This afternoon I received my very first (real) job offer!
It is all very exciting.
I am still waiting to hear back however from the Large Corporation. I had to do a project for them and this morning I went and showed it to them. Not really sure how it all will turn out, but I know that I do have the profile they are looking for (the problem is that it is not womenswear, but childrenswear). Then when I got home after the project review, I received the offer from the Other Large Corporation - this one will be designing bras (again, not really my passion, but it would be a definite plus for my resume).
It has been a real adventure - I sought out the advice of (French) person here in NY who is a friend of a friend and also works in fashion. See, I was quite worried about either of these two positions as they were the most serious offers at the time, but I was quite obsessed with not becoming pigeon-holed into a specialty area (since my passion is actually high end womenswear). The Frenchie pointed out that yes, this would be a gigantic problem in France, and if we were in France, he would tell me to reject both offers (then again, this wouldn't be a problem as I would never even receive these offers in France!). Frenchie also said that in NY it is not really a problem to switch areas as it shows you are adaptable and blah blah. So now we'll wait and see if the Large Corporation from this afternoon will make an offer as well. I have to admit that for the time being I am leaning towards the bra designer job because a lot of womenswear is lingerie-inspired, and also because the people at this particular Corporation seem to be really, really nice. This is quite rare in fashion, especially the more high end designer you get, the bigger the chances are of working in a very negative atmosphere.
Anyway, this is really all very exciting. I have to have a background check and drug test should I accept the bra offer, and I have received my contract and a whole pamphlet about the benefits the Corporation offers (401k, health and dental!!). However, as I didn't understand anything about the insurance mumbo-jumbo, I will be discussing it with Mom, who will explain the finer details about things like PPOs, HMOs and whatnot. (I don't even know what an HMO is!) So exciting!
Friday, June 27, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
When It Rains...
I read this article in the New York Times, which was quite interesting, about Barack Obama and what his nomination means for France's black population.
I also read the article to the H, who was not impressed. "Bah!" he said, "You Americans hype up everything - it is SO not a big deal in France, and no one cares. Just like in France it is not a big deal about those riots, but here in America you all think it's some major news story!". Well, I don't know, but I do think that the H, being white, and being a "français de souche" would definitely not be able to see things from the point of view of a black person.
In other news, things have been quite hectic. I had an interview yesterday, one this afternoon, and three more interviews this week. It's quite odd, as I pointed out to the H, that these interviews and callbacks all seem to come in waves. When I first got back and started looking for jobs, I had several interviews all at the same time, in the period of about two weeks. Then suddenly, it seemed as though everything came to a complete stand still, as I received zero responses, then it started pouring interviews. It quieted down again in the past several weeks, and now everyone is calling me again at the same time. I'm quite hopeful this time around, as two of the interviews are actually second interviews, plus one is from someone who received my resume via a third person and contacted me about a position opening up. I'm crossing my fingers to hear back from a couple of other places which would be more appealing to me, although they are not Large Corporations, but small high end womenswear companies, and the position would be for womenswear design. On the other hand, the second interviews are with Very Large Corporations which I feel would be much more interesting in terms of salary and benefits, but they are not in womenswear.
Ah well. We shall see. I have resolved not to stress out about it, and will just let it all Flow. Anyway, must do project for second interview number 2.
**Update: Just got back from 2nd interview number 2 with Very Large Corporation and must do special project for them, which means a 3rd interview...
I also read the article to the H, who was not impressed. "Bah!" he said, "You Americans hype up everything - it is SO not a big deal in France, and no one cares. Just like in France it is not a big deal about those riots, but here in America you all think it's some major news story!". Well, I don't know, but I do think that the H, being white, and being a "français de souche" would definitely not be able to see things from the point of view of a black person.
In other news, things have been quite hectic. I had an interview yesterday, one this afternoon, and three more interviews this week. It's quite odd, as I pointed out to the H, that these interviews and callbacks all seem to come in waves. When I first got back and started looking for jobs, I had several interviews all at the same time, in the period of about two weeks. Then suddenly, it seemed as though everything came to a complete stand still, as I received zero responses, then it started pouring interviews. It quieted down again in the past several weeks, and now everyone is calling me again at the same time. I'm quite hopeful this time around, as two of the interviews are actually second interviews, plus one is from someone who received my resume via a third person and contacted me about a position opening up. I'm crossing my fingers to hear back from a couple of other places which would be more appealing to me, although they are not Large Corporations, but small high end womenswear companies, and the position would be for womenswear design. On the other hand, the second interviews are with Very Large Corporations which I feel would be much more interesting in terms of salary and benefits, but they are not in womenswear.
Ah well. We shall see. I have resolved not to stress out about it, and will just let it all Flow. Anyway, must do project for second interview number 2.
**Update: Just got back from 2nd interview number 2 with Very Large Corporation and must do special project for them, which means a 3rd interview...
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Possibilities
Argh! I know I really should not, but I have been incredibly stressed out about this whole job thing. I keep asking "WHY??? WHY???" even though I learned for a fact the other night while out with other friends from design school that many companies are actually having a hiring freeze right now.
Anyway, I was all browsing around for some sort of a part-time job, as our funds are slowly dwindling (and thus making me even more stressed out) and saw a posting for a dogwalker. See, the thing is, I really do love animals (I grew up with cats) and I've always thought it would be something fun to do. I had actually been wanting to volunteer at the ASPCA (preferably doing something like dogwalking) so I've been thinking about this part time dogwalking thing. It's a large agency that provides dogwalking and pet-sitting services, and they only take people on part-time. The only problem is that I've never actually had a dog before - although as the H pointed out, it's not like it's very hard to do. The H thought it might be a good idea for me, as it would occupy some of my time, I'd make a few bucks doing it, and I can finally stop harassing him about adopting a dog:
Me: Please please please PLEASE let's adopt a dog!!!!
