Taking a bite of the big apple

So last Saturday, the movers came and packed up all our stuff. They were amazing and efficient, and only over their estimate by $100. I have to say, I don't think I will ever be able to move my own stuff again. It felt like some of the best money I ever spent - no U-haul, no tired aching back from hauling 300 boxes up stairs in two different apartments.

Then we kicked around San Francisco for a couple more days, doing a few more "last" things. We took one last drive down the coast to Monterey and back. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate and it rained for most of the trip - the first rain we've seen since March. But, it still brought back a lot of good memories. Our trips up and down the CA coast were some of our favorite times. Then we headed to the airport on Monday and hopped on an airplane with one way tickets. It was really weird, and I don't think it really sunk in that we weren't coming back.

On Tuesday, we took a peek at an apartment with the broker that we've been working with (the rental market in NY is so crazy, you use a broker to find a place, just like if you were buying a house in any other city in America) and decided that it would be PERFECT! And that afternoon we signed a lease. Hooray!! The last piece of the puzzle fell into place. The one drawback is that the apartment wouldn't be available until November 1st because they were going to gut renovate the place. New kitchen, new bathroom, new floors - yes, they can complete that in two weeks. So, until then, we'll be staying in short-term vacation rentals all over the city. Tuesday and Wednesday nights, we stayed in a room in an apartment out in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Which is a neighborhood that is just starting to be gentrified. We went to an amazing restaurant for dinner last night called Roberta's pizza. I can already tell that we are going to eat a LOT of good food here, and I am going to have so start seriously exercising again to facilitate that!

Then today, we moved to an apartment in the East Village in a really great location. It's just mind-boggling here, the sheer number of restaurants. You walk down the street, and they just keep going and going and going. We walked down 2nd Ave tonight from 13th st. to 2nd St. and there was no break - the entire way was lined with restaurant after restaurant. In San Francisco, it's more like you'll have 3 blocks of restaurants, and stores and stuff, and then it will break for awhile, and then you'll have a few more blocks of commercial stuff. But this is uninterrupted food, I'm telling you. It's so dangerous - how do you ever decide where to EAT!!?? I could see myself spinning my wheels for hours and hours of indecision. So many choices, so little time.

Anyway, on Saturday we move to Williamsburg, in Brooklyn for 6 days and then next Friday, we come back to the East Village apartment for 2 days and then we spend our last night in a nice hotel (as a treat) and then we move into the apartment. Whew, I got tired just typing that. I start work next Monday, and it's going to be really nice to stop being so transient and actually settle down in our own place. But so far, all this moving around has been giving us a really nice overview of the City, both Manhattan and Brooklyn.

On Wednesday we spent some time just hanging out and walking through Central Park. Today we checked out the High Line park - a new park built on the old elevated train platform - and a couple of galleries. Tomorrow I think we'll head to an art museum and then do some shopping. Both Neil and I need winter coats. It's already colder here than it ever gets in San Francisco and we don't really have any winter clothes left - there's no point in keeping them when the temperature never goes lower than 50 degrees.

And I have to say I am in HEAVEN with the weather here. It's October, and it feels like OCTOBER! It's FALL!! Finally, a SEASON!! It's crisp and cool and there is just a smell in the air that feels exactly like Portland. I just feel like I'm home.

I'm really nervous about starting work next week - all new jobs suck for the first few weeks, meeting all the people, learning the new job, the new politics. No fun. Hopefully it will go fast, though, and I can get into the swing of things really quickly.

So, that's our first few days in New York - already a whirlwind of activity and food! We are both exhausted and exhilarated at the same time. So here's to a good night of sleep and being ready to head out on the town again tomorrow!

New York, new york...

Wow, I'm really out of practice at this. Things have been kind of out of control here for the last few months. First up was the audit, and even when you know exactly what you're doing, it still takes two months to prep and complete the stupid thing. And I'm kind of a control freak when it comes to doing work (something I need to work on), I don't trust anyone else to do it right, and so I end up taking the whole project on myself. Which really isn't smart and at some point, just isn't going to be feasible anymore. So that was July and August. And then my sister had the cutest baby EVER (please see proof below) which, of course, required a visit to meet said baby. 

And then, I came back to San Francisco for two days, and jetted off to an interview in New York, because - holy cow it's time to start applying to jobs now - AHHH!! Said interview went poorly, I didn't get a great feeling about the job for numerous reasons, and so I told them I didn't think the position was a good fit. Back to the drawing board, so I thought. Then they called me a day later, made me tell them why I didn't think it was a good fit, and proceeded to convince me that it was a good fit, and so I negotiated salary and took the job. So I have a job, YAY! Which is really great news, because if you don't have employment, you have to have a guarantor to get an apartment - a guarantor that makes 80x the monthly rent. Which basically meant that I'd basically need my whole family to line up and co-sign on our lease. Not an attractive idea.

 So, it seems like we've been waiting FOREVER to move, and now all of a sudden everything has to happen in 10 seconds. I've lined up the movers, booked our one-way tickets to New York on October 18th, along with the doggies and I'm heading back to New York next weekend to try and find us a place to live. And then I start work on October 25th. Holy cow, the wheels are starting to spin a little out of control. I'm hoping that something doesn't fly off the tracks!

I will leave you with the second of many, many more Maggie pictures to come: