Late Update

I apologize for taking so long to write since the last update. With a conked out laptop, it's been difficult. So, there are some fun updates since my last post. Last weekend I went home which was great! I got to see my parents, my siblings, my niece, and my grandma. As a last minute surprise, my cousin Sharon and her husband came up Saturday from DC so I got to hang out with my long lost cousins (lol) and play tourist in Harlem Saturday night! We had dinner at Sylvias, which isn't exactly my favorite soul food restaurant in Harlem but I did get to eat some pretty good fresh baked ham (I love ham but I never make it for myself). When we got home, I was up until 2am baking cookies with my sister b/c I had promised her that Saturday night would be our hang out night. As tired as I was, it was fun! We made sugar cookies - she rolled, I put them in the oven :-). Earlier in the day I went to the block party on 123rd street and got to hang out with my cousins and see my godson. Sunday night, I caught up with my girlfriends over dinner at BBQs (I was feenin for some BBQs since I was in Milan!). Then I had plans to kick it with a Wharton friend but that fell through so I partied with my brother. Monday I finished baking cookies with Kiana and my niece (chocolate chip this time) then my mom came with us to my godson's house to celebrate his birthday with him. His mom had carrot cake and ice cream for him (yummy). After that I had to jet to the airport for my flight back to Minneapolis. When I got to JFK, I was told by Continental that my flight to Cleveland was delayed and I would end up missing my connecting flight so I had to go to LaGuardia. When I asked if they were going to assist me in getting from JFK to LaGuardia, the answer was No. (Thanks Continental) Luckily, my parents had just left from dropping me off so they came back to get me and took me to LaGuardia (thank goodness for parents!!). My arrival back in Minneapolis was bittersweet. First of all, it was about 50 degrees. Are you serious??? I didn't have the first jacket (or coat for that matter) so I freezed my behind off for about two days (I think I was in denial). I could feel a cold coming on so I bought some Tylenol Rapid Release Gels on Tuesday - they work but I still feel a little sniffly. The change in weather was also a painful reminder that I moved to the arctic cold.
The week at work has been pretty uneventful. I had very few training classes this week compared to previous weeks so I was in department a lot and having lots of coffees. My mentor and my Sr. Buyer were in LA at the end of the week too so I had a few projects to work on, which is great because I learn best by doing. One of my projects involved analyzing on one of our brands and prepare a report for my mentor for when she gets back on Monday. It was pretty interesting b/c I got to actually see the product and express my own opinions. I think my recommendations were in opposition to what the department as a whole decided but I stand behind them anyway so I'm a little anxious to see what my mentor's response is. I also had coffees (finally!) with both of my old managers from last summer, as well as my HR contact from last summer, which was fun!
Another interesting meeting I had this week was with the current MBA recruiter, who I didn't know quite as well since I wasn't recruited through full time recruiting. We discussed increasing the company's recruiting activities at Wharton which looks like it will happen. It is quite likely that I will be going to campus sometime in the next month or two to do a company presentation at Wharton, which should be fun! I'm not sure if I will go with the recruiter or with the other Wharton hires, but it was pretty unanimous that I should go since I have both internship and full time experience. I'm definitely looking forward to that.
I also went to a few happy hours this week (I know - it seems like that's all I do here - go to work and go to happy hours, lol). One was at the W, which just opened here a few months ago. One of the new buyers from last June, who I had met with last summer and again a few weeks ago, invited me and a few others she knew who were transplants to the area so we could get to know each other. I was by far the newest transplant, but I'm glad I went b/c I met someone who lives in my building who seems like a lot of fun. I also got to meet some other east coasters. All of us work in Softlines too (apparel/accessories) so I got to pick their brains about a few things. Several of them work for one of my old managers, and they had really good things to say about her which is great since I think I might want to work in her department someday. The W itself is cute - personally I like it but it does seem a little out of place (translation: too posh) for Minneapolis.
Last night, I went to a Wharton reception for prospective students which was held at General Mills' headquarters. That place is a maze - I got lost about three times and eventually had to stop someone to ask for directions, and I was already on their property. There were about 6 alums at the presentation, and we did a Q&A at the beginning, then most of us stuck around for the presentation and answered individual questions afterward. It was a pretty big group of prospectives, and they were really energetic and had a lot of good questions, so it was fun for me. Its crazy to think I was in their shoes not so long ago. I'm trying to stay involved in recruiting since I was so active as a student. I signed up to be an alumni interviewer and participate in future events although I don't think they come to Minneapolis much.
Well, I don't have any major plans this weekend. I'm going to head out soon to run some errands, and maybe hit up a SuperTarget, then I'm supposed to go to a get together that one of the new buyers is having at her place tonight. Since I'm still feeling kinda sniffly I'm not exactly in the most social mood but she's a sweetheart and she lives about a block away from me so I have no excuse not to go. Tomorrow will be a church and laundry day I think. I'm trying to find other churches to visit and I have two on the list at the moment - one my mom found online which is in St. Paul, and one I found online as well which is a little closer. So I suppose I'll visit one of them tomorrow.
In more exciting news however, next weekend I'm going to Chicago!!! (Notice how this is my second trip in 6 weeks) I'm hoping to catch up with college friends and maybe see my cousins who live there. I'm working on planning a dinner/NU reunion Saturday night since I have way too many people I want to see in a limited amount of time. It definitely gives me something to look forward to. Since flights are running around $500 roundtrip to Chicago (highway robbery!) I'm planning to troop it up on the bus. I suppose I could drive too but that would be highly dependent on the weather and I guess I wouldn't be able to sleep either.
The other exciting news is that Minneapolis Fall Fashion Weekend (the closest thing this city gets to fashion) is coming up in two weeks. It's sponsored by MN Fashion, and they are having a cocktail party earlier in the week for those who are interested in working on future projects (ie. Me!) so I'm planning to go to that. There are also a few runway shows, release parties and cocktail events that I'm planning to go to. Now I have to find someone to go with me! Unfortunately I think the big runway show on Friday night conflicts with a "night out on the town" event that my team at work has planned so I might not get to make it to that show. I'm excited to see what the fashion scene in Minneapolis is like. Anyway, I'm starting to freeze in this business center again, so that's about it for now. Until later...