H: NO! Dogs belong in the country, not the city. It's inhumane to keep a dog in a Manhattan apartment.
Me: No it's not. Millions of people here have dogs. There are even DOG RUNS in the park! It'll be FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
H: Whatever. I do not want a dog. I do not want to walk around the streets of Manhattan picking up poop.
Me: But millions of people do it everyday here! And it looks like so much fun to take dogs to the dog run!
H: But you want a big dog, and our apartment is too small.
Me: You know, my old next door neighbor had a German Shepherd. And the couple behind our apartment has a medium sized dog. It looks like an Akita to me. Akitas are very cute dogs.
H: Dogs are a big responsibility. I don't see you getting up early in the morning to take the dog out for a walk.
Me: But I can! I love dogs!
H: But you've never had one before.
Me: And now, maybe I can, if we adopt one from the ASPCA!
H: Ugh. No dogs. I don't want a dog. And no bringing your cat over from your mom's house. I don't like cats - they are really scary.
Anyway, the problem is that the dogwalking agency wants people to be available during the days for a minimum of 5 months - which seems like a really long time to me, because what if I land a job in the next 5 months (which I hopefully will)? To complicate matters further, I heard back from an HR person from A Very Very Large Corporation with whom I met several weeks ago. She really wants to place me in the Large Corporation, as she thinks I "get" their aesthetic and she loves my work and I am just a very great all-around person. (Well, she didn't actually say that, but you know what I mean). A new position has opened up in the Large Corporation, but it would not be in womenswear, and would I be interested?, she asked. Well, it was all very confusing because it seemed to me like it was the same position she had in mind when we first met. I told her sure, I'd be interested, but wasn't that the same one she mentioned last time, and then she was all confused herself, then insisted it was a new position that had just opened up. (I highly doubt this, because it sounded exactly like the one she mentioned when we met). In any case, I said it was fine, and also (ah, how clever of me!) asked if they hired any freelancers. She was all, "Ooooh, yes, I shall forward your resume to my colleague who handles all the freelancers," so maybe something will turn up in that area. Although I must say, I am starting to get quite worried about this HR person - she is really such a nice person, and has such a great and warm personality, but I think maybe she is confused what with all the myriad of positions that may or may not be available within the Large Corporation.
Anyway, I guess I'll put the dogwalking idea on hold for now, although I'd be willing to bet thousands of dollars that once I say OK and commit to 5 months of 11am - 4 pm availability, something will come up on the job front within 2 weeks...
Anyway, I was all browsing around for some sort of a part-time job, as our funds are slowly dwindling (and thus making me even more stressed out) and saw a posting for a dogwalker. See, the thing is, I really do love animals (I grew up with cats) and I've always thought it would be something fun to do. I had actually been wanting to volunteer at the ASPCA (preferably doing something like dogwalking) so I've been thinking about this part time dogwalking thing. It's a large agency that provides dogwalking and pet-sitting services, and they only take people on part-time. The only problem is that I've never actually had a dog before - although as the H pointed out, it's not like it's very hard to do. The H thought it might be a good idea for me, as it would occupy some of my time, I'd make a few bucks doing it, and I can finally stop harassing him about adopting a dog:
Me: Please please please PLEASE let's adopt a dog!!!!
H: NO! Dogs belong in the country, not the city. It's inhumane to keep a dog in a Manhattan apartment.
Me: No it's not. Millions of people here have dogs. There are even DOG RUNS in the park! It'll be FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
H: Whatever. I do not want a dog. I do not want to walk around the streets of Manhattan picking up poop.
Me: But millions of people do it everyday here! And it looks like so much fun to take dogs to the dog run!
H: But you want a big dog, and our apartment is too small.
Me: You know, my old next door neighbor had a German Shepherd. And the couple behind our apartment has a medium sized dog. It looks like an Akita to me. Akitas are very cute dogs.
H: Dogs are a big responsibility. I don't see you getting up early in the morning to take the dog out for a walk.
Me: But I can! I love dogs!
H: But you've never had one before.
Me: And now, maybe I can, if we adopt one from the ASPCA!
H: Ugh. No dogs. I don't want a dog. And no bringing your cat over from your mom's house. I don't like cats - they are really scary.
Anyway, the problem is that the dogwalking agency wants people to be available during the days for a minimum of 5 months - which seems like a really long time to me, because what if I land a job in the next 5 months (which I hopefully will)? To complicate matters further, I heard back from an HR person from A Very Very Large Corporation with whom I met several weeks ago. She really wants to place me in the Large Corporation, as she thinks I "get" their aesthetic and she loves my work and I am just a very great all-around person. (Well, she didn't actually say that, but you know what I mean). A new position has opened up in the Large Corporation, but it would not be in womenswear, and would I be interested?, she asked. Well, it was all very confusing because it seemed to me like it was the same position she had in mind when we first met. I told her sure, I'd be interested, but wasn't that the same one she mentioned last time, and then she was all confused herself, then insisted it was a new position that had just opened up. (I highly doubt this, because it sounded exactly like the one she mentioned when we met). In any case, I said it was fine, and also (ah, how clever of me!) asked if they hired any freelancers. She was all, "Ooooh, yes, I shall forward your resume to my colleague who handles all the freelancers," so maybe something will turn up in that area. Although I must say, I am starting to get quite worried about this HR person - she is really such a nice person, and has such a great and warm personality, but I think maybe she is confused what with all the myriad of positions that may or may not be available within the Large Corporation.
Anyway, I guess I'll put the dogwalking idea on hold for now, although I'd be willing to bet thousands of dollars that once I say OK and commit to 5 months of 11am - 4 pm availability, something will come up on the job front within 2 weeks...
