"Swing"-ing to the end!

Alright ladies and gents- 

The moment that I have been dreading all summer as arrived.  This is my last post as a NYC intern.  Right now I am sitting at work where I have finished all my projects and have gotten everything in order for the next Swank intern.  

Before I become all sappy about Swank, I have an awesome event to tell you about!!!

Yesterday, we had a 40th Birthday Bash for a client at Studio 450.  The venue was absolutely beautiful!! (I'm going to post pics later bc I dont have them uploaded yet).  I got to come into work late because of how late we were going to have to stay at the party.  After getting off the train at 2:30 I had to pick up a photo CD from one of our photographers over on Park Ave.  As I was walking across 27th and 5th I see this hilarious museum.  The Museum of Sex.  That's right everyone....only in NYC lol.  It was absolutely hysterical.  I had heard of it but I never thought that it would be located in a nice part of town.  

Anyways, I got to Studio 450 and immediately went to work on getting up all the tables.  But first I was awed by this gorgeous venue!  The entire place was shiny white with beautiful views of the Hudson and the city.  Then I went upstairs to set up the rooftop terrace for the cocktail  hour.  Wow, this view was even more spectacular!!  The sun was starting to set on the water and the city was becoming drowned in darkness which means that the lights were starting to all turn on.  

The weather couldn't have turned out to be more perfect as there was a slight breeze from the river that made it perfect to be outside.  Everyone was frantically running around lighting the hundreds of candles so that the atmosphere would be perfect when the party started.  

The food was delicious, the band was amazing and the Swing dancers were great!!  I was standing against the wall watching the dancers and before I could even know what hit me I was being pulled onto the dance floor with one of the Swing dancers we had hired.  Everyone was watching me and it was soooooooo funny.  Let me just say that I don't technically know how to swing dance.  I know the pretzel and all that stuff you learn in middle school P.E but other than that I had no clue what I was doing.  

Finally the song ended (and even though I did have fun) I was scared I was going to get in trouble.  But of course I didn't seeing as Christina and Maya thought it was hilarious.  I walked into the room and Christina was like, "oh yea...i definitely saw all of that." hahaha.  

The rest of the party was great and the client was beyond happy.  The Swank crew chilled upstairs on the rooftop most of the time and just talked.  I really enjoyed talking to Josh, Christina and Maya about life lessons.  We talked about how I wanted to move up here and how I really really dont want to go back to school.  

It was a late night and after the party ended I helped clean up as much as I could before I had to run out and catch the last train to NJ.  It is so frustrating that the trains stop right after midnight but hopefully I won't have to deal with that since I want to live IN the city come next August.  

****

So back to the present---  I only have 30 minutes left before I have to leave Swank forever.  I can't even begin to express my gratitude towards Maya, Christina and the entire Swank team.  It has been the best summer of my life and I cannot believe it is actually over.  The life experiences that I have learned from being independent in NYC are beyond priceless.  I have loved spending the summer with my grandparents and I just as upset about leaving them as I am about leaving Swank.  

I know that I have so much to do as a senior but in all honestly I am not ready to go back to school.  Having this internship has showed me that PR/event planning IS what I want to do with my life and that New York City is the place I want to do it in.  I can't imagine doing anything else with my life right now and it's so disappointing that I have another full year of school left.  I want to start my career now!!

This must really show how much Swank meant to me if it has made me want to start working now.

I know I'll be happy once I get back to Auburn and get back into my school routine- and don't worry...I am so excited about seeing all my friends!!! Don't think that I don't miss you with all this talk about not wanting to come back :)

Well, I guess this is the end.  The end of an amazing summer.  The end of my internship.  The end of living up north.  The end of this blog.  But mostly importantly this is the Beginning of an amazing life I had ahead of me.  

Thank you all who have called/messaged/visited me this summer.  See you all Wednesday!!!

~Amanda

(stay tuned for pics!!)

The Beginning of the End

Today was the first day of the work week since we got yesterday off because of the event on Saturday.  It was definitely nice to sleep in yesterday and rest up for this week.  

I sadly type now that this is my last week interning at Swank.  Actually, I dont even want to talk about it right now.  I'll save my emotions for Friday.  I'm working all week this week so that's exciting!

Today was insane though.  Right when I got to work I was told I had to deliver a package to Ivanka Trump...yes, Trump.  So, I went up to Trump Tower and gave the package to her assistant.  I didn't get to see any of the Trumps but it was still super cool.

I came back to work and spent an hour repackaging 13 waterguns that we ended up not using at the event so that I could take them back to Toys R Us and get a refund.  After completing all that I took my lunch break and went down to NYU to get Vicki a shirt from the bookstore...well, they didnt have what she wanted but I ended up getting a shirt for myself anyway so it was a successful trip :)

I got back to work and then it was time for me to take back the waterguns.  Ughhhhh.  These bags were huge and bulky so I knew this would be an interesting trip.  Before I could even make it into the subway one of the handles breaks- juuuuust perfect.  So now I have one bag on my shoulder and im holding the other one so everything doesnt fall out of it.  I finally get to Times Square and run into a million on the way into the Toys R Us but I didn't care.  All i wanted was to get these stupid water guns inside the stupid Toys R Us.  I walk inside and can barley move with all the crazy children running around me.  Well, I finally make the return (even though I felt sure I was going to die of heat stroke before getting there) and make it back to the office where I could relax and cool off.  

Today was probably the hottest day in the city that I have experienced.  It didnt help that i was carrying those huge bags but anyways...it was really hot.  

It was already past 4 when I got back to the office so I spent the rest of the time uploading pictures of weddings that were send by the photographers.

It was a great day and I definitely got my workout in.

