disaster-free! (so far)

I've been in the city for four days now. I arrived Monday at JFK, fresh from a 2.5 week whirlwind of a European vacation (I traveled with friends to London, Paris, Cinque Terre and Rome. I'll probably do quick recaps of that vacation on here too).

Solely because of my experience navigating different subways in Europe, I was confident enough to take the subway from JFK to the house in Brooklyn where I'm renting a room. In the back of my mind I was convinced I'd get something completely wrong and end up in New Jersey or something, but I was able to make it with only one minor mishap - I went one stop in the wrong direction while transferring trains.

I'm paying a small fortune to live in a quiet neighborhood of brownstones next to Prospect Park, which some people consider to be nicer than Central Park (and designed by the same people). If I'd chosen to live in Manhattan or more northern areas of Brooklyn, I would have easily paid 3-4 times what I did in Madison.

The couple I'm renting from are both screenwriters and one is a ranking member of a writers' organization. This makes for a pretty sweet hookup; I now have access to "screeners" - DVDs of movies that are currently out in theaters, sent out for award consideration. In addition to the screeners, my landlords have a gigantic movie collection and have volunteered to give me a working film education. They're more than willing to impart their knowledge on everything from the subway system to "the industry" to me. It's incredibly good luck that I ended up living with these people! It's quite calm and laid-back around the house - they currently have one other tenant who I don't see much, but another is moving in this weekend.

With no classes (an unbelievably welcome break...I was SO burned out after last semester) and no other commitments, I had a couple of days to wander around and do typical tourist-y things. After watching the inauguration on Tuesday, I walked to the Brooklyn Public Library's main branch - a 15-20 minute walk from my place. One of the first things I wanted to do here was get a library card, but it turns out I can't do that until I get some sort of official mail sent here (phone bill, bank statement). Getting a library card is literally just as difficult as registering to vote! I also got lost trying to find the neighborhood grocery store, but that story isn't very interesting.

Yesterday I decided to get something to read, so I went to Strand Bookstore. It's one of the biggest used bookstores in the world, which obviously appealed to me as a used-bookstore-employee. I browsed for quite a while and was tempted to buy a stack of books, but I'm holding out for the library card. I ended up settling for Truman Capote's In Cold Blood.

After I walked around in Greenwich Village for a while, I took the F train uptown. I don't think I truly realized I was in New York City until I came out of the subway station and was faced with the most GIANT M&M one could ever dream of, across from a multi-story Olive Garden. Ah, America. I must be an idiot, because I didn't realize I was in Times Square for a while. The giant seizure-inducing billboards weren't enough of a hint, I guess - it just seemed smaller than I'd imagined. I looked around for a while (I saw a Dean & Deluca, Alli - I wanted to go in but I refrained) and then found Rockefeller Plaza. The inner 30 Rock nerd in me came out as I took a camera phone picture of the "30 Rockefeller Plaza" sign (I literally cringed as I was doing this) and hung around waiting for Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin to show up. No sight of them...another day. I also decided I want to take an NBC tour and/or go to a show taping when Nick comes to visit!

I started my internship today. Luckily, they aren't morning people - I start at 10:30 every day. After setting out before 9 most days in Europe, this is an extremely welcome change of pace. On my way to the office, I'm almost certain a man sitting next to me on the train was attempting to catch my attention. He was old enough to be my father, with gelled gray hair (spiked in an attempt to disguise his thinning mane) and was bobbing his head emphatically to whatever was on his MP3 player while giving me semi-covert glances. As Sarah Palin might say, thanks...but no thanks, buddy.

I spent most of the day getting acquainted with the material the company I'm with is currently working on. I also met most of the people in the small office (including the other intern, who's a NY native living w/his parents) and learned the daily routine - which largely consists of doing office inventory, taking out the trash and going on errands.

I'm having a great time so far. I'm looking forward to working in such a dynamic and creative place and can't wait to continue finding my way around the city. And visitors are more than welcome!

To answer your questions:
Nick - Yes, New York is big. Its population is 1250 times that of my hometown!
Aunt Joy - I really did like Europe - especially London. I'll be in New York until early June, most likely. If you get the chance, I'd love to see you and Savanna!
Dad - I think I answered yours already. :)