I went to New York last week to get a first glimpse of our new New York apartment on the Upper West Side. It’s new construction and is scheduled to be ready in a few weeks. I wanted to make some measurements of the space so I could order all the furniture. Like all my recent trips to the city, I couldn’t wait to get there and see more of it.
I dropped Chelsea off at Pooch Hotel early Thursday morning. Since this was a quick overnight excursion I didn’t see the point in bringing her. My flight was uneventful, which is my favorite kind of flight. I cabbed over to the Hilton Midtown and met up with my hubby, Keith. We took the subway uptown. I’ve only ridden the New York subway a few times and my biggest worry is I haven’t memorized the subway map yet. I hate pulling out maps in public. I think it’s the best way to silently scream “Hey, I’m a tourist! Maybe you should think about mugging me!”. Luckily, I have the NYC subway map app on my phone. This way it just looks like I’m reading emails while silently screaming “Hey, I have an iPhone. Maybe you should think about mugging me!”.
The trains were running late and some were being diverted to different tracks and stops. I later learned that this was due to some stray kittens playing on the tracks way, way uptown somewhere. Animal Control was sent out on the tracks, with the 3rd rail shut off, to wrangle the scampering little bundles of fluffy cuteness. Meanwhile, my trusty app assured me the 3 train would get me to our stop just as well as the 1 train would.
Our apartment is coming along swimmingly except for the table saw in the living room and about an inch of sawdust everywhere else. I took all the measurements I needed to satiate my HGTV decorating obsession. I can now comfortably style our little bit of real estate in the Big Apple.
Strolling down Amsterdam Ave to 74th Street we soaked in our new neighborhood. We found prime al fresco seating at Wine and Roses and decided to stop for a glass of rosè. It was a lovely late summer evening and the people watching was top notch. People coming home from work, people going to workout and people walking their dogs.
While we were enjoying our glass of wine, an older women was walking her tiny little brown dog. We commented on how cute her little pup was and she stopped to chat. Her dog’s name was Ginger. The lady explained that Ginger flies for free because she is a registered service dog. To prove her point, she took out her wallet and opened it to show us the registration card. Yep, right there in front of two complete strangers was her money, credit cards and Ginger’s card. I was shocked! Why wasn’t she thinking “I’ll just show these two strangers my open wallet. Maybe they’ll think about mugging me!”.
After she left us to finish our drinks, a woman in a Pucci top strolled past me. She was back a moment later with a centerpiece from one of the empty tables. “I noticed you didn’t have one” as she placed it in the middle of the table and poof she was gone.
They say new yorkers are self-absorbed, rude and pushy but, I think the rest of the country just has it plain wrong. But then again, maybe that’s just my infatuation with the city talking. Right now, New York City is like a great new guy you just started dating. He’s really gorgeous and cool and interesting and you’re never bored when you’re with him. I just hope that after a year of dating he doesn’t turn into an asshole.
I am hoping that a year from now, you new boyfriend is still awesome!