"Life is Pretty Simple Here"
I decided about one hour ago that I was doing no more work for today. Instead, I made a portfolio documenting the projects I have worked on thus far into the summer and am now enjoying composing a blog entry.
Actually, no. I am not enjoying writing this blog. As Jenna stated in her blog earlier today, 'life is pretty simple here'. The extent of my trials and tribulations... Living without AC. Sad, but true.
Something that has intrigued me and I can not think of a good reason for- New York City is expensive. I pay $1100 a month for a piece of shit apartment that does not even have a living room and does have a minor bug problem. Parking is often over $20 per hour. A 'cheap' lunch generally runs about $8 for a sandwich and drink. Taxi bills add up quickly. However, despite overall high price tag of the city there are two services I have found to be very inexpensive. A manicure runs around $4.99 and laundry is .70 per pound. For the first time in my life I have 'long' fingernails. Do I do my own laundry? Hell no.
4th of July is upon us, which not only means that there will be amazing fireworks, poolside bbq's and a day off of work, but also that I have reached the half-way mark in my internship. Before I know it I'll be boarding a plane back to Wisco and applying for a full-time 'grown-up' job. This gives me a slight stomach cramp to think about even now.
When you are six years old you can rattle off a hundred things you want to do when you are 'grown-up'. When you are ten years old you pretty much have it figured out- i.e. a doctor, the president, a dancer, etc. Somewhere between ten years old and twenty-one years old I lost my direction. So please, when I start to interview for jobs in September and October do not ask me what kind of job I want because I do not know. I do not know where I want to live, what industry I want to work in... in fact, I don't even know if I want a job at all. But that seems to be the appropriate step after graduating from business school.
I am sitting at my desk with a little scowl on my face after that little rant.
On the bright side, I suppose I can always fall back on my good looks and become America's Next Top Model.
(JK, JK my friends.)
Words from the 4-5 Express Line
Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field.
I'll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, languages and even the phrase 'eachother' doesn't make any sense.--Rumi
Z is Agile
I am sneaking a blog in at work. I am pretending to type an e-mail and then I will inconspicuously cut and paste it into the 'blogger' web browser that I will open only moments before clicking 'post to blog'. How I love having a plan.
The office is really slow on Fridays. All of the VP's either take three day weekends or choose to work from home and those that have an annual salary come in late and leave early. The lowly hourly paid employees do their best to look attentive and engrossed in their work... but after manipulating excel spreadsheets all week long we just want to be out in the sunshine enjoying a Mr. Softee ice cream.
I work for an insurance company called Zurich in the Construction office. (Yes, I used to work in a bait and liquor store and now I have moved on to construction...) Construction is an emerging sector of the insurance industry. Zurich was the second insurance provider to enter the construction market and that was only 11 years ago. Our target market is construction companies, usually general contractors, that make over $100 million in revenue per year.
My job in this busy office... I am working directly with the Vice President of Strategic Accounts. One type of insurance coverage that Zurich offers large contractors is a CCIP- Contractor Controlled Insurance Program. A CCIP is an on-going plan that covers all of the projects that a contractor is working on, all of the sub-contractors that they enroll, any sub-sub's, etc. What is unique about it is that all of the subcontractors do not need to be enrolled at the beginning of the program. A contractor is free to move forward with a project, knowing that it is insured and submitting new sub's when they are hired. I am creating an excel worksheet that will keep track of all of a contractor's projects and all of their subs enrolled in each project. (something you think would have been done from the beginning...) The worksheet will include EMR's, SIC codes, premiums, bid-deducts etc. All of these worksheets will be linked to another worksheet that will create industry averages based on the input variables.
What is especially cool about this project is that if it goes well it will be presented to the corporate office and then possibly rolled out to Zurich construction offices around the country.
Sweet.
Needless to say my excel skills have improved ten-fold and it scares me as to think of where they will be come August...
My parents are coming to visit me this weekend. I am excited for them to see where I live and what I do on a day to day basis. I am also excited for my mom to see that I am doing fine so she can stop worrying about me all the time.
Also, beware of Ali's blogs and g-mail chat references to me. They are often lies and exaggerations.
Point 1- Telling Adam I was so wasted that I fell out of a booth at a restaurant onto another person's table.
Reality 1- I had on high heels and didn't realize that our booth was a six-inch step up from the main floor. Yes I tripped, yes I caught myself on someone else's table- but b/c I was drunk and being a lush? no.
Point 2- All blog references to me being lame for not going out.
Reality 2- I take my job seriously and enjoy being able to go in and work hard.
Point 3- All blog references to me being lame for not going out this past Thursday in particular.
Reality 3- I went out on Tuesday... Was so hung over on Wednesday that I went to bed
immediately after work (5:45) and didn't wake up until Thursday morning.
Point 4- I should not have to justify any of the above actions.
Reality 4- Being slandered by blog is a new phenomenon.
Dear jenny and Adam...
This post is dedicated to my beloved friends Adam and Jenna who never fail to remind me to update this thing.
I could just insert 'see alig's blog' here and that would more or less suffice what has happened to me in the past few weeks, but I'll recap it with a Katie twist. Consider yourselves to be oh-so-lucky.
On May 22 I started the day like any other. I woke up with a slight hang-over, went to work and then proceeded on to the 'date of the day'. (we went to the zoo). However, after starting at all the pretty animals and the piece of eye candy next to me Ali and I loaded up her car and began the 18 hour trek across the country. Eventually I will post pictures of this trip and you all will think a little less of us. I will not even try to explain.
After a couple final days of Wendy Gilman's home cooking we packed up again and drove down to NYC. Note: Neither of us has housing at this point. Picture: Two small girls lugging around their lives all over the island on all types of mass transit. Now laugh.
I started work immediately the next day. My job is pretty sweet and I will devote a future post to it.
I moved into my small, but comfortable apartment this past Wednesday. Ali still being homeless continued to tag along after me like a little lost puppy. (Ali, that is for you lying to everyone and telling them I fell on the table b/c I was drunk- A LIE). My roomie is from India and pursuing grad school at NYU. She is quiet, but very sweet and respectful. We will live in these cramped quarters beautifully. Visitors are welcome if they have no problem sharing a bed with me.
Things I love about the city-
Sleeping/Reading in the Park
Crossing Wall Street everyday
Understanding the subway system
the every day bustle
New York Sports Club
Mister Softee
Bagels from St. Vendors
Things I could do w.out-
The smell. Sometimes I do not notice it, but when I do it's not something I can't ignore.
I'm planning a weekend back to Madison. The dates I'm looking at are July 5-9. Who is going to be around and who will let me stay with them?
