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Week in Review: Geographic Familiarization + More

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Greetings! I’ve officially wrapped up my first week in NYC and am heading into round two! Week one was a mix of terror and delight, but I must say the overall impression that New York City gives me is WOW!

How did I make it through my first week? For starters, I learned which neighborhoods you DON’T want to get on a subway to, and the general directions that most trains travel. A few things I’m trying to be proactive about:














  • Learning the subway system. As I mentioned in my previous post, I had quite the debacle during my first few days out. Last week I met up with a college friend (who coincidentally also was my hairdresser in Fargo…convenient much?) and being super cautious, left a half hour early to meet up with her in the event that I got lost. Well, guess what? I got lost. After stepping on the wrong train (on the wrong LINE, too) I was tugged into a carousel of subway dizziness. It was frustrating to say the least, and a great learning experience. I’m never going through that again! (Don’t quote me on this.) The rest of the week was smooth as far as subway rides go, and I’ve managed to let go of my “personal bubble” I always felt entitled to. “Personal bubbles” do not exist in the subway world. You grab on to that greasy, lubed-up pole, plant your feet and hold on for dear life. Accepting the fact that people are going to rub against you (and they may not be pretty, showered people) comes with experience.
  • Acquainting myself with the districts of Manhattan and Brooklyn.

    • One of the greatest things about NYC (from what I’ve garnered in a week) is the DIVERSITY. It’s beautiful. One moment you’re in the bustle of business people, the next you’re walking next to a hippie through the East Village, there’s a person to your right speaking Chinese and one to your left with a British accent, and the next minute you’re walking past a row of Korean restaurants and listening to a Brooklyn girl have a baby-daddy argument on the phone. You never know. New York is a great way to culture yourself! 

I enjoy the puzzle-like geography of the Manhattan districts, and am currently trying to commit them to memory so when I look at my coordinates, I know what neighborhood I’m in. Little things make sense once you think about them: SoHo is South of Houston Street, while NoHo is north of Houston. Yesterday I ran a work errand on West 23rd — the heart of Chelsea! Can you guess where the Upper West Side and the Lower East Side are located!? Right where they should be! Thank you, common sense!

  • Seeking out great places to eat. I admittedly haven’t done a lot of eating out at this point, partly because my budget doesn’t allow for it, and also because I don’t know where to begin. I’ve been using Yelp to direct me toward a few places. Last week I had an awesome meal at a Brooklyn Tex-Mex joint right up the street called Gueros, and today I found a great pizza joint, Roma Pizzeria, in Park Slope. But I’m still seeking out good, cheap eats that won’t leave me sick.
  • Studying style.  Where you have a city of diverse people, you also have diverse style. One of my favorite things about walking the streets of NYC is seeing what people are wearing! I’ve noticed that New Yorkers always have on nice, practical shoes — it’s an investment. Not to mention the variation in hairstyles, colors, and the intricate layering of clothing items (simultaneously very coordinated and effortless). I hope I can take away something in the wardrobe department!
  • Getting out of my apartment. I didn’t come here to sit — I came to move, and to explore. When I was searching for a place to live, my requirements were: safety first, then a roof over my head and a place to sleep at night. I’m lucky to have found just that, and have a place to crash after a long day in the city. It’s best for me to just walk intuitively — to see a street and feel it’s a good one to walk down, feel the lefts and the rights and perhaps stumbling upon a gem. There is so much ground to cover here, I feel that sitting around is using up valuable time.

Speaking of things that get me out of my apartment…

I also began my internship this week with 20×200. I should first explain how I came across them, ended up in New York City, and now am living every day (or at least the past week!) like there’s no tomorrow!
My wonderful cousin Erin tipped me off about 20×200 back in November. I promptly applied for the position and received a quick response. After an intense Skype conference call interview in mid-November, I took a deep breath and hoped that all my years of thinking about how to sound professional might actually come to fruition.
A month passed, and my hands were still empty of an internship. My fellow classmates and I would bemoan the task of finding work, as we were all in the same, empty boat — something that made me feel better about my lack of success. I continued to apply coast to coast at anything or anywhere remotely viable, but always thought, “Gee, it’d be sweet to work with 20×200.” As Christmas approached, I was still empty-handed. I made plans to pack up my belongings in Moorhead and move to  my parents’ in Minot, half-expecting that I’d be there for a month at minimum. Finally, in mid-December, I received the good news. I quickly made plans to move to New York to work alongside the fine folks at 20×200.

