Knoxville to NYC
I’ve moved to New York City. Well, more accurately, Greenpoint, Brooklyn. I am furiously waiting tables at an Italian restaurant at Lincoln Center, and thinking about how I’m going to get rich and famous, or at least find something to do to kill time for the next however many years I’m blessed to live.
I’ve been in the Big Apple for about three weeks now, and I’ve noticed two things right off: (1) this city does not in any way resemble the rest of America; and (2) there are a great many immigrants here, and most of them seem to arrive here from their native countries and never move elsewhere. It’s strange to me that many people’s entire idea of America begins and ends with Manhattan.
I’m happy to be here, however, for the time being. It’s a super exciting place to be, and because every simple, daily task is a billion times more difficult here than anywhere else, you can get a feeling of great accomplishment from merely taking the trash out.
Other New Yorkers get really excited when they hear you just moved to the city, and they take it upon themselves to pump you up, as though you’re in your first stretch as a medical intern or paratrooper, or something equally difficult:
‘It’s tough, I know, but you’ve got a job, you’ve got an apartment – you’re doing really well. Just don’t get discouraged; keep a sense of humor. If you need anything, anything at all, just give me a call, because I know how it is, believe me.’
And then: ‘So, why’d you decide to move here?’ they all ask, as if it were an insane and possibly dangerous decision, even though they themselves live here.
I have absolutely no answer to that question. It just seemed like the thing to do.
--
As for my grand adventure, it’s only just now sinking in how amazing it truly was, and how much I did, in fact, learn from the experience. Sometimes, as I listen to some crazy, rich lady whine at me because her salad isn’t big enough, or as I shove my way onto a solidly packed subway car on the L line, I think about how just a couple months ago, I was swinging in a hammock in Laos. Other times, as I try to ignore the other servers’ never-ending belting of Hedwig selections, or as I listlessly consider getting up early on my day off to futilely wait in an endless line of non-equity actors for some off-off open call, I think back on riding around in a Cambodian tuk-tuk, or being gawked at by scores of Chinese, or meandering through the Malaysian jungle. And I am able to look at the city around me with a renewed sense of perspective.
--
If anyone is in the New York area, drop me a line at eurello@gmail.com! Also, I’m trying to write more these days; if you want to check out whatever I’m working on, take a look at http://www.myspace.com/yeselizabeth, where I will at the very least post updates on my progress.
I’ve been in the Big Apple for about three weeks now, and I’ve noticed two things right off: (1) this city does not in any way resemble the rest of America; and (2) there are a great many immigrants here, and most of them seem to arrive here from their native countries and never move elsewhere. It’s strange to me that many people’s entire idea of America begins and ends with Manhattan.
I’m happy to be here, however, for the time being. It’s a super exciting place to be, and because every simple, daily task is a billion times more difficult here than anywhere else, you can get a feeling of great accomplishment from merely taking the trash out.
Other New Yorkers get really excited when they hear you just moved to the city, and they take it upon themselves to pump you up, as though you’re in your first stretch as a medical intern or paratrooper, or something equally difficult:
‘It’s tough, I know, but you’ve got a job, you’ve got an apartment – you’re doing really well. Just don’t get discouraged; keep a sense of humor. If you need anything, anything at all, just give me a call, because I know how it is, believe me.’
And then: ‘So, why’d you decide to move here?’ they all ask, as if it were an insane and possibly dangerous decision, even though they themselves live here.
I have absolutely no answer to that question. It just seemed like the thing to do.
--
As for my grand adventure, it’s only just now sinking in how amazing it truly was, and how much I did, in fact, learn from the experience. Sometimes, as I listen to some crazy, rich lady whine at me because her salad isn’t big enough, or as I shove my way onto a solidly packed subway car on the L line, I think about how just a couple months ago, I was swinging in a hammock in Laos. Other times, as I try to ignore the other servers’ never-ending belting of Hedwig selections, or as I listlessly consider getting up early on my day off to futilely wait in an endless line of non-equity actors for some off-off open call, I think back on riding around in a Cambodian tuk-tuk, or being gawked at by scores of Chinese, or meandering through the Malaysian jungle. And I am able to look at the city around me with a renewed sense of perspective.
--
If anyone is in the New York area, drop me a line at eurello@gmail.com! Also, I’m trying to write more these days; if you want to check out whatever I’m working on, take a look at http://www.myspace.com/yeselizabeth, where I will at the very least post updates on my progress.
posted by Elizabeth at 2:58 PM
1 Comments:
Bah, I finally went and got my info from Sumi, so I already knew all this.
Your update is outdated!
I'm just kidding, congrats on the move to New York. I've never lived there but Abby did for 2.5 years and I spent a considerable amount of time visiting. It does get easier...gradually...
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