Tag Archives: New York City

New York

Searching for Myself in a Cup of Coffee

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It should come as no secret to the careful reader that I am struggling here in New York. In addition to missing everything about living in Singapore, except for the humidity, I’m finding it very difficult to adjust to being alone, being in a new place, and being back in the US in general.

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View of the West Side from Engineers Gate in Central Park

In an effort to feel more at home in New York, I’ve been spending a lot of time in cafés to read, write, and people watch. Coffee makes everything better, and usually so does being a quiet observer among strangers. Having a legitimate reason to look around makes me feel like I’m part of something bigger than myself, which is an important shift in perspective when I get too stuck in my own head.

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I think I’m mostly doing what that cat is doing. Watching and waiting.

A good deal of my coffee drinking has been at B Cup Café. As I’ve written before, it’s really close to my apartment and plays great music. It also serves good coffee and excellent shakshuka. I’ve been there at least four times, which practically makes me a regular. Based on my own habits, anyway.

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However, I’m bad at sitting at the best of times and caffeine doesn’t help. So I’ve also been wandering around the East Village and taking pictures of everything colorful in an effort to improve my mood and general outlook. That’s a thing, right? Color therapy? I’m not sure if it’s working but I did find some delightful street art:

The East Village is enjoyably quirky in a number of other ways, too. Examples:

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The most exciting part of my wandering today was green space! Neighborhood parks are so important in building community, and seeing them always makes me happy. More than a few parks have started decorating for Halloween, too. I passed by one of those today, as well as a couple parks that aren’t quite on the decorating bandwagon (yet?):

Perhaps unsurprisingly, much of my reading and writing (including this blog post) has taken place at cafés. I’m at Think Coffee at the moment, not because I actually wanted the coffee but because I’m also not good at being home for more than a few hours at any one point during the day. Again, I tend to spend too much time in my own head that way. I do a heck of a lot better at work, which often makes me feel more comfortable than I do during the weekends. (I know. I know, I know. Famous last words.)

I realize I’ve been saying “I’m not good at” fairly often lately. Maybe that’s part of the problem at this point. I don’t know anymore what I am good at. Learning. I guess I’m good at that. At least, I try to be.

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A little light reading, courtesy of the New York Public Library. Croissant sandwich and coffee from Petite Shell on the Upper East Side.

If you’re looking for me, I’m probably in a coffee shop. If not, chances are I will be soon. I always take my coffee black. Thanks for asking!

 

New York

In Motion

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About a month after I moved to New York City, I moved apartments. Always something new, right? Presumably, however, I’ll be in this apartment until the end of the school year. At that point, it’s anyone’s guess.

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I feel a bit like the Smurf on this truck – bursting out of chaos into . . . whatever happens to be there.

Although I’m much farther downtown now, which is not terribly convenient for work, there is a lot to like about the GI Bill-era neighborhood where I currently live. Firstly, it’s like living in a park. There are trees, green spaces, basketball courts, tennis courts, actual playgrounds for kids, and a gym, library, and café. There’s also a farmers’ market on Sundays selling everything from wine to fresh seafood to organic produce, which has been absolutely delightful. Since this complex was built at a time when space was at less of a premium than it is now, my apartment is spacious and bright. I look out onto the Empire State Building to one side and more trees on the other. The kitchen could use about 50 years of updates, but it’ll do. I made vegetable paella last night, so I really can’t complain.

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The building behind this church belongs to NYU. There’s a lot of mixed construction everywhere. I guess that’s what happens in a city that sells underground, ground, and air space.

Since I’m too far from Central Park to run there on a regular basis I’ve taken to running along the East River. Heading north leads me through a lot of construction but also past the UN headquarters, which is just cool.

I prefer the route heading south towards the Brooklyn Bridge, however. I pass through the Lower East Side (witnessed a rap show over the weekend in which a key line was “in the LES we care for our friends”) and get pretty close to Chinatown (there’s usually some traditional music and dance and even an outdoor fitness park where I stop to do pull-ups).

My route also takes me past a community of people who make their home under one of the bridges, which makes me sad every time I pass by. Homelessness is rampant here and only increasing. It’s very visible so one can’t pretend it doesn’t exist, but no one seems to care. That’s been difficult for me to understand, especially considering the opulence that occupies many of the same spaces.

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Beautiful old building that I think is in Chelsea. I walked around a lot this weekend and I’m still learning the neighborhoods!

As I stumble through this city, I find myself asking seemingly endless questions about my surroundings. When I’m with other people, I ask those questions out loud. When I’m not, I take pictures that hopefully remind me to do my own research. For example, I passed a building with this display a few weeks ago:

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I didn’t know the answer to the question “WHAT is THEOSOPHY?” and did the thing all skeptics do before attending free meetings in which all are welcome. I Googled it.

The very helpful Merriam-Webster defines theosophy as “1)  teaching about God and the world based on mystical insight; 2) the teachings of a modern movement originating in the United States in 1875 and following chiefly Buddhist and Brahmanic theories especially of pantheistic evolution and reincarnation”. HP Blavatsky honestly sounds like someone I’d want at a dinner table at least once, but I’m going to skip the meetings for now.

 

Though I’m feeling rather adrift, I am trying to take the time to pause, look around, and take in where I am and what I’m doing. There’s a lot to learn about any new place and adjustments take time.

Throughout this transition, I’ve tried to  remind myself of the importance of compassion, particularly self-compassion. Some days I’m more successful than others.

Today was one of those days.

New York

New York Looks Like This

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I generally do a lot of walking around new places, both to learn my way around and to get a feel for where I am. New York is a very walkable city. It’s a grid, which makes it pretty easy to get around. I was skeptical at first, but you actually can feel the neighborhoods as they change and evolve. I’m still studying neighborhood maps because most areas blur together to some degree (at least for me). Having a sense of where I am helps me feel grounded, which is something I desperately need right now. Walking gives me something to do and also serves a second purpose – I can unapologetically play tourist in what is presently my city!

So far, I like New York City a lot. I didn’t expect to. For a variety of reasons, I’m not sure that I want to. But I do. I like that a city can look like all of this at once:

I’d forgotten how old New York actually is. It’s so cool to see reminders of that on the same block as the most modern of skyscrapers.

I also like that Bloomingdale’s, for whatever reason, has flags:

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I know the cloudless blue skies won’t be around forever, but I like those, too.

New York is clever, as well. Many restaurants and shops display chalkboards outside with messages to try to entice customers. I’ve stopped and read many of them and this one was my favorite of the week:

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(Yes, that’s a shadow me taking a photo in the bottom right corner.)

I’ve already written about my fears about New York. There have been some significant changes since that post, but the allure of New York hasn’t changed. It’s still big and loud and fast. It’s still dazzling and bright. I’ve found that it’s surprisingly easy to feel equally part of and dissociated from crowds. My favorite moment of New York City living so far was last Saturday’s run in Central Park with hundreds of other people in dozens of shades of neon. I’ve never been so exhilarated by something so mundane as a morning run.

One belongs to New York instantly. One belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years. – Tom Wolfe

So far, I like what I’ve seen. I don’t know how long I’ll be here but I intend to make this city as much of mine as I can for however long that is.