Time flies when you're having fun.

Another week has flown by here in Cold Spring; I barely realize how fast time flies here. Three weeks in which I completely settled down and adapted to the American lifestyle. Three weeks in which I learned the ins and outs of MKTworks, Inc and its clients. And three weeks in which the big Apple is no longer an unknown territory to me, rather a place where I have no trouble whatsoever to orientate myself.

It was a week where I got to experience rush hour in New York, a trade show at the Hilton Hotel in New York, a dinner with the Cold Spring Area Chamber of Commerce, a week where I got to drive the Audi A6 by myself, as Marshall was in California for Business.

This is of course a short preview of what can be read and seen in my blog about another great week on the banks of the

Monday, 19/03/2012
As MKTworks, Inc has a second office in San José, CA and as Marshall's wife is in charge there, he had to go away for a week to attend meetings with clients and to check in the office at the west coast of the country.

So we had to drive Marshall to the JFK airport. Normally this ride takes us 1h30, but today it took us about 4hours to get there. We left around 1pm at the office and everything went just fine, up until the moment we entered the highway leading to New York City. Along the road I got to see 3 car accidents and 4 car breakdowns that held up traffic towards a city of 8 million inhabitants. To all the commuters in Belgium traveling back and forth to Brussels, Antwerp or Ghent: you ain't seen nothing yet! It took us about three hours to travel over a distance of 15miles (24km). In addition, it was a day where the temperature rose to 22°Celsius in the blazing sun. At some point that time I felt like being in hell.

At least I had the opportunity to took a picture of Lower Manhattan

We dropped Marshall of at the airport on time and drove back to Cold Spring. As this was around 5.30pm, in the middle of rush hour we feared the worst. But luckily, except for some small traffic jams we came home around 7pm; so luckily it took us not that long to return home.

As it was already in the evening when we returned, I picked up the Audi at the office, stopped by the supermarket to buy some food and returned back home.

Tuesday, 20/03/2012


As I might have told you already, I had to attend a trade show on Search Engine Optimization in the city. As Marshall was not around and as Marc had an important meeting with B&B Pools And Spa, I had to go in by myself. Unlike the weekends this was a week day in the city. So most of the train was filled with  people commuting to the city. The image that ruled the streets was people in suits rushing to a meeting, people checking their mails on their iPhones and Blackberry: a typical image of the city life on a week day, which was of course very nice to see!

The trade show took place at the Hilton Hotel on 6th avenue/Avenue of the Americas. As we host several websites for our clients, we wanted to get as many information as possible on how to generate leads, track your website activity, how many people visit your website. The differences between organic search and PPC (pay per click) where advertisers get paid per time someone clicks on the ad shown on the internet. But also the major importance Social Networks sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Netlog - for people still using this site - and even Google+ can have on advertising. I attended keynotes on the psychological side of Social Media, I got some information on the services the people were promoting. It was a very interesting day with many things that I have learned, which can be useful to help our websites to the fullest. 

I returned later that day with a bag full of brochures, flyers, goodies and business cards and arrived in Cold Spring around 6pm. In the evening I went for a 5km run on a small peninsula which is a perfect place to go for a run. Afterwards I grabbed a bit to eat in the restaurant and try to fell asleep around midnight. As it was still soooo warm outside, I had some trouble to fall asleep so I fell asleep around 3am. 

Wednesday, 21/03/2012

As every wednesday we had to record a radio show with Doc Rick at two different location. The first radio show was a telephone interview with dentist Terecita Dean who has her office in Alameda, CA.  The second radio show was about how people can benefit from vitamin B and what products people can buy containing that vitamin. 

Afterward we had our weekly lunch in the Diner close to I-84 and afterwards we headed back to the office, because we had still some work to do for BBPools. I was assigned by Marc Sabin who is Executive Vice President at MKTworks, to write a blog on pool parties. There is a difference in meanings when it comes to a blog. The blog you are reading now is updated every week with new, cool and fun stories on my internship. The blog I had to work on was to inform people in a 400word document on the many possibilities people have when organizing a pool party; giving people information about a specific topic. A second blog I am working on for the moment is a topic all pool owners can benefit of: how to save energy with your pool. 

In the evening I had some diner at the restaurant and afterwards I went for a drink the Natalie, the daughter of the owner Jimmy, and two of her friend at Whistling Willies on Main Street. As it was a week day not many people were at the bar, so we had a few drinks and headed back around 1am. 

