Back Row Girls

As I was getting dressed this morning, I sat looking at a navy blue cardigan and kept switching between wearing it with or without a belt and. As I was already running late, I just grabbed the cardigan and the belt, threw it in my bag and said to myself, I will just ask the girls at work which they like better.

Then it hit me. I have been so lucky. Yes, nearly everyone I work with is amazing,* but I have a true love for my Back Row Girls.

If you walk into OHA's suite, head straight back towards the windows, and look to your left you will see, what I fondly call, PA Row. Clearly that sounds like something in a prison cell block, so it's more routinely known as the Back Row. And there is where I sit with my favorite ladies.

From left to right there is me, Katie, Lisa, Sarah B, Sara, Talya. Well, this was the set-up until two weeks ago. Sadly two of these ladies left in the same week. One more is leaving within a month. The three of them are heading off to better different cities to get their master's. Overachievers.

And even with just two of them gone, I can already feel the void. (This was like when Amy, times 2!) Sure, two more fabulous women have taken their place, but I have to admit, it isn't the same. Maybe with time...

From religions, to backgrounds, to taste in men, all six of us are so incredibly different. But, with that being said, we've all been through a lot together- both good and bad.

Together we've gone on trips, celebrated holidays, crashed on couches, thrown birthday parties, toasted promotions and achievements, ran races, and of course, joined in the occasional lunch and happy hour.

We've been there for each other through deaths, relationship issues, frustrations at work, and hungover mornings.

Sometimes I can't wait to get into work. The closer I walk to the back the more I anticipate seeing everyone. There's a good ten minutes of every morning that recaps the following: outfit, shoe choice, hair, details from last night, and the inevitable question to get coffee later.

Probably the best part of that recap is dissecting what everyone is wearing. Working with young, fashion-forward women has truly made all of us step up our game, and open our credit cards, in the clothing department.

I've really been spoiled in my first real job. If/when I ever leave this place, the next office has some pretty big shoes to fill.

So, to my Back Row Girls. I love you all and we'll just have to have reunion early and often in new fabulous cities.




The Back Row Girls at the Final Lovefest Extravaganza
Me, Katie, Talya, Sara, Berk, Lisa

*I am seriously so lucky to work with the most amazing people. There are too many people to give everyone their own shoutout. So if you leave the Agency, I'll dedicate a post to you.

How to Survive Your First Year Out of College

There are plenty of “Class of 11” alums who don’t know what to expect with a break from school for the first time in 16 years. Here’s how to survive your first year out of college.

Don’t move back in with your parents. Stay in your college town or move to a new city. Rent a place you can’t afford. Refuse to share a room; you’re an adult now. Revel in the fact you have six months until you have to start paying back your student loans.

Start waitressing or bartending. Tell everyone at work it’s only temporary since you have a degree. Feel better than them. Get depressed when you learn most of them have been out of school for more than three years. Go home, binge drink and cry yourself to sleep.

Apply to jobs. Take interviews for positions that have nothing to do with your degree. Exhaust every network you have. Join LinkedIn.

Check your bank account daily and wish money will just appear. Give up eating healthy food in order to continue buying alcohol.

Join a temp agency. Sit at a receptionist desk three days a week. See other graduates come in for interviews. Curse them under your breath. Begin to feel worthless. Email your mom you want to go home.

Think about traveling abroad, but realize you don’t have any money. Student loans kick in. Decide to just study for the GREs and go to graduate school instead.

Finally get a call back from a job you applied to seven months before. Interview and get offered the position. Start immediately.

Realize you are overqualified and underpaid. Feel like a glorified intern. Accept the fact you spent $100,000 to take meeting notes.

Decide to stick with the new position and postpone graduate school. Look forward to a steady paycheck every two weeks. Be happy because you can finally stop borrowing money from your roommate for your nights on the town.

Wanted: An Adorable Cheetah Cub to Snuggle

While Monday and Raining is one of my favorite Movielife songs, it's not really the way I like to start my week.

But, just one day before the official start of summer, that's exactly how I am spending this Monday. In a cubicle workspace, looking out a window, staring at the rain pouring down.

Luckily, I read a lot of blogs, and DCist has just the cure. Feast your eyes on the cheetah cub at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. Five cheetah cubs were born at the National Zoo on May 28. And, of course, they are adorable.

So, if you, like me, had a hard time getting going this morning, just take a look at this little guy.

I promise it'll put you in a better mood than you were 30 seconds ago.



Adrienne Crosier, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute



Barney Google: More than just a breakfast sandwhich

If I could say only one thing reminded me of home and my childhood, it would be barney googles. What's a barney google? More commonly known as egg in a basket, it's a fried egg cooked in the center of bread with a hole cut in it. And it's delicious.

I don't know why my dad always called it a barney google, and to be honest, I never really questioned it or asked where the name came from. It was always just a fact. What's for breakfast? Barney googles? Well, okay! Even now, as an adult, when I spend the weekend at my mom's house, she'll sometimes make them for breakfast.

I still make them on my own. It's often breakfast in the DiRocco-Koury household. So, of course, on Father's Day, I had to have a barney google for breakfast, and think about my dad, my family and my childhood.

Yeeaaaah, I definitely just said that

Think about your life at this moment in time. You probably have a pretty set routine. You encounter the same people, eat the same breakfast, take the same train to work everyday.

This is definitely true for me. There is not much variation that occurs in my life. Perhaps an occasional happy hour, maybe some lunch time shopping, possibly a movie night. All in all, I know what is in store for me each day. With that in mind, there are certain phrases I would never imagine coming out of my mouth. Things that are so out of my realm and comfort zone, just thinking of saying them feels weird. So, you can imagine my surprise when I uttered the following phrases today.

1. "No, I can't hang out, I have to meet my personal trainer."
Yes, I have joined the group of people who have personal trainers. We met for the first time today. And ya know what, I'm not hating it. Still, I felt a little pretentious uttering these words.

2. "Babe, can you DVR Pretty Little Liars. It's the season premiere."
I've admitted this before, but I really like this show. And I thought the season premiere was tonight. Knowing I wasn't going to be home in time, I had to call Peter and ask him to DVR it. Well, particularly embarrassing for me, I had to have this conversation in the locker room of the gym. Even worse, it wasn't even on tonight.

3. "I definitely just saw poop on the floor of the women's bathroom."
Yes. This actually happened today. I saw human feces on the floor of the bathroom. I nearly stepped in it. I actually felt the need to wipe my shoes down with a Clorox wipe because I felt so disgusting. Human poop. On the floor of an office bathroom.

I'll leave you to mull that one over.