Friday, June 6, 2008
Job Hunting
Aaaaarrrrgggghhhh!
The job hunting is not going well. Or maybe it is, but I just think it is not, only because I'm impatient for a job. I've been looking since mid-March and we are already in June now and I'm starting to get worried - I didn't think the job search would take so long.
That said, I have had plenty of interviews. The thing is, there are days when I get several calls, almost in a wave, of people requesting to meet with me, and then there are those stretches of days when nothing happens at all. This week (and last week) have been these kinds of long days.
I was getting worried, if only because I keep getting called for interviews, but nothing comes of it. Part of me thinks that people are just very curious about me and they just want to see what I look like, because:
1) the very first thing people ask when they meet me is "Do you have working papers?" or "Are you authorized to work in the US?" or "Do you need to be sponsored for a visa?". (This is when I explain, "No, I'm a US citizen and the other person either sighs with relief or looks at me all weird). This also furthers my suspicion that no reads the cover letter part of your email, since I have explained everything in my cover letter.
2) Then I always inevitably get the question about what it was like working with Super Cool Creative Director Who Came To The Company After I Left. I am thus obliged to answer, "Um, no, I was at the company before the Superstar Celebrity Creative Director arrived." (To which people always give a disappointed "oh..!")
3) People then ask me, "Wow, so, how was it, working at these haute couture houses?", then, "How did you get to work there?", then "Is is hard to work in France/Italy?", and finally, "Do people in Europe sponsor for a work visa?"
And then to top it all off, people end up telling me stuff like, "Wow, your portfolios are great, but your profile is too upscale/luxury/haute couture." Which is really, really annoying because I mean, they've SEEN my resume, and sometimes they have SEEN some jpegs of my work, and they MUST OBVIOUSLY KNOW what my profile is! I mean, I make it a point to always include rough sketches that go with the aesthetic of the company I am interviewing at, but it's like, all anyone really remembers is my professional portfolio (of published work) and nothing else. Grrrrrr! So frustrating!!!!! (Not to mention that I'm looking for ASSISTANT positions, so we all know that it's not like I'm ACTUALLY going to sit down and DESIGN the entire collection - everyone knows that I will be spending all my time doing boring stuff like updating line sheets and probably a bunch of flat sketches and sending stuff out via FedEx.)
Finally, a little anecdote: I interviewed at Super Cool/Trendy/Famous Fashion House here in NY, whose style is very minimalist, very deconstruction...you get the idea. So before I went in, I did a bunch of rough sketches that went with the whole minimalist, deconstruction idea. But the weird thing was, when I went in to interview with the two Creative Directors, they were behaving really oddly. They were like, "Come in, have a seat!" so I sat down and they sat down across from me, and it was like....complete silence....for 1 minute....before I said, "Well, let me show you my portfolios!" As they thumbed through my portfolios, there was....complete silence....which was very odd because most people ask me questions of some sort whilst thumbing through the pages. Except this time, it was literally.....complete...silence. I started to worry, so I figured I should maybe talk a little bit, so I kept saying stuff like, "Blah blah, this was my inspiration...blah blah...and here you can see I modernized it, while keeping the general silhouette....blah blah...and I used a lot of brocades and velvets, but softened it with some silk chiffon and lace....and I was really intrigued by the shape of the sleeves, so I did a few details like this on the cuffs...and then with the knits, you can see I went with a fine cashmere, because with this stitch it shows up better, but then with this other group, I went with a chunky knit but added some tulle with it...." and I was greeted with...complete and total SILENCE. Of course, after a good 10 minutes of chatter with no response whatsoever, I started to get nervous and thought, "Well, maybe they don't appreciate the chatter?" so I shut up. After that, one of the directors says, "Well, we've just started looking, so we'll be in touch," which was said in manner of "Thanks, but no thanks". I mean, WTF was that? They obviously made up their minds before I even showed up, and I almost would have preferred that they cancel the meeting instead of making me trek all the way out to almost 12th Avenue in heels and my giant bag of portfolios (and spending like, $12 on the cab out there).
Ugh. I know, I know, the economy is bad and I just need to be patient because something will come up soon, but it is just KILLING ME because I am SO IMPATIENT right now.
The job hunting is not going well. Or maybe it is, but I just think it is not, only because I'm impatient for a job. I've been looking since mid-March and we are already in June now and I'm starting to get worried - I didn't think the job search would take so long.
That said, I have had plenty of interviews. The thing is, there are days when I get several calls, almost in a wave, of people requesting to meet with me, and then there are those stretches of days when nothing happens at all. This week (and last week) have been these kinds of long days.
I was getting worried, if only because I keep getting called for interviews, but nothing comes of it. Part of me thinks that people are just very curious about me and they just want to see what I look like, because:
1) the very first thing people ask when they meet me is "Do you have working papers?" or "Are you authorized to work in the US?" or "Do you need to be sponsored for a visa?". (This is when I explain, "No, I'm a US citizen and the other person either sighs with relief or looks at me all weird). This also furthers my suspicion that no reads the cover letter part of your email, since I have explained everything in my cover letter.
2) Then I always inevitably get the question about what it was like working with Super Cool Creative Director Who Came To The Company After I Left. I am thus obliged to answer, "Um, no, I was at the company before the Superstar Celebrity Creative Director arrived." (To which people always give a disappointed "oh..!")
3) People then ask me, "Wow, so, how was it, working at these haute couture houses?", then, "How did you get to work there?", then "Is is hard to work in France/Italy?", and finally, "Do people in Europe sponsor for a work visa?"
