Lucky for Me

It's been a little over three weeks since we moved here, and Wednesday of last week marked my first visit to Buffalo since. I was going back to my mother's house to pick up my car, that ($500 later) finally passed inspection. Lovely. A car. This will make things so much easier...

While I was in Buffalo I went out with my father and had the most amazing meal at Pearl Street Grill (www.pearlstreetgrill.com) and spent Thursday kicking around my mother's house, trying to get all of The Punk's things in order. I ended up leaving Buffalo on Friday with two hours of sleep under my belt, and very bad directions back to Brooklyn. Recipe for disaster.

Everything went swimmingly until I hit the Poconos, where I got turned around on the 80, and then sat, stock-still, for two hours on a sharp incline while waiting for some sort of traffic jam to subside. With squeaky brakes. Taking into account my constant need to stop and buy more coffee, pee, and check my tires, I made it back to Brooklyn in about eleven hours. The ride should have taken about seven and a half.

In true Meghan form, I got lost immediately upon getting into the city. I got on the BQE headed in the wrong direction, took Prospect Expy thinking "Well, at least that's headed toward Brooklyn..." and got off at the first street I recognized. In Coney Island. Which is not where I live. Awesome.

I Snore On the Bus

Did you know that today is Wednesday? I didn't. Meg and I said goodbye to one another at 5am this morning, and I spent most of the day dazed. It all started on Sunday (btw the last blog was written on the 9th when I was supposed to be taking a nap. I couldn't figure out how to fix the date :). I worked overnight from 8pm til 8:30am. A bunch of folks from the Columbus Circle store came to help me and a few people from my store move things around and try to make the place look pretty.

In my infinite wisdom, I decided to stay awake all day Monday and go to bed early since I had to wake up Tuesday at 5am. We went shopping at the Atlantic Center Mall. First, we explored Payless and DSW with only one sweet pair of shoes for me. Then we went to Daffy's. I have never heard of Daffy's yet we were told if I wanted to buy some underwear that was the place to be. It was grueling. I hate shopping. I tried on 8 different bras, and was ready to give up when I looked at the little old woman with the Polish (?) accent who was manning the fitting room. Surely such a wise being, having a large bosom herself, could offer me some advice. And she did, and I now know what size to look for.

Wouldn't you like to know?

Then we went to Target, which is normally quite rewarding, but the Target at Atlantic had no clothes!! In actuality, they do have women's sports and casual wear. Unfortunately, both Meg and myself wanted clothes for work. We ended up leaving the mall with a lot of sexy underwear and shoes...oh, and I think Meg bought a cute dress too, but by that point I was delirious.

I believe the rest of the day went like this: we went home, we decided to go to the movies, we got more coffee, we went to trader joes, saw Julie & Julia, cried, hung out with Renee, and then I passed out. The week since then like this: wake up at 5am, go to work, leave at 8pm, struggle for sleep, get up at 5am...and here I am.

Tonight, I ran screaming from work exactly at 8pm, and directly into the welcoming doors of the express bus. Literally without a second to spare. I promptly fell asleep.

An hour later I woke up. Head tilted back, mouth open, throat dry, and though I can't be certain, I'm pretty sure I was snoring, or at least breathing loudly.

I'm still awake four hours later, still in the clothes I had on at 5am. Maybe I need to go catch the bus.

Next Time We Hire Movers

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. I don't even know how to describe the state I am in today. Meg has gone to the botanical gardens. I should be sleeping because I have to work an overnight tonight, but I am so stressed I almost started to unpack more and clean... instead I thought if I wrote something, I would at least be sitting down.




Things I have seen so far in NYC:

1. An alien walking down Park Ave. At first glance you might mistake her for a female human in her sixties; upon closer inspection however, the shiny leopard suit stretched across her wiry figure, the bright orange hair carefully sculpted into a hard swirl, the gold sunglasses which cover her entire face, and her spastic walk make it hard to deny she is not of this earth.
2. A rat crawling on the subway tracks. Ok, I realize this is no big deal. I saw them all the time when I was a tourist, but I saw my first one as a New Yorker! Oddly, I haven't seen one since.
3. A subway train full of drunk Yankees fans. And yes, I got to ride with them.

We've been able to explore our neighborhood a bit. There are a couple of fantastic Italian bakeries nearby, and a pretty nice Japanese restaurant where we are quickly becoming regulars. We did laundry around the corner, and bought one of those handy carts for such occasions, as well as for shopping, though it sits unassembled in our living room.

Yes, living room! We have done some unpacking. There is still a bit to do, but at least you have a place to sit when you come in, and it feels like home. My favorite place to sit is on our front porch, with a beer in hand of course.

Here We Are

Holy crap, I have no idea where to begin...

We successfully made it to Brooklyn. The drive here was rigorous, and since we came things have been... crazy, to say the least. Let me give you the rundown.

Moving

Thanks to a little help from our friends (Steve, Spark, Sarah, Cynder, Josh, Lori, Matte) and family (Joey, Molly) we got all of our stuff into one U-haul truck. It wasn't easy or pleasant, but we did it. Then we drove... We made a pit stop in Albany to drop off some furniture with Stacy's mom, and then we hauled ass to Brooklyn. Unfortunately, due to extreme traffic (thank you Joey for maneuvering the U-haul across the Geo Washington Bridge) and poor planning we made it to our new house at about two a.m., and Danny, Rene and Brandon helped the three of us unload. Now everything is inside the house, but still in boxes because I am lazy, and Stacy has been at work.

Being Here

The first two days that I was here I suffered from the most extreme homesickness and panic I have ever felt. I would have moved back to Buffalo in a heartbeat if I could have, but I had just forked over a load of money and signed a lease so it wasn't an option. After two days in bed I reemerged to find that our new neighborhood is incredibly cute. The house is great. I love having Rene downstairs because he does amazing things like bring me breakfast. Everything is much better. Now, if I can only find a job...

Jobs

Stacy stuck with our former company and started her new job on Wednesday. She'll fill you in about that later I assume. I am still attending job fairs and interviewing and hoping that I find a way to make money.

That's about it.

There were some pretty funny stories in the interim, but we'll have to revisit those later.