New York

Well, I'm all moved in. Eight million people in this city, and now I'm one of them. Squeezed into a fourth floor walk-up studio in Harlem. That's the only way we can all fit. Mencken said the way of life up here is that of a "sardine in a can." I agree. Right now, I feel like a sardine in a can that someone left on the dashboard of a car with the windows rolled up on an Ozone Action Day.

Not much time to write at the moment, but I do have some good stories. One involves telling off some preppy Wall Street type--really, this guy was like a villain from a John Hughes movie, just straight-up Teddy from One Crazy Summer. I just had to do it. Wanker.

Lots of wonderful people here, too. Last week, I bought a computer desk from someone off Craigslist without any real plan for getting it back uptown. I put it in the trunk of a cab, but the lid wouldn't close. Fortunately, the cable guy double parked in front of us saw the problem and cut off a length of cable to tie the lid down. Voila.

It really is difficult at first to get yourself settled here, but everyone else has also been through it, so they are willing to help you out. Like when I brought the U-Haul up here, I backed into some guy as I was trying to get into the spot. After giving me the business--"Hey, buddy, you look at both mirrors or only one?"--he just drove off, not seeming to mind another dent in his van. Then the super walked out into the street to direct traffic and wave me in.

Anyway, more to come...