TGIF!

My interview with Hollister went really well! Looking back there were no questions I wish I had answered differently, only a couple of questions I wish I had of asked at the end. It was basically a screening interview for the candidates but I think I definitely made it through Round One! Everyone was super nice and I felt it was pretty laid back.

I left their office at like 1:48 and had to be in Times Square before 2:00. Its amazing how hard it is to hail a cab on a Friday afternoon when it is pouring down rain. Finally one stopped and I jumped in. I had just enough time to change out of my flipflops and into actual shoes before we arrived at Planet Hollywood.

Planet Hollywood was a bust. There were like 30 people there, they brought us all into an upper level dining area and collected our resumes. It was awkward at first being at a table with like 4 strangers but I broke the ice and initiated some small talk. Finally the guy came back and was like, if I call your name, you are free to leave. My name was like fifth to be called. It was the biggest waste of time ever between the two hours yesterday and the hour today. Oh well, worth a shot I suppose.

Something I forgot to mention yesterday. If you ever find yourself dying of thirst in Grand Central, go down to the dining concourse, NOT the corridor news stand! I got a Vitamin Water, regular size, and it was over $3! I took the 5 train down to Union Square and as I emerged from the underground, I immediately came upon a Vitamin Water promo event where they were handing out bottles for free. Go figure.

Look At Me Being All Productive!

Today I began my trek across Manhattan to find a job. I visited 9 retail stores in attempt to at least leave a resume behind. I could have hit more but a stupid liarface at Planet Hollywood held me up. When I asked for an application she gave me one and told me to come back at 5:00 because they were doing an Hiring Open House. So I went outside and killed two hours in Times Square by filling out applications and inquiring at other businesses in the area. I return to Planet Hollywood at 4:45 so I would be early and all that jazz. I was sent to a waiting area to wait with everyone else where we were told they would come get us at 5:00. Finally around 5:30, I guess someone asked what the hold up was and they were told that the Open House was actually tomorrow at 2:00. WHAT THE FUCK?! They had 10 or so people sitting around waiting for this thing to go down, applications and resumes in hand, and they were just going to let us wait?! I was pissed! By then it was after 5:00 of course and I don't think dropping off resumes after 5:00 is very professional. I trekked it over to Grand Central and took the 5 train down to Union Square in hopes of finding Two Buck Chuck at the Trader Joe's Wine Store there. I never found the store, but I did find another Wine/Liquor store that had a Malbec on sale. I picked up two bottles and headed Uptown to Lana and Claire's place. When I arrived at 103 st I called Lana and she was walking Otis around 106th and 2nd. So I toted my bag of wine through Harlem at dusk. It was kind of scary! On the remainder of the walk we checked out this bar, The Duck, on 112th that Claire had told us about. Since we had Otis we just looked in the window and decided to go back tomorrow night. We also stumbled across this Cuban restaurant that looked really good, offered live music, and had reasonable prices. We decided to go there for dinner tomorrow followed by beers at The Duck.

After the walk we watched the Real World Season Finale and the Reunion Special. The finale sucked! I am ALWAYS a sucker for the season finale, even if I haven't kept up with the season. It is always so sad! This one was so lame! Everyone was pissed off for 90% of the episode! I wish they would have acted like adults and just enjoyed the time they had left together. Instead they were all just assholes. It was so disappointing. The reunion special was so much better! It was so happy to see Ryan was able to come back for it since he is leaving for Iraq so soon. All of the roommates were so stoked to see him AND it turns out he and Baya have a little somethin'-somethin' going on. Katelyn was being a bitch of course and they were trying to stir up all of this drama which made me mad because they haven't seen Ryan since they left Brooklyn and he is leaving so soon for Iraq. They should have just talked about positive things and maybe they did after the show. The Real World has always been a guilty pleasure of mine and I felt this season was one of my favorites. Maybe I am biased because it was in Brooklyn aired during my transition from HHI to NYC. Either way I thought it was good. I felt the people were much more 'real' than previous seasons and I liked it. I wish Ryan the best of luck in Iraq as he is bound to depart very soon, if not already. I hate that any of our soldiers have to go back, or that any of them are there at all, but hopefully things will change soon and we can get them all home safe and sound.

