Chrissy's Blog

For the first time in a long time, it was relatively warm and sunny in New York City. We decided to enjoy the weather by taking the FREE Staten Island Ferry. It goes right past the statue of liberty and has an excellent view of the city. Once on Staten Island, we tried to find something to do, but we failed and figured there was plenty to do back in New York City and headed back.

After a productive day, Travis and I went out for dinner. We went to a Mexican place called La Palapa in the East Village. The food was delicious, but it just didn’t match up to the likes of Bertha Miranda’s  in Reno. East coasters just don’t know how to do the Mexican food right. Our dishes cost twice what they would have in Reno, and we didn’t get the unlimited chips and salsa we had become so accustomed to. Not to mention no side of beans or rice! We left the restaurant still hungry. We headed over to a bakery called Veneiro’s. We ordered a cannoli, cheesecake, and the fruit supreme cake. Travis also wrote a new theme song for the two of us. It consisted of him singing in a falsetto “Two fat kids, three desserts.” They were fantastic! We weren’t even able to finish them all. The cannoli is still waiting in our fridge.

This sign was outside of the Woolworth Building. I walked by it on another bank errand. I thought it was rather amusing.

About an hour after I returned from the bank errand, my boss called me into his office where he told me that I am very smart, and he should never of hired someone who had such a high GPA in college. He handed me a check for three weeks worth of pay, untaxed and asked me to leave. I told him that I wasn’t unhappy at the job, that I didn’t feel overqualified, that I wanted to stay. He said that I had done nothing wrong, but I was just too smart for the job.

Dumbfounded, I headed home. Sure, the job was boring, but I need a job, and I don’t care that it’s boring. It was my 18th job in my seven years in the work world, but it was the first time that I have ever been fired. It felt horrible, and I still don’t understand why I was let go. There has to be another reason. Why on Earth would you fire somebody for being smart? The three weeks compensation was pretty generous though, and I figure that it gives me a couple of weeks to find something else. Travis brought home a six-pack of beer and a bag of Hershey’s kisses. I went out with some friends from the doctor’s office and they comforted me as well. Life isn’t so bad. I’ll find another job. I just hope this one is semi-normal.

Part of the new job was to run over to banks and make deposits. My boss was always emphatically apologetic, but I didn’t mind on cloudless days like this. The subway would take me the one stop to the bank, but I chose to walk, since it took about the same amount of time. This is a Frank Gehry building that I originally noticed when I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. It has this wave pattern that catches the light perfectly. I then read about it in New York Magazine. Gehry originally wanted the building to look like a corkscrew, but there were plumbing issues. This was the compromise.

It was a gloomy, rainy day in New York. The annoying mist-like precipitation I encountered on my lunch break made some of the taller buildings harder to see, but more interesting to photograph.

Most of the subways in New York are rather new and have a blue color scheme. Every once in a while though, one can find an old train, like this one that I took to Columbus Circle. I love the old orange seats.

I had a coupon for American Apparel that was about to expire, so I had to use it. I went to the store and browsed around, not really finding anything I liked. Then, I saw these big, floppy hats. I put one on and looked in the mirror. I loved it! I’m not a hat person, but something about this big floppy hat made me so happy. I immediately bought it and asked the salesperson to kindly remove the tag for me, so I could wear it home. I felt so darn fashionable. I headed out into the street with a new stylish strut from the confidence this big, floppy hat was giving me. Then, I started to realize (or maybe it was all paranoia) but people were doing double-takes at my hat, and not in a good way. I started looking up and down the fashionable New York streets only to find that my hat was different than any hat anyone else was wearing. I tried to keep my chin up. When I walked into my apartment, Travis looked up from the couch and started laughing. I officially felt silly. I had spent all this money on a hat I loved, only to feel like a big ol’ weirdo. I still wear my big, floppy hat because I like it, but people still look at me strange. I’m starting not to mind. After all, somehow those big ear flap hats are all the rage, and I think those look stupid. I guess fashion is all just following what people are doing right now. It seems so silly.

