Pit and Peak: week of 8.26.13

Ahhhh okay I haven't posted in FOREVER - this weekend has been crazy! But I have a lot to write about for the next few days so WOO! I like JUST remembered that I had to pay my rent so I scrambled out of bed to set up that account since it's my first time paying it in this building. I thought that I might as well kill 2 birds with 1 stone and post my pit and peak right now, too! (Sidenote: I usually like to do this on Sundays but I haven't had any time today because I've been trying hard to entertain my friend who is in from out of town.)

Without further adieu, here's my pit and peak for this past week!

Pit: The pit of my week is probably the fact that I am not so happy with my "best friend" right now (the air quotes are there for a reason). He has ditched me TWICE 2 weeks ago, and we didn't talk at all last week. Our last conversation was him ditching me for the second time. UGH, I thought girls were supposed to be the dramatic ones! He hasn't even apologized or anything for it. Or made any effort to talk to me about it because he knows I was upset. And I am not reaching out to him first. Very disappointed. I am pretty sad about that.

Peak: The peak of my week was hanging out with my best friends that have finallyyyyy all moved here (And my friend that's visiting is in that group too)! Oh my goodness this past weekend was so so SO much fun being partially reunited. It was a crazy weekend and I am so sad that it is over. More fun times to come for sure though now that all the NYC crew is here! :) We did some things that I def need to post about because I had no idea those things excited in this city. A very fun weekend with some of my favorite people. Really doesn't get any better than that.

Okay, I will be so much better at posting starting tomorrow - so many cool NYC things to write about! Hope everyone gets to sleep in tomorrow in honor of Labor Day. I need this break so bad and am going to try to take full advantage of the laziness it encourages :)

(PS - I promise I will respond to comments I got this weekend tomorrow! You guys are the best.)

<3, Charlotte

Why (my) guy friends are the best friends

Girls suck.

There, I said it. We are always bitching, always getting in fights, always looking for ways to drop those last few pounds because we're so fat. I have a solid group of girl friends, I'll have you know. But they have gone through Social Darwinism for real. Survival of the fittest. They are the ones that have superior traits!

Getting back to the point of this post, guy friends are the best. I've already told you guys about James, my best friend in the whole entire world. But he is not who I am going to talk about. There's a whole other group of weirdos I need to introduce you to!

I have a core group of friends from college. It is me, 7 guys, and 2 other girls. And it is the best thing in the world. For some reason, this group just works well together. Everyone is pretty different - we have a few of them who majored in classics, some in business, some pre-med. We are all over the place!

All of us (minus 1 of the girls) before a formal event we all went to. FANCY!

But when we hang out, there is no drama. Everyone is just looking to have a good time, not start some kind of bitch fight about the girl across the room wearing the EXACT SAME shirt as them. Even if there are fights, they don't last very long. There was actually this HUGE fight that broke out when we played Beer Olympics. That's the thing about this group, they are very relaxed, but SUPER competitive. Luckily everything was resolved by the next day and everyone jokes about it now. Phew!

3 of the guys from this group are actually moving to NYC soon! And I am SOOOOO excited because I have missed them all so much! I used to go to their house (yes, my 7 best guy friends all lived under the same roof our senior year of school and they managed to survive) every afternoon and just hang out for hours. Yes, that means that I have heard a lot of conversations girls don't typically hear. Yes, that means that I am AMAZING at Nintendo 64.

It makes me incredibly sad that I can't just see all of them any time I want - I don't even know when we will all be in the same room again. UGH.

They seriously are the best!

<3, Charlotte

Toys "R" Us in Times Square

Last night I went back to being an 8 year old. I got dinner with James and while we were passing the time before his bus at Port Authority, we decided to go to Times Square. While we were there, James turned to me and asked "Have you ever been to the Toys "R" Us here?".

I gave him a blank stare back. Of course I have never been to the Toys "R" Us here, I'm not six years old! Instantly catching his mistake and remembering that someone who doesn't go to NYC before they are 21 (that was me, folks) doesn't make Toys "R" Us a priority on their to-do lists when they get here, he said, "WE ARE GOING NOW!"