And then to top it all off, people end up telling me stuff like, "Wow, your portfolios are great, but your profile is too upscale/luxury/haute couture." Which is really, really annoying because I mean, they've SEEN my resume, and sometimes they have SEEN some jpegs of my work, and they MUST OBVIOUSLY KNOW what my profile is! I mean, I make it a point to always include rough sketches that go with the aesthetic of the company I am interviewing at, but it's like, all anyone really remembers is my professional portfolio (of published work) and nothing else. Grrrrrr! So frustrating!!!!! (Not to mention that I'm looking for ASSISTANT positions, so we all know that it's not like I'm ACTUALLY going to sit down and DESIGN the entire collection - everyone knows that I will be spending all my time doing boring stuff like updating line sheets and probably a bunch of flat sketches and sending stuff out via FedEx.)
Finally, a little anecdote: I interviewed at Super Cool/Trendy/Famous Fashion House here in NY, whose style is very minimalist, very deconstruction...you get the idea. So before I went in, I did a bunch of rough sketches that went with the whole minimalist, deconstruction idea. But the weird thing was, when I went in to interview with the two Creative Directors, they were behaving really oddly. They were like, "Come in, have a seat!" so I sat down and they sat down across from me, and it was like....complete silence....for 1 minute....before I said, "Well, let me show you my portfolios!" As they thumbed through my portfolios, there was....complete silence....which was very odd because most people ask me questions of some sort whilst thumbing through the pages. Except this time, it was literally.....complete...silence. I started to worry, so I figured I should maybe talk a little bit, so I kept saying stuff like, "Blah blah, this was my inspiration...blah blah...and here you can see I modernized it, while keeping the general silhouette....blah blah...and I used a lot of brocades and velvets, but softened it with some silk chiffon and lace....and I was really intrigued by the shape of the sleeves, so I did a few details like this on the cuffs...and then with the knits, you can see I went with a fine cashmere, because with this stitch it shows up better, but then with this other group, I went with a chunky knit but added some tulle with it...." and I was greeted with...complete and total SILENCE. Of course, after a good 10 minutes of chatter with no response whatsoever, I started to get nervous and thought, "Well, maybe they don't appreciate the chatter?" so I shut up. After that, one of the directors says, "Well, we've just started looking, so we'll be in touch," which was said in manner of "Thanks, but no thanks". I mean, WTF was that? They obviously made up their minds before I even showed up, and I almost would have preferred that they cancel the meeting instead of making me trek all the way out to almost 12th Avenue in heels and my giant bag of portfolios (and spending like, $12 on the cab out there).
Ugh. I know, I know, the economy is bad and I just need to be patient because something will come up soon, but it is just KILLING ME because I am SO IMPATIENT right now.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Lost in the Supermarket
I know, I know, I have been quite scarce lately, but then again, I've been really busy this month.
Anyway, things are slowly moving along and the H is very slowly starting to adjust.
However, there was a bit of a crisis when we went food shopping. As everyone knows, I am a huge fan of Whole Foods, and especially of their 365 Whole Foods brand, which is excellent, not expensive, and is manufactured in factories with excellent separation techniques (to avoid cross-contamination with common allergens such as milk, wheat/gluten, nuts, shellfish, etc.)
Things the H has learned (to his dismay) about the US supermarkets:
1. There is no such thing as Picard (that classic French frozen foods store). Thus, we do not buy our herbs frozen, but rather fresh or dried. "What do you mean, you don't have frozen herbs??? What do you mean, there is no Picard?? Are you saying that you live like barbarians?!" was the H's response.
2. We Americans do not consider yogurt to be like, an actual dessert. Thus yogurt is sold in single-use containers and not in a 6 or 12 pack like in France. Plus, each yogurt is like, 99 cents or something. "Why are the yogurts so expensive? How do people eat dessert?" was the H's angry reaction. ("Ummm, yogurt is like, a snack you eat at like, 4:30 pm, or maybe you eat it with your granola and fruit in the morning," I retorted).
3. There is no cheese course in America. Not only that, but the cheeses imported in from France are like, a zillion dollars. "Why is cheese so expensive? We can't afford to buy cheese at these prices every day!" cried the H. ("Uh, yeah, that's because we Americans are not cheese freaks like in France and we do not eat cheese after every single meal," I said).
4. With the exception of Trader Joe's, wine here is quite pricey. Not only that, but the Italian and Australian wine sections are quite large, perhaps even larger than the French sections. "Why is wine so expensive? We cannot afford to spend $10 on a bottle of wine a day!" complained the H. ("Ummm, we don't drink wine with EVERY SINGLE meal here in the U.S.", was my response).
5. "Why is it so NOISY?!" exclaims the H, every time an ambulance/police car/ firetruck passes by. "Must they put their sirens on SO LOUD?!"
On the other hand, the H has remarked on quite a few positive points:
1. At least in NY, when you send a resume out, people actually respond.
2. The portions are HUGE. This is very good when he wants to buy a bottle of wine - he is very much into the large bottles that cost $7.
3. Pizza can be purchased and consumed by the slice rather than an individual pie. This also means much less wait time and you can even eat your food to go.
4. The Duane Reade Dollar Rewards Club is actually a pretty good deal. (When you get 100 points, you get $5 off your next purchase).
5. Whole Foods is actually not much more expensive than a regular old supermarket, especially when you buy the 365 Whole Foods brand. Plus, their stuff is way better.
6. You don't get penalized into buying a bag if you forgot to bring a bag to the supermarket. In fact, at Whole Foods, if you bring your own bag, they take 10 cents off your bill for each of your own bags that you bring.
7. Customer service is really efficient in the US. What's even cooler is that it's free to call them up and lots of times, they are open 24/7, so you could call them up at 3 am if you wanted to. For free. Oh yeah, and when you go out to eat, waiters fill up your water glasses all the time, without being asked to.
