That's how long I've now been a resident of New York City. Twenty-four Metro Cards and well over 1,400 Subway rides. Miles and miles of walking and countless pairs of shoes.
At least ten walks across the Brooklyn Bridge, three visits to Coney Island, and one visit to the US Open. Three nights in Harlem, two birthday parties in Williamsburg, and a train trip up the Hudson.
Two Christmases and two incoming classes of students. One tour of Yankee Stadium and a Philharmonic concert in Central Park.
Crumbs, Cupcake Cafe, and Sugar Sweet Sunshine. African, Caribbean, and Ukranian food.
And those are just a few highlights of the past 730 days. So you might understand my dilemma in making a change.
I'm really going to miss all this, but at the same time, I think I might be ready for a new challenge.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Speechless. Mute. Taciturn.
However you wish to describe it, I'm out of words.
I've never written this blog for anyone other than myself. It's always been a way for me to capture my thoughts. I've saved moments in this blog that have reminded me of myself at times when I felt I was losing who I was. I've let out frustration, found peace, and may have even cried over this blog.
Writing has always been my thing but lately I've felt no compulsion to write here. I still see the pictures in my head, but currently they are too jumbled to put into words.
There's so much to say that I choose to say nothing. I'll be back when the words return.
“The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.” - Mark Twain.
I've never written this blog for anyone other than myself. It's always been a way for me to capture my thoughts. I've saved moments in this blog that have reminded me of myself at times when I felt I was losing who I was. I've let out frustration, found peace, and may have even cried over this blog.
Writing has always been my thing but lately I've felt no compulsion to write here. I still see the pictures in my head, but currently they are too jumbled to put into words.
There's so much to say that I choose to say nothing. I'll be back when the words return.
“The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.” - Mark Twain.
Friday, July 2, 2010
It's here again already. My second favorite holiday after Christmas, the Fourth of July was always a big deal in our family. Maybe it was because it falls six months after we last got together. Maybe it's because everyone enjoys long leisurely summer afternoons that stretch into evening while knowing you have the next day off. Or it could have even been knowing that my aunt never failed to bring her famous Jell-O cake to the get together.
Whatever the reason, I've always looked forward to the Fourth of July and usually have plans to celebrate long before the big day arrives. Even both of the Fourth's I've spent abroad included celebrating.
So this year when I found the holiday rapidly approaching and I had no plans, I was feeling a bit sad. I didn't really have concrete plans for enjoying the holiday in the city and had no plans to take advantage of the long weekend by leaving the city. But it turned out to be a busy weekend.
Friday night three of my friends and I ventured out to Coney Island. Every Friday night throughout the summer they have fireworks on the beach. We arrived around 6:30 and spent some time walking the boardwalk while waiting for the sun to set. Coney Island was packed and we passed some time people watching as we made our way up to Brighton Beach. The sun was beginning to set and we grabbed a table at a Russian restaurant on the boardwalk. We ordered dumplings and borscht as it got dark. Soon the fireworks began and we could even see the shows in Jersey and Staten Island off in the distance.
Saturday I spent the day in Harlem before returning to meet friends in the city for a night of dancing. The holiday weekend meant the city was pretty empty and we were lucky enough to be some of the first people in the club, which meant we got a table for the night :)
Sunday we spent the day in Central Park. It was beginning to heat up and we decided that we didn't want to spend hours waiting in Manhattan for fireworks and decided to take the Path to Hoboken. We arrived in Jersey with just enough time for dinner before heading to the waterfront where we got second row seats to the show. The fireworks were spectacular and watching them with Manhattan as the backdrop was even better.
Monday we finally got out of the city. The three of us took the Metro North about an hour and a half up the Hudson to a small town called Beacon. It was ridiculously hot and we spent a few hours staying cool in the DIA:Beacon, an interesting contemporary art museum.
So while my weekend was anything but traditional, it was still fun.
Whatever the reason, I've always looked forward to the Fourth of July and usually have plans to celebrate long before the big day arrives. Even both of the Fourth's I've spent abroad included celebrating.
So this year when I found the holiday rapidly approaching and I had no plans, I was feeling a bit sad. I didn't really have concrete plans for enjoying the holiday in the city and had no plans to take advantage of the long weekend by leaving the city. But it turned out to be a busy weekend.