Only 3 days left! I must live it up!!!!!!

~Amanda

ps.  Whoever wrote that comment on the blog about my friends visit and signed it RP...im guessing you mean Robert Pattinson and i thought that was hilarious.  Good job whoever you are.

My 20 hour Saturday

So I know I'm behind on my blogs but I will just write two tonight! :) 

My alarm went off at 4:45 AM on Saturday morning and I actually got right out of bed.  Why?  Because it was EVENT DAY!!!!!!!  Swank had a huge corporate party that day and I had to be at the site by 8am which meant I had to allow time to get into the city and to get to Randalls Island- which i had NO clue how to get to.  (now i know it's in between Manhattan and Queens)

So in order to make it on time I had to take the 5:30am train (which is the first train of the day) which got me into the city at 6:45.  It was like a ghost town at the train station was actually pretty creepy...like something out of a horror film.  But anyways, the train came and to my surprise I was not the only one on it.  I mean really? What the hell are you people doing on the 530 AM train?!!?!  On a SATURDAY!??!!  

Anyways, i got in the city and got a bagel before getting a text from Heather saying that we needed to take a cab over to Randalls Island.  So around 7am I hail a cab and have him take me to the upper east side to pick up Heather who had stayed at her roommates apartment the night before.  After she got in we told the driver where to take us and of course we get a stupid idiot who gets us lost.  

We finally got to the golf course after driving in and out of tolls, turning around at the Psychiatric Center, passing the jail and asking the lady with the weed wacker for directions.  We went straight to work at stuffing gift baskets for all the guests that took about an hr.  After that we really just ran around and did whatever we were told in order to get the tent ready for the 12 start time.  We set up all the tables with white linens and checkerboard overlays.  Oh, and i forgot to mention the theme for the party was Picnic Americana.  So there were flags everywhere.  

Normally I wouldnt like this theme, but it turned out to be gorgeous!!!!!!  The food was great, the band was fantastic and just being with all the Swank Team was amazing.  There were pony rides, games, puttputt, batting cages, water slide and so much more.  This was a great day for the company and their families to just relax and have fun.

The party lasted till 5:30pm and take down didnt take long at all.  Before I knew it I was being dropped off at Times Square and getting on a subway up to Columbia to meet a friend I hadnt seen in 7 years.  

I met up with my old friend and neighbor Ashley who had moved down to Florida just before high school.  Well, now we are both Theta's, both founding Sisters for our chapters and both interning in big cities.  

It was so much fun hanging out for a night with her and her UNF friends (she was up visiting a friend who was interning in nyc) but I was exhausted and by the time i finally got back to Penn i had to take the 11:11 train home.  I got back around 12:30 and it was all i could do just to drive back i was so tired.  

Overall it was a GREAT Saturday and doing the event with Swank just proved how much I want to go into event planning.

Onto the next blog so I can be all caught up! :)

~Amanda

Girl's weekend in The City

Last week was SOOOOOO much fun! Vicki, Kathryn and Rebecca arrived on Thursday and after a couple of delays they finally made it.  I followed my grandma in my car to the airport to pick them up because we all wouldn't fit in one car.  I surprised them by taking them straight to dinner at The Liberty House!!  It is one of my favorite restaurants up here so I just had to take them there.  The restaurant over looks downtown Manhattan, Ellis Island, The Statue of Liberty and the Hudson.  Basically it's gorgeous.  We were so lucky to have such a beautiful day and enjoy walking around the grounds for a bit after dinner.  Everyone enjoyed their meal (and cocktail as you can see!) and it was just so much fun having 3 best friends with me again.  

On our way back we stopped by my dads high school and walked around for a bit before heading off to Friendly's and getting a night time ice cream.  Everyone loved their first day but after flying they were exhausted.  So we went back to the house and crashed early so we could be ready for a full day in the city on Friday.

I woke up easily Friday but I don't know if I can say the same about everyone.  We were taking my normal morning train into the city and I was used to the morning routine.  Once we got into the city we went and got a subway pass for the day.  We boarded the 1 and headed up 

to Times Square.  We walked around and just enjoyed the Manhattan morning for a while

 before going into Hershey World and M&M World.    

We then walked over to Magnolia's and had cupcakes at 10:15 in the morning. If that's not the best way to start a day then I don't know what is.  Well, it was a bit hot so we took our cupcakes and ate them on the stairs inside the Rockafeller Center.  People may have stared at us but I didn't care.  I think all of them were just jealous because were eating cupcakes in the mor

ning lol.  After eating a taste of heaven we all headed over to the Anthropology- which i knew would be a looooonnnggg visit (for those of you who have ever been into an Anthro with Kathryn and Vicki you know exactly what I'm talking about).  Everyone tried on clothes and bought some super cute things.  I'm still obsessed with the dress that Vicki bought.

We then hopped on the subway up to the upper east side to the set of Remember Me to hopefully get a glimpse of Robert Pattinson for the ladies who havent had the pleasure.  However our failed attempt was accompanied by lot's of young fans, putting out a fire and almost starving to death.  So we unfortunately didn't get to see him but we were right next to his trailer that he was in.  I felt bad because I really had wanted him to come out but unfortunately I don't control Robert Pattinson.  So we sadly left the set and got some lunch at the place about a block away.  

Next was Canal Street.  We took the subway all the way down and did some shopping but it looked as though the weather was going to turn bad- and doing 

Canal Street in the rain is a nightmare!!  So we quickly did some shopping (where we got yelled at for all going into one dressing room and taking a picture of our hideous shirts), bargined for a Chanel purse for Rebecca's sister and then headed back to Penn to catch the train.  We were going to dinner with my grandparentsat their favorite Italian restaurant so we wanted to get back before 7:30.

