WORK!

Shit, I'm on a total adrenaline rush. All I want to do is go running in Central Park. Like sprint in the park. Today at spinning, my teacher gave me the biggest compliment of my life. Drum ROLL PLEASE. He said I'm the fastest in the class and that he is ordering me to slow down so I don't damage my needs. I AM AWESOME. AWESOME. I just downloaded an awesome Michael Jackson mix and am finally replacing my "Work Out" play list that I once accidentally deleted. Too bad my headphones are so messed up so I have to put it at the highest level to hear anything. Or maybe that's just my hearing. Need to get a nano that holds more songs. Shit. I want to go dancing. Dancing and karaoke.

Romantic Friday Night Date

I had another romantic date with myself this evening in an effort to do something other than drinking. I walked to the new Tribeca Barnes and Noble. It was so spacious that I almost felt like I was at a mall in NJ. Then after reading a few magazines, walked up Greenwich street. Despite working on Duane between Church and Broadway for 6 months, I never got a chance to venture southwest during my lunch break- mainly cause I was getting paid by the hour and I was usually super busy. Whole new world. Can't believe I never walked up Greenwich street either.

So on my way taking the very long way home, I passed Carolina Korvakova while crossing Canal. A filming of a TV show, two very dikey lesbian bars and I finally bit the bullet and stood in line for a Magnolia cupcake- a treat I haven't had for probably over 6 months.

So here it goes folks. My doctor said I need to curb my carb in take if I don't want to develop any serious ailments. My Magnolia cupcake was symbolic of an end of an era. I'm hoping that by telling my readers, this will help keep me motivated. Apparently carbs cause more cravings and are the number one reason why despite maintaining an regular exercise routine and eating relatively healthy, my weight goes up. I'll keep ya'll posted and because this was the doctor's orders- old, very experienced and intelligent specialist from New Zealand who was very thorough and related an increase in obesity related diseases to the advent of farming- my kind of doctor.

And off to Notting Hill. What more could I ask for?

P.S. Said life style change also means drastically decreasing my drinking aside from a glass of red wine here and there. I'm definitely ready for that because I've lost my taste for hard liquor, never liked beer and am sick of feeling sick after drinking. Added benefit would be saving lots of money and being functional on the weekends. Not to mention that there's nothing I hate more than waking up in the summer heat, dehydrated and hung over.

Holy Crap. We're in Hot Water.

North Pole Could be Ice-Free This Summer

Arctic sea ice could break apart completely at the North Pole this year, allowing ships to sail over the normally frozen top of the world.

Great Pacific Garbage Patch

After a quick, and depressing google image search, I found these.

Check Out NASA Scientists Congressional Testimony on Global Warming

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-james-hansen/twenty-years-later-tippin_b_108766.html

Did You Know

That there's a mass of floating garbage in the Pacific Ocean possibly the size of Texas? And that there's an uninhabited shore line that's hundreds of miles long along the Alaskan coast that's completely covered in trash? Due to the continued practice of dumping garbage in the ocean, clogged drain pipes, etc. and ocean currents- these are two places where all the garbage ends up. Even objects as large as tires and TVs can be found on these shores.

And did you know that scientists have developed a biodegradable form of plastic that will hopefully be available and used widely within the next few years?

Did you know that when talking about Ethenol, the term encompasses re-usable energy made from corn as well as sugar, etc., corn being the least efficient solution.

And that the oil reserves off our shores is estimated to only be about what the US uses in less than 2 years- and would only delay the progress of energy conservation and research in renewable energy.

Punks of St. Marks

Wow, they finally did it. New York Magazine wrote a story about the Mole people of my street. I feared they were all petty criminals, drunks and druggies and now my suspicions are confirmed. Can you be born after 1980 and be considered a Yuppie? If so, the Punks can kick my ass! They should go back home to their parents and get a freakin job.

http://nymag.com/guides/summer/2008/48006/

Good Answer

Got this forward from my dad. -

No matter who you supported in the primary, this is just simply a wonderful response by Jon Stewart to a
stupid question:
Is America ready for a black president?

In Larry King's interview with Jon Stewart, Larry brought up the subject of the primaries and asked Stewart
if America was ready for a
woman or a black president.

Jon looked at him quizzically and said "This is such a non-question.
Did anyone ask us in 2000 if Americans were ready for a moron?

