Home Sweet Home

Although we have been in NYC for about 6 weeks now, it was just this past week when we have finally felt residency was established. First, boxes we had packed of clothes, office supplies, and tools arrived from KC. Next, a 2 pack of chairs arrived from Costco, one for the living room and one for the bedroom. After a couple of weeks of never living with a dry hand towel, additional towel racks arrived and were hung perfectly by Bill in the bathroom. A visit to the NYDMV located across from Macy's flagship store led to a temporary driver's license, with the real one to arrive in the mail in early June. After a month of waiting for the correct color of TV console to be back in stock at IKEA, it arrived at the door Friday evening but only after 20 gradually escalating phone calls (the last and most effective made by Bill, my hero) to customer service. Getting the TV, cable box, telephone, Bose sound system, and DVD off the floor and the plethora of wiring hidden from view made for one of the happiest occasions here so far, promptly celebrated with wine AFTER four hours assembling it ourselves (Bill did the hard parts, I was just the helper). I lied, there was a glass drunk while waiting for the delivery. Yesterday, a 4th shopping trip to good old Bed, Bath, and Beyond across from Lincoln Center produced a mirror for the dresser purchased, delivered, and hung. So you know we haven't gone too sparse in our taste when you view these photos, a couple of pieces of art for the walls are now on order and a couple more need to be ordered, but other than that, we have completed our nest. You can see our progress HERE.




With those tedious but important steps completed, our minds are finally free to think of the more pleasant side of adjusting to a new city. In the free time I had this weekend I spent in a detailed exploration of all services available to us within 6th and 7th Avenues and 3 blocks north of our building. I found a fantastic nail spa, with long hours and no appointments necessary, so today I got a sorely needed mani and pedi which both included 10 minutes of reflexology, and a 10 minute chair massage for the back. Then across the street, I found a new grocery store that had everything we would ever want or need, and of course they deliver. We now have subway and bus maps on the coffle table to study once a day. We are gradually memorizing the routes that will take us in 15 minutes or less from our building or one square block from it, to the East Village, Chinatown, Brooklyn Bridge, Soho, Chelsea, Queens, Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, etc., etc. We know when we have graduated this self imposed, self paced public transportation course when we master the art of the transfer. For now, I look upon with envy a rider getting off a bus and walking down to the subway for his next leg of his trip, while thinking "one day that will be me". That will be the day I can call the city my home, not just my apartment.