Paige's Blog

Have you ever moved to a big, new place and thought I will never find my way around here. I’ll always be lost.

Well, I’ve been struggling with that since Day 1 in New York. However, despite the trips I’ve taken on the subway in the wrong direction (yes, trips, plural), I’m actually getting much better. It takes a little practice to get comfortable, and I’m by no means an expert, but every day I get a little better at finding my bearings.

After my first day of work, my roommate invited me to join her at a street fair in Times Square. I pulled out my subway map and tried to figure out the easiest route. I can’t remember how I got there, but I know it was roundabout. Now, I know without looking at a map that I should have walked to Grand Central and taken the shuttle to Times Square.

That’s a pretty simple path to navigate, but I’m now getting better at traveling further distances. Since a few friends I have met through my church live in the Union Square area, I meet them there pretty often and am now a pro at finding my way around that station.

Of course, even once I became more comfortable, it wasn’t constant smooth sailing. I was going to meet friends at a coffee shop in (I think) Greenwich Village one Monday evening. I thought I knew exactly what I was doing; I’d planned the route on the MTA Trip Planner. After a few subway stops, however, I realized that something had gone wrong.

I got out off the subway and stepped out of the station. By this time, I was in full meltdown mode: I didn’t know where I was, couldn’t understand where I had gone wrong and was going to be late to my meeting unless I took a taxi.

The dreaded words hung in the air: Taxi. Cab. Expensive Yellow Car.

Thankfully, one wasn’t too far from me so I hopped in and the driver took me to my destination. Really, I was glad I had that little misstep: it was a good reminder that I don’t know everything about this city yet. But with six more weeks to go, I hope I’ll still get a little better each day.

On Saturday, I went with my fellow Rodale public relations intern to a show at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. The show was hilarious, inexpensive and fun – and it’s this week’s obsession.

When my friend, Lili, suggested going to a comedy show, I was a little hesitant. Going to comedy shows isn’t one of my typical weekend activities, but I am up for trying anything in New York so I started looking for possibilities.

The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Chelsea

A little Google-searching brought me to the Upright Citizens Brigade, a comedy club in Chelsea. I knew I’d heard the name before, and a Wikipedia search (I take my internet searching seriously) showed me that the club was founded in the early 1990s by a group of comedians many of whom would later write or perform for Saturday Night Live. That sounded good to me!

The inside of the UCB Theatre; we sat right about where this photo was taken.

Going to a UCB show is really easy. They have at least a few different shows each night, so you can check out their schedule and choose a show based on the featured act and/or the time that works best for you. You can make reservations beforehand by submitting your name and the number of tickets you’d like. If you make a reservation, you can stand in a separate line in front of the theater and have a better chance of getting in early and finding a good spot. If you go, I’d recommend lining up twenty minutes or half an hour before the show starts; otherwise, you might have to stand during the show or have your group split up in seats.

Reuben Williams, the comedy group we saw at UCB

We went to the Saturday show at 10:30 and saw Reuben Williams, a comedy/improv group that is one of UCB’s “house groups” – I’m not totally sure what that means, but it basically means that they’re affiliated with UCB and the members of the group teach comedy classes there.

They performed in two acts and the whole set was a little over an hour. It was hilarious! They did two long improv scenes based on suggestions from the audience. It’s hard to describe it in words, but it was a lot of fun. I enjoyed seeing the six members of the group work as a team. They always came in at the right moments, said the right things and weaved in elements from earlier in the scene that the audience had forgotten about but remembered and laughed at as soon as they were brought in.

Want to laugh this summer? Check out a UCB show.

That’s what I was chanting Thursday night when two friends and I hopped on the 7 train to Queens and watched the New York Mets play the Detroit Tigers.

That's me in front of Citi Field.

I have been a big baseball fan since middle school. Since I grew up in a city without a Major League team, I am not what you would call a “die-hard” fan of any one team. But, I love the game as a whole, have several favorite players and try to go to as many major league stadiums as I can.

On Monday, we decided to see if we could get (cheap) tickets to the game. We had no problem getting tickets through the Mets website, and even though they were waaaayyy up in the nosebleed section, we paid $24 apiece. That might sound a little steep, but for what you’re getting, it’s definitely worth it: a warm summer evening with friends, great baseball fans, awesome beaseball players and America’s favorite pastime. (But if you want to enjoy a hot dog and fries with that, plan on getting scammed – since when did ballpark food get steakhouse prices?)

The view from our seats.

Anyway, we all really enjoyed the game. The Tigers took an early 6-1 lead, but the Mets came back to make it 6-5 later in the game. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to get the win, but it was still a lot of fun. One thing I really appreciate about Mets fans is that they’re very supportive of their players when they come to bat or do well in the game. David Wright, the Mets’ third baseman who has been one of the top players in the MLB since he joined the league in 2005, always walked up to bat to lots of cheers and clapping. Jose Reyes, the Mets’ shortstop who has also been a great player over the past few years, is also greeted with a lot of cheers and loud shouts of “José!” It’s definitely a fun atmosphere.

Obviously, I didn't take this picture, but here are David Wright (left) and Jose Reyes, two Mets stars.

Citi Field, the Mets’ stadium, is a wonderful place to take in a game. It opened last year, so it still looks very new. Even though our seats weren’t close to the field, we had a fantastic view of the stadium, the jumbotron and the diamond.

Sometimes I think the Mets are overshadowed by the Yankees – it seems like everyone wants to go to Yankee Stadium, but no one cares too much about taking in a Mets game. The Yankees might seem more glamorous, but after my experience on Thursday, I’d definitely recommend heading to a Mets game if you’re looking to spend a nice summer night at the ballpark.

Plus, how could you go wrong when you have an awesome mascot like Mr. Met?