If you aren’t familiar with them, 20×200 does a really wonderful thing for artists and collectors alike. They offer beautiful, original, limited edition archival prints at exceptional prices. What does that translate to? If you have $20 to spare — I know most people do — you can own a one-of-a-kind print that supports both the artist and the supporter of artists, 20×200! It’s (this phrase is my pet peeve, but I honestly believe it applies here) *the perfect gift* for practically everyone!



If you’ve never visited their site before, now is the chance to take in some fantastic art and think about which wall in your home each piece could and would look good on!

(End of shameless advertising.)

A few more things from this week:

Window display at Bergdorf Goodman on 58th and 5th…so creative, so inspiring, so incredible.
Designer clothing in the windows of Bergdorf Goodman. Fashion I could only dream of affording at this point!
Lighting up the sidewalks of East 57th Street

Paid a visit to Times Square at dusk to experience the lights come alive!
The Flatiron Building at Fifth Avenue, Broadway, and East 22nd Street, as seen during a morning errand.
Running in errand in Chelsea, I ran across the legendary Hotel Chelsea. 
This advertisement says it all!
From a quiet evening in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

This has been a week in review, live from Brooklyn, New York where I feel completely cozy and absolutely at home. Keep tuning in for more adventures!

xo
jc

Finding my Footing

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Well, I made it to New York! It’s really an unbelievable feeling to have this dream sneak up on me, tap on my shoulder and suddenly become a reality.

To start, I was lucky enough to find a place to stay. I’m currently in Brooklyn in the Prospect Heights area, living in an apartment with three other young ladies (whom I was not acquainted with prior to moving). I have my own little space and it’s all I need for now! As for the area,  it is a mix of tiny shops, coffee spots, restaurants, and the typical grocers, laundromats and apartments of a city — all with a worn-in feel of a well-used neighborhood. There are gems littered throughout; for example, I went to a taqueria several blocks up the street this evening and it was every bit outstanding, and found a neat cafe to grab a snack or coffee.

I have been somewhat struggling with the transportation aspect of things. While the New York subway system is every bit efficient and effective (as far as I can see), I am heavily relying on my phone to get me solid directions from A to B. On my first day out, I walked to the nearest subway station from my apartment (about a 5 minute walk), bought a metro card and proceeded to play “eenie-meenie-miney-mo” as to which platform I’d stand on. My first shot, I guessed wrong.

Now, I’ve used subways in some of the world’s largest cities — London and Paris — and was quick to catch on. But New York? Struggle. As I waited on what I was 33% sure was the right platform, my doubt set in. A man approached me and asked me if I was a teacher. A teacher? “‘Scuse me miss, are you a teacher?” I was the only white girl waiting for the train, so someone was going to say something sooner or later.

Tail between my legs, I retraced my steps and let go of my stubbornness. I asked for directions and was well on my way. Since then I’ve become a little more familiar, but encouraging myself to ride as often as I can to get into the swing of things.

In the meantime, I’ll be scouring over this:

See what I mean?

I begin my internship with 20×200 on Monday and am looking forward to meeting new people and learning new things! I am excited to be a part of something in this great city.

It’s so refreshing to be in a new place, surrounded by things yet to be discovered. This is the start of something incredible.

xo
j

Of New York Life

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A few from today…REAL life update soon to come!

