I want to try and update this thing regularly, but so far that isn't happening. Hopefully I can make myself write more. This is mostly for my sake. Anyway. The camera I bought on Black Friday finally came in, and I can't wait to start taking pictures again of everything and hopefully posting some on here. Mostly I've been spending my time getting in the holiday spirit. I bought a tiny silver Christmas tree for the basement, have been seriously bundling up against the cold, bought a few presents for people and I'm playing Hanson's Christmas album Snowed In pretty much non-stop. Really, the only Christmas album you need.


I've also spent the past couple of weeks watching various shows and such. I figure I might as well take advantage of the fact that I can still use my student ID and get a discounted price for Broadway shows. So far I've seen Cirque du Soleil's "Wintuk," "Mary Poppins", "Promises, Promises" and "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson." All of the shows were really, really good and I had a lot of fun watching them (well, except for the one moment during "Promises, Promises" when the lady behind me told me to stop moving my head because it was too distracting. If people in front of me move around, I have to move too or else I can't see, you stupid bitch).

Anyway, I highly recommend any of those shows, they were all really really great. It's weird, every time I've gone to the city to meet up with my friend to go see something, we always end up striking up random conversations with people. We chatted with two girls in the lottery line for Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson about NYC apartments, talked to two dudes at a Thai restaurant about how much we loved the show. We ended up sharing a table with a Canadian couple at the overcrowded Shake Shack, talking about what we had all seen in the city and how these burgers were more than worth the wait and crowds. We talked to two students in the Spider-Man line about what other shows we should definitely check out, we made fast friends with the bartenders at Juniors, who not only gave us great recommendations for the best flavor of cheesecake, they also basically drew us up a map of the best food in the city on a napkin.

It's been really interesting meeting all of these random people, and it's weird because usually I never talk to random strangers. I think being in this city basically by myself has forced me out of my little box that I usually create, my comfort zone, and I've met a lot of people that I would never have talked to had it been a few months ago. Even my friend Alicia, who I went to all these shows with, I met randomly at the Harry Potter premiere because we were both fans that had recently moved here and randomly decided to check it out. We started talking, and she became my awesome buddy who I basically explored the city with. I think I'm just becoming a lot more open and aware of the world and the people around me, so that's pretty cool.

Anyway, self-reflection aside, I'm having fun here. Hanging out with cool people, doing some fun stuff, seeing all sorts of things, eating good food. I'd elaborate but this entry already is too long, so I'll just end it here for now.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I thought I’d share what I’m thankful for this year, aside from the blatantly obvious family and friends, etc etc. Of course I’m thankful for my mom, dad and my brother, I try not to think about the fact that I won’t be with them for Thanksgiving and how sad I am about it. And I’m thankful for all my friends, I miss every one of them and I can’t wait to see them all when I’m back in Texas for Christmas and New Year. So of course besides those things, and being alive, having a roof over my head, and all that boring shit, here is what I’m thankful for.

Kanye West.
I finally bought his new album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and it’s been on repeat ever since. Everything about this album is brilliant, Yeezy is a musical genius. My absolute favorite track is “All of the Lights,” with its epic horn section, incredibly catchy hook and cameos from Rihanna, Kid Cudi, Elton John(!!), Alicia Keys, John Legend, Elly Jackson from La Roux and like five other artists. He really outdid himself with this one and Fantasy is one of the best albums of the year, and I’m not afraid to say it, probably one of the best albums ever.

Four Loko.
This insane drink has been getting a lot of attention lately, and for good reason. One can is the equivalent of four beers and three cups of coffee TOGETHER. So it makes sense that they banned it in a couple of states, including New York, but of course I had to go out and try it before it wasn’t available anywhere anymore. I went to a nearby corner store and got a can of Fruit Punch flavored Four Loko, thinking it would be the best flavor out of the six or so choices I saw. I was so, so wrong. It tasted like a mixture of cough syrup and Raid roach spray.

