Tag Archives: new york

I’m so excited and I can’t hide it

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Back in August, when I was still in good ol’ Missip, I emailed in for the Saturday Night Live ticket lottery. My understanding is that there is a date window in which you can request tickets for the show and then they draw the tickets lottery style.

Well, I had completely forgotten about it until last week when I received an email from NBC.com. Glancing at it, I thought it might be for Conan tickets since I had emailed for those recently. But no, it was for SNL! I’ll be going to the Feb 7th dress rehearsal. I’m sooooo excited^

A few days later, I received an email that I had tickets for a Feb 17th taping of Conan too. He’s wrapping up his New York show and moving to LA to take over the Tonight Show, so I’ll get to see one of the last shows. I can’t hide it!

Why I Moved to New York

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Yes, it’s true that I moved from Mississippi to New York City. It’s true that I started a great new job in Manhattan and that I live in a cool neighborhood in Brooklyn. And it’s true that I now live in a part of the country that utilizes all four seasons and not just summer.

But.

That’s not the entire truth. I haven’t told you why I moved. Or rather, why I had to move.

See, Mississippi has the honor of being the fattest state in the nation and is currently trying to improve its image. To that end it is trying a two-pronged approach. One: there is a expansive movement to educate and motivate people to eat right and exercise. An example of this is the Let’s Go Walkin’ Mississippi campaign. If you live in Mississippi, you can’t help but be inundated with TV and radio ads touting the benefits of walking. But, there is a lesser-known, second approach to improving Mississippi’s standing in the health statistics.

If you’re over a certain BMI, your name goes into a lottery drawing. Once a month they draw a certain number of names and these names have 6 months to move to a state with a lower obesity rate. The thought behind this is that Mississippi’s numbers are instantly improved and the other state’s numbers are worsened in one fell swoop.

Pretty shrewd, ain’t it?

Well, my name came up so I’m doing my part to make Mississippi healthier and pull New York down. Now you know. Which is totally half the battle.

People sure are friendly in NYC

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They say in the south, you’ll never meet a stranger. People will bend over backwards to help you if you need a hand. Admittedly, I was afraid that when I moved up here to New York I’d be put off by the unfriendliness of the locals. I think everyone has heard how New Yorkers would step over a dying man rather than do anything to help.

You know what? Everything I had heard is completely wrong.

Back home you tend to know just about everyone around town. It’s not uncommon to be out and around town while someone driving along will see you and give you a friendly honk. Etiquette dictates that you return it with a friendly nod and a wave. This is about the only time you hear a car’s horn.

Imagine my surprise while walking down 34th street and every other car is giving me a friendly honk. They tend to lay on the horn a little more than they do back home but that’s probably because there’s a lot going on around me and I may not notice them honking right away. So I turn their way and give them the required nod and wave. I tell ya, I can’t walk two feet before having to stop and wave at someone. It’s great everyone is so friendly but it takes me twice as long as it should to walk a single block.

So let it be said that New Yorkers are way friendlier than you might have heard. So much so that I have trouble sleeping at night while they honk a little hello to all their friends.

News of my death has been greatly exaggerated

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First, let me address my cryptic post recently about being in San Francisco. I was barely getting settled in NY when I had to take off to SF for a week of training with my new job. I had fully intended to sit down that evening in the hotel and write up a big My New Life Thus Far post but I wimped out and made up some nonsense instead. My apologies to all.

So. I’ve been in the Big Apple for just over 2 months now. We’ve gotten all settled in and there are no more boxes sitting around. It’s kinda late right now, but remind me to post some pics of our apartment after the movers delivered all the boxes filled with our junk. Holy Moley.

I think about our life and friends and family that we left in Mississippi and I miss it all so. Fortunately, we like it here too and it balances out pretty well. But, Lord, is it cold.

We packed everything up as best we could and let the movers do the rest. It was weird to sit in our empty trailer after living there for 7 years.

Empty Nest

We caught a last football game (and the Dawgs won!).

Our Last Home Game

Then we rented a car and started our 3 day trip to NY.

Driving

We stopped in at the Natural Bridge.

Natural Bridge

I managed to snap a quick pic as we crossed the Mason-Dixon Line. Goodbye South.

Mason-Dixon Line

We stopped at Hersey, Pennsylvania and tried not to spend too much money on chocolate.

Hershey

I drove across Manhattan and over the Manhattan Bridge. Regardless of this photo, I was completely sober.

Manhattan Bridge

The next day, all our junk was delivered.

New Place

This is right outside our door looking up towards Prospect Park.

Union St

We live 4 blocks from Prospect Park.

Prospect Park
Prospect Park

This is our neighborhood, Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Park Slope
Park Slope

We took a carriage ride in Central Park. The horse decided to leave without the driver, who is taking the picture.

Carriage Ride

We’ve already had the first big snow storm though I’m not sure if we got any pictures. We also had visitors from Mississippi which was fun. Now the new year is upon us and we look forward to what it will bring. Personally, I’m hoping for less siren noise.

I’m Moving to New York, You Guys

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IMG_0812.JPGIf you follow me on twitter, you may know this already: I’m joining the ranks of other esteemed Mississippi ex-pats and striking out for new adventures, namely New York City.

How did this come about you ask? Well, it’s been a long time coming and I won’t go into the entire back story. The important bit to know is M is all finished up with her (third, but career-changing) degree and we will need to relocate to find work for both of us. As much as we love the south, we would like to experience other areas of this great nation before it completely falls apart. Both the east and west coasts were considered and in the end we choose bitter, cold winters over earth quakes.

So, I start my new job on October 20th and there’s so much to do between now and then. Like packing up my entire household and finding a place to live. It’s amazing how much stuff you can accumulate over the years and it feels good to get rid of it by pushing it off on neighbors and friends.

We’re excited and sad. We’re excited about starting this new chapter in our lives. We’re sad because we’ll be so far from our friends and family. We’ve lived in Mississippi our entire lives (all 21 years!) and I will miss fried okra a lot.

Y’all come and visit us.