Oh! Express for Men called today and they want to have me in for an interview next week sometime. They called and I missed it so I returned the call and the manager said he had tried to reach me, but realized I had managerial experience, so he hung up and called his District Manager to see if there were any managerial positions open in the area for me! He said that he was looking for Sales Associates and not really managers right now but I told him that I would still love to come in and interview for an associate position since times are tough and there are not a lot of jobs available. We are going to set something up next week!

Tomorrow I have my Hollister interview at 1 and then I have to be at Planet Hollywood by 2! I hope I can make it! I am kind of stressed! I have to present a certain look for Hollister that would not be as appropriate for Planet Hollywood so I really need to change clothes between the two but a) how will I bring a change of clothes without them getting super wrinkled? b) where am I going to change? c) when will I have time to change? d) what would I wear that is presentable enough to wear to Planet Hollywood and to drop off more applications? Honestly, none of these jobs are what I set out to do here in New York. I wanted to get out of retail! But times are tough and I have to make the most of the experience I do have. At this point I will take a part time retail job. It will at least be some money coming in and allow me to continue to search for a more ideal job.

Ugh, it is after midnight and I still have so much to do tonight!!! How did I go from having nothing at all to do yesterday to being overwhelmed tonight?

My Feet Dread Tomorrow...

Lana told me I should paper the town with my resume. By that meaning go around to all the big retailers and drop off a copy and/or fill out an application. I made a list of retail stores, looked up all of their locations in the city, found out where they were all located, and then put them in order according to proximity, thus forming a trail. I then went through and Google Mapped all of the destinations and directions for each using the subway as much as possible to help spare my poor feet. Hopefully something will come of this as it should take most of the day, if not two days. Ugh.

To put that into perspective, point A to point S is 5.1 miles walking straight to point to point, not including all of the stops out of the direct path which includes most of them. Hopefully the subway will be as useful as I hope. Maybe another route would have been faster, but this already took several hours to do, so I am sticking with it.

It's A Small World Afterall...

Clearly the lyricist of that song must have lived in New York. Last night I ran into a good friend of mine's ex-boyfriend at a bar in Greenwich Village. We struck up conversation somehow and he said he was from Richmond but lived in Philadelphia now. After he said his name, I texted my friend and sure enough, it was exactly who I thought it was. Unfortunately, I couldn't find him again to inform him of that random connection.

I checked out a few other bars yesterday evening as well that friends had told me about lately. The magical thing about Happy Hour is that you can preview the bars you may want to go to at night without trekking all over town in a drunken stupor AND you can pretend you're able to afford going out drinking in Manhattan when you're unemployed. Its a beautiful thing.

As far as the job hunt goes, yesterday brought about a tiny glimpse of hope! I heard back from two places! One job was an administrative assistant position that pays really well and is only Monday - Thursday! The other is a manager in training position through Hollister (if anyone has any connections with them, put in a good word!). For the Admin. Asst. job they want me to take some kind of assessment test so I submitted a request to take it and they are to respond with the details. Keep your fingers crossed!

For some reason I am awake. I don't know why. I was asleep in bed by 1 am, which is kind of early, but at 6:15 I woke up and was wide awake. Lately I have been sleeping until 12 or 1 in the afternoon so I do not know what all of this early morning business is about. I can't figure out if I am supposed to stay awake or try to go back to sleep. Now that I have been awake for over an hour I feel that maybe I should just stay awake and maybe take an afternoon nap or something later. My sleep schedule is all messed up. Actually, my schedule for everything is all messed up. Just another reason I am going to go crazy without a job. I like to have some stability in my life as far as knowing that I need to be somewhere on a semi-regular basis during a certain time frame. This sounds strange, but you go a month without a job and tell me you can't relate. It is weird!

Thank You, Government!

Today, I took off into the city to buy some new threads. I went to H&M aiming specifically for some more pants to increase the time between trips to the laundry mat. I walked out with a pair of jeans and a shirt.


I saw these unique kicks and thought to myself, "These are the brightest, most shiny shoes I have ever seen. Who would buy these?!" Less than five minutes later I walked past a gentleman waiting in line to make a purchase with these shoes in hand. I knew then and there I had to go back and take a picture. I cant help but ask myself how I made it through the majority of my life without owning/taking full advantage of a camera phone?!

