I haven't had Internet access since my arrival in NYC, thus the blackout on my site. It will likely continue for another week or two as I get settled.
My first night, I arrived to a dark, empty apartment. I had electricity but no lights. The screen of my laptop wasn't enough to illuminate much more than my face, and I also lacked some basic living essentials, like toilet paper and somewhere to sleep. Thank goodness for family. I headed over to James and Angela's right away, as much for the welcome feeling of friendly faces as for a supply run. Angela loaded me up with an air mattress, sheets, a towel, toilet paper, and a dose of goodwill. I lingered there perhaps longer than usual, drawn in by the presence of furniture, lighting, and the lived-in warmth of their apartment.
Sharon and Alan have also offered a ton of support. They call just about once a day to see what I'm up to and to make sure I'm not spending all my time in an empty apartment. Several times, I've gone over to their place for dinner, and they often have leftovers I can polish off. I'm so grateful to have family here to soften my landing.
My primary focus right now is furniture hunting. I need a bed, a sofa, a dresser, and some standing closets, among other things. I happen to live in a furniture district of sorts, though it's not the type of furniture any normal humans can afford. The first store I visited was Ligne Roset, just because it happened to be across the street from me. Gorgeous furniture, horrific prices. A sectional I admired cost $8,695. I may have to resort to catalog shopping yet again.
The morning after my arrival, I locked myself out of my apartment. Smooth.
Most of my time has actually been spent at Flushing Meadows, watching the U.S. Open. I watched the women and men's semis and finals on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Mostly I wanted to see Roger Federer play, and I got my wish. Having watched him destroy Tim Henman and Lleyton Hewitt, I can confirm what the tennis cognoscenti have been saying: he is the best tennis player of all time (though of course I'm discounting longevity).
I've seen Sampras, Agassi, Lendl, Edberg, Becker, and Wilander play, all in their prime, and none of them matched the quality of tennis I saw from Federer this weekend. He has no significant weaknesses and a long list of strengths: the best forehand I've ever seen, a powerful and accurate serve, a beautiful and dangerous one-handed backhand, incredible court movement, mechanically solid volleys, off-the-charts tennis smarts and anticipation, and the calm and cool of a contract killer. All this, and he doesn't even have a coach. I've seen him hit a variety of full-swing, half volley forehands on the move that are just absurd.
Hewitt was on a huge roll coming into the finals, and Federer made him look like a college player. I think Hewitt won all of five points in the first set. In fact, the match was a bagel sandwich: 6-0, 7-6, 6-0. Federer's play that weekend has been the highlight of my stay.
I'm trying to take advantage of the city's cultural wealth. I grabbed a few tickets for the NY Film Festival in October, though many shows sold out instantly. I have tickets to see Avenue Q and I'm My Own Wife and the opening night preview of Reckless starring Mary Louise Parker. And this weekend, if a few things fall into place, maybe I'll take in a Yankees Red Sox game.
Okay, my one-hour Starbucks wi-fi pass is running out. Back out into the NY night, where everyone's still awake.