Saturday, January 30th

It's 10:30 on Saturday night and my life is officially packed in boxes. Ready for the big move to Chelsea in New York City where I will spend the next year of my life. I plan on getting up early tomorrow morning. Oh man, that reminds me. I packed my Mr. Coffee. Oh well, I'll have to swing by good old Dunkin Donuts tomorrow morning. It's been a while. I'm definitely going to need some caffeine in the a.m. and possibly a second round in the p.m. Corinne is going to come to my house sometime in the morning to help me move. She's so rad. Oh and she's picking me up in a cop's car. Actually I guess It's a truck so I'm pretty sure we can get everything in one trip.

My life in boxes.

So far I'm really enjoying not having to move any furniture. One day when I can afford to furnish my own room and house I should be able to hire movers. After I'm done getting settled, depending on the weather tomorrow I'll either go for a long walk in my new neighborhood or take myself to the movies. Sounds like a win win to me. In packing today, I found that I've really gotten to a point in my life where I'm living very simply. My "stuff" consists of the basic necessities. Clothes, shoes, artwork, laptop and puzzles. I mean, for the most part. Additionally there are a just a few random knick knacks and my shower & bathroom stuff. But that's it. I'm really looking forward to my new room because there is so much potential. I mean that in decorating terms because I already have so many ideas going through my mind about how I want to set it up. I went by the apartment yesterday just to see it one more time before I moved in. She has a lot of furniture in there. Not in a cluttered way at all. I find all of it both useful and stylish actually. I might have to reorganize the set up a bit but we'll see.

This day has been productive but long and I'm going to have to cut tonight's blog short in order to get some sleep. I'll catch you up on my Friday night in tomorrow's entry. It will be the last one as it is the going to be the 31st of January, ending my first month in NYC. Goodnight Brooklyn. Good morning Chelsea. Sweet dreams readers and don't forget to I M A G I N E.

Until we meet again,
Meg

Friday, January 29th

Yesterday morning when I woke up, the snow was falling. It was so beautiful. I relived that Christmas morning feeling even though I've never actually had a white Christmas. I've never really even woken up to snow falling before. At least not like this. I watched it fall for a good five minutes before I made my coffee and then I got to work. But before I get ahead of myself, I want to tell you about my wednesday night. I tried something that I have never done before in my life. Something totally cheesy in theory and can either be a huge success or epic fail. I went speed dating. Oh yeah. You know what speed dating is. It's where a bunch of single guys and gals come together as they date and rotate each other every 3-5 minutes. It's a pretty funny concept I think. The rules of the version I played were a little more up to date. This particular game of speed dating was put together by two guys who consequently were the DJ's for the night. It took place at a small bar/club on the Lower East Side called CV. I went with a girlfriend of mine who is always up for spontaneous and random things such as this.

We arrived a little after 10:30 which was the intended start time. We took a seat on one of the couches that are usually used for Bottle Service but were on reserve for our dating game. My friend and I have the exact same haircut - dark hair with straight across bangs so in the dark setting we walked into I can imagine we probably looked like bobblehead twins. Within ten minutes of being there, the room started to fill up as were everyone's drinks. Alex, one of the hosts that invited us started giving everyone name tags and all the ladies were handed a questionaire. The questionaire was a list of 20 ridiculous questions to ask the guys during each date so we would have something to talk about. There were things like what do you prefer more on a first date - the Central Park Zoo or MoMA? But most of the questions were hilarious things like who would you rather have a threesome with - Leno and Letterman or Conan and Kimmel? It was great. The guy to girl ratio was surprisingly less than expected so each date that I had was shared with my girlfriend that I came with. This actually made everything way more fun and each guy loved being on a date with two girls. The first guy who will remain nameless was pretty cute. Tall, half black/half something else that I couldn't figure out, awesome hair and we actually had matching flannel shirts on. What surprised me right off the bat was how honest and blunt these guys' answers were to our questions. Guy number one prefers the Zoo for a first date, is opposed to a finger in his butt and likes to cuddle after a one night stand. Just as the three of us were forming a bond, the song changed which means it was time for our next date. The second guy we found out had actually come to this event with the first guy. When he realized his friend was our previous dater I think he felt competitive. Guys are so funny like that. Anyway, his style was totally Euro and he had shoulder length hair tyed back in a pony tail. I didn't feel any attraction to him but he was totally hilarious. Currently the song that he hates the most is "I gotta feeling" by Black Eyed Peas, his favorite drink is a gin gimlet and he'd rather be caught masturbating than watching Fox News. I'd have to agree with him about the Black Eyed Peas song. The last guy we went on a date with reminded me so much of Ali G. For those of you who aren't familiar - Ali G is Sasha Cohen aka Borat. He was from London, dark skin, facial hair and was obsessed with the fact that we both had bangs. Somehow by this point we had forgotten all about the questionaire and just started talking about whatever came to mind. He loved that we were both from California and his impression of "West Coast people" was soo funny. He is under the impression that CA folk are the most relaxed and mellow people in the World. I'd say that's half true. Once speed dating was over it was just a time for everyone to sip on their favorite poison, dance and mingle with everyone they had just met. It was a great ice breaker to start any party and overall I'd say speed dating was a huge success.

The snow from yesterday morning was melted and gone by noon. The weather is seriously on crack out here. You never know how good or bad it's going to get and it can never be trusted. At my internship yesterday Corinne had sent Donald and I to SoHo to deliver some posters of her to various stores and then we handed out the rest to local shoppers. It was nice to get out and walk around even though things were pretty cold. People were starting to go nuts over these posters. Everyone wanted one! I swear this girl is going to blow up before my very eyes. It's already happening and I can't wait until her showcase performance next month. Spending time with Donald was nice too because he had been out for about a week due to the loss of his grandmother. We are finally back in the swing of things. On Monday a cameraman is going to be following us around for the majority of the day to get footage for a documentary being done on Corinne Vielle. It should be cool, but I've never really experienced anything like that and it might be kind of awkward for other people around us. Bah, reality tv these days. It's everywhere. After we were done working in SoHo we headed back to Corinne's office to roll up more posters to get out next week. We ended up staying til about 6:30 unlike our usual ending time of 5pm as Corinne told us inside stories about people in the music industry while enjoying a mexican food dinner together. The three of us are such a close knit team and I am so happy with this internship as well as my job working for Carson. On my train ride home I was just reflecting on every opportunity I have been given while living out here and I could not be happier.

This morning I overslept and didn't get to working until about 9am. I usually like to start things by 8. I made a lot of great contacts to beauty companies and followed up with a few people from Luxury and Travel magazines. I'd like to think I am pretty good on the phones. I think people assume I am older than I am because of my speech and confidence level when I speak. Articulation is key. By 10:30 I was in the shower and ready to head out for an interview. Things didn't work out with Kiara unfortunately so Carson decided she wanted me to hire an intern who is able to help me with some things regarding sponsorship as well as someone with a PR background. I met with a girl who is actually from Milan, Italy and has had some pretty incredible life experiences. We met on the second level of Whole Foods where there is a nice seating area next to a Coffee Bar. She arrived five minutes early, about two minutes after I had gotten there. I have actually never interviewed anyone before her so I think I was a little bit nervous. That feeling quickly passed when we shook hands. Within the first minute of speaking with her I felt like I had interviewed countless times and all the right questions started popping into my brain. At the end of the interview I felt that she would really be a great candidate for what I need and I loved her personality and spirit. I still am supposed to meet with one other girl tomorrow however so I wanted to give her a fair chance before I make any final decisions.

Now I'm back home in the BK. I have a few more things I'd like to take care of for Carson before I get started on some Megan time. Tonight I need to get the majority of my stuff ready to be moved for this weekend and then I'm going to head to MoMA. The Museum of Modern Art is free for all after 5pm on Friday nights so I thought I'd go check out the Tim Burton exhibit. I've heard its really incredible so I'm super excited. Then I'll be off to the meat packing district to meet up with my friend Adam who's coming to the city with some friends that all live in Connecticut. Adam and I grew up together and the last two times I've seen him were when he came and visited California. It'll be a nice change to hang out on the East Coast and meet all of his friends. I hope everyone has a safe and fun weekend!

Until we meet again,
Meg

Wednesday, January 27th

The week has been flying by faster than you can say (insert word here). Monday was hit with rain from morning until night. No stopping point. I'd actually prefer snow over rain in New York. I know it sounds weird but I actually feel warmer in the snow. Rain just brings all kinds of icy wetness and I am not a fan.

