Yelp

All I wanted was some sushi. An innocent enough request. My friend Margaret and I decided that we would try this little place in midtown that got some great reviews. We hit up H&M first for some sales then wandered to this restaurant. The tiny room boasted a fridge next to the front door, a small counter with two low stools and a smiling man at a counter-turned-kitchen area. We said –“um, we’d like some sushi please.” He smiled and pointed at the small fridge next to the door. In it were our pre-packaged sushi options. Margaret and I looked at each other for a moment then decided –okay, we’ll stay. Why not! Now the sushi was probably good when it had been cooked that morning. The rice was a little dry, but the experience was worth it. Never in my life have I dined in front of a mirror at a counter that I could barely reach sitting on my stool while a sweet Asian man smiled on. Not even when I was IN Asia. The experience was really great, and I will sum it up this way –oh, New York City! Then we went to get frozen yogurt. I will not soon forget this experience, but next time I want sushi, I’m going to an actual restaurant with fresh cooked rice and avocado that isn’t slightly browning. Thanks Yelp, for this suggestion!

In other news – I’m moving to Brooklyn on Sunday. I found 2 girls to live with and we have found a 3 bedroom apartment in a newly renovated building in the Clinton Hill area of Brooklyn. I will be much closer to my job and the area has many cute little coffee shops and restaurants, and,-joy of joys!- we will be nestled in between a Target and a Trader Joe’s just a 10 minute train ride away. I think this will be a nice change of pace, although I’m actually really sad to be leaving the Bronx. Yesterday was my 3 month anniversary in NYC and the time has flown by. I can’t believe it’s been that long. In that time I’ve started to make a home here and I’m excited about getting to settle into a new apartment for a year. We have no furniture (the other two girls moved here from California) so we’ll be sleeping on air mattresses and eating on the floor, but that’s what Ikea and Craigslist are for.

I’ve also had some visitors in the last couple of weeks. My friend Brittany and her sister and friend came up to visit and we went to the Statue of Liberty and the 9/11 memorial, two places I haven’t seen before. We spent some time in Central Park, went to a comedy club, went to the Highline Park, ate some wonderful food and went to the Chelsea Flea Market (which is a parking garage that gets converted into a flea market warehouse on the weekends).
The next weekend, a friend from Raleigh came to visit the city (I am friends with her friend Winter through my connection in Portland, Anna, and Kimberly and I share a friend in Raleigh, Elizabeth. Crazy connections – huge city, small world). Winter and I made plans to have dinner in Rockefeller Center, and when I showed up, who was there but Kimberly! It was so nice to be surprised by her and we ate and walked through the area. The tree had started to go up, but it still has all the scaffolding up. The ice skating rink is open. Christmas is coming to the city, and it is beautiful.

Speaking of Christmas, cold weather has come. It has snowed twice (it didn’t stick, but that’s not the point). I have started dressing like an Eskimo, but I hear the worst is yet to come. Bring it! We are forecasted to have snow on Thanksgiving day, so that will be wonderful. I will be in the city for this weekend, and we’re having a “Friendsgiving” with some people from church on Thursday and Friday I plan to watch movies all day and relax. I do work Saturday, although I somehow managed to escape the Black Friday craziness.

I will post pictures when I move into my new apartment!