Day 6: The Old Friend

Picture of the Day: Please Pass the Taiwanese Food

Yesterday I met a new friend, and today I had the distinct pleasure of reconnecting with someone I haven't seen in years. I've known Talida since the ninth grade because we used to attend the same youth group at our Houston church. The last time we met up was two years ago at her wedding to Tim. Even though we weren't terribly close growing up, Talida very graciously got in touch with me when she heard I was coming to town, and she and Tim gave me lots of recommendations about New York and treated me to an excellent meal at a little restaurant near my house called Lin's Taiwanese Cuisine. I think the name speaks for itself. Once again, this simple interaction made me feel that much less alone in the big city and went a long way toward helping me make this very overwhelming place home.

In other news, work has really picked up, and I'm starting to feel the stress. While the last few days have been about the big picture and broad vision, today's orientation was more about the realities of limited time and resources as we set our departmental goals for the year. Lots of meetings today with jargon and references that flew right over my head. It is also still intimidating working with such high-functioning professionals, but I am excited to finally have some quantifiable and deliverable objectives that I can begin to tackle.

Post-It Notes played a prevalent role at work today in our meeting about our department's goals and time allocation for the year.

As a farewell gift to Kate, my predecessor who is leaving work next week, the staff gave her a signed poster with the organization slogan, and one of her office friends actually made this amazing edible portrait of her completely out of different kinds of chocolate!

A comparison between Kate and her chocolate likeness. Isn't it remarkable?

The Taiwanese restaurant where Tim and Talida treated me to dinner this evening.

Day 5: The New Friend

Photo of the Day: Noodle Soup for the Soul

I know the title sounds unbelievably lame, like my move to the Big Apple is the first day of kindergarten, and I finally made a new friend. But the truth is I really am here all by my lonesome, so it was especially momentous for me to find some kind of social connection. Meet Clarence, a native New Yorker, who I blindly met through a mutual friend. He did me the great service of helping me pick up my shipment of three giant boxes containing a large bulk of my earthly goods from the FedEx office. In return, all I could grant him was some meager noodles. We had an awesome conversation, and I found out we have a lot of common interests and experiences.

Clarence took me down to Flushing, his home turf, and we had these delicious soups as a small sample of the extensive Asian cuisine scene. Aside from the mushrooms I fished out, it was quite comforting to have the warm meal in my tummy!

On top of that, I had my first work happy hour to bid farewell to Kate, my professional predecessor who is leaving at the end of the week. We grabbed drinks at the happy hour at Ted's Montana Grill located right inside our office building, so we didn't even have to brave the dreary New York streets. I wasn't able to stay long since I had to pick up the aforementioned packages, but it was fun hanging out with these awesome people for a little bit and unwinding before having to wrangle heavy boxes all evening.

Fun times after hours.

Day 4: The Pizza

Picture of the Day: A New York Delicacy

My second day of work was equally intriguing and challenging as the first, but despite a great time at the office, this pizza was definitely today's highlight. Everything they say about New York pies? Absolutely true. They're completely unique and utterly incomparable. I've never had pizza like it: the thin crust with just the right level of crispiness and deceptively abundant toppings crammed into its thin profile. These slices (one was tomato and basil, the other spinach and three cheeses) were from Patzerias Perfect Pizza on Broadway. I got off work late and decided to grab dinner while in Manhattan, so I picked this little eatery at random using my mobile phone. I blindly followed the GPS directions and wound up, to my surprise, right in the middle of iconic Times Square. I actually found it overrated and a little bit depressing; it just felt claustrophobic and too garish and touristy for my taste. However, it is a world-famous landmark and therefore worth the visit.

 New York tunnel system > Houston tunnel system

Sesame Street characters in Times Square.

A visit to the famous Time Square! There are probably millions of photos just like this; every tourist there had a camera out to snap a few shots.

A little context to where I ate my first New York pizza.

The subway station on the trip home.

Day 3: The Job

Photo of the Day: Welcome Swag

So everyone who has heard me say I would never work in a cubicle can go ahead and say "I told you so." Welcome to my workstation, complete with festive streamers and plenty of free swag, including an American Apparel jacket, a New York-themed mouse pad, Statue of Liberty novelty sunglasses, markers and notepads, and a couple of interesting reads.

