I am getting good at navigating subways. I have walked a ton, joined a gym, opened a back account (WaMu - makes me feel close to Seattle), frequented a morning coffee place around the corner (Ciao for Now), and met up with pals. I also spend time reading TimeOut magazine and circling all to the things I want to do. It's overwhelming. I am determined to make the most of this week, prior to starting work, to do all of those touristy, cultural things the locals are too busy (or too over-stimulated) to do. The literary events alone! Heavenly. Last night, I walked down to SoHo and went to a reading at Poet's House : Sharon Olds in conversation with Maxine Kumin. Free event, low key, folding chairs in the library. Galway Kinnell was in the (small) audience. These three poets are some of my favorites, some of the early discoveries in my own poetry timeline. Maxine was best friends with Anne Sexton (my "first" poet, discovered her work when I was 18 and it changed my life). She told a sweet story: In the late 1950s you could add a second phone line to your house for not much money. She and Anne did that so they could talk all day w/o holding up the main line. They work-shopped each others poems pretty intensely. Most days, they just kept the line connected and set the phone down and went about their work-- when one wanted to reach the other, they'd just pick up the phone and whistle into it.
Today, I am heading to Brooklyn to meet up with Claire and Quill -- we are going to go to Coney Island. Other things to do this week: walk over the Brooklyn Bridge, go to Ellis Island, take tour of Lower East Side (and Tenement Museum), see "New York Rises" exhibit at Museum of the City of New York, make my regular pilgrimage to St. John the Divine's Poet's Corner. And more, and more.
To all my Seattle friends: I love you and miss you. I wish I could be in 2 places at once. But I feel good and strong and excited for this change and I am carrying you close to me. Thank you for all of you support as I took this leap. Big love, Erin.
Friday, September 28, 2007
The Move & The Job
Move: I moved into the City on Monday, September 24th. My friend Monica met me at my new place and watched the (rental) car as I lugged my (relatively few) bags and boxes up 3 flights. That part -- lugging + steep stairs---turned me into sweating tomato-faced girl, really kicked my butt (note to self: hire movers next time; 2nd note to self: step up gym workouts). I returned the rental car, had a beer with Monica in Greenwich Village, and then walked home....officially carless for the first time in 25 years or so. Quite liberating! My place is tiny, but sweet and neat and clean. One room studio (12 x 14'), wood floors, with tidy kitchen nook and decent-sized bathroom (by NY standards). My two windows face 11th St and I get nice light. My pal Anne lives on the 3rd floor.
Job: On Wednesday, Corporation for Supportive Housing called and officially offered me the job! Background: I've been following CSH's work for a few years--an excellent organization that does national consulting, development, technical assistance, and advocacy for supportive housing as a key to ending homelessness as we now know it. They are the leaders in this policy field. I'd been checking the CSH website for jobs regularly and, about a month before I left Seattle, I saw a new posting for the NYC office and said (out loud): "And there's my job." Well, cut to two months later and voila...it's my new job! I start October 8th. They are located near Wall St -- an 11 minute subway commute on th 4/5 line (or a good walk on a nice day). I will be a Senior Program Manager, part of CSH's Strategic Partnerships Team. For the first year, I'll be co-director of a national initiative re: employment services to help folks move out of homelessness. Another potential perk: I may end up traveling to the west coast for work so can swing through and see my Seattle peeps (I miss you!).
Job: On Wednesday, Corporation for Supportive Housing called and officially offered me the job! Background: I've been following CSH's work for a few years--an excellent organization that does national consulting, development, technical assistance, and advocacy for supportive housing as a key to ending homelessness as we now know it. They are the leaders in this policy field. I'd been checking the CSH website for jobs regularly and, about a month before I left Seattle, I saw a new posting for the NYC office and said (out loud): "And there's my job." Well, cut to two months later and voila...it's my new job! I start October 8th. They are located near Wall St -- an 11 minute subway commute on th 4/5 line (or a good walk on a nice day). I will be a Senior Program Manager, part of CSH's Strategic Partnerships Team. For the first year, I'll be co-director of a national initiative re: employment services to help folks move out of homelessness. Another potential perk: I may end up traveling to the west coast for work so can swing through and see my Seattle peeps (I miss you!).
Thursday, September 27, 2007
My New Front Door
Here is it, folks.... the red door is my new home on east 11th st. I'm on the 4th floor. Looking at the building from this angle, Avenue A is just a few yards away, to the right. The brown storefront to the right is a great bar: 11th Street Bar. Relaxed atmosphere and usually full of regulars from the neighborhood. I'm just a short walk from many subway lines-- very easy to get around. I (heart) the subway....
Whew...The Erin has Landed
Hello Dear Ones -
I want to catch up with everyone directly and will do so...but until then I thought a blog might be the quickest way to update my wanderings for the past 4-5 weeks.
