currently, I just moved to NYC for three months. I'm living in the east village and working in SoHo for Osh Kosh. I start the job tomorrow, but so much has happened in these past two days. I moved here Friday, January 2nd and after a long day of traveling and NY mayhem, i passed out for a nice and long "nap". Upon waking up on Saturday, I realized that I was foodless, and journeyed to Jungle Jims with my apartment-mate Kevin. It was a first experience for both of us. People shoving each other out of the way for sourdough bread and enjoying goat cheese samples while waiting in the 15 minute check out line that wrapped around the store. It was practically an amusement park for the food-challenged.
Later that day, I had my first subway experience as Kevin and I headed to Rockefeller Plaza to see the glamorous New York Christmas Tree. If any of you have watched the lighting of this Christmas tree in the past, you know all of the hype that goes on surrounding this tree. Therefore, I naturally expected the Christmas tree to be as tall as its surrounding skyscrapers, or at least taller than a Red Oak. But unfortunately, it wasn't even knee high to a grasshopper. I paused when I saw it and said to myself, "This surely cannot be THE tree." But of course, it really was the tree. And, Nestled on top of it was a glorious Swarovski Crystal Star. That was quite a beautiful sight in itself.

Next to the tree was the much talked about Rockefeller Plaza Skating Rink. If I talked to you before leaving, I probably told you how I wanted to go ice-skating here. Then reality hit as I noticed that it costs $30, yes you read that right, $30 to go ice-skating. However, I wasn't too heart broken about this. It turns out the rink is about as big as the one in downtown Cincinnati. However, I did get to see where the Today show is filmed! That was exciting. and I saw THE Saks Fifth Avenue. That was rather exciting :)

While in midtown NYC, I caught a glimpse of Times Square, but I didn't get a chance to walk around it (dinner was almost ready back at the apartment), so I have to save that for another day! BUT, I did happen to stumble upon Magnolia's Bakery. So I made sure to get a famous cupcake from them!!!! And before I walked into the yummy bakery, I sang out loud some lyrics from "Lazy Sunday" http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/chronicles-of-narnia-lazy-sunday/2921/ :

Two! No, Six! No, Twelve! Baker’s Dozen!
I told’ja that I’m crazy for these cupcakes, cousin!

I patiently waited in line, not knowing what to expect. And then the moment arrived when I realized that Magnolia's bakery offered two different kinds of scrumptious cupcakes: vanilla and chocolate. I knew right then that Vanilla was the key to happiness. And let me just tell you, that was quite possibly the best $ 2.80 cupcake I've ever tasted. And my, my, was it worth it. So if any of you come and visit me in this big 'ole city, we shall venture together to the tasty world of Magnolia Bakery.

Until Next Time..,