In Like a Lion

Monday, March 1, 2010
12:30 AM  Rabbit, Rabbit!

So far this "trusting the Universe" thing is really working out for me.  I had a fantastic week, and I'm in a fantastic mood.  The week started off right by getting to visit Steph in Boston.  I had Monday off, so I took a bus back to Boston Monday morning and spent the rest of the day trying to get organized.  Tuesday was a regular day at work, but I had extended Ticket Office, which is always entertaining.  People call asking for everything besides tickets to shows we are able to provide tickets for.  They want to know how to get tickets to 'The View' (not on our network), or tickets to 'The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien' (no longer in existence), or they want you to book them on a show... as a guest.  People are ridiculous, but they are entertaining.  And they crack me up.  It's good to be able to laugh at work.

On Wednesday I had a resume review, which was really helpful.  I finally feel like my resume is up to par, and I can start applying to assignments.  I'm applying to my first one tomorrow, so wish me luck!  Since I'm considered "young" in the program, a lot of positions aren't open to me yet, but I'm really excited about this one.  At the very least it's good to get my name out there and maybe get some interview experience. 

Thursday was probably the best day this week though...  At the monthly meeting I found out I got the award for 'Page of the Month,' officially named the 'Performance Award for Outstanding Tour Operations.'  I was absolutely shocked and thought I was going to start crying in the middle of the meeting!  I went all red and started shaking and stuttering.  When I recovered, I found out that I got a certificate, a $50 American Express gift card and... A SHINY NEW PIN FOR MY PAGE JACKET!!!  I was more excited about the pin than anything else!  Anyway, the award is given away each month and it goes to the page who receives the most positive comments on comment cards left by guests who take the studio tours.  Considering I've only been touring for a month, it was a pretty big deal!  In a job like mine, where you're not given a lot of feedback on a regular basis, it was nice to get a "pat on the back."  It's a pretty cool honor that still makes me smile as a write about it :)

Nothing could really top Thursday, but the week continued to be great.  Friday night there was a huge party in honor of two older pages who are graduating from the program, and it was a really great night.  Pages know how to party!  I've definitely met my kind of people :)  We started at an apartment and then moved on to a bar called Carnival, which is a bar that is full of carnival games!  It was too cool.  I only wish I could have stayed later... but I had to tour at 9 am the next day!

Saturday tours went along smoothly, despite the lack of sleep from the night before, and that evening Maria came to see me!  I hadn't seen her since July, so it was great to catch up over dinner.  She introduced me to Four Square, which I am now absolutely obsessed with.  After dinner we went to a bar, where Erin met us, but I left around 11 pm because I was having trouble staying awake!  I came home, got in my jammies, and watched Saturday Night Live until I fell asleep.  It was the first SNL that I didn't have to work, so it was funny to watch the show, knowing all the craziness that is happening behind the scenes!

This morning (er, ok, afternoon) I woke up after a solid 11 hours of sleep and felt like a new person.  I hung around all day, watching the Olympics, cleaning my room, and eventually wandering over to the grocery store to pick up some baking supplies.  I Skyped with Mom, Dad, and Kaitlyn and watched the USA v. Canada game, and then Mike met me at my apartment, and we went to Ost Cafe down on E. 12th St.  We had a really nice time sipping wine and talking about our friends from home.  When I got back, I had a late dinner, Skyped with Steph, and baked a DELISH Apple Cinnamon Crumb Cake.  Most of it came in a prepackaged Pillsbury bread mix box, but I'm still pretty proud of myself for taking it from Apple Cinnamon Bread to Apple Cinnamon Crumb Cake.  Making it was even more of a challenge than I anticipated because I realized shortly into the process that I had nothing to measure any of the ingredients with!  I also don't have a thermometer for my oven, so the whole thing was a guessing game.  It came out great though, and my whole apartment smells deliciously apple-cinnamony.

I have tomorrow off, as well, and I'm hoping to be uber-productive... once I spend a bit more time catching up on sleep.  This coming week should be good too -- Jess is coming to see Late Night on Thursday, and I'll be getting together with the girls of 426 next Saturday.  I feel like I'm finally comfortable and may even be (dare I say it?) hitting my stride here in NYC.

The thing that makes me the happiest, though?

I haven't seen a cockroach in two weeks :-D

Love,
Tara