Trendspotting--Volunteering on T-Day

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and is shopping like a champ today! $13 toasters, $200 dollar laptops, $30 cashmere sweaters, what's not too like?? Oh yeah, the insane crowds, long lines, traffic jams, etc. Ehhh count me in anyway, who doesn't love a bargain?? :)

Yesterday I had a nice Thanksgiving with family and am very thankful for my close-knit family, plenty of food to go around, the health and employment of all my family and friends-and also for the opportunity each day brings!

Yesterday I had the well-intentioned idea of wanting to volunteer at a soup kitchen in NYC before going home to LI for a feast with the fam. I had a rough year myself and am very thankful for all my blessings and I really wanted to do something with my time to give a little back. Well let me tell you the good news first--our homeless were well fed yesterday--just not by me!

I started researching places to volunteer about 3 maybe even 4 weeks prior to Thanksgiving Day. At that time, several of the "most popular" soup kitchens, including the Bowery Mission and some others were already "booked." Some even offered to put me on a "waiting list" if someone cancelled. No, I am not kidding. Only in NYC can someone be "wait-listed" to VOLUNTEER on Thanksgiving. One church shelter right near my apartment told me they had all the volunteers they needed through the end of the year, but could probably squeeze me in one Sunday in January. Another place told me that I could bring some homemade pies by, but they didn't need anymore volunteers (umm try making a pie in MY apartment, sorry...). Now I know that some people only think about volunteering on Thanksgiving day or Christmas day and it has even become sort of a "cool" thing to do. Many celebrities and athletes can be found photo-oping it up at shelters all over the city on these holidays and that's very nice and all but I was pretty shocked to actually be turned away from being able to help people. I have no problem helping out any other time of the year and am going to make a committed effort to do more volunteer work in general (and Yes, I will be taking that random Sunday in January for starters!) but I thought starting it off on THANKSgiving would be very appropriate.

I guess much like getting a table at Butter or The Waverly Inn, it's all about who you know and calling well in advance. I will be booking next year's Turkey Day volunteer opp. this week--who wants in?? :)

My first Manhattan Address

Well it's official--I have finally have my NYC mailing address! Email me if you want to send housewarming gifts :) I'm writing this post from my new bedroom with the NYC white noise buzzing in the background. What has this experience taught me so far?

1)NYC is the most expensive place to live in the world

2) NYC has the most expensive grocery stores in the world

3) NYC is where anything is possible and no dream is too big

4) If I'm going to achieve my dreams, I need to start putting myself outside my comfort zone, taking chances and making moves

5) I need to do something everyday that I never did before

Things I will be doing in the near future that are outside my comfort zone:

1) Joining a gym (and actually going)

2) Volunteering because it will make me feel good, and hopefully others too

3) Making new friends

4) Making my own way

5) Submitting my work for more freelance writing opportunities

Live from the Bolt Bus...

it's the quintessential grey day in New England day as I ride the Bolt Bus up to Boston for a weekend with old friends. I, of course, am pensive as a listen to my ipod and think about my future, my career, my life choices, etc. (you know, the usual).

In a few weeks I will have my first official Manhattan address (after 6 months or so with an "unofficial" one...) in a great little starter apartment. I'm calling it a starter apartment because it is exactly how I imagined my first NYC apartment. Nothing fancy, but charming in it's own way and right in the center of all the beautiful chaos the NYC (in particular the east village) has to offer. I went the widely accepted "Craig's List" route and I'm looking forward to this new chapter for me.

Apartment hunting in NYC is quite a comical if not a harrowing experience, especially if you don't have $4,000 a month for a luxury studio (which in all reality is probably still the size of a non city dweller's bathroom or kitchen). Things that are acceptable in NYC as living conditions would NEVER fly in the suburbs. I was appalled to find out that the rumored "bitchen" (combo kitchen/bath) actually did exist...AND it still costed an absurd amount! Other frightening conditions include the "loft" style living which more times than not means that you sleep in an attic-like alcove the only fits your bed and that would induce a head injury if you actually stood up when getting out of bed. No thanks!

When I told my mother that I had finally found a place, she innocently asked, "does it have a doorman?" Haha, I just laughed. She had remembered that when I first ambitiously started looking for apartments in NYC, I listed doorman, roof deck, and pass-through kitchen as some of my must-haves. My new apartment has none of these. These can only be attained by wealth, living in an un-cool, inconvenient neighborhood (hello FiDi) or extreme luck. These things are still on my list of eventual necessities for my future digs, but for now, I'm happy with a place that isn't a 5th floor walkup, has windows in the bedroom, and has a separate space for showering and cooking. Hey, it's the little things...

