People usually regret leaving the city

A comment I found from a guy who left New York and had to come back. This was his reasoning:

Bagels. Buildings. Sunday New York Times that weigh five pounds and take you a week to finish. Get anything delivered at almost any time, day or night, often including less-than-strictly legal items or services (Manhattan only). Cabbies that know where they're going. Subways that get you places. Not needing a car. The Met, the MoMA, the Guggenheim, the Whitney, the AMNH, the AMMI, and those are just the ones of the top of my head. Those crazy street fairs where you go buy socks. Watching people drink deli coffee and then claim to prefer it. Walking fast, talking faster. Patience and Fortitude. Sunset behind Manhattan from the River Cafe. Knowing that SNL is actually filming right across town, so is The Daily Show and The Colbert Report and who knows how many crazy little films and shows and everything. Knowing that you can run into just about anyone. That first crisp fall day. That first big snow storm (and watching the delis run out of milk, cause you might be snowed in for a day - maybe even a day and a half.) That first gorgeous warm sunny spring day.

Finding the things you love about living here and then realizing that they outweigh the things you hate about living here.

Hotels on the cheap

I realized today that I needed a Plan B for my hotel stay. When I first get to the city, I'm planning to stay at Penington friends, but if they don't have a room available, I'll need a plan B.

Ask and ye shall receive! I ran across it as I was browsing through NYC blogs: http://www.newyorkmetro.com/urban/guides/nyonthecheap/travel/hotels.htm

Applying for a job before the move

If you are like me, you'd want to have a job before you get to the city. In that case you'd need a local address for your resume. Most recruiters will ignore out-of-state resumes because they don't want to deal with arranging interviews for you and/or dealing with relocation issues.

So if one is to apply before one moves, one will need a local address. I've found just the thing!

For $15/mo, I have a Fifth Avenue address to use on my resume--and to receive mail at--compliments of NYMail.

Got my first recruiter call!

I got my first voicemail from a recruiter today! I posted my resume on Monster on Saturday, so I'll take it as a good sign that I got a call the very next Monday. WooooHooooo!

I'm glad I missed the call, because it gave me time to let it sink in that I might actually be getting a job in New York City. I realized that I didn't know when I'd be able to fly up for an interview, or what I'd tell the recruiter when he asked why I was in Dallas. You can bet I've got that all figured out now!

If asked about Dallas, I'll tell them the truth: that I've been working here in Dallas for the last few years, but that I've been wanting to move to New York City for a while now. I've got all of my things packed, I've got a place to live once I get there, and all I need before hopping on the plane is a job.

Of course, it's an hour later in New York City, so by the time I called him back they were closed. Tomorrow feels so far away.

Got my second recruiter contact!

I talked to the first recruiter today, and the job was, eh... a decent fit. We're going to send the client my resume and see what they say.

In the meantime, I've already received contact number two! An email from a recruiter with a job description which is a much better fit. Hope to hear back from him soon...

Praise be to Monster.com!

The address works!

Well, having a local address works. Both recruiters have asked me if I was in Dallas or NY. The second one said "Oh ok, so you do already have a place to live" as if to say "Good, because if you didn't we wouldn't be talking". Even after that, he grilled me about how quickly I could be ready to go, to which I replied that I was already packed and was even staying in an extended-stay hotel until I found a job.

Needless to say, I'm glad I got a NY address to put on my resume!

Recruiter #3 and 4!

My phone is blowing up. This rocks.

A word of gratitude

With all of these job opportunities coming my way, I thought it appropriate to take a minute to give thanks for a life-changing decision I made a while back. I was at a loss for direction in my career, and was looking jumping ship to a new career. I seriously considered things like teaching English abroad; careers which always seem to speak to those with ambition but seeking direction.

I looked at all the possible directions I could go, and one of them kept standing out as the most logical. What was it? It was sticking with my current career. I already had 7 years of experience in it. I was once passionate about it. It is/was a growing industry.

The problem was that I used to be passionate about it. I wanted a job that I was currently passionate about. So rather than try to find a new job that would make me passionate about my job, I started searching for ways to make me passionate about my current job. It was just a theory, but boy did it pay off. I started reading about the latest developments in my field, working with people who are passionate about the field, and focusing on my own personal growth within the field.

Here I am, three years later, with 10 years of career experience. Monster has a thing they call "Career Level". It goes: Student, Entry Level, Experienced (non-manager), Manager (manager/supervisor of staff), Executive (SVP, VP, Department Head), and Senior Executive (President, CFO, etc). I nearly ticked off Manager after my experience running my own business (but decided to hold back for one more year on that). Even so, one of the recruiters told me to tout my experience in that because it might lead to a 20k/yr boost in salary.

