The cost of a New York Minute

I am not exaggerating when I say that I spent $15 on laundry last night. New York is sucking my pockets dry...but today, those pockets are clean in every cents of the word. 

The only good news to counter with such aggravating assault on my finances is that I am no longer jobless. (Can I get a virtual high five?) You are reading the words, of the thoughts, from the fingers, of the newest addition to the naughty nurse crew at New York Methodist Hospital. Starting Monday night, I will be bringing into the world Brooklyn's next generation of hipsters and posh bike messengers. I can't say I will be all too surprised when they come out already donning their black, skinny jeans and vinyl belts; so quick to make their parents proud. Here are a few reasons why this job could potentially be very ass kicking...

1.) Brooklyn is one of the more diverse neighborhoods in the country. (Queens trumps it like the royal ace that she is, but this isn't a competition people) I am sure to find a cultural buffet within this particular facet of the big apple: crackheads, Hasidic Jews at least 3-4 times a shift, celebrities, first-time-parents, 8th-time-parents, really sick ones, really paranoid and dramatic ones, maybe a celebrity or two and everything in between.

2.) I will be working the night shift, which at first made me really nervous because I am worse at daytime sleeping than I am at updating this blog regularly, but I was assured by the nurse manager that the night crew is "green". This terminology within the field of nursing guarantees a fresh enclave of coworkers and an instant group of friends. What better place to work the graveyard than in the city that never sleeps? This may be a new beginning for the clubber in me that never was. Time to pump the jams...?

3.) Health insurance. with a lifestyle like mine, I can't believe I have gone over 9 months without it. Jamie + long boarding in crowded areas + biking with no helmet - health insurance + placing hands on dirty subway poles X previous exposure to illnesses that weakens immune systems = bad choice. But it wouldn't be the first one I have made and more than likely, not the last. 

4.) Timing. I start on September 8th and if I hate it (but shall we not be so negative to think that is even an option?), I only endure it for 12 weeks or so because my contract is done on December 6th. Ahhh the beauty. Someone actually had the nerve of saying I was "afraid of commitment". Now would we call it that? I won't even share with you (yet) where the next destination will be. You will have to stay tuned for the Winter update :)

5.) Shelter from the storm. My havoc is not close to the devastation that Gustav has left our southern half, but that all really depends on who you are asking. When I look at the pile of my belongings nestled in Sam and Scott's corner, I see nothing but a couple bags, a random shirt here, a pair of shoes there. I am sure if you were to ask the Mr. and Mrs. though, a different picture would be painted. I soon will be residing in a room of my very own. Free to sling a sock in any direction and able to tromp nude ad lib. I have been assured the space is tiny, but location is everything to a Manhattanite and my new digs really can't be topped. If by rare chance there is room for more than one human to fit, I extend an open invitation to you all. (One...or maybe half...at a time please.)

The adjustment process is still coming together. The nice woman I spoke with today at a bookshop I was perusing, mentioned that it took her FIVE years to acclimate to the craziness of the city. I was taken back by her comment and was just then hit by the unbelievable force this mega-center has on people. What effects will this have on me now and in the long run? I like to think that I am just keeping myself young, preserved in an invisible cocoon of adventure that will one day sneak from the clear blanket, into reality, willing to age like the rest of civilization. Could the constant honking of that bus and the eternal emission of exhaust be counter productive to my life long goal of living to 100? How many healthy cells is this costing me? I pondered this all day as I flirted with both pedestrian traffic and degrading air quality.

I saw where she was coming from when I thought about my first yoga class. It should have sent me on a fast back pedal to Chicago, recognizing all the signs of retreat. There is something about Union Square and downward dogging that just don't mesh and 'Natalie', the she-devil instructor herself, would be the poster child. Her tone and approach were all wrong. No one must have told her that being rude is actually anxiety producing...not reducing. And that criticizing her assistant, a fairly new student, is no way to build a class rooted in exploring personal fears. As she stood, gothic and scary in front of the class, demeaning everyone of us, I glanced around and laughed. Did anyone else notice her lack of niceness? Her un-soothing voice?  The judgment in her stare? No? NO! If her tone were actually a venomous snake, we would be rushing to the hospital. I am not sure any of the other benders even took regard. All she did was 'bullshit, bullshit, bullshit'...the type that loves the sound of her own voice.

So what do you do when you're mining for gold and you strike coal? You simply go elsewhere. Today I found a studio which introduced stretch back into my over-walked legs and subtly infused tranquility back into to my over-stimulated mind. All in a sanctuary that blissfully reminded me of my yogic upbringing.

If I continue to laugh out loud though, as much as I have the past week, I am sure to live long and strong. I saw a man with hair to his knees, on a pair of rollerblades, playing table tennis on the Hudson River. I counted his smile in minutes and it lasted an hour...that is how content he looked. With his shirt off and his man boobs exposed to the world, he was more carefree than most toddlers which made me twinge with jealousy as I struggled to breathe and jog by.

I foresee the next couple weeks being a rocky road of assimilation. I will be pulling more all-nighters in the next three months than all my years in college combined. But I have begun my preparation. I have read the tips that the wise Deepak Chopra has expensively revealed to the common folk and I am fully aware that warm glasses of milk and a fond addiction to sleep aids, are in my future. When those sleepless nights stir within your own sheets, know that a friend to make...is the friend awake. God bless free night time minutes...the one thing that New York can not charge me for.