the sun is always in my eyes

hi everyone 

i've had a great first two weeks here in nyc...it's been a good start and i'm now trying to focus on getting down to business...getting more done in a week.

thursday morning was supposed to be my first audition for a broadway show (hair). unfortunately, my roommate & i were 2 of 1200 people to show up to the open call. we got there at 8:45 for a 10-6 audition, and were at least 200 people away from the door when they ran out of time slots. it was a disappointment because we had spent a lot of time preparing, but i guess it was a good learning experience. and we met some new friends.

we waited in a line to nowhere for 4 hours

this is the headshot i used (taken at my apartment):

in february, i am off work on audition days for

south pacific (broadway)

wizard of oz (national tour)

& peter pan (off-broadway)

we went back to boston this weekend to see all our long lost northeastern friends!

it was fun but very tiring (late buses)

napping in the dining hall

in other news, my supervisor jared (who is a big reason why i wanted to work at jive after interviewing) is being promoted from Marketing Coordinator to some sort of position that involves urban music, digital marketing, and a nicer office. As a result, it will leave my internship open to change. by staying an intern for jared's position (involves rock/pop music, which is my thing), he believes i will be able to take a much more active role in the actual work he does, because i would learn what he does at the same time his replacement does, and might even be able to share responsibilities with that employee. BUT, by moving to the new position with jared, i could get involved in a new field while sticking with jared. i decided that if i had it my way i would want to do both, and he thought that was a good idea. i see this as a really great opportunity for me to fulfill one of my goals: set myself up for a potential paid position at sony in 2011 (if i want it). it's good news!

manhattan buildings as seen from spacious central park

where do i go?

had a nice weekend in jamestown, ny (my mom & dad's birthplace), for my grandma's memorial service. as grandma & grandpa had 7 kids, which led to 19 grandkids, and so far 6 great-grandkids, we had a lot of people there...it was a good farewell! my bro & i sang a song during the service. (your grace still amazes me)

my first week at jive was a great one. i've settled in, already met a lot of people, and am now ready to start branching out...my goal for this week is to help out in other departments when i have down time.

letterhead

cafeteria

elevators on my floor. thought this was necessary

one of jive's best selling records...this is the award they received from the RIAA for sales of 11,000,000 back in 2000. it's hanging in the conference room.

sony building facing madison avenue

we saw hair on broadway last thursday - it was fantastic! i got the tickets during my lunch break for 37 a piece...we ended up sitting close to the edge of the balcony...i'd call it a pretty good deal. i got some shots of the city after work and before the show. here are a few of them

probably like broadway & 50th

times square...bet you didn't recognize it

one of the best shows of 2009, though i haven't seen it...i need to soon!

2009 tony winner for best musical

2009 tony winner for best revival

this would be the cleaning agent my roommate selected to clean a stain off the couch last night.

now we have two stains.

hump day

getting through my first week! as i get into the routine i'm starting to think about the stuff outside of Sony i want to dive into while i'm here. i'm thinking specifically about chasing after audition opportunities, maybe even part time jobs that have some sort of performing aspect to them. any ideas? what i don't want to do is get stuck into a routine where i just go to work and come home.

in other news, my grandmother passed away yesterday. she had struggled with cancer for a while and it was her time to move on. the forty or so members of the family she created will all get together this weekend in Jamestown, NY to celebrate her life!

i will post new pictures of sony and nyc later

peace from the 14th floor of the sony building

first day at sony!

first day with jive records today! work started at 10a in the sky lobby of the Sony Building. I don't have any good pictures of the actual building yet, but I'll have to take some. It's a gigantic building. Jive Records exists mostly on the 13th and 14th floors. My boss & I work on the 14th...marketing and promotion department, among others. In general, I'm going to be working with a lot of different stuff over the 6 months, but a lot of it will be with social media (blogs, twitter, facebook, myspace, etc), and with artist promotion. I will work 10a - 6:30p on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday.

Tonight my roommate set our fire alarm off by leaving a pan with about 1/12 inch of olive oil on the stove...on high. But dinner was still good :) We are well on our way to goal #20 - learn some sweet dishes.

more later!

we love our candles. and we're very sophisticated.

simple chili on night #1. tasted better than it looks!

my office! stereo in the corner...a bunch of jive cd's are in the drawer for me to listen to.

chillin

a ny intersection. sony is the building on the right.

mansion pics

here are some pics of our railroad-style mansion in the upper east side. instead of being connected by a common room or something normal like that, each room leads into the next. as it turns out, we really like it this way...but if we weren't two people who knew each other well, it might not be the case.

first is the kitchen. entrance is to the right

fridge...our goals are on top

next is roomie's room. this apt. was originally for a couple and a child, so this room is tiny. but it's right in the middle of everything and it's cozy. we are splitting the two rooms 3-months each (because nobody wanted to pay more rent for the master bedroom)

sInK. bathroom is in the middle of the apartment off of a hallway

then the living room. TV is to the right. that hallway has the bathroom on the left, and leads to the small bedroom and kitchen.

master bedroom...can you spot mister bunny

desk

the sleep-number bed...i can already tell i'm going to miss it when we switch rooms

wall to wall shot...kitchen, small bedroom, hallway/bathroom, living room, master. that's the big bed creepin' at the very end.

homer checked the apartment out for us!

Moved in and got some goals

Moved in to my NYC apartment! I am living in the Upper East Side with a friend from Northeastern. I'll be here until June 30 working with marketing at Jive Records in the Sony Building. I start work on Monday and am definitely nervous.

I will post pictures of the apartment soon! We love it so far...it's very "thin" but really long! Oh also I'm sleeping in a sleep number bed for the first three months ;-)

Tonight we made some goals for the semester. Categories were health/physical, career/job, music, social & other. I have twenty on my list (some of them are really small). Some important ones:

- Completely heal knee (have had IT band syndrome since October)
- Run 30 miles/week by June 30
- Set myself up for a potential paid position at Sony in 2011 (just to have the option open...)
- Write and record at least 9 songs
- Make friends with non-Northeastern or Sony people
- Update this blog at least once a week!
- See important sites in NY...all of them
- Learn how to cook some sweet dishes (first time without a meal plan or a mom meal plan. no magic fridges in this apartment :-x)

After this period of my life ends, I will spend July volunteering at Young Life's Lake Champion, which I cannot wait for. I wanted to do it last summer after spending 4 and a half months doing nothing but working and running, but didn't get the chance. I will need an excuse to turn my phone off for an extended period of time!

alright peace out