Boxers or Briefs

My laundromat accidentally gave me a pair of black, Calvin Klein boxer briefs when they returned my laundry. Dude... I can only imagine what of mine has ended up in their laundry bags. I called my parents separately and they both said I should return them- That maybe I'd meet someone. And how's that supposed to happen?? Is the laundromat lady supposed to go, "Oh, how nice of you. It just so happens that Prince Charming is right here asking about his boxer briefs."

And we'll live happily ever after.

27 Ways to Make Me Gag

Just saw 27 Dresses. They didn't have Weeds Season 2 and I didn't feel like watching the Tutors. That movie was so cheesy they I just gained 5 pounds. The main character supposedly lived in the East Village and during one of the special features, the set designer discussed how authentic her apartment looked. As If!! Perhaps if she was loaded but based on her family history- father owning a hardware store.. I don't think so. At one point, she drove past the Gem Spa in a cab which is on my street and apparently went to a club on St. Mark's and A. Suuure.

And meanwhile, someone threw up or spilled something nasty right near the entry way to my building. I've tried to avoid going in and out of the building and hope that our super really does exist.. and will be here tomorrow to clean it up.

Anyway, c'est la vie.

The Part of Finance I Don't Trust

From an article in the latest issue of New York Magazine about David Einhorn. He, like a certain breed of financial whizzes, never fully trusted the complicated and shady financial products like CDO's, etc. related to our current financial crisis. This quote below is exactly why I never got why certain people were making an insane amount of money. And slightly related- it's also why I probably wouldn't go into the modern art world. Both areas are based on speculation and perceived value with an esoteric set of qualifications.

"In the larger Wall Street community, however, the view of Einhorn is somewhat less fawning, owing in part to the fact that he has established himself as a critic of contemporary investment-banking practices. “The investment banks outmaneuvered the watchdogs,” he said at Grant’s Spring Investment Conference in April. “With no one watching, the managements of the investment banks did exactly what they were incentivized to do: maximize employee compensation. Investment banks pay out 50 percent of revenues as compensation. So more leverage means more revenues which means more compensation.”

http://nymag.com/news/businessfinance/47844/

Cat Fights

http://blog.photoshelter.com/image/harveynichols-thumb-522x619.jpg

Holy Crap. Best Video Ever.

Decisions Decisions

I'm counting on you guys to answer my latest poll. You can see how I'm a bit indecisive to say the least. I've considered maybe spending a day where my readers control what I do but that would involve having more readers, having readers that comment, and perhaps growing some balls. Who are you guys anyway? See, I'm breaking the fourth wall. How did you find me? What keeps you coming back? email me. wanderingpondering@gmail.com

Tumblr

Thinking of moving my blog to tumblr.. sometimes it does feel weird writing one sentence posts and would like more free flowing.

Check it.

wallstrip.com

http://www.davidslog.com

gotta admit, I'm addicted to Mary's blog.
http://stylebymaryrambin.com

http://itsmejulia.com

I think it's a good habit to follow the blogs of successful, young people. They're definitely inspiring and it's err... comforting to know that I'm a few degrees connected to all these people through multiple people. Also even more entertaining to learn about their eating habits and um, cleaning habits. Hey, no matter how successful you'll be, everyone's human.

And on that note- related but sort of not, I can't wait to see "Wanted." First off, James MacEnvoy is super hot and I normally don't care about celebs. Second, the fact that Angelina goes back to her roots with action, super hero movies just goes to show how legit she is. What more can we ask for. She's beautiful. Fighter girl power. Is saving the earth one orphan at a time. And repopulating the earth with her fantastically beautiful babies.

What's the 311

Just called 311 to report a screeching cat. Was like.. err, there's a cat in the ally by my apartment that's been meowing loudly for the past 3 days and is either dying or pregnant. I've got to tell you, those 311 people probably have the strangest, most interesting job. A smart 311 operator would start writing a book about all the weird things people ask about, like my screeching cat situation.

The Decisive Moment

Today at work I was sort of taking a break from what I was doing and stumbled upon this website- http://blog.photoshelter.com/ I honestly can't remember for the life of me how I found it. Definitely my new favorite photography blog and makes me want to sign up for a photo class in the fall despite not yet having a DSLR. Then I thought, oh, I should check out Photoshelter.com because some times, I feel like we've exhausted our selection of stock images. So I checked out the site, realized I signed up a long while ago, and emailed their contact to find out more about it. A half hour later, I receive a call from a sales associate who gives me the scoop, and invites me to a party they happen to be having starting a half hour from then, that happens to be near my apt. Wow. everything is near my apartment. Everything cool at least. So torn.