Anyway, things are slowly moving along and the H is very slowly starting to adjust.
However, there was a bit of a crisis when we went food shopping. As everyone knows, I am a huge fan of Whole Foods, and especially of their 365 Whole Foods brand, which is excellent, not expensive, and is manufactured in factories with excellent separation techniques (to avoid cross-contamination with common allergens such as milk, wheat/gluten, nuts, shellfish, etc.)
Things the H has learned (to his dismay) about the US supermarkets:
1. There is no such thing as Picard (that classic French frozen foods store). Thus, we do not buy our herbs frozen, but rather fresh or dried. "What do you mean, you don't have frozen herbs??? What do you mean, there is no Picard?? Are you saying that you live like barbarians?!" was the H's response.
2. We Americans do not consider yogurt to be like, an actual dessert. Thus yogurt is sold in single-use containers and not in a 6 or 12 pack like in France. Plus, each yogurt is like, 99 cents or something. "Why are the yogurts so expensive? How do people eat dessert?" was the H's angry reaction. ("Ummm, yogurt is like, a snack you eat at like, 4:30 pm, or maybe you eat it with your granola and fruit in the morning," I retorted).
3. There is no cheese course in America. Not only that, but the cheeses imported in from France are like, a zillion dollars. "Why is cheese so expensive? We can't afford to buy cheese at these prices every day!" cried the H. ("Uh, yeah, that's because we Americans are not cheese freaks like in France and we do not eat cheese after every single meal," I said).
4. With the exception of Trader Joe's, wine here is quite pricey. Not only that, but the Italian and Australian wine sections are quite large, perhaps even larger than the French sections. "Why is wine so expensive? We cannot afford to spend $10 on a bottle of wine a day!" complained the H. ("Ummm, we don't drink wine with EVERY SINGLE meal here in the U.S.", was my response).
5. "Why is it so NOISY?!" exclaims the H, every time an ambulance/police car/ firetruck passes by. "Must they put their sirens on SO LOUD?!"
On the other hand, the H has remarked on quite a few positive points:
1. At least in NY, when you send a resume out, people actually respond.
2. The portions are HUGE. This is very good when he wants to buy a bottle of wine - he is very much into the large bottles that cost $7.
3. Pizza can be purchased and consumed by the slice rather than an individual pie. This also means much less wait time and you can even eat your food to go.
4. The Duane Reade Dollar Rewards Club is actually a pretty good deal. (When you get 100 points, you get $5 off your next purchase).
5. Whole Foods is actually not much more expensive than a regular old supermarket, especially when you buy the 365 Whole Foods brand. Plus, their stuff is way better.
6. You don't get penalized into buying a bag if you forgot to bring a bag to the supermarket. In fact, at Whole Foods, if you bring your own bag, they take 10 cents off your bill for each of your own bags that you bring.
7. Customer service is really efficient in the US. What's even cooler is that it's free to call them up and lots of times, they are open 24/7, so you could call them up at 3 am if you wanted to. For free. Oh yeah, and when you go out to eat, waiters fill up your water glasses all the time, without being asked to.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Attention whores!
Yes! Attention whores, the whole lot of them!
Just CALL THE DAMN VOTE, Indiana! (Or, more specifically, Lake County, Indiana!) You're killing us!
It's like, 1 AM and they STILL haven't finished counting!
What, are they counting ballots by hand?!
Arrrrrgggghhh!
You know, I always thought people from Indiana were weird. Though this is solely based on that time I met this girl from Indiana who told me all about how she has to drive across a river (like, literally, because apparently there wasn't a bridge, which I still cannot imagine) to get to her house and that she had sex like, 5 times a day in the woods (because her house is in like, total wilderness, which I guess is why there is no bridge over the river in front of her house).
Just CALL THE DAMN VOTE, Indiana! (Or, more specifically, Lake County, Indiana!) You're killing us!
It's like, 1 AM and they STILL haven't finished counting!
What, are they counting ballots by hand?!
Arrrrrgggghhh!
You know, I always thought people from Indiana were weird. Though this is solely based on that time I met this girl from Indiana who told me all about how she has to drive across a river (like, literally, because apparently there wasn't a bridge, which I still cannot imagine) to get to her house and that she had sex like, 5 times a day in the woods (because her house is in like, total wilderness, which I guess is why there is no bridge over the river in front of her house).
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Getting into the groove
I don't feel like talking about the saga of my apartment. It is still going on, re: the rent money and all, but I have only negative thoughts about the guy who subleted my apartment - negative thoughts in manner of "I want to strangle him", so I shall not say anything about it at all. For now.
Anyway, things are moving along. Except maybe our funds, from HSBC France. Supposedly HSBC France wired our money to our HSBC US bank account but it's been almost a week now and we still haven't received it. I am willing to bet that the delay is coming from France, and is not a US problem.
The great news is that we discovered a great little restaurant about 2 blocks from my apartment (which means delivery! Holla!) called S'Mac. It's tiny, and they serve all sorts of fancy mac 'n cheese varieties - and the best part (you knew this was coming) is that they serve GLUTEN FREE MAC N CHEESE!!!!!! I had the "Cheeseburger" mac n cheese yesterday for lunch, which consisted of cheddar and ground beef. It was SOOOOO good, but it was quite heavy, especially as I haven't eaten THAT much cheese in awhile, so I didn't feel so great afterwards, but I got better as the afternoon wore on.
Today we went to Mozzarelli's, a pizza place that serves GLUTEN FREE PIZZA and it was SOOOOOOO GOOD. Mozzarelli's is a little farther away, on 23rd between Park & Madison, but it was SOOOOO GOOD. They have all sorts of different GF pies, and you can order by the slice, like everyone else. I got a pepperoni slice and it was SOOOOO GOOD. It was almost just like a real pizza.