After another long day of work I got to enjoy a cosy night at home Monday night. Asher has already moved out so it's just me and Jess at the apartment. For the first time, I mean for real, me and her got a chance to really get to know each other and hang out. Let me just say first hand that my roomate is one of the funniest people I have ever met without effort. At first glance she is shy and kind of keeps to herself, but once you get to know her she has the strongest and most entertaining personality. Our night began with the two of us enjoying some dinner together while relaxing on the couch and keeping up with the Kardashians. Dinner consisted of some reheated pizza from Henry's which if done right, can taste just as good as freshly delivered. Jess showed me her tricks. As usual I dipped my Pizza in ranch to amplify the goodness. People don't do that here I've learned. Not anywhere in New York. In fact I'm pretty sure it's looked down upon. But anyway, two Kardashians episodes post meal had passed and I started thinking about dessert. Naturally. I spark the idea to Jess that we should go get some ice cream. The second I said those two words she stops, looks at me dead serious and goes, "I cant eat ice cream". I say whatdya mean? you can't eat ice cream? Thinking to myself about my favorite brand that is sold downstairs and how easily I am going to convince this girl to change her mind. She then goes on to tell me that she actually has a problem with ice cream and is now allowed to eat it. She tells me a story about how at one time when she first moved here from Long Island she was obsessed with ice cream. Quite literally. To turn this ridiculous tale into a nutshell - she induced five pints of ice cream a day, every day for about a month. Breakfast? Lunch? Dinner? she would have nothing of it. Just ice cream. The more she went on about this the more I couldn't help but laugh. I mean really, have you ever heard of such a thing? A serious ice cream addiction? It's comedy. She said it wasn't until she had gained 50 lbs that she decided she needed to take hold on her life and cut the long lived love for the icy combination of cream and milk. Now... with all this being said, she has come a long way from her days of addiction, has lost the extra lbs and mentions that she allows herself to have it once in a while in small doses. That was all I needed to hear. Two minutes later after a few persuasive words, I had her putting a jacket on willingly ready to embark on this journey for haagen dazs. As we're on our way to the Bodega (For my CA readers that's the same thing as 7 eleven) I noticed she's walking pretty fast. Definitely a swifter pace than I walk and I've been told to slow it down. She was excited. Excited for... you guessed it. Ice cream! Once I realize the euphoria that is inside of this girl I start to feel bad and think maybe I shouldn't have been so pursuasive. I could've gone alone but I selfishly pushed her into an ice cream relapse. We get inside and let me tell you this girl means business. She is not looking to waste any time. She sees that the flavor I have been thinking about for almost an hour now isn't on top where it usually is. Without saying a word, she pulls open the frosted sliding glass doors to the bin and starts handing me pint after pint after pint until she finally finds my flavor. I swear at one point both of her legs were up in the air. I have never seen such determination. I am dying of laughter the entire time as I watch her move. Milliseconds after succesfully getting me what I wanted she spots her favorite. Her weakness, you might say. Cotton Candy ice cream with sprinkles. There were six containers left. "Oh my god. Oh my god. I can't beleive you guys have this!! Oh. My god." She is speaking these words out loud not really directed at anyone. I'm dying. She then grabs all six and brings them to the register to bring home. As we walk back I tell her that I feel bad for forcing her to change her mind and come with me to the store. I'm not even sure if she heard me. We get inside our apartment and I set my stuff on the table then run into my room to change back into my PJs. When I come back out to the living room Jess is gone. She's in her room. Door shut and I don't see her again for another thirty minutes. Did she devour all six ice cream containers? I didn't see any in the freezer. I'll never ask and possibly never know. I quietly laugh to myself about everything I had just experienced as I enjoy my well deserved Haagen Dazs white chocolate rasberry truffle flavored pint. Alone.

Tuesday was a new day with no rain. Thank you mother nature! I worked late at my internship in order to help Corinne with some extra stuff and got home around 7pm. When I entered my apartment there were boxes all around the house and it actually got me excited about the idea of moving again. Mostly everything in the apartment belongs to jess as she had been packing all day long so that's why things were in the middle of transition. I think in total I'll have four boxes when it comes time to make the switch over to Chelsea. Corinne, my intern boss, has been kind enough to offer me some moving help. She has a friend with a truck who said he would be happy to assist. He's a cop too. NYPD. It will be nice once I'm settled in my new place because then I can walk to work which I am definitely looking forward to. I am already making plans for myself on my future days off in the city. There is so much to see here. So much to do. I love that for once I am in New York without a time restraint because I have years to see everything. I want to be able to say that I have visited every museum and art exhibit that NY has to offer. I want to sit on every bench in Central Park. I want to see every show and shop in every great store. That reminds me, Spiderman is coming to broadway! I'm pretty sure within the next couple weeks too so I'll definitely be looking into that. What I love so much about this great city is that it is impossible to be bored here. Well, my mom always used to tell me that if you're bored then you're boring. But truth be told, I was getting so bored in California. Life was becoming routine. Same shit different day. I haven't felt that way at all since I've been here. I hope that in a year from now, maybe even in a few that I'll hold that same feeling. If I don't, then maybe when that time comes there will be a new adventure on my table. Life is a journey and I know that thought alone will always reign true. It's your approach to the journey that can turn your life into a struggle or the greatest adventure you have ever known. You decide.

Until we meet again,
Meg

Sunday, January 24th

I went to a sex museum today. Only in New York will you find such places. I heard about it from a friend of a friend and it sounded interesting enough to kill an hour or two at. Some may think it's a weird place to go alone. Not me. I think it's more awkward to go with a friend. It was definitely interesting to say the least. Oh and don't worry folks, I snapped plenty of pictures. The first floor had a collection of videos, each with a different story to tell. My favorite was the video that showed all of the European commercials about safe sex. Most of them were directed at homosexuals or in lamens terms "the gays". One that had me laughing out loud depicted two guys that were rock climbing. One guy tells the other guy that he better put on his rock climbing gear before he climbs. When he refuses, his friend insists that he can help him with strapping everything on because he would never climb with anyone that doesn't wear gear. This led to a huge argument until the screen went black and the words came up that said, "skip the fight. wear protection". I loved it.

Then I walked upstairs and entered a whole new level of sex toys. I mean that statement both literally and figuratively. What I am about to show you is probably going to make you feel pretty awful for your grandmother. These are what the museum calls "antique vibrators".

Then the intense power drills as I like to call them below actually won a few awards for the craftsmanship of a man who's name I didn't bother taking note of.

Moving on. This is where I saw blow up dolls get taken to a brand new level. Made entirely out of latex and meant to feel as humanly real as possible. I introduce you to two dolls that cost about $10,000 a piece. I think you can use your imagination as to what they are used for.

Then there was the bondage section. Some things were a little bit too vulgar to even put in here but I will show you this crazy gadget.

Intense.

Then I found a few pictures in the art section that I just thought were cool. Took some pics.

^^Hand sketched by Pablo Picasso. So rad.

If you can blow up this last one you'll see just how dirty the minds are of people that sketch for Disney. As if we didn't already know...

So that was my adventure at the Museum of Sex today. I hope your mind is open enough to get a laugh out of it like I did. After I left, the rain from the morning had stopped so I decided to get a good walk in. I was thirty blocks from Central Park which ends up being about a twenty minute stride. I could walk for hours. So off I went down 5th ave in one of the most incredible cities in the World. Passing through the sky high buildings made me feel so small. Unknown and unseen. It was such a nice feeling to have no one to impress or entertain but myself. I think it's when you get to that point too that you are the most impressive. Irony is a thing that I find most interesting in life. By the time I reached the park it started raining again.

I got home around 4pm and immediately changed into some comfy Sunday attire. I cleaned up my room a bit and packed another box. I think I'll move all my stuff next weekend closer to the 1st of February. After all, I can't live there until then so why would I want my stuff to? For dinner tonight - cup O' noodle followed by way too many oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that I baked yesterday. I have no will power when it comes to the good stuff. I was definitely implanted with a sweet tooth at birth. I think that's a good thing. Tonight I'm definitely going to get a good night's sleep in preparation for another early Monday morning. In the meantime? I will be continuing Joan Didion's book "The White Album" that I'm reading for my book club. She's such an interesting author. I'm really enjoying it.

