My love-hate relationship with New York

Things I love:

1-So much to do
2-Interesting people everywhere
3-Tall buildings
4-Big parks that make you feel like you're in the woods
5-Riding bikes is the quickest way to get anywhere
6-Public transportation is splendid
7-All the fun shops and restaurants


Things I'd classify more as "hate"

1-Native New Yorkers who think there is nothing else besides NY
2-It takes FOREVER to get anywhere
3-Humidity (I'm from the desert people!!)
4-Tourists
5-Everything is so damn expensive.
6-Its dirty, VERY dirty.

I hate the DMV.

I spent 2+ hours at the DMV this morning, listening to people complain about how long this was taking and one woman screaming at one of the employees because she was in the wrong line. The thing that gets me, is that everyone KNOWS that the DMV takes forever so if you have limited time, don't except others to have any sympathy for you!! I don't know of anyone who enjoys the DMV let alone expects it to go by quickly. ITS A STATE OPERATED FACILITY!! of course it is gonna take hours uopn hours to do an actual 15 min worth of productive activity. So if you go to the DVM in good spirits, don't expect to leave that way. and if you go to the DMV grumpy, I assure you, you're gonna piss a lot of people off just by your presence... Enjoy your Friday!!!

Things are happening!!

What a fabulous week thus far!! Yesterday I hung out with Ricky E., pal from SLC, had delicious food at an Italian restaurant and 12th and 9th in the East Village. Pictured below is our lovely dessert: chocolate moose and a lemon tart. Yum!!

Afterwards we went to Continuum Cycles, determined to pick out a bike. One of the bikes on the floor was a beautiful bike from 1980 that had been sitting in someones garage in Pennsilvania for the past thirty year and was in mint condition. and its red. I took it for a test drive, and when I returned, I bought it!! Of course they had to do a thorough a tune up so I picked it up today and rode it from Union Square in Manhattan back to Brooklyn; about 6 miles. Since I'm so use to mountain bikes, the light weight of this bike allowed me to FLY through New York!!

One my ride home, I rode across the Manhattan Bridge, since it was sunset, it was absolutely breathtaking. I'm getting really excited about living here and all the fun stuff that I get to do!! and now that I have my bike, it makes commuting sooo much faster!!

Mummy dearest

I was thinking the other day all of the practical things I've learned from my mother, here is a list of some of the highlights. Love you MUM!!

a woman's work is NEVER done.
vacuuming is good for the soul
pick your battles
chocolate brings out the best in people
having an animal (s) to love is very rewarding
Josh Groban is the best. period.
how to properly make a bed/fold sheets
the value of a ridiculously clean home
your sisters are your best friends
walk fast
graze
shop at costco and thrift shops
counting to "two" is just as good as counting to three
whistle

and that is only naming a few...

something a little more depressing...

I wanted to share this thought with whoever wanted to read it, I wrote this at the airport the day I left for New York. kinda illustrates the bittersweet of it all.

"There is something undeniably depressing about the airport, the way people are dashing from one destination to another. The way we are all leaving something behind to purse something else. Business? Pleasure? Doesn't really matter, its all just white noise.

I keep just waiting to go home. Back to my little place in Covewood Village. Back to Teeny and Gizmo and Bear. Back to what I feel is home. Safe. I keep thinking that things aren’t changing, or maybe its just that I wish things weren’t. Between the lines of all the excitement of it all, there is pain and fear. Fear that I am leaving what I know so well and love with all my heart behind to purse something I only know in my dreams. Are all dreams worth chasing? Or are some just suppose to be dreamt while we keep living our comfortable lives. I don’t know what the future holds for me, hell I don’t even know what I want anymore. I thought I had it all figured out and now that my life is happening the way I always wanted it to, I’m realizing that my life has been happening, and in such a moving way. Despite the heartbreak and hardships of the last four years, I feel like it was my transitional time between being a youth, and a woman. For the first time I really feel like I know myself and now I’m leaving all I know behind."

A Visitor

Gizmo has a friend... well, at least an animal to stare at safely from the kitchen window. There is a black cat that has claimed my backyard as its own. I'm not sure if the cat is a stray or not. Its a beautiful black cat with bright green eyes. It has a tiny meow like a kitten but is bigger than Gizmo so I'm assuming its a couple years old. It doesn't look ragged or starved so I figure it gets along fine, which is find with me, keeping rats out of my yard is just great with me! (oh and there is no doors to my backyard... you have to climb out the window... which I guess makes it so I don't have to worry about anyone getting in because of the cement walls that surround it.) Piper out.

Prospect Park Part I

Thursday was a beautiful day here in New York City, and it so happened that it was my day off from work. So I decided to walk the 5 long blocks (the blocks in NYC are rectangles... not squares.) up to Prospect Park, the Central Park of Brooklyn. This is an absolutely huge chunk of land, all grass and trees with several playgrounds and baseball fields. Having now been to both Central Park and Prospect Park, I decided that I like Prospect Park much, much more. There was less people, (there where actually moments where I didn't come in contact with anyone and could enjoy the faux nature all to myself,) lots of trees and birds and squirrels. It is the closest thing to a forest and the great outdoors that I'll get without driving three hours. Kundo's Prospect Park!!

Tagged

Tagged

List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
Joys:
1. My Friends
2. My Family (including Gizmo my kitty)
3. My new city
Fears:
1. Losing Loved Ones
2. Loneliness
3. Cockroaches
Goals:
1. Get my LCSW by the time I'm 27
2. Furnish and decorate apartment
3. Find a job in my field... and quickly
Obsessions:
1. Sudoku
2. Working out
3. Music
Random Facts:
1. I love the mountains... love 'em
2. I was once chased by a bear, no lie.
3. I'm pretty sure I'm slightly ADD
Tag: ...

East New York 'venture

So I found my self in East New York today, a very industrial part of Brooklyn near JFK airport. I had to go pick up my packages from UPS and I vow never to go to that part of town. As I was waiting on the platform for the "L" train, a guy walks past me, and just hanging out of his pocket was a gun... yeah so I don't think I'm going to wander into those area's again!! Granted he looked like he was just strutting along and was probably just showing off his illegal weapon (making assumptions is not very social workery of me so take that Candice and Keith!) but given the area, I'm sure it was illegal. Oh well I'm safe at home now in my safe neighborhood of Park Slope... I need a weapon of sorts... (oh and stupid UPS broke half of my vintage dishes)