Miracle on the Hudson

Photo: William Kostoff

By this time I’m sure you’ve all heard the amazing story of “The Miracle on the Hudson.”  I was completely shocked that the plane was held in tact and the people were all safe.  I’m not going to try to put the event into any type of perspective because there are plenty of people who have done that already. (NY Times and The Guardian, both have great coverage) I will simply leave you with this…

“I will not die an unlived life.  I will not live in fear of falling or catching fire.  I choose to inhabit my days, to allow my living to open me, to make me less afraid, more accessible, to loosen my heart until it becomes a win, a torch, a promise.  I choose to risk my significance; to live so that which comes to me as seed goes to the next as blossom and that which comes to me as blossom, goes on as fruit.”

-Dawna Markova

Shake, Shake, Shake…

Part of Southern California life is dealing with the fact that a major earthquake could dramatically alter your life at any moment.  It’s been nearly fifteen years since the 6.7 magnitude Northridge quake dropped freeways, toppled buildings and killed 57 people in SoCal.  Since then, we hear reports every couple of months that “the big one” is coming or is long over due.

Living in SoCal, you do get the moderate sized quakes on a relatively regular basis.  Just last year, on July 29th, we had the Chino Hills earthquake with a magnitude 5.4 that was felt pretty strongly throughout the SoCal area.  I was standing in line at a taco stand on my lunch break when that roller shook the nerves of the Los Angeles Basin.

And the most recent quake occurred just last night.  Last night at approximately 7:49 p.m. PST, a magnitude 4.5 earthquake jolted through Southern California.  According to our Local ABC News station

The earthquake hit at 7:49 p.m. within 1 mile of San Bernardino. A 3.3-magnitude aftershock hit about an hour later, followed by a 1.7 aftershock.

It was felt as far south as San Diego and as far north as Palmdale. People who felt the earthquake described it as a little roll followed by a big jolt.

While I did not feel the aftershocks, I did feel the small jolt of the actual quake.  It was rather insignificant and I had to ask my dad whether that was actually a quake or not.

I bring this up because I realize that with my eventual move to New York, I will no longer have to worry about this.  Now, while I realize the mega quakes (such as the ’94 Northridge quake and the ’89 San Francisco quake that disrupted the World Series) are very disruptive and often times fatal, I sort of enjoy theses little tremblers.  It sounds odd, I know, but these little quakes that do no real damage and cause no injury are actually kind of fun.  These quakes are a quick rush of adrenaline and excitement.

There are two different kind of earthquake feelings, the rolling or the jolt.  During a rolling quake it literally feels like the ground beneath you is rolling like a wave, usually for a period of 3o to 90 seconds.  During a jolter, it could actually be pretty frightening.  A jolt earthquake, in my experience, could last as long as 2-3 minutes and feels like someone is shaking your house like a salt shaker.  Why would this be exiciting?  As I just stated, it gives you a bit of an adrenaline rush, and immediately afterwards everyone is talking about it.  “Where were you when the earthquake hit?”  “How strong did that feel?”  “Do you think it’s just a precursor to THE BIG ONE?”

In reality, according to a US Geological Survey Scientist I saw on the local news last night, an earthquake like yesterday’s has a 1 in 19 chance of causing a larger, more significant quake.  Yesterday’s earthquake, in particular, had all the earthquake “experts” on the news channels because it was on a fault line that bordered the ever dangerous San Andreas Fault, which is one of the largest and most active in the world.  The San Andreas Fault is projected to be the fault line that will produce the ever so worrisome “Big One.”  While my belief in the fact that Southern California will break off and slip into the ocean from The Big One is a bit tempered,  it still worries some people in this area.

I guess what I’m saying is that last night, while enjoying a relaxing beer after a hard day’s work, I got a nice little jolt of adrenaline.  I wonder what sort of natural disasters I’ll have to worry about in New York?…

(If you’d like to learn more about quakes, these sites are highly recommended:  USGS and Wikipedia – Earthquakes)

Dear God, I Hope Not

While I continue to attempt to determine what kind of budget I’m going to need to live on for the first few months of living in The City, I am constantly scouring the internet for new “help” guides to living in New York.  As I’ve stated in the past, my career here in SoCal has afforded me some little luxuries and allowed me to continue to build my savings for what I hope will not be a long unemployment once I arrive at my new home; but, in reality, my career is allowing me to save (along with a strict budget I’ve implemented for this reason) so that I can survive on what I imagine may possibly be a worst case scenario, no decent paying job for a while (what with the economy in bad shape and all).