Until we meet again,

Meg

Saturday, January 23rd

TGIS is officially the new TGIF. I find Saturday much more enjoyable than any given Friday as it is a complete day of freedom. Once this thought became more clear I started getting upset that Friday has gotten the four character abbreviation that has reigned all these years. Understandably Friday is the last day in the workweek but it is still a day of work. I mean, when saying "Thank God it's Friday" aren't you really saying "Thank God it's Friday because we are that much closer to Saturday"? Saturday offers freedom from work and school, unless of course you are one of those idiots that sign up for a Saturday class. I still don't quite understand those that opt for a weekend course but hey, to each their own. Freedom to sleep in and continually sleep throughout the entire day say on your couch, in your bed, in your boyfriend's bed. Whatever. You're allowed. Freedom to bake cookies at 9 in the morning, if you want to. I personally am more of an afternoon baker when I'm feeling ambitious enough for the task. Saturday says you can do your laundry today, or you can save it for tomorrow if you'd rather. Saturday really doesn't care what it is that you do, because really you have 24 hours of shameless freedom to do whatever it is that you want to do - or not do. So this is my ode to Saturday as I thank you for allowing a perfectly enjoyable lazy day today with a few personal tasks done at my leisure.

Ahem, and now I can begin. I have been working for Carson from morning til night this last week. Literally. I would be lying if I said it wasn't exhausting. However I figure it's better to be exhausted working rather than looking for work. I have finished putting together a lookbook for my boss and then created an editorial story with a different set of photos that we're sending over to Vogue and Harpers Bazaar. Her designs and couture dresses are so unique and beautiful. Just in these last two weeks I have built even more of an appreciation for the fashion industry and all the hard work that gets put into it. Even the models work extremely hard despite what the majority of people may think. They are not props, they are working women and men who go through a lot more than most may ever know. I love being a part of this world and I am counting down the hours until Fashion Week hits. It begins on February the 11th and ends on the 18th. At least those are the dates for America. Carson is doing her runway event at MoMA which is one of my favorite museums in New York. Ever since I got a chance to help out with Fashion Week in LA I have always dreamed about experiencing it here.

Thursday night after a drink or maybe five that I had induced at a birthday party two floors down, it started to really hit me that I'm not in California anymore. That may sound a little overdue, but not for me. The week before I moved here I had many chances for a good cry. I had many goodbye dinners and lunches with friends and one great final farewell party. All of these incredible people that I have in my life to see me off. But there was never that moment. That feeling that I suppose I was waiting for. Goodbye was never something that I had sitting in the pit of my stomach. "See ya later" is more how I felt at the time. To be brutally honest, I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into coming out here. I knew that I wanted to get away. And I did. I wanted a change, something new, something different. I needed to know that there was more to life than this bubble that I have so comfortably lived inside of for twenty two years. I mean, I have always known there was a big World out there but I guess I never knew if I would be brave enough to embrace it. But here I am. Living and working in New York City following my dreams as they come. It's scary, but exciting at the same time. So exciting. In fact, I think what had me feeling nostalgic about California is that I can see myself living here for a really long time. I see myself building a life here. A career. And I can't imagine doing it anywhere else.

Friday, being last night was cheap and dirty - just like your sister. Kidding. But I did go to a bar in Williamsburg with that as the theme. Cheap drinks. Dirty minds. There were a few solid drinks specials that ran throughout the entire night but I stuck with the PBR and a shot of whiskey for $5. No complaints for that deal. Plus drinking whiskey makes me feel kind of like a badass. The bar was called "Savalas" and a friend of mine was the DJ. The place was a little too packed however which is my pet peeve at bars. Either get a bigger place or control that amount of guests. Seriously. While I was there I ran into a friend of mine that I haven't seen in almost three years since he moved out here. It was so good running into him! Especially since he had no idea that I was living out here now. It felt good to pass along the news. At the same time I was starting to feel more accepted and comfortable in this new world I had put myself in. My intuition tells me that this feeling is going to do nothing but grow as I continue to fill in the pieces. After the compacted body heat got the best of me, I decided to head out to another location with my friend Stefanie. We migrated to "Spike Hill" which had really good vibes. This bar offered something that I have never seen before or could've beleived without experiencing. For every drink you order, you receive a free pizza! I can imagine your response. But it is in fact true, as I was a witness and consumer to this pizza given to me free of charge. Real and delicious. We even had a pizza ticket left over for next time. This just adds to the database of many reasons why I love New York.

Now it's about 9pm on Saturday night. I've decided to stay in tonight and enjoy some bonding with myself. I'm thinking maybe a good chick flick is in order. It's been a while. I stocked up on groceries today too so I have lots to work with if I get hungry later. As I light my candles and inscents and relax in my cosy living room only one thought comes to mind, T.G.I.S.

Until we meet again,
Meg

Wednesday, January 20th

As of today I have been living in New York for exactly three weeks. Time really does fly out here. My days are getting longer and my brain is moving faster. Or at least that's the transition I'm leaning towards. I woke up exactly one minute before my alarm was set to buzz me out of my dream state this morning. When that happens I like to think of it as my "human alarm clock". We all have that by the way, just have to learn how to program the damn thing. Sometimes you have to replace the batteries.

Anyway, I let myself actually go back to sleep for a bit so I could "sleep in" until 7:30. Once I got up, I worked for maybe thirty minutes on a new Look Book that I'm putting together for my boss. Basically what that entails is taking about 800 photos and compiling them into the best 33 shots. My time was cut short this morning in order to check out yet another apartment. I prayed this would be a final pursuit on house hunting because I am really running out of time and frankly it's becoming a drawn out chore. I found a room for rent in Chelsea, which is a borough of Manhattan as well as the gay capital of the World! The apartment area is prime. Tons of restaurants, bars, banks, and excitement all within immediate walking distance. The room is completely furnished with a bed, dresser, bookcase, two huge closets, and tons of storage space. This situation is ideal for me because I mean, I moved out here with a couple of suitcases. Quite literally. There is laundry in the building (huge bonus out here) with a secured entry system as well as all utilities included in the rent. This sweet deal of course sounded too good to be true and I knew there must be a catch. I mean... isn't there always? Well here it is - my roomate would be a 55 year old woman. I'm sure you are thinking the same thing I did when I found this out. Hmm... could be great, could be weird. So knowing everything that I was getting myself into I headed on the train to meet with this woman and see the apartment at 9am. After all, I had no room to be wasting time. A deal like this could go in a matter of seconds if I didn't jump on it. The women's name is Amy and she has lived in this apartment for over thirty years. Thirty years! I should've guessed it with all the books this woman has accumulated throughout the apartment though. I mean for real, she could stock a library. Also, if I had to guess I'd say she looked a little closer to 75. I don't say that to be judgemental but it is the truth. I thought to myself, wow, either I got stuck with some great genes or New Yorkers just age a lot quicker. But that's beside the point. Once I saw the room I was pretty speechless. It truely was everything that it had been described to me as. Huge too! Bigger than the room I am in now and so much potential for savvy decorating a la Megan. I told her that I needed to go for a walk to have a chat with myself and think it over. When I said this, I pretty much already knew that I wanted it but I didn't want make any irrational decisions. So out I went to soak up the neighborhood as I called the wisest woman that I know and love, my grandma. She's also one of the few people that I knew would be up before 6:30 California time. I rambled to her for a few minutes as she patiently listened to me speak. Once it was her turn she gave me the words that I needed to hear and just enough encouragement to make my decision. The woman renting the room is somewhat of a kook I'll admit, but she is offering me something that I know I won't find again. I don't need an apartment to entertain friends or a roomate that will be loud and partying all the time. In so many ways this arrangement really is perfect for what I need. I'm gonna take it. I decided right then and there and immediately called Amy. Twenty minutes later I was handing her a deposit and she was handing me keys. What a relief!

I can finally breathe again and the ball of stress that I've carried with me this last week has been lifted. I cannot even express how good that feels. Once I left and headed back to BK to get ready for my internship, I was feeling on top of the World. Birds chirping, sun shining, dogs walking. You know, the usual cheeseball happy-go-lucky thingamabobs. Life just seemed so incredible within this moment. Then I remembered the previous day and how awful everything seemed. All I could think is how funny is life? I mean really. The way you feel can change so instantaneously over one little thing. It makes me think that whenever things are in a slump, you have to know they can always turn back around.

