I was conquered by New York (and social work school) in 2 short months. After spending about 2 weeks looking for a place to live -- visiting 40 some apartments in the grueling summer heat -- I found a comfortable apartment share in SoHo, on King St. between 6th Ave. and Varick. Despite the nice apt. and all the money I dished out, things simply didn't work for me. I was going through the motions and experiencing little of life. When not engaged in school activities, I paced up and down the city streets expending energy, trying to tire myself out and numb my emptiness. Raj helped me move out of the apartment over Thanksgiving. Happily, we met up with Phuong, David, Nahal and Scott for dinner one night before leaving town.

NYC highlights: roti wraps in Bed-Stuy, smiling deli workers, bicycling in Central Park with Raj, dog-free parks, safe streets, kind people. On the downside: dog crap on the sidewalks, garbage, the stench of bums in the parks, feeling out-of-place, building resentment toward the people I was supposed to be helping, the outrageous cost of rent and tuition.

Thanks to Scott and his family for their huge support. And to Shirley Dela Cruz and family -- her dad let me load his truck with furniture and drive it into Manhattan, without even meeting me!!

A quiet street in Chelsea in the summertime -- littered with honey locust petals


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