(BTW, shout out to Celiac Chicks for all the great GF restaurant reviews).
H is adjusting, slowly but surely. He never fails to be surprised by how friendly people are here, and how customer service oriented people are in stores and restaurants. Yesterday we headed over to explore the Whole Foods on Houston Street (we usually go to the one at Union Square) and it was like, so much better than the one at Union Square - it is much bigger and there are way fewer people, plus they have a special beer shop attached to the main store, and offer cooking classes! Anyway, I have been having major issues with my hair these days - I had recently noticed that my favorite Aveda Rosemary & Mint Shampoo listed "grains" as one of their ingredients! This unfortunately coincided with a massive attack of eczema on my body, and now not only do I have patches everywhere, but my hair is oily and my scalp is freaking out - it's all dry and itchy and weird. I figured Whole Body at Whole Foods would have something for me but I looked at all the labels on all the shampoos and almost all of them listed something along the lines of "wheat", "barley", "wheatgerm oil", "hops", etc. The only one that didn't have any of these kinds of ingredients was the Whole Foods 365 brand of shampoo. I figured I'd buy it, but asked the saleslady if she would know if their brand of shampoo contained gluten. She was quite perplexed, and said she wasn't sure, so she advised me not to buy it, but to call her at her direct line (she gave me her number) next week as she would send out an email to the Corporate Headquarters for me to make sure if it was gluten free or not. "Wow," said the H, "that is like, REALLY nice of her. Salespeople are very nice here." (I didn't really say anything, but I had a look of extreme smugness on my face).
Anyway, as I pointed out to the H, France is never far away - and then I showed him the ultimate thing - that we get Le Journal de France 2 (the 20h edition) on channel 25 here in the NY Metro area. (Luckily they still show it every evening at 19h, and it hasn't changed since I first started French classes at the age of 8). So now he can keep up with the news back home - which tonight included clips of people arguing about working hours (something about some unions and people who are mad about working overtime or something) and the importance of the month of May in terms of vacation days (apparently there are many vacation days in May and the best way to take advantage of them all is to get your RTT's in between all the official Catholic holidays, which means you can get up to like, almost 2 entire weeks of vacation for only like, 5 RTT's). Oh yeah, and something about the Tunisians being all annoyed at Sarko's visit (big surprise).
If anything, it's vaguely comforting to see that nothing really changes much in France.
Anyway, things are moving along. Except maybe our funds, from HSBC France. Supposedly HSBC France wired our money to our HSBC US bank account but it's been almost a week now and we still haven't received it. I am willing to bet that the delay is coming from France, and is not a US problem.
The great news is that we discovered a great little restaurant about 2 blocks from my apartment (which means delivery! Holla!) called S'Mac. It's tiny, and they serve all sorts of fancy mac 'n cheese varieties - and the best part (you knew this was coming) is that they serve GLUTEN FREE MAC N CHEESE!!!!!! I had the "Cheeseburger" mac n cheese yesterday for lunch, which consisted of cheddar and ground beef. It was SOOOOO good, but it was quite heavy, especially as I haven't eaten THAT much cheese in awhile, so I didn't feel so great afterwards, but I got better as the afternoon wore on.
Today we went to Mozzarelli's, a pizza place that serves GLUTEN FREE PIZZA and it was SOOOOOOO GOOD. Mozzarelli's is a little farther away, on 23rd between Park & Madison, but it was SOOOOO GOOD. They have all sorts of different GF pies, and you can order by the slice, like everyone else. I got a pepperoni slice and it was SOOOOO GOOD. It was almost just like a real pizza.
(BTW, shout out to Celiac Chicks for all the great GF restaurant reviews).
H is adjusting, slowly but surely. He never fails to be surprised by how friendly people are here, and how customer service oriented people are in stores and restaurants. Yesterday we headed over to explore the Whole Foods on Houston Street (we usually go to the one at Union Square) and it was like, so much better than the one at Union Square - it is much bigger and there are way fewer people, plus they have a special beer shop attached to the main store, and offer cooking classes! Anyway, I have been having major issues with my hair these days - I had recently noticed that my favorite Aveda Rosemary & Mint Shampoo listed "grains" as one of their ingredients! This unfortunately coincided with a massive attack of eczema on my body, and now not only do I have patches everywhere, but my hair is oily and my scalp is freaking out - it's all dry and itchy and weird. I figured Whole Body at Whole Foods would have something for me but I looked at all the labels on all the shampoos and almost all of them listed something along the lines of "wheat", "barley", "wheatgerm oil", "hops", etc. The only one that didn't have any of these kinds of ingredients was the Whole Foods 365 brand of shampoo. I figured I'd buy it, but asked the saleslady if she would know if their brand of shampoo contained gluten. She was quite perplexed, and said she wasn't sure, so she advised me not to buy it, but to call her at her direct line (she gave me her number) next week as she would send out an email to the Corporate Headquarters for me to make sure if it was gluten free or not. "Wow," said the H, "that is like, REALLY nice of her. Salespeople are very nice here." (I didn't really say anything, but I had a look of extreme smugness on my face).
Anyway, as I pointed out to the H, France is never far away - and then I showed him the ultimate thing - that we get Le Journal de France 2 (the 20h edition) on channel 25 here in the NY Metro area. (Luckily they still show it every evening at 19h, and it hasn't changed since I first started French classes at the age of 8). So now he can keep up with the news back home - which tonight included clips of people arguing about working hours (something about some unions and people who are mad about working overtime or something) and the importance of the month of May in terms of vacation days (apparently there are many vacation days in May and the best way to take advantage of them all is to get your RTT's in between all the official Catholic holidays, which means you can get up to like, almost 2 entire weeks of vacation for only like, 5 RTT's). Oh yeah, and something about the Tunisians being all annoyed at Sarko's visit (big surprise).