I got to my internship at the usual time of 2pm and as I walked up to Corinne's building I received a text message from Donald. In case you have forgotten or haven't kept up, Donald is the other intern and has become someone who I really value as a friend here. His message explained that he wouldn't be coming in today because he just found out his grandma had passed away. I think he found out on his way to come work too because of the time I got the message. I stopped walking. Here I am feeling happy as leprachaun reaching the end of a rainbow, and my friend just got hit with the most upsetting and horrifying news I think anyone can receive. I felt awful. I took a moment before I walked inside to work and put him and his family in my prayers. I'm sharing this with all of you in hopes that you will do the same. I know you don't know him, but you do know me and it would mean a lot to me to do so.

When I got inside I shared the news with Corinne and she felt just for him just as I did. She really is such a genuine and wonderful person, Corinne. She has a heart of gold and is such a rare personality in the music industry. Since it was just me today working for her she wanted to get out and handle a few "girl things". Her showcase got pushed back to the end of February because of the grammys coming up at the end of this month. Originally her date was set at January 29th. The dress she had made for her showcase performance though, was ready as of this morning. She loves it! but there is still one problem. She needs shoes. So off we went down the streets of Manhattan to see if we could find the perfect pair. Store to store to store and more and we still didn't see any that screamed "winner". It was really fun shopping around with her though and I think she has a much better idea now of what she wants. I also learned a lot about Corinne on a more personal note and I have gained even more respect for her and what she does. It's so great to meet people that have such big dreams like I do. I feel like dreamers all connect on a level that more practical people can't reach. Unless you already understand I guess it's hard to explain. After a couple hours of work along with some great conversation, it was time to head home.

During my ride on the subway I found myself thinking a lot about my friends. My best friends. The people that I know are home and thinking about me the same time that I'm thinking about them. I started reminiscing random memories that I've had and it started to kind of hit hard. I felt my eyes well up as I know there are going to be so many amazing people that I will meet here, but no one can ever compare to what I have already. A very wise lady told me that right before I came here and now I understand. I feel so lucky to have a foundation like that. Incredibly lucky. So before I lose myself in a sap fest I suppose I will end with this: Remember that when you get to where you want to be in life, never forget where you came from. Count your blessings. Watch your step. Take risks. Remain Calm. And for my sake and yours - don't ever stop believing in yourself.

Until we meet again,
Meg

Tuesday, January 19th

When things are going seemingly well in life like what I've experienced thus far, I suppose it's only a matter of time before there are bumps in the road. I knew sooner or later I would experience some consecutive challenges. A bad day, one might call it. Those times where anything that can go wrong, will. Well... you guessed it. Today was that day. The universe just wasn't agreeing with me in the way that it has been. While I tried to remain calm both internally and externally I found that I was becoming more irritable and frustrated as the day progressed. I really hate when this happens too because I like to think of myself as a pretty optomistic individual. Sometimes, however, you just can't help it...

Lets start at the beginning. I woke up at 6:30 this morning to my alarm and hopped in the shower. While I normally turn the water on before I get in to make sure it's running with warm water, today I chose the get in first method. Obvious (now) mistake. The water usually gets hot almost right away so I figured things would be cool, no pun intended. To make a long story short and a long shower shorter, the water was freezing. It warmed up after a while but I was already halfway cleansed by then. Anyway, a little thing like this of course put only a minor damper on my day. I was ready to go check out a couple SoHo apartments with the highest hopes and in the best spirits. I met up with my Jamaican realitor, Adrian at 9am. This guy has been so helpful and commited to finding me a place. He really is good at what he does. To put today's search in a nutshell and save you the experience of reliving my unsuccesful hunt, lets just say it was big FAIL. In fact, I've had quite a lot of potentially great apartment ventures that have ended in disappointment. An apartment out here can be lost within a matter of minutes if someone beats you to an application. It's pretty crazy because I've never seen such competitive house hunting like this in my life. By 10:30 am he was ready to head back to his office to find more places to see. At this point I was so tired from apartment hunting and the previous long work day that all I wanted to do was go home. On top of that, I had to finish some work for Carson and get ready to leave for my internship by 1 in the afternoon. So we said our goodbyes and I told him I'd give him a call.

Stressed, exhausted, and drained I headed underground to get on my train. Right as I headed towards my entrance, the train had just pulled up. I quickly ran down the stairs to catch it and then took a seat. Immediately after the doors shut and we take off I realize I just got on the wrong train. I was now backtracking. Annoyed with myself, I got off at the next stop and waited for the return train to pick me up. This was at the Fulton St station now which offers many trains and transfers. My train arrives and I get in and sit down. Believe it or not, I got on the wrong train AGAIN. Backtracking even more! At this point it was almost comical even though I was still aggrevated with the situation I had gotten myself into. Finally, I got myself to the correct platform and quite conveniently missed it by maybe ten seconds. Right then and there I told myself, "Okay... this is going to be that day." Accepted. I think I can deal with pretty much anything that life throws at me as long as I can mentally prepare myself. So I waited patiently until the good ol' J train came to take me home. I got on with a feeling of relief as I knew I was definitely going the right way this time. I put on my ipod and let myself zone out on shuffle. Before we could even get to the next stop the subway completely comes to a hault. This happens sometimes so I didn't really think anything of it. I listened to a smiths song and then hendrix rocked me out until I became aware that we still weren't moving. I was sitting next to a middle aged woman who seemed in great spirits and removed my earphones to ask if she knew what the hold up was. She explained the announcer had said the trains were being re-routed due to a problem at Chambers Street. Chambers was the next stopping point for the train I was on so it made sense as to why we couldn't go anywhere. I was bothered by this but not surprised. After all, it was clearly my bad day that had stopped the train. Unfortunately other passengers had to suffer through it too. Sorry guys.

Ten minutes had passed and I noticed a girl a few feet away starting to... um, freak out. You could read the stress all over her face. Fifteen minutes had gone. She was starting to make noises and by this point pretty much everyone sharing this train car had taken note of her frustration. Twenty-five minutes went by. By this time I'm sure everyone, myself included was annoyed at the extensive subway pause. This girl was now stomping her feet and actually screaming. Oh yes, she was screaming. It was a twenty five (ish) year old woman acting as if she was a two year old throwing a tantrum. She then exits the train and has a cigarette inbetween cars. In case those of you non-subway-users are confused... this is all taking place underground. So on her "cig break" the woman sitting next to me who I had previously talked to leans in to me. I'm assuming she is from Jamaica or a nearby island because of her accent. She tells me, "you know, it's taken me a lonnnng time but I have gotten to a place where I know, when things aren't going my way it's because there are other plans for me." I smiled. She continues by saying that getting upset will never solve your problems, but only increase the negative energy. Of course she was referring to the 25 year old baby child smoking a cigarette. After this short, but enlightening conversation took place, an engineer came into our subway car to let us know we might be waiting for a few more minutes because of a re-route. The girl sees him talking to us and barges in demanding an explanation. He explains that he has no idea how long things will take to get moving and he apologizes. He was sincere and very polite. This only intensifies the rage inside of this young woman as she starts screaming at the engineer. It was pretty awkward for everyone watching. She yells, "fuck this shit! fuck this! I'm fired! I'm fucking fired!!!" and is almost at a level of hysterics as she is crying while speaking. She then stomps her way out of our car (as I'm sure she must've been embarassed) and into the next. 42 minutes of a total underground hault and maybe thirty seconds after the raging passenger exited our car, we were moving again.

Everyone that remained on the train looked around and smiled at each other, I'm sure with the same thought in mind. After this literally eye opening experience, my day was looked upon in a whole new light. I realized I can't get caught up in negative energy or pessism no matter what gets thrown into my day. Life really is about the attitude that you put out there. I found a way to clear my head with some mood changing tunes and got myself centered again. Once I had done so I was ready to take on the rest of my day. I know that sometimes things don't go as planned but I suppose that's why they say life is a mystery. Tomorrow is a new day and I will approach it the best way I know how. As my good friends, the Beatles once said - Oh bla di, oh bla da, Life Goes On...