Saturday was a looooongggg day in the city but it was great!  It took a little lo

nger to get into the city because on weekends the train makes all the 

annoying local stops.  Once we got in we went straight up to Rockafeller Center to get more Magnolia's cupcakes.  Vicki- "I want to try ALL the cupcakes!" Kathryn- "Bu

t we are only here for 3 days

!"  Vicki-"Well, we will just have to go ALL the time!"  Haha, so we all ended up getting cupcakes and eating them at a table in Rockafeller center.  

We then went back to Anthro to get a shirt that Rebecca had wanted from the day before.  Then we hit up H&M for while where no one found anything.  Forever 21 was next on the list but before we got to the subway station we all noticed a red carpet outside of Radio City Music Hall.  So of course I freaked out when I saw the logo knowing that this was the event that Josh Groban had flown out to NYC for!!  I asked the people putting it together when the red carpet would start and they said around 6:30.  Becca and I both flipped out and said t

hat we HAD to come back.   

After Forever 21 we went to Little Italy for lunch.  We sat outside and people watched while enjoying a great meal.  I ended up buying a super cute dress at some boutique off of Mulberry Street that everyone told me i just had to get.  :)  Before I knew it, it was time to head back to Radio City to get a good spot for the red carpet.  Rebecca and I stayed while Vicki and Kathryn went walking around for a while by themselves.  

To make a long story short- we got a tip from some guy that all the celebs were unloading on the other side of the building so we went over there to check it out.  Vicki and Kathryn joined us and boy were we all in for a treat.  A car pulls up and guess who gets out?  JOSH GROBAN!!!!!  He walks over to some fans on the same side of the street he was on and then after Rebecca and I screamed his name he came RUNNING STRAIGHT OVER TO

 US!!  I literally thought I was going to die of happiness.  We asked him for a picture and he said 'of course!'.  We were the first ones the get pics on our side and it was freaking awesome!!!  I'm still in shock when i look 

at the picture that i actually met him.  

Anyways, he had to leave but we stayed to watch more and we are so glad we did.  To just name a few people we saw- Aretha Franklin, Jesse McCartney, Susan Seranden, Whoopie Goldberg, Lil Kim, Stevie Wonder and more....we also shook the hand of the French Prime Minister which was pretty cool.  

After a long night we were starving so we found a cute bar off of Broadway.  I ended up making them run through the streets and subway to get to our train on time.  It was definitely a great day.

Oh man...one final day-are you sick of reading this yet?? I hope not!

Brooklyn was first on our list for Sunday so we headed straight there and had some lunch.  Knowing it was going to be a short day we wanted to make the most out of the time we had so we didnt spend as much time exploring Brooklyn as we would have liked.  BUT we did walk to Manhattan on the Brooklyn Bridge which is one of the most fun things I have done this summer.  The weather was great, the scenery was breathtaking and it was just so enjoyable.  

We watched this awesome spray paint artist before heading up to Central Park.  Once in Central Park we all decided to take a horse and carriage ride!!  I had done it 3 years ago with my mom but it was still so much fun.  Our driver was hilarious and he definitely made it ten times better.  After we went to the Apple store and then over to Tiffany's were we all tried on engagements rings ranging from $40k to $110k.  It was so neat!!  

I told them to say goodbye to the city as we headed back down into the subway on our way back to Penn.  Once we were back in Morristown we went to the amazing Chinese place in Denville with my grandparents for their last night in town.  We enjoyed drinks, food and then ice cream across the street.  It was such a blast having them in town and I sure hope they enjoyed themselves.  

I only have 1 more full week left of work and then I sadly have to leave.  But look for a great blog soon about the event I am doing ALL day tomorrow!!!!!!!

So sorry this took so long but I hope you find it worth it!

~Amanda

I am working on a blog from Vicki, Kathryn and Rebecca's trip!!!  I will have it up ASAP but I'm at work and have no time to work on it right now.  

Just wanted to update and tell you all that i have NOT forgotten about this blog!  The blog im writing will be well worth the wait though :)

Rob for lunch

Good evening my beautiful readers!

This week has flown by and I again am so sorry about the lack of updating!  Believe it or not I have been going to sleep around 10pm lately so to be honest I just havent had time to blog.  But!  This was a great week at work.  I made 3 trips down to SoHo to deliver things at The Knot magazine which was awesome.  I love running errands.  I also spend most of the week contacting castles and mansions in the Westchester and Long Island area for a new Bride that we have.  Who knew that just calling a list of venues to get all the info would take so long!  But I don't care because frankly I love talking on the phone to people I don't know.  I like sounding professional (no one has to know I'm just an intern!).  This is my opening statement: "Good afternoon ______, I am Amanda with Swank Productions and I have a client who is interested in your venue for their summer wedding and I have some questions for you."

Cool huh?  hahaha....well I love it!  I sound like I actually know what I'm talking about and that is just so fun!  

Any who- 

The two big stories for the blog are.......my 2nd trip to see Robert Pattinson and my upcoming travel plans.

Soooo...on Tuesday I knew Remember Me was shooting on the Upper East side which is not exactly close to my work....(i work on 29th on the west side....he was on 85th on the east side...) but being the savvy subway traveler I am, I decided that I could totally make it there and back in a little over an hr during my lunch break.  The moment I decided to go I literally ran from the office down to 28th street to catch the 1 up to Times Square (i didnt want to waste any time walking when i could be looking at Rob! duh!).  I bolted out of the 1 train and ran downstairs to catch the 7 which I barely made.  I then shoved my way -sorry people but i had a husband to see-through the Grand Central station to catch the 4,5,or 6 train that would take me uptown.  Luckily I got the express train so it went 30 blocks non stop to where I needed to go.  

