Keys to apartments and art installations

I picked up the keys to the apartment last night (and yes mom and dad I took pictures).

Apartment Photos

I set up a time to meet the superintendent and pick them up from him. He was a nice guy. Showed me around the building, going over all the details of life at Leonard Court right down to where to put the garbage and recycling, how to turn off the valve for the faucet and how not to lock one's self out of the apartment. The doors are tricky.

I took some measurements to be sure of which furniture could go where and then headed back to Park Slope to meet Karishma for dinner.

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We walked around trying to find a place where I could buy flowers for my short term roommates to thank them for letting me stay and then, we ate an Indian restaurant called Amin which kicked. For many reasons. Yes, the food was good but they also played the same Bollywood instrumental CD that India Palace in Greensboro, NC plays...the one they play all the time because they have no other music. It was nostalgic, to say the least.

After we parted, I took the subway home, grinning most of the way as I felt the new keys in my pocket. I live and work in New York City. It's good. It's such a great city. I'm starting to get the hang of it. Right down to knowing which subway car to get on so that when I arrive at my stop I'll get off across from the station exit. Or finding out that if you want a less crowded car, walk to the end of the platform. Also, I've just about memorized the Times Square/42nd Street subway station with all it's twists and turns, so that I don't wind up walking the wrong direction or taking the long way around because the signs are confusing.

There's a whole slew of subway musicians that are actually fairly decent to really good at what they do. At the very least they're entertaining. Here's a rundown of the best I've seen: the guy in all red clothes and a Philadelphia Phillies hat who wheels his way onto the train on a motorized wheel chair, carrying a guitar amp with a microphone and an iPod plugged in, playing "Love is just like the baseball game" while he heckles all the New Yorkers about losing to the Phillies, god knows how many years ago. The musical saw lady, the classical cellist, the 8 year old kid playing classical piano on a casio keyboard, and even, the blind violin player playing the Godfather Theme.

And then the city surprises you with one of those quirky things you've heard about but never seen. Just before coming above ground on the Manhattan bound N train to cross the Manhattan Bridge, I see it. I've heard people talk about it but I never knew where it was. Out the window of the train there's animated art along the walls that you can only see through slats in the subway walls. It animates the way a flip book does as the train is passing it. It's not just graffiti that some brave soul perpetrated in the dungeon of the subway tunnels. It's lit up on purpose to be seen, a sponsored art installation. All I remember was obscure shapes passing by until eventually, I saw a jelly fish animate and swim off. I had to smile. No one else on the train seemed to notice it.

Then, as the train surfaces and begans to traverse the Manhattan bridge, I turn to see the city lights and the Brooklyn bridge to the south. And I remember that I'm in New York and that it is, in fact, cool.

Exhaustion

This is going to exhaust me. That or I'm going to eventually catch up. I didn't sleep a great deal Sunday night, nor last night. Last night the air mattress decided it wanted to deflate, so I woke up sunk down towards the floor, feeling a bit like I was in a water bed, at 4 am. Luckily, I had no trouble getting back to sleep. But I still feel tired today. I had this thought that what if this job sucks all my energy out? Of course, it's only the second day and I predict I will get into a routine and a rhythm with it and eventually it will be easy to not let it wear me out. But really, I spend about an hour and a half commuting, sometimes standing the whole way, and then briskly walking three blocks on either end, after having stood up for most of the day. What's important to me is that my evenings not be spent entirely on making dinner and vegging out in front of the television while resting my aching feet on the sofa. I don't even know if I'll have a television right away at my new place.

Point being, the next few weeks are going to have to be about finding a rhythm. So that I don't find out several hours after lunch that I didn't bring a big enough lunch and then have to take a detour on my commute home to get a snack or groceries or spend money on dinner out, all while maintaining a healthy space in my evenings for writing music and relaxing/socializing. It'll come with time. This week was bound to be difficult of course because I'm not settled in my own place yet. I still feel like I'm tip-toeing around this apartment, trying not to leave my dishes unwashed for too long, trying not to take up too much space in the living room, trying not to make a mess out of the bathroom, feeling slightly guilty about putting my feet up on their couch.

That having been said, I think I've made the right choice in living by myself. I had a slight pang the other day that I'd miss the company of my cousin and her roommate once I'm in my new place. That I'd miss having companionship and camaraderie. I haven't had that in a living situation in a while and, despite that fact that it's been a little bit of an adjustment for me, I have enjoyed having roommates to talk to every day about what's going on in their lives. I will enjoy leaving the dishes in the sink overnight, though, so I can relax in the evening or spend some extra time on that piece I'm working on or whatever. And I can invite friends over whenever. I have the space to accommodate at least two other people, maybe more. Some of the people I met at Farah's Oscar party live in my neighborhood and said they'd love to show me around. So, I already know I have one friend in my neighborhood. Karishma is two train connections away as well.

