One week down... one very awesome week down...

Sorry all, I've been crazy busy with the new job, the new city, looking for a new apartment and all the other fun things that come along with government move... so I've kind of been slacking on updating.

So here is kind of an update on some of the things that have happened so far during my first week in the big city. I ...

... happened to see James Earl Jones as he was leaving a show he's in

... found an all Scottish bar, St. Andrews Pub, with all the Scotch varieties I could ever want to try, and yes they all have thick Scottish accents and wear kilts

... found my new favorite bar in Hell's Kitchen, where I'll be able to watch any Devil Rays game I want. It is where I watched the Rays beat the Marlins which was followed by the next thing...

... Got drunk and spent all night singing karaoke with a bus-load of Australian tourists at said Hell's Kitchen bar (more on that below)

... got a BlackBerry at work

... accidentally let my BlackBerry start ringing loudly while watching my boss get interviewed by a local news station. I figure if I set the expectations low enough, then I'll only look stellar in the future, right? That's what I'm telling myself.

... caught a patrol boat across the Hudson River to a media event off the shore in Hoboken, N.J. (this trip provided some of the most spectacular views of the Manhattan skyline from the water)

... accidentally almost lost my new BlackBerry when it came off my belt when I was negotiating my way through some exposed steel cables on a floating barge on the waters just off Hoboken, N.J.

... was teased by a Jersey dock worker about wasteful federal government spending

... caught myself, even though it makes perfect sense, laughing to myself about that fact that most of the people I came across in New Jersey had thick New Jersey accents

... stumbled upon a free concert in Bryant Park. It turns out it was a Pride event, because it's that time of year in the City... I'm sure someone will have fun with that one in the comments

... had a couple beers with a friend from college at McSorley's Old Ale House, the oldest Irish Pub in New York City, or something to that effect. The reason we each had a couple, is because they don't serve beer one at a time, only two at a time. We also had their gourmet cheese and crackers where they give you a sleeve of crackers straight out of the box and some sliced cheese and onions.

... have essentially found an apartment, and am just waiting for the paperwork to get through (more on that below)

... in my head I mistook, on two separate occasions, girls standing alone dressed to the nines and caked in make-up in SoHo for prostitutes when they were standing on the corner looking around desperately and showing some leg. They were both, very unsuccessfully, trying to hail cabs. Don't worry, I didn't try to solicit services.

... saw what I'm pretty sure was a hobo soil himself (not a number one either folks) at a subway exit near Times Square.

... accidentally used a business entrance to Three World Trade Center as a thru-way on the way to the harbor, which I think they frown upon

... went to a Chevy's in the Financial District where the LED ticker wasn't sports scores, but rather stock prices. I got a kick out of that. Campbell's Soup was down a bit... but nothing compared to Wac-HO-via's crazy tailspin as of late.

... have sort of gotten the gist of how to get to and from Chinatown from the office (a crucial trade passage to be familiar with for lunch)

... have been to Brooklyn, Staten Island and New Jersey

... have started getting used to the subway system and have been on the A,C,E,B,D,R,4,5 and 6 lines.

... while in the R line, went through an abandoned subway station, that looks like it would be a lot of fun to check out... Lisa, are you reading this?

These are just a small sampling of the interesting things that have happened so far in just one week in the city. It has been an exhausting week, but it has also been an amazing week. I'm loving the job, loving the energy of the city and loving the unpredictability. Seriously, nobody knows what's going to happen next and it's great to just be a part of things.

They come from a land down under...

So I had a crazy fun night at my new favorite bar in Hell's Kitchen. I was watching the Devil Rays vs. Marlins (Rays won) when as the game was coming to a close, I notice the other side of the bar is filling up rapidly.

I wander over and start talking to these two girls, when one of their boyfriends comes up and promptly introduces himself. We then all hung out drinking together until one of the bartenders turns on the karaoke machine.

Uh oh. This night was not ending anytime soon, especially since one of the Aussies offered me beers for songs, and I was already drunk enough to sing anyway.

The two I remember singing were Sweet Caroline and Come on Eileen.

Can anyone guess what song got the biggest rise out of the crowd? It was totally Men at Work's classic "I come from a land down under."

As soon as the little steel drum intro came on the speakers, they went absolutely nuts. It was hilarious. It was like something out of some ridiculous comedy.

I guess it sort of made sense? Was that song maybe like their country's 15 minutes of fame? Koalas, kangaroos, Fosters, ex-cons and Men at Work... that's Australia in a nutshell, right? and dingoes I suppose... the mortal enemy of the Koala, as Busch Gardens puts it.

I asked one of them if he plundered and liked vegemite sandwiches and he just looked at me like I was from Mars. I think he was too drunk to get it... or perhaps I was so drunk I didn't make sense.

The important thing of the night was that I didn't chunder, which would have been bad.

...

So I picked an apartment. It's in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. It's right across the street from an express subway stop and from Fort Tryon Park. It's right on the same line as everything that matters, work, the Village/NYU, Penn Station, the Port Authority Bus Terminal and Times Square. It's pretty spacious too, so guests won't be cramped when they decided to get their butts up and visit!

So I'm pretty excited and can't wait for all the paperwork to come through and to be able to move in...

So that is kind of a real down and dirty update on things. Maybe once things settle down I'll be a little more regular in posting.

For now though, it's one amazing week down and hopefully many, many more amazing weeks to go!