a new york week

10Jul08

Well, here I am.  One week and counting in NYC.  I had all these naive visions of me blogging away all my first experiences here, while I uploaded mobile photos and made fun anecdotes about my new residence.  Alas…I have been way too exhausted to do any of that! 

Do not be confused, I absolutely I love it here.  However, my feet and body do not.  My head hits the pillow each night because I am definitely not used to a 45-minute commute without a car.  However, I have experienced some pretty interesting things while on foot here.

Key findings so far:

• Delis:  I love these things.  They’re open until who knows how late, they contain ATM machines, countless variants of gum, magazines, candy, fattening carbs…fabulous!  I discovered one near my house today that sells fresh-squeezed guava juice for like $1.  Yay!
• The E Train: I loathe with my entire being.  Can I call it the EW train? Never has anything in the entire universe been so squeaky and stinky and hot and dirty.  And more frequent than the V train which runs on the same track, which I must catch to go to/from work and transfer to the 6 train.  So it invariably drives me crazy because it’s not the train I want. I also once mistook the F train for the “E” train in my helpless attempt to just jump on ANY train since the V was nowhere in sight.  I almost ended up at Roosevelt Island.  Anyways, moral of the story is everything about life gets a little bit worse on the E train.  I now avoid at all costs.
• Fifth-Floor Walkups:  Let’s talk about walking up five flights of stairs to get to your front door.  I’m not saying it is impossible, because I’m definitely getting used to it already, but that’s only because I’m hoping it turns my ass into steel.  Take that, bagel and lox!
• Let’s Hope There is Such a Thing as a Free Lunch:  Because, holy checking account, I am going to be broke here.  I’ve adopted the Dorky Office Girl assignment by bringing lunch, but I really don’t think there’s anything I can do to spend less than $20 per day here.  It’s inevitable.
• Flip-flops:  Apparently they’re more than okay in the city!  I was ready to be made an outcast by wearing my Rainbow sandals.  I’ve come to find out no one really wears their sassy heels while commuting.  So I have joined the ranks.  Button-up + black skirt + Rainbows + coffee… + commuter bag + huge purse + iPod + Blackjack + Metrocard = Beege.  Beege with a backache.

I’m not going to lie, there are ups and downs of getting used to this city.  There are times when I just want to buy some milk and I don’t really want it to be a production or….an “adventure” as I like to refer to them.  But I think that’s part of the appeal of this city.  Since nothing is easy, everything has a big return on investment.  For standing on your own two feet all day, you’re rewarded with a city that has a lot to offer if you take advantage.  Here is what I have found so far while bouncing around the city….

Macy's...largest store in the country, oooh consumerism!

Red balloon floating away from Madison Square Park

Times Square - recruiting new Xanax users since 1904!

$2 hot dogs, a little sketchy, but within my budget

Filed under: New York   |  4 Comments
Tags: apartment, E train, hot dogs, Macy's, Madison Square Park, subway, Times Square, work