20

Life in New York...

It's been over 1/4 of a year since I had relocated. This isn't something I'm particularly unfamiliar with. My last move was grander- at least in terms of distance. This is, however, my first time being tied to a visa. My first time living in a country that is not my own. Admittedly New York feels more familiar than Quebec City (where I had been living before), but that is more so due to the language barrier. Actually, for the first three weeks in NYC, I was fumbling through my words  just because I was so accustomed to responding in (broken) french.This made for some pretty awkward, though funny situations at grocery stores, restaurants ,coffee shops and the like.

I lived at Union Square for some time. I was residing in an extended stay hotel near the subway station. It gave me a good vantage point. I was able to navigate my way through the city with relative ease. However, a week or so after settling in my new, cozy hotel room, I became quite ill. So much so that I even obtained an eye infection. I had taken to bed for several days, waiting for my fever to go down. I find this usually happens when I move or travel but it had never been this bad before.

When I recovered, I was starting to look for an apartment to call my own.-- and for anyone who is from another country- searching for an apartment in NYC...Oh I feel for you... It was probably one of the most stressful ordeals I've encountered (with all the other factors included- the move- getting adjusted to the job- the city- the people- etc) Some places wanted broker fees- Guarantors- $10,000.00 upfront...I lucked out and managed to find a place in the upper east side. There was still a steep entrance fee, but it was far more reasonable than some of the other places I had visited. I'm ecstatic with my location. I'm living in the Upper East side. The Metropolitan Museum is a few blocks away and in the opposite direction is this gorgeous walkway overlooking the East River. I can also run outside without having to worry too much about a crowd. There are a wide variety of restaurants around and if I want to go party I could always hop on the train.

Work is going very well. The project is exciting and I'm working with a talented group of individuals from around the globe. I'm curious to see where this will go. Everyday I'm learning something new; there's always a challenge.

on a side note- I'm doing more art studies in my free time. I even signed up for life drawing classes last week (something I've been itching to do). I apologize for the lack of posts/updates lately. I actually didn't have a computer for the first couple of months here. I'm getting my routine back in order and trying to organize my personal time (Wunderlist is saving me!) 

 ( Last weekend I managed to go to the MET and decided to bring my camera this time around. Snapped a lot of great reference shots while I was there. I have plenty more photos of NYC+ on my Flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lepusdextra/ )