Update from the LES

“My favorite thing about New York is the people, because I think they’re misunderstood. I don’t think people realize how kind New York people are.”

—Bill Murray

A quick update because class is in two hours and I pretty much lost yesterday in a full day mediation which, if I actual get paid, may just about cover the rent this month.

That's our place, up on the fifth floor on the far right.

We're directly on Houston Street, the busy thoroughfare that leads to the Williamsburg Bridge, but the noise hasn't been bad at all.

We are, without a doubt, the oldest people on the Lower East Side. Every time we walk into our neighborhood pub, the Mayfly, for wings and a Guinness, it seems all the thirty-somethings around us start behaving better, like Mom and Dad are sitting at the end of the bar.

And they're so damned nice, all of them. Helpful to a fault toward two lost looking Southerners, proud of their little village, polite in a way that defies the New Yorker stereotype.

Every race on earth walks the sidewalks below us here, and they all seem to get along just fine. No sign of ICE at this point.

Along with the racial diversity comes an almost disorienting array of culinary options, all within a few blocks. Last night we had Burmese takeout, which was solidly okay, a mash-up of Indian and Thai (which if you look at a map is utterly unsurprising).

Last night we attended the symphony at Carnegie Hall, for sixty bucks a ticket including convenience fees. The show was phenomenal, although I would have enjoyed it more with a little additional legroom--the cramped balcony space left my torn meniscus screaming for mercy.

Classes started two days ago--I'm the oldest guy in the room, older even than the profs, but I sort of expected that. The students are mostly in their early thirties, friendly to the odd geriatric, and manifestly playing at another level intellectually. The curriculum this last semester is heavily weighted toward practical application of tax law, which is exactly what I need as I head out into the world with this new toolkit.

Peg and I agree we're in our "crush" phase of settling into life in Manhattan. We love it here. Will that change? Probably, but we're enjoying the now.

Time to finish today's readings for class, after which we drive back to Corning for my knee surgery tomorrow. Not looking forward to the immediate aftermath, or the likely huge bill with my fake health insurance, but happy at the thought that five months of nearly constant pain may finally draw to a close.