I have truly never been in such a magnificent toy store! There were so many different sections - you have a spot for toddlers, a Jurassic Park spot, a Barbie section (that would TOTALLY have been my fav when I was little).

T-Rex!

...and James next to it. (Doesn't he look
COOL?! Not.)

Best of all, there is a giant Ferris Wheel in the middle of the entire store! Ahh it looked so fun but I didn't want to embarrass myself and ride it. Or pay for it. #impoor

Ferris Wheel! Sorry, I reallyyy need to
get better at taking pictures. Let's just
blame my crappy phone for this one!

Overall though, it was definitely a lot cooler than I was expecting it to be. I don't have a picture of this (James took it on his phone) but in the bike and scooter section I tried on this SWEET helmet that had these spikes going down the middle. It looked like I had a neon mohawk! Yes, I went all out and literally turned into a child during the half hour I was there. It was also funny because we were both wearing our work clothes and running around the store acting like little kids - there was just so much to see and do! No regrets about anything at all.

No matter how old you are, if you ever get some free time when you're in NYC try to put it on your "places to go" list!! You can thank me later :)

Oh to be 8 again...

<3, Charlotte

Pit and Peak: week of 8.5.13

Week 2 of this tradition!

I cannot believe it was a week ago that I did this for the first time! It's time for the pit and peak of my past week.

Pit: The pit of my week was definitely having that terrible encounter with my ex-soon-to-be-roommate - Ellen's - boyfriend. You can read about the incident here, but that definitely was my low-point for the week. I hate when people are mad at me! And I had being put into terrible situations. UGH. Still bothered but def not as much as I was right after the fact.

Peak: OBVIOUSLY the peak of my week was finding an apartment!!! Ahhh I had been waiting for so long and it makes me so relieved that everything came together. And that the place is basically a palace. UNBELIEVABLE! Supposedly the other girl moves out in a little over a week, so then I am definitely starting to move my stuff into my new place! YAYAYAYAY

Okay, onto the next week! :) Hopefully this one will be much less dramatic.

<3, Charlotte

That's not fair

Today, my company had an outing, so we weren't in the office and were drinking the entire day (more to come about that  tomorrow!). But tonight, I got dinner and drinks with Chloe. It was more mellow because we were both exhausted, but it was good to see her and just hang out for a little.

As we were leaving, we were walking down the street when I hear Chloe go "Oh hey". I look up and it's Ellen's boyfriend. (Sidenote, I've officially decided to give her a name, Ellen is my friend that I was going to live with, but it didn't end up working out for a number of reasons.) I didn't really know how to act since a lot of people now know that me and Ellen aren't living together by now, so I also was also like "hi!"

He goes to give Chloe a hug hello and turns to me and gives me a ginormous death stare. SO UNNECESSARY AND RUDE! I decided to ignore it - I'm probably the least awkward person ever so that wasn't that difficult - and I also went in for a hug. He didn't even make eye contact with me while doing so. He then talked to us for about a minute, and when I say "us" I mean only Chloe, and then we parted ways.

Ugh, the entire encounter left me with such a terrible feeling. Ellen was the one who told me to go for it and gave me her blessing - was she lying to me when she said that? We both ended up wanting different things in a place, and her not even being in town when we were looking for places (and not answering her phone for DAYS when I would try to get in touch) didn't help the situation. She put me in such a bad spot, and now I feel like I look like the bad guy.

That's not fair. And now i feel like crap about the whole thing.

<3, Charlotte

Girls' night out

See?! It looks SUPER tiny when you walk up to it!