On the subject of the job though, I'm learning but I don't feel I'm learning (read: being shown) fast enough how to run the place. So tomorrow, I'm going to be assertive that they show me everything as fast as they can so that I can really learn the routine there and become a useful employee sooner. I keep thinking about how they still haven't made a decision yet so the impression I make on them is crucial at this point. I really want this job.

I think I'm going to go watch Monday night's episode of Heroes right now and contemplate missing DVR. Though, my broker did tell me that they can work out a free month of cable for me. I should look into that. Later for now guys.

First day

First day of work done. Lease signed. Oscar party was a success. Spent Saturday in Jackson Heights (outer Queens) picking up Indian food for the Oscar party (my cousin's roommate is Indian and was extremely excited about Slumdog Millionaire being nominated so many times). Been a nice couple of days. Which is why I haven't been blogging much.

I had a really fun weekend during which I met loads of new friends, went to two parties, networked a bit, participated in an impromptu jam session with two violin players with whom I've never played before and wrapped it all up by finally calling that girl I met on Valentine's day.

And work went well today. It was a fun experience all around, from grabbing the daily newspaper from the guy frantically handing them out at the subway entrance to riding the subway with all the commuters to grabbing an espresso at Rocco's on Bleeker on the way to work. The novelty of the subway ride will probably wear off relatively soon. Grabbing an espresso at Rocco's will probably remain cool, however.

The actual work day was fun too. I met my boss at the reception desk and, after waiting too long for the HR people to get there, I was sent down to meet the guy who would be showing me the ropes. Ernest was a pretty cool guy. An older fellow who said he just bought a house in Charlotte and talked of retiring. I'm assuming, if I get the job, it'll be him I'll be replacing.

I pretty much shadowed him all day and learned the routine, picked his brain when I could and watched when I could. There were a few clients that came in to view movie trailers that they had had done, someone else had a feature to watch and finally, the editor for a certain famous actress' film came in to watch the dailies for that film. I was headed out the door at that point so I didn't get to do more than just meet her.

The day went by incredibly fast. One minute it was 10 am and Ernie was showing me how to thread two of the projectors, do changeovers and change lenses. The next minute, I looked at the clock on my cell phone after having practiced the above routine several times, and it was noon. I took my lunch and then wandered into HR to get all the necessary payroll forms filled out. Then, I wandered back down to shadow Ernie some more. Before I knew it, it was 430 and I was just shootin' the shit with Ernie in the projection booth, hanging out and chattin' about everything from New York City to Charlotte, NC.

Only thing was, my feet were killing me by the time I got to the subway because I had been standing most of the day. Luckily, the 1 train wasn't very crowded and neither was the N (the two trains I have to take to get home).

I think I could get used to this routine of taking the train to work, and then working with cool people, doing a cool job, taking the train back, cooking dinner, doing laundry, just living in this city.

At any rate, I've got another adventure to look forward to (or dread, whichever) this weekend. The Move. I'm renting the Uhaul and driving 9 hours with a cat in cat carrier on the floor board of the cab. We'll have to see how that goes.

Signed a lease

Today, I have news. Finally. News. I signed a lease yesterday for a year after a long week of waiting for approval and long day, yesterday, of waiting to reschedule a time to come in to their office. One of their associates who was suppose to meet with me had a family emergency, which they failed to tell me about until after I had already gotten on the train. I only heard the message as I started to trek up the intense wind tunnel avenue from the subway stop in Brooklyn. At that point, I couldn't head home and didn't know enough about the area to effectively kill time. I was mildly annoyed to say the least but managed to find something to do. I trolled around Sunset Park and walked by my new apartment and past the neighborhood's namesake park, Sunset Park. When I absolutely couldn't stand the bitter cold wind anymore, I took the D train back into Manhattan, to West 4th Street, grumbling the whole way, as my cell phone battery was also about to die and I couldn't afford the time to go back to Queens to plug it in.

Incidentally, this happened before with the cell phone going dead from the extra strain of it trying to find a signal in the subway tunnels and someone mentioned the idea of bringing my charger out with me and plugging it in at a Starbuck's if it ever got low again. Unfortunately, I did not apply said advice. That sort of monumentally frustrating happenstance has characterized the entire week. I've found myself trying desperately to find ways to kill time in this city without spending money, because I haven't planned my days well enough. I'll go to Manhattan with a plan in mind, but then it involves meeting someone at a certain time and I have trouble making my original plans last long enough so that I don't have to go back to Queens or hang out in the cold until I can meet said friend. Imagine me sitting in a Starbucks efforting furtive peeks into one or another of my guide books trying to think up some way of passing the time that's interesting, free and doesn't involve trudging up and down avenues against a driving wind with my scarf wrapped around my face.

