Rabbit Pictures

First Day

Rabbit

I left my dorm pretty early because the walk is about 20 minutes. Not knowing what to expect I dressed semi-casual and packed heels in my purse to put on once I got there. Obviously walking 20 minutes in heels was out of the question…great choice on my part (more on that later).

Anyway, my first day at Rabbit content was wonderful. Located on the corner of Broadway and Prince in the heart of SoHo, which stands for South of Houston street. Houston street is a long and popular street in NY and widely used for reference when getting/giving directions.

Rabbit is located on the top floor of a large brick building.  It is like no office I have been in before the atmosphere is relaxed and inviting-almost home-like. There is chill music playing throughout and large opened windows letting in NY cool breezes and sunlight. Instead of small cubicles and isolated offices we have couches, long tables and open rooms. It is pretty much a large penthouse where people constantly come in and out-chilling, chatting, and creating…It is quite social.

I had made a great choice by wearing flip-flops because everyone had either flats or sneakers on even the boss, Douglas was wearing shorts. The second I came in Katie put me to work and in typical intern tradition I did a very random job. I had to assemble an orbital chair for Betsy and Katrin’s room (picture included).

My other tasks for the day included: Grabbing copied paper from the printer and walking it to the rightful master and learning to answer and transfer callers on the telephone (this was done with minimal difficulty only hanging up on every other incoming call)…that’s pretty much it.

Other than those few small tasks Katie, my boss, wanted me to take the day to get use to the office/penthouse and the people working in it…using my detective skills here is what I have discovered about the staff at Rabbit.

When you walk into the front door of the office you greeted by a lovely 22-year-old British woman with a sensational accent that can even make the word fuck sound proper.  She has been with Douglas (the owner who is also British) the longest-it seems she was an intern in London at the company that Douglas worked for. When he decided to open his own business he brought Danielle with him. She is his personal assistant but helps everyone else out as well.

After Danielle greets you, the various barking dogs that roam our office often greet you.  In general having dogs in an office is considered not professional, but the word professional seems to be quite meaningless in this office…thankfully!

Then you will see Katie, my boss. Katie is probably in her mid- 20’s and from Minnesota. She is fantastic! I like her most because her personality is quite genuine and raw.  She says what she wants (cuss words often included) and never sugar coats anything…but she is not too aggressive and intimating. She made me feel comfortable and like I could ask her anything (good boss).

Next there is Betsy and Katrin. I am not quite sure of their rolls in the company but as soon as I have that figured out I will update. I do know Katin is from Germany and Betsy has the cutest dog.

Then there is Douglas. He is the owner of Rabbit and a great leader. He seems to be very respected by his employees, he knows everyone and has many friends.  There is no doubt that he is successful, but he is not flash (flash is a British word I have picked up it means cocky and flaunty-two things Douglas is not), which is rare.

Finally, there is Keith. My best judgment would lead me to believe that Keith, our office cook, is gay (hopefully that isn't rude or offensive just kinda pointing out the obvious).  He is wonderful and instantly made me feel welcome. He also makes and orders the best tasting food and always keeps a snack on the kitchen island. He has Bagels and pastries in the morning then fresh fruit or maybe some cheesecake and coffee in the afternoon, he might throw together a nice cheese platter or some guacamole and pita throughout the day. Whatever he is cooking up looks picture perfect and tastes even better.

Finally, I met a few of our directors all of which were very unique and even more talented. Overall, it is an pleasant and inspiring group at Rabbit and I am happy to be involved with them.

 

Tavern on the Green and Subway Pictures

Just got off the subway
Christina, Eva and I on the Subway
Tavern on the Green before we left

RECAP-Day Three YANKEE GAME!

Day two...

Maybe it was all the trendy drinks or the sauna-like atmosphere of my dorm, but I slept like a baby my first night in New York City. I had been anticipating waking up in the city for some time now. This was due solely to the famous Frank Sinatra's song "New York, New York" that I had been relentlessly over-playing for the last few weeks. You know you know how it goes...

*I wanna wake up in the city, that doesn't sleep-

*And find I'm king of the hill- top of the heap-A # one

*These little town blues, are melting away...I would go on, but i probably already got it stuck in your head for at least a couple hours! Ha.

