“Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can - there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.”

So what did I do Sunday? A whole lot of nothing. And it was grand. The Harry Potter marathon and I were buds, even though I only saw bits and pieces of a few of them. Oh well. Did I mention last time that I sketched out what I hope will be my senior collection? I'm REALLY excited. Obviously, I'd love to share with you, but some people are CRAFTY and I'm not about to reveal my secrets. =P But in November, you'll see. :)

Monday was good. I did a lot of sketching in illustrator. If I weren't sketching for Summer 2012, I'd try to post some of the things I've done. I'm REALLY happy with how some of it has come out. However, these are still in line development, so there's no way I could post things. I'm telling you, these crafty people are CRAFTY.

Last night was nice. I sat and ate dinner and talked with Nagymama for over an hour. And it was pleasant. We talked about Nagypapa and the lake and the war and Hungary and Palco and yada yada. It was a good night.

Today I worked on the final project ALL DAY. Oh my goodness. It was intense, but SO much more pleasant than last year. We laughed A LOT which is a miracle and it shows you we actually get along. Huzzah!

At the end of the day we did a rehearsal and got really positive feedback. God bless Dr. Sharpe, all of the presentations we have to do for CBH have finally helped me get rid of the habit of not breathing when I present. so happy.

I was so pleased when I caught the 6:28 train. Love getting back earlier. Ate dinner, chatted again, and now I need to do some research for school, portfolio, life, etc etc. Tomorrow is all day in the office. Yay!

I can't believe there are only 2 1/2 weeks left.

Oh, did I tell you I did a midpoint review thing with Diane on Monday? It was fabulous. She basically said she already views me as part of the team and sometimes she forgets to direct me and she's glad that I'm able to self manage so well. AND she said she really hopes they hire me. YAY. I love her. She is absolutely amazing, and so is her team. They make me so happy.

So yeah. work work work for the rest of the week, fabric shopping/portfolio printing/buying on Friday, then Long Island for the rest of the weekend! Yaaaay beach!

Ohhh side bar. Ready? No? Yeah, I thought not.

But I've just realized lately how easy it is to take things for granted. I run up and down the basement steps like a goat, and it's really difficult for Nagymama to get down there. I have not the best vision, but I'm in a generation where it's acceptable and common to get the right eyeglasses. I didn't have to go through a war, or sleep under a table. I may not be as well off as some of the girls whose parents are paying their way through NYC, but I'm so incredibly lucky and blessed to have family that lives so close and is willing to let me stay with them for months at a time.

So yeah. Hug a grandparent. They can have the worst eating habits and talk about your messy room behind your back to your other relatives, but they're something special.

Fun fact: I saw a Lamborghini driving down the road last night. What on earth was it doing in Passaic??

OH also. I haven't been doing outfits! Shame on me. Here you go!

My outfit from Friday. Jeans and my looovely Elle top from Kohl's. With a cami underneath from...Lane Bryant, I think?

My outfit from today. I couldn't decide what to wear. This skirt is actually really big on me now, so I kept having to hike it up all day. Which was kind of nice. :) I got it a while ago, and I don't remember where. The top is a mystery too. But the cami is the same LB one. haha

Oh Calvin. There's a reason we're BFF. This dress is one of them. It's got the ridiculously full skirt and the flattering darts. The only thing I don't like is the extra godet at the back. I look like I have a tail way too often. But I'll forgive you, CK.

"You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend.”

Oh, hey.

So Summer Fridays are fabulous. Though I've told you that several times. Do you believe me now?

Yesterday, I worked on the final project all day. We went to several meetings and we're FINALLY on the right track. so Huzzah for that. After work, seven of us Macy's interns (Let me try naming...myself, Lauren, Prescella, Michelle, Andy, Jameel, Lizzi...success!) went to Haru Hana, a place in Koreatown. It was really yummy and a lot of fun. :)

After that I was going to go get a portfolio, but I decided to just come back to Jersey. Turns out, that was a great idea. Somebody jumped in front of one of the trains somewhere between Penn and Trenton, which caused mass chaos and delays of well over an hour. Good grief. It's SO sad that someone committed suicide. And I feel bad for the people who were on the train they jumped in front of.

So yesterday afternoon I just lounged. I watched parts of the first two Harry Potter films (I haven't seen any of them...I plan to watch them all when I get back to Bama. haha.) and Nagymama caught me. She started yelling about how it was evil witchcraft, terrible, yada yada. Oh dear. That wasn't good. So after a while I just went to bed. I think I went to sleep around 1030. It was aaaawesome!

Today I got up at 7:30, said NO WAY, and went back to bed til around 9:30. Mmmmm 11 hours of sleep. When I got up, I called Kristi and she and the girlies came over. We swam and ate lunch then they left for naptime. I borrowed Nagymama's car and came to B&N. I love free wifi and bookstores. So this is fantastic.

I got a lot done on my portfolio, sent emails I needed to send, etc etc. Yay productivity! Tonight is laundry and cleaning. Oh boy. But first, to stop & shop for fresh fruits and veggies. so excited.

pictures? okay.