View from my apartment window, waking up on my first morning in Brooklyn after a weary day of travel
New York tchotchke/souvenirs
Empire State Building from a distance. Shortly afterward I had to walk past Kleinfeld (bridal store made famous by TLC’s Say Yes to the Dress that my sister Heidi is in love with).
With cousin Adam — we spent the night wandering the city on foot!

Dive Deep, Swim Far

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I feel that today is just as good as any to make a small (or big) announcement. Things have drastically changed in my life over the past six days, and they are going to continue to change as I move forward. In two weeks I’ll be moving to New York to fulfill an internship. A month ago I couldn’t have imagined this would be the direction my life was to go!

I am at once: terrified, excited, and curious. I have become so comfortable with this easy-breezy wide-open Midwest lifestyle that I foresee a mild case of culture shock. I can’t imagine what my mind and eyes are about to be filled with, the paths I’m going to cross and the people that might affect my life. I have no great way of describing it.

Throughout the past few months, there have been several quotes taped to my wall. One read, “All in good time,” that reminded me that good things come with patience, and that this period in my life is not my life forever. When I needed to reassure myself that stress does not control my life and things always work out, I’d recite “Slow down, calm down, don’t worry, don’t hurry, trust the process.” Eleanor Roosevelt’s saying, “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience” has always held a place in my mind. But perhaps the most meaningful words toward my life:

“Be not the slave of your own past; plunge into the sublime seas, dive deep and swim far, so you shall come back with new self-respect, with new power, and with an advanced experience that shall explain and overlook the old.”                                                                                                                              —Ralph Waldo Emerson

Today I packed up every possession into my car. I don’t live here anymore. I will never understand why I stayed around these parts for so long, but trust that the future will reveal the purpose to every decision I’ve made in this place. I am thankful in so many ways that life has lead me here, to the people that have changed me. Now I am thankful that circumstances are leading me to new experiences. I have grown tired of thinking I’m not capable of doing great things, because I know I have what it takes to do what it takes to make happiness. I’ve doubted myself for too long!

The world is waiting, and I’m coming. The feeling is like perching on a tree’s limb, high in the air, dangling your legs and waiting to jump to the ground, feel the momentum, and run for it. Here goes.

my iphone-crazed list of favorite apps

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I wish I remembered what life was like before I got my iPhone this past February. Sadly, I can’t imagine the 22 years that I lived without it. I know, I know…ridiculous. But as soon as I try to distance myself from the little gadget becoming an integral part of my life, Apple adds another app that blows my mind.

I haven’t extensively searched the App Store — not even kind of. Maybe if I’m in an awkward elevator ride or stuck at the train crossing, I might peruse to see what’s new. I rarely pay for apps, so that really limits what I have. The apps that I have found, however, are gems.

It goes without saying that some apps don’t need to make this list under the popular acceptance of them being awesome. Among these apps: Pandora (long live Internet radio), YouTube, Twitter, Shazam (identifies songs through recording a short clip) and the classic Maps, which has gotten me out of numerous sticky situations (even in the booming metropolis of Fargo/Moorhead.)

My favorite apps for iPhone (many of these are available for iPad as well!) in no particular order:

Pulse News
I love me a streamlined newsfeed. Pulse allows you to choose your sources (anything from NY Times to Perez Hilton to design*sponge) and organizes them in a visual of chronological stories. You can even organize your sources into different pages (local news, design related, sports, etc.). With SO many sources to pick from, I find it impossible not to get what you need out of this app. 

Starbucks Mobile
Well, big surprise here. Of all the apps on my phone, this one gets utilized daily at minimal. By loading up my Starbucks mobile card instead of paying with my debit card or cash, I get REWARDED! With the app, my soy milk is free (a $0.60 value, folks) and after every 15 drinks, I get a free handcrafted beverage of my choice! They even mail me a postcard that says HERE’S A FREE DRINK FOR YOU!

So maybe you don’t drink as much Starbucks as I do, but this app is way cool anyway. You can experiment with drinks (kind of makes me feel like the barista I never was), craft your own and add them to your favorites. It’s a total time waster, but if you’re looking to kill 20 minutes, this is for you!

