Anyways, last weekend I went to Wisconsin to surprise my little sister for her high school graduation. It was a great, if short, trip! I was upgraded to first class for free on both flights, and now, like Jerry Seinfeld, "I can't go back to coach, I'll know what I'm missing!"
It was great to see family and friends again, but there was also a bittersweet twinge in my heart. Just a couple months ago I thought we were moving back there. I would have my horses around me, fresh air, friends and family and familiar places. Maybe even a kitchen with counter space! It would have been so comfortable, so nice. Just driving on the old familiar roads was a good feeling.
New York is amazing, there's no place like it, but it hasn't yet become comfortable for me. I think once we find a church and good friends that will change, already just having a routine has made the transition better. I do love it here, I'm not trying to complain, but I'm still a little homesick.
Yesterday we went for a run, and explored Central Park. It's so beautiful, and if you know where to go, it's not crowded. We're going to go back today, soak up some sun and see the sights. There's also talk of a picnic in the Sheep Meadow - our favorite little area of semi-secluded greenery. The tourist there surprise me. It becomes a little offensive after a while, the way they take pictures of everything and stare at the carriages and pedi cabs and street musicians. It's only a couple blocks from our 63rd street home base, I'm really surprised we haven't been there more by now. There are so many little trails and twists and turns. Neither of us wants to go in there with a map, but we just might have to.
Our apartment is almost completely unpacked! Over the weekend we should get the last few pictures on the wall and knick knacks put away. I'll post a few pictures once it's all completed. It's so small but I think we've used the space well.
I did create new lists over the week, I've been scribbling them down whenever I think of new things, so enjoy!
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Things we didn't think we'd get used to, but we did:
1. Not driving, ever.
2. Along the same line, not owning a car. We felt trapped for the first evening after we sold my car, but then we were fine.
3. The crowded subways; it's just a jumbled pile of anonymous appendages during rush hour. But it stops bothering you after a few days. It even becomes a mental game, while humming along to my favorite Death Cab songs, I try to figure out who each arm belongs to.
4. The food prices. We knew what were getting into before we moved, but no one tells you what a heart attack you get when chicken breasts are $6.99 a pound. But you learn to adjust and work around it, and ceases to become so bad.
5. Walking everywhere. My legs are always tired. We walked about 3 miles yesterday, just running errands, and then we also went running, and of course we also walk about 6 blocks to get to the subway for work. I'm not seeing any results of all of this walking yet.
6. Buying everything with cash. New Yorkers always have cash on them. You buy produce at the corner stands with cash. A lot of the small stores don't even have credit card machines. Street vendors only take cash as well. We've both become used to getting cash back whenever we go grocery shopping, and making sure we at least have $5 or $10 on hand at all times. It took creating a new habit, and at first we'd be shocked to walk in some nice, upper east side deli and see a "no CC, only cash or check with ID" sign.
7. The noise. You just stop hearing it.
8. How open people are with public displays of affection. You can walk down any road or trail in central park and see a dozen couples, of all ages and orientations, making out on the benches or lawns. I think it goes back to what I said in a previous place, that your actual home is so small, the park, the deli, the restaurant, all become home as well. Additionally, nothing in New York feels private, which means everything feels private. At first it was a little unsettling and I wanted to yell "get a room" - I really don't care to see 16 year olds going at it on my morning run. But now I don't even notice.
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The things we love:
1. The art and music, everywhere we look!
2. The good food. Authentic ethnic food and healthy, unprocessed foods, are available everywhere.
3. How nice New Yorkers are. They are snobby, but they aren't rude.
4. Our teeny little home.
5. Central Park in all of it's glory - it's a huge, unexplored back yard.
6. The energy of the city.
7. The diversity. I don't mean ethnicity and religion, but the diversity of characters. People are all so different and unique, and this a truth wholly realized in this city.
8. The beautiful buildings, whether it's the ancient, museum looking synagogues and townhouses on the Upper East Side, the sleek skyscrapers of the FiDi, or even the quaint brownstones in the Village, they all have a different - and equally appreciable - beauty.
9. The opportunity. You get a high just knowing that you're here, and you can do anything.
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