Week 1: Gig & Gigs

It's been one week since I moved up here and so far, I'm still adjusting.

My current "gig" is my (unpaid) internship at a boutique PR firm that's currently working on a huge upcoming music & film festival. I started last Wednesday & had practically nothing to do. Thursday wasn't much better but Friday, I finally got into media placements and whatnot. I don't want an easy internship; I want a challenging one. I've worked at various places in my field of interest but the last time I was in an entertainment PR environment was Fall 2007, so it's been a while & I'll be the first one to say that I'm a tad rusty. However, I just need to put my nose to the grindstone and soak in everything. Woo hoo! Go career!

Because of a certain actor, I've been following HBO's "The Newsroom" pretty much since it was announced. I was able to go to a sneak preview of it last week and I thought it was fantastic, despite what many critics say. The actor, John Gallagher Jr., was really terrific as Jim Harper, the senior producer of the fictional "News Night" show. The entire cast was great and I'm looking forward to upcoming episodes. John, or Johnny Gallagher as he also goes by, writes and plays his own music as well and had a gig on Monday night at Rockwood Music Hall on the Lower East Side. I've seen him play a good handful of times & he's really terrific. Lately, he's been playing with his friends & former co-stars, Michael Esper & Gerard Canonico, so it's nice to see him play solo since he hasn't done a solo gig in NYC since October.

Tonight, I went out to Brooklyn for the first time ever, I believe, to the Knitting Factory to check on the second night of "The Thing That Ate Larry Livermore" Record Release Party. I grew up with easy listening due to my parents so about four hours of punk/alternate music is so out of my comfort zone, but I had a blast even thought my ears are still ringing. I was in & out for a first few bands but I stayed put for the last one, Emily's Army, since they were mostly the reason I went. Even though they're young, they're so entertainingly good.

By the way, the heat wave this past weekend was ridiculous. I grew up in Florida so I'm can deal with 100+ degree weather... but only with proper AC. Yes, I'm probably spoiled with the central AC that I had back home as well as DC but goodness gracious! Currently, I have an AC unit that mostly blowing warmish air and a small electric fan that sometimes decides to blow air in instead of out. But I guess I'm thankful for having those at least.

Heading back to DC this weekend & then driving up with my parents who are flying in next Wednesday. Bringing up a few more things, include my printer & my wardrobe. I never realized how many clothes I have until I had to move. I also realized that I don't have a lot of summery clothes. Don't know how that happened but apparently, it's true.

Til next time!

Yeah, Scratch That.

After rolling my luggage along a total of 3 DC blocks, there's no way I'll get I'll be able to get through at least 1 NYC block. Taken a taxi. Let's guess how much it'll be. I'm going with $11 plus tip.

It's the day!

I'm heading up to New York via the lovely, mostly reliable Bolt Bus and I start my internship tomorrow. Whee!

That said, I was suppose to drive up with a friend this past weekend with clothes, shoes, bags & other goodies but my friend got sick & I wasn't comfortable driving that length by myself (although I've driven further before... another story for another time). So, I'm heading up now with two rather large suitcases, a backpack & a tote. Being cheap and poorish as I am, I'm taking advantage of both the DC and NYC public transportation, especially the bus.

Here in DC, I can take the 96 bus a block away and arrive across from Union Station in a matter of, oh, 40 minutes. Yeah, yeah, I could have taken my building's shuttle to the Metro and then took that but that's a lot of walking with serious luggage. Plus, the bus is only $1.50. [Edit: Apparently, I didn't pay attention to fare increases because it's actually $1.60 for SmartTrip & $1.80 for cash. Still cheaper than a cab.]

In NYC, it's a little bit trickier. I'm hoping to catch the 34A-SBS at Broadway & 34th and take that all the way to my aunt's place near 23rd & 2nd. The only thing is the luggage. I'll be at the first stop in DC for the 96 but in NY, I'm getting on in one of the busiest parts of Manhattan. And people aren't too friendly with a giant suitcase invading their precious bus space. I praying for an empty-ish bus. And that I get the correct one. Last time, I mistakenly took the regular 34 bus and ended up walking down 10 blocks on 1st Ave after realizing my mistake. Bonus of taking the bus... it's $2.25.

I'm going to miss DC bus prices. As well as the Metro's cleanliness.


Anyways, I'm off! Considering I didn't sleep last night, I expect to take a long nap on the bus ride up. Hopefully, I'll get a good seat neighbor.

"Here is New York"

There are roughly three New Yorks. There is, first, the New York of the man or woman who was born there, who takes the city for granted and accepts its size, its turbulence as natural and inevitable. Second, there is the New York of the commuter--the city that is devoured by locusts each day and spat out each night. Third, there is New York of the person who was born somewhere else and came to New York in quest of something. Of these trembling cities the greatest is the last--the city of final destination, the city that is a goal. It is this third city that accounts for New York’s high strung disposition, its poetical deportment, its dedication to the arts, and its incomparable achievements. Commuters give the city its tidal restlessness, natives give it solidity and continuity, but the settlers give it passion. And whether it is a farmer arriving from a small town in Mississippi to escape the indignity of being observed by her neighbors, or a boy arriving from the Corn Belt with a manuscript in his suitcase and a pain in his heart, it makes no difference: each embraces New York with the intense excitement of first love, each absorbs New York with the fresh yes of an adventurer, each generates heat and light to dwarf the Consolidated Edison Company. . . .

The city, for the first time in its long history, is destructible. A single flight of planes no bigger than a wedge of geese can quickly end this island fantasy, burn the towers, crumble the bridges, turn the underground passages into lethal chambers, cremate the millions. The intimation of mortality is part of New York now; in the sounds of jets overhead, in the black headlines of the latest editions.

All dwellers in cities must live with the stubborn fact of annihilation; in New York the fact is somewhat more concentrated because of the concentration of the city itself, and because, of all targets, New York has a certain clear priority. In the mind of whatever perverted dreamer might loose the lightning, New York must hold a steady, irresistible charm.

- E.B. White, "Here is New York" (1948)

Getting Ready...

After living in DC for five years of college and three years of aimlessly wandering, I'm heading to New York City. This blog is going to be the account of my transition from the somewhat quiet urban life of the Nation's Capital to the crazy non-stop living of the most crowded city in the United States.