The First Annoying Thing

Happy Hump Day from the City.

This week is filled with stories of varied colors.  

First, I am not responsible for the earthquake.   Thousands of people arrive in NYC everyday; to place the blame on me is illogical.  I also did not feel said earthquake.   Nothing fell on me or near me.   No buildings swayed.  For me, it was a dull experience.   For others it was a bit of a shock (…get it, a shock).   One friend said he felt dizzy, another nauseous.   One guy thought someone was trying to wake him up because his bed was shaking.  Several were evacuated from his office building.   What a thrill! 

Second, the hurricane did not happen.  It was a media inflated tropical storm.  I think the most destructive thing it did was to my weekend plans which were all canceled because there was no transportation and people left the city or stayed indoors.   I went running before and after the storm and played inside for most of two days.    I hate being stuck indoors.   

I woke up at 2 am for an hour and listened to the rain going crazy.   I wasn’t able to get back to sleep mostly because car alarms were going off non-stop.   The next day there were a lot of leaves on the ground and a few trees.   Nothing too serious.   MTA was up and running by Monday morning. 

A Humorous Observation about Car Horns –

Honking in the city is commonplace.   So commonplace that I am sure I will learn to ignore it.  The problem I’m having is that when people honk it is neither subtle nor short.  It is a prolonged honking that lasts for up to 30 seconds depending on how stupid the honker feels the honked at is being.  A honk can mean one or a combination of the following:

“You are driving too slow for my patience.”

“The light has turned green and you are not going; wtf?”

“There is empty space between you and the car in front of you.  Please close the gap so that I feel like we are moving even if we are stuck in this traffic jam.”

“I don’t like the look on your face.  I can see it in your rear-view mirror and it is not attractive.” 

“I am coming towards you.  You can probably see me but just for in case you missed my bright yellow color I’m going to let you know that I am about 20 feet away and closing.  Be sure to get out of my way before I get to where you are (walking, driving, running, standing) even if you do have the right of way.”

“I can tell by the way you are driving that you don’t know where you’re going.  Let me give you directions: Pull over so that you aren’t stopping traffic!”

Food in the City –

There are several eating establishments that I’ve been to and are worth talking about. 

Friday I had dinner at The Left Bank Restaurant in Greenwich Village where one of the guys in my running group works.  It was delicious.  I had locally sourced swordfish for dinner and the maple syrup pie for desert.  He gave us a tomato salad with soft goat cheese for free.

Sunday I ate at Cafe Edison.   My friend Markus took me there because it “is like taking a step back in time.”  It was.  The décor looked like something out of a 30’s diner which was updated in the 70’s.  The soup was so thick you could have eaten it with a fork.  My burger and fries were served with a pickle.   If you’re ever looking for a throw back experience, this is the place.

Today (Wednesday) I am eating at The Grey Dog.  I had the seared tuna and avocado tacos and rhubarb cobbler.   Excellent food with hipster service and eclectic musical accompaniment.   It feels very casual and a little like Seattle in here.  Worth the stop, especially with the size of their cobbler servings. 

Neighborhoods –

I moved into Williamsburg proper on Monday.  Check out Wikipedia for more interesting details http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williamsburg,_Brooklyn; it is across the East River by way of the L train, the M,J train or the Williamsburg bridge.  It is full of hipsters…like, packed full.  See this link for an explanation of hipster (Video on Hipsters, watch the whole thing to get the picture); there is no definition of course, but there are experiential explanations of what these human creatures are.   

I’ve spent some time in Greenwich Village (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwich_Village).  It is probably my favorite neighborhood with its residential streets packed with brownstones and tiny shops.   

The Hudson River Park is blocks away.  That is one of my favorite walks.  Mayer Bloomberg had it developed with walkways, lawns and piers.  It features views of downtown and midtown as well as the shoreline of Jersey City and Hoboken.  

Front Runners –

Once upon a time, three years ago, before I was a Graduate student, I was part of a running group in Seattle called Front Runners.  I made great friends through the group and decided to seek out the NYC chapter.  I now run with the Brooklyn crew on Tuesdays and it has proven to be a good choice.   We meet for a run then go out for dinner.   They are an engaging and encouraging group.   Cheers to people who are kind and good hearted! 

That is all from the city for this week. 