Not to mention one of the most pertinent features of the app: The store locator. How many times have you been somewhere and wanted to know where the nearest Starbucks is? Never? Well, I have this problem frequently (it’s a First World problem, I know). I once got lost searching for a Starbucks in San Francisco and wandered in circles for three miles until I found one. Could have used this app!

I don’t think I need to promote this any more, because any faithful coffee drinker will appreciate it!

Songify
I’ve had a lifelong dream (well, it’s kind of always been Plan B) of becoming a rap artist, and nothing makes this easier than Songify. Simply tap, record, and Songify will put your words to a beat (albeit a good one). You have to sacrifice your singing voice for a robotic overlay (which is okay with me, mine is crap anyway), but the results are potentially amazing.

PostSecret
I really got into this app when it came out, partially because I’ve been a longtime follower of the Sunday Secrets posted weekly on PostSecret.com. I also find the PostSecret mission completely incredible in it’s ability to bring people together all over the world through something as simple as a secret. I really believe it changes lives, and I know there’s been times I’ve read certain secrets and felt a deep connection. I quickly downloaded this app and posted my own secrets, and was totally thrilled to get all sorts of responses and ‘hearts’ from viewers. 
The one downside to the app is the filtering. There is hardly any censorship, and sometimes people abuse the instantaneous live upload of the secrets. There is a lot of sadness in the secrets, and little spots of optimism. One thing I have realized through this app is how many people are hurting. All kinds of people going through tough times with lovers, friends, family, children, or even their pets. It is a humbling and awakening experience if you truly open yourself up to the words and put yourself in another’s place. 

This app can do no harm. I often read it for several minutes at night before I go to bed, to see how other people are feeling at that moment, and the problems they are carrying. It gives life meaning.


RunKeeper
If there’s one app you want to get some mileage out of — literally — this is it. I swear by this app because it’s so tech-y and fun that it actually made me want to work out. I was running nearly every day this past summer and this baby tracked my every step! 
So, what’s cool about this app? You can choose your activity (biking, hiking, running, walking, etc.) and RunKeeper will count your calories, distance, and pace (including your split times). The best feature, though, is it’s GPS that tracks your route! And even allows you to take snapshots of certain places. You can save all of your activities in a file, look back at them and admire all your hard work!
RunKeeper can function without being open, so even if you’re in the office all day and are curious how much you’re burning off that bum, you can start the app in the morning and have it counting in your pocket all day! Like, wow! 



Offender Locator (Free)

Just when you thought we’d run the entire gamut of app categories, we come to this: a sex offender app! Now, before you laugh let me give you a little back story: I grew up next door to a sex offender and never realized it until recent years! It’s good to know what’s going on around you. This app shows exactly where each offender lives and their offenses. It also pinpoints where police stations and fire stations are located in the even that you should need them.
I don’t live in fear, but I am a small lady and anything can happen. Even if it’s a little peace of mind, or more informative than anything, this app is helpful.





Phoster
This is hands down one of my favorite apps. Choosing from a variety of templates, you can make beautiful posters in seconds — that’s right, seconds. Once saved, you can message, e-mail, even make high-quality prints of your creation! 
The reason why I enjoy this app so much is it isn’t complicated. It has two things in mind and accomplishes them well:
1. Help people make posters
2. Keep it simple.
There is nothing overly-elaborate about the process. Check out this app and you’ll be making posters like a pro in NO TIME!

Quiption
It’s no secret that the postal service is going downhill because of technology. But how about an app that brings you the best of both worlds — snailmail and technology? Quiption is the postcard version of Phoster, allowing users to simply and easily create fun postcards and send them at a small cost!

How simple is this? 1. Plug in your own photograph and 2. Stamp it with a caption. The phrases are universal: “Carpe Diem,” “Wish You Were Here,” “Greetings from Here,” even “Oh Baby You, You Got What I Need.” Safe enough to send to your sister, your mom, even your grandma.