Friday night three of my friends and I ventured out to Coney Island. Every Friday night throughout the summer they have fireworks on the beach. We arrived around 6:30 and spent some time walking the boardwalk while waiting for the sun to set. Coney Island was packed and we passed some time people watching as we made our way up to Brighton Beach. The sun was beginning to set and we grabbed a table at a Russian restaurant on the boardwalk. We ordered dumplings and borscht as it got dark. Soon the fireworks began and we could even see the shows in Jersey and Staten Island off in the distance.
Saturday I spent the day in Harlem before returning to meet friends in the city for a night of dancing. The holiday weekend meant the city was pretty empty and we were lucky enough to be some of the first people in the club, which meant we got a table for the night :)
Sunday we spent the day in Central Park. It was beginning to heat up and we decided that we didn't want to spend hours waiting in Manhattan for fireworks and decided to take the Path to Hoboken. We arrived in Jersey with just enough time for dinner before heading to the waterfront where we got second row seats to the show. The fireworks were spectacular and watching them with Manhattan as the backdrop was even better.
Monday we finally got out of the city. The three of us took the Metro North about an hour and a half up the Hudson to a small town called Beacon. It was ridiculously hot and we spent a few hours staying cool in the DIA:Beacon, an interesting contemporary art museum.
So while my weekend was anything but traditional, it was still fun.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Betwixt and Between
I haven't posted a new entry in a few days because I can't seem to quiet my mind enough to focus on just one topic. Lately, each day passes in a blur of: love and hate; happiness and sadness; and progress and setbacks. It seems I have possibly developed ADD as I can't seem to decide on anything. I feel as if I'm riding some roller coaster that has left its track and I have no idea where we are headed.
I both love and hate the idea of leaving New York. I both love and hate my job - for different reasons. I both miss home and yet cringe at the thought of going back there right now. I both love being single and miss being attached. I both crave adventure and miss the familiar. I both want to be more and less in everything.
I don't know if any of this makes sense. It makes no sense in my head...and all I do know is that I'm unsure of anything.
I both love and hate the idea of leaving New York. I both love and hate my job - for different reasons. I both miss home and yet cringe at the thought of going back there right now. I both love being single and miss being attached. I both crave adventure and miss the familiar. I both want to be more and less in everything.
I don't know if any of this makes sense. It makes no sense in my head...and all I do know is that I'm unsure of anything.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
It's happening again....
It always happens so slowly that it sneaks up on me..and it's usually something that never attracted me in the beginning. But I guess that's what they say love is, right?
New York is seducing me. I don't know how these cities keep slowly stealing my heart when, each time I land in a new one, I never think there is any room to love another.
I just returned from a late night walk through the city, and it has never looked more beautiful to me than it did tonight. Seeing the New York Life building's clock tower reflected in the glass panes of an apartment building on Madison Avenue; listening to the conversations around me as I sat in Madison Square Park; and walking around the oh-so-quiet, yet quaint Gramercy Park all almost brought me to tears tonight.
The tears because I finally see the potential in this city and yet I feel as if the city never responded to my advances in quite the way I wanted it to. But that's the thing about love, you only get a say in one side of it.
I immediately called a friend and confessed these feelings to her. She told me she was startled by my admission, and I could only respond with, "No more than I."
It always happens so slowly that it sneaks up on me..and it's usually something that never attracted me in the beginning. But I guess that's what they say love is, right?
New York is seducing me. I don't know how these cities keep slowly stealing my heart when, each time I land in a new one, I never think there is any room to love another.
I just returned from a late night walk through the city, and it has never looked more beautiful to me than it did tonight. Seeing the New York Life building's clock tower reflected in the glass panes of an apartment building on Madison Avenue; listening to the conversations around me as I sat in Madison Square Park; and walking around the oh-so-quiet, yet quaint Gramercy Park all almost brought me to tears tonight.
The tears because I finally see the potential in this city and yet I feel as if the city never responded to my advances in quite the way I wanted it to. But that's the thing about love, you only get a say in one side of it.
I immediately called a friend and confessed these feelings to her. She told me she was startled by my admission, and I could only respond with, "No more than I."
Friday, June 4, 2010
"Torn between wanting to stay & wanting to go & worried it will be the wrong decision either way" - Story People
As some of you know, I've been struggling lately with the decision to stay in NYC or move somewhere else. I always thought when it was time to leave New York I would be able to leave without feeling the same sadness that always seems to descend when leaving someplace you've called home.