Luckily, I've only got a few more days of this before I start the job. It's about time. I've been starting to feel slightly useless. I verified with Technicolor yesterday on the phone that I'm coming in at 9:30 am on Monday morning. Thursday, in my travels, I started off a walk through Greenwich village by timing the walk from the subway stop that I'll get off at coming from Brooklyn (West 4th Street) to the Technicolor building on Leroy St. A good 7-10 minute walk. On Monday though, and all of next week, I'll be coming from Queens because I don't move to Brooklyn until Sunday the 1st of March. So, I'll get off at the Houston St. stop on the 1,2,3, line a similar walk. As for the apartment, I'm cleared to move in on the 27th but I obviously can't make that happen because of the circumstances. I have to work that day, plus I need all of the next day to get to Raleigh and get the truck loaded up.

I've reserved a Uhaul truck and am driving it up myself. I didn't want to have to drive something that big into the city but I think it'll be fine. I was averse to it for a long time, mainly because of New York friends telling me it was crazy to do so, and only recently woke up to the necessity of it. I have enough stuff and a small enough window of time to move it to justify renting the truck. It seems absurd to some New Yorkers to move furniture into the city when I could just buy things here but it also seems absurd to me to get rid of things I have that will do (bed, desk, microwave, etc.) and buy them again. Especially since I have a few irreplaceable items that must come that, themselves alone, warrant a truck (guitars, amplifier, computer, cat, piano). Yes, I said piano. I'm going to move it. I'm on the first floor. I have enough friends that don't hate me that I think I could talk into helping me with it (some of them for the second time). And there's room for it and I'm on the first floor, very close to the front door.

Oh shit. As I just typed that, I wondered how being close to the front door (and the street for that matter) will effect the noise level in my apartment. It did seem quiet when I was there at night seeing the place. But then, it was a Sunday night. Err *shrugs* I guess we'll see.

Anyway, other than a potential disaster avoided regarding the allowance of a pet in the apartment (cats are okay, no fee!), everything went well on Friday. And this week, in general. I've been getting the hang of the city, getting a good feel for neighborhoods I like, even collecting ideas for dates. I may ask a girl out that I've met, tomorrow night at an Oscar party I was invited to. But, I'll try not to make this blog about dating in New York City. Interesting as that might be, I'm quite sure it's already been done (see a popular television show with spin-off movie that is set in New York City).

For now, I'm going to head out but I'll keep uploading pictures to picasa. I find that's easier than trying to select the best ones and put them in a blog and chat about them.

Blurb #1

Short blurb today. Still awaiting approval on that apartment, got a call from NY 1 yesterday, been playing phone tag with them since. It was a recruiter with HR on the phone so they seem like they want to talk with me about an interview for the Tech Op position. This is good news. If it pans out, I'll have a back up in case Technicolor doesn't hire me after the trial period. Other than that, I wait. Here's a slide show of NY pictures so far.

I got an apartment!

Apartment hunting is over! I finally found a place that is me. Today was long and tiring. My feet hurt and I might be regretting those two slices of pizza and beer that I had with my broker after we signed all the paperwork. But beyond that, I'm elated. At least until I start thinking of the logistics of moving the rest of me up here. Furniture, guitars, kitchen stuff, books, cat, etc. Oh, desk and chairs. I could just be content to have no furniture for a while, but if I can bring it up I might as well.

Anyway, today's hunting began in Williamsburg with another share I went and saw out of politeness because I had already set up the appointment with them before going to the broker. They were nice people and it was less of a hovel than most places I'd seen. They had a great dog but they weren't counting on other pets. The place was pretty small for two animals and with a cat you always have to consider where the litter box goes. At any rate, after that I walked around Williamsburg for a bit and found a park while walking toward something that, from far off, looked like the Taj Mahal. From the park, I could see midtown, the Empire State building and the Chrysler building among other giants.
I considered going back to Queens to charge my phone but it was already almost four and I would have to turn right around, defeating the purpose of my going home. So I went back into Manhattan, broke a 20 and got quarters in case I'd need to use a pay phone. Piddled around Union Square and then went to meet my broker at six.

The subway route that we needed to take to get to the first place was convoluted and require walking above ground to connect between stations. I was already exhausted by it all and so was my broker, I could tell. The first place ended up being near, almost in, Bed Stuy and the Long Island Railroad. Both details lost it some points. We never got to the see the inside either because there was no one there to let us in as she had expected. We gave it 30 minutes of calling the landlord and knocking on the windows of the other tenants but then gave up. Shame, I liked the look of the outside, but in all honesty, I probably wouldn't have taken it on account of the train being so close. And it being in Bed Stuy.

