joshuanycintern

[joshuanycintern]

Wednesday June 12, 12:11am

Hello from sleepy town. It’s past midnight here and I just hopped off a wonderful FaceTime call with Liona. Today was quite productive (& a bit tiring), so it was nice to end with a call from someone I value very much!

Work is work, and things definitely are picking up a bit more especially compared to Monday. The difference is just quite astonishing, and was made very apparent by the weather. Monday: cold, dark, dreary, helicopter crash at 787 7th. Tuesday: bright, a bit warm, hardly a cloud in the sky! My work schedule was definitely acting accordingly too with nothing much to do on the first day, but seemingly running around everywhere on Tuesday. I am thankful to have met a bunch of people today for the first time and for having such great people around me (s/o to fellow interns in functions and technology, my manager, team, mentors, etc.). Even though today was bit rough starting with not enough time to pack a lunch (even though I’m pretty sure I slept more than 9 hours), everything turned out to be a-okay.

Post-work (7p-onwards) is where the real fun happened. After eating dinner and doing dishes from today and unfortunately the night before, Amberlyn and I had to empty out our disgusting compost bin and sanitize the hell out of it. Not only that, there were weird smells from the kitchen which I think we pinpointed to the trash can and floor where some of the juices fell. Not fun. Then I had to do laundry and finally make my way to the gym. It was nice to go, (even for a little bit), and I can already tell I’ll be sore tomorrow. I definitely need to up my cardio game and weight-lifting repertoire. Not too sure if I’ll join the office gym but it sure is tempting.

That’s all for now. Meetings starting at 8am tomorrow means I should have been sleeping about an hour ago. Cheers to hump day and a positive rest of the work week!

[joshuanycintern]

Sunday June 9, 10:30am

Good morning world! Let it be known that this is my third attempt trying to craft a blog post. This one will probably be longer than usual as it’s going to cover my first day on the desk at work plus Saturday (which was notable in itself)!

First Day on the Desk For some reason I was extremely sluggish getting out of bed that morning. I think it was probably due to me tossing and turning the night prior due to stress, plus sleeping a bit later than usual after coming back from art galleries, the High Line and the like. In the morning, we met up on the 4th floor before being whisked away to where I would be actually working (which surprisingly is much higher than I originally anticipated).

To say I was nervous was an understatement. It wouldn’t truly be a Joshua experience if I didn’t try to find out a little bit more about my Line Manager prior to meeting them (e.g. talking with Dennis, scoping out social media profiles on LinkedIn & Facebook). I walked into the building, headed straight to the cafeteria to get my caffeine fix which seemingly worked much quicker than before thereby accelerating my heart rate a bit more than was comfortable. I walked into the meeting room where there a bunch of other interns gathered (thank God) and just waited for a moment to get our schedules, get company swag (which is another thing, I didn’t realize banker bags were a thing until I just googled them), and finally get picked up by our line managers. For those of you who know me, I have two distinct versions of myself: stressed out Joshua and happy bubbly smiley talkative Joshua. When meeting my line manager, I was definitely trying to balance the two, but I worry it may have been too much of the talkative side because my manager being a much more seasoned professional was not reciprocating. Oh well, I’ll figure out his style soon enough.

Anyways, I was whisked away to the 15th floor where I was re-introduced again to two other interns who would be inhabiting the same conference room as I was for the next 10 weeks, fun! Thankfully our conference room is just interns so fingers crossed it’ll be a fun room, plus we have windows looking down towards Radio City Music Hall! The rest of the day was kind of a blur with meetings, emails, fixing technical issues which apparently are very common on the first day, etc. I ended up leaving at 6:45p, go figure!

First day reflections, it’s so different compared to working at a startup like I did last summer. Each floor easily has over a hundred people, it’s impossible to know everyone. With some thirty some floors as well, each floor is extremely different. I visited the trading floor to meet part of my team and I can unequivocally say it was like the movies. TV screens everywhere with market news, boards with the time in New York, London and Tokyo, and displays with commodities prices, bond yields, etc. Not to mention, the entire floor was LOUD with people working on phones, traders on their computers, etc.

