New York

An assessment of today, a look at what I have achieved so far since coming to America. It is eye-opening and intriguing to consider where I came from and where I am now.

 

Thoughts run deep

Crucially it is a time to remember the real reasons I left a fairly cozy life in England and chose the challenge of making a life for myself in a whole new country. I was fully expecting it to be difficult, and have so far been proved correct with the tough times encountered and many obstacles to overcome.

Above all, I am happy, I keep a positive attitude at all times, even when things have been and are bad, I chose to bound over any set-back with a leap and a smile on my face. This has been the most valuable of all things that I have taught myself. It really does make things bearable. My motto or personal philosophy has evolved from telling myself “Everything will be OK”, to a more charged “Onwards and upwards!”.

In the nature of this self-reflecting post, I am pleased to share with readers a BBC radio interview that I partook in just before actually flying over here, almost 6 months ago. I have mentioned the interview in this blog before, but I only had it in tape form and no hardware means to convert it to a digital counterpart to put on here. That is until recently, my Uncle in Berlin was good enough to do the conversion for me and send me a CD. You may now hear it too by clicking on the little player below.

BBC Radio Interview

Listening to myself speak hither and thither about the dreams and aspirations I had back then, it dawns on me that they are still very much the truth, my passion is music, I am a composer and am happiest with a guitar in my lap and leaning over to tweak the soundscapes on the computer.

The realisation however that I have done next to nothing to actually put forth into action these aspirations, get myself into situations that would put me in a position to pursue my dreams did come as a bit of a shock and wake-up call. Why am I wasting my time trying to find gainful employment in fields that are only at best my 2nd, 3rd or even 4th hierarchal interest. This is New York, where dreams can come true. Where I am allowed to create such an opportunity for myself to live the life I want. There is all and everything in this little corner of the East US coast, should you look for it, you will find the things you require to play out your lifes passions. I haven’t been seeking such things till now, it is time to go hunting. What prize will I catch?

Has it been that long?

Wow, your eyes are not deceiving you, I am back, still surviving and here to tell you about my internship at Palm Pictures

Palm Pictures HQ Entrance

I have been here almost for three months now, all of them have been Read the rest of this entry »

These days, I’m constantly tired it seems. It’s 8:27pm here and I’m already shattered and thinking of reheating a frozen slice of pizza before packing in and calling it a night.

I’ve been trekking all over the city and procuring elite subway navigation skills. Sometimes fully laden down as needed in my laptop-in-a-rucksack ways, or otherwise with no burden and with a sprightly step.

Sometimes I have a camera with me, sometimes no, but I always make sure to appreciate any deserving moment, and I tell myself “That’s beautiful”. It happens a lot, especially at twilight, when the skyscrapers awaken and the windows of light freckle up. I’ll try and capture a shot like that soon so it may be shared with you all.

Oh, and I’ve been experimenting with panoramas somewhat too.

Walking under Franklin D Roosevelt Driveway, Brooklyn’s way over there! Aaaar.

I went over to Brooklyn to visit my mother’s old art teacher from her days at Pratt Institute, that was enjoyable, took photos, ended weirdly. Have to write that up here too.

It’s not just the insatiable furlongs of walking that are tiring but also this internship lark, PLUS a full-time continued search for PAID work. Bah, I suppose I shall have to vent about that in the following blog post won’t I?

I have to tell you, after a heavy days work interning, passing through the high-tech security (with a nod from the elevator porter) and exiting the posh high-rise office building (which also homes the likes of Google and up-scale design firms), and then heading to the Seaport Public Welfare Assistance center and applying for benefits plus temporary financial help feels really… weird.

Alright, so hey, enough pottering about and hibernating in Vermont…

View from Chucks house, Plush snow

Pretty as it is, I’ve decided to take a big leap and get back to the hustling, bustling New York City with the sole purpose of finding work/career/a life to call my very own.

I’m in a very privileged position and have contacts in Manhattan that I am able to stay with while I find some grounding. In emergancies I can also retreat to Long Island where my Grandparents seem happy to see me. Being in the actual city environment for an extended period of time should offer many more doors to me that I wouldn’t otherwise get in the isolation of Vermont.

