Skyline view, south from 11th Street.
It was a good way to start the day and my new life here in New York. But, I have to say, this city is crazy. Like every other city and niche and fetish on steroids. There is a store around the corner that just sells lacy designer stockings. And another devoted just to the Russian photography movement known as lomography. And about five 24-hour deli/grocers where you can get anything you need from bananas to beer to toilet paper and cereal -- for about three times the price it should be.
Yesterday finally felt right. Slept 'til noon, but that was excusable considering I was up until 7 a.m. unpacking and looking for furniture and other household essentials on craigslist and Amazon. After running a few errands (groceries, post office), I checked out six thrift stores and came home with a nice, white, upholstered chair -- which my mother immediately warned me to check for bed bugs. (Fair enough, and I did, and I feel confident that this prudent purchase from the City Opera Thrift, only $43 including the cab ride home, has passed the NY Dept. of Health Bed Bug Safety Inspection.)
After a little more unpacking, it was off to 24-Hour Fitness at Broadway and Houston to check out my replacement for kickboxing with Mike. Louise's advice was good: Body Combat seems like the way to go. It was a bit of a culture shock, though, to see that this tiny, upstairs, smelly, sweaty place, jam-packed with young, eager, worker-outers, would be my new gym. But I guess it will work. The hardest part was trying not to laugh when all the Yelp reviews came true, especially the ones about trying to have yoga class below a weight room. (Might as well be a bowling alley upstairs.) But jogging through Soho and pushing through another 20 minutes on the treadmill and Body Combat and yoga class seemed to do the trick. Finally, I relaxed. And as a reward for pushing through the day, I went out for a single class of wine at Gittono on Greenwich Avenue about 1:15 a.m., met a nice hipster bartender who suggested a Sicilian table wine called Scinniri. It was perfect -- full-bodied and flavorful, yet dry, and complete.
I don't think I'll have time to bake cookies today before the pizza party downstairs in my building, but I did manage to get to Trader Joe's for some honey wine. So if in the next three hours or so I manage to clean up the mess in my apartment, and hopefully I manage to meet and talk to some interesting people at the little welcome party, I can invite them upstairs for a glass. If I can find/unpack the glasses.
Oh! One more bit of exciting news. In all likelihood, tomorrow will be my first real night out in the city, to see Eliot Lipp open for BOOMBOX at the Bowery Ballroom. The venue seems really cool and not overpriced. Plus, since thankfully Eliot Lipp is not the headliner, I'll get to enjoy a sweet dance party with one of my old favorite DJs and still get up on time for Orientation on Thursday.
Last thing: If anyone has any ideas about decorating and/or rearranging/acquiring furniture, here is the layout of my apartment. Comments welcome!
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