December 2010
26 posts
Did you miss my holiday card post?
I’m reposting this in case you missed it this past weekend…
I’ve met a lot of my favorite people in the world through this here little blog, and while some of you regularly comment/tweet/email me, I know there are plenty of readers lurking out there in dark corners.
I thought I’d do this little experiment to get to know my blog readers a little better: As a gift to *me* you can fill out this form, and as a gift to *you* (if you want) I will send you an awesome holiday card. Fair trade, yeah?
PS: Even if you DON’T want a card, I’d still be delighted if you filled it out just so I know who’s out there.
PPS: Timeliness of holiday card not guaranteed.
PPPS: You can obviously fill it out even if I know you IRL.
How To Live in New York City →
thoughtcatalog.com
(via theotherjen:thoughtcatalog)
Move here when you’re 18 or 22, maybe even 24. Come from somewhere else-the north, south, west, Xanadu- and come to realize that everyone living in New York is a transplant. Even the ones who grew up on the Upper East Side end up moving into a place downtown, which, as you’ll soon discover, is like moving to a different city.
Discover the cruel and bizarre world of New York City real estate. End up spending an obscene amount of money on something called a broker’s fee, first and last month’s rent and a security deposit. Cry a little bit in the leasing office but remind yourself that you’re so happy to be here.
Picture hearing a man playing the saxophone outside your bedroom window. End up hearing a lot of sirens instead. Figure it’s okay because it’s New York and you’re still so happy to be here.
Go out to bars in the Lower East Side because the Internet told you so. Fall in love with a bar called, Max Fish, and always stay out till four in the morning. Eat a falafel and have someone pay for a cab back to your apartment. Watch the sun start to rise while going over the Williamsburg Bridge and feel like your life is becoming some kind of movie.
Eat bad pizza but trick yourself into believing it’s good because it’s made in New York. Do the same thing with bagels and sex.
Meet people who will be your best friends for three or four months. They’ll help you transition into city life and take you to weird bars in Murray Hill. It will be like the blind leading the blind but once you get a firm grasp on things, you can stop returning their phone calls.
Watch your life in New York go through phases. Spend a summer in Fort Greene with a lover and get to know the neighborhood and its rhythms. Once the fling ends, forget the blocks, parks and restaurants ever existed and don’t return unless you have to.
Encounter a lot of people crying in public. Watch an NYU student cry in Think Coffee, a business woman in midtown sob into her cellphone, an old man whimper on a stoop in Greenpoint. At first, it will feel very jarring but, like everything else, it will become normal. Have your first public cry in front of a Bank of America. Cry so hard and don’t care if people are watching you. You pay good money to be able to cry in public.
Work long hours at a thankless job. Always be one step away from financial destitution. Marvel at how expensive New York is, how when you walk out the door, $20.00 immediately gets deleted from your wallet. Understand that even though no one has any money, everyone is privileged to live in New York City.
Go home for the holidays and run into old friends from high school. When you tell them that you live in New York, watch their eyes widen. They’ll say, “Oh my god, New York? That’s so crazy. I’m so jealous!” Have a blasé attitude about it but deep down inside, know they have good reason to be jealous.
Go home and feel relieved to be away from the energy of the city, that punishing 4:00 a.m. last call. Spend the first two days eating and sleeping, getting back to normal. Spend the last two days feeling anxious and ready to get back to your real home. Realize this city has you by the balls and isn’t going to let you go.
Someday you might grow tired of it all though. You might start crying in public more often than you’d like, have a bad break-up and want to pack it all up.
Certain moments of living in the city will always stick out to you. Buying plums from a fruit vendor on 34th street and eating three of them on a long walk, the day you spent in bed with your best friend watching Tyra Banks, the amazing rooftop party you attended on a sweltering hot day in July. These memories might seem insignificant but they were all moments when you looked around the city and felt like you were a part of it all.
When you leave the city, you probably won’t come back. Eventually your life in New York will seem so far away and sometimes you’ll even wonder if it really happened. Don’t worry. It did.
This. Exactly.
Blog FAQs →
teresawu.tumblr.com
I spent my morning compiling all of the more interesting questions I’ve been asked through Formspring and my Tumblr ask box. Juuuust for you. In case it’s cold outside and you’re bored.
Happy Holidays, Blog Readers!
I’ve met a lot of my favorite people in the world through this here little blog, and while some of you regularly comment/tweet/email me, I know there are plenty of readers lurking out there in dark corners.
I thought I’d do this little experiment to get to know my blog readers a little better: As a gift to *me* you can fill out this form, and as a gift to *you* (if you want) I will send you an awesome holiday card. Fair trade, yeah?
PS: Even if you DON’T want a card, I’d still be delighted if you filled it out just so I know who’s out there.
PPS: Timeliness of holiday card not guaranteed.
PPPS: You can obviously fill it out even if I know you IRL.
TEB (ODT) Day 2 & 3
… otherwise known as the abbreviation for the new series on my blog, Teresa Eats Better (Or Dies Trying).
Day 2:
- banana
- handful of almonds
- two shortbread squares
- arugula salad
- small piece of carrot cake
- grilled tuna steak
- sun dried tomato tapenade
- broccoli
- offensive amount of cashews
- kobe beef slider without the bun
- two miso glazed chicken wings
- two glasses of red wine
- sugary drinks ftl :(
- sesame bok choy
- trout filet in curry sauce
This day was a whale of a fail. I’m incredible at circumventing the rice and pasta I could be eating, but my sweet tooth will be the end of me.
