I ♥ NY

That's New York, the Big Apple, the financial center of the world, home to some of the biggest organizations... the city of life! I admit that this is my second visit to this beautiful city, but the first time I was around, I was very busy, had a lot of other things on my mind and could not appreciate what this city had to offer, but the last 3 days, with nothing to do, I have been really living it up :). I was greeted into this city by the lovely bright sun, with its dazzling rays lighting up every corner of the city, as if effusing life in the alleys, the roads, the buildings, the people... everything! A taxi ride with open windows, the cool breeze hitting me at 100 kmph, tall buildings rising beside me, as if trying to touch the sky... by the time I reached my apartment, I was brimming with happy feelings, knowing that life is good, and everything will be great! My apartment also turned out to be really beautiful, up on the 30th floor, with huge windows (read lots of sunlight) and a clear view of the Empire State Building (I don't have nice memories about ESB and am still of the opinion that Rockefeller Plaze kicks ESB's ass!). Due to the up-market locality, the only problem I face is the lack of simple run-of-the-mill grocery stores. The absence of plain salt is still haunting me, due to which all my culinary expertise has been put on hold sine die. The first 2 days, I roamed around the wide and beautiful criss-cross of streets and avenues, window shopping and catching up with old friends. Also was overjoyed to receive my first salary, and to hear my dad request earnestly to not worry about money anymore and enjoy life ;). I and UD went out to Little India, hoping to catch up with everyone else, but finally ended up walking from 23rd street till 48th street by ourselves. The next day we found out that everyone had a different meeting point in mind and had been roaming around New York city looking for others somewhere else, altogether. Next day, we made a more detailed plan, specifying the exact meeting point, down to the table, in front of which restaurant, and at the crossing of which 2 streets! This amount of hard work resulted in me and UD (again the first ones to arrive... yes, we are always lukhkha) being joined by Shetty and Katy. Ecstasy!! We went on to have lots of $1 beer in Greenwich village and nice Italian food. My awesome jet lag is also helping me wake up at 5am, on my own, with ample time to get ready for my training, which is also turning out to be more fun than anticipated and quite different from what was expected (will write next about this charity day camp at Staten Island, part of DB Orientation). Since I've arrived, I have been sipping the love this city has to offer and am still thirsty for more. Yet, the next few days will be even more amazing because New York City is going to be blessed by something much more beautiful than itself, or any other thing in this whole world!