when livin’ is easy

May 13, 2011

Well, now I have no excuse not to update: the internet is back in my life. Stolen wifi, while free, is fickle. For so many months I was fortunate to be able to check my email.

What’s new? In April I moved out of the Upper East Side apartment I shared with Sam and moved to Washington Heights. I’m living with a coworker, Melissa, and her friend from college, Max. It’s a 3-bedroom with exposed brick, a big kitchen and plenty of light during the day. It’s pretty quiet up on the fifth floor most of the time, but there’s a middle school across the street so, you know, teenagers yell when school’s out. It’s a lot cheaper than the UES (coffee and a big doughnut for a $1.50?!) and since WashHeights is primarily a Dominican neighborhood, there’s salsa music on every corner.

Melissa and I have finally discovered Trader Joe’s for cheap groceries. Our first night in the apartment, Melissa bought one bag of basic groceries from Whole Foods for $50. Last week we brought home two bags from TJ’s for $60, and it’s just a short train ride away. Now I just need to remember to bring the cloth grocery bags.

What else has happened? I caught a bad flu a week before moving (so, late March) and am just now feeling like a normal person again. The fever and whatnot subsided within normal flu-time, less than a week, but the cough persisted. For a month. I found a doctor a few blocks from the new place and he told me to use a Nettie Pot. The next day, before I could even get a Nettie Pot, let alone let it work it’s magic, I coughed so hard I pulled muscles in my ribs. Back to the doctor, who gave me prescription pain meds. My cough eventually started to subside (but not before I could pull the muscles even more, naturally), and sleeping on my back to stretch the muscles has helped tremendously. Now I’m only a bit sore on my right side, to the point that I’ve been forgetting to take the meds.

But anyway. It’s warm out now. Well, most of the time. Went to see the Punch Brothers with Piotr a few weeks ago, of course on the one day of torrential rain in the past few months. Chris Thile and Co. were in top form as always, starting out with a cover of Beck’s ‘Sexx Laws’, playing new songs and old favorites and putting on a great show throughout. I just found out Thile collaborated on an album of traditional bluegrass songs with musician Michael Daves. They played a show together Wednesday night that I could have gone to had the IRS not billed me $157 dollars for a miscalculation on my taxes the day before. Oh well.

That’s all I can think of for now. I’m visiting Hawaii in about three weeks for a friend’s wedding and my mom’s birthday. Good timing too, I’m a little homesick. Until next time, I’ll leave you with  pictures of the new (still messy) place:

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