NY NY

sitting in the lobby of my hotel where i get internet access. i feel a bit like pig pen, except i'm shrouded in a cloud of vera wang - the perfume i accidentally doused myself in while walking through macy's. but nevermind. i'm sure my au natural smell after a day walking all over town will seep through shortly and i'll be rid of this stench.

what can i say, there are so many adjectives that come to mind it's difficult to get them all down, or even begin to express the thoughts i've had over the last few days about this crazy city. for a start, work has gone well. i've had 7 really good meetings that will hopefully lead somewhere as far as internships are concerned, so that's been a plus! it hasn't been a waste of time where work is concerned.

and i've walked everywhere. i've not used the subway once, and don't intend to. i've only cabbed it twice, and spent a good 2-3 hours/day getting to/from appointments. i'm staying on 8th and 34th, just next to penn station and madison square garden - the garment district, apparently. and most of my meetings have been around park or 5th and 46th. you can figure the grid. and last night, after a workout in the gym, i just put on my tennis shoes and started walking south. i must've walked about 30 blocks before i stopped and cabbed back to the hotel. it was a straight shot through chelsea and down to greenwich village - and fun to see the places the girls and i saw/stayed last time we were in here october. (remember the bar with the cabaret singer on the first night? still there! and the store where we bought papers at six a.m.? yep, still there!) crazy times. i felt a bit like forrest gump, i just kept walking .... (walk, meeeeegan, wawalk!)

and yesterday i bought myself a nice watch. i've been needing one because i've been wearing the same one my grandparents bought me at harrods (maybe seven years ago?) every day since - so i didn't mind investing in another one. only it's slightly annoying because it's a smidgen too tight, but if they put in another piece, it's a smidgen too loose. but it's so beautiful that i'll deal. tight.

apart from that, i haven't succumb to the shops that surround this area. it would probably be worse if i was in lower manhattan with the boutiques and one off shops ... it's easy to pass by h&m without stopping (there's one in boston anyway).

but new york is just mad. so many people and so many DIFFERENT people. i love it. there's a convention at this hotel of people going to see some woman from india, ammah, maybe? anyway, they are all dressed in beautiful flowy white outfits and look like the most peaceful people in the world. and then you step outside to the cacophony of 8th street and the madness begins. what a strange place for a peaceful woman to lead her followers. i've noticed that people here don't really look at each other, which is a shame - because i've seen some of the most interesting people since i've arrived. everything's acceptable in new york, i'm not sure there is such thing as bad taste here. irony is in full swing, and i think they 'get it' - how could you not in a city like this?

but i don't think i could live here. too much consumption for me. i was on park avenue today where the big banks are headquartered. people driving around in cars like mr big, chauffered and all, very flash, very grand. but i was sitting in starbucks and overheard a husband talking to his wife and daughter. from what i could make out, they were camping, and he was supposed to be at the campground with them. but instead, he was drinking a frappacino under towering skyscrapers in a hot and muggy city. maybe he's making a lot of money. who knows. and i guess he'll make s'more. only without the marshmallows.

so now i'm off for a friday night with a friend i met in london who lives in ny. he's a really good friend of a girl i work with and she introduced us a few years ago and i've kept in touch every so often. we were going to go swingdancing with his girlfriend and her friends, but it's WAY too hot and the dancing is outside, so plan b is a bar called angel's share (http://www.worldsbestbars.com/city/new-york/angels-share-new-york.htm) the drinks are probably $20 each, but what the hell, it sounds very cool. as a friday night in new york should be!

adios!