Category: NYC Saga

Week 2: Brunch, Parks, & my New Home.

Published on by Regina Po1 Comment

Day 1: Best way to start a day? Brunch. It was always a favorite pastime of mine, but here in NYC it’s like a mini-holiday that everyone partakes in. Brunch in NYC isn’t reclusive to just the weekend; today is Monday and the brunch menu was as present as always. I was joined by a lovely lady friend who was visiting from Orlando for a couple of hours. The crowd was loud, but so were we… I’m slowly beginning to appreciate eating in small spaces.

I’ve been running around various boroughs and neighborhoods for the past week looking for a place to call home — at least temporarily. Today, I found it. WooHoo! I’ll be moving in on Sunday and I’ll be sure to post some pictures.

Job update: I don’t have one. It’s been a little over a week, it’s ok — I’ll find one.

Day 2: I haven’t left the house today… mostly because I haven’t spent much time on the Etsy shop for the past week. I’ve also been looking at potential jobs — ones that I would actually enjoy doing. I found a couple and spent the day reading all I can about the companies. My window has remained open all day and every so often I get a nice little pick-me-up with the outrageous conversations that take place right outside. “Benny! Where have you been all my life!” “I’ve been right here darling!” “AH! Benny, you’re killing me!” — All in a wonderfully thick New York accent. It made my day.

The sounds of the Bronx are almost as entertaining as that of the city’s. 

Day 3: My first week was specifically set aside for me (by me) to enjoy my time in NYC and not worry about a thing. So why not the second week too? I lied. I’ll keep chugging along and keep the worry-some attitude to a minimum for the first month. If, after one month, I am still unemployed let the worrying commence. Until then I hope my days are much like today: Old fashioned vanilla egg cream w/ coffee ice cream float in a 1920’s styled restaurant that used to be a pharmacy and is now called the Brooklyn Farmacy, a lovely stroll through Central Park, spicy pad thai in Greenwich Village and a visit to my dream job’s office. I think today was about as awesome as it gets.

Some photos from my Central Park stroll…

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This little girl was meticulously setting the table for what looked like her birthday party. There is a carousal behind her. 

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NY fav view 2

I don’t know how anyone can be bored in this city. Even if I’m too broke to do anything, there are constantly free music/theatre/dance/art events going on in the city. On top of that… there’s the subway. No, I’m not sick of it yet. It’s far too entertaining. On my way to Brooklyn earlier today, I watched a father try to teach his baby the difference between Vermont Cheddar and sharp Cheddar. The conversation went something like this:

Dad (handing his baby a small piece of cheese): “This is Vermont Cheddar, can you say V-e-r-m-o-n-t C-h-e-d-d-a-r?”

Baby (taking the cheese into his(?) mouth without much success): “hehe”

Dad (trying again): “This one is called sharp Cheddar. Can you say C-h-e-d-d-a-r?”

Baby: no response.

This went on for a couple of minutes until they reached their stop. I was completely consumed with the two of them, but I don’t think they noticed my giant smile staring at them.

I am constantly inspired by the characters that call this city home.  

Day 4: I’d like to take the money spending down a notch the next couple of days since I’ll be moving into my own space (a tiny white room) on Sunday and will have plenty of time to spend money then. I’ll be taking it easy until then. Today I took a ride down to the Midtown NYC library branch (the big one with the incredible architecture) to figure out what I need to get a library card then headed back to Central Park for a couple hours to work out. I haven’t done any heavy physical activity in a couple of weeks now, so I was uber excited to get sweaty! Running around the Jacqueline Kennedy Reservoir is by far one of my favorite things to do around here. And it’s free. In my company were several other 20 something ladies, a couple of older gentlemen and a group of high school students (who looked way too young to be in high school) participating in some sort of end-of-year running test. I’ve been saying this since I got here, but seriously… these kids are so damn lucky! They’re taking a test – in Central Park – around the most gorgeous place in NYC. Ok.

I’m hoping the universe is still in my favor and will help me land The Job.

