So much has changed over the past two months that I’ve been too busy to sit down and give everyone a proper update.
For starters, I published three articles for AOL’s new website, City’s Best Tampa. (And now for some shameless self-promotion…)
Country Line Dancing Bars in Tampa Bay
Best Places to Snag a Cheap Dance Lesson
Try Your Hand at Tampa Gambling
Around the same time I wrote those, I stumbled upon an ad for Editorial Intern at Budget Travel, a popular travel magazine I have been reading since I was about 14. My dream job is to be a travel writer/photographer, so even though I figured they had already filled the position (as had been the case with just about every other internship or job I’ve applied for recently) I sent in my resume and online portfolio anyway. Surprisingly, I got a response the next day, so after a few weeks of chatting back and forth and getting some things settled in Florida, I hopped on a plane to New York and have been here ever since.
That was on December 10th. My first day was the 13th. The office is just a few blocks from Times Square (great for the view, bad for walking through the insane amounts of tourists stopping to take pictures – one of which I used to be and I would like to deeply apologize now to my fellow New Yorkers). I go in from 10am to 6pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, leaving me plenty of time to pursue freelance writing/editing and go exploring. The internship is unpaid, but I have some money saved up from working at Old Navy last year and my Dad is graciously allowing me to stay with him in Queens. I basically just have to pay for my Metrocard and chip in for groceries.
If I thought the first night’s snow flurries were exciting, you can imagine how I felt about the blizzard that just came through. I was born in Floral Park, New York, and hadn’t experienced this kind of heavy snow since I was six. I remember being a kid and thinking the blizzard of 1994 was my fault since I had asked God to make it snow one more time before we moved to Hawaii.
This time, we holed up at my Uncle Joe’s house in Whitestone, watching the snow attack our neighborhood with my cousin’s cocker spaniel barking at the snow as it continued to fall. And as the plows eventually showed up few days later. I was lucky enough to have two “snow days” although I have to admit they were a lot more fun when I was younger and didn’t have to help dig out cars and walkways. It’s still thrilling and different for me to see snow, so please be patient with me if I suddenly am overcome with the urge to go sledding or build a giant snowman, etc.
Christmas itself was lovely, and felt even more special with the cold weather. (By cold I mean in the 20s rather than Florida’s version of cold.) Seeing all my cousins, aunts and uncles made it seem more like a holiday than usual, although I did hate the fact that I had to not be celebrating this time of year with my mother and sister in Florida.
That reminds me: I will be flying back to Florida for a few short days in January to get my braces taken off, a day I have been waiting about two years to enjoy. Once those miserable things are off, I want to look into getting contacts as well, so I will be able to look as good and confident as I feel.
And now for the semi-mushy, self-deprecating and brutally honest explanatory part.
I hope everyone has a safe, healthy and Happy New Year, but would like to reflect on a few things first.
While I officially have no one to kiss as the clock strikes 12, I am happy that I am happy about it. This time last year, I was not in a good place and would just like to say that everything has worked out quite nicely. I have discovered how strong and independent I can be on my own and however selfish it may be to say, it’s nice to just have to worry about me for a change. No planning things out, no compromises, just me.
I treated myself to a Broadway show last night. After standing in line at the TKTS booth for 90 minutes and watching West Side Story, La Cage Aux Folles and Rock of Ages sell out before my eyes, I decided on Million Dollar Quartet, a show inspired by the impromptu jam session of Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins on December 4th, 1956. It ended up being a great show and the best part is, I got a great seat for $49. It was nice to just play it by ear and roll with the punches.
It’s funny how I can enjoy being single yet hate it at times. Like the holidays. After work, I sometimes walk down to Bryant Park Holiday Market, grab some hot apple cider and sit there watching the ice skaters. It’s strange how two completely different sets of raw emotions (Aww, that’s nice to have someone to hold hands with and keep you warm & a wave of loneliness) can hit you at the same time. The funny thing is, I miss being able to hold someone, be close to them, etc. but can’t think of anyone I’d want to be with right now. I’ve met some great guys this year and had some pretty powerful crushes, but they’ve essentially fizzled out by now due to a lack of feelings in return or the addition of a new love interest on their part. No hard feelings and I wish you all the best. It’s just a little confusing and I’m not used to dealing with this kind of stuff. At the same time, it feels like I’m just waiting for a mystery man to make himself known and once he does, I’ll know exactly what to do and things will just fall into place.
Such are the trials, tribulations and triumphs of being single during the holidays while trying to build a career. The last thing I want is to be one of those women who doesn’t make time to meet new people and becomes obsessed with her job. That’s not me. I might be heading in that direction but I want someone to experience all that with. I’m not sure if right now is the right time for that, but definitely soon.
The other strange thing is I will be in New York for “at least three months.” Unless I secure a job of some sort (hopefully within Budget Travel) I am doomed to return to the Tampa Bay area sometime before summer. I know that’s a terrible way to think about it, but that is basically how I feel right now. I’ve tried to find work in and around Tampa that is journalism-related and it’s just not there. Or it wants more experience. Or just doesn’t pay. The job market here in New York is enormous and the possibilities are endless. That alone is enticing as hell to me. Throw in the Broadway shows, close family and friends, beautiful city, easy and efficient transportation and being able to stay with Dad in Queens, and I’ve got a pretty good chance of making something of myself up here. I know I left virtually all of my friends behind in Florida, but now is the time in our lives where everybody shifts around a little. People move for jobs or guys or girls or financial reasons. We’re in our mid-20s and anything is possible. Wish me luck!