So yes, I do work in a cubicle now, but it's completely worth it considering how incredible my job and the staff here are. Today was my first day of work at the Taproot Foundation, which has been a bit of a dream organization of mine, and I'm just hoping and praying that I can live up to the high expectations everyone here seems to have for me. I am simultaneously intimidated by the larger-than-life personalities of my co-workers and comforted by their confidence and kindness. The people are incredibly friendly and quirky, but there is also a very strong work ethic, and unlike many corporate environments, every person is invested and sincerely passionate about what they're accomplishing. And if I ever get too unhappy with my physical surroundings, I just glance outside and marvel at the wonders of midtown Manhattan.

I work here, in the Time-Life Building in Midtown Manhattan. For fans of the Mad Men television series, it is the building where the Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce advertising agency is headquartered in season 4! Our organization shares a floor with the Time Magazine human resources staff.

This is Kate, my current cubicle neighbor and predecessor. She will be leaving at the end of the week, and I'll be taking over her position. Kate has been amazingly helpful in bringing me up to speed on the dozens of Taproot Foundation initiatives and the intricacies of my new role and has been exceptionally considerate during the brain dump process.

Radio City Music Hall is literally a block from my workplace. You can see my building in the right-hand corner behind the trees. After work, I've made it a habit to walk around the area for a little bit and just soak in the sights and sounds of New York City.

Day 2: The Move

Photo of the Day: First Glimpse of an Iconic Skyline

  

I finally saw the Manhattan skyline today while picking up some furniture in Long Island City for my new room. The city is stunning and overwhelming, and I can't wait "to be a part of it," as Frank Sinatra so eloquently puts it.

Today was a rocky start for me with a lot of "firsts" in New York. I had my first breakfast of raisin bread, a red bean sesame ball, a pork-filled rice cake, and milk in a Chinese bakery in Queens. I drove for the first time in my U-Haul cargo van rental (thanks to NCCC for those giant 15-passenger skills!), and in the pouring rain to boot. While it wasn't necessarily a fun task, I'm proud that I managed to move a 7-piece bedroom set up three flights of narrow stairs nearly all by myself. The icing on the cake though? I had my barely-month-old MyTouch cell phone stolen from me at a gas station. It was out of my sight for all of five minutes, and when I turned around, it was gone. Upon later research using GPS capability, I discovered the phone was somewhere in Brooklyn....which I have yet to visit. It's the third phone I've managed to lose within six months, and now I get to wander New York without the assistance of my handy online maps and subway schedules.

Ah well, here's to comforting myself with more pictures of New York:

I spy the Empire State Building.

More of the Manhattan skyline from Long Island City.

A rainy day at the subway station.

The waiting for the 7 train on the Elmhurst station.

New York rooftops.

Day 1: The Arrival

Photo of the Day: Queens from the Sky

Arriving in the Big Apple was both momentous and anticlimactic. I was completely exhausted and bleary with restless in-flight sleep, but I was also keenly aware of the major life change this day represents. While I was hoping to catch a glimpse of the iconic Manhattan skyline as the plan landed in LaGuardia Airport, I was instead greeted with this view of Queens, which is more appropriate sinceI will be living here in the Elmhurst neighborhood for the next year. Welcome to New York!

My new landlords took me on a quick tour of the neighborhood, and while I consciously chose not to bring my camera as to avoid completely geeking out in true tourist fashion, I do regret not being able to capture the unique sights and sounds we encountered. While not at all glamorous, the neighborhood where I reside is an amazing smorgasbord of food, color, and culture. While I've always defended Houston as a premier culinary destination, it pales next to the overwhelming selection of ethnic eateries found in just a few blocks of any New York neighborhood. And I love that everyone walks everywhere!

Here are a couple random images I couldn't resist snapping with my cell phone:

Lactic Acid Bars entice customers in the Chinese grocery store checkout line.

Asians need to work on their branding skills.

The two-story Target at the Queens Mall has a special escalator just for shopping carts. Ingenious!