Today, I came across this story…this little tid bit of cockeyed information that just completely sent me into a tiny tailspin.

Granted, everyone is feeling the pain of a slumping economy and some are struggling to stay afloat.  Even just today a report came out that, on average, even millionaires have lost a third of their assets in the current recession. (yeah, we all feel terribly bad for them, right?)  This, of course, simply adds to the fear and trepidation I hold deep inside in relation to making such a life altering decision as moving to New York from Los Angeles.  What really freaks me out, however, is the story of Katie Holmes spending nearly $14 million on living expenses in the last six months she’s lived in Manhattan.  Now granted, I’m all for the better off trying to boost the economy and consumer confidence, but $14 million in six months?  Seriously?!!?

According to an article on NYPost.com, (just summarizing), Katie has spent this on:  Food – $7,315.17 ; Clothing – $17,094.50 ; Nights Out (Cultural Events) – $5,415 ; Real Estate – $14,407

Just to list a few.

Now, I understand that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are a “Hollywood Power Couple,” but good God that is a lot of money! I’m not one to generally keep up with entertainment news, but as I’ve stated before, I am keeping up with news stories having to do with NYC and this one just kept popping up across the web.

Kinda freaked me out a bit…hopefully (compared to theirs) my piddling insignificant savings will get me by.

I believe money to simply be a means to an end and while I am driven and focused on success, my definition of success is much greater than monetary.  Now believe me when I tell you, I’m no hippie who’s all for “just living in the moment, man” and being a gypsy of sorts, in fact, quite the contrary.  As I’ve mentioned, I was raised in a rather structured and conservative household and do believe that each person must be a contributing member of society and not just some floater simply skating through life.  However, I do believe in simplicity.  I guess what I’m trying to say is that I like nice “things” as much as the next person, but it is not what drives me.  I’m not driven to make more money to buy a bigger house to buy a nicer car and to have nicer things at home.  My God, I’ve seen some of the apartments in Manhattan and would love to have a 3 bedroom with a city view balcony, but the truth is, I don’t need it.  I believe the extra money that would be spent on that kind of rent could be put to better use to contribute to society (i.e. – the arts, community development, the overall U.S. homeless problem).  That’s just me.  I don’t judge if you do like the nicer things, I have plenty of close friends that do, but for me, a simpler life will suit me just fine.

“Money often costs too much”

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Pros Cons and Random Thoughts

As I’m preparing for the inevitable move later this year, I find that I’m trying to surround myself with as much New York life as possible. One of my favorite sites on the net, that I visit almost daily, is newyorkdailyphoto.blogspot.com, simply because the author (Brian Dube) does such an excellent job of photographing and explaining various buildings and places of interest around the city. I constantly look up news stories from the city on the New York local news sites in order to know what’s going on in the city that will soon become my home. I do this not only to engrain myself in that city’s life and to be prepared for what I’m getting myself into, but also because it is almost a daily reminder that I am moving and in fact is a bit of motivation to keep myself focused on my goal…living in New York City.

In reading the news stories almost daily, I am a bit concerned about some of the crime in New York. Here in SoCal, there are of course numerous stories of crime and violence, but as I mentioned before, because of the spread out nature of the area and the individuality of each independent municipality, unless you live in some of the higher crime neighborhoods, it does not generally affect you in daily life. Now of course I’m not trying to imply that New York City is this haven of crime and violence, but the recent statistics suggest that crime is on the rise.

According to an article on NY Daily News.com,

The city’s murder tally has surged 26% this year – compared with last year’s record-low homicide count, the latest NYPD statistics show.

And while the same article goes on to say that the overall crime rate in New York City is down by 1%,

The homicide number is worrisome because of looming budget cuts that will reduce the NYPD force by 1,000 cops – resulting in the smallest department in 16 years.

On the same subject, a NYPost.com article states that

With 501 killings reported by last Sunday, the city’s homicide rate rose…compared to last year’s 476… and …Robberies – including a rash of violent muggings in Central Park and a month long crime wave in Greenwich Village first revealed by The Post – were also up, by 2 percent, according to the report.

