TGIF...

Well, today was the end of my first full 5-day week at Grey and while it felt good to be off for the weekend... I really had a great week, even despite the fact that it was miserably rainy the past two days.

Today the AE on my account was off and so it was the first time that I really had to just go it alone and figure things out without running next door to her office for help... and I loved it. I am starting to get a handle on billing and have begun setting up billing spreadsheets and file systems for two of our newest brands. Also, over the past few days I have done some competitive brand/strategy research that I will present to my SVP on Monday. I also submitted some new creative for legal/network review... since I work on prescription brands, there are a lot of legal precautions and approvals to go through before you can proceed with a new creative design or storyboard. Also, I took some old TV creative and converted it to a storyboard/script format... wow. I definitely took a few steps up the learning curve this week, and it feels so great to feel productive and beneficial to my team.

But it also makes it so much easier that I'm not alone... just across the hall another AAE started the same day as me and we are always popping in and out of each other's office to help each other figure out the answers to those "stupid questions" that we are a little too embarrassed to ask anyone else... Plus there are so many people close by who work at all levels that are willing to help and answer questions. Just today I had lunch with a new friend of mine, an AAE who has been there fore several months and interned at Grey before that... everyone I meet is so nice up here and really make me feel welcome.

Tomorrow I "move" into my new apartment in the East Village of Manhattan. I have to take a $100 taxi ride from Bloomfield, NJ to Manhattan, but it's well worth it - there is no way I could haul two suitcases and a duffel bag down the street and on three different trains. I can't wait to actually be living in Manhattan!! Even after 2 weeks, I still step out of work at night and walk down the sidewalk, taking the time to look all around and take it in, and I think "holy shit... I'm in New York City... this is really my life!"

I got my first paycheck today!! And I get another... in two weeks! I feel like I'm rich now, but I'm sure it won't be long until I feel like I could use more. Luckily I got a GREAT deal on an apartment - one that most of my co-workers are jealous about.

My parents are coming next weekend with my furniture and until then I have a co-worker lending me her really nice queen sized aerobed. I will kinda be roughing it for a week - but I think I would sleep on the kitchen floor if it meant I didn't have to commute from New Jersey. This weekend I'm going to spend time painting my new bedroom, shopping and getting to know my neighborhood.

:)