Day seven was spent at the Top of the Rock, Rockefeller centre. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to grab a hotdog with my girl Tina Fey, but maybe next time. It was incredibly overwhelming seeing New York from up there, it made everything seem huge and tiny at the same time. There’s no official frozen treat eating to report for today but I did drink several litres of a variety of different diet iced teas. I’m really going to miss diet iced tea back in Oz. We finished the day at Ichiumi, a Japanese style buffet restaurant with crab, lobster, oysters, sushi, sashimi and green tea ice cream. Flip yes.
I think it’s time to admit to myself that this trip is a warm up for when I move here in the next few years. I’ve always had NY in my head as a place that I would live one day, and being here now has cemented that. Shhhh! Don’t tell my mother. So for Day Seven, I’ve compiled a list of Things I Need to Learn Before I Move to New York.
To Not Scream Every Time I see a Rat
Every single time. Three so far to be exact. So not New York.
To Speak Really Loudly on my Phone in Public
And use a bluetooth headset so I look very busy and important.
To Eat Just Enough Food So That I Don’t Die but still Maintain That ‘Never Went Through Puberty’ Look
Women in New York are tiny. Like little 9 year girl thighs kind of tiny. They also seem to always be either coming from or going to a workout. They are also immaculately groomed. Perfect hair, perfect nails, neat little designer bags and some kind of ridiculous looking miniature dog. I’m really going to have to work on being less gross if I want to fit in here.
To Answer to ‘Carrie’
I’ve spent my whole life in Australia saying ‘Car-ly not Ky-lie’, but most of the time I’ll answer to both. Here, when I introduce myself the American will reply ‘Hey Carrie!’. I don’t mind though because, as a writer hoping to move to New York, it’s a rather poetic mistake.
To Form an Opinion
Whenever I buy something, there’s the inevitable ‘Cash or charge?’ question. I usually reply with ‘Whatever’s easiest.‘ I then get a raised eyebrow followed by a firm repeat of ‘Cash or charge?‘. I’m far too used to having to run down the street to the ATM in Melbourne, for those pesky cash only cafes, so I’m utterly gobsmacked when I get given a choice in New York. Just FYI the service people here actually don’t care. Just tell them what you want so they can serve the next person.
That Americans are Actually Being Sincere
Americans have this boundless enthusiasm that makes me feel like they’re taking the piss. They’ll be all ‘O.M.G. You’re from AUSTRALIA??? That is SO AWE-some!‘. I immediately get defensive, thinking that they’re being sarcastic but nope. It’s just genuine interest and enthusiasm. Sincerity is not something we Aussies deal very well with.
If you’ve missed any of my previous New York posts here they are. Day One and Two, Day Three and Four, Day Five and Day Six.
Also don’t forget to follow me on twitter or like me on facebook for other New York updates.
19 Comments
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“Women in New York are tiny. Like little 9 year girl thighs kind of tiny.
They also seem to always be either coming from or going to a workout. They are also immaculately groomed.
Perfect hair, perfect nails, neat little designer bags and some kind of
ridiculous looking miniature dog. I’m really going to have to work on
being less gross if I want to fit in here.”Hmm… last I checked, a grown woman looking like a nine year old starving girl was gross :-/
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Author
The gross bit was in reference to the perfect grooming because with my hair the way it is I always look like I crawled out from under a rock! 🙂
Also, I don’t think anyone’s body is gross.
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For the record, I think your hair is awesome!
I think it’s more the idea that gets to me – the whole concept that ‘perfection’ is trying to look, like you said, like puberty never hit you. That’s what grosses me out.
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Ha, I generally love my hair too but occasionally it would be nice to look like Jackie O instead of Tina Turner.
I never said that was perfect, I just made the observation that that’s what the women here look like. I’m also being sarcastic. 🙂
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I have straight hair and I’d love to have naturally full-bodied, curly, bouncy hair, so I get what you mean (only on the other end of the spectrum). Also, my hair may be straight but if I don’t spend time taming it every morning, it looks like I crawled out from under a rock too. I have some serious bed head!
Oh no, I know you didn’t say that. But you must know what I mean – that very unhealthy and unrealistic skinny and androgynous ideal that’s going on right now. I mean, if you’re naturally thin and otherworldly, then good luck to you, but watching girls trying to hide the fact that they have lumps and bumps (as they should!) just makes me want to give them a big hug and a nice warm meal.
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Don’t worry there’s no danger of that happening to me. I love my frozen treats too much!
I do know what you mean but I actually haven’t been in contact with anyone (bar my gym junkie NY friends) for ages that would send off alarm bells in that regard. Although with some of these women I do want to cram a burger down their throat. 🙂
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Despite being there durring the hurricane, I think that your forgetting about bad-weather New York. Winter time is hell on a stick. And it LASTS FOREVER. The cold. The wind. The always-being-soggy. The dirty snow everywhere. The ALWAYS BEING SOGGY. The bums smelling even worse because you must pass them in every single doorway. (Thats right, they arent just on the benches anymore!)
New York is AMAZING in the summer. Beautiful, breezy, fun, bright, lively. FABULIOUS! And the fall. AND the spring. But the winter. The winter that lasts from November to April. Ugggggggg….
I’m sorry. I’m being a total downer 🙁
Dont pay attention to anything I just wrote.-
Ha, we were actually talking about yesterday. We’ll have to do Christmas in NY one year before we make the move.
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Oh sugarfree iced tea would be amazing! Bring your Aussie girls back a case???
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You have no idea. Someone recommended a cafe in St Kilda that stocks it but it’s really expensive. 🙁
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That photo of the girl on the train is gorgeous. You’re taking some killer shots.
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Thanks man, the girl on the train is Ben. Most of the others are me.
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OMG Carly! Hello! You are in New York – how superbly exciting! (And apologies for only just having worked this out – I’ve been more offline that usual over the last few weeks.)
Your posts are inspiring me to press on through the chaos of the next few weeks – I have my one-way ticket booked to New York in early October.
Can’t wait for you to move over too so we can be the coolest-ever New York blogging buddies 🙂
Poppy xox
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That would be amazing! How exciting that you’ve booked your one way ticket! We must have dinner before you leave.
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Don’t all of the women of ‘real’ shapes and sizes live in Brooklyn and Queens? There might be a some kind of law in Manhattan 😉
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What camera do you use? It’s awesome.
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It’s a Lumix GF1. I love it.
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You are so not gross! I love you and your blog! Sara, from Brooklyn.
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There’s a USA food store here in Melbourne (Moorabbin) that sells all types of American style goodies that you can’t get in our supermarkets. I’m not sure if they have diet iced tea, but I swear I saw diet snapple!