Anyway, I get to the party and notice that the event photography looks familiar so I go say hello. Of course he went to my college and was in a very popular acapella group. Dude, I need to capitalize on my ability to remember a face. Any ideas? I'm so used to running into people I know where ever I go. I can't imagine moving to another city and starting all over again. But at the same time, I'm worried about getting too comfortable and not being able to leave. Wow, I think too much. So I thought the whole think was very serendipitous. And to all those coincidence, "everything happens for a reason" haters, that don't believe in the law of attraction or a higher power, I present that story. Only unfortunate part about the night was that I ate my weight in pizza instead of going to a spinning class.

Pure Genius?

I recently purchased a Sigg bottle that I'm very happy with. However, I just came across this site for the new Kor One reusable water bottle and I'm very impressed. Check out their site. The product is very cool and I particularly like the no screw cap which I can imagine would come in handy during my spinning class when we only have a few seconds to drink water or towel off. Buying bottled water is no longer cool. This is. Even if you recycle your water bottles, they don't all get recycled. On top of that producing and shipping uses up some serious energy (water's heavy) and contributes to CO2 emissions. So in the spirit of having a healthy body by drinking water, why not also contribute to a healthier planet.

Bad Vibrations

There's some INSANELY loud techno going on- I think in the building next to me. It's sort of vibrating my bed.. in a bad way. And I keep hearing some girl with a high pitched, child-like voice screaming like it's some weird sex ritual. Wow, isn't it funny how I naturally jump to that assumption. I really hope they cut this shit out by 11pm. At least it's giving me more motivation to save up and move to the Upper East. As I'm nearing 30 and have been living here for nearly 3 years.. I think it could be a good move.

In other news, I lost one of my new contacts. I thought it was in my eye but it took me a few minutes to realize it wasn't and by that time I had walked into another room. At least I've had them for 1 month and 1 day so I don't feel totally bad. And it's pushed me to purchase a set of new ones.

And finally.. my last pseudo complaint of the day. I seriously could use some romance. Haven't had any in a long while. Well, okay, drunken making out doesn't count. Hey, it's for the greater good. I'm sure my readers would get a better kick out of reading about my... err love life, than my love of the environment and meager attempts to cut out meat, processed foods etc. Have had slightly disturbing dreams about coworkers that I didn't know I had feelings for. Does that mean I do subconsciously? And was slightly disappointed today that I didn't get the usual "play" from my yoga teacher. Yes, she paid extra special attention to me, mainly cause I need it. But when she pushed my shoulders down during the last meditative pose, I was disappointed that her hands didn't travel as far down to copping a feel territory as they did the last time.

On a happy end note, I've successfully completed my 3rd day of no coffee. I don't miss it energy wise but miss the taste of a good Mudd coffee with soy milk and stevia sweetener. I should probably remind myself every day that they don't have Mudd coffee on the Upper East Side.

Easy Way Out

Check out this article. It makes me mad. Apparently we have off shore oil reserves that we haven't tapped because obtaining the oil would threaten the environment. Bush wants is urging Congress to lift that ban and claims-- without really saying how, that it can be done without threatening the environment. Why can't we just learn how to live off of less oil, invest in being more energy efficient and explore oil alternatives! This is a short term solution and is just delaying the inevitable. Plus I don't believe for a second that they can extract the oil while preserving the environment.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/18/bush.offshore/index.html

How Could I Ever Leave the Village?

okay.. so I was reminded of how wonderful the Village/Union Square area is. But despite the 5 votes, I think I'm going to still look towards moving to the Upper East Side mainly cause I'd like to be closer to the park and I think it's unlikely I'd be able to find something within my budget in the Village. Although after the free concert, I walked down University which was completely congested and was reminded slightly of what I don't like about the area. Decisions, decisions. Once I get an idea into my head, it's hard to get it out.

Slowest Trends

According to my coworker, this may only be funny to those who are trendy. Today I was about to get on the elevator at work, when the oldest man ever, s - l - o - w - l - y got out of the elevator... and to my delight, he was carrying a UNIQLO bag. I guess that store is so, like, over.

