5 posts tagged “central park”
John and I are movin' on up. To the west side. To a deluxe apartment in the sky. Well, sort of. To a deluxe apartment on the fourth floor of a walk up.
We found an apartment via Craigslist and were approved today. Without a broker. It can be done! The lease will be signed tomorrow. A block from Central Park. We'll get a dog. Twice the space of our little closet in the East Village.
It's ours on March 1st. And we are in shock. Glorious, glorious shock.
It's basically the best Valentine's Day present ever.
Guess I'll have to change the name of my blog. [Suggestions welcome.]
Yesterday was the most beautiful day. It was warm and sunny and just absolutely gorgeous. Yes, I should have stayed in and worked on my NaNoWriMo, but how could I be expected to stay inside on the first warm day we've had in weeks?! So John and I headed uptown to Central Park to enjoy the afternoon. After fighting off bands of bicycle taxi drivers - one of whom asked us if we wanted to buy a used car when we declined a tour of the park - we roamed the paths, taking pictures along the way. The park was full of people; everyone seemed to have the same idea as us.
I can't get over how beautiful New York is in the fall. It's spectacular. Lately I've had no remorse in moving here, and with plans in the works to abandon Avenue C for the Upper West Side come spring, I'm downright thrilled to be living in New York.
Some pictures from our walk yesterday:
I was always more in love with the idea of New York than New York itself.
I imagined something quite different than what I have been living in for the past five months. I watched reruns of Sex and the City and Friends and thought we'd be living in a two bedroom in Greenwich Village or in a cozy brownstone on the Upper East Side. Not a cave on Avenue C. This is what happens when you only visit a city twice before you actually move there and rely on sitcoms to paint an accurate picture of New York. Perhaps I should have spent more time in the city before relocating my entire life, but there wasn't time or money. John and I made a decision, closed our eyes and jumped...
...And I hated New York. I hate the subways in July. I hate that if I want to go to a really good grocery store [which "Associated Supermarkets" is not] I have to travel all the way to Union Square; which is a pain when you just want a decent avocado. I hate the squatters next door, always begging for cigarettes, and on one memorable occasion, pizza. I hate that I can't find PBR in a bottle or smoke in a bar... and don't even get me started on the lack of sweet tea. I hate the remoteness of Avenue C. I hate that my friends are 12 hours away. I hate the buildings everywhere, going to the laundromat, and our apartment which is roughly the size of my closet back home.
Of course, John loves New York.
I thought, surely I'll have to leave him. There's no way I'm going to be able to stick this out, especially considering my Southern blood is cold when it's 75, and winter is quickly headed our way. I love John, but love can only sustain a person so long.
But now autumn has settled in. It's cold and grey, but the leaves are orange and red and incredible. We walked through Central Park on Sunday afternoon, the chomp-chomp of dead leaves under our feet and that sweet fall smell in the air. It's a kind of autumn I've never experienced in the South. The skate rink is open, and I want to go even though I haven't gone ice skating in probably eight years. I love being bundled up in my new coat and hat and gloves. I love the pumpkins in all the windows all over the city. I love walking into my warm apartment, which suddently seems almost... cozy. I - dare I say - love New York in the autumn, and even find myself excitedly anticipating the snow. I want to go to the park and build a snowman; I want to have a snowball fight.
This autumn, this impending winter... these are newfound things to me. It's a different kind of cold. The seasons actually change here, and it's beautiful and something I am not at all accustomed to. The New Yorkers laugh at me when I tell them how excited I am for winter - a season that usually depresses me to no end. "Wait, just wait. You'll hate it soon." But I am imagining the Christmas lights strung all over the city, and the quiet the snow will bring. I am a snow bird in reverse, happily staying North for the winter.
New York, just when I think I can't stand another second... New York, ever surprising and ever changing.
A relationship like most relationships in my life.
What was the highlight of your summer?
Submitted by ladym.vox.com.
I should say moving to New York City, but that's not really true. This has been a very bumpy summer for me, for a multitude of reasons. Moving is incredibly stressful: finding a new job, a new apartment, unpacking, missing friends and family. No, moving was not my highlight, even though I moved to an amazing city.
I can think of two highlights. One: going back home to Wilmington in July to visit. I took a train from Penn Station to Fayetteville. The train ride was really fun, actually. The whole east coast flew by, so green and warm. I watched the country transform itself, from factories and train yards to the green of the South. It was a long trip, but I loved it. Seeing everyone was so nice; going to my old places. It was a strange trip, but probably the best part of my summer. Two: The second highlight of my summer was actually just one day. Ken and Jordan came to visit me for a week, and one day we spent the day in Central Park. We took pictures of ourselves all over the park and then rented a row boat, enjoying the late July weather. It was a beautiful day, and I was just really happy to be with two of my best friends.
I wish I had had my camera out. I didn't; but if I had you would be looking at the greatest photo you've ever seen in your life right now. It was Friday evening. I was walking through Central Park with my dad, Justin, Jennifer and Stephanie. The sun was setting; it was getting chilly. We were walking along one of the bike paths. Lots of people were riding their bikes or jogging, and that's when we saw her come flying: the roller blading nun. She was dressed in full nun garb, her habit flowing in the wind, the rosary beads around her neck streching perilously behind her as she flew down the path on her skates. Blink and you'd miss her. Justin, Stephanie and I stopped and turned around. She flew down the bike path. She was older, maybe almost sixty. For a moment we were speechless. What exactly does one say after that?
This is city surprises me everyday. Just when I think I've seen everything, the city shakes its head and laughs, "Just you wait."
Everyday I am amazed.
