The Unbearable Banishment: we're movin' on up

Saturday, November 22, 2008

we're movin' on up

As I mentioned yesterday, I spent this week on a razor’s edge worrying about my job, so after work last night I met Nurse H for a badly needed libation. I met her on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Although I lived in New York City for two solid decades, I spent very little time on the Upper East Side. I lived in downtown Brooklyn and the Lower East Side, so 23rd Street felt like uptown to me.

The Upper East Side has always been one of the safest neighborhoods in the city. Consequently, a lot of single women live there. It was a long subway ride from where I lived and the only time I took the 6 train was when I dated someone from up yonder. Plus, it wasn’t my kind of energy. It was (is, always has been, always will be) monied and I never had any, so I felt out of place there. But the homes are incredibly beautiful.

In the early 1990s, I met a girl who I thought was the love of my life, but she didn’t see it that way. When I walk up 3rd Avenue near 91st Street I’m reminded of those happy/sad days.

Nurse H and I met at JG Melon which is a BAR bar on 3rd and 74th.


We're in December-budget-crunch mode so we sought out something reasonable which, in NYC, can be quite a challenge. It was windy and frigid out, so there would be no pleasant strolling down the Avenue. After drinks and a bowl of chili (perfect for a cold winter’s evening) we hustled to the nearest movie theater to watch 007 go through his painful motions. It’s going to be a long, long time until they make a Bond movie that’s as good as Casino Royal. Movie ticket = $12.50. Small popcorn + small soda = $10.50. So much for the budget crunch.

4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

it's just cool to say "upper east side"... in my little burg, that's about 5 houses!

will be in NYC for a night in Dec - staying with a friend at the Ritz Carlton (not on my dime!). may pick your brain for a good place to go out for a drink within walking distance...

November 22, 2008 at 8:54 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

it's a given that every city has it's own version of your "upper east side"... ours here in The Wilds is way out of my ballpark as well. I'm just trying to figure out where the hell the money is coming from for people to be able to afford these place...

...and still waiting to see the latest Bond...

November 22, 2008 at 10:31 PM  
Blogger The Unbearable Banishment said...

daisy: Just a night? But New York is such a big city! Well, you're staying in the right house.

gnu: Upper East Side is so choked with old wealth that it's immune to fluctuations in the economy.

Go see 007 but keep your expectations in check. Wish like hell I looked like Daniel Craig.

November 23, 2008 at 4:14 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Believe it or night, even with all the old money, you can probably get the most real estate bang for your buck on the Upper East Side of Manhattan (at least east of 3rd Ave).

November 24, 2008 at 5:05 PM  

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