The Midwest Rocks!

Mere is looking for an apartment. Yesterday I had to take down the Christmas decorations because the tree was dead- yes, I know, the tree was dead when we bought it considering it had been chopped down already and for God knows how long (you never can get a straight answer from tree salesman- they seem to be as shady as (or more than!) car salesmen). Anyway, we had been watering it and it was no longer drinking- it had given up and its needles were falling down like rain. Luckily it was a slow drizzle rather than a tsunami, but either way it was time to get her out. And, as I am a bit crazy, I couldn't just put her on the street to be picked up, but I made Mere walk with me and the tree 7 blocks away to be mulched. I also did not buy a tree bag this year because they don't work and they are plastic. So, after we did our small part for Mother Earth (and yes, it may actually be better for Her to buy a real tree for lots of reasons, but I won't bore you with them...) we went to Astoria to the Broker who helped me find my apartment. All I can say is Liz is one of the most "New York-y" people I have ever met and she is hysterical- a bit crazy, but it's enjoyable without being scary. Anyway, another girl (Tamar) was there looking for an apartment around the same price range so we all piled into the car and went looking at about 5 apartments. Turns out she is from Detroit (yeah, Midwest!) and she was tons of fun. We laughed a lot and got to know one another and after the outing was over we went to an old hangout called McCann's. It is across the street from the first apartment I ever had in NYC and also the place I won a trip to Ireland from (found out they no longer do that). We all had a fabulous time together drinking, eating, and applying for cocktail waitress positions. Mere didn't, but Tamar and I did and we also were interviewed. It may be the perfect extra job if it works out- it would only be two nights a week. They would be long, 7pm to 4am, but they would help in the quest to afford my health insurance (I won't go into it because it makes me want to cry, but a healthy 30 year old who takes care of herself and has no major illnesses shouldn't be this expensive to cover. And that's all I'll say about that!) After leaving the bar and heading to the train we exchanged numbers and vowed to get together again. It was one of those New York moments that make living here so awesome!