I went to see The Manchurian Candidate last night with the neighbours and got up at 7 AM, so I'm feeling pretty run down for 9 PM. Should it surprise me that we have better theatres in the suburbs? No SilverCities here -- it's actually kind of silly that New York has some of the most ordinary theatres I've ever been to.
I spent most of the day wandering down Broadway, through Greenwich to Chinatown and finally the Financial District. I even picked up my first suit ever, so I've fulfilled that particular legal requirement for the year. For the people thinking about coming to New York, a bit o' advice: window shop across all of Manhattan, but if you need to buy labels (or just eccentric clothing), go to Century 21 and have a fun afternoon wandering their ten floors of stuff. I picked up a suit, ironing board, and cushion there today. I would have gotten shoes too, if they didn't all look a little to trendy (i.e. pointy) for me.
So I've had five hours of solitude while walking through New York, and I think that's becoming my preferred method of learning about the city. I got to see the New York and Jersey police prep for the convention, escorting delegates into hotels and on every street corner; haggle with a few Chinese merchants over fake tote bags I only considered buying halfheartedly; and ate both a coconut bun and enormous pastrami sandwich for lunch, which I wouldn't really recommend because it sticks to the teeth and New York pastrami is inexplicably dry. I love that the only vegetables that came with my lunch were a bag of chips and a lonely pickle. Where do people in this town get their fibre?
Fatigue and reading don't go well together, so I went up to the terrace and took a few photos of the New York skyline (as viewed from D'Agostino Hall). The panoramas aren't too interesting, but I thought it's kind of neat that the Empire State changes colour depending on what event's coming up:
Still am not sure if I like this city yet. It makes for good exploration, because the island's pretty small -- I want to do Battery Park City next weekend -- but it's so built up I can't help but feeling that this is a place where people come to lose perspective. Maybe that's too preliminary. More musings later, perhaps with the assistance of what's rumoured to be the best pizza in the city:
That's the intersection in front of the residence. Another banal note: I bought a TV today. More accurately, roomie bought the TV with her American credit card while I twiddle my thumbs, apologise for having a Canadian billing address and promise her the lump sum tomorrow in cash. She's like the Mafia, she won't take cheques or credit.
Must stop buying things. Must start doing things.
I spent most of the day wandering down Broadway, through Greenwich to Chinatown and finally the Financial District. I even picked up my first suit ever, so I've fulfilled that particular legal requirement for the year. For the people thinking about coming to New York, a bit o' advice: window shop across all of Manhattan, but if you need to buy labels (or just eccentric clothing), go to Century 21 and have a fun afternoon wandering their ten floors of stuff. I picked up a suit, ironing board, and cushion there today. I would have gotten shoes too, if they didn't all look a little to trendy (i.e. pointy) for me.
So I've had five hours of solitude while walking through New York, and I think that's becoming my preferred method of learning about the city. I got to see the New York and Jersey police prep for the convention, escorting delegates into hotels and on every street corner; haggle with a few Chinese merchants over fake tote bags I only considered buying halfheartedly; and ate both a coconut bun and enormous pastrami sandwich for lunch, which I wouldn't really recommend because it sticks to the teeth and New York pastrami is inexplicably dry. I love that the only vegetables that came with my lunch were a bag of chips and a lonely pickle. Where do people in this town get their fibre?
Fatigue and reading don't go well together, so I went up to the terrace and took a few photos of the New York skyline (as viewed from D'Agostino Hall). The panoramas aren't too interesting, but I thought it's kind of neat that the Empire State changes colour depending on what event's coming up:
Still am not sure if I like this city yet. It makes for good exploration, because the island's pretty small -- I want to do Battery Park City next weekend -- but it's so built up I can't help but feeling that this is a place where people come to lose perspective. Maybe that's too preliminary. More musings later, perhaps with the assistance of what's rumoured to be the best pizza in the city:
That's the intersection in front of the residence. Another banal note: I bought a TV today. More accurately, roomie bought the TV with her American credit card while I twiddle my thumbs, apologise for having a Canadian billing address and promise her the lump sum tomorrow in cash. She's like the Mafia, she won't take cheques or credit.
Must stop buying things. Must start doing things.
