I'm in the process of writing my story of when I was living in NYC studying acting. There's a lot to my story and for many years it's been so private and special it was hard to even talk about. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times :) If you're just tuning in, I suggest you start at Part I for it to make sense. All links in order at the bottom of this blog entry. I promise it's a juicy read. These entries often include actual journal entries from that time in my life. I'm so grateful I documented so much! Once I finish here, I hope to expand into a book. I'm posting these frequently but they'll also be interspersed with real time blogs :) Thanks for reading & supporting!
*All names are changed
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Commuting was hard. It was something I'd never had to do before. Taking the 1/9 from approximately 225th street in the Bronx to 16th in Chelsea had worn me out the first year. I didn't realize how it had begun to wear me down. Everyone kept telling me I needed to move to Manhattan. Well no kidding. But how was I going to do that? I loved the idea of being away from Martha, being in the city, closer to school and closer to The Guy.
I had a close call with moving to the city at the end of the school year. A girl who was in school with me, Harriet was suddenly in need of a roommate. I told her I was interested, and so did someone else. That person was Mark. Oh, great. Now Mark and I were competing for this room. We went over to see it at the same time. Turned out it was less than ideal, the "room" wasn't a room at all but rather a bed in the living room. This meant Harriet would be walking through this "room" to get to her actual room every time. Oh. Even so, I wanted to be in the city no matter what. I still said I was interested. So did Mark. Harriet said she was going to flip a coin. Mark chose a side, I chose a side and that would determine who would "win".
The plan was to do the coin toss later, all together. I'll never forget walking up to them on our lunch break shortly after, seeing them conspiring and knowing something was up. Harriet told me they'd already done the coin toss and Mark had won. I played it off like it was no big deal and I was happy for Mark. But honestly? I thought that was incredibly shitty. How stupid did they think I was? Clearly she would rather be roommates with Mark. That's fine. So just tell me that he's the best fit for her. It's her space, I get that. Don't give me that bull shit about a secret coin toss without me and then tell me that's how things went down.
Anyway. When I finally did get to move to Manhattan, it was because another classmate, Steve was moving out of his room on 44th b/w 9th & 10th. Oh. My. God. What a location! Steve was foreign, charming, and the ladies loved him. He was the type of guy I could understand why the girls would fall all over themselves for him but he did nothing for me. I thought his schtick was a bit cheesy. Jenny had actually just told me she'd spotted him in the park looking cozy with the very teacher I mentioned previously that was in the Donkey Show. I thought that was weird, surprising, but didn't care. Right now, I just thought he was nice and I was very grateful he was meeting with me to show me the room and introduce me to his roommates.
It was an apartment owned by a woman who worked on Wall Street named Liz. She was up early, worked long hours and told me she partied on the weekends and Sunday was the day she laid on the couch with an ice pack on her head. I didn't know she was being literal. She was. I'd come to learn that she partied until the sun was up and Sunday was indeed spent with the ice pack in front of the tv with the most annoying laugh I'd ever heard. The other room was occupied by a guy who's name I forget. I never crossed paths with him and only remember he had a cute little asian girl that would come and stay with him sometimes. Here I'd have my own actual room, we'd share the small bathroom and kitchen and the living room.
This time, I "won". I was finally moving to Manhattan!
Jenny helped me move and even rented the moving truck since I wasn't old enough. She drove to the Bronx early the morning of the move. I woke up Darren to help me when it was time to move my futon. We were going to keep in touch, so little did I know that would be the last time I'd ever see him. I'll never forget him waving goodbye. He was shirtless, red-eyed, and a little dazed. He must have had quite the night.
As I reflect I realize how much Jenny was there for me, how much she helped me and saved me. Multiple times. More on that later. I don't know where I would have been without her.
I also realize all of my goodbyes were less than ideal. With everyone. Every time.
It was a relief and a grown up feeling for me to start shopping for things to pull my room together. Among my first purchases was a zebra blanket, a bamboo dresser, a fairy statue and a rug. I was also looking forward to being able to have The Guy come to my turf. At last, no more long commutes and no more Martha! It was also the perfect NYC location to host visitors.
My first friend from home, Rachel was on her way. Little did I know we'd be making memories that we still talk about to this day.
Part 1: http://beanerlarue.blogspot.com/2011/06/new-york-state-of-mind.html
Part 2: http://beanerlarue.blogspot.com/2011/06/new-york-state-of-mind-part-ii.html
Part 3: http://beanerlarue.blogspot.com/2011/06/my-new-york-diaries-part-3.html
Part 4: http://beanerlarue.blogspot.com/2011/06/my-new-york-diaries-part-4.html
Part 5: http://beanerlarue.blogspot.com/2011/06/my-new-york-diaries-part-5.html
Part 6: http://beanerlarue.blogspot.com/2011/06/my-new-york-diaries-part-6.html
Part 7: http://beanerlarue.blogspot.com/2011/06/im-in-process-of-writing-my-story-of.html
Part 8: http://beanerlarue.blogspot.com/2011/06/my-new-york-diaries-part-8.html
Time to Press Pause: http://beanerlarue.blogspot.com/2011/06/time-to-press-pause.html
Part 9: http://beanerlarue.blogspot.com/2011/06/my-new-york-diaries-part-9.html
Part 10: http://beanerlarue.blogspot.com/2011/06/my-new-york-diaries-part-10.html
Part 11: http://beanerlarue.blogspot.com/2011/06/my-new-york-diaries-part-11.html
Part 12: http://beanerlarue.blogspot.com/2011/06/my-new-york-diaries-par-12.html
Part 13 (with an extra shot) http://beanerlarue.blogspot.com/2011/07/my-new-york-diaries-part-13-with-extra.html
Part 14: http://beanerlarue.blogspot.com/2011/07/my-new-york-diaries-part-14.html
Part 15: http://beanerlarue.blogspot.com/2011/09/my-new-york-diaries-part-15.html
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