Quick post

Just wanted to write my first post from my new lovely and sleek Mac Book Pro. Problem 1 of why I wasn't writing often enough is now solved so I must think of a new excuse :)

My apartment hunting saga is also drawing to a close so I have to get that post in order as well. Tonight I had a weird, scene from a movie/epiphany moment walking back from the subway through Midtown. This random Mary J Blige song came on my iPod (I think it was called Baggage?) and all the sudden the words and the beat and the lights of the Empire State Building just aligned and I found myself smiling, holding my head up a little higher than normal and swaying to the music while I tried not to shiver from the cold (yes west coast readers-fall has arrived here in NY...). Anyway I felt like I should be the opening scene to some movie where the main character moves to NY with just a suitcase and a dream and by the end she overcomes hardship to find love, success and money. So who would play me? I'd be happy with a Natalie Portman/Keira Knightley type I think :)

Fall Post

Wow, it's been so long since I've written, it's not even the same season anymore!

Excuses:

1) I really need a new laptop or netbook (send all donations to allie.herzog@yahoo.com )
2) I've been in the process of moving/apartment hunting (whole looooong seperate post to come on that)

Also, I've been trying to figure out what exactly I should be posting on here. I see my blog and as a place for me to publicly document my life and write about random things I experience, feel, observe, etc. I hope I'm not oversharing but at the same time I've enjoyed having this outlet as a strictly fun and non-work related place to write and express myself. So that's what I'm going to keep it as. As much as I love reading fellow marketing, PR and social media people's blogs that focus on the business, I kinda like the alliezog blog as a (mostly) non-industry related space. Of course from time to time my love for social media, technology and all other things geeky will show through, but I hope I can maintain this blog as a place to ramble on about my life, whether anyone will read it or not.

So stay tuned for my experiences on apartment hunting in NYC (EPIC TORTURE), bits about my favorite TV shows (Gossip Girl, Mad Men to name a few...) and other random things that fasicnate me. As for my opinions on the state of print journalism, the world of politics, and fun new social media tools (all topics of great interest to me) they may seep in from time to time but for now, they are not the main subject of this blog :-)

"If I can make it here, I'll make it anywhereeeee.."

Ever get in those "only in NY" kinda moods?

Sometimes, especially after spending some time outside of the magical city (recently I have been in LI, RI and Buffalo, NY) I find myself momentarily questioning what the "expletive deleted" I am doing here? Why am I putting up with the crowds and the subways and the $12 deli sandwiches and the fast-paced, high priced lifestyle? Then I give myself a minute and remember why millions of people come to NYC from every part of the world. They come here to "make it." To achieve their dreams and be someone. To make a better life for themselves, to experience the things that only NYC has to offer and to feel the pulse of the city where truly *anything* is possible. Then I remind myself that growing up on LI I always imagined myself breezing through the city streets passing celebrities and bums and whatever else may be in my path, and being a confident, independent and successful career women. This fantasy also included a strange desire to be one of those ladies that wore skirt suits with Easy Spirit walking shoes on the train and then changed into heels at the office but that part of the dream has thankfully been abandoned. Then I think about all the people that came here with nothing-literally nothing-the people who may have risked their lives to seek opportunity here, the people who may be sleeping on a dirty mattress in a room with 10 other people just to have the chance to wash dishes here. The people long ago who came through Ellis Island and what the Statue of Liberty meant to them...OK so this post is now taking a really cheesy turn but you get the drift...

For every one of us who sometimes feels worn out just trying to make it here, for those who are waiting for the day that they can say "I have arrived," and for those of us loving every minute of it, this post is for you. I would love to hear how other people living in this crazy, beautiful, but sometimes overwhelming city get over than occasional *freak out* feeling. Let me know!

Until then, queue Sinatra...

Epiphany in the Nail Salon...

The other day I was getting my eyebrows waxed when I had a mini life-changing moment--I realized I was at that age that your mother is referring to when she says,"You'll see when your older." Well you're right mom, I finally "see!"

So back when I was young and "wild," I got my eyebrow pierced in a short-lived phase of being an "alterna-chic." The phase lasted maybe 6 months, until I realized I couldn't skateboard and the eyebrow ring was becoming more of an eyesore than anything else. Flash forward now almost 10 years as the kindly women doing my brows noticed my scar and asked if I had gotten injured there. I laughed and told her that it was from an eyebrow ring I once thought was cool and she began to tell me about her 19 year-old daughter who just got a tattoo. I had sort of this outer body experience where I found myself telling the women how her daughter will realize when she's older that her mom was very wise and that a Chinese symbol on the back of your neck may seem cool now, but probably won't look very cool with your wedding dress or in 50 years when your old and saggy. I think I even said something like, "have her call me, I'll talk some sense into her."

As I walked home from the nail salon, I realized I was no longer in the stage of my life where I can blame my age or my naivety for my actions. From now on, I have no excuses for rash decisions and I will be held fully accountable for my choices. Kind of a scary thought for an admittedly impulsive risk-taker. But I also realized that I had grown up a lot since my eyebrow ring days. Although I'm still more impulsive than I am cautious, and would probably still be considered a bit "free-spirited" by some, I think that I definitely have made some strides in the "stopping to think things through" category.