Until we meet again,
Meg

Sunday, January 17th

I need to take a breathe before I start today's blog. I have never felt so blessed. The life experiences that I have had since moving here have been so incredible that it's a little overwhelming and difficult for me to take in. I say it's difficult because each day that I have been here has gotten better and better as each one passed. It's surreal. I wonder to myself if I really deserve such great opportunities and success. I mean, why should I be allowed to be this happy? It doesn't seem fair when I think about those that are struggling. These are the thoughts that go through my mind when I get a minute to reflect. But, at the same time, I convince myself to retract those thoughts. I have watched others succeed in the past and have heard some unbelievable life stories. I remember having the thought at one time being, "when is it going to be my turn?" I need to come to the realization that my time is now. It's here, its happening. Last year was pretty tough for me to get through and now things are turning around in a so-called New York minute.


My internship let me leave about an hour earlier Thursday. I was happy because I was supposed to meet with a potentially hired assistant near Penn Station once I was off. I was looking forward to meeting with her as she had a pretty impressive resume. Carson, my boss, had told her to call me by 4 o clock so that I could set up a time and a place to meet with her. 4:15 rolled around and I still hadn't heard from the girl. I couldn't believe it; two flakes in two days! I just don't understand how unprofessional and rude some people will allow themselves to be. On a positive note however, with extra time to enjoy my personal life I decided to meet up with a friend of mine who just moved to the city. Her name is Kiara who some of you readers might know. She moved out here with very similiar circumstances as I did. She has a PR backround and wants to build a career in the fashion industry. She has been job hunting like crazy, so I mentioned the position my boss was offering and told her to send Carson her resume. She immediately took up the opportunity.

We soon after met up at a wine bar in SoHo. It was really nice to see a familiar face after a long week. Kiara's face had been familiar to me since my elementary days although we have never gotten a chance to build a close friendship. I was really looking forward to the chance of getting to know her better. On our walk to the bar she received a call from a number that looked familiar to me, but that she didn't recognize. Without immediately jumping to the conclusion, I soon realized the phone call was coming from Carson! She was inquiring about how Kiara had heard about the position and she explained that she was referred from me. My boss's response was better than I could have hoped for. She told Kiara that she was so impressed with the work I have done for her since my start and would trust any referral given by me. This was thrilling to hear. Twenty minutes of conversation had gone by and Kiara was hired on as my partner and Carson Case's PR assistant! This gave our night such a great start and an immediate bond between the two of us.

The wine bar we took part in was extremely Italian. I could barely understand our waiter when he went over the specials and embarassingly asked him to repeat himself multiple times. We both decided on vegetable lasagna along with some shared bruschetta. Both were amazing but we were ready to dash out of there after dinner to somewhere a little bit more our style. After all, the night had become a reason to celebrate. We met up with a girl named Angela who had a mutual friend with Kiara and was out to show us a good time. I felt comfortable with her from the initial hello and beyond. Very welcoming. In fact, everyone that I have met so far in this city has been along with being entirely sincere. It's refreshing to meet people that you know are after your friendship rather than what you can offer them. Angela is highly succesful as a publicist in the music industry. Extremely well connected. The more time we spent with her the more she opened up her efforts in welcoming us to her references. This is my professional life after all so I won't mention any names, but the future is looking increasingly promising.

After a pretty incredible night with a 5am return cab ride home, it was Friday. I got some unfortunate news that my roomate-to-be Trent, didn't get the job that he was counting on moving out here for. I quickly was faced with finding a new living situation and two weeks to do so. I was more bummed for his sake however; two weeks is a completely reasonable amount of time to find an apartment out here. Finding roomates was my minor challenge but I am not really worried.

Mid afternoon I received my official "letter of hire" from my boss. My day let alone my life was instantly changed with a piece of paper. I had to read it a couple times through just to make sure that it was really happening. Then I pinched myself. It hurt. I realized that I was in fact not experiencing a dream, but a reality. Not only was my starting salary more than I would've asked for or expecting, but it was time to renew my passport. That's correct, you heard me right. As soon as this coming March I will be on my way to Milan! Milan. Milan? yeah. Okay I'm going to Milan. I said this to myself over and over until it finally sunk in. Even though I still don't think its fully hit me. Not only that... but soon after I'll be on my way to Paris then Tokyo and later in the year I'll be hitting all three countries for a second time before I embark on London and Dubai. Saying it out loud still doesn't make it real and I can't beleive that it's my life I am speaking of and not someone else's. I have never felt anything like this before. It's a high that no drug could ever fulfill. It just reiterates the promise that anything is possible. And it is. Like I said last year was pretty tough. Not only for me but I know it was tough for everyone, especially those closest to my heart. We all had bad experiences. Whether it be a broken heart, grieving of those that had passed, financial struggles, loss or any other difficult change or challenge that crossed us in 2009. This year is a time of bouncing back. In fact, its a decade of cashing in our tokens. A time that we have all seen as "someday". The day has finally arrived and I am so enriched with happiness and let me say it again, grateful, for everything. I can only imagine what the future holds.

Until we meet again,
Meg

Thursday, January 14th

Good Morning. A little before 8 am here and I have some time to kill so I thought I would catch up with anyone thats interested in listening. My day wasn't the most eventful yesterday. Just an average, run of the muck day at work mostly. I hope I won't be saying that too often. Highly doubtful that I will.

Yesterday was supposed to be my assistant's first day. Key word: supposed. Before my boss hired her to work under me, she was calling like a stalker would, in hopes of ensuring a position with Carson Couture. Once she got the job, the girl went completely m-i-a. For you ametures, that's standard for missing in action. We haven't heard from her since. No calls, no answers to our calls. It's pretty odd actually considering her prior determination. We are a little worried, but as I told Carson this morning, another one bites the dust and lets move on. I feel comfortable enough with her now to crack jokes like that. Anyway, she agreed and is putting an ad out today to find a replacement. While we're here, why don't we get a little visual? I'm sure things can get a little confusing when I talk about my job and my internship especially since they are closely related and both of my boss's names start with C. So here is a picture of Carson Case - Couture Designer and my amazing boss.

Can't you just feel her positive energy in this picture? I love her. Anyway. Without the help of my "assistant" I got right to work yesterday morning and got a lot accomplished. While I was working, my doorbell rang and it was just who I was hoping it would be... the UPS man! My life had officially arrived in two big boxes. Opening them was like Christmas all over again. It contained treasures like the remaining 2/3rds of my clothes, pictures and frames, artwork (some unfinished), wall hangings, my duvet cover, uggs, a coffee maker (thanks to my fabulous mama), and countless other goodies that mean a lot to me and nothing to you. I couldn't wait until I got off work so I could go through it all and distribute some things into my living space.

Having to be at my internship at 2pm again, I left my apartment around 1 to catch the train. Even when things are a short distance, you always want to plan ahead and take into account the time of waiting for the train to come as well as walking time. Leaving an hour ahead gets me there perfectly in time to be five minutes early. When I arrived Donald was already sitting in his chair in front of the Mac computer. He welcomed me with a hug and we got down to business. Today was all about contacting the press. I had to call people at some of the major magazines such as Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, Billboard, etc. I also had to contact all the tabloid mags that love to make up things about celebrities. You know the ones - Star, OK!, People, Us Weekly, amongst many others. I felt really comfortable there only being my second day. Donald and I totally get along and I couldn't be happier working for Corinne. It wouldn't be fair to include a picture of my boss without showing you the people at my internship too so here you are. Donald my fellow intern and Corinne Vielle the up and coming R&B artist. I'll assume you're clever enough to differentiate between the two.

These two are truely great people, both to work for and to work with. I didn't get to see Corinne at all yesterday though. Donald and I became better friends and I found out that he does party promotions in New York as his paying job. He invited me to one last night but I declined the offer. After a seemingly long day, all I really wanted to do was go home, open my boxes and sip on my new favorite hot tea (you know the one).

This morning I woke up at my newly typical wake up time of 7am. No Dunkin Donuts today. I have a coffee maker now after all and don't need to be spending $2 a day on coffee that requires a walk in the cold. So I brewed up a pot of Starbucks Christmas blend which smelled pretty bombastic I must say. How funny is my cup?

It says "Canadian Fast Food!". That reminds me, it's time for a refill. Okay and I'm back. Last night I took a few pictures of my apartment for my baby lover Nicky Pokusa. She was curious and I thought I'd feed her curiousity by sending her a few visuals. Since you care enough to read my blog I'll go ahead and welcome you into my home as well. We'll start with my bedroom.

Sorry about the mess. These next pictures are of my living room and kitchen. The bookcase you see is filled with a pretty amazing set of books. The patio in the last picture, I've actually never sat outside to enjoy. It's been a little too cold for that sort of thing.

