Weekend in NY

While I love getting to know DC - my temporary home - summer wouldn't be summer without a few weekends away. This past weekend, I went up to New York to spend time with my boyfriend and also, to enjoy a girls' day out with one of my closest Darden girlfriends. I'd been looking forward to the trip for weeks, in large part because of the aforementioned "girl time." Now, for the male readers of my blog [if there are any ... or even any readers :) ], "girl time" is what we call those sacred hours spent gabbing and giggling ... when the conversation flows as freely as the wine (or in our case, the mimosas) and covers topics as various as work pressures, family issues, boy drama (little to report, thankfully!) and life's little embarrassments. Often, it includes a meal or some stereotypically female activity, like shopping. Since my friend and I hadn't seen each other in what seemed like ages, but was really maybe a month, we decided to include both. Saturday kicked off with brunch and mimosas served, literally, by the pitcher. Then it was off to the shops where we spent some of our hard earned paychecks pumping up the city's retail sales figures. Finally, we capped the day off with a visit to Magnolia's Bakery and a couple scoops of gelato. Perfect.

Catching up with friends old and new

In the four weeks since I arrived in DC, I've spent most of my weekends and dinner hours catching up with folks from my pre-B-school life. College friends, work-life friends ... friends I'd neglected for much of the nine months I was in Charlottesville. Over lunch, dinner and drinks, we played catch up on months' (and in one instance, years') worth of life changes, from break-ups and new relationships, to home purchases and book deals. The conversations offered a chance at reconnection, and they reminded me how much my friends have done and gone through while I was toiling away in Darden's LT rooms.
And what of those that toiled alongside me? Well, this past weekend, I finally met up with several of my "Darden friends." It was great to hear about their internships -- not only the projects they were working on, but their transitions back into the working world. With our shared first year experience as a foundation, we talked about how useful our spreadsheet skills had proven, how much we missed our 5-hour work days and how rewarding it was to be tasked with real responsibility in our jobs.
So, what's on tap for this coming weekend? A trip to New York!

Work: Week 1

I survived! For all my stress and sleeplessness, I made it through the first week of my internship! And, while I feel a little sheepish admitting it (given the extreme nervousness that pervaded my last post), it was a great week. I lucked out with an interesting summer project that combines my editorial background and my newly honed business skills. And, I really like my supervisor, the company's VP of marketing. Oh, and one other thing ... I have an office! For a former cubicle dweller, this in and of itself, is a big deal.
But before I let the office situation get to my head (hah!), here are a couple things to note about Week 1:
First, with just 10 weeks of work, orientation is minimal and a lot of the training is on-the-job. For me, this meant jumping into project work on my first day and drawing up financial projections on day 2! Initially I felt a little overwhelmed, but once I opened up Microsoft Excel, I realized I actually knew what I was doing ... such a relief.
Second, returning to five day a week, 10-hour days takes some adjustment after a year in school. By day 3, I was definitely in need of a reading day! (Maybe this is why second years seem so much more appreciative of the Darden experience ... )
Third, once I got over my reading day withdrawal, I realized how much I enjoy working on projects that will actually be implemented. Fun as it is to debate and discuss within the classroom, this is what I came back to school for: the opportunity to bring exciting new ventures from launch to implementation.