The last time I moved was in May of 2016. So this move happened after living in the same place for approximately 4 years and 8 months. Leaving all the memories behind, I am now moving on to a new chapter of my life. Now that I am comfortably settled in my new place, I would like to share my experience with this particular move.
(This post was written and edited over the course of one month)
The Bermuda Triangle (written on the week of Jan. 31 / Feb. 1)
Stuff piles. Especially when you live alone and have a lot of space to buy and keep all the stuff. I did not know that I had accumulated so much stuff in a studio apartment. It took me a week to go through everything, and to sort out what I wanted to keep and what I wanted to give away.
I used the famous Marie Kondo method; if it doesn’t bring you joy, it’s gotta go. So many clothes, books, kitchen appliances, furnitures, and shoes, all went into the giveaway boxes. This purging process helped me reflect on my spending habits and plan for the future.
Everyday on the street outside of my apartment, I left bags of things I did not want to keep. Within an hour or two, they were gone. I gave away a variety of items for a week. I observed that books were the hardest items to attract the general public, but the shoes and clothes disappeared instantly. The furnitures and kitchen appliances were also on the easier side. Hopefully my belongings found new happy homes. I remembered an episode from How I Met Your Mother, where the gang talks about their experience of putting things outside of their apartment. Size does not matter, and everything disappears the moment you turn around. The urban legend turned out to be true; the Bermuda Triangle indeed exists.
The Front (written on the week of Feb. 7)
I was roaming in the new neighborhood. I wanted to pick up something on my way home, so I went into a small local pharmacy/health product store. I was shocked. It is a pharmacy, but not a single staff member was wearing a mask. Not only did they not have anything I wanted (because the store was half-empty), but also they violated the standard health code (and again, it’s a pharmacy/health product store). I immediately questioned myself if the pharmacy could be a front for some kind of drug dealing. But could it really be?
Some years ago, I went to a flower shop on Upper West Side. I thought the flower shop pretty much had no flowers and no trees. I found that strange and I did not go there again. I found out from a friend who used to work there that the flower shop was a front for some kind of cocaine business. So that explained why no one knew anything about flowers, and why they didn’t have flowers in the shop.
Going back to my neighborhood pharmacy, could this store be a hub of drug deals?
Walks (written on Feb. 16)
The walks have been more pleasant in the new neighborhood than in my previous neighborhood. Although there isn’t a good park, the neighborhood stroll has been more fun. There are new residential establishments, characteristic blocks, and various local businesses.
Yesterday, I walked to a neighborhood where there is no subway line. It’s very close to the water, and because there is no subway, the neighborhood seemed a bit older than the ones near the stations. Definitely more family oriented, and more suburban looking. Anyway, I found a breakfast-all-day bistro, which closes at 6 p.m. The impression I got based on their menu: the place is an elevated American diner. According to Google Maps, the bistro has a very high rating, and seems to have a lot of regulars. Because it is fairly distant from the public transit (a lower floating population), I figured that this place perhaps would be a safer place for an indoor dining experience. With the newly reduced restriction, the indoor dining in NYC has been popular again, though I am not confident to go in and risk (just yet). But with this new breakfast-all-day business, I might find an awkward time block (in-between meals) to have a quick and proper dinning experience.
Or again … because restaurants have liquor license, can this place be a front for an alcohol smuggling operation? I doubt that.
I gotta stop questioning things, and should perhaps have more faith in humanity.