I have to get certified checks for the security deposit and first month's rent, and my bank charges me $8 for each one. Fees, fees, fees... where does it end??
Wells Fargo is nowhere in NYC, but they have a partnership with Wachovia so I can go there. It's been a hassle. I'm thinking that I'm going to switch banks, but I'm scared! I've been with Wells since 2004 when I got a checking account, checks, a credit card, etc, and I've really been building up that loyalty!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
I HAVE A HOME!
I must be the craziest person I know. I hope I wasn't caught up in desperation. I SIGNED A LEASE FOR THE PLACE I LOOKED AT.
I am THRILLED to have found a studio apartment in my budget in the Upper West Side. Unbelievable. For even more than what I will be paying monthly here I was hard pressed to find places in Brooklyn or Queens. I feel oh-so-fortunate and blessed that I will get to lay my head down to sleep at night in the UWS, two blocks from Central Park, and 2 blocks from Broadway. It REALLY was a steal. Thinking about signing and depositing was scaring the life out of me. But thinking about what I would be left with if I didn't: trucking out to Brooklyn or Long Island or even Jersey everytime something new came up, I just didn't know what I was waiting for.
Now you certainly get what you pay for here. It is a studio if ever I saw one. Small. Small closet. However, I'm happy it has a KITCHEN (and not a kitchenette as some were showing!) and a bathroom that I DON'T have to share, and there's even a little breakfast bar separating the kitchen from "the room" (I say that because it will serve as both bedroom and living room!). There is exposed brick and a faux fireplace. Unfortunately, it has carpet. (I was hoping for hardwood floors!). Of course I was really put off by it but considering the location, it's just so hard to beat. I can't believe my first place here will get to be in Manhattan.
So why am I freaking out? I stayed within a reasonable budget for my expenses. But I'm not even sure I can afford all of the money upfront. I knew it was going to be a lot but maybe I underestimated how much you have to throw at places just to get the keys! Man I didn't realize the good life that I was living! With the cost of housing (and overall living in NYC!) plus all the utilities (no longer splitting with a roommates) plus first months rent, last months rent, security deposit, and brokers fee (yes those are rampant in NYC), I am scared. Not only can this possibly suck me dry, but I'm wondering how on earth I will be able to save. It makes me feel just a little suffocated. Not to mention I need to buy everything! Kitchen supplies, bed, wardrobe, etc! I feel like I should get married just to register for housing needs!
I thought that being gainfully employed, and being single, meant that I would be living like a queen (relatively speaking). But no, it turns out even with modest living (I guess I could save if i moved to the Bronx or Jersey, but is it worth it?), and minimal bills (okay rent, utilities, cell phone, groceries...) saving seems like a thing of the past! To be honest I am just terrified of losing so much money. But in NYC, it's inevitable. I'm so sorry to sound whiney or annoying. It's just what's on my mind and what comes with this whole transition. What will be nice is when life is a bit more stable and I can look back at this challenging time and see how I came along and how God provided for me, no matter how many times I was living life scraping the bottom of the barrel!
SO... the moral of the story? I get my keys to move in July 1st! And I hope that my acting or music career kicks off soon for some supplemental income!
I am THRILLED to have found a studio apartment in my budget in the Upper West Side. Unbelievable. For even more than what I will be paying monthly here I was hard pressed to find places in Brooklyn or Queens. I feel oh-so-fortunate and blessed that I will get to lay my head down to sleep at night in the UWS, two blocks from Central Park, and 2 blocks from Broadway. It REALLY was a steal. Thinking about signing and depositing was scaring the life out of me. But thinking about what I would be left with if I didn't: trucking out to Brooklyn or Long Island or even Jersey everytime something new came up, I just didn't know what I was waiting for.
Now you certainly get what you pay for here. It is a studio if ever I saw one. Small. Small closet. However, I'm happy it has a KITCHEN (and not a kitchenette as some were showing!) and a bathroom that I DON'T have to share, and there's even a little breakfast bar separating the kitchen from "the room" (I say that because it will serve as both bedroom and living room!). There is exposed brick and a faux fireplace. Unfortunately, it has carpet. (I was hoping for hardwood floors!). Of course I was really put off by it but considering the location, it's just so hard to beat. I can't believe my first place here will get to be in Manhattan.
So why am I freaking out? I stayed within a reasonable budget for my expenses. But I'm not even sure I can afford all of the money upfront. I knew it was going to be a lot but maybe I underestimated how much you have to throw at places just to get the keys! Man I didn't realize the good life that I was living! With the cost of housing (and overall living in NYC!) plus all the utilities (no longer splitting with a roommates) plus first months rent, last months rent, security deposit, and brokers fee (yes those are rampant in NYC), I am scared. Not only can this possibly suck me dry, but I'm wondering how on earth I will be able to save. It makes me feel just a little suffocated. Not to mention I need to buy everything! Kitchen supplies, bed, wardrobe, etc! I feel like I should get married just to register for housing needs!