In fact the cue to get down to the city would to be due to an eager response to one of the internships that I applied for using the same ‘warped-prose-cover-letter’ that I showed you all in the previous blog posting. This company were quite impressed enough to demand that I come down to their office to see them as soon as possible. OK, so this wasn’t a paid opportunity but it’s crucial experience, great for the resume and may lead to some stable employment. The company had a great website and seemed to be producing/distributing really interesting films, documentaries and music. I really liked vibe they had going. Check it out mmmkay:

http://www.palmpictures.com

 

I decided to take the plunge and come straight away to take up on this offer. I would potentially be able to find and take on some part-time paid work at the same time as internships are generally flexible with only 2-3 days a weeks work expected of you. You are volunteering to work/slave away for no pay after all..

Excellent, excellent, with some trepidation I make the first few steps to financial security…

I first did manage to squeeze in a visit to Karl & Susan, where we

Read the rest of this entry »

Aaah,  I thought I would be going to Times Square again or something for the count-down to New Years Eve, however I read some articles in the papers that were essentially ’survival guides’ for the Times Square celebrations and I realised just how crammed and jam-packed the place is going to be.  Apparently once you’re there, you get penned in and cannot leave until midnight rolls by.  Add to that the large amount of security (mandatory rucksack searching by police) and the fact that the ‘bow tie’ area where they actually drop 7,000 pounds of confetti on the crowds gets totally filled up by 6pm.  Meaning that you wouldn’t actually see anything if you turn up later except maybe if you’re lucky enough to get a view of one of the large television screen…  Well not quite my idea of fun tonight,  especially on my lonesome.

So instead, I choose to practise my music theory in the relative peace and quiet of my Grandparents basement.  I run through the modes I’ve learnt on my newly acquired Yamaha Pacifica guitar.   Yes I have bought an electric guitar, finally I do my late-night recording sessions that I have missed so dearly.   Plugged straight into my Sound Interface Keyboard, and that into the Laptop, I can play and record in silence (thanks to headphones) in the early hours.   I will share with you here the good recordings as they happen!
Oh and the classic Marx Brothers movies are playing all night on public television so I might catch one of those too.

A happy new year to all and sundry.

My father announced that he was going down to New York to help his parents out for the holiday through to the New Year. I’d been meaning to visit my Grandparents on my previous trips up and down however I kept missing or skipping the opportunity. So it felt high time to go see them and help my father out some too.

So in my father’s truck we hurried down on the weekend before Christmas, I took with me my laptop, a new MIDI controller keyboard that I had ordered a week previous and some hard-drives full of music-making related material.

It was nice to be back in the little house of Merrick, NY. Mmm Suburbia. Much of the neighbourhood had attempted to out-do each other by filling their front lawn with assortments of kitschy inflatable snowmen, plastic raindeer and grotesque santas, their homes were lined with industrial-sized fairy lights and had transformed front yards into shining beacons of cheesy festiveness. It all seemed embarrassing to me in regard to the mild weather. Not a snow-flake in-sight.

I haven’t been outside of the house since Read the rest of this entry »

Hurrah, I got one! Indeed, I was there at Times Square NYC taking in the atmosphere and also getting to grips with navigating around the city blocks. When I gave it some thought, the grid layout was actually pretty convenient, so long as you knew the two intersecting streets, you could locate any place in the city.

Osa had met me at Penn Station because she was coming from her other house in Long Island. We walked down to Times Square which is just a few blocks from the Station and my first Wii sighting was this:

 

Wii at Toys R Us at Times Square

Couldn’t miss that eh? This was the Read the rest of this entry »

Indeedy, my travel adventures have been coming thick and fast, in fact it’s been a struggle to keep up-to-date on the blog. Too much happens in too short a time period. I’m constantly playing catch up but I hope to manage it.

I’ve gotten myself to Washington DC and will be going to NYC again tomorrow. There shall be more posts shortly to fill in the Florida gaps but I thought I would make a different type of post today.

One of my interests has always been computer gaming and this weekend sees the launch of two new next-generation consoles. The Playstation 3 and my personal favourite the Nintendo Wii.

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.. (do I have to grow up just yet?)

Since I will be in New York tomorrow, I’m going to go attend the big launch party at Toys ‘R Us, Times Square NYC. There will be acrobats, live music, pyrotechnics and more. It is said that Reggie Fils-Aime, the funny looking/acting chief marketing officer of Nintendo,will be there to hand out the first Wiis to the lucky gaming public.

Reggie of Ninty!

I’m gonna go along, snap some photos and take in the atmosphere for the night. I might even snap up a Wii if there will be enough to go around.

So, check back soon when I will post up my experiences and shots from the event. Should be fun!

P.S

I am writing more entries on my laptop than what you see on the site here, but having trouble uploading them… stay with me folks, a lot of cool stuff coming your way as soon as I can muster it all.

