the (deceptive) allure of the big city

...if you can make it here, you'll make it anywhere...

Last weekend we moved Emma (and assorted room mates) into their new apartment. It was a LOT of driving, not only there and back again, but also IN the city- I'm thankful for my love who acts like he is having fun navigating that circus.

Pictures are all taken with my phone because I did not see how I could schlep a camera around this time. I would have forgotten to get it out anyway - as my love pointed out, we did not even take a picture of 'the fab four' who moved  in together.

Above you see us on the evening of arrival, still somewhat fresh-ish...Enjoying great vegan food in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

As my love maneuvered us skillfully through the jungle, I contemplated the view. City. So many small 'hole-in-the-wall' businesses vying for attention with flashy as-large-as-possible signs promising the world. Trying to make it. Surviving. And hopefully a little more than that.

So many people. Why did they all flock here and add themselves to the struggle? Or maybe I am looking at it the wrong way. Emma and her room mates are also hopeful for a piece of the pie, for 'making it'.

Driving and walking around, you need to look up from the trash (seriously, there is so much trash everywhere, all the time) and enjoy the bigger picture. Focus on the light(s). And then the city reels you in. With breathtaking beauty, even in its decay.

I can't even begin to describe- it is quite literally the world in summary. And yet its own world entirely.

So we moved and lifted and shopped and ran the stairs and got stuck and found solutions and got acquainted and rules were established and excitement was had. Quite the whirlwind. On Sunday evening, we were all in the van together, with the latest haul from a big-box store. We were hungry, we were beyond tired, we were getting out of there as fast as we could...and then my love noticed someone holding up starter cables pleadingly. He stopped. Of course he did. And that's only one of the reasons why I love him.

This is the view from one of Emma's windows. Some green, and you can hear birds singing- as well as the sound of the subway half a block away. The apartment is gorgeous, the neighborhood 'up-and-coming' (and eerily similar to Vera's neighborhood). It's going to be a great year in the city.