I Robot

Last night had the best spinning class ever. Apparently all my robot practicing has paid off... i.e. 80s dance move. While talking to my spinning teacher before class, I demonstrated my robot capabilities. Then later, during class- he motioned for me to robot. And so I did. With style to cheers and nods of approval. Best. Spinning. Class. Ever. As you can see, I'm having a decent week. Super good music too- Estelle, Ne-Yo, George Michael, Duffy, list goes on. I'd still love to go dancing after class despite being super sweaty or maybe he should have a dance class afterward.

14th Street and the 4 Train

Late afternoon yesterday, I decided to go running in Central Park. It's decisions like these that make me lean towards moving to the Upper East Side. So I was waiting for the 4 train at 14th Street cause I figured it would be faster than waiting for the 6 at Astor. The train comes. I'm near the first car waiting to get on when I hear a scream and a big commotion. And realize a child has fallen through the gap. 14th Street has by far the biggest gap. So everyone yells to stop the train! And the mother manages to pull her crying child from the tracks. Not sure if the kid fell all the way to the bottom, but man, was she traumatized. The mom was. We all were. That's freakin messed up. I mean I sort of worry every time I get on at 14th street. I can't imagine how a mother/ child feels. They need to fix that. Poor kid may be traumatized for the rest of her life, or have a really cool story to tell all her friends. Anyway, I'm glad I went running.

Don't Forget to Vote

For where you think I should live.. that is. It's split 50/50!! Vote please!!

Best. Movie.

Just saw "Hot Fuzz" thanks to jagulia. Awesome movie. Most original, surprising, odd movie I've seen in a long time. British/ mystery/ comedy/ action flick. Hysterical.

More..

Pretty bummed about Tim Russert. I don't follow politics that much but admired the guy for asking some hard questions and not letting politicians be bull shit politicians. And it's pretty sad that he died right after his son's graduation. I can't believe that people who are so influential can die suddenly of heart attacks. You'd think their health was monitored a bit better. I mean, seriously, you can't mess around with your health. It seems like guys are much less likely to go to the doctor on a regular basis and is it any wonder they die younger and are more likely to have heart attacks.

On a much lighter note, there's an episode in Sex and the City where Miranda freaks out cause some guy dressed in a sandwich suit says "Eat me." I sort of had one of those moments today while at Starbucks. The guy at the counter asked what I wanted and I said I was still looking. He said under his breathe, "I'm still looking too."

Friday the 13th!

And more law of attraction, I came to terms with haing to spend $1,500 on dentist bills and am reading a book on getting wealthy, etc. Yesterday I was at my final dentist appointment, and it turns out I only have to pay about half as much as expected. I told the receptionist I thought I had to pay more, and asked her to recall the conversation we had, and it was weird, as if it never had happened..anyway, awesome.

Also random coincidences, during my lunch break yesterday, I ran into my old boss. And while walking back from the dentist, saw a coworker (about a mile from the office). Then while I was sitting having dinner, saw a former coworker's boyfriend. Also saw my ex's friend. Then about to enter my apt, think I saw John Legend. And to the right, sitting in Mamouns, almost positive that I saw the gay guy from Real World Miami.
okay, I'm off!

Ice Cold

Talk about the Law of Attraction. I'm clearly telling the universe I want to move, and it's telling me I should. This morning, my roommate and I woke up to no hot water. Room temperature water going through the pipes would have been fine. But no, this was ICE COLD. Glad I washed my hair yesterday... She always has the most brilliant, spot on explanations for why these things happen. It's cause they finally restored the rent, the building management is finally getting their money, so they don't care. Wow. Spot on. There goes my faith in some humanity- i.e. the slum lords of my building. Just can't figure out what neighborhood I should move to. Hard to imagine leaving this one.. but I need more light, trees and space.

And Just for Shits and Giggles

More squirrel porn. Fire escape = squirrel humping apparatus. Okay. Maybe I don't get out much. The heat is making me delirious.

To be honest, when I first saw it laying there and not moving even when I tapped the window, I freaked out a bit and thought it was dead. Good thing is was only chillaxing.

And side note. Apparently the crazy, cracked out squirrel's in the movie Ice Age were modeled after the cracked out, over fed, possibly drug addicted squirrels that resided on my alma mater's college campus.

I Guess I'm Officially A New Yorker

Despite living on a street that possibly defines the East Village for the last 2 1/2 years, walking everywhere, seeing Mr. Big, having neighborhood spots- my bar, my cafe, etc. none of these facts have made me feel like I can truly call myself a New Yorker. Until Now.