I get incredibly happy when my friends from different groups meet and get along great! This is what has happened with Kristy and Chloe. I've brought them together multiple times and they love each other! It makes me so happy that everyone can hang out and we all have a great time. :)

Last night, we decided to have a classy girls' night out. This was partially because we haven't done that yet since being in NYC and partially because we were all too hungover yesterday and wanted to keep it more tame last night. Kristy made reservations at 9 at Sotto 13, located in the West Village on 13th Street between 6th and 7th Avenue. Her friend Kelly was coming with us too (I'd met her before and LOVEDDD her so even more reason this night was going to be great!).

Walking up, the restaurant looks so minimal and tiny - I didn't know what to expect. However, when you get inside, you go to a big room in the back and it is SUPER trendy. Tall ceilings, mood lighting, high-top elegant tables. It was beautiful!

Inside!

Because OBVI us girls are always watching our figures, we got a few little plates to share with the table - I absolutely DEVOURED the brussels sprouts. They were AMAZING (and I'd like to think healthy, too). Also, the Summer Sangria at Sotto 13 is TO DIE FOR. We got one pitcher and decided that that would be our main drink for the night. Several pitchers later and we were giddy and happy as could be. Definitely made the right call on that one.

It was suchh a fun night! We felt so classy and grown up. So New York!

Definitely one of my favorite trendy food places in NYC! What a good time.

<3, Charlotte

So, where do we go from here?

Last night Chloe and I decided to have a little girls night out. Obviously we didn't stay out very late because we both had work today, but it was really nice to be able to hang out and just  talk about everything that has been going on (she was out of town last weekend too, so I felt like I hadn't seen her in FOREVER). It was so so soooo fun! I am so glad we are so close and that that awkward phase has passed. I am so happy that she is one of my best friends :)

We got to talking and decided to hash out the entire Lisa situation. Since I last wrote about it, this is what happened on my end of it:

1. She didn't apologize about it herself. We waited for DAYS and heard nothing from her. No texts, not a single interaction on any communication medium. For Lisa, this is weird considering she really does have a texting problem and is on the obsessive compulsive side of that spectrum. Not hearing anything from her was so bizarre.
   

   

   Is this what we should do?

2. Chloe and I discussed, and even though I wasn't directly involved, I wrote Lisa this long text explaining why her actions and lack of apology were concerning to me. I explained that I was alarmed that her intentions seemed terrible and was worried that she would do something shitty to me. This was completely true - was she going to just up-and-leave me in the middle of some neighborhood in NYC when we were out one night? I HAD to get to the bottom of this.


3. Lisa sent me a long text responding to my concerns. Apparently she had been so embarrassed about the entire situation the next day. She is definitely not one to engage in confrontation, so her actions were definitely in-line with what I would expect of her - she didn't want to say anything and essentially hoped that everything would blow over on its own. She apologized for essentially ditching her friends for a guy and said it was one of the worst things she had ever done. Slightly dramatic, but yes, that was INCREDIBLY STUPID. And just not nice! Everything she said came off completely sincere though, so I was happy that I reached out.

So the other day after I got her apology, I felt a lot better. I replied telling her that I totally understood, but that she really needed to apologize to Chloe for what happened. It was really not okay and she should address it because I knew Chloe was still irked about it. Last night, we went over the response that Chloe got from Lisa. Several things were EXTREMELY ALARMING about the difference between the answers we got:

1. Chloe's response was CONSIDERABLY shorter than mine. I mean, my response required several scrolling efforts in order to read the entire thing. Lisa's response to Chloe fit on one texting page on Chloe's iPhone. I mean, I wasn't even directly involved in what had happened and I got a novel- didn't Chloe deserve the same kind of thought-out response that I got?


2. She justified her behavior to Chloe in the fact that she got "caught up in NYC". So was it a guy (what she told me) or NYC or what?! Also, she was here last summer interning for the company she is working for now, so I don't understand how it is so different this time around. How was she caught up in NYC?


3. She ended Chloe's message with a "we should go out to a club sometime!" ............oh okay, so one of our best friends will pencil us into her busy schedule to go out with us? Thanks, but I think we're doing just fine on our own. Don't feel the need to grace us with your magnificent presence, Lisa.



