Today is September 11, 2008. Seven years ago many people lost their lives during terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania. I now live one borough over from the site of the World Trace Center attacks. So far, at this hour of the day, it feels like I am just as far away as I was seven years ago. The one difference is that I now live in a Sikh neighborhood, where people were wrongly profiled as members of the same group who performed those terrorist attacks. Today I ask that you perform small acts of acceptance of, and tolerance for, your fellow human being.
The iMac is scheduled to arrive today so I will be spending the day camped out at Dawg's parents' house where I am having it delivered. I could have pre-signed for the delivery, but it's my computer and I'd rather be there to greet it.
Yesterday's shopping adventure highlights: I seem to have lost my GPS, so I had to use a pre-printed map of Queens to get to the store — had absolutely no problems getting there and back. I left the apartment at 10:22am and arrived back the apartment at 12:38pm. (The store is about 5 minutes away, so that means I spent 2 full hours in the store shopping.) I then spent the next 50 minutes, until 1:28pm, making 5 trips up and down the 6.5 flights of stairs to bring in the 117 objects I purchased at the store. Many of them were staple items, ones that we won't need to purchase on a regular basis, so this number is not a normal number, but the total cost of this bill (Dawg, hide your eyes, baby) was: $409.08 after $16.17 in savings from using my newly acquired Stop & Shop card. The only thing on the entire list that I could not locate was cherries for sundaes.
Georgie is randomly crying and staring at walls again. All the cats do that. I have no idea what's in the walls. I hear absolutely nothing. It's very quiet here.
Oh, and to answer everyone's burning question: The rent here is extremely inexpensive. It's cheaper by hundreds of dollars a month than any other apartment we looked at or inquired about. Per month it is $225 more than my apartment back in Vermont, but $200 less than my mortgage back in Vermont. (That apartment I had been renting was VERY expensive in Vermont dollars, but it was all about the location.) Dawg and I really lucked out. It helps to know a guy who knows a guy. 
I'm pretty sure it's time to go get Dawg out of bed for a very long day at work so I'll go now. (Yup! There goes the alarm!) I'll get back to everyone's comments and emails this weekend, promise!
Later! 
I was thinking about the 6 flight walk up. It's gonna suck when you have a heavy coat. My brother use to on the 4th floor and would bring all stuff into the hallway, then everything to the 2nd floor landing then the third floor landing so he only had to do on flight at a time.
I so love the updates!!
The updates are awesome and I'm thin king that the six flights will help burn off those sundaes;-)
Maybe the kitties see things. Kitties are like that.
It's a lovely apartment.
The walls, eh ?
http://www.sylvestermccoy.com/newdoctorwho/unquietdead/
Would explain the low rent, too.
Maybe the cats are just now realizing that they're surrounded (on the outside) by rats bigger than they are?
please hug dawg tight for me tonight and tell him thanks for all that he did this day in 2001 and the days that followed. you have a good man, poppy.
i can't imagine what the people in your neighborhood had to endure due to ignorance and fear. ugggh.
keep the apartment / move updates comin…i love them. thanks for sharing your adventure with us.
crying cats starting at walls, eh? color me officially freaked out…
Over $400 on groceries? Holy moly where do you store that much stuff? I'm glad that you are settling in to your new apartment and that your iMac is coming…I'm still jealous of the iMac.
I'm so excited for you! I had to do a lot of reading to get myself caught up. New apartment, lots of groceries, new laptop…Congratulations on all of that and anything else I may have missed. (((((hugs))))
If we had practiced those acts of tolerance we might have avoided the whole attack in the first place… oh and I am sure that your Sikh neighbors are still being profiled. I know my Sikh, Jain and Hindu friends still are…
God I love (and miss) New York.
You have a gorgeous apartment and, as Hello said, a wonderful man. And an iMac on the way. How lucky are you?
Tolerance and acceptance are two of my favorite things…how did you know? :)
I know this is really nothing to do with your post but um, I love the dancing kitty…oh how it makes me giggle!
And that is why I fricking LOVE dumbwaiters!
I am still to excited for you guys. Plus, think of all the exercise!!!
Too many stairs! I can see I'm going to have to start working out in preparation for my visit. But then again, if I pass out, at least Dawg is qualified to revive me.
You mean FRENCH dollars. Jesus!
ON EDIT: Oh and yeah about the Sikhs. They hate Muslims as much as we do. They are our natural allies. Wait… this was about tolerance wasn't it. Heh heh heh.
My bad….
You're getting an iMac… that's sweet. Being a Mac guy with 4 of them between three households, I am still jealous of you. Soon I will upgrade one (or more) of my Macs to an iMac.
Living that close to the WTC site… wow. I miss NYC.
Vermont dollars? Can I buy a new heart with it?
hahahahhahaha
My cats have always stared and talked to the walls. I recently found out that this house actually has a mouse in them (not a moose, which would be funnier).
Maybe you could get a yak to help with the walk-up. Or perhaps some kind of basket-with-a-pulley contraption from your window, like in The Lorax. An outside dumbwaiter, if you will.
Sparky, I had considered bringing everything into the entry hallway then dealing with it all after that but someone came through the door while I was bringing in the first load and I just decided to scrap that plan. *shrug* We'll see how winter changes things.
Britt, I am glad you enjoy them.
Turn, I see a difference in a trouble spot on my tummy — less pronounced. I think I weigh the same, just toned a bit. Lovin' it.
Creature, I've never gotten into that show…
Avi, I've yet to see a rat here, outside or otherwise.
Hola, it's possible they are still getting used to the sounds of the building. Or bugs. Or aliens. Or ghosts. I keep promising them that they're safe, and I think they're starting to believe me.
Lisa, there's still tons of room in the freezer! And we have lots of closet and cabinet space for the dry stuff.
Shellbelle, thank you!
Maman, I think the intolerance is more subtle and/or behind closed doors now here. Dawg was telling me that right after 9/11/01 the Sikhs in the neighborhood had to paint "WE ARE SIKHS" on their cars, among other protective measures.
Finn, pretty damn lucky. I can't imagine being much luckier.
Hilly, two of my favs as well. It freaks me out how similar we are. And that kitty is pretty awesome.
Sybil, I appreciate the exercise AFTER I've reached our floor.
Sour, if you take a rest at the 3rd floor you'll be just fine. And just make sure to pass out once Dawg is already home so he has to go DOWN the stairs to revive you.
RW, I love that you keep trying to correct me about the French. And I don't hate Muslims, ya dork.
Marty, I looooove the new iMac. You should get one. Also, it's awesome living here. On the way to the Tribute in Light(s) last night I told Dawg how much I enjoy living here.
Wahdork, cost of living dictates that less Vermont dollars are required to purchase the same goods as New York dollars, and therefore salaries must be higher. Buy a new heart on Texas dollars.
K, I'm just going to start wearing a superhero costume and scale the outside of the building to get to my floor.
I can't imagine what it must be like in NY during each 9/11 anniversary.
I do understand the racism that accompanies it. My husband had two people on the team he manages that were at the Pentagon the day of the attacks. Both were about as close to the point of impact as possible without being killed.
After they were given clearance weeks later to try to recover their belongings from what was left of their office, one of the men drove a U-Haul over.
He happens to be Arab-American. There was a mix-up with the license he had vs. who they were expecting and he ended up with guns drawn all around him and being pulled out of the U-Haul.
So he was victimized all over again.
This same man helped us move into our new home around that same time. A totally giving and selfless man with a heart of gold. So unfair how he was treated, but then again, I can understand their need for hypervigilance back then.
BB, that is horrible. I hope he can find it in his heart to forgive that this happened to him.