SFPC: Day 13 - Two New Yorks

Rainy and cold today. Got some good reading and project managing done today. Productive day today.

Still thinking about Ramsey’s class today. I’ve decided to really attack my ignorance when it comes to the concepts of computing. My weapons are reading and practice. I will emerge victorious or die trying. Maybe there is a Valhalla for would-be programmers, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

It was raining when Ramsey arrived before class yesterday, and, as he was drying off, he declared(paraphrasing):

“There are two New Yorks: the ‘why would anyone live here?’ version and the ‘why would anyone live anywhere else?’. We’re in the part where it’s transitioning from one to the other.”

It’s going to start getting cold, real cold. Brutal weather, from living here I know, I remember. I’m just trying to accumulate warm clothing and good habits and momentum while I can, so that I can endure the winter without too much tribulation.

I do plan to go back to Dallas, TX for Christmas, but after that plan to come back to NYC. I need to find a more-permanent place to live. Not looking forward to coming back for the worst part of Winter, but honestly, there’s no other place I’d rather be.

Short post today. Here's been my day so far:

• Breakfast at the Whole Foods on Houston. Read some of: Digital Harmony, by John Whitney; Uncreative Writing, by Kenneth Goldsmith, 97 Things Every Programmer Should Know, edited by Kevlin Henney.

From Uncreative Writing:

• Bought a new notebook at the stationery store on W. 3rd St. by NYU. Love that place.

• Walked through Washington Square Park(abbreviated as WSP).

• At WSP, happened upon a hut. Alone in the hut was a young man about my age named Shmuel. He was from Montreal and we talked about hockey and weather. The hut was apparently put there for Sukkot, which is apparently one of the most important Jewish holidays of the year. He invited me to an Orthodox Judaism party on 770 Eastern Parkway. Another young Jewish guy from Colorado happened upon the hut while we were talking and both of them talked about this Orthodox Sukkot party - which happens for 6 hours a day Saturday through Monday - and agreed that it would be a rowdy and memorable introduction to Jewish holiday customs.

You can actually see the hut if you look closely at the image below. It’s the small leafy building to the right of the group of people in front of the fountain.

• And then I bought a sweet blue and white flannel shirt at the Goodwill on W. 8th.
• Made it back to SFPC and now I’m writing this blog post. It’s 3pm.

The rest of the day I plan to start a project study(got my Trello up and working again - so important for the 10+ project ideas I want to explore), do some freelance work, and read, read, read. Maybe I’ll make dinner later. I’m spending too much money here. I need one of those high-paying programming jobs, stat.

For Lunch: Rice and black beans at SFPC.

For Dinner: Probably cook pasta at home.

New Photo Work:

“an abstract and conceptual map of New York City”

“One of Stephen’s Drawings”