P.P.S

Am I allowed to put a P.S before a post? Shouldn’t it be B.S? Would people take offence at that? Pr.S? P.P.S?? Ooooh the acronymage.

P.P.S.S

Hi friends,

So, what happened after I tried to get some shut eye in New York City Penn Station?

Well I managed about 3 hours of snoozing and awoke with time to spare before my train was due. Got a fruit smoothie to wake me up (almost as good as coffee but nicer) and also decided to purchase a couple books to read since I had a 14 hour journey ahead of me.

Train arrived on time and left about 5 minutes later with me settled on-board.

I attempted to catch up some more on lost sleep and dozed on and off through out the journey. When I awoke hungry, I ate the sandwhich and snacks that I had purchased at the same time as fruit smoothieness. Read quite far into my first book which, set in the near future, was about an autistic man who has been offered a treatment for his condition but it may change the very essence of who he is.. should he go for it?

Pretty good book, nothing fanciful in the language or narration but there is a bit of drama to keep things chugging along. A pretty good insight into what it must be like to be autistic, I’m always interested to see how other people cope with their own disabilities. The book is called “The Speed of Dark ” by Elizabeth Moon.

The Amtrak train took a long time.. however I enjoyed watching the scenery change. Whenever I awoke from a doze, the light had changed, the foliage had changed colour and the types of environment we passed was always shifting.

As we hit South Carolina and eventually Georgia, suddenly lush green junglelike shrubbery was everywhere and white sand, palm trees! My gosh, how dramatic the change, and yet it’s the same country, just passing along the East Coast..

The train was over 2 hours late in the end. It rolled into Savannah station close to 11pm, I had been sat in the same seat for 16 hours.. I stepped out into the warm evening and stretched my legs.

Concerned that my hosts were worried, I made for a payphone but was interrupted by an older black dude asking I needed a taxi, yes I decided, unsure if it was worth walking the indicated (on my GPS PDA navigation set-up) 3 miles at night.

Black dude drove me faithfully to the address I had been given and as I got my bags out, my friend from my fresher years at Teesside University stood waiting on the porch.

I felt tired and happy.

To elaborate, the reason for my severe delay in finishing the rest of the Montreal blog postings can be attributed to the frantic headrush of the past 2 weeks that have seen me tackling the huge logistics of an extended Florida trip.

If you can recall, I have been asked to pick up a van for a company and drive it back some 1500 miles to Vermont. I have decided to go ahead with this because I would be paid for my time, have the travel costs covered, get an opportunity to do some real-life US State-wide driving and also visit a large number of friends, family or relatives.

In order to visit relatives in a timely manner, I requested if I could get a paid Amtrak rail pass to chuff along the East Coast and make stop overs to visit people possible. Luckily the company agreed.

The huge logistics problem came about when I realised that I would have the mammoth task of coordinating a rally of visits with about 25-30 odd people that I have addresses and invitations for all the way down to Florida. I would need to schedule a day or two for each person and work out which Amtrak station is closest and if I need a Greyhound from there or not. Then I would need to check which days were suitable with everyone and make sure that it all lined up with the minimum of ‘backtracking’ up the railways.

Whew.

I think I’ve pretty much accomplished a good array of dates all one after the other which succeed their way down the East Coast.

My plans are:

WAY DOWN (Amtrak Train & Greyhound Bus)

Vermont - A ride down with my host Chuck as he had to go to NYC anyway

New York - Visit a friend of my mothers living on Mulberry Street, China Town in Manhattan.

South Carolina - My distant cousin who lives in UK but has a work placement for a year in the US

Savannah - My old hall mate from the first year at University who went to the States to do a different course

Florida - Visit a large number of relatives who have settled up and down the length of Florida

PICK UP VAN, DRIVE BACK UP

Stop off at any of the above who will be free to have me again

plus

Washington D.C - My cousin who I visited 3 years ago also

New York - My grandparents in Long Island.

Vermont - Drop off van and work out how to get a lift back home!

Thus it commences!

“Entering NYC”, a gull watches the cars pass under its domain

What happens now?

Read the rest of this entry »

Hewwo!

I’m afraid this isn’t quite the next Montreal post because I’m sat here at Penn Station NYC, laptop out typing away at 11:19pm in the Amtrak patron waiting lounge.

For the time being I will put up the rest of the photos I took with the ‘Non-Camera’ and hope to return to elaborate on the whole trip some more in the near future. This will give me a chance to write up the more recent and cruxing developments (see newer posts).