My room is on the back right of that hallway

Anyway, it's been great fun showing you guys around. Here's one more picture just incase you are starting to forget what I look like. I miss and love my family and friends more than words can describe. I want you to know however, that I am truely happy here and see only great things in the near and distant future.

Until we meet again,

Meg

Tuesday, January 12th

Before I begin, I would just like to say that I have just created the most delicious mix of hot tea my mouth has ever sipped on. Honey Vanilla Chamomile mixed with Lipton Peppermint. Man, oh man. It would be more than an assumption to say I'll be drinking this tea bag mixture every night for at least the next seven days. To commit to fourteen might be a little bit of an over-do. We'll see.

Anyway, after the incredibly great news of employment yesterday, I decided to take myself out to dinner. The feeling of dining alone was actualy more satisfactory than anyone I could think of eating with. I think in the moment, I wanted to celebrate for myself - with myself. So off I went to a tiny restaurant/bar called Moto. Stress the word "tiny". It was one of the few places in Brooklyn that I've been to so far and I really like their environment. Candelit table tops with a love it or hate it menu. I happen to love it. I walked in an decided to sit at the bar with the possibility of some good conversation with another lonely stranger. I ordered a glass of wine and some chilled asparagus with hard boiled eggs. Sounds weird right? its amazing. My diet out here has definitely broadened its horizons that is for sure. As I munched on my eggs and veggies, a middle aged man walked in and sat two seats over from me. He ordered a beer and I smiled at him. That was all that was needed to start a conversation because five minutes later I knew his life story. I find it so interesting to listen to other people's passions and adventures. We all have something. Jim (I never caught his name so that's what we're going to call him) shared with me that he was actually out celebrating as well. Him and a friend of his had just gotten the approval earlier that day to open up a club in the BK. I clinked drinks with him in a celebratory cheers and then told him about my great news. Mid cheers, a girl with an extremely strong presence ran into the bar and rushed up in between us to order herself a drink. She was waiting for someone as she said to the bartender. Right as I was observing while admiring this girl, my mac n' cheese arrived. Not your ordinary noodles and cheddar though. Moto throws sliced potatoes and cooked onions in the mix. Hands down, the best, mac and fucking cheese I have ever had in my life. Instant conversation starter with the new girl too. She was sitting on the stool between Jim and I at this point and she commented on how delicious it looked. I told her she was right. Turns out it was Jane's birthday. (She too was a nameless encounter). A born and raised New Yorker who was waiting for her boyfriend to enjoy a night of countless drinks on her 28th birthday. Jim, Jane, and I sat and laughed as we talked about things that wouldn't matter tomorrow. Sharing conversations with strangers brings out such a raw honesty. There is no room to judge or reason to evaluate. After scraping my plate clean, I left the restaurant reflecting on my unexpected, but entirely enjoyable celebration dinner with two people whom I will probably never see again. Ah, New York, I love you.

Getting home, I mentally prepared myself for tomorrow's big day. Not only was I starting out with Carson Couture, but it was also going to be the first day of my internship with Corinne Vielle, the r&b artist.

I set my alarm for 6:45 and was in the shower by 7. Once I got the majority of my hair dry, I walked down to DD for my morning coffee. I'm pretty sure the girls that work there hate me now because I complained about my bagel having no cream cheese two days ago. Honestly though, the bread was dry with two dots of cream cheese on one side. Give me a break. Anyway, I headed back home drinking my possibly sabotaged brew and got right on the computer. I learned so much about sponsors today and how important it is for companies to support each other, especially in the fashion industry. Fashion week starts February 11th so right now I am in preperation mode and making tons of phone calls to big names. Carson keeps in constant contact with me, which I like. As the day progressed I really started to get a good grasp on my position and learned that I absolutely love my boss. She is one of those rare souls that you come across in life and know you want to surround yourself with. I think she feels the same about me, or at least I hope she does. I am so eager to learn as much as I can from this woman and that's exactly what I intend on doing.

My internship is located in a really nice building off west 31st street in Manhattan. I was scheduled to be there at 2pm so I made sure to leave with plenty of time to get there. Once I arrived, Corinne was sitting in the same seat that she interviewed me in with a tall, nicely dressed black man. I immediately learned that he was another intern and my new friend, Donald. She set us up with over a hundred music industry contacts that we were ordered to send out press releases to. There are two computers in the main office area, a MAC and a PC. He loves MAC and I'm more of a PC user so it was a smooth start in choosing who gets what chair. It was my job to send out the emails and he was in charge of phone calls. We got right to work but also got to know each other throughout the day with random babble back and forth. Corinne approached me about an hour into working today asking for my design input for her showcase at SIR studios. She wants me to go with her to the studio sometime in the next couple weeks to get a visual and help her out with color schemes for the backdrop. I was really happy that she is actually taking my input so seriously. It means a lot. It's crazy, with the fashion industry and the music industry known for having a record of careless assholes, I think I got stuck with two of the nicest people in either industry.

Donald and I stayed until about 5 and headed out of the building together to return to the post-work part of our day. We were both headed in the same direction and had about six blocks of walking time to talk. I learned that he is still in school and wants nothing more than to work in the music biz. I was surprised to hear he was only 20 years old. This was another reminder of how much I miss my brother. Donald was surprised to hear I've been in New York just shy of two weeks. You should've seen his face. It was a nice reaction though because he couldn't have been more welcoming. We quickly exchanged numbers and decided a hang out sesh is in order. Right on time, I came across my stop and hopped on the subway parting ways with my new friend. I'll see him tomorrow, same place same time.

When I got off the train and into cell phone reception I got a voicemail from Carson. She hired me an assistant today! I was surprised, but also incredibly relieved and thankful. The workload I anticipated this morning was somewhat overwhelming. Now my work will be cut in half and i'll be able to work more closely with Carson. Today was quite productive, entertaining, and kept me smiling all day long. Tomorrow should be similiar as far as my schedule goes, but who knows what can happen. If I've learned anything, it's that you never know what the future holds. You just have to get out of bed every day and hope for the best.

Until we meet again,
Meg

Monday, January 11th

It's hard to believe that I've been here for eleven days. It feels much longer. I've already forgotten what it's like to get around in anything but public transportation, gloves and beanies have become a daily fashion, and Dunkin Donuts coffee has completely fulfilled my longing for Coffee Bean. Safe to say I have comfortably adjusted to the so-called New York lifestyle.

The weekend flew by with Trent being here and we actually found an apartment that we envisioned as our future home. A two bedroom on the upper east side of Manhattan that had our names stapled on the mailbox the second we saw it. The rooms were equal size, wood floors, one long dark brick wall adding immense character, and a breathtaking view of the city. This place seemed too good to be true because on top of all that, we could actually afford to live there. Adrian, a Jamaican born real estate broker showed it to us. He was really interesting, in a good way, and had the best places to show us apart from anyone we'd seen so far. Because we saw it on a weekend though, we weren't able to apply for it until the Landlord office was open on Monday. Trent flew home Sunday afternoon and left with the highest hopes while I shared the same feelings waiting in my Brooklyn apartment.

Sunday night I could think of nothing better than to relax and enjoy dinner and drinks with my little Nicho. Nichole is one of maybe five people that I know out here, and how lucky I am to have her. I took the train to her apartment in an area of BK that I hadn't experienced yet. She's lived in New York for almost three years, but just moved into this place recently so I was excited to see the new pad. Upon arrival, I admired her truely fantastic wardrobe as she changed into her fur coat ensamble. Sidenote: Fur (real or fake) is a completely acceptable fashion choice here. In fact, anything anyone decides to wear is a complete reflection of their own image and is rarely criticized. Anyway, once she was dressed we headed out to one of her favorite spots, Roberta's. Famous for their amazing pizza and other secrets that are not blog approved. With a thirty minute wait, we decided to grab a drink at a bar a few blocks over. The bar she took me to was totally unmarked. I would have never even noticed it if I had been walking alone. There seem to be countless places like that, as if you need to know someone to know about their business. Over our first round, I was instantly reminded of how much I have missed this girl. She gave me great insight to many things about New York; things about men, knowledge for locals and even a thing or two about the fashion biz. By the time my infatuation with our conversation grew as big as my appetite, it was time to head back to Roberta's. We ordered her "usual" to share which coincidentally was exactly what I would've ordered anyway so it worked out quite nicely. One large pizza and a bottle of wine later, we departed and I headed back to my side of town. That place is definitely going into the bar/restaurant database. Notes: great service, uncomparable pizza, cash only.

