the little differences

living in LA in no way prepared me for life in new york. while LA certainly qualifies as a big city, is is much more like a huge suburb than anything else. you drive everywhere- to the grocery store, to the bank, to the post office, to one end of the parking lot to the other (just kidding, sort of). because space is not at such a premium, and especially as a grad student, you stock up on things out of convenience. target & costco were king and at any given time i would have X number of paper towels, Y boxes of ziplock bags, and Z rolls of TP.

so i've adapted. (my roommate looked at me like i was crazy when i loaded up the cart with various paper products when we went to target for the first time) i only get items i need for that night or week from the grocery store, i no longer stock up on toiletries, and my fridge actually gets empty.

now with the winter settling in, running errands is unpleasant. luckily, everything in new york- and the US in general- has been evolving to deal with that. you can get groceries or any type of take out delivered to you at any time of day. there are laundromats that you can drop off and pick up your laundry. (my friend's cleaner in the bronx actually picks up his laundry and returns it to his address) it's quite amazing. . so today while i'm recovering from my cold, i will stay inside. watch "city of god" which i got in the mail via Netflix (love them!), do my christmas shopping online, and catch up on various projects i have going on the side.