Essentially, I stayed with Michael and his partner Reajanne. They took me out to dinner that first evening but a headache came upon me most viciously and I started to feel queasy eating the posh french food. I had to eventually apologise and leave off eating any of the dinner. Took it home with me in a doggy bag, went straight to bed. Following day I got a chance to look around Montreal as Michael drove me around some. Then I was taken too….

*Enter pictures*

The Montreal Biodome (zoo) also where the Olympic Stadium resides.

Fishies and Gawkers

Birdies. (Or rather people watching the birdies). Note the ‘faux sky’, would inspire anyone to go on a humanitarian animal wellfare crusade.

My favourites! The cute penguins!

Then we went to the Chalet also in close proximity to one of Michaels Sons; Shawn who has a nice little family of his own..

Me. ‘Chaleting’

Michael reads a story (in slight monotone) to his Grandson; Liam.

Went back the following day to Montreal where I got to see a nice view that I made into a dodgy panorama.

Montreal (can you spot the Biodome/Olympic Stadium?)

Then Michael took me to his other son; Dylan and his partner; Sophia.

“Sophia, Vic (a friend of theirs) and Dylan

I liked Dylan, he was on the same wavelength as me and not nessacarily because he owned a hemp shop but he is quite interested in family history like me. That evening we went to a vegatarian restaurant and then a strip club(!), both equally quite new experiences for me.

It was a very short stay, especially with Dylan and Sophia but I have been invited back. I hope to take them up on the offer.

Blitzed back down to Vermont on the Greyhound whereupon I immediately started organising my Florida trip.. So, onto another post then.

 

The reason for my severe delay in finishing the rest of the Montreal blog postings can be attributed to the frantic headrush of the past 2 weeks that have seen me tackling the huge logistics of an extended Florida trip.

If you can recall, I have been asked to pick up a van for a company and drive it back some 1500 miles to Vermont. I have decided to go ahead with this because I would be paid for my time, have the travel costs covered, get an opportunity to do some real-life US State-wide driving and also visit a large number of friends, family or relatives.

In order to visit relatives in a timely manner, I requested if I could get a paid Amtrak rail pass to chuff along the East Coast and make stop overs to visit people possible. Luckily the company agreed.

The huge logistics problem came about when I realised that I would have the mammoth task of coordinating a rally of visits with about 25-30 odd people that I have addresses and invitations for all the way down to Florida. I would need to schedule a day or two for each person and work out which Amtrak station is closest and if I need a Greyhound from there or not. Then I would need to check which days were suitable with everyone and make sure that it all lined up with the minimum of ‘backtracking’ up the railways.

Whew.

I think I’ve pretty much accomplished a good array of dates all one after the other which succeed their way down the East Coast.

My plans are:

WAY DOWN (Amtrak Train & Greyhound Bus)

Vermont - A ride down with my host Chuck as he had to go to NYC anyway

New York - Visit a friend of my mothers living on Mulberry Street, China Town in Manhatten.

South Carolina - My distant cousin who lives in UK but has a work placement for a year in the US

Savannah - My old hallmate from the first year at University who went to the States to do a different course

Florida - Visit a large number of relatives who have settled up and down the length of Florida

PICK UP VAN, DRIVE UP

Stop off at any of the above who will be free to have me again

plus

Washington D.C - My cousin who I visited 3 years ago also

New York - My grandparents in Long Island.

Vermont - Drop off van and work out how to get a lift back home!

I’m sat here again at my Grandpas PC and my father seems to be cooking something interesting (judging by the smell). Pretty hungry too, not eaten since breakfast this morning and it is now 8:23pm!  My dad is mostly vegetarian which means a lot of tofu, broccoli, chickpeas and beans of various sort but he cooks ‘em well and so it’s usually a nice wholesome meal.

My mother incidentally is also pretty much a vegetarian these days as well but her cooking often results in some sort of vegetable mush concoction, usually tasty but odd looking.

Anyhow,  so yes, a couple days ago there was a pretty big storm blowing over Long Island, there were winds of up to 50mph in some cases, it didn’t rain torrents but everything got a nice refreshing douse of it.

I enjoyed watching the trees blow around in the wind and sat outside on the porch for a short while to watch the show.  Then the power went out and I returned inside to see my father and grandparents scrambling around in the darkness for torches and candles.  It took them a moment to realise that just opening the blinds on the windows would solve the darkness problem but as it was getting dark pretty quickly we stacked up all the flashlights we could find and tested their batteries.

