Mulberry Street...
...trying to remember the lyrics, which are a veritable map of Chinatown in themselves, in an attempt to find my way to the Canal Street Subway station to catch the N...which, by some bizarre stroke of luck was running on the D track and I was able to take it all the way home...only after grabbing the first Q train at Canal Street to Atlantic Pacific. This in no way compares with my train escapades last weekend though. Attempting merely to get to Fort Greene by using only two trains, the D and the G, and not having to walk a block to transfer, I wound up still having to walk that block plus on the way home, I ended up walking about a mile to avoid the G train altogether. Because let's face it, the G is the worst train in the whole MTA system, and it never runs on time even when it is running normally. They had it running both ways on the same track and only going to Hoyt-Schermerhorn. Which led me to believe that maybe it was just the one train running back and forth between Hoyt-Schermerhorn and the other end of the line in Queens. This is why, when I missed the train, I assumed it would be a half hour or more before it came back around again and just left the station in favor of trying to catch a bus to Atlantic Avenue...a bus which didn't even stop when I tried to wave it down while running frantically in the direction of the nearest stop.
These late night weekend subway adventures, as inconvenient and harrying as they may be, do teach me things about the city. One lesson is never to despair. There is always a way to get home. In last weekend's case and this weekend's, the nearest subway stop was not that far and both cases afforded me a walk, albeit not so leisurely last weekend, through a neighborhood I scarcely get to enjoy.
Which is good because now, less than four months before my lease runs out, I'm looking for a new one to call home. And luckily, my cousin and I will be looking together. We met the other day and discussed everything from what we need from a roommate to our respective budgets and target neighborhoods. Clinton Hill was nice, I noted, while beating the pavement and dragging my guitar around last weekend. Lots of older apartment buildings and brownstones, bars and restaurants (I saw a couple of French ones) all lined DeKalb Avenue. The subway stops wouldn't be that far off either and I feel certain we could find a decent place there for a reasonable price. But we are not limiting ourselves to Brooklyn neighborhoods alone.
No. The possibility of being a Manhattanite entices both of us. But we're being realistic about it. I'm aware of how ambitious it is but you all know me. I have to try. It won't be until January that we really start aggressively looking so that gives me a month or so to drool over Manhattan neighborhoods and weigh the pros and cons of them. It's also good to have a veteran New Yorker agreeing to room with me because there are so many factors involved in choosing a place to live, some which I may not have thought about yet. Not so much whether or not I want to live with rodents or insects, but more whether I want space or location more. Tough calls both, no doubt.
At any rate, we'll have to certainly consider things like subway access and what floor we're on, doorman or no, elevator or walk-up, pre-war or new building, etc.
But there's still time for all that. With that, I must go to sleep. I've had a nice relaxing and also productive two days off. My scores are almost ready to be unleashed on the world. Plus, I've come up with a fantastic idea that I'll say more about as it unfolds. Good night.
No comments:
Post a Comment