Out and About

It's crazy how time feels warped when you're not at home. Today marks a whole week since I started at Mashable and eleven days since I moved into my dorm at NJCU. It's gone by pretty fast with as many things as I've been doing but at the same time it feels like I've been here forever. This comfort is all probably due to the people I've encountered.

Once again I can't stress how nice people have been since I got here. My roommate, Keturah/Kae, checks in on me if I've been in the city too long (in my opinion, it's never long enough) just to make sure I haven't gotten into any trouble with the local 'toughs'. It blows my mind that we've only just met. Kae has been great at inviting me along with her friends and I just love everyone I've met so far. She went home this past weekend to work and I was still hanging out with people. I am a social butterfly, hear me roar. Butterflies roar right? It's like a gentle wing flap in your ear. Anywho... I've even made friends with some girls on the basketball team and I've been to a few games. 

Work has been fantastic too! I'm convinced I'm in a movie with how surreal it feels. On Monday, my boss took us to Eataly for lunch. Her husband runs the place and his friends in the kitchen kept bringing out plate after plate of what was easily some of the best food I've ever tasted. I felt like a celebrity at a packed club where the bouncer still let's you in, except in this case there was a lot more cheese and I was totally okay with it. The Art Team is super friendly and I basically want to be the illustrator, Bob, when I grow up.  He's from Omaha (small world!) and the stuff he creates is just amazing. I've already had a project published on the site for the coverage of the Grammy Awards. Pretty soon my info graphics for Facebook's 10th anniversary and e-cigarettes will be up as well. It still blows my mind that I get paid to design! Life's just too good right now. The whole place is just crawling with nerds... just the way I like it. I'll post pictures of the office soon! It's blue EVERYWHERE and wonderful. 

My first weekend alone proved exciting! Saturday I stayed in and got my laundry done and all that boring stuff, but Sunday was when all the magic happened. A few months ago over LinkedIn, I met a fellow Theta from Butler (it's in Indiana!) who landed an internship in New York City as well... doing Graphic Design no less! Obviously, we had to meet up and I figured that day would be the day to cash in my free MoMA ticket! When my parents were still in town we went to the MoMA store and in celebration of not having any required textbooks for classes out here... I bought a textbook. I'm afraid my life is an eternal geek out. To take it one step further, I got a free ticket to the museum along with it and it may have made me squeal like a little school girl. But I digress... Not only did I make it the museum without any train glitches, I even managed to get there an hour early. How out of character! So I explored Rockefeller center and took my sweet time so that my new friend Taylor wouldn't get the wrong idea about what to expect in the future (hint: I will ALWAYS be lost in this city). I'd heard of the MoMA but I hadn't realized just how much of it I would recognize there! I FREAKED when I saw Starry Night! Van Gogh has always been one of my favorites and I even did an imitation project on him in high school. Afterwards, we hit up another item on my NYC Bucket List: Dylan's Candy Bar.

Now if you haven't heard of the magic that is DCB... you are really missing out. Ralph Lauren's daughter, Dylan, is a fashion and candy enthusiast. She also happens to be a fellow Theta. We hit up the three story wonderland that easily rivals Willy Wonka, what with in-house grab candy and even... candy cocktails. I filled up a magical ten dollar cupcake with cookie dough bites and anything and everything peanut butter and chocolate... My waistline never looked back.

I've been living the dream, but it doesn't end in the city. Even my classes are exceeding my expectations. Read all about it in my next blog!