After 18 years in Seattle, I decided to move back East. I looked back through my email to locate the exact date when the "Go NYC" button was pushed -- when the idea went from seedling to concrete timeline. On May 12th (2007), I replied to Debra that YES I would like to sublet her East Village studio. Here's what happened then:
As many of you have said, sometimes validation for one's choices [esp. a big scary transition/change] arrives in the form of pieces nicely falling into place along the way. I am happy to say that, so far, that's been the case. I spent Labor Day weekend at Lake Desolation (our family's sweet camp, just outside Saratoga We've been spending summers there since I was 8 yrs old) with pals from NYC: Claire and her son Quill; Anne and her sister Jayne, with Jayne's daughter Charlotte).
I was so grateful to see them all, since I think I was in shock for that whole first week ("wha...what just happened?!"). Another Lake D pic:
Not a bad place to recover from shock, eh? My brother, Thom, generously loaned me his summer car -- at 1991 red saab convertible -- for the month. Quiet mornings at the lake, gorgeous weather, and beautiful drives (top down!) up and down the mountain (in Seattle terms, really a hill) to get into town (15-20 minutes), helped calm my spirit and bring me back to earth. I spent most days in Sept in town, going to the gym, shuffling through my boxes in prep for move to city, fretting about jobs, seeing family and friends, taking nostalgia drives though Saratoga. The most fun: experiencing the hubbub leading up to my sister's wedding. I felt so glad to be there for it all -- as usually I'd just be flying in for a long weekend -- and it felt like one of the happiest times I can recall for the Healy clan. Campbell (Kelly's husband) is a wonderful man -- just a lovely, lovely person. I got to meet the rest of his family, too, and they are fantastic -- a bunch of artsy bohemian intellectuals via Belfast, London, and Sydney. I sound like one of the stepford wives at this point (everything's great!!) but it really feels like a blessing. I am so happy for my sister and my whole family. The wedding was gorgeous and we all danced like goofballs. And, for those who know me well, you'll be happy to know I didn't blubber throughout the whole wedding -- just a few tears, but I was mostly grinning like a fool. Here's Kel and Campbell during their first dance and next day at the lake:
I want to catch up with everyone directly and will do so...but until then I thought a blog might be the quickest way to update my wanderings for the past 4-5 weeks.
After 18 years in Seattle, I decided to move back East. I looked back through my email to locate the exact date when the "Go NYC" button was pushed -- when the idea went from seedling to concrete timeline. On May 12th (2007), I replied to Debra that YES I would like to sublet her East Village studio. Here's what happened then:
- I sold my house (it closed on Aug. 24)
- I sold my car (the day before I left town)
- I sold or donated about 2/3rds of my stuff (furniture, books, etc)
- I took a one way flight from Seattle to JFK on Aug. 29th
As many of you have said, sometimes validation for one's choices [esp. a big scary transition/change] arrives in the form of pieces nicely falling into place along the way. I am happy to say that, so far, that's been the case. I spent Labor Day weekend at Lake Desolation (our family's sweet camp, just outside Saratoga We've been spending summers there since I was 8 yrs old) with pals from NYC: Claire and her son Quill; Anne and her sister Jayne, with Jayne's daughter Charlotte).
I was so grateful to see them all, since I think I was in shock for that whole first week ("wha...what just happened?!"). Another Lake D pic:
Not a bad place to recover from shock, eh? My brother, Thom, generously loaned me his summer car -- at 1991 red saab convertible -- for the month. Quiet mornings at the lake, gorgeous weather, and beautiful drives (top down!) up and down the mountain (in Seattle terms, really a hill) to get into town (15-20 minutes), helped calm my spirit and bring me back to earth. I spent most days in Sept in town, going to the gym, shuffling through my boxes in prep for move to city, fretting about jobs, seeing family and friends, taking nostalgia drives though Saratoga. The most fun: experiencing the hubbub leading up to my sister's wedding. I felt so glad to be there for it all -- as usually I'd just be flying in for a long weekend -- and it felt like one of the happiest times I can recall for the Healy clan. Campbell (Kelly's husband) is a wonderful man -- just a lovely, lovely person. I got to meet the rest of his family, too, and they are fantastic -- a bunch of artsy bohemian intellectuals via Belfast, London, and Sydney. I sound like one of the stepford wives at this point (everything's great!!) but it really feels like a blessing. I am so happy for my sister and my whole family. The wedding was gorgeous and we all danced like goofballs. And, for those who know me well, you'll be happy to know I didn't blubber throughout the whole wedding -- just a few tears, but I was mostly grinning like a fool. Here's Kel and Campbell during their first dance and next day at the lake:
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