Thursday, 22/03/2012

Thursday wasn't really a special day. I had to work on the blogs for B&B Pools and Spa while Marc was correcting what I have written so far. He said that I did a good job on the built-up of the blog, but as it's only my first blog, the words I used weren't chosen properly and the built-up of the sentences have to be worked on, but then again it's my first blog.

I also ordered a travel guide of New York City in order for me to get to know the city better, so this arrived to day in the mail. I also got my Social Security card in the mail today, so from an administrative point of view I'm settled.

It was also a special day that day as my dad celebrated his 50th birthday, too bad of course I wasn't in Belgium to congratulate him.

In the evening I attended a dinner of the Cold Spring Area Chamber of Commerce. The dinner took place at the Dutchess Manor, a really nice place with a beautiful view on the Hudson
I had a really nice time talking to people from Cold Spring. It was also an occasion were awards were handed out to people who did a lot of work for the chamber and for the city. Also a scholarship was reached out to a 6th grade Highscool Student who wrote an essay on how he contributed to the community and how he had grown in doing so. I also took some pictures who are shown hereunder. The guy depicted twice on the photos is Marc Sabin, who is in charge for the moment of the Cold Spring office.

Friday, 23/03/2012

A rather normal day was awaiting me; there was only one meeting scheduled with B&B Pools and Spa and Karl's Appliances. Karl's Appliances is a big store specialized in Home appliances like kitchens, barbecues, refrigerators... As BBpools is our client we also had to attend that meeting, which was a very interesting one. We came back at the office around 4pm and we spent time revising my blog and finishing my blog on green energy.

In the evening I went for a run, which was just great. I ran 5km in 26minutes, so it's a way better time compared to last sunday. The graph of which is depicted here below as well as a picture of me after my work-out.


Saturday, 24/03/2012


Yeaaaayyyy, weekend!!!! which means back to the city! Instead of wandering around in the city without a travel guide visiting all the spots where tourists hang out, I decided to work out a different game plan. As most of you people know New York City is made up of 5 distinct boroughs: Manhattan (where the vast majority of people stay when visiting New York), the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island.

During my stay I will focus my visits on Manhattan, which is divided up in 15 neighborhoods: going from Lower Manhattan all the way uptown to Harlem. As there are fifteen neighborhoods, and as I have plenty of more weekends left, I will cover each weekend two areas. I will start in the tip of the City and I will work myself all the way up to Harlem. So by the end of my stay here, I will have covered the city in which I definitely want to live and work in the future in all its facets.

This weekend I visited 'Lower Manhattan' and 'Seaport and the Civic Center'. But before taking the subway downtown, I stopped by a barber shop to have my hair cut and the result, to me, is just great; results of which are shown later this blog.

Afterwards I took the subway to the place where it all started for New York City. Lower Manhattan is a neighborhood in which a perfect mix has been created between historic buildings and the modern skyscrapers. Lower Manhattan is worldwide known for Wall Street where the New York Stock exchange was founded in 1817, Trinity Church one of the country's older parishes and Federal National Hall Monument where George Washington was sworn in as first President of the United State of America.

There I found myself walking around in an area where history was written: from the inauguration of George Washington, via the stock market crash in 1929, to the attacks of 9/11 on the World Trade Center.

As many of the sights were closed during weekends, the first stop was Trinity church. This gothic church was built in 1846 and was at that time the tallest structure of the city. Pictures of which are shown here below. When visiting lower Manhattan this is definitely a sight worth checking out and the entrance is free!


After checking out this beautiful historical landmark, I was back on my way to the famous 'charging bull' who marks the beginning of Broadway. This bull is created by Di Modica in 1989 after the stock market crash of 1989 and symbolizes "strength, power and hope of the American People".

But as I was walking on Broadway a mob of people was coming my way, this mob is the so-called Occupy Wall Street movement in which capitalism is heavily criticized. No need for explanation here, just pictures.

I left the mob what it was and headed for the most southern part of the city: battery park. At first I wanted to buy a ticket for Ellis Island and the Empire State building but when I saw the massive crowd standing in line for the ferry, I figured: "maybe other time." After which I took a nice 2km-walk in Battery park on the banks of the Hudson River. This is the ideal place to rent a bike, go for a run, have nice walk and talk or just to read a book. Some pictures to illustrate my walk. 

