It's Friday already?

Suddenly it's Friday again and I haven't updated all week.

I guess it was because this week was so busy that it passed so quickly. Tuesday was straight meetings from 9 to 5, talking with some of Toll's clients and others in the industry. I spent the afternoon downtown at the World Trade Center restoration project, learning about their plans to rebuild the area destroyed on 9/11. It was actually really interesting to see what their plans were, and some of the designs for all the new buildings.

Wednesday was much less stressful, since Nick and I just had to work on our report from home. We went to lunch at Tiny's sandwich shop, on Rivington St, then came back to the apartment to eat and finish our work. For the most part, it was very productive, but I find it so hard sometimes to focus if I'm not in an office. By far the most exciting part of Wednesday was my dinner with some other externs and the Alumni Association. We went to Becco, a restaurant owned by one of my favorite chefs, Lidia Bastianich. While it was super crowded and loud, the food was great! I had a perfect caesar salad (very hard to come by), and a piece of seared salmon with roasted brussel sprouts. I thought it was kind of funny that I had the exact same meal when I was home during winter break, but I still ate it and loved it. I also really enjoyed talking to the other externs who were all doing different things in the city. It seemed like everyone was really enjoying their their externship, and they all had really different experiences to talk about.

However, the bad part of the evening was that I got back to my apartment at 11pm, and had to get up the next morning at 6 to go on a site visit. One of our clients is rehabbing and expanding a water treatment facility in Brooklyn, and our tour was scheduled bright and early at 8 in the morning. But it was really worth it, although in my uncaffeinated and confused state, I took the subway in the wrong direction to the end of the line, before realizing that I was going exactly opposite of where I wanted. The site was huge, and since it was built in the '60s, it was getting completely modernized. So there was a huge amount of demolition going on, and a huge amount of new construction. It's interesting to see something that should be very straightforward, cleaning wastewater, get incredibly complex when you're working with large volumes of it.

Later that afternoon, we had some more client visits, which was as always, very enlightening. Something that I've found interesting is what people have been talking to Nick and I about. Sure, they're always trying to pitch their company as a great way to start out our careers, but beyond that, they want to know about MIT, what our plans are, etc. It's interesting to see how far the MIT label gets you sometimes.

And then it was Friday, when my time at my apartment was up. Now I'm back staying with some friends until the end of my externship, and I'm really excited for the weekend to see people again.


posted Friday, January 25, 2008 9:29 PM by adriana with 0 Comments

Another day...

Another uneventful weekend.


But thats how I like them. I got a chance to walk around the city yesterday, braving the wind and cold to 'see the sights'. Or something. I walked from my apartment to SoHo, about 3 blocks west of where I am, then uptown passing through I don't even know how many neighborhoods. I wanted to see how far I could get before I got tired of walking, and made it about halfway up the island of Manhattan before I realized that I was cold and hungry. Around 40th street, I decided to give up and head back via the subway.

I wish I had some insight or interesting information about my walk, since it's basically the most interesting thing I did all weekend (especially since it was a long weekend), but I really just enjoyed simply walking and looking around. I went into a couple of stores, trying to find something interesting to buy, but I wasn't in the mood to shop (even though H&M had a great sale on). I kept my eye out for a cool coffee shop or something, which I found TONS of, but didn't go in. It wasn't a conscious decision, more like, 'I don't want to give up walking just yet'. I knew that if I sat down and had a coffee, I'd realize how much my feet hurt, or how tired or hungry, or sleepy I was, and would go back home. Realistically, I wasn't really hungy or sleepy or anything, but if you're walking around by yourself, you tend to be able to convince yourself of about anything.

But it was a beautiful day to be outside (minus the cold). And I got to see some different areas of town, so it was definitely not a wasted day. I got home around 2 pm and then made myself a late lunch and watched some TV.

Today I tried to get some work done. I had the day off, which was great, but I still wanted to accomplish some things. I have the feeling that, just like at MIT, the three day weekends are killer, since you have to squeeze 5 days of work into 4. Tomorrow certainly will be crazy. I meet with Nick at 7:45 to catch a train out to Queens for morning meetings and a lunch meeting, then hurry back to the city to the Financial District for a couple of afternoon meetings. Tomorrow night I think there are a couple of MIT sponsored events too, so I don't even think the day will end at 5.

Crazyness, but at least I will have been well rested from my very relaxing weekend.
posted Tuesday, January 22, 2008 2:01 AM by adriana with 0 Comments

Friday!

