Here I Am! But Who Cares?

After I decided on my new Brooklyn pad, I frantically packed up all of my things and was set on a road trip with my mother and grandfather to get all of my precious items to their new home.  We spent the first weekend in May, moving in all of my stuff.  I then had to return to western PA to finish up all of my graduate school finals before I was in NYC permanently.  I returned to my new home a week or so later.  When I got off the plane at JFK, I wanted to yell “Here I am, NYC!”  I was in quite a good spot; I was about to start a new job with the feds, it was the start of summer and I was NYC’s newest resident. I could not wait to strut my stuff down the street knowing that this was my new home.

Although I was thrilled to a new NYC resident and my friends and family were thrilled for me, I soon found out that NYC didn’t care one bit that I had arrived. During my first week in the city, I was spending my time exploring and getting my new room together. I had a few days until I started my new job and I wasn’t wasting them! With that being said, I had no schedule and nowhere that I was trying to be in a hurry. I soon realized that I was the only one living that way. I was poked, pushed and prodded everywhere I went! People didn’t care if I was slowly walking to the subway platform while I was trying to figure out whether I needed to be going towards Pelham Bay Park or Brooklyn Bridge, they had somewhere to be and I was in their way. Same goes for the grocery store, parks, and crossing the street… if a New Yorker sees you, you are passing them or in their path, then you are in their way.

Being raised in a very strict family, I was literally spanked as a child if I didn't use my manners.  Thanks to my mother's discipline growing up, the most surprising and disturbing part of all this is the fact that no one ever said “Excuse me” when I was bumped or in most cases slammed into.  During my first few weeks, I cannot tell you how angry I got by the lack of courtesy. I remember telling my grandmother on the phone one evening, "Gaga, people keep running right into me and never say excuse me! I don't understand why they are so rude; were they raised by wolves?"  Two weeks later, in my mail I found a package from my grandmother. Inside contained a book titled "Were You Raised by Wolves?: Clues to the Mysteries of Adulthood" by Christine Mellor. I read the book soon after and had a few laughs. As my time goes on walking and subway riding throughout the city, the bumps and pushes bother me less and less, but sometimes I still think of the book and laugh to myself, wondering if I should carry the book around with me and ask the exceptionally rude if they would like to borrow it sometime.

Murder Ave

I have to admit that there are so many gorgeous brownstones in Fort Greene. The neighborhood and park are really wonderful.  There were also a lot of families residing in the area, which made it seem safe and livable. I truly loved my walks through this neighborhood while living in Brooklyn.  Now with that being said, I was not a fan of living half a block from Murder – excuse me – Myrtle Avenue. As soon as you step foot onto that street, you feel like have entered a Jay Z song. No more cute brownstones, no more cute families and wait a second? Am I being cat called? Yes thank you, I know my “ass be so fine” but I’m too busy for this nonsense; I am just trying to find a grocery store that isn’t run by someone who doesn’t speak English. I also love how close it is to the projects. It really makes the neighborhood!

One of my favorite experiences on Murder Ave, was purchasing vodka at a nearby store. I was so thrilled to learn of a liquor store being located around the corner of my apartment. Not because I am an alcoholic, but because in Western PA, the closest liquor store was twenty minutes away. Ah New York and it’s many conveniences! When I first enter the store, I see nothing to my left and only a giant glass window to my right.  That’s right – the liquor was kept behind a thick glass wall.  I still wonder to this day if it was bullet proof.  As scary as that experience was, since NYC living requires so much walking and I am usually lazy, I returned many times after.  The cashier even knew my name #classy.  Now that I am more of a seasoned New Yorker in training, I realize that this is actually quite normal in many parts of the city. In fact, things that used to shock me here, hardly phase me now. I consider this a win!

Blue Moon Anyone?

The apartment search in BK was brutal during my Saturday adventure.  Since I was nowhere near able to afford my own place, I was looking at places that needed a roommate. I will always remember a girl – let’s name her Free Spirit – that showed me a room in her apartment.

I arrived to the apartment around noon and rang the buzzer. The block was cute and it was close to the subway so I was excited to see the place. I am greeted by Free Spirit in bed clothes while brushing her teeth. I am pretty sure she had the drool/toothpaste combo running down her chin. Ok ok – maybe she just woke up? At least she brushes her teeth I guess. She takes care of her mouth situation and shows me around the extremely tiny apartment. The bedroom that would be mine was too small to fit anything other than a twin bed and a nightstand.  With the tiny room and Free Spirits weird décor, I knew I couldn’t live here, but when we tried to politely leave, she wasn’t having it.

She practically forced me and my past boyfriend to sit on her couch.  She comes out of the kitchen with a waffle (no plate) in hand and a freshly opened bottle of Blue Moon. Apparently, we were invited to brunch and didn’t realize it because she offered us a waffle and beer too. Of course she plops herself down next to us on the couch, way to close for comfort and talks our ears off for the next 30 minutes.  She stressed to us that she was too creative and free to have a regular job and took to designing jewelry and teaching yoga. She discussed all of the nail salons she has gone to in the neighborhood and ranked at least 6 or 7 for us. She went on and on about gossip from the building and the block.  She did this all with her mouth full of waffle pieces while guzzling down her beer. Needless to say, I passed on Free Spirit and her creative ways of living.