This morning was another early day for me as I headed out of the house by 7:30 am. I got a message from Adrian with the news I was afraid of. Our dream apartment had been rented the previous Friday and he wasn't notified until this morning that it was no longer vacant. To be honest, I was really bummed to know that I was right - it was too good to be true. It was an even worse feeling to have to be the one to break the news to Trent. He carried the same tone that I did when I found out. But you know? I am a big believer in that everything happens for a reason. I feel comfort in the fact that we might've lost a great apartment for a potentially even greater one. Also, Adrian is already on the hunt for our next amazing find.

After a somewhat rough start to my day, I noticed I had another voicemail on my phone that was unchecked. I dialed in and listened to the voice of a woman named Carson Case. She is a Couture designer that is Miami based and I had applied directly through her company website about a week prior in hopes of a job, any job really, with her company Carson Couture. We have been e-mailing back and forth over the last few days and I had a phone interview with her (mentioned in a previous blog) in our initial conversation. The voicemail I received today was a simple Hello and please call me back. So of course I called as fast as my fingers could dial. After thirty seconds or so into our conversation she told me that although (lets be honest) I'm underqualified as far as experience goes, she loved me and wants me as her personal assistant! She told me that she loved my personality and that was the deciding factor of who she wants working for her. I cannot even begin to tell you the excitement I felt in that exact moment. It was unreal. For the first time in my life I feel a real sense of accomplishment. My goal was to have a job by the 15th of January and I landed a better position than I could've imagined in eleven days. It shows me that hard work does pay off and big risks can equal big rewards.

Starting as soon as our phone conversation ended, I am already lined up with work to do. Tomorrow is a big day as I will be contacting her sponsors in major US cities as well as internationally. Now is the time where I not only have the opportunity to show my new boss that she made a great decision, but its the time where I get to prove to myself that I am capable of everything I have ever dreamed of. I feel grateful, excited, and blessed. After all that I have experienced in working my hardest in school and risking everything in coming to New York, I can honestly say that the juice is worth the squeeze.

Until we meet again,
Megan

Saturday, January 9th

It's Saturday! Sorry I haven't kept up the last couple days. Things have been a little crazy around here. Lemme retract myself back to where I left off. Thursday I had to get up super early in order to be at the NY Psych Ward at 9am. New York has turned me into a crazy person so...

Just kidding. But I really did have to go there. While I'm job hunting I decided to participate in a Women's research study. I won't go into detail about what the study is about because its supposed to be confidential and on top of that I think you would probably be bored reading about it. But on the up and up, they are going to pay me pretty big bucks for just a few days time. Getting there, I had to take the J to the A train which took FOREVER. In total, I was on the train for about an hour. Thank goodness for itunes. My brother loaded my ipod for me before I left with all the goodies so it has been my most prized possesion since I've been here. My favorite time to have my headphones on is actually on the subway. It's like deep people watching. Man, I really do miss Pat. My whole family actually. It's now starting to sink in that I can't see them whenever I want. Kind of bums me out but I know that they're still the same crazy Fortes (and Adams) back at home. Anyway, I ended up being at the Women's Research Center for the majority of my day. The building had no cell phone service but I kept getting voicemails. I asked the nurse if it would be okay to run out to the bridge to check them and she told me it was no problem. The first of three voicemails was my mom (surprise surprise, lol) calling to say hi. The next was Tyrone! the crazy guy that showed me the closet bedroom apartments. He was "following up on my interest of the apartment". Delete. The last was a call from a woman designer that is going to be launching her couture line in fashion week next month. She said in the voicemail that she wasn't so impressed with my resume, but loved my cover letter! So I called her back and had about a ten minute phone interview. She's looking to hire an assistant as her right hand person during fashion week and once fashion week is over she needs someone who is going to be in NY and available to help with various tasks until she relocates from Miami. The interview went great and I think she was really impressed by me. I'll actually find out later today if I got the job!

I left the psych ward around 3 o' clock and headed back to the BK. Trent had just gotten into Jersey so I made plans to meet up with him later on in the night. We ended up meeting at Penn Station at 11pm and he was so pumped up when I saw him. This guy has such a zest for life I think we are going to be great roomates. Once we dropped off his stuff at my apartment, we were in agreement that it was time for a beer. I googled local Brooklyn bars and we decided to hit up this one that is right below the subway a few stops from my place. This place was so rad! It was a full on rock and roll/metal bar. The lights were all red, there were crazy posters all over the walls, awesome music, bartender covered in tats, a random cat that was just walking around and top of the bar, skeletons, and $3 PBRs. We stayed almost until closing and the more we drank, the better the conversation.

Friday came before I knew it. This was the day of my interview for the internship with the R&B singer Corinne. Before I went, I took trent to see the Tribeca apartment that I saw a few days before. He really liked it and also found some other sweet bonuses that I didn't notice the first time. We decided we want to keep looking but we are definitely keeping it in the maybe file. After that I jetted over to 31st street for my interview. I was ten minutes early. Back in CA I was always always always late. I'm not exactly sure why but it was becoming a seriously bad habit. Ever since I've been here I've found myself being early to everything. I'm pretty happy about that change. But anyway, I interviewed directly with Corinne Vielle. She greeted me through two beautiful glass doors and we sat down in the comfiest chairs I've ever known. Right off the bat we clicked. She's a few years older than I am so I felt like we had that friendship vibe going. She told me she already hired two interns and was just looking for one more. We talked about her career and her ultimate goals and then she asked about mine. I told her what I wanted to do and her face lit up as I was talking. It was a good feeling. She ended up hiring me on the spot and I start this Tuesday! What the internship entails is that she has a showcase on the 29th of this month so she needs someone to get all of her invites out to everyone in the industry (some hand delivered), be in charge of RSVPs, and once I told her I wanted to do set design she gave me the opportunity to help out with the design aspects of her showcase. Also, I am going to have to sign a release because the event is going to be filmed and broadcasted. No problem there... :)

After I left I met back up with trent and we decided hey, it's friday and it's time to celebrate. so we grabbed a beer and pizza in little Italy. The place we ate at was soo good. The only weird thing was there was a huge picture of Ryan Seacrest with the chef on the wall. I felt like he was staring at us while we ate. But since we've conquored two awesome spots in two days, we decided we are going to start keeping a track record of every place we go to eat or drink at in New York. We're going to keep notes (i.e. this place sucks, this place has hot waiters, this place swallowed my wallet whole, etc).

Later in the night, being last night, we cruised to Justin Timberlake's restaurant called Southern Hospitality to meet up with a table of strangers for dinner. Trent only knew one of the girls so it was really nice of them to invite us. We ended up loving them and going back to their amazing apartment. There was a pretty good guy to girl ratio so we played Kings Cup to pregame before we went out to the bars. After that we cabbed it to East Village and bar hopped. I had so much fun! I'm really starting to enjoy being the girl that no one knows. Everyone paid for my drinks last night too in order to welcome me to the city. Whoever says New Yorkers are stuck up assholes is so wrong. Later in the evening I found myself talking to more good looking men than I could handle. Literally. This city is overwhelmingly packed with dark haired boys that California has never had a chance with. I love it. sigh. Anyway, it's about 1 o clock in the afternoon now and it's time for another apartment hunting day with T-lc.

Until we meet again,
Meg

Wednesday, January 6th

Each day is truely an adventure in New York. ONCE again, woke up later than planned. The time change thing is starting to bug me. It's about 9:20 PM right now so once I'm done writing this blog I am going to seriously try to sleep early. For real this time...

I woke up to an almost freezing cold room this morning because the heater conveniently works everywhere in my apartment except for my room. Well, actually, it "works" but if I shut my bedroom door then the heater is tricked into thinking the entire house is warm, when really the warmth stops at the foot of my door. I'm thinking of investing in some flannel sheets. Anyway, back to my adventure of a day. Today, also being hump day, was a day filled with many good and bad surprises. (jeez. I just reread that, can I say DAY one more time?) haha.