My favorite day of the week.


Unfortunately, the day started off a little earlier than I like, with a phone interview at 9am. I talked with a client of ours to understand more about the industry. Toll provides project controls services for large construction developments, usually as a subcontractor for federal, state and local government agencies. Probably not the most glamorous industry, but it's still very interesting, with a lot of opportunities to develop and expand. Which is what I have to figure out.

But it's not all work. Yesterday, Nick and I took a trip out to Brooklyn to take a tour of one of the construction sites that our clients are working on. They are renovating and expanding an old pumping system for New York's water system. The cool part about the project was that the day before we were in suits, visiting clients at their offices, shaking hands and generally just talking to people and learning about these multi-billion dollar projects. The next day we were walking in a muddy construction site in jeans, boots and hardhats, talking to the people actually building and managing these projects. Meeting with the managers and workers really restored my faith in engineering. I had a rough time this past semester; I was tired of my major and I didn't want to continue with an engineering degree. But yesterday was great because you remember that engineering isn't about the things you learn in lab or in the classroom. The whole point of engineering is that it is practical, hands on, and relevant. I felt that I had lost that in the countless hours that I spent pushing buttons on a machine in my lab classes.

So back to my phone interview. I hate phone interviews. The only reason I tolerate them is their straightforward convenience. I could have driven myself out to New Jersey from Manhattan during rush hour in a borrowed car, but you really can't beat talking to a VP in pajamas (the best part of this internship has been that I can work from home). I think that I got all of the information that I needed, but I feel that you really miss out on such a human part of the experience. You can't be in front of the person, interrupting, clarifying and explaining when they look confused. So I think you miss out on a huge amount of information that you can absorb simply by being in their office.

Now on to the food- clearly the most important thing about my externship. Yesterday at the construction site in Brooklyn, we had to walk through some old housing projects to get to the site from their office. Apparently this was the place where they filmed American Gangster and French Connection (I think those were the films). The program manager who was giving us the tour said he got a chance to meet Denzel Washington and Russel Crowe, who were shooting the film right across the street from the pumping station. The area still looked pretty run down, and the pumping station had bullet holes in all the windows where gangs used to take potshots of the workers in the building.

But across the street from the pumping station was where Nick and I had lunch; Spumoni Gardens. It's apparently a big deal in Brooklyn, kind of touristy, but a bargain at $2/slice. They specialize in Sicilian style (square slices) and they put the sauce on top of the cheese. In any case, it was pretty good, although different from the kind of pizza that I usually like.

Now only 4 more hours of work until the WEEKEND! My plans? I have none. The weather here is great, so hopefully I'm going to get a chance to go out and see some museums? cafes? stores? I have no idea what I'll do, but I'm pretty excited to just walk around and explore.



posted Friday, January 18, 2008 5:00 PM by adriana with 0 Comments

Almost one week down!

Wow. It feels like forever since I posted last. Since Sunday, I've started properly working and learning about my industry and job. Monday was good; I met with the other intern, Nick, and started piecing together our workplan for the next three weeks. We're responsible for developing a business strategy for our company, Toll International, to expand globally. This basically means doing a lot of research into our market, interviewing clients and potential clients to figure out their needs, and using this information to develop a strategy that will help Toll to expand around the world.

Nick and I took a break in the middle of the day to find lunch; we went near my apartment to a pizza place at the corner of Stanton and Orchard Streets in the Lower East Side. It was pretty good; but then again, it's hard to mess up pizza. We also got work done, surprisingly. We spent the rest of the day scheduling client visits and interviews.

I've also spent a lot of time planning for this summer. Internship recruitment is coming up, and I hope I'll have prepared enough to be able to land the job I want. Of course, I've been talking with Toll, and it looks as if I might be able to come back here for the summer, so I guess some of the stress is off my back.

Today was probably the most interesting day so far. Nick and I went out to Queens to visit our clients, and started interviewing them. We also got a chance to meet with other people in our client's company, as well as other people in our industry. It was pretty exciting to see so many people who are involved in big projects.

And now I have to finish reviewing some papers and do a bit of research before heading to sleep. Tomorrow morning, I'm visiting a water treatment facility to tour around and get a better understanding of the construction industry here and what the market will look like in the future. It seems like it will be a cool trip, and at the very least, I'll get a chance to see a new area of town; Brooklyn. I've gotten three boroughs down, only two more to see before my time in New York is up!
posted Thursday, January 17, 2008 3:54 AM by adriana with 0 Comments

My first weekend in NYC!

