New York City. The Big Apple. That place I used to see in a lot of movies and TV shows. And now, I am here. For the next two months. This should be interesting.
I got in to the Big Apple at 6:30 AM local time, after a wonderful night flight/red eye out of SFO. My theory was, "Oh I will take the Red Eye, get like 5.5 hours of sleep, and be generally good to go." Except that I had been staying up kind of late the previous two nights, and was therefore not entirely sleepy at 10:30PM Pacific Time, when the flight took off. And then, some ASSHOLE on the plane was listening to their iPod so goddamn loud that I could hear their music through their m-f-ing headphones. I couldn't figure out who it was, or I would have bitched them the hell out right then and there. Something you should know about me: When I am tired, and want to be sleeping, and someone or something is preventing this from happening for a stupid reason, it is kind of an exercise in Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Kristin. AKA, I turn into a huge bitch. Sorry. Needless to say, I got about an hour of sleep. Maybe. At some point, it became pointless to try to sleep, so I watched 30 Rock on the plane instead. I had never seen 30 Rock before. I don't get why everyone likes it; Alec Baldwin was good, but the episode I saw was kind of stupid and not very funny. Like, it seemed like it was trying too hard to be funny, or something, and that made it not funny.
Anyway, I am currently residing on Lafayette Street, near Canal Street. My residence is at this odd juncture between Chinatown and SoHo, so it is this weird mix of super tacky/slightly sketchy/very dirty and like, at least on West Broadway, super upscale boutiques and art galleries carrying goods I probably will never be able to afford. On the plus side, I found an awesome burger joint on LaGuardia Place, a bit south of Washington Square. I can see it becoming a hangout of sorts. Plus, at least tonight, the waitstaff was super cute. And I couldn't tell if my waiter was flirting with me, or just doing good, attentive service. He fist-pumped me. Maybe it's a New York thing. I tipped him well, at least. And West Broadway is cool because there are artists on the street, selling their canvases right then and there. Some of them are quite good. Which would be awesome, if I actually had any disposable income to spend. Canal Street itself is an experience: it is basically a bunch of tourist shops selling "I Heart NY" stuff (I must admit, I did buy an "I Heart NY" keychain, so I could keep my room keys together) and a bunch of mostly Nigerian and Chinese people selling knockoff pretty much everything. If you are in need of a fake Louis Vuitton, let me know. Except not, as I will be a pseudo-officer of the court this summer (I will be interning in an office that prosecutes federal crimes), so I probably shouldn't be supporting or encouraging blatant patent infringement.
My first impression of New York was one of shock, and a little bit of disgust. Perhaps I have been spoiled by San Fran and Chicago (which, for all its other issues, is a very clean city), but New York is super dirty. Like, trash everywhere on the street, bags of trash just piled on street corners, and graffiti everywhere, particularly on those metal grate things they pull down after stores close. Some places are worse than others; Canal Street is absolutely gross in this regard, but West Broadway, Washington Square weren't so bad. And the subway. Omg. After 5 minutes in the station, I felt like I needed to shower right then and there. I try to avoid stepping in any liquid-looking things, as one can't tell if it is water or...something else. And this dirty feeling probably wasn't helped by the fact that it was like 90 degrees out today, and about 99% humidity, so I was permanently covered with a thin layer of my own dampness. Ew. But, after about a day, I got over my pristine-ness and the sometimes-grimeyness of New York doesn't bother me as much. And therefore, the city is starting to grow on me. I suppose in reality, it probably isn't much dirtier than Paris. The streets have a bit more litter on them, but the subways are about the same.
The interesting thing about New York, from my limited observations anyway, is it seems like people here are just generally more interesting, or at least have more interesting things going on compared to other places I have been. Perhaps my perspective is skewed by numerous TV shows and the fact that I arrived over a holiday weekend, but it seems like people here are always up to something, or always doing something, always seem to be engaged or going somewhere. There is a constant sense of busy and stuff happening. Even on Sunday nights. And yes, there is a bit more of an "edge" to people here. One of the first things I saw when I got to New York yesterday, was some guy dragging a cart just shove a lady out of his way because she was in his way. Nice. But, that kind of behavior has actually been in the minority. For the most part, people have either been nonchalant or actually nice. I think part of it might be positive reaction to my being polite and generally thoughtful; people seem to very positively react to my saying "please" and "thank you," moreso than in other places I have been. Maybe they aren't expecting it. Like, today I had to go to Nordstrom Rack because I noticed yesterday that a skirt my mom had bought me in December (I hadn't had an opportunity to wear it or look at it much, as it is a business skirt) still had the stupid security tag on it. I had called the Nordstrom info number, and was able to get the purchase info on the skirt to bring to the store, so I wouldn't be accused of stealing. Except that the lady at the counter didn't even question my story, and seemed surprised/appreciative that I had gone through the due diligence.
So, tomorrow starts my job. Today I did a "dry-run" to Brooklyn Heights, where I will be working, so I don't have to spent time tomorrow morning trying to find my way around as I get to work. Equals more sleep for me! The plaza with all of the state and federal buildings is pleasant; it has its own little park thing, and a lot of greenery. And it is not very hard to get too, thankfully. I did not have to make any transfers or anything. Very easy. I am so not looking forward to the subway at rush hour, during the hot an humid summer. I experienced hot, crowded, nasty subway commuting while I was studying in Paris, and I imagine it will be basically the same here, too. Ew. And I should probably bring an umbrella, because it might thunderstorm. I guess quick weather changes/surprise rain shouldn't really be a surprise to me as I have lived in the greater Ghicago area for five years, and it pretty much does the same thing. Still, one thing I have always appreciated about California, is the fact that for 5-6 months, it will pretty much reliably not rain, and we never really get humidity.
That's about it for today. Even though I have been to New York once before, it was only for a day and a half, and basically all confined to Times Square. It was such a whirlwind experience that it kind of exists as a blur in my memory, so I really feel like I am really experiencing this city for the first time. We shall see what tomorrow brings, and what this whole job thing is going to be about. Goals for tomorrow: find out where I can legally buy and register pocket mace (because as a solo lady in NYC, who will probably have to walk places after dark, if someone tries to mess with me, I want to be able to temporarily blind them. Because that is just the kind of gal I am.) and find out when, how, and how much my grant money will be getting to me, because living in New York City = burning money like its kindling (seriously, they weren't kidding about NYC prices).
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