I got out of the subway station and pulled out the map that i drew--i draw mini maps all the time--and got to the set as quickly as possible.  I saw about ten girls standing on the sidewalk so I knew I had found the correct place.  I approached a girl and we started talking.  She told me that they had just stopped for lunch...my luck right?!  Well I had the brilliant idea of whispering to the girl that we should walk over by the trailers which were 1 block south.  We waited over there for about 15 minutes just chatting with a couple other girls before security told us to move back a little bit.  Right after they did Rob came out of his trailer and began walking toward us to his make up trailer.  I was in the front and center of the group so he had to have seen me.  It was pure awesome.  We then waited a little longer and within ten minutes Pierce Brosnon and Rob walked back out of the trailer back to the set.  Rob smiled and waved at us shyly as if to say "i'm not that interesting and have no idea what you see in me."

I had to snap back into reality because i had to get back to work.  I had such a great time at the set and the girls that were there were so sweet and very well behaved.  Nothing like those crazy girls on crack that made the headlines the other time I saw him.

Well...unfortunately I had major subway issues getting back (just missing it and having to wait for the next, train traffic and stupid people who dont walk fast) so it took me almost an hr...AN HR to get back to work.  I literally sat on the 7 for 30 mintues due to train traffic....like what the heck is that?!  

Oh well.  It was a great....great day!! The first time I had Rob for dessert and this time Rob was for lunch lol

Second story....

I will be out of NYC for the next 5 days for my Nana's memorial so I won't be working at all next week. That means no NYC updates until the end of next week when Vicki, Kathryn and Rebecca come.  But get ready for some great updates from when they are here.  

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July!

You know you love me, 

XOXO Amanda

(in a gossip girl mood :p)

One month left

Normally I only work mon-weds as you all know but this week I worked tues-thurs.  Mainly because the other intern is in spain with her family!  So I gladly said that I would take her days but that was before my sister planned to come up.  Luckily they were totally fine with me taking off monday because we had such a great day in the city.  

I was going to be in the office today but because of the holiday weekend, they decided to close the office.  Sweet!  So I'm here in Morristown-laying in bed because I just woke up deciding what I want to do this weekend.

I've had some pretty great last 3 fourth of july's with my friends so this year will be interesting.  Last year I was with Rebecca in Birmingham where we went and watched the fireworks in downtown Homewood and the two years prior I was working at Sun Valley doing cooler checks and taking up everyone's alcohol.  I don't know if Meredith and Kiley read this but they can understand what I mean when I say that working at SV for 4th of July is the craziest most fun day all summer!  

Work has been fun the last 3 days...i've started running a lot of errands since they trust me not to get lost in the city.  So i've gone up to Park Av, down to SoHo, down the street in Chelsea and much more.  Yesterday there was an internet monster that took out my computer AND the laptop they gave me--all the while everyone elses internet was fine!  So other than running errands there wasn't much I could get accomplished.  

Tuesday after work I went and met Colleen and my aunt down in the West Village neighborhood for dinner.  They had been roaming around for a few hours before I came and had come across a realestate office that had apartments that were absolutely perfect for me!  Yea yea yea, I know it's way too early to start looking but I want to SO bad!!  

Tuesday was supposed to be Colleens last night but after sitting in the Newark airport for 8 hours and not being able to make any flights to Atlanta, she came back Wednesday night and tried again yesterday.  Thankfully after getting to the airport at 5am she finally got a flight at 1130.  Flying standby isn't always a great deal. 

I want to thank all of you who have called/texted/messaged me about my Nana.  I truly have the best friends in the world.  It really means so much to me, so thank you.  

I will be leaving for North Carolina on Thursday for her memorial on Friday.  I'm flying back on the following wednesday because the entire family is spending time together at my uncles beach house.  I would also like to thank Maya and Christina for allowing me to miss work to spend time with family that I don't get to see often.  

I hope everyone has a fun weekend!!  Don't do anything stupid with fireworks please... :) 

~Amanda 

PS-i have exactly one month left here :(  so noot ready to leave

I await the day that we will meet again

I was going to post about the great day that we had yesterday and today but I want to instead dedicate this post to my Nana who passed away yesterday after her long battle with cancer.

Words cannot express my sadness about this loss but I also know that she is healthy and happy in heaven.  I know she is looking down on me knowing how much I love her but I know she would not want me to be sad but to be happy. 

We had so many great memories together and I will never forget the times we had.  

I pray that one day someone will find a cure to this awful disease so that no one has to suffer the way that my Nana did with chemo/radiation and all that other stuff.  

So here's to you Nana--You wanted me to follow my dreams and to never back down.  I know you were so happy for me when I told you I was going to NYC and I am so grateful I got the chance to tell you about it, even if it was only for a little while.

I love you so much Nana.

Me and Nana taken a little over a month ago.  My last picture with her.  

So sorry for the delay!

I am sooooo sorry that I haven't updated since Monday!!  I have been so busy that I just haven't had the time to sit down and write anything!  But don't worry because this will be a good one!

It has been a crazy week since Colleen has been up here.  It's been the first time since I have been up here that I have really gone around the city.  We have had SOOO much fun so far though!  She got here late wednesday night and will be here until this coming wednesday.

sooo....Thursday:

It was a complete surprise and she had no idea what we doing all day.  We ate at Tavern on the Green with my grandma and aunt-which was absolutely delicious!!  It was a beautiful day so after our scrumptious 3 course meal we took a walk through central park.  We wanted to go to the Strawberry Fields but we missed it and ended up walking about 10 blocks passed it.  Ooops. Colleen had said how much I would love Columbia University so we hopped on the subway and went up to 116th street to see it.  It was gorgeous!!!! I love Auburn don't get me wrong...but I would transfer to Columbia in a heart beat. 

