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!

Apparently I Fell Off The Face of the Internet

So I've been back from Israel for about two and a half weeks, and honestly, it's distracting how much I miss it. I have a really big problem called "accidentally-hit-F12-instead-of-delete," and that Tel Aviv weather widget keeps teasing me with its 63° at 7 PM.

Weather aside (and let's be honest, scenery, history, culture, schwarma, spirituality, and everything else amazing Israel has to offer aside), being away from the people is what really breaks my heart. This past weekend, Zack stopped in New York for a few days on his way out of the country to join the IDF (and here's a plug for Zack--he hasn't started blogging yet, but I set up a blogger for him so we can all keep tabs). It'll be hard to forget the image of Zack's head popping up out of the ridiculously large crowd at 13th Step when WE R WHO WE R came on (it's kind of a thing, alright?) and the feeling of giving him one last hug then chucking his stuff into a taxi and waving him off.

But it'll also be hard to forget how exciting it was to walk into Penn Station and see Elissa waiting for Zack and me, and then for more and more people to slowly gather and squeeze at one table; once again the loud and obnoxious Americans. I wouldn't have it any other way. Almost everyone I know who went on Birthright had an insanely wonderful time, but I definitely heard stories of groups that were full of cliques, snobs, and generally lame people--I feel lucky to have had the former. I feel lucky that I get to see some of these people ('sup Rebecca, hopefully soon-to-be 'sup Jess) on a regular basis, and that others are willing to travel in and out of the city so we can sit around and kvetch and nosh. I hereby promise to make similar treks so that we can all see each other as much as possible.

And, because it HAS been two and half weeks since I got back, you all deserve an update on my life here in the city. Well, it's cold. Right now I'm working 9-6 (actually 6:30, sometimes later) on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. This is what I look like when I'm at work (taken today, I think around noon):

Usually I'm a little more business casual (biz cas...how do you actually abbreviate that sound?) but I was running late this morning so I just grabbed a t-shirt and threw on a blazer. Plus, it is Wednesday (please check out this link if you don't understand the reference...but I'll cut you a break because you can hardly see my shirt). Everyone in this office is really great! The actual work bit of it can get a tad boring, but I know that everything I'm doing is very helpful and important, so it balances itself out. It's also a bit of a difficult adjustment because pretty much all of my friends are still in school, so they have homework, papers, exams, etc. But when I'm done with work, I'm done, and I get a little lonely not being able to spend my free time being, well, free.

And now, because I can't write much more than this at one time, especially about myself (I can hear you laughing, Dad), this is the end. But do expect more frequent updates! Sorry I'm a slacker; I love you all!!