 

Too bad the weather wasn't that great compared to the previous weekends, but it was a nice long walk alongside the Hudson; definitely now during spring time with the blossoming threes, the nice temperatures. At the end of the walk I grab a small bite to eat in the beautiful atrium of the winter garden. 

Afterwards I visited also the Museum of American Finance. As New York Stock Exchange are restricted areas hence not accessible to the public, this museum gives you all the information you need to know about the NYSE and the New York Mercantile exchange. This was a very interesting visit with loads of informations on the happenings inside the walls of Wall Street. Definitely worth checking out if you pass by, prices are 5$ per person. 

This was also my last stop in Lower Manhattan, so I walked via Wall Street to the next neighborhood called Seaport and Civic Center. Seaport and Civic Center is very well known for the Brooklyn Bridge, Pier 17, City Hall Park, Criminal Courts House, New York County Courthouse and many other sight to discover. 

My first stop was Pier 17, which is a three-stories high sturdy constructed pavilion hosting food stands and restaurants, clothing shops and small souvenir shops... On the third floor a magnificent view of the Brooklyn bridge is noticeable. This building is definitely worth checking out on your next visit to New York. Beekman and Fulton street adjacent the quay at Pier 17 are nice shopping streets with shops like Abercrombie & Fitch, United Colors of Benetton... and many others. 

  

This neighborhood also hosts the City Hall and other Municipal Buildings. The city hall itself was restricted area, but the adjacent park is just beautiful. Around that time I already walked quit a lot, so it was time for me to have a break. I took the time to check my photos, check the soccer results from the Cofidis Cup in Belgium and the Spanish Competition. I even Skyped with my parents while being in the park. So I gave them a little preview of what they are about to see and experience when visiting New York in two weeks. 

 

Most travel guides en websites say that the most beautiful view of New York can be seen while standing in the Middle of Brooklyn Bridge. I did it already last year in the evening and it was amazing, now I wanted to see how the skyline of New York looked like by day! And yes it's true, it is a magnificent view! Only pictures can illustrate this! 

This was also my last stop of another nice day in the city. After having walked all the way back from Brooklyn Bridge I took the subway to Grand Central Station, grabbed a bite to eat, bought a magazine and headed back home. 

Today, sunday, wasn't really a special day. I finally had the change to sleep out. In the afternoon however I helped Marc working in his garden, cleaning up the twigs and bundle them. It was a fun afternoon where I also got to meet with his wonderful children. So not many special things happened that day... 

Next weekend I won't be visiting the city as my family are coming over the week after that. So on easter sunday you will get a full report on all the things I have visited this week, illustrated with hopefully beautiful pictures. This week will be an exciting one as well I hope. Tuesday we have to pick up Marshall at the Airport at 7.30am and wednesday we have to do a presentation for the IBA who is coming over on a study trip! So tune in next week for more exciting stories to come!!!

St. Patrick's day NYC

Another week has gone by here in the US and It was a tiring one with a lot of work to do for the office, but it was also a fun week with new experiences both in the office - as can be read in my previous post - and in the city. Generally speaking, the weather up here is amazing, it was a beautiful sunshiny week with temperatures rising to 22°C. I also decided for myself for every weekend to make a trip to the "big apple". In doing so I get to experience all the amazing aspects the city has to offer me. On this point right now, I can easily orientate myself in the city but only uptown because the naming of streets and avenues is very logical. The propensity of getting 'lost' downtown on the other hand is way higher because streets have different names hence this high likelihood. Anyhow there are plenty of more opportunities to discover the downtown area of the city.

Saturday, 18/03/2012: St. Patrick's Day


There is probably only one day a year, other then New Years Eve on Times Square, that the city attracts people from all over the country and the world: St. Patricks day. It's a day where you can't look away or you see inebriated people dressed in green shirts and skirts, green make-up and hair, green freakishly cool outfits; I saw everything that day. This green madness started already on the train to New York and this was just the beginning. The moment I walked in Grand Central Terminal I was overwhelmed on how crowded the place was, pictures of which are shown here below.

 

Now I have to say that my plan for that day wasn't hanging around in bars all the time and watch the parade on fifth ave; you have to be with more people to do that. So I just left the crowd for what it was and I headed for my first stop: the United Nations building on the banks of the east river. As this whole complex is built after the second world war it's outdated hence the renovations that are being performed. My visit consisted of a 1hr during audio-tour which guided me along the General Assembly Hall and the UN security council and many other exhibits on landmine sweeping, the millennium goals, the history and the current problem the world is dealing with. Depicted here below are some pictures that I have shot during the tour.

