Metro Cards, 5th Avenue, and WORK

Hello from Columbia!

This past week flew by! Already, I am immersing myself into the NYC culture. I certainly look as if I know where I am going, and I am not afraid to cross the streets on a green light. It is quite easy to blend in with the locals: walk quickly and don't look at the buildings, only whats ahead of you.

I have had an interesting week of work as well. Monday and Tuesday I was at the downtown office, located a mere 10 minute walk from the NYSE. I have been fingerprinted, IDed, and ok'ed for work. There are quite a few hurdles that individuals in this industry have to jump before being allowed to enter any of the buildings in Manhattan.

I am working with Carter Worth (who can be seen on CNBC's Fast Money and Closing Bell) and his research associate Jennifer. Basically, I will be assisting Carter with reports and his day-to-day business. It's been interesting so far, but I have to learn everything asap in order to effectively help out.

Wednesday-Friday I worked at Oppenheimer's Midtown office, located a block down from where we stayed in March. The building is actually on the corner of 42nd and Madison, in the PWC building. Its a beautiful building and much much more lively than the wall street office. The trading floor is the best: as the clock approaches nine-thirty am, you can feel the tension starting to mount and profanities start to echo across the room. I'm loving it!!

The best part of the job is that I usually am out by 3 pm every day. Which makes it very convenient for me to take on the shopping jungle of 5th avenue. Lucky for me, every store is having major sales so I'm getting some amazing deals! I am also keeping up with the nyc news via www.dailycandy.com. It's an excellent source of information for the goings-ons of the city.

Hope everyone has a great weekend! I possibly will be heading to the horse race this weekend. C'est la vie!!

-Jen

Live from NY, its DAY ONE!

Hello from the Upper West Side!

I arrived in Manhatten today and moved into my Columbia dorm. So far everything is going great. I am living in a high rise dorm (16th floor!), called East Campus, that has an amazing view of NYC, Harlem, and the Hudson River. I am staying in a five bedroom suite with an upstairs kitchen and living area and lower level bedrooms. One of my roommates, Greg, is an engineering student, interning with a major firm in the area. The other, Sarah, is a USC student interning at an NBC affiliate in Midtown. Our other two roommates have not moved in yet, and I'm hoping they don't because I am the only one with a double room. :(

Tomorrow I start my internship with Oppenheimer. 6:30 AM - BRIGHT and EARLY. After a long day of traveling and getting settled today, that 4 AM wake up is not going to be great. Thank goodness there is a coffee shop on every corner. Plus the transit alone is going to take a while considering I'm on 116th street and need to get to Wall Street (the other side of Manhatten). It's going to be an adventure! I will let you all know how it goes!

Hope all the fellows are having a great start to the summer!!

-Jen