The recession is affecting everyone. Luckily, I still have some wits about me.
Some artful individual approached me one morning outside my building and inquired if I wanted to buy a Starbucks gift card with a value of $10.10 on it, for $10. I politely declined, yet spent the next hour or so pondering how someone could even conjure up such a scam. Aware of the current economic state, perhaps he sensed my penny-pinching. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and I must admit this was a pretty crafty way to make $10 on his part. (I’m still a little curious as to whether anyone took him up on the offer.)
Grocery shopping…social gathering?
A few reasons why I love Trader Joe’s (the one & only one in Manhattan!….maybe the city should invest in a few more?)
New Yorkers flock to it. Picture this: ninety-degree weather and eager Manhattanites in queue along the side-walk waiting for a cue to enter. Surely it must be some occasion, like the viewing of a sitcom, or a coveted line at a theme-park? Close enough. It’s the line for Trader Joe’s on a Sunday afternoon in Manhattan. But, it’s totally worth the wait. Every time I go to Trader Joe’s, I mull over why and how one store could feasibly be so crowded. It could be 11am, 4pm or 9pm, and almost unfailingly, the environment is the same. Lines weave through the aisles, you ‘excuse-me-thank-you-pardon-me’ in order to grab the second-to-last low-fat plain yogurt container. I try to snatch a couple of Granny-Smith apples that remain in the bins while avoiding elbowing the girl on my right. But inexpensive produce, off-brand health food options, and household essentials offer a winning combination with which no other store is able to compare.
Despite the crowd, the store environment remains surprisingly calm & optimistic. The employees are ever helpful at T.J., seeking out items that you might have missed due to all of the people. Poles labeled “12 items or less” or “any number of items” mark the end of the line. One worker will act as a bouncer to the front entrance of the store when it’s reached capacity, while another tell you which cashier number to approach to deter any dilly-dallying in line.
The actual size of the store is small, and with the amount of shoppers, shopping conditions are less than ideal. Typically, this would make someone an unhappy, irritated shopper. However, if you have frequented the store, you know what you are getting yourself into by shopping at TJ. As I understand it, customers at Trader Joe’s have accepted the environment as a part of the store’s charm! In my experience, fellow shoppers are more than happy to hold your place in line while you grab the stone-wheat crackers you forgot, or an extra store sample.
TJ can even make its way into conversations during a night out: Funny enough, while out Friday night at some dive bar in the East Village, Trader Joe’s came up while I was chatting with an attractive young professional. He asked me where I went to buy produce and I laid down my devotion to Trader Joes. He imparted that while a competitor health food store in the vicinity revels in its blemish-free produce displays, they achieve this impeccable appearance because they dispose of all items with imperfections. Wow, all the more reason to love TJ, I thought…Whether or not this guy spoke the truth, Trader Joes certainly carries apples with blemishes and bruises (probably as a result of the hoards of people that enter and exit everyday). However, two things are for sure: the items are ideally priced, and are utterly delicious!
two break-ups in one day?
Is it just me, or does the job application process feel eerily like a mini-relationship? The interview process has an uncanny resemblance to some sort of tortured speed-dating. Being rejected from companies resonates with the agony of a blind-siding break-up. Okay, so I might be exaggerating just a tad, but the emotional roller-coaster that is job hunting is a little too similar to the woes of a relationship for my liking.
Let’s start from the beginning: To be granted an initial meeting is like a glimmer of hope, similar to being asked out on a first-date with a good-looking guy. When a publishing company calls me to let me know that I’ve been granted an interview, I do a little dance and immediately feel a sense of purpose. My free-time that is usually spent probing job sites for openings, is now devoted to further research the company and particular position. I count my blessings that my resume has been picked from a stack of about three hundred (no kidding…during the SPI program, we toured an esteemed publishing house who admitted they received about 300 applications for one Editorial Assistant position).
An interview is a lot like a blind date: a little awkward at first, a little bit of flirtation if you’re lucky, and a whole lot of imagining whether the company is a good fit for you and if you can see it working out long-term. A first interview can definitely vary in duration but I usually leave an interview with a better idea of how I would fit in at the company. There is such thing as an interview-high, the culmination of prior preparation and subsequent question/answer interview format is a huge adrenaline rush upon exiting the building.
The waiting game is always tricky. Much like in dating, the rules are blurry: when is too soon for a follow-up call/email? If you haven’t heard from someone within 48 hours of the first interview, is it safe to assume that they are just not interested? If you contact them, will they think you are too pushy, desperate? Or the contrary… will they admire your tenacity?
Not knowing one’s fate is excruciating and agonizing beyond explanation. Now imagine hearing back bad news from two companies within several hours of each other. Sigh. There is nothing quite like unrequited love. So much time is invested in the interviewing process and when things don’t work out how I hoped, I have to convince myself that the ideal job for me will come along—and the right guy. Hopefully sooner rather than later on both counts…
Does everything in this city come at a cost, or have a catch?