Anyway, so there I was waking up in the city with actually nothing to do. Under the circumstances and being the girly-girly that I am I had to go shopping and it was wonderful! After an exhausting day of walking mile after mile and viciously fighting off the New York shopping crowd I was extremely hungry! Thus, I checked out the dining hall at NYU. 

It's cool because when I signed up for my dorm I also had to choose a dining hall package (of course the price was not included as in NY everything cost an arm or a leg maybe even just a piece of your ear-but hell it's pricey). At first, I wasn't thrilled about this cafeteria situation but it has proven to be quite convenient and very tasty. 

After my lonely lunch, and yes, I ate alone like a loser, I wanted to check out the gym. The gym I was going to was about a 15 or 20 minutes walk so I had time for my food to digest (in case anyone was worried about my digestive system). At the gym I met an awesomely adorable guy from Tennessee and he was the only "tenn I see". Just kidding I just always have wanted to use that line...

Anywho, the guy showed me all the in's and out's of the gym. They have a lot of rules so I am glad he gave me the low-down. Also, he showed me how to sign up for spinning classes. So yes, ARI the answer to "Do you think I should bring my spinning shoes to New York", shouldn't have been no.  

During my workout I got a text from lovely Eva asking me if I wanted to go to the Yankee's game that night because her friend Christina got tickets for Eva, her other friend Julie and me. I didn't even consider turning them down even if the following morning was my first day on the job . Clearly, I came to party (j/k DAD I came for other things too). 

Moving on, because this is getting lengthy (so much to say). I met Eva and the girls at Tavern on the Green (where they work at planning events) and had a couple glasses of champagne. Then I took my first subway with the girls to the Bronx for the game...I have another not-so-great alone subway experience, which will be offered in coming posts. I thought the subway was pretty raunchy but fun although, I will say that Christina didn't think the subway was so great, as it was her first experience as well. 

The Yankees game was fabulously and I hear I am very lucky to have attended one of the games because this is the last season that they will play in this stadium. I am told it has held a lot of records (Babe Ruth? right? I don't know I went for the beer, hot dogs, and cute boys).  And after the game, which they lost to Texas, the girls and I hit up a famous Yankee bar that was behind the stadium. We were actually summoned in by sweaty men and only stayed for a couple beers because "we are working women" (Quote: Julie), but the bar it was a pretty great time! Overall, day two was a another success! AND Day three I will start my J.O.B. (unpaid and not for school credit...i might be getting screwed-OH well! I am in NYC)! Good night...

Recap

Side Note: The island of Manhattan is similar to the Caribbean islands I have visited in that it is easy to loose track of all sense of time.  For that reason, I am going to have to backtrack a little and recap

 on the last few days...

Day one: June 30

Freedom...

I watched my dads cab drive away as I stood on the corner of Broadway and 8th street. Instead of walking back to my dorm I slowly strolled the populated streets of the city. Taking it all in.

 It felt good to be alone. It felt good to take the route I wanted to take, to make the turns and stops wherever I chose. And then it came to me, this was my first breathe of true freedom and I liked it. 

I took a short run that afternoon around my area but to be frank running in the city is kinda a bitch. First, those damn tourists (ha, how ironic) are always lost...someone once told me that you can tell if someone is a tourists because they are always looking up-this is true. Anyway, I think the worst part of running in  New York is the smokers. They are everywhere! But don't worry about me (if you even were at all), later found an awesome place to run that is actually safe-my parents will be relieved. I am getting ahead of my self though. 

The Village

My area is wonderful. I told that I am lucky because West Village is the newest trendy/upscale place to live. My dorm is quite old though and when they built it some senseless person (probably a man who doesn't have to blow dry his hair every morning) decided not to install air-conditioning. Needless to say, having no-air is cruel. However, because my area is so nice I have accepted the sweatiness that resides in my residence.  

After getting use to things, I decided I needed to go out. I called Eva to meet up with her and her friend from work, Chris. He use to live in the village and pointed out some of the hot spots. We went to a few bars that night and I can only remember a couple of the names but I did have this really awesome drink with vodka, basil and a splash of lemon. Apparently, it's the new mojito -my dad would have loved it!