"Above all, be true to yourself, and if you cannot put your heart in it, take yourself out of it.”

Let's see here..

Yesterday was work work work, sprint to the train, pass out early.

Today work was pretty great since I spent the majority of my time sketching things in Illustrator, something I know how to do. It makes me feel like I'm legitimately contributing. After work, Lauren and I headed over to HSQ so I could style some outfits to enter the Marie Claire Front Row Challenge. Huzzah! That was a lot of fun.

After work, I reeeeally wanted a salad, so when I got to Secaucus I got the crappiest tiny little salad from Sbarro. It was fantastic. I love greens!

In other news, I'm pursuing my interest in costume design by contacting every theatre department in Tuscaloosa.

Roll Tide.

“You've got to get up every morning with determination if you're going to go to bed with satisfaction.”

OY yesterday.

I got up at 6, lugged my suitcase through the metro to HSQ, then down the street to Penn. Waited for 30 or so minutes for a train, then caught them to Secaucus then Passaic. Unloaded my stuff, took a shower, laid down for 45 minutes, then was up and on my way out again.

Caught another train to Secaucus then Penn to meet up with Erin, who would be in NYC for an hour and a half. I found her, took her to some pizza, then we made a mad dash through Macy's since she had never been. Let her take advantage of my employee discount to get a new purse, then sent her on her merry way to Virginia.

Then, I took ANOTHER train to Secaucus, then Passaic, so I could do some laundry. Ended up in a 2 1/2 hour lunch event with Nagymama and my great aunt and uncle? I think that's what they are. Anyway. That was an adventure. Somewhere in the middle I was able to get my laundry done. Around 5:30 I caught YET ANOTHER train to Secaucus, then Penn. I met Heather and we walked over to Lizzi's. She grilled, we sat, ate and chatted, then around 8:10 we walked towards the Hudson.

Good grief was it crowded. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but it was hot and pushy, and I wasn't all that impressed.

It's definitely something I needed to do at least once in my life, but I wouldn't do it again. Next time, I'll find a roof top or a big tv. It's just not the same with no music and just standing in a crowd.

Soon, I will post pictures, though. I promise!

So after the fireworks, we, along with 5 billion other New Yorkers, made our way back towards Penn. I made it there around 10:20 and was so happy to see it wasn't that packed. But then I looked at the timetable. The next train to Secaucus didn't leave until 11:07. UGHHHH.

So I grabbed a spot on the floor and waited. It finally came and luckily I got on. The train out of Secaucus didn't come until 11:48, so I got home sometime after midnight. Then it was a quick shower, 5ish hours of sleep, and exhaustion this morning.

So, in all, I took TEN trains yesterday. TEN. In a roughly 16 hour period. Ridiculous.

Ah, but such is life.

I got up, got ready, then laid back in bed for 20 minutes. Haha. Somehow I pulled myself upright and got myself to the train. Today was all-intern Tuesday. We learned a lot about private brands, had the shortest lunch break in the history of forever, then ran around the city like crazy people. All the interns from last year were put on the "all-star" team and we had to find double what everyone else did. Oh year, it was a scavenger hunt. Sorry, forgot that part. But we ended up finding everything AND getting back before every team but one. You know, we're kind of a big deal. Haha.

After that I went to my team and found out Lauren and I had been moved from our office. Ooookay. So I grabbed all my stuff and set up my new desk. By that time I only had like 30 minutes left of the day, so I just did some filing then went home. Caught the 5:58 just barely out of Secaucus. Got home, made lunches for the week, ate dinner, and now it's 7:17 and I am about to go to sleep. I'm tiiiiired.

OH but here's my outfit for today! I call this my Robin Hood dress....I guess because it's green? Haha I don't know but I LOVE it. It has fabulous draping on the hips and a huge cowl neck. LOVE. IT.

"In dealing with those who are undergoing great suffering, if you feel burnout setting in, if you feel demoralized and exhausted, it is best, for the sake of everyone, to withdraw and restore yourself. The point is to have a long-term perspective."

Woke up this morning and went to Kitchenette for brunch. Meh. Rude people, gloomy day, and not very good food. Oh well. Walked back in the rain, packed up my stuff and headed for Union Square.

Met Heather and we headed to her dorm to drop my stuff off. We went to the Coffeeshop and grabbed lunch. It was yummy. I got french toast since my brunch was not breakfast food. From there, we walked to Strand, then over to Nordstrom Rack. I love shopping for other people. We didn't get anything, but it was fun.

I took us the super roundabout way, but we made our way to the movie theater to see Cars 2. Hehe we both wanted to see it. It was pretty good. After that we walked a bit, then decided we would explore Chinatown. Hopped a bus downtown and went to Dim Sum Go Go for dinner. It was really yummy. Then we walked a while and eventually made our way on the R back uptown.

Tomorrow, I'm going suuuper early back to Jersey to drop my stuff off, coming back to meet Erin at Penn, then relaxing in the park. Heading to Lizzie's to watch the fireworks at night, then back to Jersey. Yay 4th of July!