If you can’t tell, I really enjoy apps that are simple and easy. Thanks, Quiption.

(PS, Another nice postcard app is Postagram! Check that one out, too!)

Pocketbooth
This is a portable party if I ever saw one. Pocketbooth is exactly what it sounds like: A pocket-sized photobooth! Choose from a variety of strip styles, then snap, snap, snap, snap away! You’ve got an authentic-looking photo strip that can be easily shared…or printed! (I like things that can be printed!)

Instagram
This app is so rad, so groovy, so instatastically incredible, it deserves a cake, or a plaque, or a trophy of somesuch. Or just a card that says: “YOU. BEST. APP. EVER.” This goes without mentioning that it was just named APP OF THE YEAR. Yes, it’s that good.
Why do you think this app is so successful? Because it’s simple and universal? Ding ding ding! Instagram lets you take an ordinary photograph, apply any number of gorgeous filters, borders, and perspectival effects (but not too many…which is a good thing!) and instantly share it with followers. It’s a thing of beauty. 
Now’s my time for shameless advertising: You can see all of my Instagram pictures right here!

All Recipes
If there’s one app I could teach my mom to use, it would be All Recipes. I haven’t had extensive time to actually cook many things I’ve found through this app, but I can’t imagine a more helpful resource in the kitchen. I’ve used it to make appetizers on several occasions and it’s never failed me. The best part (besides the Dinner Spinner itself, which gives you meal suggestions) is the rating system and reviews that tell you if the recipe is a hit or miss. 
• • • • •
There are tons more I could add to this list, but I’ll keep it at these – what are your favorite apps?
xx
j

life, lately.

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There is something so different about these days, likely the notion of things coming to a close. Every week feels languid as each hour drips by with closure. I have begun packing up my bedroom to move in a few weeks and am dealing with the next step.
Knowing that I’m leaving has been such a rush of remembrance. I think back to my very first day of college, when the alarm clock my mom packed for me demanded in an electronic voice, “Out of bed, sleepyhead! Time to get up!” It’s so incredible to think of all the days between then and now. It’s so unbelievable to think of how many times I wanted to give up, and every single time I made it through. Despite every obstacle. Every bad day. Every bout with uncertainty.
I’ve found much solace in knowing that those years are behind me, and look toward years of what’s to come (whatever that may be) with excitement and fear. You know what you’re getting with college: Exams, projects, 9am classes, and essays. I can imagine the days ahead won’t be nearly as predictable.
And through experience I’ve learned, college wasn’t the best time of my life. A lot of great things happened, but I’m convinced the years to come will hold more beauty and discovery. That is what I’m looking forward to. 
All of my journals from college. I tried to write whenever I could.
• • • • •

I wrote this on August 30, 2006 — my first week of college:



art:


what i breathe. what i think.
what i came to school for.
what i love. my fuel
                  my motivation
                  my escape.
what i crave. what i put everything into.
what i dream about.




what i want to do the rest of my life —


—-and i can’t wait.

Isn’t it amazing that I still feel that way?
With love,
J

two weeks later…let’s hear it for thanksgiving!

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You know that phrase, “Better late than never”? Well, I am living proof that it’s true. In fact, I’m really hoping to dazzle you with these long-awaited photographs of my family’s Thanksgiving dinner that occurred over two weeks ago!

Please! Check them, and give me some credit for posting them before 2012!


Not much variety, but you get the idea. Food, family, and Butterball turkey hairnets. I really love photographing my Grandma. Her facial expressions are priceless. I’ll be quicker to post Christmas photos for my kin in blogland!

xo
j

pinteresting

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I honestly can’t believe it’s taken me this long to get into Pinterest. It just goes to show how busy I’ve been / out of touch with the Interweb of creative goodness. Lately I’ve been trying to fill up my Pinterest page with pretty and inspiring things!
You can join Pinterest through receiving an invite from another Pinterest member, so if you’re not on it yet — let me know and I will send an email invite link your way! Serious goodness!
xo
j