 

I can definitely recommend people who are visiting the city to take this exciting tour on the main facilities and the history behind the UN. The entrance prices for students is $11 and $16 for adults and the visitor center is situated on first ave, 46th street.

Afterwards I decided to go and have a nice breakfast in 'le pain quotidien'. It was just delicious: a soft boiled egg, a glass of fresh orange juice and three different slices of bread. This breakfast gave me renewed energy to face the massive crowd on sixth, fifth and madison avenue to take some pictures of the parade and the green madness surrounding it. Honestly I didn't want to waste my time on the last row of a 10-row thick crowd just to have a glimpse of the parade. I did took some pictures which are shown  hereunder.

So I was quickly back on my way to something more 'quiet'. My plan was to take to subway to Washington square park and walk all the way uptown alongside broadway. Washington Square park is situated in the middle of the buildings of New York University and is very well-known for the Washington Square Arc very much looking like the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. It's a quiet place where people can play chess, play with their children, watching and listening to people playing music and doing some crazy performances... I spent some time there to have a rest, listen to the live shows and enjoying the sun of course. I spent about 30 minutes there and I was back on my way to the following stop: Union Square park, which is a very picturesque park with a lot of people reading, playing their children and enjoying the sun. The spring is kicking in here so it makes the parks even more idyllic and beautiful. The birds are whistling, the threes are blossoming, people are in a happy mood... The third and last park for the day was Madison Square Park and the very famous conjunction of broadway and fifth avenue; A conjunction shown in many movies and TV-series such as Friends...

Madison Sq Park

 

I had also this magnificent view on the Empire State Building from where I was sitting on Madison Square Park. So as this was a beautiful day, I assumed that the view from up there would be as magnificent as the weather conditions. So my next stop was the Empire State Building, the tallest building of the city and presumably the world. At the ticket booth you could either choose for the regular view on the 83th floor or you could choose to go all the way up to the 102th floor. So adventurous as I am, I decided to go all the way up and it was worth it. The view you had up there was just incredible, definitely on a beautiful day as that day. No words can of course describe how beautiful it was but pictures. So without further or due, some pictures of the incredible view depicted here below.

 

 

By the time I got back down, it was already 5pm. So time for me to grab a bite to eat and get back on my way. I almost forgot that the new iPad went on sale friday the 16th, so I went and take a look at the Apple store on 5th ave. As you might have expected, it was crowded as hell in there. Everyone wanted to get their hands on the new iPad, it was madness.

My last stop before going back home was the Adidas store downtown to buy some running shoes in order for me to blow of some steam after work and to stay in shape during weekends. Depicted here below is the beautiful Adidas store on Broadway.

This was also my last stop for that day, afterwards I headed back to Grand Central Station and took the 'drunk' train (reference to the HIMYM-fans) around 8pm. As you might have expected, the train was stamped with people who celebrated St. Patrick's day in the city. Some of them were shouting and swearing the whole train ride, others were just sleeping and some others had to stand in the middle row because there was just no place to sit down. I arrived at my apartment at 9ish and went almost straight to bed because I was really tired.

Sunday, 19/03/2012


I went to bed the day before around midnight and woke up around 10am. I actually set my alarm that time because there was a live stream available for the soccer game in the second division between KV Oostende and KSV Roeselare. Sadly the latter team lost with 1-0 after a rather weak game from both teams with not many scoring opportunities on both sides.

The rest of the day I spent cleaning my apartment, watching a movie and testing out my new running shoes; it must have been ages that I went for a run just like that. Sadly my condition let me down so I didn't run at a good pace, rather a pace with many breaks in between. During which I took some beautiful pictures from the city bathing in sunlight. In total I ran 3,5k in 22.46min, which is pretty bad for a guy like me who loves to sport. Luckily I have plenty of more opportunities here to work on my condition.


I came home around 5pm, took a nice shower and started writing my blog as well as working on a 1000word summary of the company for school due friday the 23th. In the evening I went to the restaurant and had a really good diner: Halibot with rice. Lovely!

Cold Spring

To finish my blog for the day some pictures of the environment here. I hope you enjoyed reading my blog so far. Stay tuned because plenty of more exciting stories to come.