The Q to BK

Being that I had spent very little time in NYC and next to no time on public transit I was quite nervous about my subway ride. First things first, I had to find the damn train. At the time, I had no idea what part of the city I was in, but I now know that I was near Herald Square. To anyone who knows NYC, you know what kind of hell it is to walk through that part of the city on a sunny Saturday. I shoved my way through the crowd in hopes of finding something that resembled the entrance to a subway, specifically the Q line. I did spend a short time living in Philly after undergrad so at least I had some experience– blue and orange line what up!?

By the time I made it to the subway, I was running late (per the usual) and I couldn’t waste any time. My boyfriend at the time, and still good friend to this day, was along for my wild trip and he was no help in locating where we were supposed to go. He just stood around gawking like another crazed tourist. Somehow we managed to get on the right train and make our way to Brooklyn.

I saw several apartments that day and probably walked who knows how many miles around Brooklyn. (At the end of the day, my feet never hurt so bad in my life). There are plenty of nice neighborhoods and it was really easy to get around and see different parts of the borough. Side note: Prospect Park is gorgeous and a must see for anyone who is interested. I decided on the first apartment I looked at in Fort Greene. It was a 2 bedroom and the new roomie seemed nice and easy to get along with. I met several girls looking for roommates that day and there was one that I will never forget.

Paperwork and NYC Real Estate

The amount of paperwork that one must complete to be a government employee is out of this world. I was going to be working for the Labor Board as co-op which is essentially a well-paid intern, why on earth am I listing every person I lived with over the past seven years of my life??? If I was going to be the next FBI agent, fair, let me fill out every bit of paperwork you can throw at me, but the Labor Board, seriously? I have to say that completing the paperwork and pre-work requirements was more difficult than my 30 page grad school essays.  The job offer was made in February and by the time April rolled around I hadn’t even heard that I had passed the background screen. It’s a good thing I had a lot of faith in myself because mid-April I took a bus trip to NYC to apartment hunt.

I had been to NYC a few times. However, these were on bus field trips in high school and college. These trips only included the touristy side of Manhattan and I had never ventured into any of the other boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx or many neighborhoods in Manhattan. I cannot even describe the hassle that went into finding an apartment that was available for longer than a few days. Being that I was in Western PA, it was next to impossible to find something two states away. I had found many apartments that were great, not affordable, but doable and they were gone almost instantly.  When there is a good deal on an apartment, that shit goes faster than Paul Walker did in his last Porsche ride.  

Lucky for me, my current director at work was from Brooklyn so he clued me in on the hot and not so hot aka ghetto, don’t live here, would get raped, stabbed or kidnapped neighborhoods.  From what I Googled, a lot of neighborhoods in Brooklyn were cute and up and coming. Since I was an up and coming New Yorker, I figured I would give the BK a shot. I was able to set-up appointments on a Saturday and planned my bus trip.

Arriving in NYC by Megabus is one of the most frustrating experiences. Since I wasn’t familiar with the city, being dropped off in the middle of it with no clue where I was heading was not ideal.  Since I have spent a lot of my childhood driving around the country with my family, I became quite a whiz with maps. Thank little baby Jesus for my smartphone and Google Maps that Saturday because I have no idea how I would have maneuvered the subways or the busy streets of my soon to be new home.

L.A. or Manhattan?

 

After meeting with my professor, I had come to learn that he had absolutely no faith in my abilities to be selected for a co-op position. I believe his exact words were “you are my wildcard that I am throwing into the interview process because I am not really sure of your ability to do this job.”  I totally thought, “Wow; thanks a lot asshole.”  After hearing this, anyone who knows anything about me would know what I did next. I left his office, hopped in my car and blasted Justin Timberlake all the way to the mall. If this girl was going to succeed, I needed a flashy new outfit.

I found out a few days later that I had an interview with the LA office.  This office has been known to be the most selective and always wants to schedule interviews immediately so they can acquire the best student. I knew I could do LA. Great weather, hot people, nice beaches, what’s not to love? On the day of my interview, I was pretty nervous and the interview was done via video conference so it was a very strange set-up. I thought I did fabulously and went home to plan my new life in LA.

The next day, I receive an email from my professor with some interesting news. He informed me that LA loved meeting with me and that they thought my writing sample was excellent.  I was told they were deciding between me and another student at my school.  I was also informed that the other LA office was interested in me, but they wanted a 5 year commitment after graduation. Whoa – 5 years in LA? That was some pretty wild news. This was a great spot to be in and I was quite pleased that my professor was probably regretting what he had said. Sucker.

Now what happened over the next few days was quite a blur.  I found out that I didn’t get the position in LA.  However, the managing director called me personally and told me how impressed she was with my interview. She informed me that I had her recommendation for any other office I interviewed with.  She also urged me to consider the 5 year deal with the other LA office. I was definitely not ready to make that kind of move. Soon after, I got an insane amount of phone calls for various offices in North Carolina, Texas, Ohio, Nevada and New York.  It wasn’t until the Manhattan office called me that I got extremely excited and I scheduled my interview right away.

On the day of my interview, I was heading out of town to see my bestie in upstate New York for the weekend. Wine tour – what’s up!? I was so excited about my trip that I didn’t have time to get nervous for Manhattan. I had plenty of other offices lined up for interviews so it wasn’t that big of a deal. Needless to say, I nailed the interview.  At the end, the managing director asked, “so Nicole are you ready for the big apple?” They called me later that day to offer me the job.  I screamed with excitement driving down the highway ironically traveling to my soon to be new state of residence. So needless to say - I partied my face off and below is a photo from the celebratory wine weekend.

 

Oh and by the way, the student that the LA office chose from my school – he was in the military and got preference for the job. And then the idiot failed the background screen because he had a DUI on his record so no LA for him.