What you didn’t know 1.3

Waking up.. It’s cold and I am already late for work. I don’t feel like going out of bed. Quickly I snooze my alarm for the 7th time this morning. I must get out of here. I haven’t slept for more than 3 hours, but that doesn’t matter. I am up. I make a coffee as if I had to win the world Guinness record. Put on clothes. This is not the good color. This makes me look fat.  This is very similar to what I wore yesterday. Look again the phone, hoping that the time had stopped, but time doesn’t wait for anyone. Shit. No time for doubts, I am out of here… 

I am trying to explore New York as much as I can. I am trying to get to know the love of my life. His secretes, his passions, his tastes, his smell, his rights, his wrongs…

Probably you heard a lot of things about New York. Lately I have been doing a re search about the things that I didn’t know about the city. I wanted to know something more. I want to share this  search with you. Once I was told that every day you should learn something new, I would love to be the person today that teaches you something that you didn’t know today. Hope you enjoy it. These are my favorites: 

1. Times Square was renamed in 1904 after The New York Times moved its headquarters to the newly erected Times Building. The annual ball drop  began on December 31, 1907.
2. Madison Square Park, Washington Square Park, Union Square Park, and Bryant Park used to be cemeteries.
3. In 1975, the city of New York sold a private island in the East River for $10.
4. It costs $1 million to get a license (medallion) to operate a taxicab.
5. The city of New York will pay for a one-way plane ticket for any homeless person if they have a guaranteed place to stay.
6. Albert Einstein’s eyeballs are stored in a safe deposit box in the city.
7. It can cost over $289,000 for a one-year hot dog stand permit in Central Park.
8. Pinball was illegal in NYC from 1942 to 1976.
9. The lions in front of the Public Library have names – and a cool way to remember them: Patience and Fortitude are the two lions that guard the entrance to the massive archives. The easiest way to tell them apart is that Fortitude is closest to 42nd Street. –> 42=fortitude!
10. New York has the largest Puerto Rican, population of any city in the world and Chinese outside of Asia. 
11. It takes 75,000 trees to print an edition of the Sunday New York Times.
12. There is a Whispering Gallery at Grand Central Station. Whisper into one corner and a buddy can hear it behind you in the opposite one all the way across the hall!
13.  Titanic’s final destination was to be Pier 59 which was owned by the White Star Line. Curiously I do events over there now.. (Picture from the current venue) 

By the way…. Merry Orthodox Christmas!!! 

Central Park

Subway

Pier 59, Chelsea.

Times Square

Me estoy despertando.. Hace frio y ya llego tarde a trabajar. No quiero salir de la cama. Rapidamente retraso mi alarma por septima vez desde el primer pitido. Debo salir de aqui. No he dormido mas de 3 horas, pero es no importa. Estoy despierta. Me preparo un cafe, como si fuera a competir en rapidez para el record Guinness. Me visto. Este color no me convence. Esto me hace gorda. Esto se parece demasiado a lo que llevaba ayer. Miro de nuevo el movil, con la esperanza de que el tiempo se ha parado a esperarme, pero el tiempo no espera a nadie. Mierda. No hay tiempo para dudas, me voy de aqui…   

Estoy intentando explorar Nueva York lo maximo que puedo. Estoy intentando conocer el amor de mi vida. Conocer sus secretos, sus pasiones, sus gustos, sus olores, sus cosas buenas y sus cosas malas..

Probablemente hayas escuchado muchas cosas sobre esta ciudad. Ultimamente queria hacer una busqueda un poco mas profunda sobre NYC. Queria saber algo mas, algo que no fuese tan tipico. Quiero compartir mi busqueda con vosotros. Un dia me dijeron que todos los dias debes aprender algo nuevo. Me encantaria ser esa persona que te pueda mostrar algo nuevo hoy. Espero que lo disfrutes, estos son mis favoritos: 

1. Times Square fue nombrado con ese nombre en 1904 por el famosos periodico The New York Times, ya que sus oficinas se trasladaron a sus alrededores. La famosa bola que cae en año nuevo en Times Square empezo esta tradicion el 31 de Diciembre de 1907.
2. Madison Square Park, Washington Square Park, Union Square Park y Bryant Park solian ser cementerios.
3. En 1975, la ciudad de Nueva York vendio una isla privada en East River por 10 dolares.
4. Cuesta UN MILLON DE DOLARES una licencia para la empresa que quiera tener taxi en la ciudad de Nueva York.
5. La ciudad paga un biellete de ida a todas las personas que no tienen hogar, si tienen garantizado donde quedarse.
6. Los globos del ojo o bolas oculares de Albert Einstein estan despositadas en una caja fuerte en la ciudad.
7. Puede costar mas de 289,000 dolares por un permiso anual para vender perritos calientes en Central Park.
8. El pinball o comunmente conocido como flipper fue ilegal desde 1942 hasta 1976.
9. Los leones en frente de la libreria nacional tienen nombres. Fortitude            ( Fortaleza) y Patience (Paciencia) . Es facil acordarse del nombre ya que Fortitude esta cerca de la calle 42.  ( Four en ingles)
10. La población puertorriqueña es mas grande en NYC que en cualquier ciudad del mundo. NYC es la ciudad en la que viven mas chinos fuera de Asia.
11. Se talan alrededor de 75,000 arboles para imprimir una edicion dominguera del periodico New York Times 
12. Hay una galeria secerta en Gran Central Station. Si susurras a un lado de la pared, tu amigo te puede escuchar desde la otra punta de la galeria. 
13. El destinto final del Titanic era en el muelle 59 de Chelsea Piers. Curiosamente es un restaurante hoy en dia, con el que colaboro bastante. (Se puede observar en la ultima foto). 