One thing my friends always tease me about is my “obsessive” personality. Don’t worry – I’m not obsessive in a creepy way. But, I tend to become really passionate about certain things: TV shows, bands, cities, foods, blogs…you get the idea. I go through phases, but each phase is marked by a love of whatever it is I’m obsessed with at the time.

So, because I usually have a few obsessions in the rotation, I’ve decided to start writing about one of them each week.

This week's obsession: frozen yogurt.

This week’s obsession: frozen yogurt, that delicious dessert more affectionately known as “fro-yo.”

Fro-yo shops are popping up all over the place, and New York City is no exception. I have had the pleasure of enjoying fro-yo three times in the last week; since money doesn’t grow on trees and I don’t want to weigh 500 pounds, I won’t be doing that again, but for the last several days it was enjoyable.

Not my actual cup of fro-yo, but this is Pinkberry.

One of the country’s most well-known frozen yogurt shops is Pinkberry. There’s a Pinkberry just around the corner from the EHS Marymount Residence, where I live, and it’s glorious. They have six flavors and a wide variety of different toppings. If you find yourself at a Pinkberry soon, I recommend getting a small original with chocolate chips, yogurt chips and strawberries.

Another fro-yo shop I’ve been to (two of my three stops were at Pinkberry) is called 16 Handles in the East Village. It’s a self-serve frozen yogurt shop, so you have to pull down the handle of the machine in order to get the yogurt into your cup – hence the name. Take a moment to laugh at that clever play on words. Okay? Done.

The 16 Handles shop in Manhattan's East Village.

But, pun aside, self-serve can be a beautiful and not-so-beautiful thing. It’s beautiful because you can do whatever you want. I, for one, sampled a bit of original, vanilla and pistachio in my cup. (It should be noted that in the frozen yogurt community, “original” is like a tart, plain flavor while vanilla is just regular old vanilla, without any tartness.) The not-so-beautiful part of self-serve frozen yogurt is that you pay based on how much it weighs, so if you add toppings to your heart’s content it can get a little pricey.

There are a number of other fro-yo locales in the city that I have yet to try: Tasti D-Lite, Yogurtland and Berrywild are just a few. If you know of another great frozen yogurt shop I shoult try, let me know!

Over the past eight workdays, I’ve been making a tough transition: the one from classroom to cubicle. In college, it’s easy to become accustomed to waking up late in the morning, leaving your homework work for 11 pm and wearing sweatpants. When you work a nine-to-five desk job, it’s much different.

My cubicle at Rodale.

Obviously, you know it’s inappropriate to show up for work at 11 am in sweats. However, I’ve come to realize that there are many more difficult decisions you encounter in the working world that you’d never come across in college.

For example, I struggle almost every day with knowing when it’s okay for me to leave the office. In school, I knew when I had to be in class and then scheduled my homework accordingly. I really only answered to myself. But at my internship, I have to consider my co-workers and those who work above me. Have I completed everything they’ve asked of me? Is there anyone I need to communicate with before I leave? In school, these questions aren’t addressed daily and aren’t confined to 9-5, but once I leave work in the evening, I know I won’t be coming back to anything until the next morning. I want to make sure everything’s ready to go for the next day.

There are no office hours during workdays. At school, I can drop by my professors’ offices without worrying that I’m bothering them; they’ve set aside time specifically for students. Of course, it’s easy to schedule formal or informal meetings with your colleagues at work so you know you’re on the same page, but it’s also important to remember that you have to figure out a lot of it on your own. You want to stay interested, involved and on top of things, but you don’t want to appear needy. Finding a balance between asking for some direction and asking for a babysitter can be a challenge.

I’m only eight workdays in and no one expects me to have this transition down perfectly. But, those are some of the challenges I’ve encountered so far; I probably won’t ever have the “right” answer, but I know that as the summer progresses, I’ll get better at finding a healthy balance.

Hello! I’m Paige Landsem and this summer I’m working as a corporate communications intern at Rodale, Inc., a publishing firm, while living at EHS’s Marymount Manhattan residence. So far, I’ve spent a week in New York and at my internship and have loved every minute. It’s been an exciting and challenging experience and I look forward to sharing some of it with you!

Before I get started, though, let me introduce myself a little further: I just finished my sophomore year at the University of Oregon, where I’m studying public relations in UO’s School of Journalism and Communication. I’m also a native Oregonian who was born and raised in the beautiful city of Portland. I am obsessed with the TV show 30 Rock, love baseball and frequently “tweet” – if you’re on Twitter, I’d love to connect. My twitter handle is @plandsem.

This blog is not a place for me to simply spill out all the details of what I’m up to; it’s also a place for readers to ask questions or converse. If you have anything to say, please feel free to do so. I appreciate the time you take to read the blog and give any feedback.

To begin, here’s a quick look into what I’ve done during my first week in the city:

Navigated: Getting from Point A to Point B without a map is a challenge for me. So, this week has contained many glances at the subway map and several retraced steps. Navigating your way around New York is not impossible, but it takes some practice!

Worked: I love my internship at Rodale because I get a lot of hands-on experience with the company and with public relations. I’ve already started working on specific projects for various Rodale magazines (they publish Runner’s World, Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Prevention, Bicycling and several others) and am excited to see what the next nine weeks hold.

Promises, Promises is one of the Broadway shows I've seen since arriving in New York.

Explored: After only a week in the city, I’ve seen two Broadway musicals, one off-Broadway play, the Empire State Building, Fifth Avenue, Central Park and more. There is never a shortage of things to do or see in New York, so I’m trying to take advantage of all the city has to offer.

Coming posts will be filled with pictures and stories from my internship or my adventures in the city. However, I’m glad I got the chance to introduce myself and I appreciate having you stop by my blog!

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