Can you imagine where I'd be if I had jumped ship three years ago?

Hmm, to take a lesser job or not to take a lesser job...

I have two more opportunities today. They are both below my current
skill (and pay) level.

Now, I've always been one to believe in the mercenary approach to jobs. Corporations have few qualms about cutting talent and hiring talent as the budget allows, so in today's world there is no reason, as an employee, to have qualms about taking higher paying jobs for the sake of your own budget.

Even so, it bugs me a bit to think about taking the low-hanging fruit, all the while knowing that I'm just going to toss it and go for something better the first chance I get. I think I'll make it policy that it has to pay at least 15% better than the last one before I'll make the hop.

100% Travel

Being courted by one of the Big 6 consulting firms. 100% travel. Big salary (25% more than my current), sign on bonuses and year-end bonuses. 100% travel...

I think of all people, I'm best suited for one of these positions. I'm easygoing, love new things, always pack light anyway, and don't mind spending time alone (read: airports and hotels). I can explore new cities on weeknights and relax with friends back home on the weekends. Word on the street is this firm likes to make their consultants work nights and weekends. I don't work nights and weekends, so I might get fired not long after I take the job.

But it would be fun in the meantime.

Stories from a NYC cabbie

New York Hack: Pictures from a New York City cab driver

Navigating NYC

Well, I keep running across little navigation tips so rather than try to memorize them, I'm going to start listing them here.

Streets run east/west.
Avenues run north/south.

The further North you go, the higher the street number.
The further West you go, the higher the avenue number.

The numbers range from 1st and 1st up to 145th and 7th.

Odd numbered addresses are on the south/east side of the street, evens on the north/west.

As a general rule, odd numbers streets are one-way West, evens are one-way East.

Bam! First on-site interview

I have my first on-site interview on Tuesday, with a bigname music website's design team. I'm booking the flight now (Saturday morning to Tuesday night for $250). I put a call in to my favorite bed and breakfast. Now I just need to line up a plan B hotel in case the bed and breakfast doesn't call back.

W00t!

update: the Bed and Breakfast called back. $60/night, in Greenwich Village, including breakfast and dinner. NICE. They didn't have a room on Monday night though, so I'll have to see what I can find for Monday.

Simplify!

I've accomplished a life dream tonight.

Four years ago, I moved out of my house in Houston with a 24' (the largest) Ryder truck completely full of my belongings. After the nightmare of packing that up and unpacking it, I swore I would reduce the clutter in my life down to just the necessities.

Well, tonight, I have just the necessities, all fit snug inside two pieces of luggage. And it feels great.

Start spreading the news...

I'm in New York City! Hopefully for good, but we'll see how this week's interviews go.

I was able to carry all of my possessions with me. I slung my tablet PC over my shoulder, put on my overcoat, and picked up the other two bags. Voila! Ready to move anywhere in the world.

The flight was uneventful, aside from New Yorker sitting next to me on the flight. I looked over at one point and was shocked to see some eyes looking back at me from her purse! Turns out, she had brought her little puppy, Thumper, with her on the flight. One and a half pounds. Slept the whole way, except for when he needed to go to the restroom. Then she just took him to the plane's bathroom, came back, and back to sleep he went. When we landed, he started to get excited, and she held him like a teddy bear and rubbed his belly. Cutest dog I've ever seen.



On the ride from the airport, I followed along on Google Maps. I had an internet connection the whole time, even when we drove through the Queens Midtown Tunnel! The fare for that tunnel ride was $4.50. Quite a difference from the 75 cent tolls in Dallas. Right before we entered the tunnel, I had an awesome view of the midtown buildings. It was cloudy and raining, which cast the city in a wicked gray color. Welcome to Gotham City.

I arrived at the Penington Friends House, and was immediately greeted by Joshua, Jesse, and Doan, three of the residents. I was shown to my room, which was a regular resident room since their guest rooms were both full. I have pieced togther a panoramic shot of my room as it looked once I'd settled in (works best if you look at it from right to left):


Now for some shots from my room's window. The third picture is from yesterday (Saturday-cloudy), the fourth picture is from a few minutes ago. Also, in the second photo, you can see how the school next door built a basketball court on the roof.


For my first meal in the city, I looked up pizza near 215 E 15th St and found a highly rated little pizza joint (Mariella Pizza) right up the street. This photo below shows the two slices I ended up getting. Even the olives, which I normally don't like, were good.

I spent the afternoon chatting with Joshua, Jesse, and Doan, the residents who greeted me when I arrived. I volunteered to help with the chores, and just generally got to know Penington. By the evening, Joshua had asked me if I was interested in living at a place like Penington, and Doan had invited me to a play. I'm still thinking about what it would be like to live at Penington.