Now I understand that with the population of the New York City area, naturally, the crime statistics would be higher because of the density of people. But it’s my thought that when I do move to New York, I would be more exposed to the possibility of crime in day-to-day life. In comparison, I currently live in Los Angeles County, and according to an LA Times.com article,

Violent crimes — such as homicides and rapes — and crimes involving thefts in Los Angeles were down about 2.5% through Saturday compared with the same period of 2007, according to Los Angeles Police Department figures. The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, which handles law enforcement for dozens of other cities, reported a 6% drop in such crimes committed through the end of November… and…With four days left in the year, 376 people had been killed — 24 fewer than in the same period the year before. The total marks a 27% drop from the 517 people slain five years ago and is far below the peak of 1,092 killings the city recorded in 1992.

Again, I’m not attempting to debate which city is better or safer to live in, but living in the SoCal metropolis most of my life, it is logically a question that would come to mind. I may be over exaggerating but it just seems as though in New York, I will be more at risk than in a suburb some 25 miles east of Los Angeles. It also seems that there is a greater risk of a possible terrorist attack or foreign attack on New York affecting my daily life and health, rather than living in a suburb of LA. I suppose these are some of the risks and rewards that float in each person’s head as they debate whether to move to the great city that is New York.

Now obviously due to economic restrictions with my initial move to New York (i.e. – not having a job yet, living off savings, etc…), I’ll likely be living in Brooklyn or Queens or perhaps even the Bronx. Never being there longer than ten days and not knowing anyone who has ever lived in The City, I’m not aware which places to avoid. Thus, I fear that my initial experience in the first few weeks is completely predicated upon the fact that I choose a comfortable place to live without knowing where that place will actually be.

Perhaps some of you out there in the blogosphere could contribute and put my mind at ease.

“The crime problem in New York is getting really serious, the other day the Statue Of Liberty had both hands up.” - Jay Leno

Introduction

I am a 25-year-old single white male that was born in a foreign country and immigrated to the U.S. with my parents when I was just over a year old. Since then I have come to grow up in two different cultures. The first is my native culture that my parents instilled in my sisters and I growing up…the culture in which we celebrated Christmas and Easter, the culture of my native tongue, the culture that is rich in history and tradition, the culture that is what I am. Then there was the second culture, the culture that surrounded me in my everyday life, the culture that I developed in, a culture that I fell into deep love with in its history and what it stood for, the culture that has made me who I am.

I have lived in Southern California for 80% of my life and have loved every bit of it; to me there are not many other places where you can enjoy seventy-degree weather 75% of the time yet have the snowy peace of the mountains and the thunderous clamor of the ocean within an hour of each other. The diversity of the people, the variety of the cuisine and the true sense of urban living is undeniably attractive. I’ve held a variety of jobs while in Southern California and have grown up living the fundamental lifestyle of school, work and responsibility. Our family being immigrants, my parents raised me the “old school” way of discipline and structure. As the only son in the family, I was raised to constantly focus on family and responsibility.

About five years ago I worked for a communications company that sent me across the country to various conferences. I went to mostly small towns outside of large cities and enjoyed every moment of it. I loved to travel, even if it wasn’t to the most desirable or touristy locations. The thought of being plopped into a small town for a week and getting to know the people, getting to know the way they lived, nothing excited me more. I’m still of the thought that despite being raised in the perceived materialistic region of Los Angeles/Orange County, small towns are the backbone of this country, and without delving too much into the philosophical aspects of it, this fascinated me. I enjoyed making temporary friends and it infused me with a desire to see more and speak to more and learn more and LIVE more. See, despite what your perceptions of Los Angeles are, not everyone out here is a screen writer or actor or trying to be famous; some of us are trying to discover what else is out there and what is bigger and better than us.

That’s where this blog comes into place. When I was eighteen I moved out from home to “find myself” and lay my own life in front of me. At first in an apartment with a friend of a friend that didn’t work out and in fact terrified me of living on my own all together. But I was determined and a bit lucky, so when a friend of mine bought his own house at 22 years old, I moved in and have lived there ever since. Unfortunately for me (fortunately for him), as life goes, we grew up; he got engaged, she moved in and it was happy times…until they actually set a date. And here I am today, I’m 25 years old and am finally on the cusp of what most would consider successful. I have a career that I have worked on, and have long term options with, that offers excellent benefits and salary. I moved out of my roommate’s house and back with mom and dad three months ago to save for a house of my own. See, this seemed like the perfect plan, after all, it is time to grow up.

Get a job, get your ducks in a row, buy a house, find a wife, start a family.

Except for one thing…is this really how life is supposed to go?