We went ice skating at Bryant Park. The iphone doesn’t handle motions picture very well, hence the creepy blacked out portions of my face.

This was the end of a looong day. One of the craziest days I’ve had in recent memory. Up was down, black was white. Travis and I went to a place in Midtown ordered a pitcher of beer and some not-for-beginners food. I got the deep-fried Buffalo chicken sandwich with fries. For dessert, a cookie with ice cream and whipped cream on top.

I decided to celebrate my new-found employment by taking the day easy. First things first though, I had a barista interview that day to cancel.  After sending off the interview cancellation, I realize that there is a voicemail on my phone. It is from one of the women who works at the place that just hired me. She apologized profusely and said that her father (the CEO of the company, currently on business in Korea) doesn’t want to fill the position they offered me until June. I was furious! I had already canceled an interview. My hopes for a brighter tomorrow had been dashed. Now I had to frantically e-mail the barista  job and ask them if they would still meet with me. I ran down to the bagel store to grab some breakfast before getting ready for my interview. When I get back to the building, my key doesn’t work. Inexplicably at that. I stand there in the freezing cold, jiggling my key in complete confusion. Am I using the wrong key? What the hell is happening here? I buzz apartments in the building, finally finding someone to buzz me in. My keys work on the rest of the doors, just not that all-important first one. I get to my apartment and break down in tears, but I can’t cry! I have an interview! I get myself together, get ready, and head out. I get down to the coffeeshop, still in a frantic state of mind. The manager at the coffeeshop doesn’t interview me FOR AN HOUR! Just because I’m unemployed doesn’t mean I can be treated like that. Finally he sits down and straight-out offers me the job for $7/hour. That’s not even minimum wage in New York. What are tips like? Horrible. He doesn’t even give me a chance to turn him down, he says to come in on Tuesday to train. He gets up to walk away, then turns around and says, “Oh, what’s your name?” What the heck? He didn’t even know who I was? When I finally leave, I realize there is a missed call from the temp agency on my phone. When I finally get a hold of my recruiter he tells me that he had a job for me, but he had to find someone else to take it since I didn’t answer my phone. AAAHHHH!!!! I head home. Again, my key doesn’t work, and this time, no one in the building will buzz me up. I don’t have the super’s number since I’m technically not on the lease. I call Travis all upset. He makes a couple calls, and an old man shows up to let me in. When I get inside my apartment, I call Travis back. I tell him how horrible my day has been. “Deep breaths. It’s okay. More opportunities will come along. I’ll head home in an hour or so, we can do whatever you want tonight. Just relax. It’s okay.” I know this is cheesy, but life can sometimes feel like a roller coaster, but Travis is my seat restraint. I sit down to drink a beer, knit and watch some Law and Order. I almost instantly get a phonecall from this strange foreign doctor who wants me to come in on Sunday to interview with him. I agree and quickly look him up on the internet. There are a slew of reviews that say that he is arrogant, condescending, an asshole. Just what I need, another crazy doctor making me hate my weekday life! An hour later, Travis comes home, again he is calming me down, saying everything will be okay. I’m still upset about my day, but we head out for dinner. As I’m putting my coat on, my phone rings. It’s the guy from the Real Estate company that had hired me the day before. He apologized PROFUSELY for the confusion, but told me that his sister (who had called me that morning) was mistaken and thinking about another position. The position I had been hired for was definitely available and being offered to me. “I don’t want to commit to this to have it taken away from me again,” I say sternly into the phone. “I promise you that will not happen. I’m so sorry for the confusion.” So I took the job. I tell Travis and he laughs, “I’ve never been hired, let go, and re-hired for a job within one day.”
“I don’t know if I’m skeptical or happy about this,” I say.
“You’re happy, okay. You have the job. You are happy.”

So, I guess I’m happy.