January 2004--New Beginning

I am doing great. I have settled-in and adjusted like a chameleon, so it does not feel strange that I live in a new city and have a new place. New York is a place of contradictions, for example, although there are millions of people, you can feel very alone but can also find a ton of new friends. Or, even though it is a relatively small area, getting around can be hard because of the traffic but if you walk or use the subway, you can get around everwhere. You can also easily spend $100 on dinner or $2 slice of pizza. It offers some thing for everyone.

I have been spending all my time with work and setting up the apartment. I finally got a couch today so with the new TV, I am 90% set. In my next note I will send photos of the apartment. Space to store stuff is very limited so I have used every inch of closet and floor space.

It has been very cold, so cold I have not wanted to be outside. It has made shopping for food and apartment stuff hard. But I have found that every place delivers, including Xpressgrocer.com, so now even my food can be delivered.

One thing I have been wanted to do in 10 years was to see a Broadway play and I finally did so on Friday. I saw "Ana in the Tropics." Jimmy Smits is in it and it was a great play. It is a drama set in a cigar factory. In the days before radio, the factories hired someone to read books to the workers. It was a way to keep them from being bored and help educate them at the same time. Smits plays the Lector, the reader, and he reads a Victorian-era love story. To make a long story short, each of the characters lives is changed by the appearance of the Lector. It does not have a happy ending but it is very thought provoking.

Well, I have to go but I hope you will share this with your family. I have included three photos. The one is of the first morning and first sunrise I experienced. The other one is the first Sunset, with the moon rising. The last is of the first snow. You can compare how the park looks with and without snow.

Thank you for all you did to help me leave and all you are doing now to help me get settled.

Take care and I miss you all.