Soon I'll add some pictures. I've been pretty pleased with my outfits lately, I just haven't had a chance to take pictures!

Me in front of the Manhattan Bridge. :)

"No, I am not seasick. Yes, I've always been green. No, I didn't eat grass as a child."

Ohhhh today. You were aaaaawesome.

Got up entirely too early, got ready, and headed over to Williamsburg. We went to Smorgasburg, which is essentially a small farmer's market. meh. not too impressed. From there, we headed to Beacon's Closet, a faaaaabulous thrift/vintage store. I loved it. SO excited about what I got. :) From there, we went to another farmer's market, then Junk, Buffalo Exchange, and Monk. I got the tackiest purse ever, but it'll be PERFECT for my sewing stuff. Huzzah! After that, we walked to Vinnie's Pizza, because we hadn't eaten all day, and they have vegetarian and vegan pizza. I got yummy bbq chicken pizza and she got some vegan pizza. It was amaaaazing. From there, we went to Herald Square and went to Macy's for a bit. I got the cutest Michael Kors sweater for like, $20 when it was originally $120. BARGAIN! We sat in HSQ for a bit, then we headed back up Broadway to try our hand at the Wicked lottery again.

We met some nice girls in line and I commented on how I liked her Chacos. It turns out one of them was from Alabama and had just graduated from Auburn. Hahaha. So we chatted a while. We were first in line to sign up, so we did that, grabbed money from the ATM then came back.

At 6, the cutie bearded man (in his Bouncing Souls t-shirt...lol he was a cutie..) came out and started announcing names. GUESS WHO GOT CALLED FIRST?!!? We were SOOOO excited! We got our tickets, freaked out a bit, then went to Pax to grab dinner. We headed back to the Gershwin Theatre around 7:15, I got a souvenir cup for $5 and we went inside. We were FRONT ROW. FRONT. ROW. FOR $26.25. Unbelievable. The show was absolutely AMAZING. The orchestra was incredible, and everything about the show was impeccable. The costumes were jaw droppingly impressive.

After that, I just continued my happy daze down the subway back uptown.

For my first Broadway experience, I got to sit FRONT ROW at Wicked for $26.25.

UNREAL.

“The human race has only one really effective weapon and that is laughter.”

So we didn't get in to see Comedy Central Park. The line literally went for at least a 1/4 of a mile. They let 6,000 people in and there were still probably 2,000 in line. SUUUUUCKS. I was so mad.

So we walked...and walked...and walked until we decided Planet Sushi looked good for dinner.

I got a seaweed salad and spicy tuna roll. It was yummy. I made the waiter leave a pitcher of water. We were both SO thirsty. haha. They took forever to bring us the check, but once they finally did we went back to her place. We also stopped at Pinkberry, which was fruity and yummy.

I ended up sleeping on the floor, but I slept surprisingly well.

I woke up Thursday morning SO nauseous. It was awful. I took a zantac to try to make it better but it didn't get better. I got on the 1 to get to work hoping it would just resolve itself. Around 103 street, I got that watery mouth shaky feeling like I was going to puke. I was like OH NO I am not going to be that girl that pukes on the subway. So I got out at 96th Street and just prayed that it would pass. I was going to go up and get a taxi, because the swaying of the train made it worse, but the 2 express came and I figured I could handle it. I made it to work, but I felt awful the rest of the morning.

I don't really know what caused it, because I got better by the afternoon. But it was AWFUL. I'm thinking maybe I got really dehydrated and tired and mixed that with sleeping on the floor. Not good.

So anyway. Work on Thursday was busy, but then we went to the parade studio in the afternoon. We actually got to take charter busses this year. Very exciting. I love the parade studio. Everyone that works there LOVES their job. It's so cool to see.

Thursday night I went back to Jersey and packed up for the weekend.

Today I had to be THAT girl with the suitcase on the train. I succeeded fairly well. Work was good. I went to Kmart after work with Prescella and....another intern whose name I can't remember. But she's really nice! So we got a little twin air mattress and a hand pump because it was cheap. Haha oh boy. We parted ways and I grabbed the 1 up there. Ohhh the subway was a bit of an adventure with the suitcase.

I made it up here and just hung out in their "quad" til she got off work. I use quotes because it's a tiny patch of grass surrounded by benches and concrete. Heh. Then we put my stuff up and headed down to Broadway to try our luck at Wicked lottery tickets. We put our names in, but unfortunately we didn't win. Boooo. So we took the metro down to Union Square to walk around. Then we spotted the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck!! We have both always wanted to try it, so we got in a MASSIVE line. We both got Monday Sundaes, and they were amazing. Totally worth the wait.

After that we walked around for a while, then headed towards Benny's Burritos for dinner. It was PACKED. but I love Benny's. We got our food and ridiculously strong margaritas. I couldn't even finish it it was too strong. It just made both of us REALLY giggly. hahaha. We walked a bit then headed back uptown. Went to the store and got a fan.

Tomorrow, we're going to explore Brooklyn a bit and go to the flea market. YAY!