Movin' On Up

lesson 24: Sometimes when the GPS says to make a U turn, wholy cow, make a U turn.

lesson 25: The more I learn about URBN, inc. and Anthropologie in particular, the more respect I have for the way they run their company.

Today was an exciting day! Work was busy and productive. I went to see my new digs for the next week and a half... oh yeah, my amazing boss is letting me house sit while she's in Europe! I'm really excited about the possibilities of living in the city and having a place to myself again.

This is going to be an extremely short week. Tomorrow we have a field trip of sorts. We're going to King of Prussia mall for a Free People store tour. We are also going to tour the mall like a retail analyst. I'm not sure what that means, but I'm sure it will be fun and informative. Thursday is supposed to be a half day, but I'm taking off to go hang out with the parents in Amish country. Should be fun! 

# of Philly Cheesesteaks Consumed= 0

lesson 22: I always thought the GPS had a cruel sense of humor, but now I just think that it is naive and overly optimistic.

lesson 23: Things rarely go as planned. This isn't a new one, but it is nice to be reminded every now and then.

Today, I met up with my parents and the Wilsons at Valley Forge. The GPS sent me to the convention center in Plymouth Meeting which is about twenty minutes from where I should have been (twenty minutes... that's not too bad, but it was only supposed to take me thirty to get to Valley Forge, and I had already been driving for about eighteen at this point.) Oh well, I missed the tour. Had fun sitting outside the visitor's center, eating lunch at the King of Prussia [the second largest mall in the US (I think)], and touring the Philadelphia Museum of Art in one hour flat. We could have had an extra thirty minutes but the GPS thought Mom and Dad should see the "real" Philly and took us on a detour (aka a big loop). 

All in all it wasn't a bad day. I still haven't had a cheesesteak though.

Ah, The Tourists

lesson 21: Tourists have a way of ruining photo-ops. Who wants a beautiful vacation photo with the youth group from Iowa in the background?

With that in mind, here are a few decent photos I took today. I have a lot of others that say more about the location; but today, I wanted to show prettyish rather than informative pictures.

Today's blog post was named in honor of the above photo.

We had a great time walking around seeing the sights. We got to see the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Old City Hall, the Portrait Gallery, the site of Ben Franklin's house, the Betsy Ross house, and Christ Church, among other things. This is an area rich with our country's history. I wish I was more knowledgeable. It would be an amazing area to walk around with an early American history buff! There are still a few things that I want to see in the area. Hopefully, I will be able to explore some more while I'm up here.

The Secret to Happiness

lesson 18: Check the weather before you order take out from the tavern down the road.

lesson 19: Rain is not that bad on a summer evening; but when it starts hailing, a neighbor's porch may have to suffice. *See lesson 18 

lesson 20: The secret to happiness is learning Philadelphia's traffic patterns.

My parents are in the area with a couple of their friends. This will be an exciting weekend full of tourist attractions and city exploration! I'm sure I will have plenty of pictures to post by Monday!

Broadening My Horizons

Lesson 17: When I first came to Philly, it made me a little nervous to drive through the "bad" part of town. I have come to find out that Philly has a way of lowering my standards... uh, I mean, broadening my horizons.

Here is a picture of us at the Ronald McDonald House!

A few of us interns left work early today and went to serve dinner at the Ronald McDonald House in Philly. I am so grateful that URBN is giving us opportunities to do things like this while we are here! Ronald McDonald House takes amazingly good care of the families staying there and has several amenities that you wouldn't even find at a resort. Someone asked what part of the house the families enjoyed the most. It wasn't the fitness room, the playstation room, or even the movie theater. The best part of the house was having a private room that they didn't have to worry about paying for and having meals that they didn't have to worry about preparing. 

Summer Is Here!

I find it very exciting when someone maneuvers an Econoline utility van like a sports car.

Monday was orientation day. I am starting to feel very oriented. They gave us the book A WHOLE NEW MIND: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule The Future. Should be fun reading! We have a book club meeting to discuss it in a few weeks.

The intern coordinator has a lot planned for us this summer! Today we had lunch with Glen Senk, the CEO of URBN. He had a lot of really inspiring things to say. More to come later!

Flowers Around the Block

Up, Up, and Away!

It's raining again. My "roommate" said that the weather here was more like Seattle than Philadelphia. Since this is my first time in Philadelphia and I've never been to Seattle, I will take her word for it. We just went to see Up in digital 3D. It was a beautiful, incredibly creative movie. I highly recommend it! Check out this site so you can fully appreciate the artistry of it:

http://louromano.blogspot.com/2009/05/art-of-up_3697.html

Since it's still raining, I haven't had a chance to take any more pictures; but I thought I would share some of the things I have been working on this summer! *Click on images to make them larger.

