The Big Apple Adventures

Monday, February 13, 2012

A job is not everything, but it feels like a Lot

I have a job! I start at Wells Fargo this week in Cash Management Services for Commercial Lending. My team serves commercial lenders across the country. Wells is one of the top five banks I wanted to work for so it is a great opportunity at a company I want to be at. A big bank experience to compliment my years in regional banks.

It has been just over six months since my last day at Seattle Bank and exactly six months since I moved to the Big Apple. I didn't expect it to take this long to get a job but the journey getting here has been great. Living proactively is difficult when there is no one dictating your schedule or setting a level of expectation for your activities during the day. Without external structure, the challenge, and opportunity of unemployment, is finding creative, meaningful ways to engage each day. Thankfully I found a lot of opportunities to engage, from volunteering on the board of a non-profit to taking an online class. I also have a great group of people in my life who encouraged me with their words, connections, and presence.

"Don't Quit"

I have a wonderful sister named Tonya (hey sis!). She has always shared wisdom with me through poetry and adages. When I graduated from high school as a 17 year old and headed off to college in Missouri, far from my small known world, she bought me a small iron sail boat with a poem on it's main sail which I still have. The name of the poem was "Don't Quit". It got me through my first season of college soccer (the first time I participated in a team sport ever in my life, with a coach who yelled at me to do things that were painful, such as sprinting up and down the soccer field in 100 degree weather. "Don't throw up on the Soccer field" and "On the Line!" were phrases that permeated my dreams and woke me from my sleep in a state of panic for about a month). I wanted to quit soccer SO bad, but this poem reminded me that I may have reserves of emotional and physical energy that were untapped and it was worth continuing to find those places within myself.

I grow when I reach for what appears to be unattainable, and learn, once it is in my grasp, that it can be attained and how to get it. It inspires me to continue to challenge myself and find that next area for growth. Often the secret to attaining the unattainable is simple, actively endure against the odds that I see in the hope of success I cannot see. There was a time when I worked a forty hour week, attended classes for an MBA, ran my own business on the side, and volunteered on the board of a non-profit. Completing my MBA felt unattainable some days. In the midst of every quarter I felt like I would fail out of my classes, incapable of the mental capacities necessary to write the next paper or solve the next case study. But I graduated! All I had to do to succeed was endure; to take on the next assignment regardless of how I felt, finding that I had the energy necessary to engage eloquently enough.

Don't Quit

"When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit --
Rest if you must, but don't quit.

Life is strange with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a fellow turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow --
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a fair and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late when night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out --
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit, --
It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit."
-- Author Unknown --

Also, check out my photo updates on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151189236805646.797340.556040645&type=3&l=ecf9363bd5

Saturday, December 17, 2011

City Updates

I have now visited four museums, The American Museum of Natural History, The Museum of Modern Art, The Met, and The Guggenheim Museum. These are mammoth establishments that should be taken in by segments. They are packed with art and artist you have never heard of and displays you did not know existed; such as living rooms throughout the centuries at The Met.

It is clearly the Christmas Season. The City has exploded with Christmas lights and trees, pop-up outdoor malls, and ice rinks. It is a very festive atmosphere!

Photo Album of Random Seasonal Photos and the Guggenheim:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151056689750646.775651.556040645&type=1&l=a5e3752d7c

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Thanksgiving Day Parade and the City

Here is the link to my Thanksgiving Day photos:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150969922055646.766598.556040645&type=1&l=69aff2e3c3

The day was fun, complete with hours of parade anticipation and excitement. Enjoy!

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Colors of a New Hood and Living Space

Greetings from Brooklyn. I have moved on with my life leaving Williamsburg behind. I now live in Kennsington Heights in a house, on a tree-lined street. I share the home with the family who owns it and two other roommates. I get my own bedroom and living room but share the kitchen and bathroom with the roommates. The family lives upstairs in their own part of the house.
Gone are the noises of Williamsburg. Now, instead of horns honking 24-7 and loud bar crowds until 4 am I hear people talking to each other sometimes as they walk by, but otherwise enjoy a lot of quiet. It is a good reprieve.