I thought that being gainfully employed, and being single, meant that I would be living like a queen (relatively speaking). But no, it turns out even with modest living (I guess I could save if i moved to the Bronx or Jersey, but is it worth it?), and minimal bills (okay rent, utilities, cell phone, groceries...) saving seems like a thing of the past! To be honest I am just terrified of losing so much money. But in NYC, it's inevitable. I'm so sorry to sound whiney or annoying. It's just what's on my mind and what comes with this whole transition. What will be nice is when life is a bit more stable and I can look back at this challenging time and see how I came along and how God provided for me, no matter how many times I was living life scraping the bottom of the barrel!
SO... the moral of the story? I get my keys to move in July 1st! And I hope that my acting or music career kicks off soon for some supplemental income!
Battery Park Saturday.
This week was crazy. It felt like the first full blast of "summer" at the workplace. All systems a go, all hands on deck, and me working with the center director with us furiously looking for new housing options. With a staff happy hour on Thursday, and a draining Friday, my Saturday was spent sleeping, reading, lounging, and not leaving the building until about 5:45pm!
When I made it to the "land of the living" (thanks mom), I decided to visit Battery Park. This place is one of my all-time favorite places in New York City. I love the fusion of the park, ocean, skyline, and that beautiful view of the Statue of Liberty. Many scenes of the Royal Tenenbaums (arguably my favorite movie) take place here, but are strategically filmed to leave out anything that points to New York specifically. So it was a mysterious but great place.
I made it down and it was still a warm and bright, late afternoon picture. I kept my headphones on after the subway so I could ignore all the vendors trying to get me to buy all those I <3 NY tshirts and Statue of Liberty collectibles, pictures of NYC and other cheap "designer" items like watches or sunglasses. (Ironically a "Gucci" watch I bought here back in 2005 lasted me straight through til early 2007, when it refused to work after my stint in the French Atlantic with it on. Not bad for like, $10!)
I found myself a spacious and warm wood seat, marble-backed bench in front of flower beds and lightposts and facing the Statue of Liberty across the Atlantic, with the great skyline of the financial district curving around my right just beyond the park. I was approached by one person asking a question. He had a thick French accent and was having problems with his English so I offered up a French conversation with him. He was really nice, and ended up sitting on the bench and talking to me for awhile. He was so pleasant! And me not having many friends made me very open to talking to strangers! He was from Paris but his parents were from the French Caribbean isle of Martinique. We exchanged emails at the end.
After that I sprawled out on the bench, completely horizontally laying on the bench with my headphones on, and just listened to music and enjoyed the sun and breeze. I love music. I just love love love music. I love all songs and all styles, they are all so beautiful and encouraging and put me in great spirits. I must have laid on the bench and listen to my music for about an hour before I got up and walked around the park, admiring the Statue of Liberty, the Castle Clinton and the statues nearby.
Now today I am going to go look at a studio!! It's on the Upper West Side inbetween Central Park and Broadway. The fact that it's in the UWS and in my price range makes me nervous. Expect the worst and hope for the best!
When I made it to the "land of the living" (thanks mom), I decided to visit Battery Park. This place is one of my all-time favorite places in New York City. I love the fusion of the park, ocean, skyline, and that beautiful view of the Statue of Liberty. Many scenes of the Royal Tenenbaums (arguably my favorite movie) take place here, but are strategically filmed to leave out anything that points to New York specifically. So it was a mysterious but great place.
I made it down and it was still a warm and bright, late afternoon picture. I kept my headphones on after the subway so I could ignore all the vendors trying to get me to buy all those I <3 NY tshirts and Statue of Liberty collectibles, pictures of NYC and other cheap "designer" items like watches or sunglasses. (Ironically a "Gucci" watch I bought here back in 2005 lasted me straight through til early 2007, when it refused to work after my stint in the French Atlantic with it on. Not bad for like, $10!)
I found myself a spacious and warm wood seat, marble-backed bench in front of flower beds and lightposts and facing the Statue of Liberty across the Atlantic, with the great skyline of the financial district curving around my right just beyond the park. I was approached by one person asking a question. He had a thick French accent and was having problems with his English so I offered up a French conversation with him. He was really nice, and ended up sitting on the bench and talking to me for awhile. He was so pleasant! And me not having many friends made me very open to talking to strangers! He was from Paris but his parents were from the French Caribbean isle of Martinique. We exchanged emails at the end.
