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May 25, 2004
Big City Oddities
Things you only see in a big city:
-- potted plants that are chained together so nobody steals them from the doorstep
-- signs that say "No Honking - Fine $350". wow... that's some serious stuff...
Posted by MaTT at 10:13 PM | Comments (9)
May 22, 2004
First Friday in NYC
Friday was so full of cool things that here's a post just of that:
-- the air hand dryer in the restroom of Rosie O'Grady's (one place i went last night) is called something "Turbo Dryer", with a little label above the air chute that says "Feel the POWER". Sure enough, it felt like sticking my hands outside of a car travelling at 80mph -- not only did it completely blow the water off my hands, it almost blew my hands off my wrists...
-- seeing people walking down the street in gowns and suits b/c they were coming out of the Daytime Emmy Awards being held at Radio City Music Hall (down the street from the Heartland Brewery, the first place i went). i didn't see any celebrities tho -- even Susan Lucci... ;)
-- i visited the WTC site on Friday as well, and that being the first time i've seen it since before the Towers fell, i was amazed. it is eerily quiet, and almost reverent. In contrast to the loud busy-ness on the other side of Broadway, the WTC side is full of quiet, contemplating people, gazing through the heavy metal fences toward the huge expanse of cleaned-up rubble. There is even a cross made from two charred steel beams of the buildings... Sure enough, the city is busily working on the site, restoring the PATH train to NJ and making foot bridges across the streets. Almost as amazing as the actual site is the fact that all the other skyscrapers around it are all still there (well, almost all of them - one is being rebuilt). Beyond imagining being IN the towers when they were hit, I also can't imagine being in one of the many more buildings next to them, and wondering in which direction they will fall. it must have been absolute chaos in those buildings too. Fortunately they are still there. it was a touching experience for me, and i'm glad i went.
-- Topping off my WTC experience, i stopped to watch some people on the street (some dressed in shorts and t-shirts, others in their business suits) play chess and backgammon. They have these thin, make-shift tables, and bring their own timers and pieces, but wow, are they GOOD! so fast, so calculating -- they must have each went thru 4 or 5 games while i was there. it just felt happy to watch them play...
Posted by MaTT at 03:39 PM | Comments (12)
First Week in NYC
"And on the 7th day He rested"
I am on my 7th day in NYC, and finally, because it's a Saturday, i can just relax. I was only here for about 18 hours until i started working on Monday, so sleeping in today has been great!
Things of note during the week:
-- street vendor food is ok, especially for $5, but i don't think i will survive on it. So after two semi-acceptable lunches of $5 each (gyros) and two wonderful lunches for $13 each (sandwiches and stuff from Pret and Cosi) i think i will start bringing my lunch so i can strike a balance... we'll see if it happens.
-- the subway train atmosphere is increasingly intriguing: now that i am not scared of standing with a bunch of NY'ers in a confined space, i like to observe the interaction between people. it is absolute minimal interaction (no speaking, hardly any moving, not much looking around) yet people manage to cooperate very well, despite the extremely packed trains (sometimes), the rush hour stress, the rattling bouncing train, and the inability to sit down (most of the time). sometimes a guy with a very articulate, trained voice will come thru the cars, annoucing how he lost his job and is very hungry, but that is a rare occurrence. so far i am very happy with NY's subway trains...
-- businesses here are so specialized, yet are such high quality: i think because they get so much business, they can specialize in just offering really good things (like just bagels or ice cream or whatever). Yes, there are these stores in smaller cities, but they are often corporate chains, which can get away with less-than-optimal stuff. Here, they are all individual businesses, and if they don't make something great that people really like, they will get quickly replaced by some other business who can. it is competition at its finest...
-- Manhattan is not at all the jungle i thought it was: it is more like a giant airport, where everybody is there for a purpose, is often on a tight schedule, and is just trying to get from one place to another. People here are SO busy that 99% of the people are just trying to get where they want to go, and do what they have to do. Granted i've only been here for 1 week and i have 11 to go, but so far its going well.