If anything, it's vaguely comforting to see that nothing really changes much in France.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Update
So we are more or less moved into the apartment now - everything is more or less clean (a few closets still need to be cleaned out, but the bulk of the apartment is now livable).
On Tuesday we ended up going up to Chelsea to see the guy who had subleted my apartment. He was supposed to stop by my place at 11 am, but he called us at like, 10:15 and we were still in the car on the way to the city from Mom's. He was all, "Hey, I'm in the neighborhood, can I stop by now?" and I was like, "Um, no...". He refused to stop by after work, so he suggested we go to his office to get the keys back. I was kind of annoyed about it, but the H said we'd better go because otherwise we would NEVER get the keys back.
So we took the crosstown bus over and I have to say, the guy was definitely getting over his pneumonia and other illnesses. He looked deathly pale and was really, really skinny, and had dark circles under his eyes. I was all, "Dude, what is up with the air conditioner?" which he claimed still worked, but it was so dirty and disgusting that I didn't even test it out. Then I was like, "Where's my check?" and he said he didn't have the money, and would let me know when he could give it to me. I did feel bad for him, but I was like, "Give me a check and I won't cash it now; I'll wait until you say it is okay to cash it." He didn't seem to want to do it, so I said his options were either to give me a check for the full amount, or else write me out some sort of payment plan - i.e. in 2 weeks he'll give me $200, in another 2 weeks, $250, etc. He didn't seem into that either, but finally I said, "Listen, I know it's been rough going for you, but you have to look at it from my point of view, too. I have to pay the bulk of the March rent plus the April one, and I still haven't been able to move in, because there is SO MUCH CLEANING to do." He was a bit pissy about it, but said he'd put a check in the mail (which I still have not received). He was also a bit pissy about the ConEd bill, insisting that when he talked to them, they said his payment was good until the next bill, so he didn't understand why there were new charges from the period of March 14 - April 14. He was all, "I'm not responsible for April 'cause I wasn't there," and then I was like, "Well, neither am I because I haven't been living there, and I didn't even set foot in there to start cleaning until the H arrived in NY, on April 14th." Finally he took the bill, said he would call ConEd and take care of it. Hmmmmph.
On Tuesday we ended up going up to Chelsea to see the guy who had subleted my apartment. He was supposed to stop by my place at 11 am, but he called us at like, 10:15 and we were still in the car on the way to the city from Mom's. He was all, "Hey, I'm in the neighborhood, can I stop by now?" and I was like, "Um, no...". He refused to stop by after work, so he suggested we go to his office to get the keys back. I was kind of annoyed about it, but the H said we'd better go because otherwise we would NEVER get the keys back.
So we took the crosstown bus over and I have to say, the guy was definitely getting over his pneumonia and other illnesses. He looked deathly pale and was really, really skinny, and had dark circles under his eyes. I was all, "Dude, what is up with the air conditioner?" which he claimed still worked, but it was so dirty and disgusting that I didn't even test it out. Then I was like, "Where's my check?" and he said he didn't have the money, and would let me know when he could give it to me. I did feel bad for him, but I was like, "Give me a check and I won't cash it now; I'll wait until you say it is okay to cash it." He didn't seem to want to do it, so I said his options were either to give me a check for the full amount, or else write me out some sort of payment plan - i.e. in 2 weeks he'll give me $200, in another 2 weeks, $250, etc. He didn't seem into that either, but finally I said, "Listen, I know it's been rough going for you, but you have to look at it from my point of view, too. I have to pay the bulk of the March rent plus the April one, and I still haven't been able to move in, because there is SO MUCH CLEANING to do." He was a bit pissy about it, but said he'd put a check in the mail (which I still have not received). He was also a bit pissy about the ConEd bill, insisting that when he talked to them, they said his payment was good until the next bill, so he didn't understand why there were new charges from the period of March 14 - April 14. He was all, "I'm not responsible for April 'cause I wasn't there," and then I was like, "Well, neither am I because I haven't been living there, and I didn't even set foot in there to start cleaning until the H arrived in NY, on April 14th." Finally he took the bill, said he would call ConEd and take care of it. Hmmmmph.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Hell Hath No Fury....
Grrrrrrrrrr.
That female time of the month came around this weekend...which happened to coincide with the Pope's visit.
The Pope was in NYC of course, but on Saturday he took a little trip up to Westchester...right near where Mom lives. So we had gone out to do some shopping and ended up being blocked from our own street. We realized this when on our regular route home, the whole street leading to my mom's little street was blocked, and the police officer said we had to go around to the other side of the street in order to get through. So we took like, a 30 minute detour only to be blocked from that side, too! The mean police officer on the other side refused to let us through despite our pleading that we were actually RESIDENTS on that street and he was all, "Too bad, you gonna have to wait til 8 pm." (It was like, 4 pm when he said that). I was really mean and upset because I was having major cramps and a headache and all I wanted was to go home, pop a couple of Advil, smoke a cigarette, and lie down. I mean, I have nothing against the Pope and all that, but still, I really do think residents of blocked off streets should be allowed through because some of us NEED to go home and do not want to spend all our time sitting in a car for four hours. Anyway, we ended up taking another detour which meant that we had to go the opposite direction down a one way street in order to get back to mom's. By that point, I was REALLY upset and ready to bitchslap anyone who got in my way.