I feel like this quote definitely applies in this situation.

Yea, so we are basically in shock about this entire thing. It's so disappointing to see someone change so much in such a short time. I really don't know what to think, but none of my thoughts about the situation are good. One thing I'm glad about is that I have a friend like Chloe who will stick by me no matter what. We both admit when we make mistakes and own up to them. And we will never throw each other under the bus for a temporary guy. Guys come and go but friendship is for life!

Everything about this situation with Lisa is just not right. I'm pretty sad about it. :(

Where do we go from here?

<3, Charlotte

Keep the pictures. They don't change, but the people in them do.

Very suitable to this situation.

Last Friday night, I was SUPER excited. I was going out with some of my college friends that I hadn't seen since graduation. It was going to be so much fun!

I've basically patched things up with Chloe. It's just in her personality to act the way she was acting, but I think she has come to terms with everything and we are totally fine now. I am so happy because we are at a very good place in our friendship!

I was going to go out with Chloe and our other friend Lisa. How it basically works is Chloe and Lisa are like best friends, and then I just hang out with them a lot. I'm more of a floater, so the idea of having a best friend scares me - and I've had best friends before and it ALWAYS ends up blowing up in my face. I am just a more hang-out-with-everyone kind of girl. So our little situation is perfect.

We also had friends coming in from out of town. One was staying with Chloe, the other with Lisa. Lisa had mentioned to me earlier in the night that she was irritated that our friend was staying with her because that meant she couldn't bring anyone home or go home with anyone. (Seriously, girl needs to get a GRIP. Not going home with someone for ONE NIGHT won't kill you!)

Anyways, what ended up happening is that Lisa and the friend she was staying with stayed out later than the rest of us, but then Lisa ended up ditching the friend, leaving him stranded in NYC all alone! (He is not from here either, so imagine how scary that would be). He called Chloe and apparently they tried calling Lisa over 15 times and she didn't respond. Everyone had to sleep in Chloe's poorly air-conditioned apartment and didn't find each other and end up getting home until 5am. HOW AWFUL.

The worst thing is that the next day, Lisa didn't even acknowledge that anything had happened or was wrong! She even texted me asking if I was going out that night and didn't address the other situation with anyone. I mean, CLEARLY she saw the 15 missed calls and knew that she had ditched our friend. But not acknowledging it and even doing that in the first place DEEPLY CONCERNS ME. And Lisa and Chloe even had plans to have coffee last night and apparently Lisa canceled it at the last minute. She OBVIOUSLY knows she did something wrong and doesn't want to talk about it. I am still in disbelief that that happened and don't even know what to think! I feel like since we've graduated, Lisa has changed for the worse - self-involved people are never fun to be around.

SO. MUCH. DRAMA.

This is why I prefer to be friends with guys.

<3, Charlotte

What to do when your best friend finds about your secret blog

An actual picture of us in NYC. He's CLEARLY obstructing my view.

So it's no secret that I have a fake name on here. I have mentioned before that I really like the anonymity aspect of being completely removed from my real self when blogging. I have mentioned to a few people though that I have started this blog, but I have not disclosed my fake persona to ANYONE.

Which is why I was ABSOLUTELY SHOCKED when my best friend (we will call him James) texted me "hello, Charlotte" this morning.

James, I know you will read this, and I honestly have NO IDEA how you found me on here! I do tell him everything though, so I really don't care if he reads anything on here, and he is involved with reality TV and knows how crazy I really am. Who knows, maybe he will use all this material for a show he produces one day. ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN!

