shenae.com

I’ve been in New York for exactly one month and I am thoroughly fucked. After working three shifts at the store, the manager decided that I was not aggressive enough.  Wow. Really? I mean, really? My middle name is aggressive.  This prompted an all out interview bonanza.  I went through seven interviews the first week, and two this week.  Still nothing. Let me see: I went to culinary school and housekeeping school, and the agency sends me to interviews for housekeeper/cook or housekeeper positions.  Why do these families turn me down because I don’t have enough childcare experience? Seriously? I think it would help if they advertised for a nanny/housekeeper and not waste my time or their time.  Don’t get me started about apartment searching. The short-term rental company that I had contacted for a weekly room was busted for scamming people.  I had a sublet for two weeks but it was expensive.  I should have just waited and found a cheap room for rent.  My cats have moved around as much as I have.  They were in the car, in a kennel, at a pet sitter and now at a friend’s house…but not for long.  Mufasa and Diablo, the little heathens that they are, have been using her couch as a scratching post.  Now I have to find a place for them…until I find an apartment…and a job.  So yeah, I’m fucked.

I am really digging New York City.  I have already gone through the hazing: suffered riding a train with no a/c, waiting in a hot subway station for a delayed train and getting lost.  So many of the restaurants  and bars that I have heard of (Momofuku, d.b.a, Veselka) are around the apartment where I’m staying. And I’m not going to lie, the East Village is like and asian fantasyland for me.  There are too many good-looking japanese, chinese and korean men here.  In fact, there is a shitload of nerdy-sexy, dirty-sexy, and ugly-sexy men everywhere.  My vajay-jay is going to spontaneously combust. If only I could stay here longer.  Finding an apartment is the most difficult task especially when you can’t afford to live where you want to live.  I’m trying to stay positive and concentrate on finding a place — damn, he is FINE, I gotta have me some of that, where’s the fire? I’m sorry, what was I saying?

I made the calls, forwarded my resume, sent the follow-up emails and made the move.  One sentence cannot emphasize the amount of stress I have gone through during the last two months.  I packed up my apartment, donated most of my stuff, and put eight boxes and a bag in storage.  I couldn’t fly with my cats so I rented a car and actually drove from Florida to Maryland. Oh…holy…Jesus…that was stressful.  I haven’t driven a car since 2008 so yeah, not only my life was in danger, but also my cats, and anyone on the road or the sidewalk.  I left Monday night, arrived in NYC on Wednesday afternoon. I slept for 10 hours in 3 days. I was a wreck.  But now I’m so much happier.  New York is amazing. I still haven’t found  an apartment yet, and have resorted to staying with friends.  I start my new job this week and I’m working on getting another one.  I don’t know what is going to happen next, but I know I am much happier here.

Things are going well with the new apartment.  The few friends who have come by like the layout and the open feeling when there.  I just wish I had more furniture. I am focusing on decorating it, and putting something on the walls! I went from owning a 2BR/1.5BA with a basement and a deck in Baltimore to renting a studio apartment with an eat-in kitchen in Miami Beach.  I’ve given away or sold most of my furniture from previous residences so I’m starting from scratch.  My place looks like a serial killer lives there, with a mattress on the floor, a tv, a pitifully small futon, and a desk. There is no table to eat on and I have two forks, two spoons, two plates, two knives, etc.  If more than one person comes over, I have to eat off paper plates. I strongly believe the word minimalism really means having no furniture and barewalls because you’re broke.

I got a job again…finally.   I’m working at a nice boutique hotel AND I will start my retail job soon. Yes, I have two jobs.  I’m already tired with the hotel job, I don’t even want to know what will happen when the second job starts.  But I’m happy to be working.  In other news, the drain to my tub is clogged.  I have emptied two containers of fake Draino into it.  I called Roto Rooter and they wanted to charge me $239 to clear the clog.  I said that was unbelivably high.  The technician went back to his truck to “see how low he could go” and returned with a price of $150.  Oh hell no.  I’m going to do some research and figure it out myself. Until then, it’s a whore’s bath for Shenae.

