Tuesday, January 24, 2006
I can't believe it's only been two weeks. So much has happened, so much has changed. Here are some highlights:
On Saturday we went to the MOMA which was awesome, one of the best museums I have ever been too. They had great modern art, interior design, architecture, photography, and right now a great Pixar exibit. There was a video playing that spanned 4 screens side by side, super wide screen! It looked like a bunch of animated stills on a wall, but as the camera moved around and zoomed in, the stills actually had motion and depth to them. It was really amazing. In one room they had a Mac SE, iMac, iPod, and the taillights from a Miata all in a row!!!
Last weekend I went to Boston to see Becca, Sam, Monika and Jen. I did a little sightseeing, and too much drinking :). It's a very cool city, and I'll be back soon. I was also in New Haven for about 20 minutes, and it seemed like a fun place.
There's something strange about how much things cost in New York. I haven't been able to figure it out yet. Obviously housing is expensive, and forget about shopping in SoHo. But you walk another half mile to China town and everything is cheap. Downstairs from my apartment there's a haircutter that charges $75. And 4 doors down another that charges $12. And in Chinatown it's $6. How can anyone afford to rent a space in New York and cut hair for $6? I got a good haircut for $12. My first haircut from someone new in 7 years! It seems places on rent control are cheap, and places who aren't are forced to be upscale and expensive. And labor seems to be cheap, maybe because there are so many people here.
I'm sort of torn on the abundance of delivery services in New York. Places like Seamless Web and Fresh Direct and make it really convenient to never go outside or talk to anyone. But I guess they will be nice on rainy days.
Sometimes I forget about how New York wasn't really a safe place 10 years ago. As long as I've known this city it's been fairly clean and mostly safe. It's hard to imagine it otherwise. I guess that means I'm not a true New Yorker.
Space is very limited, of course. This is obvious in the small places for rent. One of the most interesting things I've seen is a portable Post Office, which is really just a truck that's parked at the same place all the time. They open the sides of the truck and service people as they walk up.
Karaoke is huge here! It seems like there are karaoke bars all over the place, and no matter what we do each night, we end up at one at some point. Looks like I'll have to start singing and practice at home before going out ;)
I love New York. I love the speed that the city moves, and how there is lots of stuff going on all the time. I love the trains. But I definitely feel like the small guy in a big city. It's a very different feeling from being in San Francisco. And I miss all my SF friends! And I miss my Miata!!!
On Saturday we went to the MOMA which was awesome, one of the best museums I have ever been too. They had great modern art, interior design, architecture, photography, and right now a great Pixar exibit. There was a video playing that spanned 4 screens side by side, super wide screen! It looked like a bunch of animated stills on a wall, but as the camera moved around and zoomed in, the stills actually had motion and depth to them. It was really amazing. In one room they had a Mac SE, iMac, iPod, and the taillights from a Miata all in a row!!!
Last weekend I went to Boston to see Becca, Sam, Monika and Jen. I did a little sightseeing, and too much drinking :). It's a very cool city, and I'll be back soon. I was also in New Haven for about 20 minutes, and it seemed like a fun place.
There's something strange about how much things cost in New York. I haven't been able to figure it out yet. Obviously housing is expensive, and forget about shopping in SoHo. But you walk another half mile to China town and everything is cheap. Downstairs from my apartment there's a haircutter that charges $75. And 4 doors down another that charges $12. And in Chinatown it's $6. How can anyone afford to rent a space in New York and cut hair for $6? I got a good haircut for $12. My first haircut from someone new in 7 years! It seems places on rent control are cheap, and places who aren't are forced to be upscale and expensive. And labor seems to be cheap, maybe because there are so many people here.
I'm sort of torn on the abundance of delivery services in New York. Places like Seamless Web and Fresh Direct and make it really convenient to never go outside or talk to anyone. But I guess they will be nice on rainy days.
Sometimes I forget about how New York wasn't really a safe place 10 years ago. As long as I've known this city it's been fairly clean and mostly safe. It's hard to imagine it otherwise. I guess that means I'm not a true New Yorker.
Space is very limited, of course. This is obvious in the small places for rent. One of the most interesting things I've seen is a portable Post Office, which is really just a truck that's parked at the same place all the time. They open the sides of the truck and service people as they walk up.
Karaoke is huge here! It seems like there are karaoke bars all over the place, and no matter what we do each night, we end up at one at some point. Looks like I'll have to start singing and practice at home before going out ;)
I love New York. I love the speed that the city moves, and how there is lots of stuff going on all the time. I love the trains. But I definitely feel like the small guy in a big city. It's a very different feeling from being in San Francisco. And I miss all my SF friends! And I miss my Miata!!!