Moving on, we were to see two in Sunset Park just off the D train. The first one had a very dingy feel to it, even beyond the fact that they were still in the process of painting it and probably were going to replace the appliances as they were crawling with bugs.

There was one last place to go and I was feeling rather put off by the evening's events so far. The last one, was a block away on the other side of the street. Immediately, I could see that I liked the outside of the building much better than the last one. There was an archway with columns that said, at the top, "Leonard Court" or something to that effect. The front lobby of the building was painted a strange hue of light blue and there was very detailed molidng on the ceilings and walls. The doors were a maroon color. My apartment is on the first floor. When I stepped in, I could see that this one, unlike the others I had seen the past few days, was finished and ready to be lived in. It was small but tolerably so and felt like home. I knew right away but I looked it over for a good ten minutes and went over my questions several times. Heat and hot water included, broker's fee, pet friendly, (technically, I may have to put down a deposit but I don't care. I love my cat), utilities, extermination services, how are the neighbors, landlord, the neighborhood (seeing places at night was a great idea, I got a great feel for the neighborhoods like that). I checked all the cupboards and appliances out. I even made sure the windows open.

Then, I said, "I think this is it." I'm sure she was just as relieved as I was. We headed back to the Park Slope office to fill out the paperwork and then she, her colleague and I went out for pizza and beer down the block at a place called Brothers. It was a great feeling. I grinned more than once on the train ride home. Thankfully, I was able to take the N train all the way back. But it's getting colder again here and the wind bites a little more when you turn those corners. I glimpsed a bank marquis as I crossed the Brooklyn Bridge that stated the temperature as 1 degree Celsius.

I have a lot of work to do this week with securing this apartment still. Mainly credit and background and "can I pay for this apartment" type stuff for the actual landlord's sake. And it looks like, since it's a March 1st move-in date that I'm going to be staying with my cousin just a little bit longer and I'll be launching off for my first week of work from here. I don't even want to think about the coordination of it all until tomorrow morning. Wish me luck! I'm off to bed for now.

Apartment hunting

Tonight, I find an apartment. I'm meeting some people with a room share at 3:15 (hoping to get into my yahoo mail by then and get the directions, yahoo seems to be having technical issues at the moment). Then tonight, I go with my broker to Sunset Park, Park Slope and Kensington to look at some other places. Last time I spoke on the phone with her she seemed mildly annoyed that one of the places we had looked at on Thursday was gone already, saying we needed to move quickly. This is true, but I still don't want to feel pressure to take something that isn't right for me. I don't know. Maybe I went in to this without every single criterion nailed down. For one thing, I was looking at the wrong price range for my expectations. Once I got my tax return and my last paycheck, it became apparent that I could afford a little more up front. So these next few places are slightly higher in rent then the last couple. Hopefully, that will translate into just a little more space. We'll see.

I finally got in touch with NY 1. I called the HR manager and got one of his assistants who told me to email my resume to them. Hopefully, it'll put me at the top of the list and they'll call me tomorrow. It's all about getting an interview so that I won't be totally screwed if Technicolor doesn't pan out. When I got here, I was hoping that Technicolor was a done deal. They told me it was only three weeks for sure and then it depended on my performance on the job because there was someone else vying for the job. I'm still confident but I have yet to even see what the job is going to be like. So, it's best to keep my options open now.

Who knows what'll happen. Meanwhile, I've had a great week just meeting people and getting the hang of the city. I did some walking around Rockerfeller plaza and Times Square on Friday by myself, then met Karishma around 39th and 7th and we walked back to Times Square. She wanted to see these red steps at the edge of Times Square. From there, above the street level, I shot a ton of pictures and had my dad stitch them together into a panoramic shot.



Click on the picture to get a better look at it.

Done being tourists, we took the E train down to W 4th street, the heart of Greenwich Village. There we had authentic Ethiopian food on the street where part of Across the Universe was set. Then we went to Rocco's on Bleeker street for the best cannoli in NYC. It was pretty good but I have no basis for comparison yet. I spent the remainder of the evening watching Love Actually with my cousin and her roommate back in Astoria. Almost spent Valentine's Day in the same fashion but, my cousin's roommate had invited me to go out dancing with her and some of her friends. My first official night out in NYC. I had a lot of fun. I won't give a blow by blow of the evening's events but I will say that there was very little dancing and a whole lot of watching after people who'd had too much. I almost stayed there in the East Village but decided to head home. One of the people we were out with implored me to take a cab instead of the train and gave me a little money to do so.

Anyway, wish me luck tonight.