Living and loving it,

Cory-James

 "Hurricane" Irene Raining on my neighborhood and weekend plans

 Cafe Edison - Over done?  I don't think so...

 Going to a meeting in Midtown

 Cornelia St in Greenwich Village

The New, The Old and The Unexpected

It has been one week and a day since landing at JFK!  Celebrate.

THE NEW
Shopping, I have never done so much of it.  I needed suits and found two of them after walking around for less than 15 minutes because there are stores everywhere.  In this case I got them from a store I would typically not shop at in Seattle but in The City the store is nice with knowledgeable sales people who both intuitively knew what I was looking for and were able to get me what I requested.  It took less than an hour to identify the right fit, be measured, and make a few tie purchases before walking out of the store.  How fun!

Ethnicity is diverse here.  Seattle is VERY white.  I actually live in a neighborhood where I'm an ethnic minority.  I get nicknames all the time like "Mister", "Papi", and "Boss".  Such respect! ;-)  The grocery store where I shop has Spanish speaking radio playing and sales every ethnic food known to man.  The bakery includes matzoh balls along with the donuts.  It also has a good selection of certified organic foods. 

Laundry is done for me.  I dropped it off at the Laundromat today and negotiated when I would pick it up.  Since you pay for laundry regardless, it comes out to only a few dollars more to have them do it for you.   We'll see how the results look tonight when I pick up my clothes.  Fingers crossed there won't be any multicolored clothes that used to be solid colors.

People, they are everywhere.  You are never alone even in the suburbs.  No matter what time of night there are always people walking down the street or hanging on street corners.  This includes tourists who should be given a walking lane of their own so they can walk real slow, take photos, and not disturb the normal flow of traffic.

Clothes, I purchased my first pair of skinny jeans.  Please welcome me to the latest dying fashion.  I'm sure boot cut will come back next week and I'll be out of style again.  I was informed my skinny jeans are not tight enough anyway; oh well.  I don't want to be hipster.  

THE OLD
I am at a Starbucks drinking burnt coffee and using free WiFi.  See, some things never change!

THE UNEXPECTED
People, they are amazing and generous.  I have been overwhelmed with the great response people have given me about meeting for coffee even when we don't know each other but have a mutual acquaintance or friend.   Thank you all for making the e-troductions and networking suggestions that you have.  Everyone I have met has endeavored to help by connecting me with others, offering meaningful advice, or passing along my resume.   This has been a very encouraging process and has kept me well caffeinated.

Time.  Everything starts later here.  People go to work later (around 9am) and end the business day later (around 6pm).  They eat dinner later (between 8 and 9 pm generally).   Happy Hour is later (until 7pm).   Brunch is around 1pm. 

Music is everywhere.  The stores and restaurants play hip-hop or dance tunes.  It makes the city move a little faster I think.

There is a brief summary of general experiences from the week.  More detailed stories to follow.

Cheers from The City!

The Subway

As you all know, or have heard, New York is a city that moves by Subway (and buses, taxis, and cars but mostly Subways).  After one week of being here, my MTA card is already showing signs of ware; and it's supposed to last a year.  Good luck with that.   I love the Subway. 

The subway here is full of people but no one is talking to each other.  This is a thing and technically the unspoken rule is that you don't.  But  I do sometimes.  I spoke to a lady last week about my toe shoes because she saw them and smiled.  I spoke to another lady who wanted to know if they were shoes.  I met a guy named Michael Gregory who was memorizing a script at 11pm on the platform...how exhausting.  I met a young lady from Montreal yesterday who works at a non-profit that funds new artists.  I've been told that the city will beat it out of me but I intend to continue speaking to people on the subway.  They are all interesting.

Which leads to the next point, crazies.  There are crazy people on the subway which contributes to the "No speaking to other people on the subway" rule.  There is the man sitting alone who keeps yelling in Spanish in the general direction of everyone as if we had each offended the poor man.   There is the young man walking between trains (not allowed! http://www.mta.info/nyct/rules/rules.htm#use) who begins his speech with "As you can see, I'm homeless" and ends it with "Can any of you help me out with some change?"   He does not look homeless.  He is clean, well clothed, healthy, and would pass as a hipster on any street in the city.  There is the actual homeless man who is walking between cars asking for money whom everyone looks towards briefly and nods their head "no" before looking quickly away.  It is odd to be asked for money on the street.  It is a bit more awkward to be asked for money when you cannot escape because you are on a train moving faster than 30mph. 

