Blackmail and Bribes

THought you would like that catchy title. Last night, I admitted to my mother that i was thinking about going back to school. I'm making plans to take the GRE and the LSAT, see how I do, and start applying to schools. I've realized that being in grad school would beat the heck out of working for the salary I'm currently earning. in doing that, my mom said she hoped I was planning on coming back to North Carolina for school and taking advantage of the cheap in-state tuition. When I said that I was planning on staying up here for school, she became upset, claiming that she hoped I was ready and willing to only do it at night and on weekends because those were my options. I can see where she's coming from in that UNC would be a heck of a lot cheaper than NYU, but one of my fears is getting caught up in living down there and not being able to move back to NYC after it's all said and done. Plus New York has some great colleges and universities all over the place that I should be taking advantage of.

Then, she said they were going to give away the latest kitten that has appeared in our lives. When I said I wanted to take her, Mom once again tried to bargain with me, claiming that if i moved back to North Carolina I could have her. Which is ridiculous, to try to sucker your daughter back to a place where she wasn't so successful because you want her to be close to you and your dying relatives. I don't think so. I'm still working out a way to get her up to New York and have also started prepping for that. I've never thought that cats were a bad thing, but apparently my parents fear becoming the "cat people" who will end up with like 50. I prefer sticking to a couple here and there.

So I'm really settling in here. I know I haven't been here long enough to go back home. That's for sure. And I know that I love it, which is enough to make me happy. Walking to work today I realized that I had survived December and January in a Northern climate, completely different than the 60 degree climate i'm used to. I don't expect I'll always live in the city- something seems depressing about dying in an apartment, but beyond that, I love walking to work every day in the cold, crisp air (when it's not raining or snowing or humid and cold, which is possible) and waking up to the sounds and sights of a city that is constantly changing. There are always stores opening and closing. It seems incredibly optimistic to me to rent a place in SoHo and try to make a go of selling your clothing or jewelry or whatever. This is the most specific place i've lived since I lived overseas. You have literally the baker, the butcher, and the candlestick maker. You go to stores that just sell men's bathing suits, for instance, and stores that only have a certain kind of shoe or bag. There are umbrella stores and parka stores and everything you can imagine. It does nothing but make this a more magical place. Kind of like living in a small French village that has 10 million of your closest friend and is, at least sometimes, rudely American.

Essentially what I'm getting to is that I'm at the point where I can't be bribed out. I'm researching graduate opportunities so I can stay. So I can live in a place where there is a guy who will fix my heel for five dollars- across the street. Where I can say good morning to the dogs that I see on my walk and the preschoolers off to play for hte day, with no idea that there is anything out there other than this. THey have no idea that they could be living in houses with yards and fences and SUVs parked out front and instead are wrapped up in the trendy, lovely world, of New York city. It is very much like the snowglobes that are everywhere in mid-town. Which is what I love about it.