Number Crunching

Here are some numbers that you may enjoy. I am sure that you can plug them together in some sort of mathematical equation but then I am a much more right brained person....

23= Days I have been in NYC
1= Number of Bus Rides Taken
7= Number of Taxi Rides
50+= Number of Subway Rides
10= How many apartments I have viewed
4 = Pairs of Shoes Purchased since my arrival
12 = Different types of cuisine tried in the past three and a half weeks (Thai, Japanese, Chinese, American, Italian, Brazilian, Delicatessen, French, Turkish, Greek, Russian, Cyprian)
5 = Number of manicures
$10 = Average price of a manicure/neck rub
2 = Number of pedicures
$3.50 = Cost of the Recessional Special at Grey's Papaya (two hot dogs with kraut and a Papaya juice)
2= Number of stamps needed on my Lohemans' shoe club card before I get a pair at 50% off. :)
3= Number of Boroughs I have spent time in
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Well the apartment hunt is over at least for a while. As luck would have it Michael's (Esther's boyfriend) cousin Sandy and her partner Terry have been toying with the idea of renting out the third floor of their home and since they know me through Michael, they felt better about having me as their first tenant.

They have a beautiful home in the West Ditmas Park area of Brooklyn. There is a pocket of seven little neighbourhoods that have these beautiful Victorian homes. Many of them are still single family homes but since most of the third floors or basements were originally set up as mother in law suites there are a far share of people in these neighbourhoods that rent an apartment within their homes. I will have my own kitchen, bathroom, setting room, and bedroom. Sandy and Terry are nice and very fun to hang out with. They are wine lovers so I enjoy hearing tales of their travels to Senoma and Italy in search of wine...and of course benefiting from their knowledge on the subject when we go out to dinner. I will move in next Sunday and stay for at least six months and then we shall see.

Esther's friends have all adopted me as their little sister too which has made this an easy move and transition. I am starting to make some friends at work and now that I am feeling more settled I am starting to contact friends from Ohio and Michigan that have moved out here so that is fun too. I do have to confess though that I love the alone time thought. I think people assume that a city like New York would only attract extreme extroverts. But I find this to be one of the best places to live for an Introvert. It is nice being able to get lost for hours in the sidestreets and hidden gems of the city. Every block is like stepping into a new world. It is fun exchanging notes with Esther. She recommends the fun things you won't find in tourist books and I get to share with her the amazing places I find by accident.

Classes start on Tuesday so things are bustling at work. I developed several presentations we used at orientation and they were well received. Everything is good though. I miss those of you not here but I couldn't have made a better decision for myself in terms of a job or location to live and I am so glad that I was picky about the positions I applied for. Every time I go for a walk and find some new book fair, theater, or cultural experience my stomach flips a little. I am really here. Living in my favorite city. It is not just a vacation, this is my home. I am so incredibly happy and as a result I am loosing some of my cynicism towards the world. Don't worry I was plenty cynical to begin with so it is okay to loose some of that edge. ;) The only thing that annoys me is how expensive some things here are but I feel that way about most cities. But no real complaints at the moment.

Enjoy the Labor Day Weekend. :)

-Paula