My new Tree Lined Street.

The outside of my luxurious accommodations.

The Bedroom.

The Living Room / Study.


More of the trees on my street...love those trees!

Now I live close to Prospect Park, the largest park in Brooklyn (http://www.prospectpark.org/visit/interactive_map). I haven't explored a lot of it because most of my time there is spent running rather than looking around. I did take my camera on a run and captured some of the Fall colors before they fell to the ground.

Happy Thanksgiving! Next time I will post pictures of the Macy's Day Parade.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Two months in and I still haven't been to the Met

Today is sunny and Fall has clearly settled in. There is a cool breeze with no humidity. Everything looks beautiful. Hipsters are wondering around after brunch at 4pm or to brunch. Williamsburg living.

Unemployment is for the Unemployed, not just the unemployable

I am working on the next phase of my career which involves getting a job. I know that is very typical behavior but I decided to conform on this one. I have had a lot of great coffee meetings and several interviews. Nothing has stuck so far. However, I am very impressed with the generosity of the people in NYC who meet with me and network me into their business relationships to help out. Everyone I meet is supportive; creating a sense of social support I had not anticipated. My gratitude to you all!

On my way to an interview on the Long Island Rail Road

I rode the LIRR to an interview. That’s right; I went all the way to Long Island for an interview. It took 3.5 hours to get there because of poor communication. I ended up on the wrong train. The interview went well regardless. In the end the hiring manager and I both decided the job would not be a great fit but she was very willing to pass my resume on to another hiring manager looking for someone with my skill set.

The trip back from the interview was 4 hours. There was a rain storm which I got caught in. Turns out that lightning from the rain storm put the train out of service headed west so we sat on the tracks for an hour. Then we had to get off the LIRR and transfer to the Subway which was a mess because there were crowds of people going in opposite directions all at the same time. It was a long day.

A Lesson in Tenacity

One principal I come back to over and over is that you cannot control all the circumstances of your life. But you do get to decide how you handle them. Here are some specifics about what I am doing with unemployment:

I am volunteering for a non-profit, The East River Development Alliance (ERDA Website), to write a business plan. They are a forward-looking organization that seeks to be financially self-sustaining by building profitable business into their programs. Their goal is to help end generationally entrenched poverty within public housing neighborhoods. They do this by providing hands on personal finance classes and job training among other things. They believe that people don’t need hand outs but tools and opportunities to help themselves out of poverty. I’m a huge fan of the concept and their work.

One of their money making programs is a Credit Union which they started, bringing a bank to a neighborhood that previously had none and depended on expensive Check Cashing Companies for the services they now receive for free. The program I am working on would provide short-term employment for public housing residents as Livery (Borough Taxis) drivers with the long-term potential of becoming self-employed.

I am applying for jobs. This is an intense research project believe it or not. I spend as many as 20 hours a week doing research and reaching out to contacts. It is challenging to constantly put yourself out there and often receive rejection through an email that says, “We are considering other applicants at this time…” with the subtext of “You aren’t really good enough for us.” Tenacity!

Socializing. I am really good at that. I am in a running group and try to meet up with friends from various circles every week. Aside from being healthy for this Extrovert it provides great opportunities to network towards that career objective of getting a job. The results have been great; the people I meet are generous, gracious, fun loving, friendly folk of the best kind.

Coffee shops are the center of my day because the key to successfully surviving unemployment is to get out of the apartment as much as possible. The two most visited are Grounded in the West Village and Connecticut Muffin in Park Slope. Both wonderful places that offer free Wi-Fi, the best feature of any coffee shop or café. I have also recently discovered Minerva has a delicious food menu as well.

I went to a Museum finally, the American Museum of Natural History.

Self Portrait of me and the map of the museum

So many stuffed animals! The place is gigantic and I saw a life size whale (hanging from the ceiling). I also saw Dinosaur skeletons. I covered the entire Museum in a day; needless to say, I didn’t sit around and take in one exhibit for very long. Except for the star show which was very informative and a fun “ride” as you sore through galaxies that are very real looking.

