Spring a ding ding

Today is the first day of spring - and all the snow that’s fallen and turned into ice and collected all the dirt from the streets is melting. I'm about to move into my new apartment / pee pee soaked heck hole - so it's a fresh start all round.

See - it's really sunny - and there's the snow melting away - and theres me squinting (taken on Union street) - Spring a ding ding



Since I last wrote nothing huge has happened - work's been coming along fine and I've been doing more of the same stuff in my spare time. On Saturday it was St Patrick’s day - which is massively celebrated in New York. There were drunken louts everywhere - you could pick them by the way they would fall into puddles of slushy freezing water or wrestle each one another in the snow. Claire and I decided we should get out and do a big load of window shopping, went round eye off items I couldn't buy for the day. It was almost as satisfying as buying something, almost.

Went out for st pat's day beers that night and in honour of the Irish, got completely spastic. First semi bender of my time here - and I'm guessing not the last - but hoping none the less. Spent the Sunday attempting to move my stuff over to Brooklyn with a badly throbbing head. Note to self : don’t write yourself off before needing to lug 60 kg (132 lb's) cases up three flights of stairs.

Here’s Chris and I on the night. Related? To be sure..


So here’s my house - it's the tall brown building in the middle. I like to call it - the 'Character Building'. I'm on the third floor and my rooms in the middle of the right hand side. The annoying thing about it is - there could easily be a window - I just need to knock a whole in the wall for a bit a light. oh well. That’s a Pentecostal church next door - I can hear the preacher going crazy American style from the kitchen.


For bigger shot -http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/nicklem/My-house_big.jpg

Here’s a little collage of my room - it's a bit hard to picture - so try and imagine your face being wrapped in badly painted plaster until you can't breath, that’s my room. But seriously - it's my room.


Clcik here for a bigger shot - http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/nicklem/my_room2_big.jpg

I've ordered a double bed that’s being delivered soon - and I hope my primitive measurements of the room (made with my feet) actually come through as accurate. We'll see (am also hoping that the base can actually be maneuvered into the room)

On my way to purchase a bed - I walked passed like three old mattresses that had been turfed on the sidewalk (footpath) Must have been hard trash (rubbish) collection or something - but I was mighty tempted to drag one home and keep the 250 US for myself. When I considered it though - I thought having both a soiled garbage mattress AND a windowless room of death would probably be too grotty for my affluent taste. Call me crazy...



I forgot to put this in my last blog - but it's my favorite thing about NY so far. I spend like 3 strait hours laughing when I found it in a little store in Grenich village. (referring to the houseflies) And while I was there I bought these funny little t-shirts for my keys. Made my day.



and for the bargain price of on 99 cents. Bliss.

I also wanted to document some of the wierd things I've noticed about AMericans:

* They arent as pent up and polite as Australians or the English. If some one leans on you on the subway - you let them know - using the most colour adjectives and four letter words available.

* They actually listen to what you say and respond. Were as Austalians often trail off at the end of sentences - they also talk for 20 minutes about something that, back home, would take us all of 10 seconds. 'I hear you on that' 'ok great, so I guess my thought is..'

*They use silly words like

'silverware' for cultlery.

'drugstore' for Pharmacy.

'super nice'

When I told my brother - he told me that South Africans call traffic lights -'robots'. That trumps all of mine. Robots? ....Come on.

Alright. That's the goss.

Will set up my computer soon and be much more connected. Which will be nice.

Oy vey

Nick