Work Trip (Google NYC + the High Line) & an Update

Sooo, it's been a few weeks since I last blogged. (And quite the few weeks it's been!)

For starters, I went to Istanbul for 10 days! (11, if you count travel.) I have SOOOOOO many photos from that trip, and I promise I WILL post about it! It was quite the adventure. (No, seriously. Pick an emotion... Any emotion -- excitement, joy, pain, frustration, fear, sickness... I did it all.)

I got sick at the end of my trip (as in... bronchitis-sick), so when I got back, I spent some time sleeping and trying to recover before...

I started my new job!! Monday was my first day, and it has been really great so far! I really like my co-workers, and they've been so great to already make me feel like I'm a part of the team. :) It also helps that I'm excited about the work I get to do, and I've jumped right in! In fact, on Tuesday, I got to travel to NYC for work with some of my co-workers. We spent a day (a day of delight!) being trained on how to use Google's tech tools better, and let me tell you that I am BLOWN away by Google NYC! That place is amazing!! I want to move in!

Green screen at the YouTube office!

For starters, they have food everywhere! There's a HUGE cafeteria (so huge there's an entire FOOD TRUCK of just desserts in the middle), and smoothie bars, cafes, and snack stations everywhere. There's a lego room, a workout room, a game room, on-site daycare, dry-cleaning, the greatest lounges everywhere, a Pac-Man arcade game room, an IN-HOUSE masseuse (!!!), AND they ride Razor scooters up and down the halls! Basically, I want to LIVE at Google. (Oh, and the staff and products are pretty great, too. ;) Ha ha!)

So jealous of these Googlers!

Since this was a work trip, we didn't have time to really see any sights. (Though we DID eat our way through Chelsea over those three days.) I made it a point to go running in the morning so I could see the High Line, which has been on my NYC bucket list for a while. It was so pretty!

These folks made my morning!

Pretty, right?? And umm, my favorite blogger (C-lin, I know you'll appreciate this!!) was also at the High Line yesterday! Too bad we weren't there at the same time. ;)

And then, to cancel out my run entirely, I made a stop at the Doughnut Plant! (which has also been on my NYC list for a while.) I don't like donuts/sweets, but I'd heard so much about this place, I HAD to check it out when I realized there was a location really close to our hotel. And let me tell you, the Doughnut Plant did NOT disappoint! These are seriously delicious! My favorite was the coconut lime cream-filled donut (the one shaped like a square), followed every closely by the creme brulee donut, but honestly, I don't think you can go wrong here! And coming from someone who doesn't really enjoy sugary things, that's saying a lot!

In other news, school has started up again, and it's crazy and wonderful to not be going back to class! I'm not *quite* done yet, but at least I'm not in class. It's been kind of hard to stay motivated here at the end, but I just have to keep on keepin' on.

And speaking of school, my BABY-EST BROTHER STARTED JUNIOR HIGH LAST WEEK!!???! I don't know how to feel about this. My little Christopher, all grown up! Spencer is in 9th grade this year, annnd that's everyone in school this year. I can't believe how fast they're growing up! *sniff* (To give some perspective, I was in 9th grade when Spencer was BORN...) Crazy!

Those are the biggest things right now. Istanbul updates coming soon!