Addicted to Century 21

Not the real estate company....but only the greatest department store in the entire city!  If you know me at all, you understand how much I like bargain shopping.  It's almost like when a guy (or girl) hunts deer.  You spend hours looking for the right ones, and the satisfaction is unmatched when you find exactly what you are looking for after hunting all day.  Today, I might as well have killed a fourteen point buck.

I've obviously been doing my fair share of walking since I got here.  It reminds me of Europe.  And you would THINK that someone would lose weight because of it.  Oh no...I have done the opposite, just like in college.  When everyone else was gaining the freshman 15, I was losing it.  Only here, I can't stop eating all of this wonderful food.  While checking out at the grocery today, I realized that I had two boxes of cookies, three boxes of candy, and other random junk food (only because they were on sale-bargain shopping at its best).  The person next to me was purchasing nothing but fresh fruits and vegetables.  At least I'll be fat and happy.

Walking is an art form here.  I would most closely compare it to driving through downtown Atlanta on I-75.  If you are passing someone, you go to the left.  If you are walking slowly, it it courteous to take the right side of the sidewalk.  And then there are weavers, like myself.  Thankfully I haven't been flipped off yet, nor had anyone scream expletives at me.  It has been raining for days here, and walking with an umbrella is a tedious task.  Everyone has one, and they are all big enough to shade at least a small family of four.  So what do you do with an umbrella when the sidewalk is packed, and it is pouring down rain, you ask?  You hold it up as high over your head as you can, until you pass.  It is so awkward when someone is passing you, and you both go up at the same time.  I still haven't mastered the etiquette on that one.

Dating in New York is yet another daunting process that is somewhat different than what I am used to, but am picking up on quickly.  It is similar to the subway system.  Both are fast paced, and you better know where you want to go quickly before you board, otherwise you end up in a place you don't want to be.  Some "trains" look and smell more appealing than others.  But the greatest similarity is that if you miss one...don't worry!  There's another one just around the corner, that is probably better anyway. So my approach has been to just make friends, plain and simple.  Drama-free is better for me!