Nothing prepares you for finding a place to live in New York City. Though I knew that if I decided to live here permanently I was going to have to find a long-term residency, I had consoled myself with utterances of a decreasing cost of living and brokers with no-fees. In the past, I’ve been spoiled to have others do the dirty work for me. My signature of consent scribbled above the designated line has been the extent of my role in the process. However, this time I virtually had to take the finding and securing of an apartment into my own hands. I’ll start of by saying that I’m picky–I’m picky about what I wear, who I date, how I spend my money– where I live choose to live is no different. As if being incredibly selective wasn’t enough of a factor, the fact that I tend to be incredibly indecisive adds a whole different characteristic of mine into the mix.
When I asked fellow New Yorkers how they found their apartments, they consistently advocated searching for apartments in one place: Craigslist. So this is precisely where my adventure began. With what seems like hundreds of postings per day, many of which are ‘too-good-to-be-true’ or set-off red-flags signaling scams, I found myself completely and utterly overwhelmed. After several weeks of half-heartily searching Craigslist, and two attempts to view apartments (one of which abruptly ended before I even reached the destination. Just because an area sounds safe or within your radius of ideal locations, doesn’t mean it is!) I decided to attempt a no-fee broker.
Though I’m not quite certain that I necessarily understand or trust the concept of a no-fee broker, it seemed my only choice. After finding an ad on my ‘trust-worthy’ Craigslist for a seemingly ideal apartment, I called the person listed and he assured me there are “no fees”. Okay, I thought, I’ll meet him for an appointment, see the apartment, and be out of there in an hour. After a brief consultation, my future roomie and I took it to the streets where we saw three apartments. After much consideration (of course my indecisiveness kicked in right about decision-making time!), we decided to put in an application for the second apartment we saw. However, as we are both currently unemployed (though hopefully not for long..), we both have to rely on the consent of parental guarantors. Though our application fee seemed remarkably high already, it became apparent that this fee would be doubled to check both tenants and our parents. Is this standard procedure? Perhaps the application expense is a consequence of the lack of a broker’s fee. I snuck out a few phone calls to my father, trying to grasp onto whatever parental rationale he could offer me. My dad warned me, “nothing is free in life.” Was he saying to go through with the apartment? Or mocking the idea of a no-fee realtor? As our conspicuously unsettled broker witnessed my phone conversation turn from excitement to fear, he gave me the tough-love approach: “Do you want to live in New York City or not?” Well… Yes… I knew the answer to that. Was my father really skeptical or was he merely hoping I wouldn’t sign a full-year lease so I could come home sooner and stay a little girl forever? The prospect of signing a year lease, still unemployed is scary, but a lack of trying never saw success either. Life changing decisions are never simple or clear-cut.
Five hours later, I left the broker agency feeling emotionally overwhelmed and physically exhausted. It seemed I was involved in a whirlwind of a relationship that I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be a part of, but felt helpless with no choice but to charge forth and see what happens. My apartment fate is eerily similar to my job fate, just a phone-call and a day (or several days) away. And so I wait….
so begins my life as a New Yorker
My first six weeks in New York City were spent as a student at NYU’s Summer Publishing Institute, where I, just last week, received my Certificate in Publishing. Now I’m pursuing with full-force a career in publishing. I was once advised that the only way to succeed in the magazine industry is to move to New York and to be ‘politely persistent’. This blog is a part of my endeavor in persistence.
So begins my first year of life in New York City. [Stay tuned for future postings about my apartment hunting experience!] Though I’ve lived in a couple of big cities, including a six-month stint in Los Angeles, and a semester abroad in France, my anchor has always been a little town in the South where I grew up and went to college. A small town has so much charm but the prospect of something more has always lured me. Whether it is the vast number of people I’ve yet to meet, the unique boutiques with racks that I’ve yet to rummage through, the one-of-a-kind cafes I haven’t had the pleasure of enjoying, I have always known that NYC was a place I wanted to live.
New York City might feel too fast-paced for some- I walk outside my apartment at 7:30am and I must march alongside the stampede of sleepy-eyed, suit-clad workers who are determined to get on the 4, 5, or the 6. It’s sort of like survival of the fittest, if ‘fittest’ classifies the ability to withstand being elbowed by a more aggressive individual swiping his train card. But, as someone who has always juggled an over-eager course load with internships and part-time jobs, or multiple jobs during the summer months, I thrive off a busy schedule and multi-tasking. New York doesn’t allow for time to reflect, except at the end of a long, busy day. Every morning I’m thrust into the energy of the city and fueled by those around me, who are just as engaged and determined as I am to make use of the day. The pace of the city is exhilarating, consuming, and inspirational; there is no city I’d rather live in to begin my career and start a new life.