Then we realised that we wouldn’t be able to cook any food without power so my father and I drove off quickly to the ‘Stop and Shop’ supermarket to buy some ready-cooked food.  On the way twigs and small branches were falling from their trees all over the road and some banged down on the car, fun stuff!  We also passed a huge tree that had fallen across the front lawn, narrowly missing the house behind,  the storm certainly was shaking the place down.  

** Ooh dinner is now ready.. to be continued then.. **

Read the rest of this entry »

OK, now that the storm has abated today and the skies are clear with the sunlight streaming in through the window-blinds I can attempt to resume recollecting where I left off previously.

N.B This post has nothing to do with fox-hunting.

Right, well yes, as I was saying, Americans live in a big place, do things in a big way and have big personalities (most of the time).  There, see, that pretty much gets to the point (see I am capable of short musing too).

I have several days to catch up on so I’ll try and be quick,  photos would have helped the briefness (worth a million words and whatnot) but I still haven’t had a chance to purchase a camera yet. Hoping to rectify such matters pronto..

3 Days Ago:

My father and I went bank-hunting to enquire about the best place to transfer my English funds to a dollar account so that I may begin buying items for my journey.  The three prominant nation-wide banks with good internet banking facilities were, ‘Bank of America’, ‘CitiBank’ and ‘Chase’.  Of the three, considering my needs, I had a good feeling about CitiBank… Mmmm.

After the bank bashing, my father drove me to ‘Long Island Art College’ whilst I munched on a Raab Deli Sandwich (tasty if slightly soggy).

I spotted a music shop on the way which meant that we had to stop first and have a look.  My father being a musician also means such occurances are likely.

Nothing much to report on from that particular ‘Guitar Center’ except that I could name all the guitarists postered up in big on their windows, and the keyboard selection was pretty good.

Back to College!  My father wanted to drop in to his old art school and see if his old pal was working today.  He was! Thus I met Frank the potter; currently head of the pottery department, he shared the same name, height and taste for art as my dad.

Seemed like a nice guy and briefly started telling me that his daughter had left for 6 months in Italy to study and so was in the same boat as my mother, unfortunately his cell (mobile) phone rang and our discussion was cut off prematurely.  I managed to have a longer chat with a couple of his students who were apparently “always around” even though the new term wasn’t due to start till the following Tuesday.

I was shown a pretty nifty kiln that had been constructed by the students and teachers themselves out of clay. A large spider with an obvious affinity for smoke and fumes had also taken it’s resident spot close by. I suspect it will be unfortunately evicted from his home sometime next week by a broom-wielding student potter girl with a nervous disposition.

Drove back home through a wooded ”Well-to-do neighbourhood” according to my father.  I had to agree, these were pretty needlessly large homes..

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Well here I am typing away at my Grandfathers PC,  it’s like an AOL Haven with just about every single bit of AOL software installed that exists.  I daresay the PC is just about holding up with it though, I guess I’ve never been much of a fan though.

I am staying with my Grandparents here in Long Island, NY.  Typical American Suburbia; grid-locked streets, masses of ‘Stop’ signs and arrays of cozy houses, many donning the Stars and Stripes flag with pride.

There are so many small and subtle differences to life in the US compared with the UK that it can be a little overwhelming.  I was here merely 3 years ago and yet it still is quite the culture-shock.   I suppose many of those outside America will have already been treated to the gist of patriotic gusto and borderline brash outwardness of the people thanks to the media, films and television, all showing a slice and key-hole glimpse to this countrys lifestyle but it still is the uncountable small things that can take a lot of getting used to.

The toilets are a good example,  for in the UK and most of the European places visited the basins are filled with only a small amount of water,  whereas the US toilets are topped to at least nearly half to three-quarters full which always makes me wary of taking ones dangly bits skinnydipping each time one takes a seat.  I suppose water-conservation isn’t such a high priority here.

It’s not just heartily filled toilet bowls but everything in this country seems to stand for excess, the Americans do things BIG.  Huge cars, trucks and SUVs (sports utility vehicles, aka 4×4s) with their huge tanks to fill.  Huge roads to drive them on, there is so much space here.  Foods and drinks come in their extra-extra large sizes,  I’ve never seen fruit and veg so big, apples the size of melons, melons the size of pigs! It makes me feel like I’ve shrunk back down to being 6 years old again..

Oooer,  OK it looks like I shall have to cut this blog entry short for now,  a storm is just getting started here in Merrick,  50mph winds are predicted in places, gosh.  Time to turn off the PC.

More to come later then folks! I’m off to hunker down with a hot drink.

-myles