Lets start with the good surprises, yea? Okay well when I woke up this morning, the first thing I did was check my e-mail. I opened it up to find that I officially have my first job interview! It's for a paid internship with an event planning company that does events for musicians and works around the fashion industry as well. The interview is Friday at 2:30 so I'll keep you posted! Next up on the good news is I got a knock on my door and when I answered it, it was the guy coming to fix the heater. EXCEPT, neither I or any of my roommates called him. He just happened to come to the wrong apartment, but hey hey I was so glad he did :) I put him right to work. He ended up being really cool too. His name was Carlos from the Dominican Republic and we shot the shit in spanglish while he added styrofoam to the innards of my walls. More and more I'm realizing that I really do talk to everyone. Anyway once Carlos did his thing I went to check out a few apartments that I found through craigslist. The first one was in Tribeca (really nice area) and I loved it! The bedrooms were bigger than any room I've ever lived in, there were probably six closets in the apartment, and the living room and kitchen were really cute. Also, the building has laundry on every floor, they take dogs, and there is a 24 hour bellman just like you see in the movies. The place offers one month rent free and is in our price range so I'm gonna go check it out again Friday with Trent to see what he thinks. fingers crossed.

Next up I checked out a place in Brooklyn shown to me by a man named Tyrone. Oh man, what a j-o-k-e. The apartment is literally attatched to the top of a bar and the "bedrooms" were straight up closets. Nice try attempting to trick me into believing those were bedrooms. I told him I'd be in touch. I think that's a nice way of giving someone a little hope, even though we both knew we'd never see each other again. The last place I saw today was also in Brooklyn, off the L train at the Jefferson stop. I know that probably means nothing to you but I like saying it. This place was also pretty radical. 15 ft ceilings, 2.5 bedrooms, huge living room and kitchen area, and an awesome roof deck with a great view of New York City. This apartment is probably the biggest and cheapest place I've seen so far. The guy who showed it to me was super good looking too. That fact may or may not have had an affect on how much I liked it. But if we decide to go with this place we can turn the third room into a sweet game room or even rent it out to knock a couple hundred off our rent. Either way, things are looking good.

But back to my happy surprises. On my way home I decided to stop for milk because I have two boxes of my favorite cereal at home, but no liquid companion. Milk turned into an entire shopping experience and I loaded up on a week's worth of groceries. My grand total you ask? a whopping $38! I couldn't believe it! If I bought those same items at a Ralphs or even Vons, I guarunteed would've been at the 60-70 dollar range. So I was super pumped walking home as a happy Key's Groceries customer and then I walk into my apartment...

And here is where the surprises go sour. As soon as I see Asher's face (my boy roomate) I knew something bad happened. I set down my groceries, ask whats going on, and he gives me the news that Oliver had just passed away right before I got home. Oliver was Jess's cat (my girl roomate) and he was only 3 years old. Apparently it happened really suddenly. She thinks he might've had a stroak or heart attack. It reminded me of when I lost my cat a few years ago. I think she's still a little bit in shock. She loved Oliver just like I love Lucy. (my dog, not the tv show). Anyway, it was really sad in the apartment tonight and it just made me look at the fact that tomorrow is never guaranteed. Nothing is really. So please keep Jess in your prayers and your hearts and remember to live every day as if it was your last. I know I will.

Until we meet again,
Meg

Tuesday, January 5th

What a productive day! My body is slowly adjusting to the time change, but I'm still not waking up as early as I'd like. Hopefully by next week things will be right on track. Anyway, I met with a realitor company today called Bond Realitors. They showed me things that I didn't know were possible... like finding apartments in our price range on the upper east side of Manhattan. Hello NEW YORK CITY!

A girl named Safiyah helped me. She was funny, told me to call her sophiah to make it easy. I told her I can handle the pronunciation. Also I'd say she probably had the best eyebrows that I've ever seen in my life. But anyway, I got to check out a slew of 2 bedroom apartments with her on the east side, all walking distance from one another. Just walking around I got the best feeling. So many people were out walking their dogs, smiling, busy. The energy here is unreal and something that I've never felt anywhere else. I learned a lot about NY apartments today. I love that every building has buzzers to let in visitors because it reminds me of Sex and the City and Friends. Also I learned that I definitely do not want to live in what's known as a "railroad apartment" because if you don't already know what it is - it's that you have to go through one bedroom to get to the next one. Can you beleive that? exnay on the RR. haha, but anyway... Trent gets in thursday for a job interview and then Saturday we are going back to the realitor's office to check out apartments together. I saw a couple places that I loved today so hopefully we will hit the jackpot this weekend and fall in love with something that we both like.

I've gotten a lot of phone calls today from people back home. It made me miss everyone even more. Also my mother is becoming my personal stalker... 3 calls a day REALLY isn't neccesary mom! but I love you. Hmm what else did I do today. Oh yes, I went to this amazing bookstore called "strand" recommended by Nichole. It's incredible. Better than any Boarders or Barnes and Noble and its totally jam packed with good looking European men. (<--my fav) I didn't buy any books though. Maybe tomorrow.

Now I'm back at home in the BK. I'm going to go to bed early tonight so I can get an early start on my day tomorrow. I'm planning on heading into SoHo to apply at Club Monaco, Crate and Barrel, and a few other stores that are hiring for Visuals. Once my room is clean I'll add a few pictures of my apartment too :)

Until we meet again,
Meg

Monday, January 4th

Oh Monday. you finally crept up on me. My friend that was visiting is now gone and it's time to start my life, for real. My alarm was set for 8am this morning, but when it went off I could hear the snow and wind blowing outside and the last thing I wanted to do is go running around town in it. Then I read my horoscope for the day and it told me today is a day to stay indoors and take care of old projects and lingering tasks. So I have decided to do just that.

I spent my morning searching jobs on Craigslist and NYFA and have sent out my resume to four companies today. Ideally I'd really like to have two jobs to add a little variety in my work life. I'm hoping to get hired with this fashion PR company as an assistant during the week and work for an event company during nights and weekends. Crossing my fingers! but things are looking good. (always gotta stay positive, right?)

As far as the apartment hunting goes, I checked out two places yesterday. Both in Williamsburg, two bedroom, wood floors, and right in our price range. BUT... the first one was ridiculously small. The second one definitely has potential and is in a great area, but it is also a bit on the smaller side. Oh yeah, I haven't even mentioned my roomate for February yet. His name is Trent, and he's pretty high on the awesome scale. We met through mutual friends and just hit it off. He'll be here this Wednesday through Sunday so we are going to look at a stream of places this coming Saturday in hopes of finding "the one".

In the meantime, I'm going to try and find Target today. There are barely any out here. The closest one is at the Atlantic Mall which apparently I have to take a bus to get to. Just being here a few days, I'm realizing how easy my life was back in CA. Now I am forced to learn how to read maps (dont laugh), figure out which subways to take, put on 10 layers of clothing before I leave the house, amongst many other tribulations. But you know what? I absolutely love these challenges. They are so minor when you look at the big picture. I love the feeling of change. The different faces I see and have never seen before are so refreshing. Instead of feeling alone out here, I feel independent. So at the end of the day I have one thought: New York, I love you.

Until we meet again,

Meg

Saturday, January 2nd

I have just finished school at FIDM in Los Angeles, CA with a degree in Visual Communications. Since living in Southern California my entire life, I decided now was the time to embark on a new journey while giving myself a drastic change of scenery. In hopes of following my dream of becoming a set designer for runway shows, the only place I could think to go was New York City. Once I decided this, I told myself that I would do whatever it takes to get myself there without looking back. I made quick decisions - sold my car, got rid of half of my belongings, booked a plane ticket, and three weeks later here I am. It really goes to show that you can do anything you put your mind to. Knowing that, I have the upmost faith in myself to make it in this crazy town.

Speaking of crazy town, I don't actually live in the city (aka manhatten). I live in Brooklyn. I have two roomates, Jess and Asher, who are both awesome. Oh, and we have a black cat named Oliver. He's one of those cats that acts like a dog, you know. Anyway, the four of us will only be living together for the month of January. I thought it would be the best way to move out here, living in a sublet for a month while I find a permanent place to live in February. I am really happy I went with that too because although my apartment rocks, I pretty much live in the ghetto. Also, I am currently unemployed. Monday will be my first solid attempt at looking for a job in the city so wish me luck!

All of my friends and family have been so supportive of my move out here so I thought it would be fun to blog my experience. I invite you to follow me in my adventures as I adjust to the (freezing) cold weather, find an ideal living situation, get a job, and begin my life as a New Yorker.

Until we meet again,
Meg