And so it begins....

The following is a partial list of reasons I should not move to New York City:

- I own a wonderful apartment in Seattle with my live-in boyfriend. We have redone the kitchen cabinets, the light fixtures, and put a fresh coat of paint on every surface. It is a hard place to abandon.
- I have a great group of friends in the Emerald City who are there when I call and laugh at my jokes.
- I lead a handful of lively aerobics classes in some of the top clubs in the city with members who appreciate my teaching skills.
- I have lived in Seattle seven years and am kind of used to the place.

Despite these reasons, last night I found myself on a plane across country with a dog in my lap and four over-sized pieces of checked luggage ($80 later...thanks Alaska Airlines!) to Newark. I flew here on a one way ticket and am not sure when I will return, but I am sure that I want to give it one year. I want to experience New York City in every season; the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center, the daffodils in Riverside Park, the fireworks over the statue of liberty on the fourth of July, I want to see it all. I want to experience the oppressive heat of mid-August and the bitter cold of mid-November. I want to take it all in in this, the greatest city in the world.

I realize I'm a tad idealistic about this endeavor and that when I'm complaining about my air conditioning being on the fritz in mid-summer and the constant, damp heat invading my every pore that some of you may throw this idealism back in my face. "You wanted to live in New York," you'll say with mock sincerity. Yes, I will answer, I do. Because New York draws me in unlike any other place I've ever been. The constant energy and motion is tangible. It's in the rumble of the subway under your feet as you eat lunch, the honks from the yellow blurs of taxi cabs, the blinking guady spectacle of Times Square. It's in the pace of the people on the sidewalks and the efficiency of their movements and words. I love being around this type of kinetic energy and it feels like there's no other place on earth where this type of energy exists. And it's all on one glorious island.

I also think I will rather enjoy my idealism for a while. I won't hide it in my back pocket, trying to look like a "native" with hunched shoulders and crossed arms. I want to experience this place with an open heart, like a tourist. I want to be present in every moment and appreciate everything I see and hear. I do not want to waste my time trying to be cool. I have neither the energy or the inclination.

Today I put an application out on an apartment in the upper west side. It is smaller than my dorm room in college, and similar in a lot of ways. There's a "loft" for sleeping that has about two feet of clearance above it. I question whether I will be able to roll over in my sleep. There's a kitchen with a mini oven, a mini fridge, and a sink and there's all of two closets which will store every piece of clothing I own. To get to this little enclave (or perhaps I should be more honest and simply call it "cave"), you walk up four flights of stairs. That's four flights of stairs for every piece of furniture, every load of laundry, and every bag of groceries. One. Two. Three. (phew). Four. And despite it's obvious downfalls, I love it. It's in an awesome area of the neighborhood and city and seems to be a very fitting place for me to spend my year in New York. My own little corner of the world.

Of course, the application was just submitted, so we wait to see if I will get this 300 square foot piece of heaven and if I will pay $1600 a month for the privilege. Yes, let's all keep our fingers crossed.

Here are some things I have loved in my less than 24 hours as a New York resident:

- I have met two Jewish women with short hair and big mouths in this short time and I absolutely find them wonderful. They make jokes, talk loud, and haven't a shred of pretension in their bones. You cannot find these women in Seattle. There they have been trained to be a bit more quiet, subdued, and "polite" as to not cause attention to themselves. I like when people aren't afraid to cause a little attention.
- I went to a diner for lunch and they served a big metal bowl of fresh cole slaw to the table before we even ordered!! That is a thing of beauty. It's like knowing what I want even before I do. That's the efficiency of New York City.
- At the same deli, the gentleman next to my table ordered an egg salad sandwich with a little pastrami.Gross, right? The waitress questioned the order and he said, "well, I only want pastrami on half the sandwich." Okay, that makes it better. I'm not quite sure if this a New York thing or not (weird orders at restaurants?), but I thought it was rather amusing.

So if all goes well, I will have an apartment by my next entry. If I succeed in that first step, all I have to do is figure out how to furnish it, light it, heat it, and store all my worldly possessions in what would be a walk in closet in the Seattle suburbs. Wish me luck!