It was such a nice day in New York! The sky was blue and it was a little warmer than it has been lately. I thought about taking a stroll through Battery Park or maybe Washington Square Park, but since I didn't have my camera I decided to head back to Queens to check out Target and the mall. Thanks to a tip from Aaron, I discovered Milk was out on DVD and they had it at Target to I graciously purchased a copy.

The Target in Queens is in an indoor shopping center and is multi-level with access to higher levels via escalator. You may be asking yourself, "How would I ever get a shopping cart up the escalator?"


Target has your answer! They have an escalator for shopping carts! Never before have I been so amazed! You push the shopping card through a gate, little teeth catch the wheels and it climbs to the second floor right beside you! It was kind of hard to capture this amazing technological breakthrough discreetly without looking like a tourist but as you can see, the people to the right are going down the escalator as the shopping cart to the left has been through the gate and has begun its descent. I will try to get a better shot next time. I was amazed and will continue to be amazed for quite some time. (I.E.- If you come to NYC to visit, we WILL be going to Target so I can show you this amazing feat of technology!)

On my way back to the subway, I came upon a White Castle! I had never been to one and it was dinner time so of course I stopped in to see what all of the fuss is about. It was outstanding! The french fries leave much to be desired but the little cheeseburgers were delicious! You can purchase 20 little burgers and 4 orders of fries for $20! Where was this when I was at ASU? Now I know how Herald and Kumar got into their predicament.


I know I've gone a little overboard with my spending this weekend but at least it is tax refund money and I have every intention of going back to my budget starting tomorrow.

Adrienne said last night she may be able to get me a job with her company working security at events at a center in Midtown. The pay is decent but I would have to get a black suit and they take out like $200 or something from your first check for your security licensing, even though they apparently give you very, very little training. It is a job and it would only be until I found a job geared more towards what I want to do... but I don't know.

OH! OUR TOILET IS FIXED! Woohoo!

Interview #1 & St Pattys

First Interview.
Macys.
Awful.

Long story short... waited in this room with about 10 other applicants, interviewed in another room with five or so desks where others were conducting interviews, $8/hr with full time hours not guaranteed, invited for second interview but fled the scene.

It was so weird sitting in the waiting room with others, who like myself, must be on the verge of being desperate for a job. You would not believe how many people didn't even bring a resume with them. In that respect, I feel I am ahead in the job hunt. What was really awkward was going back to the waiting room after my first interview and having only two other people in there. I knew I did not want the job but I was going back and forth as to whether or not I should take it until something better came along or to reject it and hope for something else soon. When I compared my pay at Salty Dog to the pay Macys was offering, I quickly made up my mind. Not wanting to be rude, I sat there for a while waiting for my name to be called for a second interview, where I would politely thank them for their time and be on my way. After a while I decided just to get up and make a run for it. I will probably never get a job with Macys in the future and I am fine with that.

Sean and I made our way into the city to drink a couple beers in celebration of St. Patrick's Day. The plan was to meet up with John at Banshee Pub on the Upper East Side. We got there, hung out for a while, no John so we left ($7 for a bud light-- yes.. it is Manhattan, but really.. on St. Patrick's Day?!). We made our way down to the East Village to this bar, Grassroots, that Maggie's friend, Kat, told me about. It was a dive, but they had really cheap beer, SC prices! Sean met some guys who were heading to Ace Bar in Alphabet City to throw darts and we decided we would meet up with them in a little bit. We left Grassroots in search of Ace Bar when we stumbled upon a group of friendly Brits hanging out outside this bar, Sidewalk. We asked for directions and while they didn't have a clue where we were trying to get to, they did invite us in for a green beer.

And then it began. They were a group of childhood friends on vacation and living it up in NYC. Nicest people in the world. They didn't realize North and South Carolina were two different states. After way too many green beers, we headed down the street to The Library where their other friends had ventured off to. You guessed it... more beer. It was kind of a dive, but a lot of fun. I found that the key to drinking in NYC is to stay in the East Village. Cheap brews, good people, and great fun. Finally, a little after 4 am, the bar closed and we decided to call it a night while our new friends were out to find a 24 hour bar. It was a great St. Patty's Day in NYC.. that is for sure.