Day 3:
- latte
- three shortbread squares (seriously, someone needs to remove these from our microkitchens — I have an overwhelming need to eat one every time I walk by)
- asparagus
- handful of blackberries
- handful of blueberries
- almond crusted dorade (fish)
- tomato and cucumber salad
- Ben and Jerry’s mini ice cream
- handful of almonds
I’d give today a 6/10. While I ate *fewer* things overall, all this sugar is doing me in! I also haven’t had dinner yet today, so that remains to be seen.
Teresa Eats Better (Or Dies Trying)
On Sunday, I decided that it’s about time to kick my poor eating habits to the curb. I am the type of person who falls on and off the health wagon — I’ll go strong for two weeks, and then crash and burn into an epic pizza, beer, and popcorn-filled weekend. This past weekend was one of those weekends. LE SIGH!
Inspired by uber-fit Tumblr sisters tinaeatsdonuts and chinoisfemme, I decided on Sunday that I should try to align my eating habits with the primal/Paleo diet.
This means I’ve been eating exclusively fruits, veggies, meat, seafood, and nuts for all of three days. Well, by “exclusively” I mean “as much as possible, until I cave because I’m a weakling with zero self control.” Grains, sugar, coffee, alcohol, and anything pleasurable in life processed are more or less a no-go. (FYI: I’m not changing my eating habits simply for weight loss; I’ve done a lot of reading on the subject and am truly convinced that our bodies aren’t meant to process grains.)
While I’ve had a lot of success avoiding white carbs (shockingly enough), I’m finding it really difficult to eliminate dairy, sweets, and alcohol. I typically have a Fage yogurt with a banana for breakfast every morning, sneak in a cookie at some point during the day, and have a glass of wine or two before bed.
Yesterday, I had:
- bowl of grapes
- two hard-boiled eggs
- handful of almonds
- brussel sprouts
- roast chicken breast
- spinach and napa cabbage salad
- handful of blackberries
- one butter cookie (I can’t go a day without eating sweets. I JUST CAN’T)
- pork loin with caramelized onions
- a little tiny bit of polenta (IT WAS GOAT CHEESE TRUFFLE POLENTA. How could you say no?!)
- butternut squash
- arugula salad
- roasted broccoli with almonds
- one square of dark chocolate
- offensive amount of cashews
- two glasses of wine
Hot damn, I eat a lot. And while I generally eat plentiful amounts of fruits and veggies, A) I rarely exercise and B) my portion sizes are out of control. Something’s got to change around here… my immobile, cubicle-monkey lifestyle means my status as a Small Asian Girl is in peril.
Is blogging about my daily meals horrifyingly uninteresting? Because I think I’m going to start.
blip.tv NY Holiday Party!
Last Friday night we hosted a lovely holiday party for several hundred of blip’s friends and family in our New York office.
We had a s’more making station in the living room, and four (count ‘em, 4) beers on tap in the kitchen. There was even egg nog, apple cider, and hot cocoa (with Bailey’s)!
The highlight of the night (obviously) was the photo booth.
Teresa and I snared Kelly in our candy cane of love.
Special appearance by Galpert! Aren’t we just so darn adorable?
I’m sorry if we didn’t get a chance to chat on Friday, if you were there you know how crazy and crowded our office got. Thank you to all who came! Happy holidays!
For the rest of the photos, check out the 4 albums (!!)* on the blip.tv Facebook page!
A long week of rain and flurries makes a seriously seasonally affected California girl. I may not be faring well in the wintry weather, but the onslaught of boozy holiday parties certainly helps fight the SADness.
It was wonderful to run into so many familiar faces — thanks Blip.tv for a fun and festive Friday night! :)
*Annie and I are slightly more into photoboothing than the average person.
I am a big fan of MMIAF and I am quite jealous of your life in nyc :) I really want to move there as soon as possible. I was just wondering how you got a job with Google Docs and what does your job entail? Thanks!
Thanks! I have a lot of questions in my queue about my job that I’ve been meaning to answer. This is the official description of my position:
As a Consumer Operations Associate, you have a desire for technology, operations, and product development to help us serve our user base world- wide. You support end-users through existing and new support channels and serve as the user voice to internal partners across Google (e.g., PMs, PMMs, PR, Legal, User Experience Research). You will be joining a small, highly- leveraged, and fun-loving team with a very experimental culture. We promote thoughtful risk-taking to develop the next generation of scalable support solutions for our expanding suite of products.
Responsibilities:
• Become an expert on a Google product (e.g. Gmail, Blogger, Android, Calendar, Search, etc.).
• Be assertive in helping to advocate for product features and fixes.
• Build relationships with Product teams, Engineering, and Marketing.
• Gather and analyze insightful feedback and report to Product team, including bug filing and follow-up, usability feedback, and feature requests.
• Manage support channels, including help centers and user forums.
Requirements:
• BA/BS degree preferred with a strong academic record.
• Outstanding spoken and written communication skills.
• Comfort working cross-functionally with Product, Engineering, and Marketing.
• Keen interest in technology and Google products.
I originally applied for a position at YouTube and my resume was passed along to a different department. A friend of a friend who works at Google referred me, though I know plenty of people who successfully landed interviews simply applying through the website. If any of you are interested in working for Google, I’m happy to chat with you about it — shoot me an email at teresawu at gmail.