It’s incredible to think that I’m working in a multinational corporation, nonetheless an investment bank. I was talking with one of my friends I met during training about how different it is and how much there is to learn. So many different functions and areas of the market that I don’t understand but am so interested in learning about. It’s crazy to think how everything just comes together and how much money moves in and out on a daily basis. So much information, so much buzz, and it’s all moving at breakneck speed.

Saturday’s adventures Definitely a slow start to the day again, leaving bed this time at almost 11am. Not too much to say about the morning besides the fact I got a haircut (expensive sed), went grocery shopping to prep for this week’s meals: turkey sausage & vegetable scramble leggo, and then finally left the house with Amberlyn at 4pm.

It’s always nice to leave the house especially when the weather is so nice! Besides walking through Morningside Park to get to my hair salon, Amber and I visited Battery Park as part of our visit to Lower Manhattan. We then went to Chinatown to pick up some dumplings before picnicking in Central Park with our friend Kevin.

One of the things I’m most looking forward to is enjoying the park system here in New York. So many urban oases to escape the fast paced city-life. I can’t wait to sprawl out on a blanket and just read through some books I checked out (which I still need to read).

[joshuanycintern]

Thursday June 6, 11:04pm

I think one word that could encapsulate how I feel right now ending my day is blessed.

To be frank, it seems a bit odd that I use this adjective to describe how I feel especially given my tumultuous relationship with religion. However, I think that’s the only way I can feel right now, and that’s for many reasons:

The ability to live, work, and experience such an incredible city.

Working at an exciting firm with some of the most intelligent people ever.

Making friends with some genuine individuals I wouldn’t have the opportunity to meet otherwise.

Connecting again with friends from before like it was just yesterday. They know me, I know them, it’s great to have that kind of relationship.

Meeting new people through one-off connections colored today (positively) in a way that I could have never imagined.

Building off that last point, I’m so thankful for the people I met tonight. Pretending to be an art aficionado to get into private events and drinking benefitting off of their refreshments, joining a couple on the High Line to play Uno as the sun set all around us, and chatting with awesome people from wildly different backgrounds (foreign policy, sustainability, finance, you name it) were just some of reasons why tonight was so awesome. I’m excited to see what tomorrow (my official first day on the desk) brings, and I’ll be sure to write about it. In the meantime, here are some photos, I hope you enjoy!

[joshuanycintern]

Wednesday June 5, 10:23pm

A bit of a different posting time compared to previously, but that’s because I just finished my first day at work! No photos from today because my commute was pretty standard to and from the office with nothing to note. Actually, three things:

New York weather is still extremely difficult to comprehend to me, especially with weather apps. I was under the impression that it would rain after work today (surprise, it didn’t). In fact, it rained on my commute to work this morning! The humidity today though is killer, which (kind of) leads me to my next point.

Offices are COLD. The air conditioning in these buildings are seriously no joke. One minute I’m in Antarctica, and the next I could literally be in the tropics with the warmth and humidity.

Last point, I didn’t realize that business causal on the East Coast (or maybe this is true just for financial services firms) means suit without a tie. Silly me went into work today with basically a suit sans the coat. Guess what I’m going to wear tomorrow!

Anyways, today was surprisingly not too bad for a first day of work. Made a few new friends from across the office today, not too many within the practice that I’ll be In though, but I still have a lot of time. I was definitely anxious this morning, but after talking with a few folks and finding a solid group of peers, I think I got this (minus the occasional imposter syndrome from how amazing my fellow interns are)!

Sorry this is a relatively short post, but I also got a chance to really dive into one of the books by Acimar which I’m actually heading back to reading right now before sleep. Cheers to a new day and hopefully better experiences tomorrow at work!

[joshuanycintern]

Tuesday June 4, 10:51am

Today’s the last day I have before starting work - just when I think I’ve gotten used to this  life at home taking care of the apartment and basic things. Is this how life as a house husband is like?

