New iOS, New Apps, New Life

Since we last spoke, or more like since I last word-vomited all over the page, the "why the hell did I think this was a good idea?!" sentiment quickly subsided and left in its place a conclusive "I am right where I belong." I kind of love it here. Like, it's too premature to say definitively that it's true love, but I have an inkling it is. I guess what I'm trying to say is: New York, I have a big     fat     crush on you. You give me butterflies -- I can't wait to take our relationship to the next level!

I know I left you all with a cliffhanger on Sunday and for the entiiire past 72 hours you were dying to know: how did Erika's trip to the grocery store go?! It went great -- thank you for asking! My checker's name was Erika as well. Can you believe that?? We bonded. She told me we're special and that Erica's with a C are "played out". I totez agree.

I brought my reusable Trader Joe's bag all the way here because it took up no space (my friend rolled his eyes at me when I insisted on bringing it and had that reasoning -- he pointed at my 4 bags and said "that's what you said about every single item you've packed so far and, remarkably, a lot of things that take up no space fill 4 bags and weigh over 150 pounds). I am happy I brought all of my things that took up no space. They make me feel at home and make all the difference.

JayJay eating the best salad ever, made with loving tender care by yours truly. Ro0m13z!

Some fun facts that I've learned since I've been here:

• Honking is actually ILLEGAL in Manhattan. You get fined $250 if you are caught. Who'd a thunk? I got honked at while crossing the street WHEN THE LITTLE GREEN MAN WAS LIT UP. I hope karma bites that dude in the ass and he gets fined.
• Apple owns the billboard outside my window. I guess that is not really a fun fact. But I live next to a large billboard. And it's owned by Apple. Weird. I'm not in Kansas anymore.

Monday (Full Day #2):

 4 mile morning run up East River. Beautiful. People were walking their dogs and running. So happy I'm close to water... it keeps me sane.

Manhattan is a land of false advertising -- at least when it comes to apartments for rent. The districts, which are fairly well defined, magically get expanded in the eyes of the realtors trying to rent them. Our 2 apartment leads which were supposed to be in Little Italy/Bowery (which is a great central location) were actually in the heart of Chinatown. Now, I don't want to hate on Chinatown. There are a lot of great things about it. But it is overwhelming as hell and not a place I would want to come home to at the end of the day.

Bizarre items that I guess are edible. Perk of Chinatown: cheap groceries!

The two places we looked at were no-go's, but we're looking at one today (Wednesday) with the same realtor lady (name = Moon) that hopefully will be a good fit. Cross your fingers for us.

After seeing the dingy apartments (shut up, please. no need for "I told you so"s), Moon told us there was a really cheap Banh Mi place around the corner. Even though I had bought $50 worth of groceries the night before, I decided this indulgence was a good idea. I mean, I've never had Banh Mi before... so this was obviously a necessary stop. I sat down at the counter of Banh Mi Saigon with my excessively large sandwich that cost $4.50 (cha ching! solid deal).

As I was wolfing down my first half, I heard the woman next to me mutter to her husband in awe "This is the best. sandwich. ever." I looked up at her, mouth full of my most recent bite, and gave her a thumbs up. I mean, really. This sandwich was the best I'd ever had and I was savoring each delectable flavor and appreciating every single moment that they melded together on my tongue. The lady laughed and I chatted with the honeymooners from Seattle for a little. Three minutes later, as I was doing some serious work on my second half, the couple on the other side of me started ranting and raving about how impeccable their sandwiches were, giving each ingredient a high-class shout out: e.g. "The bread is crunchy on the outside, yet soft and airy on the inside." So I of course turned to them and enthusiastically agreed. I like making random friends.

Monday evening I ventured out to Williamsburg in Brooklyn  to meet up with some old high school friends who live there. My first experience in Wburg (as the lokes like to refer to it via text message) as I came up out of the subway station was a creepy ice cream truck playing creepy music:

We got Venezuelan food for dinner (because I needed to eat more, right? Wrong.) The corn-bun, chorizo and bbq-chicken filled sandwich, plaintain chips with guac, and sangria were all on point. The bar we went to after allowed dogs on the bar. Yes, on. Not even just in. Interesting, to say the least. There was one miniature, ratty, malnourished-looking dog wearing booties on the bar that was licking all the drinks within a 3 foot radius of it. Delicious...

My guy friends and their lady friends were fabulous company and I am very excited to spend more time with them in the future. Brooklyn/Wburg is so hipster (I giggled at everyone I walked by) and young and the buildings in general are a little more spread out so there's a homey-er feel. I'm a fan. My friend took me up to their rooftop and the view was unbelievable. Overall, had a wonderful time.

If you made it this far down the page, I owe you back part of your life. I'm sorry. In about a week, these entries will probably be like one paragraph. Maybe? I don't know.