I wanted to see the student center but the lady said that only students could see it.  So I then preceded to say "well, I'm not a student right now but I am graduating next year and looking at grad schools.  May I just see it for a few minutes?"  She was like..."ohhh you're a prospective student?  well you are supposed to have a tour guide with you but I will let you go anyway".  Sweet!  haha.  It was a very nice student center and then we headed down to the bookstore for a little while.

Then we got the subway back to Penn to make our train.  We then went to the David Tutera Wedding Showcase!!  It was awesome! For those who don't know who David is-- he is a celebrity wedding planner who has his own show called 'my fair wedding.'  We enjoyed a cocktail hour and then went into his lecture.  I ended up winning the raffel for a Tiffany&Co necklace which was so cool!  I never win anything!  Then we got in line to meet David who was soooo nice!  

it was a freaking awesome day!

Friday:

Colleen and I got the train and had planned to go eat at Serendipity's for lunch but the wait was way too long.  We ended up eating at a small cafe on 3rd ave which was really good!  Then we went back to Times Square to go to the Titanic Exhibition.  Let me start by saying that this exhibit was BY FAR the coolest thing I have ever done!  All the artifacts were so neat and they even recreated hallways from 3rd and 1st classes.  It seriously felt like I was on the actual ship and that Leonardo DiCaprio should pop out of the 3rd class room at any second.  Then we turned the corner and they had recreated the Grand Staircase.  I couldn't believe my eyes.  It was spectacular!!  Seriously it was the best hour and half!  Everyone should go to this exhibit!

We then got some yummy cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery and took a trip down to NYU.  We were exhausted so we ended up taking an earlier train back to Jersey.  

Saturday:

We woke up ridiculously early so we could get in line at the Tickets station in Times Square to try to get cheaper tickets to a Broadway show.  We got a really good place in line and ended up getting Phantom of the Opera orchestra seats for 50% off!  It was awesome!!  

We then took a seat in Times Square and people watched for a little bit before taking the subway up to Tiffany's.  After acting like I was searching for a friends ring I ended up getting to try on a $43,000 engagement ring.  It was insane!!  -and gorgeous of course!

Then we took a restroom break at The Plaza while acting like guests before we headed to Grand Central to meet up with my friend/Theta sister Sam!  We all went to lunch before Colleen and I had to leave for Phantom.  We got to the theatre and enjoyed a magnificent performance.  All the leads were there (meaning we didnt have their understudies) and let me just say that Raul was SOOOOO sexy!!!  It was my 2nd time seeing it at the Majestic and I can't even get over how much I love it.  I could see Phantom 120398123 times and it would have the same emotional effect.  Simply amazing.  

We then ate dinner at Serendipity's, enjoyed a yummy Frozen Hot Chocolate before taking a late night stroll in the Financial District.  

After a long but great 14 hr day we headed back.

Well...it's sunday and we are sitting on the coach being lazy and resting up for another day in the city tomorrow.

Again...so sorry it took me so long to update but hey! I just did a whole week in one post :)

Conquering Manhattan one day at a time, 

~Amanda

Fire Hazard? I think so!

I keep forgetting to blog about the madness that is Penn Station but when I walked in today it reminded me!  I didn't think that I would be able to accurately portray this craziness so of course, thanks to my blackberry, I am going to give you all a visual.  

But first! I must set up the situation.  I normally leave work around 5:48 because it takes about 5 or so minutes to get to Penn depending on how many lights I have to stop at.  As I am bombarded with "EXTRA EXTRA! READ blahblahblahblah" (yes newspaper sellers are always right infront of the entrance--highly annoying) I try to get through the mob of people as New Yorker as possible. Meaning, I go as quickly as I can and if I bump into anyone I keep my head down and yell 'sorry' really quickly but I never stop and say "oh goodness me...I am just soooo sorry for bumping you...please forgive me."  Heck no.  People here dont have the time or patience to hear an apology because it's nearly impossible to not run into someone.  

So today....the trains were running a few minutes behind schedule and when I walked in I think every commuter was standing in the main concourse.  I'm not sure how many people are allowed to be in one area at once in this place but I'm sure this is cutting it pretty close!  Oh and it's underground so it is not the coolest place to be.  Cool meaning temp wise...not what a 14 year old is trying to be.  

So here is what I was surrounded by....

(Please click the picture to enlarge so you can get a better idea)

Yes....do you SEE that?!  That is only half of the people....and this is only the section for tracks 1-9! Tracks 10-17 or something like that are down further.  These are all my beautiful fellow commuters!!  And what you can't see is how this turns into even more chaos when the track number is posted.  Approximately 10 minutes prior to departure the TV screens will post what track the train is at and at that time people literally RUN in all different directions to get to their desired track.  The reason for this is because the tracks change everyday so you have to watch the screen to know where to go or you arent getting home-simple as that.  

Enough with the train though!  Work was great today!  I really really missed it since I was out two days last week.  I ran an errand to a florist on 5th and 18th so took a stroll down 5th around lunch time...passed a park, the Flatiron building and lots of stores.  It was very relaxing but this was a much further walk than I anticipated lol.  Other than that I basically made a lot of phone calls and worked on Swank's blog.

Oh!  I did get to enjoy a show from Josh and Christina on how they believed Southern life was.  Let me just say that it was the stereotypical new yorker way of thinking and it was hysterical!!  

Yay for not being sick and knowing I get to go back tomorrow!! 

Colleen comes Wednesday!!!!!!!! SOO EXCITED!

Your favorite blogger, 

Amanda

WEDDING DAY RESCHEDULED FOR JULY 2nd!!!!!!!!