In the meantime, I joined Doan and Jesse for the play. It was at The Flea Theater, an off-off broadway theater in TriBeCa. I have heard that "off broadway" just means the theater is small, and off-off means really small. That seemed to hold true; it was a pretty small theater. The show was really well written and acted. It's message wasn't new to me, so I didn't enjoy it as a "gained a new perspective" play, but it was definitely worth seeing (it was free! Thanks Doan!). Some shots from the theater before the show:

Restaurant Diversity

The restaurant diversity is already amazing me. Last night, I joined Jesse and Doan from the Penington and Beth from The Flea for dinner. We went to a Vietnamese restaurant in TriBeCa. The waitress was very fitting in both her demeanor and appearance. The menu was in Vietnamese, with english captions. We ordered various specials, and my god! mine was good. It was absolutely delicious.

For an afternoon meal today, I had Jamaican Oxtail, an authentic carribean dish from Daphne's. It, too, was delicious. Both meals ran me $10 after tip.

Of course, the first thing I did was find a local health inspection website. Thankfully, the restaurants I've eaten at so far passed by a wide margin.

Historic TriBeCa

Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful day here in the city. I celebrated it by going on a walking tour of TriBeCa (Triangle Below Canal street).

Apparently, they're considering discontinuing that tour because too few people request it as a private tour. So I was one of the lucky people to go on it before it goes away.

1. The first picture shows how beautiful the day was as I walked to the tour meeting spot.
2. The second picture shows the group standing by the fence around Washington Market Park.
3. The third picture is a shot of the buildings looking down Greenwich St (which used to run along the water before the landfilling began!). The tallest building in photo #3 is the first in the series of replacement buildings for the World Trade Center.
4. The fourth photo is a row of tiny Federal style homes, historically protected against change, which were juxtaposed against much, much taller buildings all around.
5. The fifth photo, is of the building where JFK Jr. lived.
6. The final photo is the garage which was used in the Ghostbusters movie.

The Big Apple!

The Penington had all of its guest rooms full yesterday and today. I asked around, and Kathy from the Penington was full of suggestions for places to stay around town. The second one I tried, the Leo House, had a room available for Monday and Tuesday for $65/night. So off I went to the Leo House.

This is the grocery store which is just down the street from the Leo House. The fresh fruits and vegetables enticed me to go inside.

A cool old book I found lying around the Leo House lounge. It was written in the 40's!

Here's where I would be working if my interview went as well as it seemed to.

More accurately, here's where I would be working. 10th floor above Radio City Music Hall.

I'm finding that New York City is much more comfortable for me than I expected. I guess that comfort is coming from a combination of reading about it, having visited a few times, being commited to living here, and being more confident and outgoing than I used to be. Transportation has been a breeze. The subway even made sense the very first time I got on it.

Today I learned that there are a few subway stops in town where two trains will be at the station at once, and a sign tells you which one is leaving next. Sadly, I wasn't on the one which was leaving next, so I had to wait 15 minutes. No big deal, I just worked on War and Peace while waiting. I also learned that when there are four tracks at a subway stop, the two inner-most tracks are express trains. I was already aware that local trains stop more often whereas express trains only hit the major stops, but I didn't know how to tell them apart.

It's all coming together in my new home.

Whole Foods Market

I had just walked out of the place I'm staying now, the Seafarers & International House, looking for some lunch, when I spotted a familiar sight:


Whole Foods! So I went in and had a nice baby greens mixed salad with dried cranberries, walnuts, almonds and chipotle ranch. Yum. For an entree, I had chicken tiki masala with naan over vegetable biryani, an Indian dish. YUM. It was entertaining trying to get my food, because I was constantly being jostled about and waiting for the herd to move so I could squeeze in. Whole Foods in Plano could only dream about being this busy:

There were about 10 lines in the staging area, with three employees calling out register numbers to the people standing on line. A lot like Fry's Electronics. The sitting area is upstairs, and affords a nice view of Union Square, which was sunnier than it looks in the first picture (a cloud must have gone over):


In NYC, it feels like every day is a parade. Every street corner has 20 people on it waiting to cross. Those last two pictures of Union Square were at lunchtime - packed. I can definitely see where NYC would not be enjoyable if you are shy or combative in nature. For me, I have yet to get a reaction from someone here that I wouldn't have seen in Dallas. When I'm nice to people, they are nice back. In fact, they seem to be even nicer! Not a single person has been rude to me yet. I've interacted with about 30 so far. I had my tablet with me in Whole Foods, which led to me entertaining three people with it, one of which I had an extended conversation with. Michael was his name, and he works at a library in the city. Overall, I've found people here in NYC to be incredibly normal and friendly. It's like they say: "Smiles are the universal language".

