I'm Not Lazy

I have basically slept my entire weekend away, but I don't think I'm lazy. Ok, maybe a little bit lazy, but not that bad. Sometimes I feel really guilty about living in New York City and spending days at a time inside my apartment. I mean, why should I be inside all day when I live in the most exciting city on earth? Because I'm tired, that's why. Living in the city that never sleeps is pretty exhausting most of the time as you can imagine. There's always something going on and people to see and things to do, it can be overwhelming at times. I've been in the city about a year and a half now and I feel like I'm finally getting the handle of everything.

People don't come to New York to live a leisurely life. It's not an easy or leisurely place to live. There are plenty of leisurely activities to take part in, but even trying to participate in those with millions of other people at once can be exhausting. Most people come to New York to work and to achieve their goals. They come here to get ahead. People come here because there are opportunities that you can't find anywhere else in the world. They don't come here to do average things.

Sometimes I find it really hard to balance work and a social life. Much like other people in the industry, I work about 60 hours a week. Granted, it's not like I'm lifting bricks or pouring concrete or something like that, but I do work hard. Unfortunately, because I spend the major of my time at work, that doesn't leave much time to see people who aren't my colleagues. I've met so many interesting people since I moved to NYC and I find it really hard to get face time with everyone. It's really easy to burn out after working and playing all the time. I think I've burned out a few times since I've been here.

My mom has always said that life is about balance. You have to balance out the work and play, and I definitely agree with that. You also have to balance out the time spent on others and the time you spend on yourself. So sometimes when I stay in bed all weekend and don't leave my apartment for 24 hours it's not because I'm lazy. I'm just balancing out.

Anna Nicole Smith is dead

No matter what you thought of her, the passing of Anna Nicole Smith is sad. Reports are coming in that she overdosed in a Florida hotel room this afternoon and paramedics were unable to revive her. Anna has been under fire for the her unwillingness to cooperate with finding the paternity of her new daughter. On top of that, Smith also lost her son Daniel late last year under suspcious circumstances concerning prescription medication. More details available on MSNBC.com. Needless to say, it will be a busy day for the gossip mags and blogs in the next hours and days. RIP Anna!

The Coldest Day Ever

Today was the coldest day ever. Actually, I'm sure there have been days colder than this, but today was definitely the coldest day in 2007 so far. When I woke up I turned on the Today Show like I do every morning and checked out the bug in the bottom right hand corner. The graphic said it was 9 degrees out. I didn't believe it. I was sure there was some short of typo or error. Unfortunately, I realized that the graphic was correct when my face instantly froze and cracked off after a few seconds outside. I'm telling you, had someone flicked my ear they would have been able to take it home with them.

Shifting gears, I've been updating my resume lately and just trying to make it the best it can be. I'm finding it really hard to decide what to remove and what to leave on as I update. I'm thinking about making one large resume (and not removing anything) and then putting it together on a case-by-case basis in the future so I can gear it towards the position at hand. I just never know what potential employers are looking for and what till turn on (or turn off) someone who's reviewing my resume.

In other career-related news, I'm learning that it's never too soon or too late to start your rolodex. Every person that I've interacted with in college or in my career has the potential to help me out in the future. I'm surprised that it's taken me this long to actually realize that I should be saving the phone and email for anyone I talk to at work. I've always known that keeping up with my contacts was important, but now more than ever I'm seeing some of that support come through.

And in non-career-related news, Saturday Night Live had a great episode this past weekend with Drew Barrymore and Lily Allen. My favorite sketch was The Dakota Fanning Show. A pretty hilarious look (and great impersonation) of what this well-spoken teenager would be like ask the host of her own show. Take a watch from NBC and Youtube.com

Revamping the Blog

As you may (or may not) have noticed, I have removed a lot of information from my blog in the last few days. If you want to get an update on what I'm working on professionally at the moment you're going to have to call or email me! Hope you have my number!

There are PLENTY of other things to write about, though, so let's get at it!

My beautiful and talented roommate, Carolyn, turned 25 years old this month. To celebrate her decent towards over-the-hill status she had two weeks of wining and dining. I was at home for Lindsey's wedding for her actual birthday, so we went out the following weekend with a few of her friends to celebrate.

Clearly Carol was really excited for the night

I was happy to show her love on her b-day

Unfortunately I didn't have a date for the event

But I found someone wonderful to share the rest of the evening with

The Blog is Back in '07

Happy New Year, everyone! It's been quite some time since my last blog entry and I have no excuse other than I'm lazy... but isn't that was the holidays are all about? I'm finally back at work after a glorioius two-week hiatus and had to hit the ground running. Unfortunately, the world doesn't stop spinning when we go on a break, so I had a lot to come back to upon return. Who'd a'thunk?

Over the holidays I had a chance to head back to the 'burgh for a week to visit friends and family. Unlike Thanksgiving break I was thoroughly entertained for my whole stay. It was nice to get out of the hustle and bustle of NYC for a week, although it did take me a few days to calm down. In case you care, I'd like to give you a photo narration of my time at home.

My mom picked me up at the airport and (after waiting like 30min for my bags... Pittsburgh Int'l sucks at baggage claim.) we headed back to the 'berry. Upon entering my home I had this frightening painting staring me in the face:

Oh ya, that's the boys of "Good Fellas." Someone jokingly bought that for my Dad for Christmas and he was very excited to display it in our entryway. I'm assuming it's been disposed of at this point (or at least I hope so.)

Not to be outdone, my Mom soon produced this lovely new item she picked up for the holidays:

It's a Swarovski crystal encrusted, tin Pittsburgh Steelers purse. I ask, "What has happened to them since the last time I was home?" Haha... gotta love the family!

Of course we made the requisite 500 trips to New Castle to visit all the extended family members, and it was great to see everyone! I think the highlight of the holiday would have to be my cousins and I paying my brother to eat all the disgusting, leftover chocolates that were half-eaten by the rest of us. Way to make five bucks, Drew. And speaking of eating, my cousin Erin (the princess... barf) is currently eating for two! She's about 5 months pregnant now. As you can see by her shirt she did NOT infact let herself go. There's someone else in there, too.


Great times at home, but glad to be back in the city (for now) and staying busy at work (but not too busy to write this blog!) I'm sure there will be some better updates in the near future, but for now you can entertain yourselves with some additional holiday photos. Enjoy!