The Big Apple

Jun 29, 09:20 PM by Eric Allen

Hey Everybody!
It’s been forever since I last blogged. Part of that was due to stuff I can’t really talk about in a public forum, and part of it was due to my laziness. Mostly, though, I’ve just been busy. After finishing up my undergraduate research and classes with a bang, I headed down to New York City to begin my summer internship with Bloomberg.

For the first two weeks I was sleeping on the floor at a friend’s place in Brooklyn (Thanks, Travis!) because Columbia’s summer housing hadn’t opened yet. For the last four weeks I’ve been living in a four-person suite with an amazing kitchen. It’s really awesome. It takes about forty minutes to get to work, but it’s so worth it. Nice neighborhood, close to the amazing Fairway Market, single room, and housecleaning!

In fact, I’ve discovered I like cooking for other people. I’ve sort of ended up as the head of household around here, and as such am mostly in charge of cooking, cleaning, and shopping. And I love it! Sometimes it bugs me that my roommates don’t even bother to help clean up after a meal, but I don’t think they’d wash the dishes well anyway. Alexei and I cook many of the meals together, but this week he’s off in Austria somewhere, so I’m on my own. Only four days till I get to see my girlfriend again. Oh, that’s the best part!

I get to see my girlfriend every weekend this summer. That’s quite a contrast with last summer, where I didn’t see her until I got back to school in the fall. She’s up doing research at RPI in Troy, and the Megabus is only $17 each way. I get on at 6:20 after work, and I’m at her place by 10pm. She visits me sometimes, too, like last weekend when my parents came in from California.

So, six out of twelve weeks in and I’m already planning for the end! My travel schedule in August is kind of insane, but the big highlight is Costa Rica. I met a guy last spring who travels a lot, and so now I have a travel buddy to go somewhere with. I haven’t been out of the country in almost a year and a half, so I’m really looking forward to the trip. I come back from Costa Rica straight to RPI to begin my fifth semester, technically the middle of my junior year. Not only can I see the end of the summer, but I can see the end of college so near. People keep telling me the real world sucks, but I still can’t wait to get out there and make things. Change the world, too.

That’s all for now!

-Eric