"the chic-est person you know is from kansas"

Finally a post about my move to NYC. It's been a long, excruciating process that I am still in the middle of. The above quote is one of the many truths I've realized about living in the city. I was never a stranger to NYC having been to Chinatown often in my childhood. I finally "ventured" out to the rest of the diverse neighborhoods (I found myself drawn to the East Village in particular, I guess it's my inner "hipster" though I don't want to be stereotyped...), when I was a freshman in high school. Luckily, I lived next to a station on the Metro-North so it only took 45 minutes to get to Grand Central (which is probably one of my most favorite buildings in the world, next to the JFK airport*). When I was depressed, I would play hooky and go off to the city where I found comfort in absorbing the masses of people bustling on the streets in total disregard of everything around them. It matched my mood.

So I began searching for a place in July solely using Craigslist (where I also got my loft bed for cheap). It took 20+ e-mails, 8 actual replies, and 5 viewings before someone finally chose me to room with her. I decided that with the job I had, $700-$1000 was my budget. Then I got wiser and took it down to $900-. I wanted a place close to transportation (particularly the 6 so I could commute from G.C.). I found places right on St. Mark's, Upper East Side but I finally realized that Spanish Harlem could do as well.

Memorable things about my apartment search:

1. asking for a virtually silent room mate
2. asking for a person with interest in S&M
3. pot-smokers
4. literally a door, closet and an old sketchy English guy with a fetish for Japanese girls
5. dark&dreary, "furnished", two big mutts, Park Ave., $1000 not including utilities
6. rude people who obviously made a decision about you as soon as the door was opened
7. 6-floor walk-up

I finally found the perfect place and the perfect roommate. It's a beautiful building with cheap rent, and super convenient to the LES, next to dozens of restaurants and groceries. My roommate is very similar to me in terms of personality and tastes, though my mother still scares her (but then again, she scares everyone).
I'm torn when it comes to furnishing the place, since it seems like my stay is only to last for a year but oh, do I love the freedom.

* I have always been fascinated by buildings that house systems of mass transportation. I find it fun just watching people hurrying towards unknown destinations and the wild aggregation of all kinds of different people ranging from fashionistas to hippies to business people.

Reality check #1: my mom's boyfriend's daughter finally figured out that our parents were dating (...they've been together for 5+ years). She's angry and I'm trying to sympathize with her but it's hard even though I am in her exact same position when I first found out. Arghhh!!!

the true me #1: I am passive-aggressive.
the true me #2: Though I liken my writing style to that of Virginia Wolff (albeit not as polished) I cannot stand her stories.