After that I sprawled out on the bench, completely horizontally laying on the bench with my headphones on, and just listened to music and enjoyed the sun and breeze. I love music. I just love love love music. I love all songs and all styles, they are all so beautiful and encouraging and put me in great spirits. I must have laid on the bench and listen to my music for about an hour before I got up and walked around the park, admiring the Statue of Liberty, the Castle Clinton and the statues nearby.
Now today I am going to go look at a studio!! It's on the Upper West Side inbetween Central Park and Broadway. The fact that it's in the UWS and in my price range makes me nervous. Expect the worst and hope for the best!
Friday, June 18, 2010
Homelessness
I found out that I more or less have this room indefinitely. I was thinking maybe if I could hold out through the summer, it'd be great to save on the rent, be in Manhattan, and have A/C here (which is apparently not too common in NYC).
I sorta got to the point where I was feeling like... I should start looking for a place, it'd be really nice to be settled. The whole, not having a kitchen and the bathroom down the hall is starting to wear on me. And worst of all, I can't have a cat here!
So I've started looking and man! I knew that New York was expensive but yowzers! I'm getting really discouraged. I really, really want a studio, I don't want to share with random people. And it turns out that for my first born child I can get a studio in Manhattan's Washington Heights which is on the Bronx border. I mean, it's pretty bad. I don't mind living in Morningside Heights, or Harlem, or even in Brooklyn or Astoria, but it just seems impossible to get a decent studio in a decent neighborhood.
I'm trying not to stress about it too much because I know that it will all get worked out, but it's so disheartening to continue on lowering and lowering my standards and what I'm looking for. Sigh.
I sorta got to the point where I was feeling like... I should start looking for a place, it'd be really nice to be settled. The whole, not having a kitchen and the bathroom down the hall is starting to wear on me. And worst of all, I can't have a cat here!
So I've started looking and man! I knew that New York was expensive but yowzers! I'm getting really discouraged. I really, really want a studio, I don't want to share with random people. And it turns out that for my first born child I can get a studio in Manhattan's Washington Heights which is on the Bronx border. I mean, it's pretty bad. I don't mind living in Morningside Heights, or Harlem, or even in Brooklyn or Astoria, but it just seems impossible to get a decent studio in a decent neighborhood.
I'm trying not to stress about it too much because I know that it will all get worked out, but it's so disheartening to continue on lowering and lowering my standards and what I'm looking for. Sigh.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Fireflies
This evening, for the first time in my life, I saw fireflies.
I had been on the Upper East Side and crossed through the park to the West Side to get home. I was still in meadowy park and I saw sparks or embers out of the corner of my eye. I started thinking that I was seeing spots, but I stopped and watched fireflies glow in and out of the grass.
It was beautiful, something I'd always wanted to see.
I had been on the Upper East Side and crossed through the park to the West Side to get home. I was still in meadowy park and I saw sparks or embers out of the corner of my eye. I started thinking that I was seeing spots, but I stopped and watched fireflies glow in and out of the grass.
It was beautiful, something I'd always wanted to see.
Monday, June 14, 2010
I Hate Giving Titles
The groceries in New York oddly appear to be a twilight zone opposite of those in California. Now I SUCK at pricing things or know what would be considered a good or bad price, but I did get into the routine of a few items in California, and they seem to be SO different here!
First thing, exotic salad dressings. I was used to laying down approximately $5-6 for nice salad dressings from Albertson's, you know like those sesame-ginger or mandarin-spice-lime dressing (jk aboout that second one). Yet here they were like $2.
And cereals? I felt like I could always find some on some sort of sale for a good $3, and here they're always $6 or $7.
The good news is that I finally have a fridge! The RAs saved one that a student had bought and then abandoned when they went back home, and you'd be surprised how much of the store was then open to me. Things like yogurt and cottage cheese, and all those sauces that say "refrigerate after opening". I filled it UP.
Oh and the other night, I really just wanted to have some wine and watch a movie. (I'm not a wino, and I would never order a glass of wine when I was out on the town, seriously, not even at wine bars), but I LOVE red wine in the evenings or with a nice dinner. So I bought a wine bottle, only to bring it home and realize I had no wine key! I felt like Kenny's family on South Park on the Thanksgiving episode where they are donated a can of string beans and say grace over it, all to be left staring and the mom left asking "does anyone have a can opener?" . I think I even said out loud "Does anyone have a wine key?" to myself.
As Kathleen likes to point out when I do things like make her videochat with my penguin while I do the voice... I really need to make some friends.
First thing, exotic salad dressings. I was used to laying down approximately $5-6 for nice salad dressings from Albertson's, you know like those sesame-ginger or mandarin-spice-lime dressing (jk aboout that second one). Yet here they were like $2.
And cereals? I felt like I could always find some on some sort of sale for a good $3, and here they're always $6 or $7.
