Bear with me, I'm new here.

Well today is the first day since my move to New York that I have risen from slumber and felt sad. I'm not sure if it's because I recently saw photos of my best friends at our favorite restaurant/bar in Grand Rapids, or if it's because today is Claire's 21st birthday and I cannot hug her or high five her or afford a present for her or get her drunk. It could also be that the excitement of moving to a place like New York is quickly wearing away to expose the nature of the city... which is not always beautiful. Or maybe it's that New York could be a fresh start to my new life, but I'm right back to the grind of working in food service. Maybe it's just a healthy dose of straight-up homesickness. Whatever it is, it makes me uncomfortable. And a little sad. But I'm doing my best to remind myself that I am currently going through a time in my life that will bring the most substantial (and, consequently, the most uncomfortable) changes. Change is good. Discomfort is good. And even when sometimes it doesn't feel so peachy, it's nothing a brief and slightly teary Skype with mom and dad can't solve. (Thank you.)

Though my heart feels heavy today, I've had so much to be happy about in the past couple of weeks. While visiting Zak's house, we took a trip with Karin to IKEA. Our wallets are a bit lighter, but the counter space has already made up for the void...

I also bought and ate grapefruit for the first time in years. So delicious.

How about some various apartment photos taken by Zak? Okay.

(A brief, unrelated interjection... perhaps one of these days I'll take an audio sample from the window of our apartment. Sometimes I feel like reminding drivers that yes, your horn does serve a purpose but no, it is not to express your frustrations.)

A couple weekends ago Zak and I went to Central Park. Just about everyone and his brother had the same idea. I guess that's what to expect on the first really beautiful day of the year. I met Zak at work and we left from there. What a beautiful studio that boy works in. 

And then the boy humored me. I liked the lighting.

Onto the park.

In the time it took me to write this blog post, I have dimmed the lights, lit all the candles, and finished cooking dinner. Chicken pot pie soup is on the menu. It WAS supposed to be chicken pot pie... but I made an ill-timed discovery. Our oven does not work. And so the lord said, "it shall be soup!" And with a bit of tweaking, it is. And it's not too bad either. 

As though this post doesn't have enough photos already... I'll end with a couple ridiculous, recently snapped Photo Booth shots. 

Red lips, cool shirt, Coors can. There's some happiness for you.

A good hair day is a prime happiness catalyst as well.

And now Zak is home. That's some happy too.

In Transit

(Notice my brand new shirt. Representin' Michigan, baby!)

(Zak... hard at work on a Saturday)

Well hello from the 6th row of our Boston-bound Bolt Bus! Zak and I are heading to his home for a night. There are many-a-birthday to celebrate! Karin, Dida, Pete. The idea of this brief one-night trip is to pack light. A suitcase full of dirty laundry, our computers, and our toothbrushes. Yes, you heard right... no camera. So there will be no photo updating, unfortunately. I'm already anticipating that moment when I see all of Zak's nieces and nephews, think to myself 'holy moly are they growing impossibly fast,' then of course wish I had my camera. Pete will just have to make up for my lack of camera.

This morning came early. Very early. It was the first time I warmly welcomed the scraping and clanging of Triona (the owner of the bar two stories below us) lugging empty kegs out onto the sidewalk at 7:26am. It certainly squandered any hope of an extra few minutes of sleep. All for the better, though. And her Irish accent is enough to make me forgive her for the greatest of sins.

So we got out of bed, we threw on some clothes, we dumped all of our laundry into my suitcase and off we were. A quick stop at Dunkin' Donuts woke us up. Even though they didn't have any more chive OR veggie cream cheese. What is that all about? If only I knew they didn't have these fancy cream cheeses I would have ordered a fancy bagel. But by then it was too late! I had already ordered a plain bagel, and it had already been toasted. So I was made to eat a plain boring bagel with plain boring cream cheese. Eh well. Sustenance comes in many forms.

Our bus ride started along the west coast of Manhattan where we saw lots of boats docked. One of which was an aircraft carrier. Neither Zak nor I could remember if we had ever seen one so close. They are remarkably massive. Dwarfing the 10-15 planes it was supporting.

Switching gears, I was walking down 6th Ave the other day and there were three gentlemen stationed outside a deli selling various items of jewelry. But it was not their goods that captured my attention. They also had a boom box with them. Through its speakers came a tune that transported me to my younger years. I do believe the song must be the first soulful, R&B song I ever felt drawn to. I remembered being about 10 or 12 years old and taking advantage of the few moments I would be home alone... by singing this song at the top of my lungs. At least I was wise enough to keep my pipes to myself. But I have since learned that I should leave this one to Rose Royce altogether.

Enjoy your weekends, as I am sure I will. I think I might nap, watch a movie, or some of both for the remaining three hours of our bus ride. I have an awfully comfy human-shaped pillow next to me I just may take advantage of :)

How in the world could I forget?

This is in honor of my brothers Evan and Derek Hess.

Dinner last night was Qdoba. Guess how far I had to walk to get my Qdoba, Evan? If you guessed a half-block walk that lasted approximately 2.5 minutes, you'd be correct.

Now I must be off. The chili won't make itself. 

The buildings are tall... and everyone is so hip.

HI FROM NEW YORK! Wow. It has been 1.5 days and I'm still not quite sure if this is for real. I arrived at around 11:45am yesterday (Saturday) at LaGuardia airport where Zak met me. Thank God he did, because there is NO way I would have been able to lug both of my 50 pound bags from airport to bus to subway to subway to home. Thankfully it was beautiful out. Unfortunately, neither Zak nor I planned for such warmth. We were slightly overdressed and more than slightly sweaty by the time we got home. But we made it! I admired the apartment for a while (I'm completely in love) and unpacked a bit before we headed out. We stopped by the grocery store and the drug store to get some things and ate at a little place called The Greenwich Village Bistro. It was okay. Zak got a beer that was great. My sandwich (a peppered ham, brie, caramelized onion, and brown mustard panini) was missing the onions! The best part! And I didn't realize until I was half way done. So I just kept my mouth shut. We later found out there was a new guy working in the kitchen.
A little later, my brother made the short trip down from Chelsea to meet us. We cracked open Zak's 12-year Jameson (thanks, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson!) and shared in that for a bit before heading downstairs to Triona's... a sports bar right below us. I met Triona, we got a good deal on some beer, and it was lovely. Joe left after a bit and then Jared came by. Zak and I were tired, but Jared suggested he buy us forced us to enjoy a beer with him. For that, we went to a bar just a few paces down the street called V Bar. Very cool. Awesome wooden bars with little vases of eucalyptus everywhere. It smelled so good!
Today we walked through the rain around Midtown. Zak showed me where he works- amazing. I'm sure I'll be back there soon and I'll be sure to bring my camera to show you all how wonderful it is. We also stopped at Trader Joe's for some groceries. Sorry to make you jealous, mom, but that place is so great. I got a log of goat cheese for 2.75! Unbelievable. And now the apartment has more than mac n cheese, chunky soups, cereal and eggs.
Anyway, enough chitchat.

This is the first thing I saw when I walked into my apartment.

He's the best.

Here's a documentation of our first breakfast together in the apartment!

Cannot go wrong with eggs, toast, and orange juice.

One of my favorite parts of the apartment. The fire place.

:)

I'm certain I will take some more photos of the apartment soon. Perhaps tomorrow while Zak is at work all day and I've nothing to do (if you don't count looking for a job, finishing unpacking, dishes, a bit of general organizing, and exploring this wonderful new city I'm in). Whenever I get around to it I'll be showing you more!