Three things Jim must do while living in New York.

I'm putting together a list of things to accomplish in New York that I wouldn't do in St. Louis. I know you could care less, but deal.


1. Get a regional accent. If I can't naturally get one within two months, I'm going to make one up. Most likely one that is out of place. If you're in NYC in two months, and you hear someone say "Mahve! Ah mahst get tah tha soobway!" say hello to that person, because it's me.


2. Be more spontaneous. Let's all hope fiancée doesn't find me trying to catch a pigeon in the middle of Central Park. Or bringing said pigeon back to the apartment to give it a bath.


3. Become friends with a bartender, so when I sit down they give me a Bass or vodka/tonic without asking. The trick is doing this in a way that doesn't make me feel awkward, unlike that time when the nice old lady at Dierbergs stopped asking for my ID because, in her words, "I was a regular there." Or like the time your parents tried to give you "the talk," but it was way too late for it because you're already in middle school and heard about everything on your bus ride to school and they only leave you with more questions than you even had to begin with.


This list is still growing, let me know if you have any suggestions.

Posted via email from Jim's posterous

I'm here!

It has been a super busy week. Lots of packing, traveling, unpacking, walking, cleaning and exploring. I might be living in a tiny, expensive apartment with one cat and no furniture (well, I have an air mattress on loan), but I am now a New Yorker. Totally worth it. Can't wait for my better half to arrive.


To add to the madness that is moving across the country by plane, I had a job interview Friday. Make that dream-job interview. It is exactly the type of job I want, at the type of magazine I want, and with a boss I want to know so badly that I'll do almost anything. Hopefully my book will spark something in her that makes her want to give me a chance. Cross your fingers that things look up in the job department soon for both of us.


I've got some pics from the first few days. We have a great view of the East River from near our building, and I took a walk along it earlier. It felt so great to be near real, almost-ocean water again. I know what you're thinking: isn't the Mississippi River real water? Not so much. The fact that its thousands of miles to an ocean from St. Louis' stretch of the Mississippi is so disheartening compared to the thought of the ocean being just a mile or two away from me.

View of the East River and Triboro Bridge from UES

A shot from a nice trip to Zabar's and Central Park with Marina and Anthony

Joey making himself at home, as it should be

Thesis ACCEPTED

This is probably the last time I will talk about this stupid thesis. Committee accepted, and I've done the revisions and sent out what I HOPE will be the final draft. The end.


Everything else is winding down. I'm done with TA duties, and basically all I have left to accomplish are some errands, packing, moving and moving again. It's extremely bittersweet to think that I'll be done with all schoolwork for good in just a day or two, but it also doesn't seem real. I feel like I've done this all before (because I have). I'm sure it will hit soon enough.


It's only a matter of time now...

Too little space

It is a strange thing, moving across the country. Right now we are selling all our furniture, only to plan on buying an entirely new and different set of the same. I'm looking forward to it, but can't help but wonder: what makes me want this sofa bed so much? (Image courtesy of Ikea.com)

I never thought I would delight at finding creative ways to incorporate multi-purpose furniture into my home. I guess all that magazine reading pays off now.


Just to update: thesis "final" draft was complete Thursday. Defense is tomorrow afternoon. I have no idea what to do if I don't pass, so let's not find out.

How to move from STL to NYC

Step 1: Get rid of any of your excess stuff.
Time: One month.


This one might seem obvious. From my personal experience, closet = scary. I spent an entire night separating the things in my closet into three piles: things I'm keeping, things I'm trashing, and things I'm giving to Goodwill. The thing that surprised me most was how easy it actually was to categorize everything. What I wasn't expecting was how sentimental I would get about the things I was getting rid of. Good luck with this part. After sorting the closet out, the rest is piece of cake. I even made a little money selling some stuff, couch, TV, speakers, etc. It feels weird to get rid of everything. Just remember, you're starting over.


Step 2: Sell your car.
Time: Two weeks.


The difficulty of this step depends on your car. Luckily, I had a truck. Selling a truck in Missouri isn't very difficult. Selling a truck with a broken A/C in Missouri is challenging. I ended up getting a phone call at 6 in the morning from someone who wanted to look at it. That's what I get for using Craigslist. He looked at it, even tried out the A/C (he claimed it worked), and ended up buying it. This was another sentimental experience as it was my first car. If you can't tell I'm a sucker for memories.


Step 3: Get out of your current lease.
Time: Three weeks.


This was the most stressful part of prepping for the move. Mostly because it would cost $2700 to break my lease. I ended up offering two free months of rent in my ad on Craigslist because it was still cheaper than breaking the lease. I showed my apartment to over five people, twice someone acted extremely interested and never called me back. Sheesh. Finally, someone from Washington D.C. called me up and filled out the application while on the phone with me. The complex did the background check, faxed him the documents, and that was that. I wish everyone on Craiglist was like this guy. Again, it was very sad to see my apartment empty, and to see it for the last time.


Step 4: Get a job in NYC.
Time: ???


Yeah, this hasn't happened yet. I'll keep you posted.


Step 5: Get an apartment in NYC.
Time: One week, if that.


The easiest part. Seriously. You'd think that this would be the worst part of moving: finding an apartment in one of the most densely populated cities in the world. We found a good looking listing on actorsublet.com and the owner was super friendly and easy to work with.


So now we're leasing an apartment on the Upper East Side. Can't wait to move in...

Thesis = success? I don't think so...

Despite the fact that I am constantly distracted by the thought of moving and wedding and basically anything other than thesis, I am stuck finishing this thing to the best of my ability...tonight. The remaining tasks for the night:


-Incorporate intercoder reliability into findings
-Write discussion section (approx. 10 pages)
-Finish findings section (five more pages)
-Find more research on magazines, covers, celebrities and/or reality TV to back up data


No small task for a brief Sunday night, and yet I'm procrastinating right now by writing this post. I guess there's no better way to end your time at college than spending it how you always have.


In other news, I had a lovely unexpected visit from Jim yesterday. I think it was a necessary break we both needed, and he brought Hobbes! Even in spite of the further procrastination that ensued, I don't regret it at all.


Will update once this draft is gone! Wish me luck.