While I couldn’t make it through the entire can, I did chug enough to feel a little bit of the effects, but not enough to fully evaluate it. So I plan to repeat my experiment with what I’m told are the “better” flavors, Orange and Watermelon. So thank you Four Loko, for giving me yet another alternative to choose from for the reason I wake up feeling ill and full of regret from the night before.

Harry Potter.
Seeing The Deathly Hallows: Part I has reignited my unhealthy obsession with Harry Potter. I’ve pretty much grown up alongside Harry, and I’ve been a die-hard fan since I was 12. The Deathly Hallows was an amazing film. It stayed true to the book, had stellar performances, it was dark and scary and epic and sweet and sad and everything I love about Harry Potter. And Rupert Grint’s performance as Ron was hands down the standout part of the movie; he was so freaking good. This movie perfectly set everything up for the last part, and I will be there at midnight. Probably bawling the whole time.

I wrote a much more thorough reaction to the movie on my Livejournal, but it’s basically the ranting of a crazed Potter fan, so I’ll just leave it at that.

Free donut/cupcake Fridays at work.
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Every Friday my work provides free Dunkin Donuts and coffee or cupcakes for the entire building. It’s a welcome treat, everyone eagerly awaits an email at around 3 or 4 o’clock saying that our Friday snacks are in the cafeteria, and then immediately I hear a stampede of people rushing past my cubicle. This happens every Friday, and it’s always the best way to end the week. Last week I discovered how yummy coconut cupcakes are, and so I’m thankful for those as well.

A few more things I’m thankful for: patterned tights, Willow Smith’s “I Whip My Hair” music video, animals in people clothing, anything Oreo-flavored, floral print, Florence + The Machine, mac and cheese, Glee, glitter nail polish, Google maps and Chipotle burrito bowls.

That about covers it.

Hey friends.

So I meant to start this right after I moved, but I kept forgetting about it, and then two months passed by. Oh well, I guess I'll just start it up now.

So after being in New Jersey for two months, I've gotten kind of used to life here and settled into a bit of a routine. I go to my magazine internship three days a week, and I spend the rest of the time applying and interviewing for full-time work, checking out New Jersey/New York and shopping/reading/eating/watching movies on a 1000 channel flat-screen. It's hard to condense two months into a single blog entry, so I'll do it using one of my favorites things: a list.

I love my job. I really really enjoy working at the magazine. I've learned a ton and have gotten so many opportunities that I thought I wouldn't have. I've pitched ideas that will be used in the magazine, written blog entries, interviewed random Disney celebs and met Justin Bieber's girlfriend. I even got a few perks, like random swag and advance tickets to Harry Potter, the latter of which I was super excited about. Anyway, working at the magazine has made me completely sure that this is what I want to do. I seriously love working there and I am trying as hard as I can to continue working in this industry. Magazines are my life.

I'm kind of falling in love with the city. Super cliche, but true. I've been to the city quite a few times now and every time I go I find something new and awesome and unexpected about it. There's kind of a magic quality about this city, no joke. Every time I go I'm in awe and surprised that I'm actually there. There literally is something different going on around every corner. Just the other day I was on my way to a show at Webster Hall and I passed a long line of people waiting for a chance to meet Nicki Minaj. I briefly considered ditching the show and jumping in line, but I had to meet some friends. I made a long long list of things I really want to do soon (like go to a Broadway show, which I might do tomorrow), and hopefully soon I'll be moving there.

There are some things I'll never get used to. The cold. And I know the worst is to come, I'm not looking forward to it. The time difference. Things start an hour later, and I seriously think 8 p.m. is too late for things to start. I don't like it. And I know I live very close to a place where there is a ton of amazing food, but sometimes a girl just wants a taco.

Um, I can't think of too much else. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was AMAZING. I really could watch that movie over and over again. I spent a lot of money I don't have at H&M. I LOVE THAT STORE TOO MUCH. I'm excited about Thanksgiving, but sad I won't be in Texas.

Hopefully I'll be blogging more about stuff. Fun times.