I GOT AN INTERVIEW!

Ok, don't get too excited... it is just for a Sales Associate position at Macy's in Herald Square. Shitty job and it is far from my apartment... but at least it is with a company that will allow me to grow from within. The problem is I am well over qualified for it and there is another position available that would better suit my experience. I don't know if it is a big interview fauxpaux to ask about another position during the interview, but I am going to anyway. Hell, they know from my 200+ question survey that I am looking for advancement within the company if hired. If not, I may have to sell prints in Battery Park which is sounding better and better... I could set my own hours and make cash. The only problem is I don't know how to get them printed and matted efficiently... or the legality of selling shit on the street. I think tourist would like my stuff though. I will post them as soon as I can figure out how to put a watermark on them... there are too many people who will steal pictures and make profit on them.

Here is an update on the past few days:

Sunday, March 15, 2009

No snow! Woohoo! Earlier in the week they had been reporting a chance of snow today, but luckily, that didn’t happen. It was actually not too bad out. I went grocery shopping and purchased another load of bread, top ramen (with an exciting new flavor, Roasted Chicken), tea bags and sugar (I miss sweet tea), and to spice things up, spaghetti noodles and sauce!
After shopping I headed into the city to hang out at Lana, Claire, and John’s apartment. We watched Rock of Love Bus and I really think Lana should be cast on the next season. Her love for rocker guys, especially Brett Michaels, in unmatched by many. However, if it was Axl’s love at stake, none of those other girls would stand a chance, Lana would make sure of it. Haha. I finished my questionnaire to be a sales associate at Macy’s (shoot me) and then we took Otis for a walk around Central Park. I can’t wait to see Central Park in the Spring, especially the conservatory on the North end of the park.

Kat, a friend of Sean’s (daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Yen), was in town for the night en route to Atlantic City for Spring Break with her friend John. We hung out in our un-heated “living room”/storage room and shot the shit over a couple beers. We caught up and reminisced over good times in Hilton Head last summer.


Saturday, March 14, 2009

Always looking to see something new, I headed down to South Seaport this afternoon in downtown Manhattan. As I emerged from the underground, I realized I was right in front of the pedestrian walkway across the Brooklyn Bridge. I decided to seize the opportunity and take a walk across, well, halfway across anyway. It was really cold and windy, but the views of Brooklyn, downtown Manhattan, the East River, Midtown, and even the Statue of Liberty were great! Somehow I had not really thought about seeing the Statue of Liberty even though it is one of the most well known landmarks in the city! Weird. Off in the New York harbor, there she stood, welcoming ships into the city. The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States and another famous New York City landmark. The bridge was a primary route of evacuation for thousands and thousands of New Yorkers on September 11th due to its close proximity to the Financial District. In fact, a tourist couple stopped me, asking for directions to Ground Zero. I pointed West and told them, “Over there somewhere”. My directions suck.

I headed back off the bridge and down to South Seaport. I have always heard of this area, but had never visited. It was really cool! There were lots and lots of people celebrating St. Patty’s Day by wearing green, sporting shamrock paraphernalia, and drinking beer. Cheap beer! $3/draft! SC prices! It looked like a lot of fun! There was also an outdoor ice skating rink! Lots of shops and restaurants, and a good view of the Brooklyn Bridge. There were even some unique ships docked that looked like pirate ships and looked really out of place with skyscrapers in the background. After a while, I started getting hungry and the food was smelling better and better so I headed back to the subway and made my way home for yet another peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a couple leftover raviolis, and some chips in my freezing cold apartment. Blah.

I had planned to meet up with Kat, one of Maggie’s good friends that lives in Brooklyn, but she and her roommate apparently got trashed last night and were taking it easy tonight. I can’t wait to get a job and eat real food again. I’ve gone through an entire loaf of bread’s worth of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Anne gave me a gift card for Papa John’s before I left and there is apparently one near me, but I am saving that until I REALLY can’t eat another sandwich… in the not so distant future.


