Best Long Weekend Ever!

This (long) weekend was exactly what I needed to unwind from a busy and crazy week at work. Long weekends that go from Saturday-Tuesday are the best because for that one week, Monday doesn't exist. Technically, Tuesday functions like a Monday, but because there are only four days of work this week, it's still definitely Tuesday. Hooray!

On Friday Robbie and I went to a delicious Austrian restaurant on the Lower East Side called Cafe Katja. We went over the summer and since we were going to a show nearby, decided to stop by again. Big beers and pretzels with spicy mustard were consumed. The pretzels are imported from Germany, and the restaurant receives them halfway through the baking process, so they're finished off in New York and super fresh and amazing. Yum! And we shared a sausage sampler, complete with dumplings, sauerkraut, pork belly, cheese-filled sausage and fresh frankfurters. Oh my god. I have died and gone to heaven.

I tried to snap a picture, but it was bit dark. Maybe you can make out a sausage?

After dinner we went to a venue called the Rockwood Music Hall and saw some random bands. Alex Berger was our favorite! We also saw a hipster band called Hurrah! A Bolt of Light. There was a lot of sexual tension between the singers, but after some stalking, apparently they're not dating. Robbie and I are creeps.

Hurrah! A Bolt of Light

Saturday was a lazy day, which I needed. I stayed inside and watched TV with Robbie and ate peanut butter sandwiches. I stayed in that night with a bit of a stomach ache, but was glad to be lazy for a full 24 hours. With the stomach bug going around the city, I wanted to be safe.

Sunday I went to Ollie's to work at the shelter. We've been recovering from a mild outbreak of ringworm, so the shelter was closed to visitors. The kitties all seemed a bit cranky from not getting as much playtime or love from new people, but I was glad to be able to let them into the playroom for a bit.

And Robbie and I decided to sponsor our two favorite kitties, Sebastian and Viola. They grew up together and ended up at Ollie's because their owner died. They're 11 and the sweetest little things, I just love them. They've been at the shelter a long time, and while I want to see them go to a loving home, I selfishly hope they hold out until I am living in a more cat-friendly apartment and can take them to their forever home with me.

 Sebastian is gingery, Viola is the smaller one.

Viola has been at the vet, hence the sign and Sebastian climbing up his cage. He seemed lonely so I gave him lots of head scratches and kisses. Purr purr.

When Robbie got back from his Sunday soccer game, I cooked up some chicken and pasta and we feasted. Plus there was still leftover cake from Valentine's Day, yum. We went out with Robbie's friend from high school and ate fried pickles with beer and cocktails. It was exciting to go out on a Sunday -- less crowds and I felt kind of a like a rebel, even though I didn't have work the next day. 

Yesterday Robbie and I saw "The Secret World of Arrietty" and it was fantastic. We watched another movie from the same director, "Howl's Moving Castle" last week and were really into the style. I'd recommend it entirely! But maybe go at a time when there wouldn't be lots of young kids -- we had some loud laughers and it wasn't the most comedic of movies.

Hope you all had an equally relaxing and fun weekend! Glad it's a four day week...I have many things to look forward to in the next few months :-)

I Guess It's Been A While

"I guess" and "a while" are both pretty gross understatements, but between changing jobs, moving again and being lost in la la land, I've been off the radar. But I suppose it's time to fill everyone (another gross overstatement) in on what's been going on.

First, I quit my job at WSM. It just wasn't a good fit for me and while the nine months I spent there were fruitful, it was time to move on. So after a brief trip upstate in October to tie off loose ends with my manager Margot, I started at a new company called Kognito Interactive.

These are some pictures from my travels upstate to a small town called Margaretville.

You can see my face and read my bio on Kognito's team website, which is pretty nifty. People are constantly asking me what Kognito does and honestly, I haven't gotten better at explaining it. So I'll use our website's language: "Kognito is an award-winning developer of online role-playing simulations and games where users build interpersonal skills to effectively manage challenging conversations in the areas of health and behavioral health".

I'm a marketing assistant/junior account manager and everyone I work with is really fantastic. A positive work environment plus a company that promotes health & mental health awareness plus a kitchen full of snacks yields a very happy Magda. It's been a hugely positive change.

Just before I quit WSM, I moved from my tiny, horrible, expensive apartment in Brooklyn to a beautiful, spacious, inexpensive and close to the subway apartment in Astoria, Queens. I now have a queen sized bed (that's not on a platform!!!!) and floor space! Plus a lovely eat-in kitchen, a large living room and a front porch. I live in a three bedroom and actually know and enjoy the girls I live with, so that is a huge improvement. Robbie moved to Astoria in August, so commuting from Brooklyn to Astoria was a wreck. It's nice to be back to living a few blocks away from each other and having tons of things to do on the trip back and forth. Astoria is full of restaurants and bars and great things to do.

Here is a shot of my block, just so you know what the area looks like. I live in what I guess is a condo-style  house. First floor, left side. But this isn't my apartment, just some buildings across the street.

For anyone who hasn't seen me in a while, I also chopped off about a foot of my hair and donated it to Pantene's program for female cancer survivors, Beautiful Lengths. It has been quite an adjustment, going from throwing my wet hair into a bun for most of the day to blowdrying, straightening or otherwise styling it every day. I've gotten pretty good at a few different styles, and it's MUCH more manageable so I'm glad to have changed my look (it's like high school all over again) and to have done some good. Here are some pictures of it styled two different ways! It's also grown a little between pictures (which I can't seem to reorder...the second one is right after it was cut), which I'm happy about. More options!

