A Day in the Life

Finally got some sleep last night!

Finals ended on monday night at 6:00--and it doesn't even seem like anything has changed. I've been running top speed ever since. Here is the schedule:

Monday Night:
-Stats exam, 3-6:00 pm
-Dinner at Statler Hotel with Marketing Assoc. Execs, 6-8:00
-Drinking games, 9-11:00
-Party w/ 1st yr class at Rulloff's, 11:00-close

Tuesday:
-Laundry, dry cleaning, hotel booking, ticket purchasing, and packing for my trip to NYC
-Drive to Darien, CT 5-10:00 (it was snowing so it took a long damn time)

Wednesday:
-Day in the Life at Pepperidge Farm

Thursday:
-Day in the Life at AMEX
-Drinking across NYC

Friday:
-Day in the Life at Unilever
-Drive back to Ithaca
-Sleep for the first time in 2 weeks...

Now, this wouldn't seem crazy to any of the Investment Banking/S&T people, who spend 1/2 their first semester in NYC kissing ass. But, for a laid-back marketing type such as myself, it was quite an adventure...

Some quick notes on these companies:

Pepperidge Farm: A great little company. The people are great, the location is a little out of the way, but within easy striking distance of NYC (and right on the train lines). No concerns with them, EXCEPT: Southern CT is not the cheapest place to live! (no, really.)

AMEX: A global powerhouse--located across the street from ground zero in the World Financial Center. From the 43rd floor you have quite a view of NYC and the Statue of Liberty. Pretty cool. The people seem great; the job seems good. But, can I even afford to live anywhere nearby on "only" $80-90,000 a year (I have mega loans)? That sounds like a stupid question to anyone that doesn't live in the Northeast, but I'm totally serious. I've never hemorrhaged money like I did in NYC this week...I ran thru $150 in less than a day--faster than you can say "COLA"--and have nothing to show for it. Just some examples: Park at train station, $14. Train ticket into NYC during peak hours: $15. Various cab rides throughout the day, $50. Breakfast, dinner, and drinks: $50. The list goes on. And on. And on. And one more comment about NYC: they say you "don't need a car in NYC". This wrong. It's like you aren't allowed to have a car in NYC (it's almost as if the place was designed to keep you from wanting one). Nor would you want to fight the traffic. This place represents a 100% change in lifestyle from any "normal" place, and I would say about 50% of the change is positive. Not for everyone.

Unilever: Very nice offices in Greenwich, CT. Again, no way in hell you could ever afford to live here. I asked the employees if they lived nearby, and most laughed. None of them lived nearby. Some chose to live in NYC because it is CHEAPER and has a better dating scene. I can't remember if I've ever seen three Ferraris parked in a row before (unrelated, it was street parking), and I also saw an Aston Martin parked under a tree, 1/2 covered in bird crap, because it wasn't important enough to put in the garage. And several Maseratis. We won't discuss the "average" 15,000 sq foot mansions all over the place... Got a great vibe from this place, but I don't like the idea of commuting on hwy 95 to some super nice office, and then go back to my relative ghetto everynight...kinda makes you feel like a poseur.

Anyway, it was a blast. I could see myself working at any of those companies (although they are very different), but I'm very personal-finance oriented (as you can probably tell by now). I'm not sure I'm ready or willing to spend every last penny of my income just to get by (it wouldn't be a problem if we weren't going to have 1/4 mil. in school loans between us upon graduation).

So, now that I'm done w/ all of that, BREAK IS FINALLY HERE!! All I need to worry about now is the resume/coverletter drops due on 1/02. You never really get a break. :)