Day 5: I’m staying in the Bronx until Sunday morning (I think I’ve mentioned that). It takes quite some time (about an hour) to get just about anywhere from here so I’ve decided instead of taking an hour to go down into the city and then spend another hour coming back I’ll just walk around here. My Aunt accompanied me and showed me around a bit. It turned out much less sketchy than I had imagined and was actually quite nice. The residential areas reminded me a lot of central florida – side walks accompanying car lined streets – only these front yards didn’t have useless lawns — they were filled with mini-gardens or colorfully blooming flowers. There was one that had a Hare Krishna statue with watermelons and oranges at it’s feet. The houses were also all a little different, although all were made of brick.

It was all rather nice. We did come up to a house that looked like it belonged in the back alleyways of Disney World. The seeming normal looking house was surrounded by hot pink figurines, sleigh bells, angel statutes… there was even a life size figurine of Beauty and the Beast. I didn’t have my camera with me, but snapped a few iPhone shots…

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We ended the walk with some ice-cream. It was quite lovely.

Day 6: Sweating. Semi-Sprinting as my camera bag galloped over my shoulder blades with every skip I made; a giant smile on my face, I couldn’t help but feel semi-at-home as I weaved in and out of tourists in order to make my brunch date.

I have been trying to get used to riding the subways for a more functional rather than for entertaining perspective. I’ve been late every single time I’ve planned to meet with someone. If you know me, this has made me anxious – every single time. I hate being late. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever really been late (maybe once or twice?) before I moved here. I was late 15 minutes for one brunch date, 20 for another… today I was late 10 minutes because I just can’t figure out the train system. I understand the subway stops — what train stops where — but I’m not sure I understand how the heck I’m supposed to know what trains are running and what trains are not. The weekends are -apparently- also quite the wildcard when it comes to public transportation. I waited 15 minutes for the C train today before finally just taking the E one stop north and walking/semi-jogging to meet up with a bunch of ladies for a Meetup. I was 15 minutes late. I wasn’t the only one, but I hate it. It didn’t take long to cool down and get friendly with the ladies I was meeting, but man am I going to need to get better acquainted with using this system. I can’t be late all the time. I’m going to start planning an extra hour for every trip until I get the hang of this thing.

Before the brunch, I went down to walk the high line for a little bit… here are some photos.

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Perhaps this is the Sangria speaking, but the amount of love I have for my life -right now- is unreal. 

Day 6: Remember that place I found? I’m moved in today and I’m exhausted — mostly from the serious lack of sleep (from the ragers next door in the Bronx) and the hauling of groceries without any help from the subway system. That is not resentment that you hear, by the way. I just made some dinner and put brand new sheets on my bed… I’m too tired to take any pictures, but I’ll be sure to include some soon!

Tired as hell and happy to finally be home. 

Week 1: Visitor Syndrome, Rainy Days, & A Chinese Magician.

Published on by Regina Po1 Comment

Day 1: I was overcome with emotion before I even got inside Central Park. He was wearing a dark plaid green suit with shiny polished leather oxfords and a glossy wood pipe in his mouth; releasing a steady stream of smoke into the atmosphere. I’d say he was in his mid-60s. He was sitting cross legged on a dark green bench on the sidewalk adjacent to the park. He was reading the New York Times. Not on his iPhone or iPad, but the hold-in-your-hands-stretched-out New York Times. My heart just about exploded. He was magnificent. I could have stood there staring, devising a plot line of his life for hours, but he would surely take note of the strange staring stranger, so I kept walking. Into the park I went – hands comfortably tugged into the straps of my backpack (my pants didn’t have pockets). Walking into the park I immediately took notice of how many people were enjoying their Monday – it seemed to me, all of NYC was there. Lounging on the rocks, having business lunch meetings on benches that line the curvy walkways, napping under the trees, and playing fetch with their four legged friends (I even saw a kitty being walked on a leash).

Apparently, even New Yorkers know how to tame the Monday blues.

Day 2: Today has been, in many ways, less emotionally trying and more emotionally triumphant. I stood in grand central station — looking down into the center and contemplating life — for over a couple of hours. I should have expected to have my shoulder poked over 10 times and asked to snap a picture. There was the cute couple (they looked like miniature dolls) visiting from Tokyo on their honeymoon and the German granny taking a ‘Lone Tour’ of America’s east coast. I didn’t plan to do it; I didn’t even plan to go to grand central today. It just sort of happened. I was on the 5 with plans to get off at Union Square (to make a connection) sitting comfortably smashed against the railing when the world’s most beautiful man walked onto train. Tall with navy blue slim fitting slacks, old-school leather suspenders (the ones that button not clip), white long-sleeve button up with a pair of aviators loosely hanging from the collar, a black leather business ‘bag’, shiny brown leather oxfords, and god-like hair that gently caressed his gorgeous face. My long ride from the Bronx was suddenly looking up. Without thinking, when I saw him getting ready to exit the train doors I got up and headed out. My brain quickly caught up to me and I realized I had gotten off at the wrong stop.

