Thoughts on the city
Before going to NYC, I had a very romanticized view of the city. In my mind, San Francisco and NYC were the only two cities I wanted to live in after graduation. After spending a week in the Big Apple, I have to scratch it off the list. There are a couple of reasons for this:1) There are seasons (aka it gets cold)
Even though I went to NYC for spring break, it was already too cold for me. Wearing three to four layers for most of the year and bracing against the biting wind sounds like recipe for misery. After enduring a record breaking cold winter in Shanghai, I have no more tolerance for the cold. Happiness is life under the California sun, preferably in San Diego. Seasons are completely overrated, because if it is perfect all year why fix something that is not broken?
2) Everything is expensive
I was experiencing sticker shock everywhere, as every meal seemed to run at least $10. Things are expensive in San Francisco, but NYC definitely takes the cake. The large presence of cash only shops is just further insult to injury as I have to physically see my wallet empty.
3) People are "blah"
There is something about the people in NYC. I sense a certain coldness among them, it's something that I cannot really describe in a succinct word or phrase, but it makes me feel very uncomfortable and unwelcome in the city. It's not that they are rude, though it comes off like that at times. Rudeness does not bother me much after being pushed and shoved all around Shanghai, but something about a New Yorker's attitude does. Watching New Yorkers weave through tourists, I get the impression that they feel anybody in their way is not just an inconvenience but a grave threat to their life. I can feel the contempt whenever someone is inconvenienced. I guess I could sum all these feelings up as "unfriendly" but that really does not do it justice. I will just say that in all my travels to cities around the world, I have never had such an unsettling feeling about a populace.
Thoughts on Emoinacloset
Did Robocop and I satisfy our curiosity about Emoinacloset's life in NYC? Not really.
I did get glimpses of Emoinacloset's lifestyle that surprised me, like how he eats out for every meal. Emoinacloset's kitchen trash can did not even have a bag over it, making me wonder if he ever used it! Despite spending almost every waking hour with Emoinacloset, there was no pivotal opening up moment where Robocop and I learned every one of his deep dark secrets. Outside of small talk, I found it hard to engage with Emoinacloset's friends. The irony is that in NYC, Emoinacloset learned more about my friends, Crystal and Lucretia than I did about his.
I did get glimpses of Emoinacloset's lifestyle that surprised me, like how he eats out for every meal. Emoinacloset's kitchen trash can did not even have a bag over it, making me wonder if he ever used it! Despite spending almost every waking hour with Emoinacloset, there was no pivotal opening up moment where Robocop and I learned every one of his deep dark secrets. Outside of small talk, I found it hard to engage with Emoinacloset's friends. The irony is that in NYC, Emoinacloset learned more about my friends, Crystal and Lucretia than I did about his.
Emoinacloset's life in NYC is still very much a black box.
-muffinman
-muffinman