The good news is that I finally have a fridge! The RAs saved one that a student had bought and then abandoned when they went back home, and you'd be surprised how much of the store was then open to me. Things like yogurt and cottage cheese, and all those sauces that say "refrigerate after opening". I filled it UP.
Oh and the other night, I really just wanted to have some wine and watch a movie. (I'm not a wino, and I would never order a glass of wine when I was out on the town, seriously, not even at wine bars), but I LOVE red wine in the evenings or with a nice dinner. So I bought a wine bottle, only to bring it home and realize I had no wine key! I felt like Kenny's family on South Park on the Thanksgiving episode where they are donated a can of string beans and say grace over it, all to be left staring and the mom left asking "does anyone have a can opener?" . I think I even said out loud "Does anyone have a wine key?" to myself.
As Kathleen likes to point out when I do things like make her videochat with my penguin while I do the voice... I really need to make some friends.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
The Haps
Sometimes I feel like I could update this thing every day because like I said, every day is a new and different day here! Still, here are some more notable events:
Celebrity Sighting: My coworker invited me to drinks and dinner with her friend last Wednesday, and I accepted, and not sure why because it surprisingly was pouring rain and I was completely unprepared for it (no jacket, had to take an umbrella from our school's lost & found, etc!) but it was nice to go out for a meal with some company. We ended up at a restaurant called Vynl in Hells' Kitchen. Afterwards, it was still pouring outside and I was still damp from the way in, so I was just beelining to the Columbus Circle metro stop down 59th Street. My head was down, I was huddle under my umbrella, and jumped back at the last minute when I realized I was about to collide with someone. I said "Excuse me" as I looked up and saw I was in front of a hotel and a bellhop was holding an umbrella over a guest who was walking to the foyer, and we looked at each other and I realized that it was Will Smith! He passed by and I kept walking but then got under cover to turn around and it really was him, complete with Jada and the kids in tow. I was tempted to take a picture but it was rainy and cold and I couldn't bring myself to be THAT person!
Summer "Bracer": My work's biggest, roughest season by far is summer. Our numbers swell to over double, and everyone is stretched pretty thin and we all kinda lose our minds a little bit. For me dealing with housing it's the worst because the city is nearly sold out anyways so it's a bad time to be low on resources. All the same our Center Director is completely aware, and had a staff "Summer Bracer" happy hour last Thursday for our mental preparation. It was held at an Irish bar called The Tempest a few blocks away and our flyer reminded us that "liquor is free flowing in every sense of the word". It was awesome! Really fun as the whole staff was invited... this included summer staff, student services, academic, student workers, and teachers. We all had a really good time and it was nice to spend time with a lot of them on more of a personal level. I also took the opportunity to explain what an "Uncle Carl" drink was to everyone... aka a vodka cranberry, since I had quite a few and they're the drink my Uncle Carl is never without!
And the best is that yesterday I went to Atlantic City! But I've got tons of pictures of that and it's a post all its own...
Celebrity Sighting: My coworker invited me to drinks and dinner with her friend last Wednesday, and I accepted, and not sure why because it surprisingly was pouring rain and I was completely unprepared for it (no jacket, had to take an umbrella from our school's lost & found, etc!) but it was nice to go out for a meal with some company. We ended up at a restaurant called Vynl in Hells' Kitchen. Afterwards, it was still pouring outside and I was still damp from the way in, so I was just beelining to the Columbus Circle metro stop down 59th Street. My head was down, I was huddle under my umbrella, and jumped back at the last minute when I realized I was about to collide with someone. I said "Excuse me" as I looked up and saw I was in front of a hotel and a bellhop was holding an umbrella over a guest who was walking to the foyer, and we looked at each other and I realized that it was Will Smith! He passed by and I kept walking but then got under cover to turn around and it really was him, complete with Jada and the kids in tow. I was tempted to take a picture but it was rainy and cold and I couldn't bring myself to be THAT person!
Summer "Bracer": My work's biggest, roughest season by far is summer. Our numbers swell to over double, and everyone is stretched pretty thin and we all kinda lose our minds a little bit. For me dealing with housing it's the worst because the city is nearly sold out anyways so it's a bad time to be low on resources. All the same our Center Director is completely aware, and had a staff "Summer Bracer" happy hour last Thursday for our mental preparation. It was held at an Irish bar called The Tempest a few blocks away and our flyer reminded us that "liquor is free flowing in every sense of the word". It was awesome! Really fun as the whole staff was invited... this included summer staff, student services, academic, student workers, and teachers. We all had a really good time and it was nice to spend time with a lot of them on more of a personal level. I also took the opportunity to explain what an "Uncle Carl" drink was to everyone... aka a vodka cranberry, since I had quite a few and they're the drink my Uncle Carl is never without!
And the best is that yesterday I went to Atlantic City! But I've got tons of pictures of that and it's a post all its own...
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