NYC

Well, it's time I suppose, to bring back the blog. I'll try harder this time I promise!

I'm sitting in my new apartment in Queens, listening to Paul natter away in the bedroom. The only bedroom. We're been here almost two weeks now and the wall that has been promised to go up and give Paul his own bedroom has yet to appear. So, Paul sleeps in the master and Chris & I sleep in the family room.

So far there have been a number of things I've noticed about big city living that is very different than what I expected, or maybe I just never thought about it before.

1. Cream. Cream in my coffee. I ask for cream, and whoever is serving me looks blank for a moment, and then suggests "half & half?" No, not half & half, and no, not cooking cream. I just mean cream...coffee cream.

2. Traffic. Pedestrians. Cyclists. Emergency vehicles. There are no rules of the road here. It's kind of like Grenada, but times 10. Pedestrians never wait for a walk light, and often they are in the crosswalk when cars have the right of way, flipping off motorists for not slowing down. The reverse is true as well. Vehicles never, ever wait for a cleared crosswalk before making a turn. I suppose if they did, they would never get around a corner as the foot traffic never lets up. But I must admit I'm pretty choked when in the crosswalk with my stroller and cars are going around me on both sides. Cyclists take their lives into their hands every time they ride on these roads.

Emergency vehicles. If I were driving an emergency vehicle I would probably have a coronary from road rage. Most motorists do not seem to care to get out of the way of emergency vehicles, or they may change lanes, but they most certainly do not pull over and stop. I suppose half the time, they have no where to go, and just let the emerg. vehicle get around them somehow. This is probably why emergency vehicles use their horns constantly blarring their way through the streets of NY. Somewhat obnoxious, but I guess necessary.

3. That's another thing...horns. The honking is constant. There are even signs that go ignored all over the place warning against honking. In Grenada, the honking was a friendly beep, beep all the time, to say hi, to give warning, or to offer right of way. In Calgary no one dares use their horn because we're all so damned polite. In NY it's constant, obnoxious, "get the eff outta my way," or "you're a moron," honking. Kinda annoying and negative.

4. No 7-11's. Mom & Pop convenient stores on every corner, or in Manhattan - news stands. Kinda cool, actually.

5. Street meat is not just hotdogs. Often it's Halal food or sometimes, Mexican. One drunken night at 4am, Chris bartered a street vendor selling pastries down to 2 bucks from three crewlers.

6. Haven't seen many big malls. And the malls seem to be just stores or food restaurants, no kiddie play areas and such.

7. Haven't yet seen a Coffee & Scream. I think I need to open one.

8. No Safeway's. Mostly corner groceries. At least in Queens. Again, kinda cool to keep the big box stores out, but a bit harder to find everything I'd like in one shop. The only Whole Foods I've seen is in Manhattan, and it will be unrealistic to make the trek very often. I have noticed though that lots of the little stores carry a variety of items, and it is possible to find rarer items there too, depending. I think I'll have to subscribe to delivery service for some of the specialty items I can't find in my neighbourhood.

PS...All the grocery stores deliver!

So, these are just a few of the things I've noticed right off the bat. Obviously the first things, are the ones that are different and unexpected. I'm not down on things by any means, and I'm actually pretty stoked to be here. It's an amazing city, with a million things to do to keep one busy. Paul & I are really gonna rip it up out here :)