RPR Phase 2: Big Apple

Hello ladies and gentleman. We're live this evening from New York City, as the Ross Press Release gets back up and running, and hopefully back on a semi-normal schedule.

The moving went pretty well, for those that care. The best thing we could have done was get movers (like we would have chosen not to). People made the comment to me that it must have brutal to move given the ridiculous heat that has blanketed the whole country over the past week. Well, it wasn't really that bad. I let the movers do all the heavy lifting and hard work. After all, we're paying them good money for the job, so these guys have to earn it. I'd say that the Jessica and I did a nice job of getting everything set up. In fact, this apartment looks pretty damn good for 2 people that just moved in on Monday. I'll admit that I was a bit of a tyrant -- I hate having boxes not put away and too much junk laying around. I say "Get it out of the box and put it away somewhere". So that's what we did. My system worked well.

One of the ongoing features that I'm planning on doing is to point out various observations about New York City that make it unique. Thinking ahead, I'm sure that some of these items could apply to any large city, but I'd imagine that it'd be vastly amplified in New York. Things are crazy here. People are crazy. In fact, I'm convinced that a good portion of the citizens walking around Manhattan at any given time are somewhat mentally unstable.

Granted, I've been spending weekends here for 2 years now, but you tend to notice more things when you actually live here. These are in no way earth-shattering discoveries, just some items I'd like to mention:

- I thought I walked fast; some of the people here manage to sprint without lifting their feet off of the ground. If the US Olympic committee is looking for speedwalkers for the 2008 Games, they should check out NYC.

- People will wear anything. It might be actual clothing. It might be some sort of fabric modified to cover a person's body. It might be trendy and fashionable. It might make them look like a homeless person even though they hold a day job and are involved in a fledging acting career at night. Fact of the matter is that I can't tell whether someone looks cool or whether they look like someone needs to give them a handout. Either way, I'm sure that many of them spend a lot of time creating the impression that they spent little time deciding what to wear.

- On the subway platforms during morning and evening rush hour, you better know where you're going, otherwise you will have hordes of people shuffling past you in a huff. You may even get knocked over by a senior citizen.

- Always watch where you're walking on the sidewalk: not everyone in the city abides by the "Clean up after your dog" rule.

- When it's upwards of 100 degrees for several days in a row, beware of potential blackouts every day, and don't be amazed that a local electronics store is selling air conditioners on the sidewalk right next to the fruit stand and the hot dog vendor. Besides the fact that 100 degrees feels like 115 degrees when you add in all of the buildings close together and the concrete.

- The smell of trash and sewage could appear anywhere. Luckily, when you walk by the Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts, the smell is overshadowed by coffee for a brief moment.

- I love the fact that musicians will perform anywhere. One of my favorites is the soul-funk marching band that performs on 14th Street right outside of the Virgin Records Megastore. They use rusty brass instruments and beat up drum sets, but these guys are extremely talented. Think of it as the poor man's Drumline.

That's it for now. Stay tuned for the next post within a couple days. Hopefully I'll do some roaming and wandering this weekend that will inspire some stories.