Starting a Job and Adjusting

You can’t hope to live in New York City long without a steady income, but it sure would be nice. Initially, as I was making plans to move to Brooklyn, I figured I would just transfer to a Starbucks somewhere in the area. Once I found out the pay here is not much more than anywhere else, I had to move to plan B. John and Michael both work for the restaurant at a hotel in Times Square, and were able to get me a job in the coffee shop there. I don’t have a set schedule yet, but when I do work, it’s from 6 am to 2 pm, usually about 5 days a week. Sounds pretty awful, but in Austin I was working from 5 am regularly, so it’s not a huge change.

Starting a new job is never fun. Last Monday was my first day, and it just so happened to fall on the hotel's one-day-a-year corporate inspection, so basically the most stressful day of the year for everyone there. That about set the tone for my first week. I found out that I definitely can’t have a beard, and in fact must be completely clean shaven every day I work. Long story short: I walked in that day with a beard, walked out with a bare chin. But, I get a paycheck every Friday, which means tomorrow will be my first payday. I’m sure it will help ease the pain a little.

There are small differences that are taking some getting used to here. The most prominent so far is changing my perception of distances. Without a car, a small line on google maps can easily become an hour ordeal. For example: it usually takes me about 45 minutes to an hour to commute to or from work. I looked up the directions online and was pretty shocked to see that the entire journey is less than 9 miles. Sitting here in my apartment in Brooklyn I seriously feel a world away from Manhattan, but the distance from here to Central Park is no more than I would drive to the nearest Half Price Books in Austin.

I have also had to switch gears in terms of the small conveniences I used to take for granted. There are no Walmarts in New York City. That’s pretty surprising and somehow reassuring, actually. The closest thing I have is a Target, and without a bike it’s really a minimum two hour experience with the subway. Again, the Target is only 1.5 miles away from my apartment. There are tons of small grocery stores around here though, sometimes two per block. I guess I’ll have to start relying on them more for little things.

I’ve had yesterday and today off and it’s been wonderful. I was able to get a bed on Sunday and a desk chair yesterday. My room is finally in some form of order. My friend Erin and I went to an art opening at MoMA Monday night and it was great. We were hoping to see a famous person or two since it was an exclusive thing, but no luck. Guess I’ll just have to keep my eyes open for the stars around town.