Part 1: On the way....
So much for free Wi-Fi on the stupid Chinatown bus. Am I Surprised? Not really. No big, cushiony seats either. Theyre actually rather small and quite uncomfortable. 6:30 came way too early and the lack of the luxury of having Wi-Fi, power outlets, and comfortable seating has made me more irritated than it normally would. Also, an Asian family decided to have their breakfast promptly after taking their seat on the bus. What was on the menu? Fish. It wouldn’t have been a big deal, I wasn’t the one eating it, but we were all unpleasantly graced with the horrible stench. On the other hand it was a beautiful, warm New York morning. If there had to be a day I had to get up early, I am glad it was today. The sun was shining, not a cloud in the sky. On the bus, cruising through the streets of Manhattan, passing through the Lincoln Tunnel under the Hudson River, and looking back across the NYC skyline was outstanding. The rest of the trip has been less than satisfying and we’re only 45 minutes into it. I think it is kind of crazy that I can take a bus from New York City to Washington D.C. for less than it cost to take a cab from Midtown to my apartment in Queens. New Jersey is ugly even under the rays of the morning sun. I was somewhat hopeful that what I saw passing through Jersey at night on the way to NYC was ugly just because it was dark and I couldn’t see that well, that is unfortunately not the case.
Sean and I had dinner at this sushi place in our neighborhood. It was really good although I only had a California roll, a Shrimp Tempra roll, and Miso Soup. The soup was outstanding. We got on the subject of Salty Dog and I finally told him I was going to be moving out at the end of the month. It went better than expected but I will be losing my $350 deposit unless I can find someone to move in by the time I leave. There is a chance, Craig, my parents’ neighbor’s son who recently got a job offer in NYC, will move in. I talked to him last night on Facebook and he seemed kind of interested. He may be coming up in the next week to check out New York and decide if he is going to accept the position and at which time he would have the opportunity to scope out the apartment. I think he and Sean would get along well as roommates, even though I don’t know him very well. I told him it was a great place to be for someone who is new to the city since it is in a safe neighborhood, somewhat convenient to the subway, and there is free parking on the street, a big time luxury in New York.
There will be a lot about New York I am going to miss but I still feel I will be better off going back to South Carolina. I talked to Maggie yesterday and she said they can definitely work me in the schedule when I get back. As far as housing goes, I have not had much luck. I saw two one-bedroom places that were within my budget. One was in Woodhaven (ghetto, not moving there) and the guy has not emailed me back about the other place. Ideally I would like to find something under $600 a month, with maybe a couple utilities included, and on the South end of the island, maybe even mid-island. Maggie offered to help with the legwork too of scoping out potential apartments. I am so fortunate to have friends willing to help me get back down to the island. Lindsey couldn’t be more happy, she already has big plans and high expectations. I won’t go into the few details I know, but I hope that with me being back at Salty Dog, some of the recent problems they have had will be taken care of as I will be more than willing to help out however I can. It will be interesting to meet some of the new staffers down there, although I only know of one. I hope this summer runs as smoothly as last summer. Yes, we had a few less than desirable employees, but otherwise we had a good team. In retail, you can’t really ask for perfection, especially with the selection of potential employees there are on the island.
Anyway, about the trip. When I first arrived we went bowling at a bowling alley in Gallery Place. It was fun and I actually won a game… which may be the first time I’ve ever won a game of bowling. After that, we went back to Cory’s apartment at University of Maryland and relaxed while he was in a meeting. The U of MD campus is really big and really pretty but I hear the town, College Park, is kind of sketch. After that we went to Cory’s favorite bar, Playbill Bar, for drinks and karaoke. A couple of his friends joined us and my friend, Brad, from ASU joined us as well. It was a fun evening! Megan has an amazing voice, I have missed hearing her sing karaoke. We grabbed some food at McDonalds afterwards and I realized that was the first fast food I have eaten since moving to New York. It was disgusting. Food in New York is another thing I will miss when I move back. Oh! The McDonalds was right across the street from this store called Prego Again, which ironically sold beer and wine and other random things. I found it to be hilarious.
Today we slept in until noon then went into the city for lunch and shopping. We ate at Cory’s favorite restaurant, After Words. It is a bookstore/restaurant and the food was amazing. I had the New Orleans Fettucini which among other things included shrimp, chicken, and sausage. There were a few vegetables mixed in and the sauce was amazing. The only thing was that when we got the bill, the prices were $4 more than what was listed on the menu. That will make them lose stars on my Yelp.com review. I wasn’t really expecting to drop $20 on lunch. Oh well, it was worth the good food and time spent with friends. Finally the time came to fight DC Friday rush hour traffic to get to Chinatown where they could shop for souvineers and I could catch my bus back to New York. We hung out for a while and then they left. My bus was due to leave at 7:30 so I needed to be at the pick up point at 7. Well, the bus didn’t show up until after 8 and it is full meaning I have to share a seat. Ugh. From now on I will not be taking these adventures with means of transportation that are foreign to me. It is not fun. I am road tripping or flying to all destinations from now on. While waiting for the bus I talked to this newly engaged couple who were also waiting. They were taking the bus up so that she could meet his father for the first time. They got engaged a week ago and recently bought their first house together. They were young, probably in their early to mid 20’s and judging I must say the dude’s dad is in for quite a surprise. He seemed well put together, nicely dressed and what not and she was… well.. not. She was pretty ghetto.
There was a point in my life where I knew for sure I wanted to livee in DC. After these past two days, there is no way I would want to live there. Their metro rides very smooth and quiet, but is really not very convenient compared to the subway system in New York. Also it is sketchy. Less foot traffic so walking around at night can be kind of intimidating. The drinks were cheap though which was a pleasant surprise! $4.50 vodka crans! That’s less than the price of a beer at many New York bars. Another thing I did not like was the heavy reliance on automobiles and the price of street parking. A nickel only got you a minute or two of parking. Also, there seemed to be much less diversity compared to New York. There were so many white people running around and 85% of them looked like they walked out of a J. Crew catalogue. I think choosing New York was definitely a smart choice for city living.
For now I have to go as typing and riding is kind of making me nauseous.
Part 3: The journey home
We arrived in Hell's Kitcehn at 1:00 am and were dropped off right at Penn Station. It was so scary. Homeless people everywhere! There were seriously like 20 or more just on that corner where we were dropped off. I made a b-line for Penn Station to catch a subway home. Inside was scary too! Lots of drunk people, lots of scary people, but atleast there were cops around. I caught the E train which runs local in Queens at night but not without more adventure. I had a crazy on both sides of me. The one to my left was picking his nose and looking at his fingers to check out what kind of treasures he may have discovered. I was already not feeling good and seeing that almost made me vomit. The crazy to my right would stick his head in his coat, inhale deeply, then poke his head out and smell the bag of flowers he was holding. I decided that the subway is far less fun at night when you are sober. I finally made it home around 2.
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