I spotted another familiar sight on Tuesday, near The Leo House:


Home Depot! I was talking with someone about it recently. Maybe Jesse. He found it really funny that there is a Home Depot in Manhattan. Rumor has it, they didn't bother to put in a lumber section.


There are water towers above most of the buildings in town. The Big Onion tour guide said they are there because it's tough to keep water pressure pumped up to rooms in tall buildings. It's easier to steadily pump it into the water towers, and then let gravity work its magic when people turn on the faucets.


A chance encounter. I've heard about Big Apple Greeters for years. I tried to get one last year when I visited, but no one was available at the time. Anyhow, pictured above is a Big Apple Greeter (on the right) who was welcoming a couple of tourists at the Leo House. She talked for about 20 minutes straight without taking a breath. The guy looked like he was about to pass out from listening for so long! I don't know if she just had that much to share or if she was talking out of nervousness. Either way, it was cool to actually see a Big Apple Greeter. I guess I'll never go on a tour with one of them, because at this point I know a ton about the city's basics already.

I hopefully will have another interview today, and from the sounds of the phone interview, it will be a shoe-in.

Does NYC really live up to the hype?

See what a few people have to say to the question, "Does New York City really live up to the hype? Is it really that good?"

http://www.43places.com/entries/view/176729

I'll summarize:
"Yes."
"Yup-most certainly."
"Yes, yes it is."
"In some ways yes, definitely. In other ways, no."
"Oh my, yes!"
"personally.. yeah!"
"Yes. It lives up to all the hype."
"I think it does, and I'm not easily impressed."
"Yeah, it does"
"Yes - NYC is that good."
"The scary part is that New York is as good as you've heard, if not better."
"NYC is simply breath taking."
"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. I love New York the way some people love chocolate."
(etc. 47 responses)

One weekend's excursions

The guy pictured at the bottom of the stairs was stealing magazines from Whole Foods. He had them folded in half in his back pocket, but didn't realize they were sticking up at a 45 degree angle; making the back of his sweater poke out like he had a dagger stuck in his back. I decided for certain that he was stealing them when he not-so-subtly stretched the sweater further down over them as he walked out of the door. Nothing I could do about it but chuckle and snap a quick photo.



A shot looking north up Irving Pl from the roof of the Seafarers & International House on 15th street. I didn't feel comfortable leaning my camera phone further out, or you'd be able to see further up the street. Quite the sight, despite Gramercy park's trees blocking the view. Gramercy park is an interesting thing in itself. It is surrounded by a fence, and the only people who have keys to the gate are the people living directly next to it. Needless to say, the park is beautiful and the people living directly next to it definitely look like old money. Two blocks South of where I'm at and you might think you're in the ghetto (as my cousin Jami commented). Two blocks north and you've got millionaires around Gramercy Park. That's New York for you!



Same rooftop, looking east down 15th street. The other side of the intersection, where the cars are waiting for the green light, is in front of the Penington Friends House, where I hope to live (just put in my application today!).



Now looking west over Union Square. Union Square is a fun little place. It's surrounded by some great little shops and restaurants, and even a few chains that I like such as Whole Foods Market and Barnes & Noble Booksellers. I can't wait to go into the Barnes & Noble here. It was very cool looking (picture coming soon). You can order a book online, and receive it same day in Manhattan. How cool is that? Getting back to Union Square: I mentioned in a previous post that it often feels like a parade in NYC. One of the places which makes me feel that way is Union Square. It's been packed since I got here (probably because I arrived with the spring weather). There are people with stands selling artwork all through the square.



Looking at this picture, one might think "aren't there any windows in the inside rooms?". My cousin Jami came to town on Saturday, and it was something she and I discussed briefly at one point. For the next 24 hours, it freaked me out looking at the apartment buildings crammed next to eachother. Are there any windows in the inner apartments? Lo and behold, the next day I went on a Big Onion walking tour and the tour guide spent some time talking about apartment innovations. Apparently, in the old days of apartments, there were no windows on the inner rooms.

Because of all of the immigration, what was originally designed as a one-family apartment often turned into a six family apartment, with numerous families crowding into the inner rooms. In 1879, the city stepped in and required the use of the "dumbell" design, which allowed air and some light down between the buildings. Modern-day apartment buildings have a huge square cut out of the middle, allowing enough room for a courtyard between the buildings. A picture of the dumbell design (right):



The Mall


From what I've heard, there is only one mall in Manhattan (another reason NYC is great!), the Manhattan Mall. I went in there to hit up the Brookstone and purchase a rockin' Pocket Umbrella, complete with a wind valve at the top (to prevent inverted--and consequently, broken--umbrellas when gusts of wind hit), teflon coating, and a stronger aluminum frame. Plus, it folds down to about the size of a 16oz soda bottle for easy transportation. Umbrellas are a huge part of life in NYC, because you walk everywhere. If you want to see commerce in action here, just watch how there are suddenly umbrella salesmen everywhere when it starts raining.