Attention!!! For those who read my last blog!! TNT has moved our couple's show to JULY 2ND!!! It will NOT be on in June!



RESET YOUR TiVo'S FOR JULY 2nd PLEASE!!!

Thank ya!

-don't worry...this isn't my only blog for the day! get excited! :p

Getting back to work now,
Amanda

TNT's new series WEDDING DAY!

I'm sure most of you have seen commercials about TNT's new series called Wedding Days but what you don't know is that my company Swank is involved!!!

On Tuesday June 30, the show will be about a wedding that Swank planned!!!  And the amazing thing is that this wedding was planned in LESS than TWO weeks!!!!  How crazy is that?  

For those of you who arent familiar with this show it takes deserving couples who are unable to have their dream wedding due to extreme circumstances.  Whether it be financial reasons or like our couple they are both in the military are both kept getting shipping to Iraq.  They tried setting dates a few times but every time they were both send back for a new tour.  In 2006 they came to Swank and said how they wanted them to plan their wedding.  So when the show chose them to be on the show (they didnt even know!), the show contacted Swank and had them plan it.  

This all happened in January so I have really no idea what it was like to be around it.  But, I really really want ALL of you (and I know alot of you read this because you TELL ME) to watch the show on the 30th!!!!!!  My boss and her team really went out of their way to make this wedding perfect for the couple and apparently it is AMAZING!!!  I haven't seen anything other than the snipits that TNT is showing.  

We are SO excited about this that Swank is actually having a Viewing Party on the 30th at 8pm!  So while all of you guys are watching it at home we will all be together watching it at some place in the city.  I know that everyone I work with is so proud of their work on this and I am so excited to see what it all looks like.  

I don't want to give too much of the story away because I want you to all watch it!

So set your TiVo's/DVRs/whatever other device is out now and PLEASE watch it!!!  I would love to hear all of your comments on it too so in a week and a half when you watch it and I blog about it...I want to hear what you all have to say.  You can finally get a first hand glimpse of the work that my company does!!  I love interning here and I couldn't have asked to be around better people!  Maya, Christina and Josh--if you are reading this (which you said you were going to be lol) Thank you for giving me the opportunity to learn from such great professionals!!

Swank Junior Planner, 

~Amanda

ps.  Swank's new blog is actually about the bride so go on over to http://www.swankproductions.blogspot.com to read more about this awesome show!!

pss. Wedding Day just came on!!  WEIRD!!!

Just so you know...

Just wanted to say why there wasnt a Tuesday and Wednesday NYC work post...I didn't go to work because I was sick.  :(  So unfortunately there won't be any fun nyc stories until probably monday.  

BUT  I am going to do a post tomorrow about the TNT show Wedding Day and how it relates to Swank and why you should ALL watch it on June 27!!! 

Stay tuned!!!!

Creme de la ROB!

I have had a few hours to compose myself so that I could accurately describe what has been one of the best days of my life.

 Breathe Amanda..... okay.... I'm ready..... are you?  :)

 It was around 1pm when I decided to take my lunch break.  I had forgotten to bring a lunch so I decided to go to this peanut butter restaurant called Peanut Butter and Company.  I googled it and wrote down the directions for me to get down to Greenwich.  I got a little turned around but finally found it.  I had seen this place on the Food Network and was dying to try it out! I ordered The Elvis which was basically heaven on bread.  Fresh peanut butter, bananas and honey make up this delicious sandwich.  I asked for it To Go and I walked out toward Washington Square Park to eat it.  

 I was running a little late since I couldn't PBandC right away but I wanted to enjoy the nice day. As I was about to sit down on a bench, I noticed a clump of people on the opposite side of the park.  Being the curious person I am, I started walking toward it.  That's when it hit me!  I had seen that Robert Pattinson's new movie was filming around NYU-however, NYU is large and I didn't have time to go looking for it today.  But as I walked closer the clump of people became a clump of girls....then it became a clump of girls where camera's glued to their hands.  

 "OMG" I thought to myself.  "This HAS to be the set!!!"   My heart started beating faster as I approached the crowd.  I see cameras and crew and lots of people and security and THEN I see him.  I see my future husband.  Standing innocently next to his co-star just radiating sexiness.  Who knew that I would be having dessert before sandwich!?  Seriously...he was ten feet away from me!  I suppressed the urge to scream out my marriage vows and proclaim my undying love.  I wanted to be relaxed.  I only took two pictures with my camera before I had to leave but I did have a chance to watch the scene.  

They were filming on the sidewalk and Rob and his co-star were standing on the left.  There was a girl- i dont think it was Emille- that was standing on the far right.  The security told us no flash photography and to get ready for filming.  Rob ran his beautiful fingers through his ungodly gorgeous hair before taking a deep breath.  The director yelled "FILMING!" and about 3 other people yelled it as well.  The crowd was dead silent as the scene started.  The girl walked down the sidewalk toward the two guys who werent moving.  When the girl got to them the guy said something to rob and rob started walking away.  The guy said something like "goodbye lover" and rob just kept walking and gave him a backward wave.  Rob continued to strut (yes, strut) his sexy self down the sidewalk until the director yelled cut.  I just sort of stood there.  In shock.  

(Not sure why all of that is a link...i can't get it to go away...oh well) 

I had a Mean Girl's moment where I saw myself run across the street and jump on Rob but then shook away that thought.  Even in my wildest dreams I could never have the guts to do that.  First, because I don't want him to be like, "wow...that girl is just another stupid crazy fan."  Second, the paparazzi were everywhere and knowing my luck I would end up on the front cover of the National Inquirer with a headline saying "Mentally Handicapped fan attacks innocent Rpattz during filming"- or something like that.  