I went to Boston: Boston Photo Album. I have wanted to go to Boston for about nine years. One of my favorite United States’ historical stories is about the Boston Tea Party and I read Johnny Tremain as a child. These painted a picture of the US as a free thinking revolutionary place rather than the status quo setting, leading nation we have become. That was a beautiful day trip in which the weather and city conspired to seduce me. It worked; I’m in love. I walked the Freedom Trail featuring historic graveyards, homes, and buildings. I saw the first public school, Paul Revere’s house, and Bunker Hill Monument. Check out the photo album for more than words can tell.

So, that is how I spend my time. Research, write, correspond, engage, repeat. I think I’m doing the right things and believe that with tenacity I will accomplish the goal of becoming fully employed.

Post Graduate School Goals

The Diploma has arrived!!!!

There is also a segment of my life called “Post Graduate School Goals” which I am working on. Here is a list of things I have accomplished:

- Yoga, loving it so far.

- Running routinely

- Read a non-fiction. I completed “London” by Rutherfurd last month. Great historical novel.

- Move to New York City!

- Go to Boston in the Fall

Goals yet to be accomplished (all a bit more long term):

- Run a Marathon

- Learn how to swim

- Learn a foreign language (preferably French, German, and Spanish)

- Get a job

- Go to Europe

The City and some of its Uniqueness

ATM’s are like a plague here. They dot the sidewalks and stores in the most peculiar places, like next to the vegetables. On Bedford near my apartment there is a block with three ATM’s in a row. All unrelated ATM companies. There is another one on each corner of the block and several across the street. They often stand alone, as opposed to other ATM’s which are generally attached to a building such as a bank branch. Whenever artificial intelligence takes over planet earth, the ATM’s will be the foot soldiers of New York.

The city is loud…all the time always. The trains in the subway are loud. The cars on the street are always honking. People are loud. The bar across the street from my apartment is loud. I jump a lot still. This is also somewhat uncomfortable because it puts you in a state of subconscious panic. Whenever I go to a park I suddenly feel very relaxed surrounded by the gentle noises of nature, and people walking, running, biking.. Which causes me to want more time in parks. They are extravagant affairs with huge monuments and gated entrances at Central Park and Prospect Park or the trendy art instillations entwined with the plants at the High Line.

New York City: a many splendid thing.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Pictures of High Line

http://www.thehighline.org/

Sunday, September 11, 2011

The Cure for Homesickness

I had a week of being homesick. The reality is, when you no longer have any of the familiar parts of life that gave you context for who you are, you suddenly feel disoriented and moody. I want to share some of the city I discovered during disorientation that I like and is giving me new context.

My new apartment:

Room Shot #1

Room Shot #2

The High Line is a walking street built on an old railroad track above the streets of Chelsea. It is beautiful and a stark contrast to the city around it.

The High Line from below

Art shows up everywhere in the City. This is a permanent installment on the Subway platform at W 14th St and 8th Ave. I think its about money...

This is a random photo of apartments on the Upper West Side. I love the symmetry of apartments here. They're all built on top of one another with similar form but still individually unique.

The following photo series is from my neighborhood. Williamsburg is an eclectic mix of industrial and residential. Many old warehouses have been converted to retail and apartments. There are abandoned development projects resulting from economic fall out. New buildings in the middle of historically industrial spaces. The mix of old and new feels like an ongoing art gallery upon which street art regularly appears. Examples provided:

Williamsburg Bridge from my apartment side.

Billyburg bridge from the South side.

Plan ahead. Random art on an old warehouse fence. You have to stand at an angle to read it.

Covered in "art" against a background of plain.

Abandoned corner lot. Lots of barbed wire fence around these parts.

In the foreground, Williamsburg Bridge. Next is Manhattan Bridge. In the background is Brooklyn Bridge.

"Art"

This was in process as I walked by. The artist had left but the building had been covered in buckets of random paint which was not dry. It was running off the building onto the sidewalk and into the street. I'm not sure what the message was here...keep searching for meaning?