Now it has been confirmed that someone up there does not like me. I was relaxing after a nice night out with my friend Sunnie. We had a beer and saw Sweeney Todd at the movie theater. Excellent show. But back to the lecture at hand; I was watching tv with both my cats on the bed. First, Diablo jumps up, and then Mufasa meows. Just as I utter the words, “What the french toast?” a gigantic cockroach flew on to my arm. I screamed, trying to swat it off my bed, and as expected, it crawled underneath the boxspring. I sprayed every surface around the bed and wondered what to do. My first apartment here in South Beach was a dump (but was cheap as hell) and had a very bad pest problem, to the point that one day after washing my hair, I turned on my hair dryer and a cockroach flew out of it. I selected this second apartment because it looked clean and well kept. Well, I was wrong. I found a couple of critters when it rained a few weeks after I moved in. I haven’t seen any of them until now. And this was a full on assault. I screamed as I called my best friend and waited for it to come out. It did and I sprayed it for about 5 minutes before the little fucker died. I was pissed. I am sick of cockroaches. I am tired of not getting my mail for days or the trash not being emptied because the landlord has locked the side gate. I deserve so much better and I’m still doing penance for a sin I didn’t commit. I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!

Let me sing the praises of the Black and Decker Scrubber Buddy: I have never, EVER seen my tub look so clean.  I am sure the last time it was that clean was when I moved into my house!  It sparkled.  It shined. It was so easy to use the damn thing.  I could see my reflection.  I was afraid to take a shower today because I didn’t want to mess up the good thing I had going.  It inspired me to clean my toilet, sink and mirror.  I had to get the rest of the room up to the same level as the tub!  You would freak out if you saw it.

In case you haven’t noticed, I have been working at both jobs every day this week.  I had a choice of posting or sleeping, so I chose sleeping. I am surviving on lots of caffeine, water and fast food.  And yes, my house is a mess.  My friend Tina bought me gifts from Nawlins, I mean New Orleans.  She gave me a little book of recipes and a pot holder.  She also got me a voodoo doll to vent my frustrations.  Very appropriate.  I am going to NY this weekend to visit my grandfather in the hospital.  I am sure you all will miss me.

I had a very relaxing and organized weekend.  Friday night, I went food shopping and saved eight dollars in coupons.  I made some crab cakes and watched the movie A Knight’s Tale.  On Saturday, I vacuumed, mopped the kitchen floor, did a tremendous amount of laundry, organized my kitchen cabinets, cleaned the bathroom and changed the cat litter box.  I went to Blockbuster and picked up the movie Chocolat.  And my next door neighbor lent me Bridget Jones, so I watched that too.  Do you know what was really cool?  I was wearing my cute little tank and my cute drawstring “after work” pants from the Gap.  So of course I answer the door in them.  The pizza man was drooling.  I looked cuter than Meg Ryan in Sleepless in Seattle and way cuter than Kirsten Dunst in Bring It On.  Yeah, I guess not wearing a bra helps the look.  But I digress…I saw an excellent movie tonight. In fact, I won free passes to it.  I went alone.  That’s another sad factor in my life.  But anyway, it’s called My First Mister.  Lelee Sobieski and Albert Brooks are in it.  Fabulous movie.  You have to see it.

I have been cleaning my house slowly but surely for the last few days. Did you know I was a slob? Oh yeah, big time. I just have to mop, clean my tub, do yet more laundry, vacuum my bedroom, and go through the piles of mail I have stacked in the living room. It’s a process that I do every few weeks because I let things slide. Since I started the second job, these few weeks have grown longer and longer. Don’t worry, I will still have time to bake cookies! I have been conversing with Brian about the lack of time thing and the creativity thing. He doesn’t know how talented he is and he suffers from my fear of running out of ideas. Sometimes we all just need reassurance. In other news, I agree with Brooklyn Kid in that not everyone is getting more sex after the terrorist attacks.