Not very often you see a boy running a water fountain for a pigeon.



Oh, the irony of this tourist photo.



Umm...



Some of the subway stations have these excellent maps which actually show the shape and size of the underground subway stations. It can be disorienting walking out of the same subway station you walked into just that morning, but find yourself two blocks from where you originally went in!

Subway Musicians




You know your music is good when you get the bums up and dancing! I've made it a policy to always give subway musicians a dollar. I love hearing live music while I wait, and I figure if they make money doing it they'll keep doing it. So they always get a buck from me. Two if they're playing classical.



There's a blurry camera-phone shot of Jami in Central Park. It was a beautiful, albeit borderline hot day in the city. I've noticed that anything below about 55 here is cold, and anything above 75 is hot. Good to know since I'm outdoors so much here. I've already had two sunburns! Need to grab some sunblock next time I walk by Duane Reade, the city's favorite drugstore.



Jami and I went to the American Museum of Natural History. The photo above is a snapshot of the Butterfly Exhibit, where you walk through the inside of the butterfly habitat. It's the second time I've been to this museum, and it definitely won't be the last. The best part both times was the show in the Space Theater. This time, it was Cosmic Collisions. IMAX doesn't hold a candle to this:




Sunday:
Today I went on a walking tour of the Jewish Lower East Side. The first jewish immigrants to New Amsterdam (as New York was called in the 1600s) arrived in the 1630s. There were 23 of them, and their immigration was not pleasant. They had just fled Brazil when their ship was pirated by privateers. They were then dumped off in New Amsterdam, where Stuvyesant, the current governor, petitioned to have them sent away. The Dutch West India Company, then owners of New Amsterdam, forced Stuvyesant to keep them there as long as they were willing to work. Needless to say, they weren't welcome. As if that weren't enough, they were then sued by the privateers for the cost of the "passage" to New Amsterdam.



This is one of the oldest bank buildings in the Lower East Side. In the bottom picture, the tall curly haired dude is Konstantine, a guy who moved here on a whim 6 months ago. He's originally from Russia, was moved to California when he was 7, then on a jeep trip cross country drove into NYC. He had planned to live in San Francisco, but once he got here he "just stayed". Just to the right of him is Megan, the tour guide. All of the Big Onion tour guides are history majors, and so far all of them have been very passionate tour guides. Megan was no exception.



"You know you're in Chinatown when..."

We went through Chinatown during the Jewish history tour. The reason for that is that Chinatown used to be as Jewish as it is now Chinese.

One of the things I learned on the tour is that the buildings with stoops (like many brownstones) were built by the richer residents of Manhattan back in the horse days. With as many as a quarter million horses in Manhattan, there was a huge problem with keeping the streets clean. It was made worse by the fact that at the time, there were no street cleaning crews. On top of that, if a workhorse died in the street, there was usually nothing the owner could do but walk away. Because of the weight of a dead horse, no one else could carry the horse away either. Apparently, when the city finally did institute street cleaning, there were some places where the cobblestones were many feet deep below the "street level". So when you see stairs leading up to a building, it's because the richer residents wanted to be as far away from the street as possible. I don't blame them!



Here's why you don't bring a car to Manhattan. Parking is at such a premium, it's actually cost effective to install multi-car lifts on the paid parking lots! I didn't look at the price per hour to park there, but I can only imagine it was astronomical.



Sho, this one's for you: some italian ice.



Real New Yorkers are never caught without something to read. You spend a lot of time waiting for subway trains and riding subway trains. May as well put them to good use! I'm quite a way into War and Peace now that I've moved here.



To finish off the day, I played chess with a Chess Master. I actually did pretty good! To an outsider, and to me, it looked like a good game. He says that he thought I knew what I was doing, up until the eleventh move. Then he had me.

Day-to-day services

Now that I know where I'll be living, I can put more effort into finding day-to-day services. Here's what I've found so far:

Laundry: Chip's cleaners. For $10, I can get 8 lbs of clothes washed and folded (about a week's worth for me). Same day if I bring it in before 9am, 24 hours if brought in later than 9am.

Supplies: Duane Reade. Everything I need for supplies, plus a 99 cent ATM.

Haircut: Albert Hairstylist. It cost $25 for my cut there today, but man was he good! He even took a straight razor to the edges of the haircut and put witch hazel on it to keep it from reddening.

