The New Girl



I'm up to Mad Men: Season 2, Ep.5-The New Girl right now. And there's a line that the comedian's wife says while she's talking to Don Draper as their having drinks that made me really sit up and take notice. "This is America. Pick a job and then become the person who does it." My internship here in Dallas is progressing.  This week I did more research and was sent to pick a pair of one-of-a-kind lamps for a client's office from Allan Knight's showroom.  They were unique, exquisite and worth more money than I've ever made in an entire month at any job that I've ever had.  Lol!  Consequently I drove like I had a car full of kids without any seatbelts on the entire way back to the design studio.

As I was sitting here at my desk watching that episode from Season 2 I started thinking about how I got here.  I've been studying Interior Design at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh-Online for a few years now and that line sums up how I feel that this experience has changed me so far. I picked a job or rather a career that I'm good at and now through this opportunity of an internship here in Dallas I'm on my way to becoming the person who does it.

I don't remember who said it but that line reminded me of another truisim, "We are the architects of our fate."  That's a fact that I don't want to ever forget, no matter what.  I don't have an old-fashioned to sip to toast to that so instead I'll lift my glass of raspberry ice tea and say, "Here, here!"

Settling In



Today makes two weeks to the day that I've been in Dallas.  A few days ago I unpacked the last box but it wasn't until today that I really felt like I'd begun to settle into my new place.  It's funny how such a small thing like finally finding two good samaritans to carry the glass top to my dining table up the stairs to my apartment and place it on the frame can make me feel like my place is finally becoming my own.  As I sat at my desk and watched Mad Men via Netflix (thirty-day free trial) I kept looking over at my dining table, grinning to myself.  Sure there's no artwork on the walls and only one curtain panel tacked up over the window looking out onto the landing in front of my door but having that glass top on my dining table made me feel a little bit better about starting over in a new place.  I snapped this quick photo with my iPhone so the resolution is a bit grainy. 

 

The table is not in the actual dining area which is quite small and lets out onto the balcony.  Instead I placed it here near the odd bay window which has metal shelves that can be removed or moved to hold plants or decor.  I think that it works better in this area but I still don't know what I want to do with it.  I'm a party of one with a table that seats four. 

I saw these photos on the web a few weeks ago before the move and I thought about maybe adding a few plants and some accessories like my Yuengling chalk board and some placemats that I brought with me to make the area a little less vanilla and more visually interesting. I have artwork but I'm still deciding on where to hang it. Whatever I do it will certainly be much better than it is right now!