Have you ever had a friend that you swear you were meant to meet and keep in touch with forever? Someone that would never judge you no matter what you say or do and who accepts you for who you are, no matter how weird some of the stuff you hide from acquaintances may be. Someone who is genuinely happy for you when good things happen, and is heartbroken when you get hurt. Well if you don't have someone like that, you need to find that person, because it is seriously life changing. James has definitely impacted who I am today. He has made me both crazier and more sane at the same time. HOW DOES ANYONE DO THAT?! I'm not sure, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

While I have his (and everyone else's) attention, James, I just want to say how happy I am that we are so close. You are the only person I know that I can talk to for HOURS and still have things to tell you when the conversation is over. I can't wait for us to blow up NYC together and have a ton of crazy experiences! (Oh, and relating to the conversation we are having right now on Facebook chat, I am dragging you to the NYC YMCA next week because I am too scared to go alone. TOUGH NOOGIES BUDDY)

This post is so corny it deserves a picture of this much corn.

So, this is what you do when your best friend discovers your secret blog - you use it as an opportunity to tell them how much they mean to you. I know that James will truly be my best friend forever. And I cannot thank him enough for always being an amazing friend to me. (Sidenote: could this post GET any more corny?!)

<3, Charlotte

Central Park = New York City's version of a beach

So today was CRAZY busy! I got lunch with Kati of Spontaneity or Second Guesses which was totally fun! We went to Moonshine Diner and I had the most amazinggg chili fries on the planet.

And then the insane amount of walking started.

I have no idea why I just prefer to walk everywhere in NYC. It's actually getting to be insane because I really need to learn the different subway lines and figure that out, but I just think that summer in the city is meant for exploring and walking around! The walks even go by fast because I'm so busy taking everything in, 20 blocks feels like it only takes 5 minutes.

I walked all the way from 30th St and 3rd Ave to 83rd St and 3rd to meet Kristy (my work friend). She lives in the upper east side, and we wanted to go lay out in Central Park since we've become DISGUSTINGLY PALE from being inside working all day! It took a little over an hour, but I met Kristy and one of her friends at a restaurant where they were eating lunch, and after we walked to the park.

It would have been a totally easy trip, but the Puerto Rican parade was today, which was quite a struggle to get around. It literally took us an extra half hour to get to an area of the park where we could actually sit! I had probably walked at least 4 mile by the time we got to our spot.

So pretty!

We finally arrived, and I was incredibly excited to see that SO MANY PEOPLE WERE WEARING BATHING SUITES! Yes, folks, apparently in the summer Central Park is New York City's beach. Seriously. All it's missing is sand. Needless to say, we are going back next week and are going to be wearing our bikinis. Maybe the summer my tan won't be a lost cause after all...

Anyway, between all the walking and the tanning today, I'm wiped out! I am going to get ready for the work week and watch a movie (well, attempt to watch a movie), before passing out.

Week 2, here I come!

<3, Charlotte

First work week in review

Work is AWESOME! It was kinda a slow day yesterday, so I used the time to complete these tutorial courses that we have to do within the first month of employment. I'm really liking learning everything and am excited for another "slow" day in my department so I can reach out and help other departments and really get my face and name out there!

Also, I've made friends with some girls who are my age and had their first days with me (yes, they saw my whole skirt-debacle). We got lunch yesterday. It is so great to have "work friends"!

An e-card is necessary for this happy hour occasion!

Something incredibly cool is that we have a "work happy hour" tonight. It starts at 5:30 and I think is sponsored by a company we work with. It's at a bar a few blocks away from the office! I just need to stick with 1 beer an hour - my tolerance is SUPER low and I do NOT want to make a fool of myself in front of some pretty important people!

So yea, first work was fabulous. And living in NYC knocks my socks off with how exciting it is. Everyone is always going. I could not have made the better choice!

<3, Charlotte

Green is not an attractive color on anyone

We all have it. That one friend that always believes that, no matter what, they are correct. That they have this amazing set of core values and can do no wrong. They also have your back no matter what happens – if there is any altercation between you and anyone, they are 100% there for you, and are willing to get into fights with people they don’t even know if it is your defense. Even if you are fundamentally wrong, they will find a way to make it so you are right. This person is also somehow always slightly better than you at everything. It is almost as though it is a natural order for them to consistently come in first. But what happens when you finally come out on top? How supportive are they then? Are they able to be truly happy for you when you have accomplished something great?