Por cierto… Feliz Navidad a todos los ortodoxos! 

 

Late night, come home

Small things can really bring us true happiness. You can’t imagine how happy I was when I bought my bed sheets and my comfortable, I know it sounds crazy… It felt like I bought a house in the Hamptons. In my new adventure I am really appreciating these small things that before I wasn’t able to realize how important they are.  Sometimes we don’t appreciate those little things that are actually crucial to us and for our day a day. We are so busy and so driven away by  consumerism ( and I am the first one) that we do not realize how important is to have your sheets, your towel and your food.

I took my first trip to Ikea, to buy essential things. I think it was the first time that I had to look all the price tags and start comparing every cent. No bullshit to buy, only stuff that I really needed. When I got to bed that night I felt  the happiest person on this planet, because I had my sheets (seriously Ikea has some awesome cotton sheets for $25) .

This fact made me think about the small things that really make me happy, like having food on the table or having a comfortable so I don’t freeze at night. I know that right now it is a struggle and I am having a hard time, but I do have what I really need to survive and I am going to fight till my last breath to prove that I can take this challenge and do the most of it.

I am more than proud to say that I also did my first grocery shopping, comparing every product, and thinking twice if I should buy crackers or bread. I bought toast.

What about you? Did you ever have this experience? Did you ever think about those small things? If you  have food on the table and you can sleep in a bed, trust me you should be happy.

 

Y es que son esas pequeñas cosas que realmente nos pueden hacer felices. No sabeis la satisfaccion que sneti cuando me compre mis sabanas y mi edredon, ya se que puede sonar raro.. Me senti como si me hubiese comprado una casa en los Hamptons. … Y es que aqui me doy cuenta que realmente algo tan insignificsnte que sntes no llegaba a apreciar ahora es algo que puede no solo sacar una sonrisa sino hacerte sentir feliz. Muchas veces estamos tsn ocupados con otras cosas, tan llevados por este consumimso ( y que conste que soy la primera) que no nos damos cuenta de todo lo que tenemos, de todo lo que no sabemos apreciar. 

Hice mi primer viaje a Ikea, para comprar lo esencial, mirando hasta el ultimo centimo del precio y comprando solo lo que realmente necesito para sobrevivir. Dejando de lado las tipicas chorradas que me hubiera comprado estando en casa. Cuando llegue a casa esa misma noche me senti la persona mas feliz del mundo (enserio Ikea tiene muy buenas sabanas por $25).

Este hecho me hizo pensar sobre las diminutas cosas que realemente nos hacen felices, como tener comida encima de la mesa o un edredon para no morime del frio.Se que ahora mismo es una angustia y que son momentos duros, pero se que tengo todo lo esencial para sobrevivir y voy a luchar hasta mi ultimo aliento para ganar este reto y sacar lo mejor de ello. 

Estoy orgullosa de anunciar que tambien hice mi primera compra de comid, comparando cada producto y cada etiqueta. Dudando si comprar pan o galletitas saladas. Al final compre tostadas. 

Y tu? Has experimentado alguna vez ese sentimiento? Has pensado en esas pequenas cosas? Si tienes comida encima de la mesa y una cama donde dormir, creeme deberias estar feliz. 

**Perdonar las tildes no tengo el teclado adecuado aun.. 

Brooklyn.

Are you a puller or a pusher?

This part of my life is called Brooklyn. I just survived my first Real Estate in Manhattan, and let me confess that it wasn’t easy at all. It has been one of the worst challenges so far. The amount of sketchy people and rooms out there… but i guess that is a part of this city. I was going to work every morning, and after the long day I had to go apartment hunting, in the cold dark weather. Most of the times I was alone, although sometimes a friend did come with me.

I did find a little cosy room in Brooklyn, I will be sharing the apartment with other ladies so I guess I am going to have stories for a while..

I had a lot of time to think in the random subways while I was in my hunt going up & down town and skipping from one island to another trying to find something decent that I can afford. This is what I learned:

Lesson #1: If you want to move to the city, and you are not a US citizen, please make sure that you are one of these:

a) A multi-billionaire that can afford life here

b) That you have a good working contract, where you are going to make a decent amount of money

c) Believe in miracles.

Unfortunately for me, I belong to the C category. I am still not positive how all this is going to work out, every day I ask myself.. are you out of your mind? But I guess I am, and that is just part of me. Every dream has a price, you just have to be ready to pay for it.

If anyone is moving soon to the city I guess you heard about Craigslist -which i wouldn’t recommend- but there are also new apps for the phone, really cool such as: Roomi and Oliver where you can actually find cool people and rooms. (Pictures below) Actually the creators of Roomi work in my building, how awesome is that? They are super cool.

Have a delicious Thanksgiving folks!