The subway is full of languages because people do talk to each other if they are riding the train together on purpose.  On Friday my car had a few girls talking to each other in Spanish and a group of people speaking in Korean.  In the evening two girls were speaking an African language I did not recognize.  It is interesting to hear the dialogue and know what is being said without knowing the language.  Tone and facial expressions say a lot. 

I spend a lot of time waiting for trains.  Always looking down the track into the black hole at the end.  There is a lot of anticipation and excitement about an arriving train. You stand in complete silence (because no one is talking to each other).  Everyone stares down the tunnel or meanders around.  Then you hear a rumble coming out of the blackness and see a faint light. 

Flushing Ave Station; my home stop.

The M is finally here! Love that M.  Takes me to Flushing Ave.

First 24 hr follow up

Happy Hump Day Everybody!

The closest Starbucks is 2.5 miles away.  Todo, I don't think we're in Seattle anymore.  I am in Brooklyn where I will be for the next two weeks on a temporary sublet. 

I spent my first day catching up on email and setting appointments for this week.  I met Julie (not to be confused with the Julie in the pic below...They have Julie's here like we have Sara's in Seattle) who is subletting her room to me while she is on a trip to the West Coast.  She has a solidly good roommate who is being very hospitable.

The afternoon was mostly taken up by relaxing (but not sleeping) and catching up with folks back in Seattle over Facebook, texting, and email.  In the evening Natalie, Sarah, and I went to the gym for a class; I would love to say I killed it but with only three hours of sleep it kicked my behind.  After that we grabbed dinner around 9pm at Five Napkins Burgers (http://5napkinburger.com/) where I had their seared Ahi burger with wasabi mayonnaise...delicious, especially after that workout.  Around 10pm NYST (New York Standard Time, I made that up) I had my first Skype session with Tonya and the boys.  Pretty successful in that they were able to see me and the boys thought that was cool.

Yesterday I moved my stuff into the apt where I am now.  I took a cab ride to get here and actually had to tell the cabi where to go.  As in, he handed me a map and asked me to give him directions because he couldn't read the map and he had no ideas about where Flushing St was.   Hilarious!  I headed off for brunch at the Cafeteria (pics below http://www.cafeteriagroup.com/) but not until after taking the subway in the wrong direction.  I was a little turned around and couldn't figure out which way was east and which was west.  Feels odd to not know those types of things.

Today I am off to walk Reilly, go shopping, and do a run in Central Park with friends George and Noel. 

Cheers from Brooklyn! 

 Joshua (at SEATAC)

 Mom, Tonya, Jordan and I (at SEATAC)

 Tonya and I (at SEATAC)

 Dad and I (at SEATAC)

 Dad and I, with attitude (at SEATAC)

Reilly on the couch bed where I slept Night #1

 Natalie and Reilly

 View from Natalie and Sarah's apt in Hell's Kitchen

 From Left to Right: me, Sarah, Natalie, Julie

 Brunch at the Cafeteria

After Brunch

NYC or bust

I will not bore you by repeating the years that have led to this move to The Big Apple.  Most of you know the story (or at least part of it) of the last 8 years.  Suffice it to say, it is time for this!  Thank you for each contributing to my journey.  I would not have made it without your voices of encouragement, insightful questions, and honest involvement.  Many returns to you each.

Here I sit, on the plane flying over Montana at 31,000 + feet playing online and listening to Ray LaMontagne ("New York City's Killing Me" because I need irony).  I've celebrated and said farewell for weeks now but was hardly prepared to actually leave.  The gravity of it hit me yesterday and I've been on the edge of crying ever since.  You have filled my life with the best things in Seattle and it hurts to leave.

Looking forward: this week is apartment hunting and networking into The City.  I have my first viewing of an apt in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg tomorrow for a two week sublet.  The goal is to do a short term sublet through the end of the month and land a perm place beginning in September.   I am staying with my kind and generous friend Natalie (and her bf Matt and their roommate) for a few days but would like to return their couch to them asap.

I'm going to try and sleep.  Feel free to email me with questions, comments or snide remarks.

From the sky,
Cory-James