Tag Archives: New York

New York

Parks and Surprises

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This was the weekend of parks. The weather took a break from the winter we had last week and I used the sunshine as a good reason to wander through three. I was pleasantly surprised with the flurry of activity I found in each. I do like that about New York City – there is literally always something happening!

My favorite cosmetics shop is in Korea Town, which is an area I like a lot because it reminds me of being in Asia. I never made it to Korea, but it gives me a little sense of home that feels warm and inviting.

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I usually walk through Greeley Square Park on the way out of the subway. Unbeknownst to me, Broadway Bites had popped up and there were people everywhere! It was so much fun to see literally all types of delicious food and drinks.

 

My other Korea Town plan was a bowl of noodles, so it all worked out really well. I ended up sharing my table with a lady visiting from LA who was trying to sample as much pizza as she could while visiting.

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Mushroom ramen! Something else I love about the US – Asian food here has lots of vegetarian options that don’t always exist in Asia.

Since the weather was beautiful, I was happy to just wander. And needed to walk off my mushroom ramen! In keeping with my Operation Keep Smiling plan, I took some photos on the way to Bryant Park where I sat for a while to finish my book and enjoy some hot chocolate. (I had, after all, walked off the ramen.)

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I’m not sure what this place is trying to be, but I absolutely love that Cuban and Chinese are a perfectly acceptable fusion. Something tells me it involves a lot of pork.
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The first thing I thought when I saw this sign was, “What does one have to do to get a corner?” Anyone know?

Bryant Park’s Winter Village recently started, again unbeknownst to me. I’d been to the Winter Village on various trips to New York City but I didn’t know it started this early! Maybe I should start accepting the free copies of Time Out New York magazine at the subway. Maybe that would help me know things.

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View from just outside the hubbub in Bryant Park where I sat to finish my book.

Again, really enjoyed people watching and looking at all the cute stands and stalls. There were lots of food and beverage options here, too.

 

My favorite pop-up shop . . . and favorite bookstore . . . that I need to stop visiting because I buy something every time I’m there . . .
Love this view of the city
Tables and chairs were set up everywhere and full everywhere.
There’s even a carousel! Another good reason to have kids: being able to ride a carousel.
There’s a Children’s Reading Room! This child is reading! How wonderful!

The park surprises continued today. I made my way to Washington Square Park on a whim. I haven’t been in a while even though I live less than two miles away. Distance is deceptive in Manhattan. Everything is really close together but the subway is built to run mainly north-south with buses taking more of the east-west routes. It can take a really long time to get places as a result. The easiest route from my apartment to Washington Square was to walk, so that’s what I did. Notice the steadily darkening sky . . .

 

And in the park . . . chalk! Who knew? Looking at all the drawings was so much fun! Is that a typical thing? I have no idea and there were no signs anywhere indicating as such.

 

When the sky got really threatening, I headed in the direction of home. When it was clear that I was going to get caught in a torrential downpour, I stopped to take another picture. Nothing to lose at that point!

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All those poor chalk artists!

In addition to the beautiful weather and chalk drawings, here’s what made me smile today:

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What is this tiny house doing in between these two normal sized buildings?
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It’s so small that it only has half an address! 249 1/2! That’s almost like Platform 9 3/4. I think I would like to live in a place with half an address. That sounds like fun. People would probably get lost on the way to visit, but it would make for great conversation.

Three parks and a surprise in each one. Sounds like Halloween weekend to me!

 

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

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.