Haircut in the City

One of my early memories of New York City was a special (Insomniac?) about a place in NY where you can get your hair cut in the middle of the night. How cool is that? I've come to realize that the label "City that never sleeps" refers to the immense amount of late night activities which are available. Like other cities though, most parts of it shut down during off-peak hours.

In the photo, there on the second floor is Insitu Salon, the place where I get my hair cut. After years of struggling with bad haircuts and avoiding the barber, I finally found a place where I feel like it gets done right. Kim, my stylist, does a great job of considering my hair to be a part of my look, instead of giving me the same haircut the last 200 guys got. It's one of the few areas where I splurge, and I enjoy every minute of it. Like most New Yorkers, Kim is ambitious and involved in many things. Take her ice cream company for example.

No Smoking Area

A New York no smoking area, complete with New Yorkers doing what they want anyway despite what a sign says.

You learn a lot about personal boundaries in New York City. You learn that you don't have to hang out with people just because they want to hang out with you, you learn that you don't have to stick with an activity just because you're good at it or your friends want you to, and you learn to ask yourself the question "What are the consequences?". There are just too many friends, too many activities, and too little time to settle for anything less than doing what's best for you.

Like the famous quote says, "Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft." A little toughness never hurts.

Trendy furniture

        "Step right up! Get your one-of-a-kind antique chair, now for only one thousand dollars!"

That's what I thought at first too. But actually, this chair is meant as a demonstration of how ABC Carpet + Home reuses materials in the construction of their chairs, which I bet do cost a thousand.

I have had a few interesting experiences with furniture in New York. The first was a small door next to a beautiful old church by Gramercy Park. The door had an antiques sign on it, and despite looking very mysterious and dark, I ducked inside. It turned out to be an amazing little furniture store, with some really great restored pieces. I will not soon be able to justify overpriced furniture, but it's fun to look at. The second experience I had was walking home from a dance class - I saw a great chair which would fit perfectly in my room without wasting space. I walked inside to ask the price, and couldn't find anyone. Finally, in the back, was a guy who looked up at me like a snooty british butler as I asked "how much is the chair in the window?". The reply? Twelve thousand dollars.

I'll take two.

New Yorker

And proud of it.

The famous Chinatown Bus

        On my second trip to Washington D.C. in the 20 weeks I've been here, I decided to follow through on my plan. I purchased a round-trip ticket to D.C. (only $18 each way!) on the infamous Chinatown Bus.

Luckily, David (pictured, third photo scratching his eye) and I arrived early. That is good, because it took us a little bit to realize that there was no bus station; rather, we all had to stand against the curb. Then the bus swooped in, we piled on, and it took back off. Who needs a bus station anyway?

Unfortunately for the last two women to arrive, the bus was full. They were on their way to a wedding, and needed to catch this bus to make it. At my prompting, a few people offered their seats for the price it would be worth to them to give them up. Although I didn't say this, mine was worth something like $400 or $500 to me because I was on my way to the Toastmasters International Convention. But one guy did offer his for $100, and a woman offered hers for $40. The two women didn't respond. About then, the bus swooped off. Oh well, $18 doesn't buy you much service. It's fend-for-yourself at that price!

Then the guy next to me watched a movie on his laptop. In chinese. At full volume. He got yelled at by the $40 woman, and turned it down a bit, but I was thankful when his battery ran out; regardless of the fact that I found the chinese popular culture to be fascinating to watch from a cinematography and body language perspective. That, and my first exposure to the "Chinese language" version of Windows. Most of it was in English.

The bus driver's driving habits were also amusing. I never thought I'd see a bus driver fly down the exit ramp, then at the last second cut back into main traffic. Makes sense, really; he has enough weight to get away with it. I guess a New York driver is a New York driver, car or bus!

Overall, I would do it again. I mean, at least my bus didn't catch on fire.

Leadership and speaking

This is my boss at Conde Nast giving speeches on our infrastructure. He's two years older than I am, much like my boss at Match.com was. My Toastmasters experience has already paid off heavily; I can only imagine how far I'll be in two more years!

Plus, look at that suit! Suits aren't out of place in New York City, and I'm falling in love with them. I wore mine when I helped orchestrate a demonstration Toastmasters meeting at the New York Society of Security Analysts, and I felt like a million bucks. I wore it to work today without a tie, as a sort of casual look, and again felt like a million bucks.

Time to start saving up for more suits!