Food: I'm still exporing the neighborhood's food spots. I've ruled out Joe Jr diner, and am not entirely thrilled with the pizza place that I visited when I first arrived. I think I can do better! Whole Foods is always there as my mainstay.

Exercise: There is a NYSC gym right down the street. I'm going to check them out.

Books: B&N, right down the street!

Did I mention that all of this stuff is right down the street? Ah, NYC.

So many great restaurants!

A list of restaurants I've been to and/or want to go to. Roughly in the order I heard about them:

... ... (The vietnamese place I first went to when I got here, I need to find out the name of it!)
Daphne's (Jamaican food, right across the block from me. Quite good)
Barocco Kitchen (great pot pies and sandwiches)
Friend of a Farmer Cafe
Choshi
L'Express
Musette
Piccoloz
Olympic Diner
Pink Pony
Chat N Chew (visited 4/19. BLT and Mashed Potatoes. Yumm!!)
Galaxy Global Eatery (visited 4/21. Wild exotic variations on standard dishes, e.g. wasabi mashed potatoes. Good vegetarian choices too.)
Chinos
Paquito's
Mumbles
Gramercy Cafe
The Cottage
Zen Palate
Rainbow Room
Basta Pasta
Delmonico's

New York Songlines

Just ran across this website, with which you can go down Manhattan streets and read about what's on the streets. It doesn't mention the Penington, but it does talk about the Quaker house next door. It mentions that the original Governor Stuvyesant persecuted the Quakers! I'm going to have to find out more about that.

http://www.nysonglines.com/

New York Historical Society

Today, I joined the New York Historical Society. The Big Onion supports the N-YHS, and I'm looking forward to delving deeper into NY history with both Big Onion and N-YHS. This passage from the website nearly brough a tear to my eye:

The Historical Society regularly plays host to the most eminent historians, writers, and thinkers in the nation. ... Speakers are attracted by our classic auditorium, by the relevance of their work to our mission, and by the knowledge that they will be presenting to an intelligent, passionate and articulate audience.

Damn straight.

Experiences this week

Here is a shot of the Penington. The arrow points to what will be my window on the 1st of May. It's a cozy little room, right next to the third floor's three bathrooms. Some of the rooms have beds high up off the floor with ladders going to them, but I chose against that because it makes the bed hard to get to. I only need three things: a bathroom, a computer desk, and a bed. As long as they are all easy to use and get to, I'm as content as a pig in mud.



Chips cleaners. They're 5 doors down from the Penington. They wash and fold my clothes for $10, which I can earn in under 15 minutes working on a website. If I do my own clothes, I'd have to find quarters for the washer and dryer, then use $3-$4 dollars in quarters. I'd spend my day hauling the clothes down, putting them into the washer, making sure the washer doesn't stall due to imbalance, moving them over into the dryer, cleaning out the lint filter, and folding them. Not to mention having to keep a stock of detergent. Yay for Chips!


I was walking along when I stumbled upon my favorite building: the Flatiron building. This building has always captured my imagination, although I can't say exactly why. One opinion from around the web:

The Flatiron Building is a favorite of New Yorkers and admirers around the world, perhaps because it symbolizes so much of how New Yorkers see themselves: defiant, bold, sophisticated, and interesting--with just enough embedded grime and soot to highlight the details.

The Flatiron building, on 23rd street, is among the first skyscrapers to be built in NYC. With a then-revolutionary steel frame, it towered to 285 feet. With its odd wedge shape, coming to a point at only 6 feet wide, the Flatiron building was known for the unusual wind currents around it. Specifically, it was known in the early 1900s because those winds would cause women's skirts to fly around, exposing their legs which at the time were rarely seen publicly. This caused young men to loiter around, hoping for a glimpse. The local police had to shoo the men away, and were said to be giving them the 23 skidoo. This phrase has passed out of common usage, but it's descendant, the word "scram", is still in use today.


Caught this guy writing something on the pavement with chalk. Unfortunately, I never went back to see what he wrote, and it's raining all this week.


I finally figured my way around my own subway station. It's a weird one, and I could never seem to come out of the exit I wanted to. Not only does it have that odd shape, but it's three separate floors which twist and turn all about. I spent a few minutes walking around it today until I got my head around how to identify my favorite exit every time.


Coming back from the Chat 'n' Chew on Wednesday, I stumbled across a Farmers Market! In my very own Union Square! They're open year round, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, from 8am-6pm. I just had to buy some cat grass (I gave it to Doan and Jesse's cat, Dippy). I picked one from the back row which probably didn't get fondled as much.