Friday Night Flying Solo

I decided to go check out this bar in Greenwich Village that I visited when I was in NYC in 2007 (infamous night of the $200+ bar tab). I was super nervous about finding my way there, which turned into me walking in circles forever before FINALLY someone pointed me in the right direction, but I did see the Empire State Building from Manhattan for the first time since moving here (I had only seen it from the train on my way into the city and from Brooklyn the other night). It was Friday night and this place was hoppin’! The entertainment was hilarious and kind of creepy but the people and the bartenders were nice. After staying for three Coronas (@ $6 a pop I exceeded my budget by $7 after tip) I decided to begin my journey home. I called Liz in NC and got her to Hopstop directions home. The directions the website provided said take the F train (which I couldn’t find to save my life, but finally asked for directions). I found it and hopped on. After examining the map on the car, I realized the F doesn’t run to Rego Park but that the R did and that I could catch that on 57th and Lex. I got off at 63rd and Lex and walked the few blocks down. I got to the station and the sign said late night, take the E. By this point I was tired, confused, and kind of scared, so I made my way back up to street level and hopped in a cab to play it safe, thus increasing my credit card balance.

Catching up!

TODAY!

Yesterday, at my first Crunch stop while delivering resumes, I spoke with the Membership Director and he asked me to email a copy of my resume, so I did! He said I could use him as a reference! Woohoo! We will see! Ahh! The library is closing! Gotta run!

I finished this post at home last night... in order to let you know the library is closing, they turn off the lights promptly at 5:45 and tell you to leave. Ahh New York.

Today is Brandon’s birthday! Happy Birthday Brandon! He is serving our country flying helicopters in Afghanistan. I wish him the best of luck and wish he could be in the states celebrating with his friends and family.

Favorite parts of living in New York:
The diversity and a place for everyone
Never knowing what you will stumble across
Landmarks around every corner

Least favorite parts of living in New York:
It is cold, lack of heat in the apartment
Not having money to eat all of the delicious food the city has to offer
One mile walk to the subway

Things I miss about Hilton Head:
A good, secure job
Warm weather
The people

Things I don’t miss about Hilton Head:
Dealing with tourist every day
Lack of things to do
Bicyclist in Sea Pines

I have applied to what feels like two hundred jobs. I hate being impatient. I know there are other applicants and that it takes employers time to weed through applicants. I was working on a budget for myself today. Basically for the remainder of March I will be sticking to a $100/week (approx $14.25/day) budget. In April, unless I receive my tax refund check, I will be privileged to $125/week. I am really hoping there weren’t any expenses I forgot to factor in and I hope no additional expenses arise. In Hilton Head I almost always made enough money to get by and have fun. Not having a job decreases those discretionary funds by A LOT. There is so much to see and do and experience here, not having a steady income (or income at all for that matter) makes the city one big tease. There is a lot to see here and with my unlimited subway pass I can get pretty much anywhere and I am sure there is a lot of free things to do but without having the internet at home yet and living away from all of the action, it is hard to find out about such activities. For now I just have to be optimistic that something pulls through.

Sean and I watched Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil tonight and it made me miss Savannah so much! The squares, the pride, the architecture, the people, the history, the fun, the culture, I could go on and on.

This whole living inside an icebox deal is getting really old, really fast. Its like camping minus the nature. I hate to be so negative now that I am finally living in the city I have always dreamed of living in, but this is ridiculous.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Applied for more jobs online at the NYPL. Met Lana during her lunch break and messed around the city for a bit. Then I began my crazy adventure to deliver resumes to three Crunch locations spread out across the city. I started on 59th and 2nd, headed down to 32nd and 2nd, then over to 38th and Broadway. 2.5 miles of power walking through the streets of Manhattan, after walking around with Lana, and before walking up to Times Square then over to Grand Central. Exhausting!

Sean and I met my uncle and one of his work colleagues at Lombardi's in Little Italy for dinner. It was delicious! We had a clam pizza that I really did not expect to like, but it was delicious!