Posted by MaTT at 03:32 PM | Comments (3)
May 16, 2004
First Day in NYC
Here i am -- my new apartment in Manhattan. It's pretty nice -- southeast of Central Park; 3rd floor; trees outside (which i didn't know existed outside of parks here); fancy awning; etc... My friend Kyle took me for a 3 hour tour of lower Manhattan -- a quick walk around the apartment, including pointing out the Starbucks on every other corner. Then we took the subway toward the Wall Street area where i will be working. The streets there are so tiny, it's like a European city! There are police all over that area, which is both comforting and a bit odd. We then walked down to the harbor area, where i saw the Statue of Liberty from afar (i haven't been there since i was 7 yrs old or so...) Then after some wandering around, we finally found the metro bus that would take us back uptown. We went thru Chinatown, which is just blocks and blocks of what looks so different than the rest of the city -- Chinese people and signs everywhere, including HONG KONG SUPERMARKET, in huge red letters. Then into SoHo, which is short for South Of HOuston (and which is pronounced 'how-stin' instead of 'hyoo-stin' (like in Texas)). Then into Greenwich Village, which is also not called that by 'real' new yorkers -- it is East Village and West Village. All these things to learn, and i'm not even in a different country! :)
Tomorrow should be exciting -- my first day of work! Finally i will find out what i will be doing... ;)
Posted by MaTT at 09:16 PM | Comments (5)
May 15, 2004
On to NYC
**UPDATE** False alarm -- well, a postponement really. My friend Kyle with whom i'm staying (and taking over his apt.) is quite sick today, so i will be going to NYC tomorrow morning. A bit close to my first work day (monday) but i think it will be better for all parties if he is well when i move in. So, let the excitement begin... tomorrow.
Well, in 13 hours i will be on my way to one of the craziest things i have ever done: moving to New York City for 3 months to begin work at my summer internship. The company is CCH-WallStreet, and by the title you may surmise that it is located smack-dab right in the heart of downtown Manhattan (and you would be correct). I will be living approximately 6 miles north of my skyscraper-enclosed place of employment, near Central Park. I've been told it is quiet and safe, so hopefully that is true and i won't be fearing for my life every time i race back and forth between the subway and my apartment door. Fortunately i have a few friends there, including some others from SI, so all is not so daunting.
I've been to NYC many times, for Broadway plays seen during high school and computer shows during college, but i've never stayed there for more than a day at a time, and certainly not lived nor worked there. What is big business in New York like? I'm imagining a stiff-backed, dark-suited, stern-faced IBM type employee. Yet, it could also be the next-gen, uber-fashionable, double-mocha-latte-drinking, hyperactive, 16-hour-day workaholic type... Either way, this small-town PA boy (upgraded to big-university-town Ann Arbor) is in for alot of adventure.
Speaking of adventure, please notice my blog's new name, entitled just for experiences like this. So, stay tuned for Crazy New York City :)
Posted by MaTT at 02:32 PM | Comments (3)
May 03, 2004
The Lady at the Market
On a lighter, happier note, I just wanted to mention this charming lady who works at Kroger's (off of E. Stadium Ave). For some reason i began talking to her back in the Fall, and now i go to her checkout lane every time i see her. She's probably in her early 40's, and apparently has no kids. But she smiles a motherly smile every time she sees me, and likes hearing about my college stories; she can tell when i'm especially busy because i don't get to shop for food as often. I felt sort of sad telling her she wouldn't see me over the summer because i'd be away for my internship in NYC, but she congratulated me and said how exciting that sounded, which made me happier. I told her i'd be back in August, to start my 2nd year of grad school.
It's amazing how someone you hardly know or rarely see can so easily bring a smile to your face.
Posted by MaTT at 05:24 PM | Comments (15)
The Tale of the Incapacitated Mailbox
Of all things in the world that can break, the last thing i expected to see out of service was my mailbox. Now this isn't a vulnerable mailbox perched on a post on the side of the road, susceptible to baseball bats, M-80s, crazy drivers, and other such dangers. This is one of those tiny metal ones installed inside an apartment building, built in to the wall, that you open with a little key. I thought those were pretty safe, until one day last week i come home and it is sitting on the floor. Like the whole two rows of mailboxes -- all ripped out of the wall and just hanging out on the ground. !?! "Okaaay," i thought, "maybe they're replacing them." Until the next day came, and the next, and still they sat, devoid of the junk mail, etc. that i so impatiently covet.
So i called my landlord today, and they said straight-facedly, "Oh, the keys weren't working anymore, and so we're replacing the boxes. New boxes should be in by the end of the week. The post office is holding your mail for you until then." OK, thats not too bad, i thought. Until i go to the post office, and they say "No, we just can't hold your mail for no reason. It's currently on the mail truck now, and the only way to get your mail is to fill out this little form here..." Great... i love my landlords -- they have no idea what's going on. At least i wasn't in dire straits like the other guy (who was also from my apt. building for the same problem) -- he's waiting for his law school acceptance letters (or something like that). I can't wait to move to my new place, which is NOT run by Issa Properties.
Posted by MaTT at 05:12 PM | Comments (4)