Would you be able to resist? (they had a bunch of pictures of cats snuggling up to the grass, in case you thought you could resist)


Wednesday was a beautiful sunny April day in Union Square. After walking through the Farmer's market, I stopped at a table and ate my BLT and Mashed Potatoes. While leaving, I snapped some photos of the people who were doing the same. It wasn't until I came back and looked through the photos that I realized what a statement they made about the diversity of New York City.


Starting last Thursday, a week and a half ago, I began going to Toastmasters meetings. The first one was rather painful--there were 5 guests and only 2 club members there. Amazingly, the Lt. District Governor of Education and Training was there, and she ran the entire meeting practically herself. Even so, when she started asking the guests to join, they were less than enthusiastic. They were, however, enthusiastic about my request to collect their emails and start what was later dubbed "the Troupe", a group of us going around visiting a bunch of clubs until we found the best one. So far, the Troupe has visited 7 clubs and grown to 15 members! We have a Harvard graduate (Meeta), a finance grad working as a business analyst (Aaron), and more. We have at least 2 more clubs to visit and we've expanded the Troupe to include other meetings and excursions, including walking tours and a possible group trip to Tokyo!


After one of the club meetings, we went to Connolly's. Aaron, one of the founding members of the Troupe, declared that Connolly's pot pie was the "best he'd ever tasted". A few of us were very excited about that, until, upon further investigation, it turns out he had only ever had microwave pot pies.


Haha! I finally ran into one of the infamous New York Dog Walkers. These are people whose job it is to walk New Yorker's dogs while they work. New Yorkers are my kind of people - they believe in delegation!


On Thursday, a throng of people started a riot in the city! Well, ok, it was actually only 12 people, and they were only staging a peaceful protest against some new housing fees. Most people walked by like it was just another day in the city. Which it was.


The redhead in this photo is Elizabeth, the Big Onion tour guide for the day on Thursday. We did a tour of Immigrant New York, where we looked at the history of the Irish, German, Jewish, and Chinese immigrants to the city.


During the tour, we passed one of my earliest memories of NYC. Pictured here is the spot, under the steps to City Hall, where I first went on a Big Onion tour. It was the Brooklyn Bridge tour, and I had just come off of the plane. I actually hauled my luggage (one bag) around with me during the entire tour.


NYC is the place to be if you appreciate architecture.


Another "You know you're in Chinatown when..." picture.


The Nom Wah Tea Parlor (in the background, red sign) has been open since 1920. It was the first restaurant in the city to serve the now famous dim sum.


Hope you can read Cantonese. Or at least Mandarin.


Spotted in the Lower East Side. Apparently, there have been a rash of Harley thefts there.


Shannah! I found our dream restaurant - New York style Pizza, Falafel, and Ice Cream, all in one!


"You know you're in Times Square when..."


One might begin to wonder what exotic cuisine this throng of people is awaiting to partake:


Ah, it's the rare and exotic Dallas Barbeque.


A shot looking down Wall Street, and a shot looking at the interior, of the Trinity Church, right next to Ground Zero at the corner of Wall Street and Broadway. At a height of 281 feet, it was the tallest building in NYC for 50 years in the late 1800s.


Beth, the tour guide for Big Onion who guided us through the history of New York's Financial District.


A side shot of Charging Bull. This 7000 pound statue was built by an artist out of his own pocket for $380,000 in 1989. He trucked it down in the middle of the night and planted it outside of the New York Stock Exchange to rally the spirits of the stock brokers after the stock market crash of '87. The police impounded the statue, but after much public outcry it made its way to its temporary spot, a few blocks over, facing up Broadway. It is still sitting there, "temporarily", today.


Delmonico's, the oldest restaurant in the United States. It was opened in 1827. It moved around numerous times and changed hands numerous times, but the name lives on...


Subway trains get pretty full at rush hour. The guy on the right is just daring anyone else to try to get on...


A violinist in Grand Central Station. She stopped to thank me for my donation. The old guy standing next to her was instructing her. He was probably just a passerby, knowing New Yorkers!


After Friday's Toastmasters meeting, a huge group of us (14 people, 5 from the Troupe) went to the Jewel of India, an indian restaurant. I instructed a few people on some good starter Indian dishes, and purchased a nice bottle of Rosemount Shiraz to split among a few of us. In the end, I needn't have assisted with the Indian food, because it all came out very mild and very tasty! Everyone was passing around their serving dishes and trying out the various foods. It was excellent. We ended up with a $400 bill and when everyone had put in their money, it was $100 short. Turns out the waiter had asked us if we wanted the rice or the naan bread with our meals, making it sound like it was included, when in fact, it wasn't. I stayed out of the negotiations, but pitched in nearly triple my cost to help out. It was worth it to me, the evening was a ton of fun. I really got to know Aaron and Meeta much better. They are two of the founding members of the Troupe.


