Leaving New York

Total Black: $3,010.01
Total Red: $238,487.55

The day has arrived.  My last in New York.  And what a ride.  I arrived back at my mother’s house around 11pm.

Movers arrived this morning around 9am.  I mentioned in Last Night in New York that I upgraded to have the movers pack everything for me.  That’s one decision I will not regret.  They worked until after noon to get everything packed and loaded.  And, as often goes with movers, despite a flat rate—it ended up costing me a bit more because I had many more boxes than I could have predicted.  Damn near sixty.  And, of course, I paid the movers directly: two hundred in cash and had my mother give them another $120 when they finished unloading the furniture.  The other option was to have the moving company charge me.  I preferred that the actual workers get the money.

While the movers were packing, I ran to the pet store to purchase two airline approved carry-on cases.  Luckily my next-door neighbor, quite literally the next door to my apartment, found someone willing to take the fish I had in the aquarium.  I shudder to think of what might have happened otherwise.  I actually could not fall asleep last night worrying about that damn fish tank and fearing I’d end up a fish killer.  Next-door neighbor also took a few pieces of furniture as did a neighbor below me.  Next-door Neighbor is the same who had called the ambulance for me, back in A Day Without a Post.  I was happy that he could, once again, come to the rescue, so to speak.

Everything finally came together.  The movers packed me.  I picked up the cat carry-ons.  The fish found a new home (at least as far as I know.)  Some of my furniture found a new home as well and the other items, like my mattress got trashed—after the bedbugs episode, I wasn’t offering those to anyone.  And, after all that, I left to pick up the rental car and drove myself over to the contract attorney position to put in nearly three and a half hours at the contract attorney position.  Wrapped up as much there as I could.  Said my good-byes to Office Manager.  That was difficult.  She’s been the closest friend I’ve had these past few months.  And the past few months felt much longer than a few months.  I will miss her.

After putting in those few hours at the contract attorney position, I drove to Brooklyn to drop off the pro bono client’s files with the co-counsel I mentioned in One Last Loose End.  He agreed to take over the pro bono client’s case—at least in so far as he can handle next steps and/or the client agrees, of course.  On Friday, while talking with the other contract attorney, I hit upon what I hope will be a good solution for the pro bono client: the Legal Aid Society.  While I was at the law firm, we received her case through the Legal Aid Society.  So I put in a call to the woman who had helped on with her case before my law firm got involved.  I don’t see why the Legal Aid Society couldn’t put out another call to New York-area law firms for someone to take over her case and see it to completion.  All assuming the client agrees.  In all honest, I think that would be the best solution.  For the time being, Co-Counsel has the files.  I’ll have to email the client next week.  I had thought I’d be able to call her today but unfortunately that just didn’t happen.

After I dropped off the files and chatted a bit with Co-Counsel, I drove back to the apartment to load the car with my suitcases, the cats, and whatever else was left behind that I needed to bring with me.  I cleaned up the apartment as best I could and then hit the road.

Typically in the past when I’ve moved out, I had strong moments of nostalgia: final glances around the space, touching various places one last time, remembering a special moment or two.  This time that didn’t happen.  At all.  I closed that door and didn’t look back.  I was just too happy to leave New York and all that’s happened behind me.  I didn’t stop to say good-bye.  So let me do it here.

Good-bye New York.
Good-bye to dodging dog shit on my walk to work and vomit on my way home at night.
Good-bye to seeing the same homeless people in the same place day after day.
Good-bye to trying to get past wandering tourists and New Yorkers who insist on walking three-at-a-time down a sidewalk that can barely fit one.
Good-bye to crazy contract attorneys.
Good-bye to that slightly vacant, askance look only Chelsea fags give, making you feel invisible as you walk by and shamed for looking in their direction.
Good-bye to rude, angry black people on Brooklyn bound subways who act as if it’s still 1953.
Good-bye to arrogant and tedious Midwestern girls looking for sex in the city.
Good-bye to unsympathetic landlords and their ruthless management companies.
Good-bye to bedbugs.
Good-bye to breaking my balls to barely make ends meet.
Good-bye New York.

.

I’ll probably be back some day.