My life in the capital of the world begins

I am finally here. I can't believe it. I am overwhelmed, overjoyed, and ecstatic. I moved in this past weekend with the help of Pablo and Melissa. After moving in I took Pablo and Melissa to see the World Trade Center site and then I saw my first movie in NYC with Melissa: "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2." Pablo left early Saturday morning, and Melissa and I explored the city for the rest of the weekend. On Saturday, we walked almost 60 blocks to Central Park. On Saturdays in August the city closes streets for walkers and bikers, so we were able to walk almost the entire way in the middle of the street. It was a great activity for my first day in the city. We enjoyed a walk through the park, got a lemonade, and took a long break to people watch. That night we had an awesome dinner in Little Italy. It was so packed full of people Mulberry Street was closed to cars. White, green, and red lights stretched from building to building. The light poles were painted with the Italian flag. We had a bottle of Lambrusco and shared dessert. It was a wonderful night.

On Sunday we went to Whole Foods and had all-you-can-eat sushi. We tried 10 different types of sushi. They were on a conveyor belt in front of us and we were able to grab whatever sushi we wanted as it passed. Most of the sushi was good, though anything with shrimp, avocado, or cucumber was the best. After lunch we walked halfway across the Brooklyn Bridge and saw the waterfalls in the East River. We walked down to the South Street Seaport and did one of the walking tours that Melissa bought me. After the tour we made our way to F.A.O. Schwartz, which unfortunately was closed, checked out the underground Apple store briefly, walked Central Park a little, and then had dinner at Serendipity (yep, the restaurant from the movie of the same name, not that many people have heard of it, or have seen it). The wait was ridiculously long, so we made reservations. The food was ok. Melissa and I shared a frozen hot chocolate (which is what they're known for). It was scrumptious and tasted like a fudge-sical. They had a lot of desserts on their menu but they were very expensive. 

The next day Melissa shopped while I did some training for my job. We had lunch at a small pizza place in midtown near Penn Station and then, unfortunately, Melissa had to go home. I left the train station for the first time alone in the city. I rode the subway back to Bleecker street and walked back to my room, where I unpacked for the rest of the night. I was exhausted and sad and numb, but so excited. I felt like I had been waiting for my life to begin over the past couple of years, and now it actually was. No matter what I did every day from here on out, as long as I was in the city, around people, seeing and experiencing new things every day, even minute things, I was living more than I ever could anywhere else. Just looking out my window and the complex composition of buildings was a gratifying activity in itself. 

On Tuesday and Wednesday I began working as a GHA in my building preparing for the arrival of the residents on Sunday. On Tuesday I explored the NYU campus a bit, checked out the campus bookstore and computer store, got my NYUID, and had dinner in Washington Square Park. The sun was setting, and the park was full of people eating, talking, sleeping, playing with their pets and children, reading, and just enjoying each other's collective company. On Wednesday I headed into the East Village, an area I had not been in yet. I found the Anthology Film Archives and the Angelika Film Center. I went into a number of small, corner grocery stores and wrote down prices of food so I could find the cheapest place to shop. I wrote down the location of a psychic and some other cool places I found. I walked for about an hour and a half through the East Village, the Lower East Side, Little Italy, Nolita, and Greenwich Village. I found a park with a playground, basketball courts, and a couple small soccer fields. There were a number of soccer games going on. I liked this park, and I definitely think I will go back again.

To explore Thursday: more of the NYU campus, the salvation army one block down (if it is open), visit Tisch School of the Arts, maybe the West Village. 

I want to post pictures of New York on a regular basis. I will post a link to some sharing website as soon as I start doing this.