erm ...

So, it has been a while since my last post, and that's mainly due to the fact that I just relocated to NYC, and have been running around viewing apartments all over east village (finally, I settled in the financial district). You know, on all my other visits to this city, I've been fairly certain that I would never want to live here, but now that I'm actually facing 5 years worth of manhattan time, I can announce with unwavering conviction that I absolutely cannot wait to get out.
All the bad stereotypes of new york are well deserved - the rudeness, the filth, the general state of disarray and shabbiness, the unshakable feeling that I have suddenly stepped into an undeveloped world with disillusioned residents all engaged in some sort of masquerade, carefully avoiding the reality that the state of life here is far inferior than most places in the US (assuming, of course, that you don't live in penthouse). I'm hoping (desperately) that my opinion thus far of the place I am due to spend half a decade in will gradually change, otherwise, I may just have to debunk my Parsons plans and escape back to the sunshine and space of California - where people actually smile because it's not totally unfeasible to be happy.