I'll Sleep when I'm Dead....or live in a less exciting place

Lesson #4 in moving to NYC: You need less sleep than you think. Stop being such a baby! I felt so out of it the first few days here without my plushy 8-9 hours, but quickly learned that, like the pyramid food guide, the general rule of thumb for sleep is not exactly accurate.

Sure, I'm more on my game when I get lots of sleep, but who has time for it? There are simply too many other great things to do here in Gotham city. Maybe I'll regret this thinking later on, but for now, I've found that amping up the caffeine and just not complaining about lack of sleep makes life, well, more livable.

Though I will note that things in this city happen so much later than anywhere I've been. Rolling into work at 9:30am is not only common, it's pretty much expected. Generally, the hours are also much longer here, therefore working late is also fairly requisite.

Full disclosure: I love nothing more than a delicious, lazy nap, especially if it includes lucid dreaming...in fact, sometimes I fantasize about getting more sleep. So basically this post is to help me just deal with the dilemma of needing more sleep than I can allow myself. Yawn (this is making me sleepy).

Also, on a totally unrelated note (though I suppose both yoga and drinking are common here), this site is kind of great.

I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date

I noticed a theme recently, which is that as of late, I've been late to just about everything. Which leads to...

Lesson #3: Take the amount of time you think it'll take you to go somewhere, and add 10-15 minutes. You'll still probably be late, just less late, more in an adorable 'she's a bit irresponsible, God love her,' and less of a 'rude New Yorker, doesn't care about other people's time' way. On second thought, maybe it's better to fall into the latter category?

Either way, just assume that it'll take you longer than you think to get just about anywhere. I do realize that there have been various service interruptions to the subway, but even just walking I usually go the wrong direction a couple blocks here & there, which adds up. Before NYC, I kind of prided myself on being on time (this is quite tame of me, I realize) - but I've found that being late adds so much stress to life! The frantic stride, the flushed cheeks, the anger that starts brewing...these are not my favorite things.

Basically, there needs to be more than 24 hours in a day to accomplish all the things I'd like to do, and not be consistently late for each. Such is life!

Living with Cats...from a decidedly non-cat person

Milk is a bad choice. So is living with cats.

As of a week ago, the only pets I had was a bird and a few rabbits (which I realize is slightly odd, but just wait). When I found a great sublet, though, I reasoned with myself that living with 2 cats couldn't be so bad.

I slept with one eye open my first night, after getting treated to multiple hisses from my feline friends (I use that term far too loosely). Honestly, there were times I wanted to do terrible things to these cats, and I've found myself questioning how anyone could live with these things. I've also questioned whether or not I could be friends with anyone that lives with cats (the answer is a begrudging yes). Which brings me to my second lesson:

Lesson #2 to remember when moving to a city (or anywhere, really): If you aren't a cat (or dog, or fish, or rat) person, don't live in a place with said animal(s).

I met a girl today that retold a college horror story: one of her roommates had a rat as a pet. Not only did she have a rat, but this rat had baby rats as well that lived under her bed. Now, I'm an open minded individual but there are just certain things you should NOT, under any circumstances, subject your roommates to. Let's just say there are many things I'd prefer finding under a bed than a pile of swarming baby rats.

And that, my friends, is why the idea of finding an apartment/roommates via Craigslist is terrifying. If I can find a place without cats/rats, I'll be set.

Week 1: of Mice and Mental Stability

My new home (for October, at least) - Williamsburg, Brooklyn. A note: I've heard the new Jay Z song "empire state of mind" at least 2x per day while in Brooklyn - I mean, I get it - he's from BK, it's a love song to NYC, etc..but really? Do we need to hear it that often?

I am happy to report that I have only seen mice on the streets so far, not in my lovely 1bedroom. On the other hand, my two roommates (Henry and Sascha, cats) would be more than happy to find mice, I'm sure. When they aren't hissing at me or demanding attention, I actually get along with them okay.

However, on the mental stability front, I've gone through countless emotions this week. No complete freak-outs, but some wtf moments. I miss friends & family like crazy, but I'm slowly adjusting to life here. And finally:

Lesson #1 in moving to a big city: open the cab on the side of the street that traffic is not on. Seems simple enough, but I learned it the hard way upon getting dropped of from La Guardia and promptly slamming the cab door into an oncoming car. Luckily, the other car was only slightly damaged and left after only cursing me a few times. Welcome to NYC!!