foretaste? & some highlights

If you haven't figured it out, I'm in New York. Kristin and I booked some tickets a couple months ago with frequent flyer miles and here we are! We're staying in a little brownstone on the upper east side, near Central Park. In only a few days we have become quite proficient at the subway system, and can I say, I LOVE THE SUBWAY SYSTEM. We can get ourselves anywhere in Manhattan within 15-20 minutes. Sunday we got ourselves to Brooklyn and down to Coney Island. (We went to the Brooklyn Tabernacle for church today - the choir was fab and Jim Cymbala was...well, I was really tired from not enough sleep this whole week, so if I weren't struggling to keep my eyes open...I'm sure he was great!)Coney Island

Being here has given me very mixed feelings about the fact that my move to Athens could be very near (a little over a month). On one hand, it's been exciting to be in the city, figure out transportation, feel like I am conquering the uncertain and growing more confident. I know after a couple weeks in Athens I'll be feeling more comfortable with my surroundings, like I have after only a couple days here. It's also crazy how alone you can feel with a huge city bustling all around you. People come and go, rush and hurry, and at times it can seem hard to slow down and be part of a community or make friendships.

We have done so much in the last couple days, we can cross nearly everything off our list. I will have to get to some of those in a later post. We have also partaken in things that weren't on our list...like this huge beacon, calling Kristin home:

Or this... First, have you seen stories of the world's shortest man? When he met the woman with the world's longest legs?

(Earlier this week, in London - AP photo)

(Do not get me started on how disturbed I am by any 20 year old male standing under a girl wearing a skirt! Whose idea was that!?!?) Anyway, the other day we were coming out of the NYC library, and there was a huge ruckus on the steps below us. A big crowd was gathering, and people were taking pictures, like the paparazzi. Well, it was this little guy...grasping the hand of his "attractive female escort," (said the news story), not because he was shy or intimidated or as I was prone to think, being exploited!, but because "he has a thing for the ladies."

Outside the NYC public library

Now does the picture of the long legged girl disturb you any more? His brother in law tells reporters that he likes the attention. And that he has a girlfriend back home. This was Kristin's highlight of that day, by the way. Kristin, who made us stop at all the weirdest roadside attractions on our Grand Canyon trip last year. (Sacred white buffalo, anyone?)