I went walking to a few street fairs in the area due to Memorial Day. WOW, there is so much to take in, in a NYC summer! I then went to a Lower East Side park to people-watch. Apparently the folks sitting directly across from me on a park bench were people watching as well…and critiquing. The man, a white gay man dressed in red, pink and blue denim with a Mohawk and GhettoFab gold bling was making fun of literally everyone that crossed his path. I knew he was talking about me too but I did not care. I too was busy trying to figure out his busy attire.

Ahhh New Yorkers.

I also enjoyed watching young kids trying to catch a rat. When the rat escaped, one kid said, “ahh let him go, he’s an illegal rat anyways.” WTF? Maybe I heard him wrong, if not then we have one future GOP’er on our hands folks.

Today I went to a temp agency. (Not Mr. Temp w/ an Attitude, I would not give him the time of day)! Three hours of waiting, filling out forms, and taking demeaning tests later I find out that no only do they have no work for me but they are not sure when they will. ummmmm. Then one of them told me with a big permanent plastic smile that they look forward to working with me. clearly. As I left I felt slightly bad for the next poor sucker who had to endure the same freakishly large smile and faux friendliness. This is such crap! I am begging them to help me find some 11 dollar an hour job as a secretary? I was not trained to be a secretary! They did not seem excited when I told them I DID NOT want temp-to-perm because I have other plans come Fall. Less commission for them I guess. Is New York just about the "mighty" dollar? Say it isn't so!

one hour. I lasted ONE HOUR, if that, at my "fun job." Maybe Mr. Temp Agency was right, maybe I do belong in an office. I am not a hustler, and hustling is what New Yorkers do best. I am a teacher, I want to help, to love, not coerce, beg or hustle. When the other new kid they paired me up found out I was a teacher he told me, "teaching IS hustling." He exclaimed frantically as if he were trying to sell teaching to me, "You gotta convince those kids that you have the information they want. y'know?" Maybe so. The difference, however, is that if teaching is hustling, then at least I'd believe in the product I'm selling.

"The only way I'll be rich and famous is if I move out of New York where the rent is not so expensive." ~ A bike rider in Central Park talking to the tourists he is cycling around today.

WORD.

On another note, I got a fun summer job today. We'll see how it pans out, but I am feeling a bit thrown off b/c I got a call from a temp agency later on in the day. The man calling was really rude when I told him I was not interested b/c I was doing this other job. He told me a college graduate would not want that type of job and when I was interested in a real job in a real office to give him a call. You know what? I have spent my whole life living by someone else's rules. When I came to NYC, I said NO MORE. I am excited about my new job and if it does not work out, then so be it, I will chalk it up to a learning experience. Nobody has the right to tell me what I should and should not be doing especially some random judgmental stranger on the other line.

WORD.

Friday May 19, 2006

Waiting for people to call/e-mail back for jobs SUCKS. Pouring rain SUCKS. On a more interesting note I cleaned the bathroom today.

Wednesday May 17, 2006

Finding a job in NYC is insane! The jobs posted on online listservs pay 12-15 dollars and hour for entry level positions. Great, that covers my rent and a slice of pizza. I'll just walk from uptown to downtown since I, a Magma Cum Laude college grad cannot afford the subway. whatever. So I spent two hours this morning sending out resumes then I noticed it was sunny outside. Screw this, I'll worry about this crap tomorrow. I took a walk around Central Park instead. I took pictures, I saw two men and their daughter fishing...she had a mini-fishing line...cute. I almost got ran over by three policemen on horses screeching, "Get out of the way!" please. talk about drama queens. you know they were just going to lunch and wanted to act like John Wayne. I talked to an old friend today who is my age and is married with a kid. She said if she was not married she would be right there beside me. She sounded wistful. It made me think, you know, we have to follow our own paths in life, one path is not better than the other, in the end it's just what makes us happy. We have to decide what kind of memories we want when we are old and even though they will be different they actually will also be similar---because they will all be memories of days that bring a smile to our face.