After dinner, Sean and I explored the East Village, Lower East Side, then decided to go out to Brooklyn. We walked around forever looking for this bar Sean had been to with no avail. We finally made it back home after taking the L to the Q to the E (Sounds like rap lyrics). My feet hurt sooo bad.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009:

Today, I decided to figure out how much time it takes me to get from my apartment to Bryant Park. 55 minutes. It is only like 7 miles! Granted 15 minutes of that is walking, it still seems ridiculous, but I guess it isn’t THAT bad. Lana said it takes her 30 minutes from her apartment in Spaha to get to Midtown.

I made it to NYPL and found a spot on the first floor this time (thank god… those stairs are awful!). Unfortunately, there was nowhere to plug my laptop in to keep it charged so I only had a limited amount of online time. I applied to several administrative assistant jobs and caught up on my facebooking and blogging. When my computer battery died I set off on my quest to find a messenger bag. I hit up H&M, Macys, and Old Navy. H&M didn’t have shit, I visited all 10 stories of Macy’s and didn’t find anything, and found one that would do in Old Navy. The problem is I want a separate compartment for my laptop and this one only offered one compartment. I saw a man on the subway with one from Eddie Bauer, so I may go check them out. On the way home, I swung by the mall thing across 63rd that is home to a Bed, Bath, & Beyond, Circuit City, Old Navy, Marshalls, and something else. I ran in Old Navy to check and see if they had the messenger bag I saw earlier in Manhattan, but they didn’t. Then I went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and picked up a loofa, toothbrush holder, lint roller, deodorant, and…. A SNUGGIE! I am actually wearing my Snuggie right now as I type. It is royal blue as that was the only color option they had AND it came with the free book light! I was planning on buying another blanket for my bed, but this is cheaper and multifunctional! There is also word out about an upcoming NYC Snuggie bar crawl! I can’t think of anything better than a shit ton of drunk people wandering the streets of NYC in their Snuggies. Count me in!

I arrived home and Sean and I set up an appointment to get our internet installed next Tuesday, woohoo!!! I can’t wait!

I also picked up a bottle of Brownstone Merlot. A funny thing about New York. You can only buy wine at liquor stores! Bizarre, I know! You can buy beer at any convenience store or market, but not wine. According to Sean, that law is supposedly in the mix to get changed so it that wine can be sold at convenience and grocery stores. Speaking of Sean, he just popped his head in to see if I needed anything from the grocery store and saw my Snuggie, he says I look like a monk. I agree. This thing is so warm though! The commercials don’t do it justice.

And My First Week Begins...

Not having internet at home really sucks. I can't keep up with my posts! Here is an update from the past few days:

Monday, March 09, 2009:

Today I slept in and did a little reading before venturing out into the world. Mr. and Mrs. Yen have allowed us to borrow and read any of the hundreds of books they have in their collection. Not having TV or internet right now, I was ecstatic. They have quite the collection and a wide variety. I was browsing through and found titles such as The Iliad, The Secret Garden, Harry Potter, A Tale of Two Cities, Where the Sidewalk Ends, and so many more. I chose The Five People You Meet in Heaven after remembering hearing great things about the book and the author. Finally I packed my daypack and headed out to find the Queens Library location in Rego Park to make use of their free Wi-Fi and do some job hunting. After having no luck, I hopped on the subway and made my way into Manhattan. I decided the first item on my agenda would be to find a pea coat so I headed downtown to the Financial District to Century 21, a huge department store with huge discounts. After a struggle shopping in the crowds and chaos, I found a dark grey one that was originally $170, but they were selling for $90. I probably shouldn’t be spending money on clothes, but a) to be a New Yorker, I need to look like one and b) I forgot to pack a blazer and I needed something professional looking to wear when I drop off resumes. Overall, good investment.

The store was directly across the street from the World Trade Center site. The fences surround the work zone and you can’t really see what is going down there anymore, however, there is a large building in that area being built, but I do not think it is the Freedom Tower. I will find out though.
I hopped on another train and found my way up to 42nd Street (after an accidental stop at Penn Station where I saw my first city rat since I moved here) to visit the New York Public Library and take advantage of their free Wi-Fi. Walking from 8th Avenue to 5th Avenue, I passed Times Square, Bryant Park, and had a great view of the Chrysler Building. That’s the beauty of New York; you don’t have to go sightseeing to see the sights! I climbed about 500000 stairs before finding a room I felt I would be allowed in and took a seat. I felt totally out of place with my big red Columbia ski jacket and Century 21 bag in hand among people doing real work, but oh well. I applied for a Membership Representative at Crunch, one of the city’s leading fitness clubs. I really want it! It sounds like a good match for me as it requires both office work and work on the floor. (Hey, I am a Gemini, I get bored) I chatted with Lana and got some tips for creating my Administrative Assistant resume. There is an opening at her office and she thinks I would be eligible if I made a few revisions/exaggerations to my resume.

