Taking the Big Apple By Storm

My doctor never gave me my cd4/igg count so I assumed they were decent. He knew my plans to take a train so I'm sure he would've let me know if there was a problem. I will email him later.

Thursday night I took the train into Penn Station which was abuzz at 10:45 in the evening. Marty met me and we hopped on a subway to Brooklyn. The train was unbelievably crowded--no seats but no coughing either. I got a good night's sleep and was ready to find an apartment in Manhattan. With Marty as my guide, I took the right train to the financial district where I was meeting my broker at 10:30. I walked around the neighborhood to get a feel for my new life.

Impressions: loud, noisy, busy, young. I went to Starbucks to recharge my battery. I met with Liat, a young hip Israeli woman. We made quite a pair. We saw 10 apartments in two hours. Frankly, they all seemed the same, very stylish but very small. I made mental notes of what I liked and didn't like. I was able to select three that would be suitable, a true two-bedroom as first choice, a converted two as second and something else I don't remember. We put in applications on number one and two, although number one already had an application in so I was unlikely to get that one. We saw a few more places and then I went for lunch in Battery Park City.

Battery Park was another neighborhood I was interested in so I explored a bit. Impressions: windy, young, quieter. The riverside park is a big draw with its biking path that reaches to upper Manhattan, dog runs, great views and atmosphere. I missed the World Trade Center site so did not see the gawking tourists who descend like flies each day. I was exhausted by this point but I went to see Liat at her office and she took me to see two more "residences." Limply, I caught the subway and returned to Brooklyn where I rested until Marty came home. We went to dinner with friends in a local restaurant where I didn't know the names for half that was on the menu. That's another story though and I will save it for another post.

We got up bright and early on Saturday morning. Marty went to the corner for some coffee, and we were picked up by Sandy at 8 o'clock. He took us to one of his nearby buildings where we could rent an apartment with two bedrooms and a dining room for less than we'd pay in Manhattan. It was tempting, but only for a nano second.

Breakfast at Juniors with Dianne was great as usual. We drove around the downtown Brooklyn waterfront where luxury condos prayed to the Great Realtor in the sky to bring him clients who couldn't afford Manhattan rents. We tried to see an apartment but it was still early so they drove us into town and we started checking out the area. We were fortunate to be able to get into see the apartment I liked second best. This is because the concierge remembered me! We went up to the apartment, located on the 14th floor near the laundry room. This was the first apartment Marty saw and think he was underwhelmed. I took him around to see all the nearby restaurants we'd be eating at, including a real diner less than a block away. We weren't meeting with our other broker for a bit saw we walked three blocks to South Street Seaport to look around.

We arranged to meet Edward at a building on West Street and headed over to Battery Park City. Tourists were so drawn to the dead meat New York City cops had to serve as swat teams to keep the area flowing. We met our broker and he took us to see three apartments at 75 West Street. The building is known as Post towers, having been the home of the New York Post for many years. It's an older building, thoroughly renovated with the units being both bigger and cheaper. The one we liked best has two walk-in closets, a nice light-colored galley kitchen that opens to a big living area. The bedroom is large and has one of the closets. The bathroom is marble and tile with new fixtures. We liked it better than the one I applied for on Friday so we put in an application. We should know in a few days if we are approved. The move-in date is May 1st.

Because we'll just rely on cell phones, we will not have the prestigious 212 area code. You'll have to come see for yourself that we do indeed live in the Big Apple. My children don't understand what's gotten into their parents. It's good to keep them guessing.