For me it seems like there’s something more to life than working to live. More than working to afford a house payment and a car and that nice watch and those Christmas gifts and the material objects that make us think we are happy day in and day out.

No, my dear friends, this is not what I feel I was born to do.

I’ve always had an incredible infatuation with the city of New York. Everything the movies and pictures portrayed it to be seemed so amazing. The fact that the city never sleeps, that everyone is right on top of each other, almost as if forced to interact in a congenial manner and be a neighbor for one another. New York was a wonderful place where it seemed like dreams could come true as quick as they could be crushed, where the commingling of people forced each one to be themselves yet work together for the better good of the city. See, here in SoCal, everyone is an independent person or thinks that they are or wishes that they were. Here in SoCal you have no central mix of people, you have a 100 square mile metropolis of individual cities all trying to be better than the other. You have people who are materialistic, people who pretend not to be but are, and those who truly are not…but who we kidding, they’re just weird. You have fake bakes, frost tips, bro dudes, hot chicks, hipsters, hippies and everything in between. Now you might be saying to yourself, “Self, of course these characters preside in the friendly confines of the Gotham City as well,” and you would be correct. But after the tragedy that was 9/11, the entire country and world saw that all of that no longer mattered, everyone was willing to share their shoulder for a tear. Not only were there the self-sacrifices of all those helping others get out of the buildings, but for days I watched on TV that people just wanted to be together and help one another. And while I love this mini-world that I live in called SoCal, let’s face it; during fires, floods and terrible earthquakes it looks and feels nothing like what I would imagine the people of New York are like.

So as I grew up and saw what New York was like on television, a desire grew for me. Friends, When Harry Met Sally, Die Hard With A Vengeance and Seinfeld all formed an image of New York that made me yearn to attempt to take a bite out of The Big Apple. Then, I visited. I went to New York in April of 08 and naturally, I did the tourist stuff. I went to Ground Zero, the Empire State Building, Museum of Natural History, a Yankee Game (they got trounced by the Rays, by the way J…that’s one thing I will never assimilate with…I hate the Yankees!), and of course the various pubs, clubs and bars that The City has to offer. I walked through Central Park and then went off the “beaten path” and just walked the Upper East (or West…not quite used to the direction of the island yet) Side. I wanted to get a feel for what it felt like to live there, so over the entire time I was visiting I would leave the tourist areas and just walk the neighborhoods. I walked Brooklyn, the Village, the aforementioned Upper Something Side, and the Bronx. I went into coffee and tea shops, checked out the restaurants (and yet didn’t see a single grocery store…perhaps something I need to learn to look for) and went into random high rise business buildings just hoping to catch for a second of time how it felt to be a New Yorker. I left New York with the feeling of, “Yeah, I could live here, but it’d never happen.” Until about June ’08 when I really started to think about where my life was headed. I was so fucking focused on my career and attaining the things that I had desired for so long that I forgot the passion of life that I promised myself I’d never lose when I first lived on my own. I got so pissed off at myself that I became determined to do something about it…and, for the first time, the actual logistical thought of moving to New York entered my mind.

I went sky diving in 08 on a whim and decided that life was too invigorating for me to sit on the sidelines and let it pass me up (cliché eh?)

So here I am…January 1, 2009. I WILL NOT CALL THIS A NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION. New Year’s resolutions in my head are a fucking waste of your, mine and everyone’s time. When will people realize that it’s so effing pointless…if you decide that you want a change in your life, I’d hope it’s more important than waiting for the New Year to act on it. This is NOT my New Year’s resolution, no my friends, I decided this on a cold, rainy day in late November 2008.

I am moving to New York. This is the beginning of my journey. I am taking all the money I am saving for a down payment on a new house and moving to New York. My goal time frame – July through October 2009. I deny, no, reject the notion that I will be a Southern Californian at the end of 2009. Now I understand that it takes some time to assimilate and learn The City, but damn it, I WILL BE A NEW YORKER.

Up to this point, no one but my sister (the eldest of the siblings and the one I am closest to) knows anything of this plan. Not my closest friends, nor my family. It may seem crude, but I don’t plan on telling anyone until I am 85% saved and ready to go. I’ve done a bit of research on the costs and difficulty of living in New York, but my trip has just begun. This is living. This is my epic.

New York will be my new home and you will be my friends along the journey.

“We do what we do to get by, and then we need a release”
                                        – Against Me!