Apparently hair spray is not a good substitution for Raid but it certainly slowed him down. I almost feel bad for letting him die a painful, slow, and agonizing death but honestly, I couldn't figure out what object I wanted to sacrifice in order to give him a quick, swift death. In the end, I settled on hair spray, and when he was moving a bit slower, ran to get the raid. Then slid him into an old Victoria's Secret catalogue which is now his final resting place. I take comfort in knowing he's possibly smashed up in between Giselle's buxom , tan, bikini clad breasts.

Air conditioner broken. Heat wave signaling some serious global warming. Ginormous cock roach. Seriously? What more could I possibly ask for. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to yak.

Green Living

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/26/education/26green.html

I'd like to live in a sustainable building right now. My air conditioner broke yesterday. I mean seriously.. it broke during a heat wave. Thank got my roommate has a small, standing fan. Was my savior.. sort of. But still super hot. There's something dangerous going on with the air conditioner that's huge and bolted into the wall. It doesn't turn off completely- makes humming noises. And when I unplug it, even after a few minutes, makes a spark. Then when I tried to plug it back in, it made another spark so that's when I turned it off for good. Anyone know anything about air conditioners??? Or have an advice???

It's A Date

Had the perfect "date" with myself. There were some silences but at least they weren't awkward. I've sort of been getting sick of my apartment lately and intrigued by the Upper East side. I know.. who gets intrigued by the Upper East Side!? Was also thinking of Brooklyn until I realized most of my friends live in Manhattan... and a Brooklynite from my college reunion said with such confidence that I shouldn't kid myself and that everyone who lives in Brooklyn really wants to be in Manhattan.

Anyway, I had dinner at Caffe Pepe Rosso- same owners as amazing restaurant I went to a few weeks ago on 10 Ave and 24th St. My pasta wasn't as good as the last time- it was spicy tomato and meat sauce.. don't know why I got it. But I guess spicy isn't my style. But it was nice sitting, eating and reading. Then took a walk through Tompkins Square Park and spent a few minutes observing the pigeons and squirrels. Then saw someone with ice cream and figured why the hell not. So got a chocolate cone from Australian Homemade Ice Cream. And finally figured out where Clif Dog was.. private joke but was possibly a good sign.

Then walked back to my apartment in the heart of the craziness on St. Mark's between 2nd and 3rd. I was researching the history of my block and realized that if I moved, I wouldn't get to say with pride where I lived. Like I'm part of a historical street. A culture and a movement. I can't imagine that saying I lived on err.. East 87th street would garner the same reaction or start a conversation. This morning I took a chisel class at the Soho Crunch- wanted to check it out before they close it-- it's being bought by NYU. And spoke to my favorite instructor- a native Brooklynite who currently lives in Chelsea/Union Square. I mentioned my potential interest in moving uptown and she looked at me with shock and horror and confessed she rarely ventures uptown. So I guess I'm going to stay. But really- I'd like to find an apartment with more space, more light, and maybe a neighborhood that has a little less going on. It would be especially cool to be near Central Park. Just my thoughts.

Check it Out

You guys should check out this channel when you get a chance, all about green living. Very cool.

http://planetgreen.discovery.com

http://planetgreen.channelfinder.net/

Heated

My apartment is currently about 20 degrees cooler than outside with no air conditioning. Woohoo.. still cool from last night. Yeah, talk about Global Warming. Would have been nice to actually have spring temperatures at some point.

So yesterday, my mom and I headed to Philly to see my aunt. She's moving and wanted to give us some of her stuff. She's pretty much the coldest person I've ever met. I know why she is the way she is, but at 65 + years old, I no longer think those reasons are valid. I mean, where as it's hard to change ones self and behaviors, one would think that by that age, and maybe a few years of therapy, you'd at least realize if you were treating people badly. She lives in a ritzy area in Philly but because the city is older, it looks more like the West Village. So I asked her, "Is this area like the Village of Philly?" And her response was, "No honey, more like Park Avenue."

Well excuse me. She apparently married her first husband for money and they had a nasty divorce. Definitely a lesson that money can't buy happiness. It was an interesting parallel between my family- who's always been very loving although at times dysfunctional like every family- but not rich. Compared to hers- the most cold, seemingly unloving relationship but they've always had money.

