End of Week 2

Hi Everyone,

Like I said earlier, this is going to be a busy week-- and so far it has been! First, I've invited Matt and Kaitlin to be authors on this blog so they'll be able to post content when they accept the invitation. Second, I've created a photobucket account to post picture slide shows! Third, I made the font bigger for the older people read :)

Okay, here's the run-down:

Dinner with John was great! He was there early, standing at the bar drinking his coke (or tea, we weren't sure). Kaitlin and Katie stopped outside to trade flip flops for high heels because it was a high class joint. John was really happy to see us and greeted us warmly. The K's came in and the five of us sat at a booth, with John in a chair on the outside. We caught up and talked about family, the city, Kohl's, a smidge of politics, New Jersey, Katie's Vera Wang dress from Kohl's, dogs, seafood, California, favorite places in the city, etc. John ordered an appetizer that included three different kinds of oysters, lobster, escargo, shrimp, and smaller shellfish. It was my first time trying oysters or escargo. The oysters were very good but got really "fishy" (no pun intended) after three or four gulps. The escargo was very salty and if I had my eyes closed and didn't know what I was putting into my mouth I might have enjoyed it better. We all ordered some kind of salmon. I know Matt, John, and I ordered the Atlantic salmon medium rare which was DELICIOUS! It came soft but not gooey, surrounded in sauce and hummus, with some kind of sliced fruit/vegatable on the outside. We finished up with dessert (a chocolate platter that was high class!), took a picture with John, and headed back. Thanks again John!

Next Day: I woke up for work, it was sunny, I stopped at my currently favorite coffee shop called Gramercy Cafe, and walked my favorite route to work via 23rd st to Madison Ave to 32nd st where I work. At 12:30 I went to lunch with my Affiliate Manager and Business Development Manager from the company I work for online. I took the elevator upstairs to their office on the 2nd floor on Park Ave., and met everyone from the CEO to the interns. They took me on a two hour lunch to a very fancy mexican restaraunt. It was awesome!

Came home late and picked up Chipotle on the way (I'm getting hungry thinking about it!). I met Matt and the other "Dreamers" at the Palladium (yes I'm aware it's spelled differently in this post) to hear the weekly inspirational speaker they provide for us. His name is Ted Arthur and he wrote a book about his experience racing 153 miles across the Saharan desert! Up to 57 miles on the longest day, over the dunes, etc. It's the worlds longest and most grueling foot race. It's called "The Marathon Des Sables" if you want to look it up. He actually lives in Roseville and went to Jesuit HS! He had a great speach about achieving your dreams etc, haha.

Then I went to a pizza pub and got some pizza.

Today I went to work...in the rain...stopped at Gramercy Cafe, and competed for umbrella space on the sidewalk with everyone else :( At 3 o'Clock, Matt and I met with the Epic Advertising team (another online company). We met our affiliate manager there, and the companies CEO. It was nice. At The NewsMarket I didn't have much to do so I got creative and started recommending ideas to my boss, which she appreciates.

I finished my day, came home, and 45 minutes later met our whole group in the lobby to go to Broadway. We all got stuck in the noseblead section, but it was still a great experience. Before going Matt and I picked up a quick pizza dinner in Times Square. Our group was split up into three plays. Matt and I saw Phantom of the Opera, Kaitlin and her friends saw Westside Story, and everyone else saw Billy Elliot (Which won the Tony and John recommends). The play was great save the noseblead section. The actors do a great job of engaging you in the play, and the fellow audience members do a great job making sure you don't stay engaged for too long. That sounds negative but it was really a very positive experience, and I really enjoyed the play. The man who played the phantom (aka angel of music) did a phenomenal job.

Then Matt and I went to the Epic Advertising party in Times Square and had free drink wristbands but were too late to cash in. So we chatted it up with some publishers like us, only they make millions of dollars a month!

Finally, we walked back and met up with Kaitlin and 10 other girls (The ratio wasn't too bad right Riley) at a sports bar called Vertigo, on 26th st and 3rd Ave. Finished up and then headed back to the building and now I'm in bed finally getting off my computer :)

Slide show should be arriving tomorrow with two new authors :D

Talk to you all soon!

Love,
Shane