This is the most recent creation. I would love to use it for invitations, stationary, or napkins? I don't know yet.

This is a key pattern I made for Neely and Michael's moving cards. They turned out really nice!

This is a pattern that I started in school and finished at home. I haven't used it for anything yet, though.

Today It Was Sunny in Philadelphia

lesson 16: Philadelphia gives Mississippi a run for its money in the fried, fatty food department. Apparently, an authentic cheesesteak is made with Cheez-Wiz. Yum. 

I woke up this morning to sun streaming through my window and the birds chirping. Traffic was light (finally), and I made it to work early enough to get a scone at the cafe! ahhhh... nice. 

I was thinking of everyone back in Mississippi when I took a stroll down to the river after work. It was sunny and 77 today.

It takes 15 minutes to get from one end of Starkville to the other

lesson 15: It doesn't matter what time I leave work. I won't be home until quarter to seven. 

Day 4 = 1690 images

I'm starting to settle into a routine here. Unfortunately, it is leave at 8, get to work around 8:45, eat lunch around 12:30, leave at 6, get home at 6:45, eat my bowl of cereal, make phone calls, try to do some of my own work, and then go to bed. Hopefully, I will be able to catch up on sleep this weekend and get out and take some more pictures!

Looking to the Horizon

As part of my job as an intern, I am helping create an inspiration database for Anthropologie. The inspiration box is filled with magazine clippings from around the world. So I basically look at magazines all day... but only the good parts of them! I started scanning yesterday, and by the time I quit today the grand total was right around 700. That sounds like a lot, but I just got into the second box around mid-afternoon... There are 7 boxes. Fun times ahead!

First Impressions are Key

lesson 14: Apparently there is an unwritten Pennsylvania rule that makes it acceptable to more than double the speed limit on state park roads and sometimes even on the interstate. However, once the first rain drop falls, 40 mph is too fast and 20 mph is appropriate for all lanes of traffic. (Note: I think this is a stupid rule because accidents can happen regardless of the weather. *See lesson 1)

Today was my first day of work. I borrowed these photos off of the internet until I can take my own.

That bit of grass is where the dogs go to play during work breaks. Everyone seems to have a dog that they bring to work. The dogs sit quietly under his or her respective owner's desk! I know several canines who would thrive in this kind of environment.

This is the common area. The cafeteria is in the back and the employee gym is off to the right. To the left are the indoor koi fish ponds.

This is an awesome work environment, and everyone is amazingly nice and helpful! 

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words

For those of you who were interested, here are pictures of where I am calling home for the next two months.

This is the work area in my room.

Backyard garden.

The bunny.

The street.

Random garden around the block.

Germantown Ave. which has several restaurants and stores.

With the Good Lord Willing and if the Creeks Don't Rise

I came to Philadelphia for an internship with Anthropologie's E Commerce department. It's only day two, but the trip has been quite eventful so far. I could easily list our challenges and triumphs, but I would rather share the life lessons I have learned along the way.

Lesson 1: When there is a tire tread in the middle of your lane, hit it. The Mazda was a very good car and will be greatly missed. (Note: spinning out might actually be fun when you are in a controlled environment, in someone else's car, and are not twenty minutes into a twenty-two hour drive)

lesson 2: Be sure to get all of your valuables out of your car even when it is already on the tow truck. 

Lesson 3: When something goes awry, be grateful that you have friends and family who will drop everything to come help.

Lesson 4: Don't take your iphone into the stall of a public restroom (Betsy).

Lesson 5: When you have to make up six hours on a trip, you should use the following criteria to find a hotel room: safe-ish, clean-ish, and when you are footing the bill, cheap-ish.

Lesson 6: It's always good to have friends that you can tell a joke to without ever saying a word...a simple whiplash gesture will do.

Lesson 7: When you think you see someone famous in a service plaza in Delaware, approach them. This way you know for sure and have a good story for later. This holds true whether the person is famous or not. For example: 

Scenario 1 is I met Paula Deen's two sons in a service plaza in Delaware! They were nice/jerks/talkative/etc.

Scenario 2 is I met these two guys in a service plaza in Delaware. They were from Texas/Utah/somewhere with white button down shirts and cowboy boots.

Either one makes a better story than: Me and Betsy had been stuck in traffic for three hours and really had to pee. When we were running to the restroom, I saw two guys that may or may not have been Paula Deen's sons.

lesson 8: Be sure to bring plenty of cash for all of the toll booths. *See lesson 2

lesson 9: The GPS has a sense of humor and is only slightly worse at navigating than I am with an atlas. 

lesson 10: Living in a town with a Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Ikea, etc. could make someone very spoiled.

lesson 11: It's NOT Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

And finally,

lesson 12: It's just called a cheesesteak up here.