And to extend what apparently was the theme of yesterday- money vs. happiness.. I saw my ex for the first time in 6 months. Aside from making fun on NJ for absolutely no reason in front of his 5 dinner mates all from NJ.. he mentioned how he got a new job. But more importantly that he's now managing X amount of money. His whole aura changed.. well sort of. He had an air of importance but made such an effort to relay his new found status and wealth. I have to admit, however, that I've done but within the academic world. I catch myself trying to sneak in my temping experience with the super connected company in a casual conversation. However, I often bring it up because the nature of the organization and website content is most likely appealing to everyone and encompasses various disciplines.

Sly As a Fox

Was just watching Fox News, sort of accidentally because it was after "So You Think You Can Dance." And they flashed a picture of Sadam Hussein--instead of The World Trade Center master mind when speaking about him. Hopefully I wasn't the only one to notice. I almost hope they did that on purpose to fuel their Republican/ Bush agenda. Might as well manipulate the public on purpose. Incidentally, my dad told me there was an article in the Times stating that Bush exaggerated the link between Saddam and terrorism... no shit.

Sleep Dressing

I've been having trouble sleeping lately. Been going to bed too late and thinking about stuff. Last night I sort of woke up in the middle of the night.. or was sleep walking. And put my bra on. Then went back to bed. Haha. Weird.

A Funny

Heard this one the other day. Was talking to someone about how my gym is near a celebrity hot spot and I'm always worried I'll see someone when sweaty. His response was, "Once I saw Flava Flave and I wanted to touch him but I was afraid I'd get a disease."

Oh YEAH

SIDE PROJECT:

http://mrbobblehead.blogspot.com/

Hot Yoga

Today my yoga teacher paid extra physical attention to me. I don't know if it was because I was sweaty from running beforehand or because I was rocking some serious cleavage (running sports bra = cleavage) but yeah, extra special attention. I come from a home town where so many people come out every year that we all wonder if there's something in the water. Like.. err.. estrogen? Anyway, might as well go with the .. flow.. and explore that world.

Oh yeah, so I realized something about myself. I can get myself to workout on a regular basis and work harder but I can't get myself to cut back on things. i.e. juice diets, fasts, etc. will not work for me but committing to working out regularly will.

Also, thoughts--- I'm really stressing about this GRE vs. GMAT thing. I keep feeling like the clock is ticking. I'd like to start a Masters or MBA before I'm 30 but I guess there are plenty of people that start it afterward. I keep hoping that one day I'll wake up and figure out what program I want to go into. And hopefully something in New York cause even though I like change, I'm not ready to uproot my life. I think ideally, I'd like to find a program that involves entrepreneurship, the environment and marketing. I think it's safe to say that I don't want to pursue art but continue it as a hobby. I regret not being an Art History Major and feel that being an Art Major, while rigorous, was not as academic as it could have been. I have a slight complex in wanting to complete what I didn't in college. I would have liked to have tried harder and graduated with honors. I guess that was the problem with art. So much of it was very subjective so it was hard to connect amount of work/study with getting good grades. Although the more work you put in, the better you did. Anyway, I'd really just like to learn about Italian Art History, history of NYC, maybe study more French or Italian.. Or maybe recognize that I should focus on the present and look into all this stuff much later in my life.

I do, however, recognize that there's nothing wrong with exploring various careers. Not everyone is meant to do one thing their whole life. And I have found so far that my various jobs have been valuable learning experiences and offer me a unique perspective. So I'm poised to be a fantastic success and eventually start my own business.

Update

Getting back into my normal groove after a hectic weekend at my 5th year college reunion. I had a ton of fun. I miss college so much... the campus, town and learning experience. I definitely wish I had taken advantage of what it had to offer. I realized I wasn't very involved.. wasn't involved in any clubs, sports or drugs. I probably would have known more people and made stronger friendships. I mostly hung out with a group that was fairly close knit. While I was lamenting on how I didn't have a core group of people that I could feel fully confident would always call, etc. they were complaining that they barely knew anyone at the reunion. Meanwhile, I was catching up with about 70% of the people there which included a 3rd of our class. So many people have gone on to do truly inspiring things from volunteering for the peace corps in Africa to traveling the world in French speaking countries. Many have gone on to complete their Masters and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the majority weren't in finance jobs-like the group that usually attend New York events.

I'm definitely going to pursue taking the GREs or maybe even the GMATs and will start recognizing that maybe continuing my education is an investment and not to fear being buried in debt. I can't believe I have to wait another 5 years and I hope to get more involved in alumni activities as well as keep in touch with the people I got to know better.