As dusk was starting to pour across my new city, I decided I better get the heck out of Manhattan and to my apartment in Rego Park. I am afraid of being out after dark, haha! I found out that the V train runs from Bryant Park to my neighborhood with no transfers! Score! Now I can get back to the library, or anywhere in midtown, with ease!

I am not all that convinced we have heat in our apartment or if I am just a very cold natured person. I am always cold down here, it is like a cave! I guess that is one of the sacrifices when having insanely cheap rent. I hate being really cold when I sleep so I have been sleeping in a t-shirt, hoodie, pajama pants and socks under a double folded sheet, double folded cotton blanket, and a double folded microfiber blanket. I think one more blanket and I will be fine. Honestly, I will probably get a Snuggie. It only makes sense! Plus there is a Bed, Bath, and Beyond across Queens Blvd from my subway stop. I can wear it around my freezing cold apartment and use it as just a blanket when I go to bed! Also, I need to meet up with Lana and get their space heater she said I could borrow.

Not having internet sucks. I miss communication with the outside world.

Sunday, March 8, 2009:

Today, after leaving Lana and Claire’s apartment, I decided to venture down to Times Square in Midtown to the tourist information office and pick up a couple city and subway maps. After hopping on the 6 train on 103rd street, I learned my first New York weekend lesson… always keep gum on hand. I had not packed a toothbrush for my overnight stay, or a change of clothes for that matter. My mouth tasted disgusting and I am sure my breath reeked.

I made my way down to Times Square and smiled as I turned the corner and came face to face with the lights of the billboards and flashy signs, the sea of tourist taking pictures of this New York landmark, and the taxi congestion of Broadway. It was electrifying… and terrifying. I have heard that Times Square was notorious for pickpockets due to the high population of tourist. I pulled out my camera for a quick picture, feeling safe enough to look like a tourist, haha. I also captured a picture of a sketchy Elmo, Winnie the Pooh, and Tin Man. Their costumes were worn and dirty and instead of reaching out their hands to hug children (which is scary in itself) they held out black bags with the word, “TIPS”, written on it. So much for being lovable and carefree. Even storybook characters are feeling the impacts of the economy. I couldn’t help myself for thinking what if my livelihood here in New York comes down to purchasing a Big Bird costume and parading down Times Square taking pictures with tourists for tips. If it comes down to that, I am moving back to Hilton Head.

On my journey, away from the tourist, I realized what made me look different from all the other New Yorkers strolling down the street. Color. New Yorkers seem to be scared of color and I don’t know why. Is it somehow safer to wear dark colors to not stand out as a target to a mugger? Is it to hide the dirtiness of the city? To distinguish oneself as a local rather than a tourist? Whatever it is, I need to invest in this urban camouflage as soon as possible. There has to be a method behind the madness. The first, most important items: pea coat (warm and professional) and messenger bag (essential and much needed after I have hit who knows how many people on the street and in the subway with my backpack). I will work on obtaining these items tomorrow.

In less than 48 hours, I feel like I have already crossed paths with 1 of the 8 million people in New York. It is very much a culture shock to be in the middle of such a diverse population. It is entirely possibly to hear over 5 languages in the span of a couple blocks and encounter numerous more ethnicities in the same space. Back in North Carolina, there were basically four ethnicities, Caucasian, Black, Hispanic, and the rarest, Asian. That’s it. In college, I did not feel like there were many more. In Hilton Head I met more people from Latin and South America, and even had a friend from Africa. I thought that was a big deal. That was nothing! I think it is funny that with my complexion, some people may not even know what ethnicity I am. When I think of it like that, I feel much more comfortable. Not that I am prejudice, but I should feel uneasy when passing a group of people from a different culture than my own.