My First Week in New York City

Before I start: Cautionary Statement
Given how technically challenged I am, I've decided to put all relevant photos in :
http://picasaweb.google.ca/pistachio0802/ So all my blogs would contain text only! I will try my very best to put captions by the photos to spice up the series of photos that I will and have been taking that contain objects only - cause I'm usually the one taking the photos!

I have been in New York for a week - a full week. It has been a tiring week. It was my first week at work - my first taste of TD Investment Banking New York. It was my first week of being an American resident. When my roommate pointed out when I concluded a statement with "eh", and when a church friend pointed out to me that the language that I use is unusually polite for a New Yorker, I knew that I was different. Very different indeed.

I've decided to keep my blog fairly simple - because I don't know how often will I have the opportunity to update this blog, or perhaps I will be working so much, I wouldn't have anything interesting to update anyway, but here we go - here's my first week.

I flew last Saturday Cathay Pacific direct from Vancouver to New York JFK. There was quite a fiasco at U.S. Customs, which I have finally decided to put behind me, and will not reiterate here. But anyhow, I managed to land at approximately 10 p.m. in New York, and got to my temp housing that evening.

My temp housing is wonderfully spacious - it's a studio that is conveniently located approximately 10 minute walk from work. (It's more closer to 20 minutes with heels!) Fully furnished with everything I could possibly need for staying here for roughly a little over a month.

The following day I met up with my two girl friends living in New York, Naomi and Jocelyn. I met up with them after church, and then we headed to K-town i.e. Korea Town, and had wonderful korean food. After lunch, I asked them to bring me to China Town for grocery shopping. China Town in New York is.....ultimately China Town. uh-hum.

After grocery shopping at China Town, my friend instructed me how to get home on the subway. Feeling all confident that I knew what I was doing, and holding on to 5-6 bags of meat, vegetables, fruits, etc from China Town, I rushed into the subway station and jumped on to the first subway that arrived at the station. Big mistake. Before long, I was crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, and yes - that's the wrong direction.

I started work on Monday - and basically spent the day doing administrative things. Social security number. Bank accounts. Company benefits. Computer set-up. The usual laundry list. I also found out I had to write a Series 7 exam, which is equivalent to Canada's Canadian Securities Course. Big Boo - it's a 6 hour exam, that is brutal.

Fast forward to Friday - I met up with my roommate and we went to Momofuku, noodle bar, at St. Mark's/Astor Place. I also saw my permanent apartment - although an older building, but really quite spacious with a lot of storage space, which I think I'll need. My roommie also took me to her favourite 'boba' place - or bubble tea place! :) I guess as Asians, there are certain things we can't live without. Bubble tea + Hello Kitty! :P

Yesterday, I was all excited to do some sightseeing - and decided that a walk around Central Park and a stroll through the Met would be excellent. Turns out it was pouring yesteday, so probably not the best agenda. But anyhow, I walked through Central Park, and walked along the reservoir. I would have to say - Central Park is the prettiest part of town that I've seen so far!

And then I found myself at the Met. The Metropolitan Museum of Arts - housing many collections and exhibitions that would require many visits to see everthing. I went and looked at the Asian Ancient Arts, and the European paintings exhibit. Now, I wouldn't characterize myself the most artsy person - but everything was pretty impressive.

This morning, I went to church - Redeemer Presbyterian Church, apparently the largest church in New York. Again, I got lost/screwd up my train this morning, so I was half an hour late when I sneaked into service. The Pastor gave a wonderful sermon today - about having a personal relationship with God, and then I joined a sunday school class on Genesis, which was very insightful too. Made me realize how little I knew, and how much is there to learn.

Tonight I hung out with Nelson, who was kind enough to show me around. We went to Time Warner, where he works, and he showed me the most expensive French and Japanese restaurant in New York. Let's just say spending US$250 a person on food a night is just not an option for me right now!

I'm not the greatest story teller in the world - but please check out my photos. Perhaps it'll at least help you visualize New York!