Well, it took me long enough to blog about my awesome life changing trip to the Big Apple. I was supposed to have posted this blog sometime last week, but I got very busy with school and I was catching up on some 360 playing time that I'd lost while I was on the trip. Here's how my trip went:

As you recall from my last blog. I flew out to New York for a job interview as a Stock/Insurance broker assistant for The Hartford Co. Ok I'm going to start by saying that New York is absolutely amazing! I stayed at the Marriott Marquis New York which is located on Broadway. I couldn't believe that I was staying in a hotel that was pretty much in the heart of Times Square. My room was on the 38th floor and I had a great view of Times Square. I couldn't even go to sleep my first night there. I was in awe to be in Times Square. I ended up walking around for a bit and than just taking a nap.

The next morning I woke up early to head up to the New York Regional offices of The Hartford Co. Taking the subway from my hotel to the office was such an adventure. I couldn't believe how fast the pace of New York life is. I thought that L.A. was a fast paced city but compared to New York L.A. is pretty chill. I walked from my hotel to the subway station, but I definitely did not dress appropriately for New York weather. I walked a block and I had to go back to my room to get more clothes on because it was so cold! Since I live in sunny California I really didn't have proper winter clothes, so I did some shopping which was pretty cool. I got to the subway station and I had my map on my hand which pretty much gave me out. Several people commented on how they immediately knew that I wasn't from New York. I couldn't disagree with them any less. The subway ride was really interesting in a fun way. I could definitely get use to riding the subway to work. I got to the regional offices way before my interview, so I walked around for a bit. I checked in with the receptionist and as I was doing so one of the executives who was going to interview me walked in. He offered to take me on a tour of the facilities. We walked around the offices and I got to see where everything was. He even teased me with showing me what my office would be and he said "you'll be the new guy, so you can't have a corner office." I had never really understood the fascination with corner offices until I walked into his office...oh man that office was just like those you see on the movies. It was beautiful! I could totally see the years of work in that office. Well, my interview started and at first with the classic ice breaker questions from there it moved to more detailed interviewing and after a couple of hours they said to me "Jon, we feel that you would be an asset to our company...would you be interested in working with us?" I was definitely shocked because I honestly didn't think I would get the job. I was honest with them when they asked "Where do you see yourself in five years?" I was honest and I said that I hope to have finished with my MBA and I hope to be working in the video game field. I definitely thought that my answer would turn them away from hiring me, but I guess not. After the interview I had to go to some meetings where I had to learn about New York's law on insurance. I'm not going to lie...that was really boring! I definitely did not enjoy the endless talk about insurance. The meetings were finally over. The subway ride back to my hotel was so much fun. I rode back with another candidate for the job who also got the position. She was a pretty fun girl and she's so smart. On our way to our hotel we totally missed our stop, so we ended up by Central Park and decided to walk around for a bit. That was the only touristy thing that I was able to do. We walked to 30 Rock but we didn't have enough time to go all the way to the top. After our little escapade I got back to my hotel and as much as I wanted to go out and see the night life that New York City has to offer, I had to go to bed early because the next day I was heading to the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange). It truly felt like sleeping was a waste of time but I had to do it.

My second day in New York consisted on visiting the NYSE. I have always told my friends that someday I would like to be one of the people who get to ring the bell at either opening or closing of the market. I didn't get to do that but being there for it when it happened was definitely awesome. Ok, I seriously know now that the NYSE is a mad house! I mean, I've seen the documentaries, the movies, the news reports, and the educational videos but it's way completely different to experience it in person. Oh man! It's so hard to even attempt to describe my experience there. I do some stock trading/selling for fun on my own, but it's nothing like the real life trading/selling of stocks. I wasn't even working, I was just witnessing and getting a little bit of hands on and I was super stressed! It was fun yet very stressful! That's definitely one of the things I will be considering as I make my decision. I don't know if I can see myself having fun while being stressed. It was definitely fun to be there though. One thing that will stay with me for a long time is how dumb I felt when I got partnered with a Statistical Analyst. This dude was so smart! He was a current grad student at NYU getting his masters degree in Statistical Mathematics. Yeah, he was a Math genius! I am ok with Math, but nothing like him. He was definitely pretty cool though. He was very nice and he was full of so much mathematical information that helped me understand some things different. As I was at the NYSE, I made my way to the Microsoft station and I met some people and got some phone numbers and e-mail addresses...so I attempted to make connections to see if I could find out some information. After a crazy day at the NYSE I had to go to some more Insurance Compliance meetings which once again were really boring. I don't know if many of you saw the news, but I was there when the US Airways plane went down. It was definitely interesting to see the local news and the way the city handled that situation. So that was the last night that I was going to spend in New York City, so a few people from the office decided to show us a little bit of the night life. We went to a bar at the Hotel QT which was only down the street to where I was staying. It was tons of fun. After one too many drinks I decided it was time for me to head back and get some sleep. I needed to be up early in the morning to go to some last meetings. Since everyone else was off the next day, they decided to stay for a few more hours. I started heading back to my hotel, so I thought, but I started walking the opposite direction from my hotel. I walked for a few blocks and I realized I was going the wrong way. I finally was pointed in the right direction and after texting my favorite gamer buddy I headed back to my hotel. It was definitely a great time for being my last night there.

My last day in New York City was spent with a client visit, so I got to see a little bit of what that would be like. After that I headed to the airport to wait for my flight back home. So now it's all about sitting with my family and close friends and make a smart decision of what I'm going to do with my life. It was definitely a life changing trip. I fell in love with New York City! We'll see what's going to happen. I wish I would have taken my parents camera with me, and even though I bought a disposal camera I wasn't able to scan the few pictures I took. I really didn't have much time to do touristy stuff. I didn't even get the chance to visit a high school friend who is going to Law School in New York. I definitely plan to go back in a non business trip and do all the touristy stuff. So yeah, that's how my trip went...definitely was a great experience.