Today was moving day. I had been at my East Village apartment for a year. And while I loved the village, having lived in the West Village for eight months before moving east, I've always wanted to live at elevation. Since there are no mountains in NYC, that meant finding a high-rise, and for that you go uptown. I think maybe it's because the bedrock is better up here. Or maybe they didn't get around to building uptown until the skyscraper concept was perfected. Not sure. But if you look at the skyline, you'll see there's a cluster of very tall buildings downtown, then a big gap where all there is is the Empire State Building, and then from the 40s to the 90s it's a huge block of very tall buildings. I'm in one of them!

The other reason I wanted to be uptown is so that I could cycle in the park. Living downtown and especially on the east side, meant that 20 minutes of every daily ride was spent getting to and from the bike trail. And that meant riding in city traffic. I am getting proficient at it, but I am a total novice compared to some of the delivery guys. But now at least they mock me. Until recently I didn't even rate a mention. I've come a long way in my city riding skills. New York riding toughens you up. But I'm still an amateur in awe of the pros. And when I'm not riding I worry. I tell myself this time you're not going to shave a few seconds off the red light, and then I proceed to do it anyway. Or I won't ride in the wrong direction on Fourth Avenue when the lights are going the other way, but don't you know I do that too.

Now my ride will begin in the park and end in the park, with just a very small number of city blocks inbetween. And in the winter, which hopefully at some time we will see here in NY (it's still very warm) I can walk in the park. And get lunch at Zabar's. And who knows what else there is to do.

One thing I notice right off the top. It's a lot quieter here. The East Village was a teeny bit more sane, noise-wise than the West Village. But you really couldn't sleep with the windows open. And forget about getting through the night from Thursday through Saturday. I actually got used to waking up at around 2AM and not getting to sleep till almost dawn while the drunks had their party on the streets below. Now there might be drunks on the street, but I doubt if I will hear them. They're too far away!

I'm also within easy walking distance from a transportation hub, the Columbus Circle subway station. From there, you can get pretty much anywhere with one change. Even the East Side. And it's just a few blocks to get to the famous Fifth Avenue Apple Store. What else could a nice geek hope for?

One more thing, that's likely to be very bad for me (so I'll do it in moderation). The Carnegie Deli actually delivers to the new place. Just had half a pastrami on rye. So big I could only eat half. But what a pastrami! Mama mia! (Translated: Oy gevilt!)

 10/17/2011; 7:31:30 PM.   .