Here we are calling it a night after four hours...


On the way home, still chatting with four of the group, I walked into Grand Central Station and was stunned. I hadn't been in this part of Grand Central Station. The ceiling is huge, the room is huge, and there are constellations all across it.


David, the tour guide for today's Historic Harlem tour. Note the distinctive specimen of a New Yorker on the right - blackberry in hand, dog in jacket, knock-off Prada purse on arm, ready for the tour.

It was COLD and WET today. I wasn't prepared, and it kept getting colder as the wind picked up. Eventually I made a wrong turn into a nice warm subway station instead of following the group on the rest of the tour.

What a week! I'm going to bed.

Great Panorama of NYC

Taken from One Hanson Place, Brooklyn's tallest building: Panorama.

People to meet, everywhere!

An interesting thing happens when it starts to rain. Suddenly people go from needing 2 sq ft of space (their body width) to needing about 4 sq ft of space (their umbrella width). It makes for interesting games of dodge the umbrella. At one point, I was looking back waiting for some friends to catch up from the previous street. I turned around and caught an umbrella nearly in the eye. I think this is about the most danger I've been in since moving here!


What can I say, I'm easily amused. Spotted in Harlem.


A synagogue which suffered a roof collapse two months ago. This is directly across the street from the Tea cafe that I visited last Sunday. Speaking of, Sunday was an amazing example of what life can be like in NYC.

In the morning, I went to a Quaker meeting. The Quaker meeting room was set up with pews coming from all four walls, all facing the center which was empty. The idea is for everyone to sit in silence for an hour, waiting in "expectant silence" for divine leadings. If anyone is inspired to speak, they are free to do so. Only one person spoke during this particular meeting, although I hear that the 11:30am meeting is usually full of shared thoughts. I used the silent time to explore the origins of the universe, and ran into a few interesting questions which I'll want to research later on. I once heard that Stephen Hawking has so many amazing revalations about the origin of the universe simply because he spends so much time sitting still, thinking about it. Now, I can completely understand that.

After the meeting, I left for the Multi-ethnic eating tour. I arrived 30 minutes early, and coming out of the subway I ran into a guy who needed directions. His name was Tom, and he was interested in my phone (doubles as my PDA/wallet/camera/videocamera) which I was using to pull up a detailed map of the streets. We got to talking. It turns out he was on his way to a little tea cafe to meet an acquantance, and he invited me along. With 30 minutes to kill, I said "sure!". We arrived at Teany, which turns out to be a cafe started by Moby. Moby's ex-girlfriend, Kelly, started the cafe with him and now owns and runs it. She was there to chat with the three of us. Unfortunately, I had to bail out pretty quick and head to the walking/eating tour.

There, I got to know Brian and Sonya, who were the guide and guide-in-training, respectively. We sampled all sorts of ethnic food from the largely immigrant-populated Lower East Side. The samples included: Plantanos from a real Dominican chef. In fact, at one point, Big Onion had to skip this part of the tour because the chef had literally gone home to the Dominican Republic and was the only one who knew how to make the plantanos! Rugelach, a Jewish pastry. The choices were chocolate, raspberry, orange and cinnamon. I had the raspberry and cinnamon, which were both delicious. Pickles from the Pickle Guys. They were quite a bit different--and better--than the typical pickles you buy.

We also had Dim Sum in Chinatown, where we walked past a statue of Confuscious. Finally, we finished the tour with some fresh Mozzarella balls and Parmesan chunks in Little Italy. Overall, the tour was excellent. Afterwards, I was chatting with a group of 7 people from the tour who were thinking about stopping somewhere for some coffee.

I told them about this great little Tea shop which was right near the start of the tour, and consequently, their parking spots too. Yep, you guessed it, I showed back up at the same Tea shop where Kelly (Moby's ex-gf) had seen me earlier in the day with two people I had just met. This time, I was bringing 7 people I had just met! They all tried the TeanyChino, the incredibly delicious tea I'd had earlier that morning, and all of them loved it. I had to leave this party early too.

I was off to meet a group of people from 43things.com, who all share the goal of "organize a 43Things meetup in NYC (or nearby)". There ended up being three of us there after a nasty thunderstorm in the morning made the rest of the attendees a little hesitant to come out (thankfully, it had stopped raining during all of my outings that day!). After meeting and getting to know them for an hour, we all went our separate ways.

I ended up at the Penington, having dinner with half of the house on a rare night that the dining room was completely full. I made plans with some of the residents to go to the Annual Ben and Jerry's Free Cone Day on Tuesday, then went to bed.

What a fun day. And to think...
I used to be the classic introvert.