ok, so today didnt suck as much. i guess its still very difficult to adjust to living somewhere where you know relatively few people, and the seemingly non-existent cultural/walking around/public transportation thing is still really strange to me. first - the above picture is from the "farmers market" last week on lincoln road, which, whilst pretty, really consisted of 2 vendors. (the same two who, also, were at the saturday farmers market two blocks from my house.). i took this picture as a strange comparison to what one expects when they go to union square greenmarket, or really any greenmarket in ny (usually full of produce this time of year). enough whining about that.

the first week of work went pretty well, although i did take a little bit of my writing home to edit this weekend, and everytime i edit a few pages, i want to take a nap. sound familiar to anyone? everyone is very friendly, the hours arent horrible, and the work is great. they're sending me to atlanta for training sometime in october, which is exciting. at least, a change of pace. and it will be nice to meet others in the same position.

now on to my attempt to explain the other day.

my trauma began when i wanted to go get some gas so i could drive to the wynwood arts district, and calle ocho (i.e., little havana) to walk around & check it out. however, upon getting to the hess station, i could not open my gas screw-top thing, you know, where you put the gas in. (im sure there is a word for it, but whatever. the cap). anyway it wont open. i feel like an idiot. i read the manual. nothing. so i call my dealership, to which they respond, oh, come here and we will give you the key. THANKS guys, it would have been nice to have it when i bought the car but whatever.

so i drive there, full of the maniacs on the road, everyone NOT signaling, no one letting me change lanes, aggressive assholes, miss my exit, i am in the "red" for fuel, etc etc. i even had to turn off the radio i was such a frantic little mouse. anyway i finally make it. at which point, the mechanics decide they have to literally break the cap off, and give me a new one. um. ok. so they break it off, meanwhile, its been like 2 hours since i left my house, and nothing fun has happened. so once thats all over, i demand free gas to which they aquiese, and then the guy who broke the cap off for me tells me to make an appt to have my breaks looked at because they "squeak." now, i dont know much about cars, obviously, but i knew what he meant, and he said "you know, get them checked out, since you still have the 30 day warranty." which makes me think, oh god? is something wrong? meaning i should return this car?". so i say, ok, can you look at it now? and he laughs, says to make an appointment, you know, during the week, business hours.... which im sure, to my luck, is from like 9-5 when im supposed to be working anyway. i predict a lunch hour in the future being very frustrating. cars. so annoying.

this leads me to be panicked, but in an effort to save the day & what is left of my sanity, i decide to make it still to wynwood to see some galleries. ok, so i found a few good places, got to walk around, felt more calm. but still, no one was anywhere, and they all had to buzz me in - as if they dont want people walking in off the streets. fine, im sure that happens everywhere, it just felt very spooky. also, parts of the area were sketchy, to say the least, and the galleries were relatively spread out, but i was satisfied with what i was able to see. they do have "second saturdays" where all the galleries are open and apparently people actually go see the art, which will be nice. its just a strange transition, thats all.

it all just felt like a larger wash than i was expecting, but then i took a long run up the beach and felt infinitely better. this morning, the cheer continued when i saw it wasnt raining (yet ) and got to lay on the beach for a few hours (with my memo, nonetheless, but it made for somewhat enjoyable working time). to make you jealous is the following:


yes, me on the beach, the gold bikini top. HA!

and the pretty beach. i mean, when its nice out, its great. but then it rained a bit, and now its all gray and gross out, so here i am in the apt pretending to work before i force another run. i supposed i should get back to work. i will continue to try to not be crabby and cranky about being here, there are always better times and worse times, anywhere. its just a matter of settling into a routine im sure. so with that, back to it.