In other news, the apartment is coming along, but now I am really mad at the guy who subleted. He finally responded via email last night that he has been up and around for the last 3 days (since he was recovering from pneumonia). I asked him to please stop by the apartment this week to give me back my keys, plus the remainder of the March rent, plus $70 of the $81.60 ConEd bill; also there was a bunch of mail for him and we needed to discuss the condition of my apartment. To which he responded that he was "quite frankly surprised" that I could be so upset because "I was residing in your apartment for the last 3 years and when you said you wanted it back, I gave it back to you without a hassle." Excuse you? It was a freaking sublet, of course you are supposed to give it back without a hassle! Then he said with three years of living in an apartment, I should expect the furniture to have wear and tear and I should expect to clean an apartment, which was why he paid an extra $100 on top of the regular rent, to cover the costs. Um, excuse you again, but my apartment was FULLY FURNISHED and okay, a little bit of dirt is ok, but NOT THREE YEARS OF DIRT! I am paying the April rent, but cannot even live in the freaking apartment because it is so DIRTY! And he should have ASKED ME before he went around taking apart my furniture! And he only wants to pay $40 for his half of the ConEd bill, but excuse me, the billing period is from Mar 14 - Apr 14 and the H didn't even arrive in NYC until the evening of Apr 13th. I went by the apartment once for 30 mins on like, Apr 12 to survey the damage done, so I am so not paying $40 for the 30 mins I was there. Not to mention, the guy sent me an email on April 6th at like, 10 pm to tell me he had vacated the apartment as of April 1st, but "my internet was down all last week and I didn't have anyone's phone number". Um, whose internet service could POSSIBLY be down for an ENTIRE WEEK in the NY Tri-State area???? Like, he couldn't go to a friend's house and use the internet, or go to an internet café????? And now he's all like, I don't have the money for the March rent; I'll pay you when I can. Well, I know the guy is having financial problems (he is also in trouble with the IRS) but I'm sorry, this is not my problem, and it's already almost May.
Argh! Mom says to be civil to him so I can a) get the keys back; and b) so I don't piss him off so much that he won't pay me the $820 + $70 for the rent and ConEd. But still, I am THIS CLOSE to bitchslapping his ass. I mean, he left a paper plate with leftover food on it under my bed! Who does that????? And who breaks your 4 year old air conditioner? I'm sorry, but air conditioners do not just break like that after 7 years, not if you take good care of it like normal people do.
That female time of the month came around this weekend...which happened to coincide with the Pope's visit.
The Pope was in NYC of course, but on Saturday he took a little trip up to Westchester...right near where Mom lives. So we had gone out to do some shopping and ended up being blocked from our own street. We realized this when on our regular route home, the whole street leading to my mom's little street was blocked, and the police officer said we had to go around to the other side of the street in order to get through. So we took like, a 30 minute detour only to be blocked from that side, too! The mean police officer on the other side refused to let us through despite our pleading that we were actually RESIDENTS on that street and he was all, "Too bad, you gonna have to wait til 8 pm." (It was like, 4 pm when he said that). I was really mean and upset because I was having major cramps and a headache and all I wanted was to go home, pop a couple of Advil, smoke a cigarette, and lie down. I mean, I have nothing against the Pope and all that, but still, I really do think residents of blocked off streets should be allowed through because some of us NEED to go home and do not want to spend all our time sitting in a car for four hours. Anyway, we ended up taking another detour which meant that we had to go the opposite direction down a one way street in order to get back to mom's. By that point, I was REALLY upset and ready to bitchslap anyone who got in my way.
In other news, the apartment is coming along, but now I am really mad at the guy who subleted. He finally responded via email last night that he has been up and around for the last 3 days (since he was recovering from pneumonia). I asked him to please stop by the apartment this week to give me back my keys, plus the remainder of the March rent, plus $70 of the $81.60 ConEd bill; also there was a bunch of mail for him and we needed to discuss the condition of my apartment. To which he responded that he was "quite frankly surprised" that I could be so upset because "I was residing in your apartment for the last 3 years and when you said you wanted it back, I gave it back to you without a hassle." Excuse you? It was a freaking sublet, of course you are supposed to give it back without a hassle! Then he said with three years of living in an apartment, I should expect the furniture to have wear and tear and I should expect to clean an apartment, which was why he paid an extra $100 on top of the regular rent, to cover the costs. Um, excuse you again, but my apartment was FULLY FURNISHED and okay, a little bit of dirt is ok, but NOT THREE YEARS OF DIRT! I am paying the April rent, but cannot even live in the freaking apartment because it is so DIRTY! And he should have ASKED ME before he went around taking apart my furniture! And he only wants to pay $40 for his half of the ConEd bill, but excuse me, the billing period is from Mar 14 - Apr 14 and the H didn't even arrive in NYC until the evening of Apr 13th. I went by the apartment once for 30 mins on like, Apr 12 to survey the damage done, so I am so not paying $40 for the 30 mins I was there. Not to mention, the guy sent me an email on April 6th at like, 10 pm to tell me he had vacated the apartment as of April 1st, but "my internet was down all last week and I didn't have anyone's phone number". Um, whose internet service could POSSIBLY be down for an ENTIRE WEEK in the NY Tri-State area???? Like, he couldn't go to a friend's house and use the internet, or go to an internet café????? And now he's all like, I don't have the money for the March rent; I'll pay you when I can. Well, I know the guy is having financial problems (he is also in trouble with the IRS) but I'm sorry, this is not my problem, and it's already almost May.
Argh! Mom says to be civil to him so I can a) get the keys back; and b) so I don't piss him off so much that he won't pay me the $820 + $70 for the rent and ConEd. But still, I am THIS CLOSE to bitchslapping his ass. I mean, he left a paper plate with leftover food on it under my bed! Who does that????? And who breaks your 4 year old air conditioner? I'm sorry, but air conditioners do not just break like that after 7 years, not if you take good care of it like normal people do.
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