 

I finally looked at my phone and realized that I really had to book it back to the subway in order to make it back to work on time.  I walked away on Cloud 9.  Of course I called Rebecca and she about blew out my eardrum from screaming.  I actually think the lady walking next to me heard it.  I wanted to jump and scream and just go all fangirl but I stayed calm and that is something I am super proud of!  

 

I spent the rest of the day just reliving the time I had with  my future husband while plotting new ways to see him again. In a non creepy way of course. I was actually glad that I didn’t get too close today because my allergies have been going crazy and I would have probably sneezed all over him.  Then I would have died of embarrassment!  You should all be proud of me though because I was SO good today!!  Not even I knew that I would be able to keep my cool and i know for a fact that none of you guys did either! 

 

I have so far met all my NYC goals and now I'm ready to check off the next one on the list!  

 

I hope this lived up to all of your expectations!

 

Love from Mrs. Pattinson,

~Amanda 

$75? You are CRAZY! I'll give you $50!

Get excited because I am posting on a Saturday!!  Even though the weather has been less than ideal, I went into the city anyway to meet up with Nolyn.  I was so excited when she told me that she and her family were coming up to the city (her first time!) and wanted to know if I could meet up with them.  Of course I said yes!  I don't say no to nyc!!  

We met up at Prince Street and Broadway (aka FOREVER 21!) then headed down the street for lunch.  Her family was so incredibly nice to buy me lunch and they were just hilarious to be around.  After lunch I took them down to Canal Street....and for those of you who dont know what that is it basically is a crazy street where you can buy bags/sunglasses/perfume/etc for a very cheap price, if you can bargain that is.  

We followed the chinese lady to her "secret" basement full of Gucci, Coach, Chanel, Versace and many other designers.  Nolyn's aunt wanted me to do the bargaining because I had done it before and I don't take their crap.  Here's how the convo went down:

Me to Nolyn's aunt: "Okay just follow my lead and it will work"

Me to chinese lady: "How much for these two?"

chinese lady: "ehh that be 7-5, 7-5 fo both."

Me: "75 dollars?  NO.  That's crazy.  I'll give you 50!"

chinese lady: "FIFTY?? No no! Give back"

Me: "Yes, 50!  I can get these for those prices next door.  I would buy from you but you aren't being reasonable.  It's too bad...we're leaving"

Me to Nolyn's aunt: "Come on we're leaving"

**half way through the door to leave**

chinese lady: "WAIT! I give you 55 dolla!"

Me: "55?  Perfect."

Then we all left happy and satisfied.  We spent some more time on Canal but unfortunately the rain was getting worse so they decided to head back to their hotel.  I said bye and thanked them for allowing me to hang around with them!  I had them drop me off back at the Forever21 where I intended on shopping for a while buuuut it was so dang crowded that I got back on my N subway and headed back to Penn.  

It was great to just walk around today and even better to be with a friend!  I had forgotten how much fun it was to be around someone who had never experienced NYC.  It is definitely priceless and I am so glad I got to be with her on her very first trip!

Your ultimate bargainer, 

~Amanda

Rain+NYC=miserable

So sorry that I didn't get to post last night during my normal 10-midnight hours.  I fully intended on it but fell asleep at 9:45.

Yesterday at work I just spend most of my time backlinking so that our site gets a better rank on google.  I checked some emails, called a swing dancing group and ate lunch in the office.  I couldnt walk around on my break because it was on and off raining the whole day.  Luckily Heather was in yesterday or I would have been left alone for like 4 hours.  Everyone had meetings they had to attend to so we had the office all to ourselves.  

I was so excited about blogging all about my shopping day today but I won't be going into the city today because of the dang rain.  Don't get me wrong, I love the rain...but trying to go into/walk around NYC in the rain is like taking the train into hell.  

I'm very sad and disappointed that my plans are ruined since I have been looking forward to it all week.  Oh well.   

Hope everyone is having a great week so far!  

Oh!  And sorry but I must do some PR for our blog- www.swankproductions.blogspot.com .  You should all check it out!  It's written my the CEO Maya and it tells all about the really cool events we do along with super neat venues around the city!!

XO

~Amanda 

Bagel Maven is my Haven

Three years and countless yelling later, I have realized another reason why I belong up North.  Some of you reading this won't understand it as much as others...ie Andrea!...but I'm sure you will find it funny.  

Einstein's Bagel and I have never gotten along.  For 9 semesters the stupid idiots there just can't ever seem to get it right.  And I do apologize for this sounding harsh and rude but this hits a sore subject regarding my bagel.  All I want is a non toasted bagel with cream cheese.  Now does that really seem difficult?  Well apparently these dumb people either don't listen or are just flat out like to piss me off.  Oh the irony of them working at Einstein's...

Anywaaaaays....let's get this taxi back on the right street.  So, the reason I belong up North is simply because everyone up here understands why a bagel is better not toasted and they never, ever mess it up!  So here's to you Bagel Maven on 7th and 30th!  You have accomplished something that I never thought was possible!  Are you laughing Andrea?

Now that I can have my perfect bagel in the morning, it makes work a thousand times better than it already is!  Unfortunately the sky decided to fall down on me today on my way to lunch which forced me to tie up my hair into a bun of frizzy mess.  We got a call today asking us to plan a wedding for Aug 1!!!!!  I really hope it goes through since I didnt think I was going to be able to work any weddings this summer.  Thank you client for having a shotgun wedding!!!!!

The rest of the day I spent calling venues, working on our new blog (which I will introduce soon!), creating a FB fan page and looking up celebrity impersonators for a bat mitzvah!  Quote of the day from my boss Maya in reference of the impersonators, "We need cute guys too...like that guy from that Twilight thing!" Haha.

