I’m here! I’m okay!
Well, it has been…strange.
For starters, move-day was fine…for me. For the cat, not so much. In retrospect, it was probably a good thing that move-day was all about Moe. It was a good deterrent from my own I’m-leaving-everything-I-know freak-out. Moe was an absolute nightmare to get into his NWA-approved kennel. He was hissing, spitting, gurgling, swatting, biting, and other unidentifiable verbs. Going through security with him wasn’t as bad as we thought it would be. We found a wonderful security worker that works at a vet office on the side. She was able to inspect Moe’s kennel without actually removing him from the kennel (we had a fear that if we were required to take him out, he would escape and take out some eyeballs on the way). On the flight, he did okay: only howling with elevation changes. We hit turbulence on the decline, and I felt like howling myself. Once at the apartment, he hid behind the toilet for eight hours, finally coming out at 4:00 in the morning to walk over my head while I was sleeping.
Needless to say, Day 1 was all about Moe.
Yesterday, T took the day off from work to help me get situated. We spent the morning trying to get Moe to shit and piss in his litter box. Success! I had to work on homework while T had to watch football, or golf, or something. I braved the streets solo to buy a few groceries for lunch. That afternoon, I accompanied T via subway to the urgent care center in Time Square to have a sty treated. He has been battling it for a week without any signs of improvement. From there, we walked home (from 50th to 93rd and Broadway). I think that was around a 2-mile walk. It was fun to see how the neighborhoods transitioned along the way. After cooking an awesome supper (meatballs, salmon, toast, and Brussels sprouts), we powered through an Office marathon on TBS.
Today, T went back to work. I spent the morning flat-ironing my hair and watching Sin Nombre, quite possibly the most intense, heart-breaking film I’ve seen in a while. I’ve been considering taking on a new look in NYC. I’m not sure why, but I think it is a weird, instinctual response to moving to a foreign place. My wardrobe is somewhat limited because the movers won’t deliver our stuff until Friday.
I worked on homework for a few hours and then decided to take a walk and do some exploring. Before conquering all of New York, I would first like to conquer my neighborhood. After today’s experience, that is a feat in and of itself. I probably was only within a 5-block radius in every direction from the apartment, but by weaving throughout most of these blocks, I was gone for 2 hours. It’s really difficult to take in my surroundings here. I felt like I was caught up in a school of fish, forced to walk quickly and directly, barely absorbing the local businesses, eateries, buildings, etc. I found the new Whole Foods on 97th and Columbus that has a wonderful wine shop attached to it. I bought some bargain Spanish wines. As I was heading back to Broadway, within 20 seconds, I had a man approach me and say, “You are so fucking beautiful.” And as I rounded the corner, there stood an elderly woman staring up at a giant statue of the Virgin Mary, deep in prayer in the middle of the sidewalk (the woman, not Mary, though I suppose the VM is always deep in prayer). Still high from the aggressive compliment, I nearly collided with her. I also overheard a man negotiating with his pot-dealer on his cell phone (“Dude, I will pay for a sample first. I got cash!”). Ahhhhh. New York. It’s a shameless city.
Before returning to the apartment, I grabbed a slice of pizza from the local Hot and Crusty. When I got back, Moe was hiding in the bathroom again. In fact, he is still there. I kind of like the new Moe—quiet and shy as opposed to aggressive and loud.
I will spend the rest of the evening working on homework. I was supposed to buy a mop today, but was too over-stimulated during my escapade to find a store that sells mops. A mop purchase will probably be added to my evening itinerary.
I’d love to hear from everyone. I had a brief moment of home-sickness on yesterday’s subway ride down to Time Square.
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