Yesterday started out as any weekend day should; lazing around for a while before kicking myself out of bed. I had things to do and people to see! Well, kind of. What I did need was food, so I headed over to Whole Foods, 3 blocks from my apartment, to get supplies for the week. Now, when at MIT, I tend to get my groceries from Trader Joes, since it's marginally closer than Whole Foods up in Central Square, but I was in the mood for convenience instead of tradition. And I wasn't let down. This had to be the most gigantic Whole Foods that I've ever seen. But nobody's joking when they call it Whole Salary... I love the food, but it is expensive! Being vegetarian, and a bit of a foodie, I had a great time looking around the store, seeing all the different things they had. My new favorite is Dagoba Chocolate; their dark chocolate with chili and cacao nibs is amazing. If my mom is reading this, I also bought fruit and yogurt and other healthy items.

Later on Saturday, I finally got a chance to meet my externship sponsor. The other extern, Nick and I met up with our sponsor and other contacts at Toll yesterday afternoon for a late lunch and a tour of the city. We met at Vertigo, a restaurant and bar in Gramercy. It was actually really helpful to finally put a face to the people that I had been talking with and emailing back and forth, so I was really glad to have the chance to meet my boss and coworker on our team. What struck me about these people was that, as MIT students and alums, you really will always have something in common. The three of us alums, plus another friend of my boss, were all either current or former students, and it was amazing the rapport you can build with people even when you've only known each other for a few hours.

I think it also helped that the Toll people that I met yesterday were really easygoing and laid back. In the past jobs that I've had, our interactions were a lot more structured; going out for lunch meant a lunch meeting, not a chance to relax and meet people. So that was really a good way to introduce Nick and myself to the people we were going to be working for. After we left Vertigo, we drove around the city, ended up driving through the meatpacking district, then uptown to Times Square, Theater District, and then ended up at the Rockefeller Center. We went up to the Rainbow Room for some good touristy fun, and chatted for a while. I got back to my apartment at around 10pm, enough time to watch a bit of TV, then head to sleep.

Today was an exercise in relaxation. I watched some TV, organized my room, and got ready for work tomorrow. Nick is supposed to come over around 9 tomorrow to start cracking on work, and I hope we can make some headway into what looks to be a really interesting project. Of course, I might need to stop by a caffe for a midmorning break, so I hope my schedule will be flexible enough to work that in somewhere.
posted Monday, January 14, 2008 2:21 AM by adriana with 0 Comments

I made it!

So I'm in NYC. Finally. After such a long time travelling (I went home to Toronto for break, then to my parent's house in Chicago for New Years, then Philadelphia for a conference, and then NYC for my externship), and waiting and searching for a place to live, I found an apartment. The first five or so places that I looked at just didn't work out too well, but I found through craigslist a room off the Bowery, in the Lower East Side. It's a pretty cool little apartment, and the guy that lives here with me is a graphic designer. A couple of days ago I walked around the neighborhood to get a sense of the community, since I didn't know anything about the neighborhood. Since my externship doesn't start properly until the 14th, I've had a lot of time to go out and explore the city. Of course, this didn't actually mean that I went out and explored. Those first days, I spent a lot of time in the subway, going from one apartment to another, looking for somewhere to stay. Well, I found my place, finally, in what seems to be a great little area of town.

I was staying originally in the Financial District downtown, and, while the apartment was great, and I got a chance to catch up with some good friends, the area was very quiet at night. I'm now in a very loud area, at the corner of two big streets, but at least there are people walking around, and I'm a heavy sleeper, so there are no major problems.

So when I went exploring this area, I found a great little street full of cafes and restaurants and stores. Rivington Street seems like a cool place to be, and I'm excited to spend some more time checking out the area. I went to a little cafe on the corner of Rivington and Clinton that had great espressos, and I hope to go back there sometime soon to fuel my caffeine addiction. In case you're in the area, check it out- Falai Panetteria.

I want to make this blog as much about my externship experience as my New York experience. The first time I came to NYC, I was amazed by how many people there were. And how busy they all seemed to be. But the reason they're here is because there are so many opportunities, so much happening, and so much to do. So I hope that, beyond what I learn at work, I'll get a chance to learn about why this city is so fascinating to so many people.


In the mean time, I start work on Monday.
posted Friday, January 11, 2008 10:13 PM by adriana with 0 Comments