Yesterday was a busy day full of chores, but I’m glad I was able to get out and walk around a little bit. I committed myself to getting a New York Public Library card instead of buying books that I found interesting. Thankfully there’s two branches in walking distance from me, and I was able to pick up a couple books. Stay tuned for the book recommendations, that is, if I can finish all four I’ve picked up in the time they’ve allotted me. Maybe this can be another goal I set for the summer, 10 books? Here’s what I have right now:

Enigma Variations by André Acriman

Harvard Square by André Acriman

Call me by your name by André Acriman

The Moroccan Girl by Charles Cumming

I was originally hoping to pick up Call me by your name, but the branch I visited had a few other books by the author who I’ve heard was pretty prolific.

Here are some photos from my walk around West Harlem yesterday. One thing I’m really thankful for about New York so far is that there’s so much to see with little oddities around every corner. It helps that the weather was beautiful yesterday as well.

What’s on the agenda for today? Once again, figuring out what to cook and how to cook. Then, a brief meeting in Bryant Park with some light reading intermixed probably outdoors and in the main library (yay free air conditioning)!

Tomorrow, my internship begins. Not too sure how I’ll have time to account for all of my goals/things I want to accomplish this summer, but I will still try.

[joshuanycintern]

Monday June 3, 10:23am

Today marks my second day officially alone and living my life here in New York. Yesterday was the first, and the day prior my family flew back to California. The feelings I felt when they left were not chest-relieving as I originally thought I would have felt. Leaving them at the entrance to the JFK Airtrain and heading back towards Manhattan, I felt the pang of loneliness. The subway home with my aunt was definitely a quiet one, and it wasn’t until I got off at 42nd Street when I was officially by myself.

When I got home, I immediately lamented to Amberlyn. After a few days of exploring around Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens - I was exhausted in all aspects. Not to mention barhopping the night prior resulting in our 5am return.

Here’s a list of everything I’ve visited so far just for posterity’s sake (Yelp reviews incoming):

Wall Street

9/11 Memorial & Museum

Rockefeller Center

The Nintendo Store

Original Macy’s

Queens

DUMBO (Brooklyn Bridge area)

Central Park

Times Square

St. James Theatre (Frozen)

UN Headquarters

Grand Central Station

The High Line

Hudson Yards

Eataly

Ralph’s Coffee

Red Hot Hot Pot

Shake Shack

Firefly

Ippudo

Socarrat Paella Bar

That night marked my first meal cooked at home which was nothing less than a resounding success. On my first day by myself, I had a wonderful late start (attempting to catch up on sleep). Two lessons to be learned that day:

Meal prepping is hard, plan accordingly. I don’t understand how people can make grocery lists that encompass everything they are planning to eat for that week. Back in Berkeley I had trouble deciding what I wanted to eat every day. Here, I have to plan what I want to eat for about a week encompassing multiple meals. Maybe I’m just new to this and I’ll get better, but seriously…yesterday I forgot to buy cilantro for my cilantro lime chicken. Thank God for the market just being down the street from me.

When rain is ever on the forecast, no matter how low the percentage chance of it occurring, bring an umbrella. Maybe I’m just used to it never raining in California or the perpetual inaccuracies on the weather app back at home. Here, I think it’s safe to say weather predictions are definitely more liberal with their predictions but when you don’t plan ahead you get caught in the middle of an actual thunderstorm in shorts and a shirt in the middle of Brooklyn. Not a cute way to start your adventures outside. Let’s just say by the end of the night I was more than damp, and definitely sticky from the humidity and layers of rain. That’s right — layers. If I remember correctly it rained on our group 3 times while we were out yesterday which is just wild.

(L-R: DUMBO, Times Square, Queens)

Anyways, cheers to me starting this blog. I hope to do this at least a couple times a week (ideally with Lisa’s vinyl playing in the background and a cup of coffee near me). Actually, Central Park would be lovely as well.

I’m hoping to get several things out of this experience. I want to see my growth throughout the summer. After a successful academic semester and a less than successful personal well-being type of semester, I’m looking forward to some form of healing and rejuvenation while in New York. I know that sounds a bit ironic, but being across the country in an unfamiliar place with not too many contacts around here to be totally comfortable sounds like the perfect grounds for self-reflection and growth. Let’s see what this summer brings: travel, meal prepping, internship life, healthy living, book recommendations, weekend outings, and general musings galore!