Tuesday May 16, 2006

I woke up and thought it was early morning. But the 11:45AM alarm clock does not lie. Damn. So much to do, but first so much sleeping to catch up on....A few minutes later my mind talked my body out of sleeping. I really got alotta of crap to do. I halfheartedly did a speedy 20 minute session of makeshift Bikram Yoga (if done correctly would take 90 minutes...but I digress) and threw some clothes on. I realized that I did not pack any Winter clothing...I am a California baby and I assumed that Mid-May would be summer. Yeah, I assumed wrong. I briefly wondered what other assumptions NYC would gleefully challenge me on and then quickly pushed those thoughts out of my head. I'm gonna figure this out one day at a time. First things first, I need to change my phone number. I was told that NYC hiring companies do not call out-of-stater's. Whether this is true or not, I did not care. NYC is my new home so a California area code does me no good. The woman behind the phone counter was more interested in flirting with the hot dreadlocked man to my left than helping me. Shoot, I was more interested in flirting with the hot dreadlocked man to my left than helping me too! But again, I digress. Got my new NYC! number, walked around, took some pictures, stopped by a pizza place. The kids inside--the mini New Yorkers--talked about God, sex, food, and friends. Anybody who thinks kids don't have anything interesting to say is not really listening. Or properly eavesdropping as I was doing. I met my roommate later on in the day, she walked in on the phone crying and upset. Apparently being a NYC teacher is a wee bit hard. She told me that she loves being a teacher but the bureaucracy of the NYC public school system is unbearable. Da-ang. One of my employment options was teaching come Fall. I taught in California and loved it. I love the kids here too. Maybe mini adults is more appropriate. But I will worry about my job options tomorrow. I also got a call from a friend today. She told me to set up a PayPal account so she can send me money. I said no, but I wonder how did I get so lucky to have such great friends?--and if they are so great, why did I leave them?

Monday May 15, 2006

So. I arrived in NYC yesterday…a cold wet Monday with my whole life neatly packed into two suitcases. If only it were that easy. I had left on the 14th...Mother's Day...even though I have no children it was my Mother's Day because I was putting myself first...for once. The plane ride was fast—despite the five hour long conversation the two girls next to me insisted on having about the “OC.” Did you know Rachael Blison named her dog Penny Lane and that her boyfriend Andrew Brody bought it for her and did you know that Andrew is her boyfriend in real life??? OMG!!!!! I didn’t either. The trip from JFK to my sublet in Manhattan took 4.5 hours. YES 4.5 hours. Let’s just say that construction, NYC traffic, pouring rain, and a driver asking to see MY map DON’T MIX. He also told me I was lucky I was just visiting NYC. ummm NO I am actually moving here. He then turned around, looked me straight in the eyes and said quietly, "Good Luck." I did not respond. After picking up my sublet keys from a neighbor that was having her own complicated day I had the joyous task of getting my two suitcases, one backpack and a laptop from the bottom of the stairwell to the top. After lugging my crap up three flights of stairs I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. This is not the right stairwell. Damn. I then had the joyous task of re-lugging my crap down and then up the right stairwell. When I finally got to my new “home” everything seemed pretty clean and in order--I noted the gorgous purple bedroom curtains before passing out on my bed. When I woke a few hours later I decided a shower would be great. What I failed to see when I first got there was the black grimy tub and moldy shower curtain. Ummmm. My roommate seems to be a slob. I then carefully took a shower thinking how much nicer the shower that was never cleaned at that nasty hostel I stayed at last time I was here—y’know the one that hosted 100’s of travelers a day seemed. GROSS. Don’t get me started on the kitchen. Smelly piles of food and condiments are what comprise the inside of that refrigerator. Ummm. Maybe I’ll just eat out these next few months. My friend called me later, the one I am subletting her room from—to make sure I got there ok. I mentioned the bathroom, and she profusely apologized. My friend is pretty clean so I assumed it was the roommate from the beginning. But still. ewww. I picked up dinner at a local Chinese food place. I loved that the first words barked out of the guy behind the counter’s mouth were, “What? What do you want?” ummmm. Food? As I sat down in my new sublet apartment with beautiful bedroom curtains and moldly shower curtains I thought about this California girl's new adventure in NYC. Did I make the right choice? Am I running away from my past? I decided not to think about that and instead ponder on the days when perky food servers asked me politely, “Hi! How may I help you?”