I never thought I would get attached to a city so large, so lonely, and so loud. I never thought that the restlessness of the city would seep into my being. I never thought that above all else here, the city would be the one thing that eventually ends up keeping me sane.
The thing about New York is that it's all about the small moments. I've written a bit about this in a previous post, but it seems as if every day there are small things that I discover I love about this city.
It's the way the ground shakes when the Subway goes rushing underneath you. It's the way you can find takeout at 3 am. It's the way I feel when I am hurtling down Central Park West on a night bus. It's the fact that I recognize my fellow bus riders each morning. It's the way you can pack a picnic and spend an entire day laying in Central Park.
So as I come ever closer to the reality that I need to leave by the time my lease ends, I also come ever closer to realizing that I have become attached to this crazy, sweet catastrophe of a city.
New York, you could have been great. I just don't think I'm strong enough to be patient enough to give you anymore.
As some of you know, I've been struggling lately with the decision to stay in NYC or move somewhere else. I always thought when it was time to leave New York I would be able to leave without feeling the same sadness that always seems to descend when leaving someplace you've called home.
I never thought I would get attached to a city so large, so lonely, and so loud. I never thought that the restlessness of the city would seep into my being. I never thought that above all else here, the city would be the one thing that eventually ends up keeping me sane.
The thing about New York is that it's all about the small moments. I've written a bit about this in a previous post, but it seems as if every day there are small things that I discover I love about this city.
It's the way the ground shakes when the Subway goes rushing underneath you. It's the way you can find takeout at 3 am. It's the way I feel when I am hurtling down Central Park West on a night bus. It's the fact that I recognize my fellow bus riders each morning. It's the way you can pack a picnic and spend an entire day laying in Central Park.
So as I come ever closer to the reality that I need to leave by the time my lease ends, I also come ever closer to realizing that I have become attached to this crazy, sweet catastrophe of a city.
New York, you could have been great. I just don't think I'm strong enough to be patient enough to give you anymore.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Tom Selleck Saved My Baby and Other Reasons I Love the East Side
As I've stated in previous posts, I love walking. I love The City in the summer because it means weekend days are nice enough to indulge my desire to explore the city on foot.
This morning a friend and I stepped out with no real destination. We started by walking through the street fair on 3rd Avenue. We soon realized we were close enough to the East Village that we could do lunch at the arepas bar that is always busy on weeknights. Since it was a bit early for lunch we decided to leisurely explore the East Village a bit first.
We wandered up and down the streets and avenues, turning as things caught our eye. We discovered a Ukranian street festival, complete with church ladies selling cabbage rolls and borscht. We wandered in and out of tiny boutiques and stopped to look at a few flea markets - NYC's version of a garage sale :)
Found on a trash can outside the flea market:
After lunch, we spent an hour sitting in Thompson Square Park watching a group of children run races with each other, people walking their dogs, and a group of people wrestling in the park. We decided to continue on through Alphabet City and walked all the way over to Avenue D wandering through every public garden we came upon.
Found in Alphabet City:
We made our way back up through the Lower East Side and the end of this walking adventure found us in a cozy, small Irish pub watching a live session of two acoustic acts.
It's days like these that make me realize I really will miss NYC when I leave.
This morning a friend and I stepped out with no real destination. We started by walking through the street fair on 3rd Avenue. We soon realized we were close enough to the East Village that we could do lunch at the arepas bar that is always busy on weeknights. Since it was a bit early for lunch we decided to leisurely explore the East Village a bit first.
We wandered up and down the streets and avenues, turning as things caught our eye. We discovered a Ukranian street festival, complete with church ladies selling cabbage rolls and borscht. We wandered in and out of tiny boutiques and stopped to look at a few flea markets - NYC's version of a garage sale :)
After lunch, we spent an hour sitting in Thompson Square Park watching a group of children run races with each other, people walking their dogs, and a group of people wrestling in the park. We decided to continue on through Alphabet City and walked all the way over to Avenue D wandering through every public garden we came upon.
We made our way back up through the Lower East Side and the end of this walking adventure found us in a cozy, small Irish pub watching a live session of two acoustic acts.
It's days like these that make me realize I really will miss NYC when I leave.
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