The beautiful man disappeared into the crowd and Grand Central quickly became my favorite thinking spot. 

Day 3: I went grocery shopping today to keep myself fed while I stay at a friend’s place and search for a more permanent home. Carrying the bag of goodies home via the subway and a couple blocks of walking was literally the highlight of my day. Not because I didn’t do other seemingly more awesome things, but because it made me feel a little less like a tourist.

I wonder when I’ll stop feeling like a visitor. 

Day 4:  He called himself The Magician. An older Chinese gentleman with a heavy accent– who wore a navy blue beret with a khaki suit and tie. He lives in Brooklyn and likes to make magic. The entire night he walked around doing magic tricks to anyone who would let him.

I didn’t get his real name.

Day 5:  Williamsburg: the trendiest city in the world. I wasn’t prepared for the awesome adventures of the day, but sure glad I hadn’t made other plans. Spur of the moment adventures are the greatest. Yummy food & wine and even better company.

The rain eventually came; I didn’t care that my umbrella was nowhere to be found. 

Day 6:  I’ve been drifting in and out of sleep all day. A dog had been barking for some 3 hours somewhere within earshot of my window, when a man decided to wage war by yelling obscenities at the pup. Neither dog nor man would surrender, but thankfully the rain has lulled the conflict.

Even in NYC, hangovers are not fun.

Day 7: Is it Sunday already? I took this week to worry little and enjoy a lot. There will be plenty of time for overwhelming worry later… today I am overwhelmed with insane gratitude. Everywhere I go in this city, I am constantly surrounded by people. Sure, being crushed between a group of French tourists and the over-worked suit during rush hour will probably get old, but for now I am head-over-heels in love with the constant human contact. Every day I am forced face to face with people from different backgrounds, different cultures, different lives and as much as New Yorkers like to avoid eye contact, there is no way this city would be quite as brilliantly fantastic without the crowds.

The sun came out today.

For some reason, I couldn’t get myself to take many pictures this week. It doesn’t make much sense, but I felt sort of paralyzed with the surreality of this week. I can’t imagine this paralysis will last long. I’ll be sure to post pictures of Week 2. Until then, here is the view from the place I was staying several days this week.

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The Saga Begins.

Published on by Regina Po5 Comments

I moved to NYC yesterday. After giving my parents several tight hugs and boarding my 6am flight, I still couldn’t believe I was actually doing it… It has been on my mind for so long that it felt like another one of my elaborate plans to seize the moment — in the future. But it’s here. I graduated college, packed my belongings (thanks to my excellent Tetris skills I was able to fit 90% of my things into one suitcase), and boarded a plane.

I tried to sleep the night before, but my mind would not sit still long enough to let me rest. I’ve literally been dreaming about moving to NYC since I was 15, but never actually thought I’d do it. NYC is for those who have their shit together. For those who have a nicely padded bank account. For those who have a job waiting for them. Or at least an apartment. Not for me. Perhaps in my dreams, but certainly not in real life. None of it felt real.

Until we landed.

The minute the wheels skidded to a stop on the massive La Guardia platform the other passengers began fidgeting from their slumber and something clicked. One minute I was sluggish and surprisingly serene and then suddenly I lost it. Face in hands, weeping. I don’t know why or how it happened, perhaps the nerves and lack of sleep finally caught up with me. Whatever the trigger, I didn’t seem to care that a hundred (however many people fit into a plane, idk) or so other people were trapped in an airplane with a 20 something female completely loosing her marbles.

I have no idea what this new adventure will bring. I’m not a psychic. From what I can tell thus far, I have a very hard time figuring out what I really want. I am, however, certain (this is very rare for me) that I am supposed to be in NYC. I will document my 1st year in NYC on here and will hopefully be able to look back and re-learn the lessons that will no doubt come from this year-long process.

Follow me. Or don’t. Whatever.

I’ll go ahead and pretend someone’s reading.