Gone to America

I really hate moving. Three days later, and all my muscles are still aching – and I don’t even have much stuff! Julian and his friend Gal helped me, which is to say they did most of the work while I wheezed and put my head between my legs to prevent myself from passing out. I knew I was unfit, but this was ridiculous. I’m going to have to start going to the gym.

Did I write that? Wow, I’ve been in New York too long.

And it’s an expensive business, too. I rented a truck from U-Haul. I don’t have a license, so Julian drove it for me. We got slightly lost returning it, and so we were ten minutes late, and the gates were shut. We parked it around the corner, so that I could show up at 7am the next morning and sign it back in. I managed this, but unfortunately there were two tickets – one for parking overnight, and one for parking by a fire hydrant. The two tickets combined cost about twice as much as the van rental.

But I’m here now. The rent is cheaper ($530 a month compared to $775), which is good, and there’s high speed internet and cable TV. There’s no phone, but that’s OK – one less bill. The place is slightly smaller, including my room, so I’m noticing a sever lack of infrastructure – I don’t have anywhere to put anything! I need to buy a cheap bookcase somewhere.
My roomates are Andras, Julian’s friend, an Economics PhD candidate born in Hungary but raised in Germany, and JV, about whom I know almost nothing, except that his name is really Javier. I’m sure I’ll be finding stuff out. The area is predominantly Puerto Rican. I think I was more comfortable surrounded by Poles – the dour European thing is much more familiar to me than the energetic Latin thing.

I had a fun night on Saturday, even though I was too tired to properly appreciate it. Conor took me along to meet his friend Kate, who has a big role in the musical Gypsy. I had a quick look backstage, and we went for a drink in Angus McIndoe’s across the street. It was all very glamorous – Patrick Stewart was behind us, and when we went downstairs Mel Brooks and Matthew Broderick were having dinner together. I almost reminded Mel of the time in 1997 in the commissary of Sony Studios when he asked if he could take a couple of seats, and I said “Yes” even though I was keeping them for people, because he was Mel Brooks, but I didn’t. Should I have?

This week I shall be mostly working on a short film here in the apartment, and making phone calls about work. I shall update at some point.

And here’s where I’m living now:

Map of
49 White St
Brooklyn, NY 11206