Robbie and I have been together for nine months today! In a way, I can't believe that it's already been so long and that it's only been so long. We have been working on doing more "stuff" as opposed to watching TV and eating takeout, so tonight we're going to a comedy show to celebrate our monthiversary. I also cook on Sundays and we have one or two days over the week where we go out with our own friends. Bursting the relationship bubble can be hard when you're so damn happy you can't stop smiling. And when everything you do together feels shiny and warm. Ok, that's enough grossness for one blog entry.

I also have started volunteering at a wonderful cat shelter in the city called Ollie's Place on Sunday mornings. These are some of my babies! I'll try to get more pictures this week...I've been thinking about bringing my good camera to get some shots that can possibly go up on their website.

Annabelle -- she has the most beautiful blue eyes and is VERY vocal

Sebastian -- literally my dream cat. He is chubby and laid back and the friendliest guy ever...loves belly rubs :-)

Taylor -- also a sweetheart but can be kind of finicky.

So I think that's all I really have for now. Sorry that it's been so long!! I will do my best to update more frequently than once every 4 months. Ciao for now!

The Frenemy

Nicole recommended this blog to me, The Frenemy, and so far productivity has gone out the window in favor of reading every single one of these posts. It is hilarious, honest, and basically brilliant. It's so perfect, I can't even. It's out of control (these are two of my currently waaaay overused phrases, deal with it (that's number three)).

But getting back on topic: please read this post about living in New York City. Please. It sums up the way the city feels and the way the city makes you feel. It's not even remotely cheesy but if I wasn't reading it at work, I'd probably make some annoyingly girlish squeal. Read it. SERIOUSLY. READ THIS.

Here is an excerpt, just in case you're not really sure (you should be): "Forget all the great reasons why you moved here, fall in love with the reasons you didn’t think- cool breezes, car honkings, and knowing how to get places. Revel in being alone, revel in learning a city. Hate every job you have. Hate every bar you go to. Love both of these. Love everything. Have really, really good days. Stare at the city like ‘I got this.’ Swear you will eventually leave."

I have days and weeks and even months where I spend an inappropriate amount of my free time (HAH) dreaming about moving to a different city and perusing Craigslist for a apartments in Athens, GA or Austin, TX. The cost of living is much easier to deal with, there aren't surprise 3-foot snow storms, I would have a backyard & therefore a dog, there's hope that I would turn a color other than translucent white. But there is always, always, always something that stops me from being more than 35% serious about leaving the city. I'm not sure if it's comfort (but let's be honest, who's really comfortable here), safety (but let's be honest, who's really safe here), laziness, or the hope (/faith) that something wonderful is happening here. New York City is a strange place filled with too many tourists and too many people trying to sell me handbags, but it's also a place filled with possibilities. Possibilities for new adventures, new friends, new romances, new opportunities. Oh, and $1 pizza.

When Push Comes to Shove

"That was the most un-NYU apology ever. She actually felt bad!" -Ben Kafka, my Psychoanalysis professor

A Week Is a Long Time

So, as pointed out by my mother, I haven't updated in over a week. I've been insanely busy with working, starting school, dying of homework already, happy hours, concerts, and friends' birthdays. I started working last Thursday, the same day I saw the Damnwells, and have been working extra hours to pick up some cash. While $2 or $3 happy hour beers might sound cheap, getting 1 or 2 every day for a week really, really adds up. Like, really. Especially when that's only the beginning of a night that goes until 4AM. But enough about the things that my parents don't want to hear about.

Rundown: last Friday (9/3) was my friend Dan's 21st birthday celebration and we drank champagne at a swanky bar; Saturday I went to F21 with Julie and then met up with people for another birthday celebration; Sunday night we went out, I'm sure, but I can't remember where; Monday I went to happy hour at Benny's Burrito's with Melissa and Bess and ate amazing tacos, then got more food with Nicole (haha); Tuesday was the last first day of classes ever, but I only had work, and then I went to go see Hanson for free with Megha!; Wednesday was my first REAL day of classes, then I went to Indian place for Maddie's 22nd birthday and then up to 119 for Justin's 21st; Thursday we went to Karaoke for Maddie's birthday celebration; Friday I went to Brooklyn with Nicole to say goodbye to Joleen before she leaves for Senegal (super sad) then met up with everyone in the village and bounced around; last night I went to Nick's to hang out, then up to a bar in mid-ish town for Jim's 21st birthday, then a bunch of other places around there to dance our faces off.

Today I'm finishing my reading for the week, hopefully coming up with an idea for my presentation on Wednesday (can you believe I have a presentation already?), heading to midtown to buy my photography supplies (also annoyed that a $250 studio fee barely covers half of my studio costs), then SLEEPING. I've been trying to get 8+ hours of sleep a night, because the week before last (the week after I moved in and wasn't working or going to class) KILLED me--no sleep, lots of walking, etc. I'm still recovering.

I'll do a rundown of all my classes after they've met more than once and I'm not swamped and overwhelmed. I really can't believe I'm graduating this semester. It's too soon and I have no idea what I'm doing with myself.

PS: 36 views on my Damnwells video makes me feel so popular! I KNOW I don't have 36 viewers.

The Damnwells

This is a video I took of the Damnwells at their show on Thursday!!
It was incredible, I was seriously speechless and couldn't move the entire time.
Thank you, Alex Dezen, for always being so unbelievable.

This is the Start of a Beautiful Semester

I'm just waiting for the heat to break.

I've got another 6 days until classes start, and living in the city has never been this good.

Hot Child in the City

Look! I live somewhere! Somewhere that's not a dorm!

Clearly I've just started decorating.

It's very bright outside! I love August.

Of course, Eskimo. And a glimpse at my scarf collection