om nom nom
I've been so consumed in writing about my trip that I've written very little about my life right now.
Friday will mark the end of my second week in Brooklyn, and it's been an eventful couple of weeks. Part of why I moved here is I have this feeling that I'm meant to be here right now. I don't really know what I mean by that; I'm hoping to find out.
My apartment itself is beautiful. I went into it mostly on a leap of faith, and I am so glad that it worked out. The neighborhood is awesome -- I live right across the street from a Trader Joe's, to start -- and I'm close to several different subway lines and bus stops, which makes it easy to get around. I couldn't ask for a better location -- and it's wonderful to have my own space. I've never lived by myself before, so I'm wary of how easy it is to become completely nocturnal -- which essentially is what happened for the first few days. I've gotten more conscious of scheduling places I need to be outside of my apartment during the day, which has been helpful.
I'm job-hunting, like everyone else and their mothers. For right now, I'm looking for something close by that would be non-stressful. I've applied at a few different bookstores, which I think would be nice -- I'd rather work at one of the small independent ones, but it seems that those ones aren't hiring. I do feel a little guilty about working for a big corporation that could potentially contribute to putting some of the local ones out of business -- but if I think enough about almost any job that I could possibly do, I have some sort of objection -- that I should be doing something better with my time.
I did something worthwhile today, anyway. I found an animal shelter (Sean Casey Animal Rescue) on the Internet, and the website said that volunteers could stop in anytime between 11 and 6 to walk dogs and cuddle kittens. So I did. One of the dogs was just the tiniest sweetest thing -- I couldn't believe anyone would have given him up. His name is Scorpio and he's part-Pekingese, with the cutest little squishy face, and so full of love. We made a lot of friends during our walk -- I hope someone we met visits the shelter and thinks about adopting him. I can't find his picture on the Petfinder site -- I'm thinking maybe he's not ready to be adopted out, since he needs some kind of operation on one of his back legs.
Here are two of the other dogs I walked:
China
Tyson
Both of them had a ton of energy and were really excited to be outside. Tyson and I ran for a little bit, but it was pretty clear that I was more winded from the work-out than he was. The fourth dog I walked was named Chase -- they had just gotten him recently, and he was feral, so he's a bit afraid of people. The staff at the shelter told me that he would be fine going for a walk, but he would get scared if I tried to touch him. He was a really good boy and seemed to get more comfortable with me by the end of the walk.
Here are some of the kittens I snuggled: Melanie & Emily. They were so friendly and playful, and purred non-stop when I took them out to hold them. The next time I go back, I'll take my camera and try to get some cuter pictures than the ones that are up of them on Petfinder -- they are seriously so much cuter in real life.
The strangest pets I saw were Madagascar Hissing Tarantulas (the staff member who showed me them as per my request called them Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches, but they're listed as tarantulas on the website).
Oh, and I held a degu!
I would love to be able to be a foster-mom for a guinea pig or two (since I don't know how long I'll be in New York and can't fully commit to owning a pet), but it seems the closest shelters that offer foster-care programs are in New Jersey, and I'm not sure if I could get there via public transport. (Budd Lake, New Jersey, anyone?)
I mean, how cute is this little guy?!
Or two ferrets named Biggy and Tupac.
I mean, goodness, how could you abandon this face?! (And according to his profile, he "loves to eat" -- awwwww!)
Friday will mark the end of my second week in Brooklyn, and it's been an eventful couple of weeks. Part of why I moved here is I have this feeling that I'm meant to be here right now. I don't really know what I mean by that; I'm hoping to find out.
My apartment itself is beautiful. I went into it mostly on a leap of faith, and I am so glad that it worked out. The neighborhood is awesome -- I live right across the street from a Trader Joe's, to start -- and I'm close to several different subway lines and bus stops, which makes it easy to get around. I couldn't ask for a better location -- and it's wonderful to have my own space. I've never lived by myself before, so I'm wary of how easy it is to become completely nocturnal -- which essentially is what happened for the first few days. I've gotten more conscious of scheduling places I need to be outside of my apartment during the day, which has been helpful.
I'm job-hunting, like everyone else and their mothers. For right now, I'm looking for something close by that would be non-stressful. I've applied at a few different bookstores, which I think would be nice -- I'd rather work at one of the small independent ones, but it seems that those ones aren't hiring. I do feel a little guilty about working for a big corporation that could potentially contribute to putting some of the local ones out of business -- but if I think enough about almost any job that I could possibly do, I have some sort of objection -- that I should be doing something better with my time.
I did something worthwhile today, anyway. I found an animal shelter (Sean Casey Animal Rescue) on the Internet, and the website said that volunteers could stop in anytime between 11 and 6 to walk dogs and cuddle kittens. So I did. One of the dogs was just the tiniest sweetest thing -- I couldn't believe anyone would have given him up. His name is Scorpio and he's part-Pekingese, with the cutest little squishy face, and so full of love. We made a lot of friends during our walk -- I hope someone we met visits the shelter and thinks about adopting him. I can't find his picture on the Petfinder site -- I'm thinking maybe he's not ready to be adopted out, since he needs some kind of operation on one of his back legs.
Here are two of the other dogs I walked:
China
Tyson
Both of them had a ton of energy and were really excited to be outside. Tyson and I ran for a little bit, but it was pretty clear that I was more winded from the work-out than he was. The fourth dog I walked was named Chase -- they had just gotten him recently, and he was feral, so he's a bit afraid of people. The staff at the shelter told me that he would be fine going for a walk, but he would get scared if I tried to touch him. He was a really good boy and seemed to get more comfortable with me by the end of the walk.
Here are some of the kittens I snuggled: Melanie & Emily. They were so friendly and playful, and purred non-stop when I took them out to hold them. The next time I go back, I'll take my camera and try to get some cuter pictures than the ones that are up of them on Petfinder -- they are seriously so much cuter in real life.
The strangest pets I saw were Madagascar Hissing Tarantulas (the staff member who showed me them as per my request called them Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches, but they're listed as tarantulas on the website).
Oh, and I held a degu!
I would love to be able to be a foster-mom for a guinea pig or two (since I don't know how long I'll be in New York and can't fully commit to owning a pet), but it seems the closest shelters that offer foster-care programs are in New Jersey, and I'm not sure if I could get there via public transport. (Budd Lake, New Jersey, anyone?)
I mean, how cute is this little guy?!
Or two ferrets named Biggy and Tupac.
I mean, goodness, how could you abandon this face?! (And according to his profile, he "loves to eat" -- awwwww!)