I realized that I haven't really explained the mass of humanity that is Penn Station during rush hour (or as they call it Peak Hours) so stay tuned for that!!

Happy Birthday to my beautiful Aunt Helen Ann, whom I love very very much!!!!!

Too tired to think of a creative ending, 

~Amanda

Holy Tribeca!

This multi-million dollar Tribeca 2-story apartment is where I spent most of my work day today.  What you see pictured here is what we did for a 17 yr old boy's birthday party....part 1!  It is completely blowing my mind that someone would have such an awesome/expensive party for a 17 yr old!  Last time I checked 17 wasn't special in any country.  Sorry 17 year olds...no offense intended.  

Let me paint you a better picture of this amazing Manhattan haven.  Walking out on the balcony was like something out of a movie.  First of, because we were on the 32rd floor, the wind was quite strong.  I found that out the hard way when I stepped out there the first time and the wind whipped my shirt up but thankfully I caught it in time before any workers could see.  

Their view was absolutely breathtaking.  I could partially see the Brooklyn bridge on the right, the water on the right, a park right below, the entire skyline of uptown to the left including the Empire State Building and although I couldn't see it, we were only 2 blocks away from Ground Zero.  

I was left at the apartment/mansion in the sky alone to handle all the loading trucks.  This place was unfurnished because it had just been bought so the client had us bring in absolutely everything!  Nothing in that picture was there before we got there.  Nothing!  So I had to wait for the catering company to come pick up all the plates/glasses/cups/silverware/etc.  So I just walked up and down the balcony pretending it was my own...and let me tell you, I fit in perfectly there! haha.  

The video phone rang from the front desk asking if I was expecting anyone and if they wanted me to send them up so of course I said, "Why yes, send up the caterers.  Thank you."  I could have just said yes, but what fun is that.  So when they knocked on the door I opened it and greeted them into the hallway.  They all walked in and said, "Wow, you have an amazing apartment!"  Now...option 1- "Oh thank you but it's not mine...I wish it was though!"  Option 2- "Thank you very much." 

Hmm...which option did I take?  That would be number two!  Why?  Because if the workers assumed it was my apartment, why not just let them assume it??  I never said it was my apartment...but I never said it wasn't.  Therefore, these men all thought that I was the rich owner and hell...it felt good!  But really, I didn't really even speak to them because I had other work to do.  

After returning the key, making a return at Bed, Bath and Beyond (where they also have a doorman....I mean really?? at BBandB??)  I caught the 1 train back uptown to 28th street.  I finally got some lunch around 3 after being gone since 10:30 and the did some computer work before heading back to NJ around 6.

Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!! :)

Your favorite fake Tribeca apartment owner!

~Amanda

Dream Neighborhood- Greenwich Village

I finally stopped and got one of those delicious NYC street bagels that everyone talks about...and it definitely lived up to the hype.  Yummy!  

It must have been bagel day too because everyone in the office was eating one.  Heather was in today too which made it so much more fun.  Everyone morning we decide on a Pandora station and let it blast throughout the office and today we chose soft 90s...therefore, Backstreet Boys, Nsync, old school Britney Spears was sung a little too loudly by all.  I am pretty sure that we have waaaay too much fun in the office.  :)

I had checked the weather and there was incoming rain for the city, so I took my break early and literally ran up to West 34 at Harold Square to catch the subway down to Washington Square Park.  Allow me to first let you know that I had never done the subway by myself so I was a wee bit nervous.  I checked the map about 120398123 times to make sure I was getting on the right one.  I even had directions scribbled on the back of a receipt of the street address for the subway station in Greenwich in case I couldn't find my way back.  

I sat down and did my best to get the panicked look off my face.  "Act like you belong!" I kept telling myself.  Well, that worked all fine and dandy until I see the Washington Square platform zoom by.  I began to freak a little bit as my train goes flying past the platform and I pictured myself lost in Brooklyn...the next stop.  Well, I didnt realize that I was in the first train car and right after I had decided I was going to never make it back to work and that I was going to be lost in Brooklyn for the rest of my life....my train comes to an abrupt stop.  I had NO idea how long the platform was but thank the god above that the train did stop where I needed to get off.

I didn't have much time to enjoy the park because I only had an hour break.  The set of Step Up 3 was really neat...mostly because I had never seen a movie set.  I only had to ask for directions once on how to get back to the subway entrance and I was back at my desk before I knew it.  

A little later, Heather and I went down to the 3rd floor of our building which is a vintage clothing store and they were apparently having a great sale.  I have never been so overwhelmed in a clothing store...well, this hardly could be classified as a store seeing as there was no organization and no good way to get around but whatever.  It would have been a great place to buy a old 70s outfit for a party but what made me laugh was that people were actually in there buying legit everyday clothes.  It was fun to look around and the thing that really cracked me up was that all the purses were labeled and there was one section that was "90s rich old lady purses" and they were exactly what your grandmother had in the 90s!  haha.

We spent the afternoon getting the office cleaned up for a client meeting for a 40th Birthday that we are having at Studio 54 in July. 

OH! I had a very "Devil Wears Prada" moment today as I ran down 7th Avenue with a holder of 4 Starbucks coffee weaving in and out of people trying to get back to the office as quickly as possible.  Luckily I was returning to the coolest boss ever and not a crazy one like the movie. But I'm sure people could stamp me as an intern immediately. 

Wow, that was super long today but I figured I would give you a good amount since I won't be back in the office till Monday and I am going to my cousins graduation this weekend.  I won't bore you with details of my life that don't pertain to NYC anymore unless it is something really worth blogging about.   :)

Northern Love!

~Amanda