I am encountering this very problem.

One of my “best friend’s”, Chloe (whose name has obviously been changed for this, but in this post and all future ones that is what I will call her), is that very person I just described. She has had my back in many situations, though sometimes more drama has been caused than what was necessary. I always liked that she would be there for me – being from a more aggressive city, and being proud of it, it was nice to have someone that strong by my side. I am more of a kill-them-with-kindness kind of person, so sometimes it was nice to have that aggression in my defense.

I never cared much about grades. In advertising, no one really cares about that bullshit. I don’t care if I understand accounting or finance or everything in my music class. I just wanted to graduate with over a 3.0. Trust me, this was incredibly WEIRD at the college I attended, where everyone hyperventilated over an A-. Chloe was one of those types of people. While I was more than content to get back my B’s, she would go in and cry to professors over her A- paper in an effort to get that A. So, in terms of grades, she was leaps and bounds better than me. But I never minded.

[caption id="attachment_66" align="alignright" width="235"] Friends forever?[/caption]

We took an advertising class together – a class I had my eye on since my admittance to my college. The day before the class began, Chloe was debating if she even wanted to take it, but I convinced her it was a good idea and that it would be a lot of fun. When the first day of class arrived, we needed to elect a student president to lead us during the entire course. I undoubtedly ran for that position. I mean, this class was one of the main reasons I chose this school, leading it would be an amazing experience for me. Chloe also decided to run for president, clearly for the leadership role it would allow her to write on her resume. Not only did she get the presidency, I was not elected to ANY board position to lead, and there were 5 of them. Talk about a soul-crushing experience. While it was difficult for me to deal with at first, I sucked it up and did the class. I was supportive of Chloe and her leadership and never let that wane out.

Chloe also got a job before me. I was so happy for her (mainly for 2 reasons, 1- any time anyone in the advertising/PR industry got a job at that point, it gave me hope; and 2- I knew we weren’t competing for any of the same positions that I was applying to). She got a healthcare PR gig. Not the most exciting thing in the world, but healthcare is a great base for all future endeavors because of all the regulations that come with that industry. Anyways, we had a great time celebrating, and I was excited (I knew that I had some big opportunities arriving in the future and I was excited to celebrate my employment in the same way).

When I found out that I made it past the preliminary interview for the job I am starting in a week and a half, I was ECSTATIC. This company is beyond huge, and the account I was interviewing for was so exciting. I felt like I needed someone to pinch me to wake me up. When I shared the news with Chloe at lunch one day, she was un-amused. She hardly asked any questions, and the one-sided conversation about the position was over in less than 2 minutes. It was one of the most disappointing things I had ever experienced in my life. I was so genuinely excited for her when she got her job. Buying drinks, telling everyone around me, tweeting a huge congrats message, didn’t I deserve the same excitement?

[caption id="attachment_70" align="alignleft" width="211"] Will things ever be the same again?[/caption]

I stopped talking to Chloe about the second-round interviews I had for the position. She would ask me via text how everything was going in attempts to be supportive, and I would reply, but no response would come through on her end. And when I got the job, all I got was a text, “Congrats”.

Who knew silence could speak so loud? We didn’t go through the same celebration for my employment. No fun girls night with our close group, no celebratory tweets, no big announcements to those around us when we all went out that weekend. Now that I had something better than her, it was as though this giant green monster had overtaken Chloe, and it appeared as though there was no sign of it leaving.

The giant elephant is still in the room. Chloe and I are still close, but now there is something there that I cannot just put out of my mind. As long as she comes out on top, Chloe is 100000% supportive of me like a true friend. However, when I am given an amazing opportunity, when my hard work finally pays off, when I get something that is so much better than what she has, she shuts everything down. Is that a true friend? A friend worth having?

I’m not sure what the answer is. But jealously is an ugly thing. Letting it show could be the greatest fault a person can have. I honestly don’t know what is going to happen to us when we move to New York.

<3, Charlotte