New York seems like a million years ago.

I've been living in New Mexico three weeks now and New York already feels like a lifetime ago.   It's hard to regret the move in any way with the likable things about NYC being replaced by such a better standard of living.   Shopping at Sam's Club is surreal and buying a giant bottle of Bailey's for $22 seemed like the stuff of dreams only a few weeks ago.  I've been eating real pork tamales nonstop and there's nothing like rainbow trout straight out of the river.  New York can't supply either of these.   There was no culture shock upon my arrival as many expected, more of a return to normalcy after more than a decade of unrest.   Life is quieter and I can get to my destination without waiting for a train or bus.  It's also nice to have the option to paint my condo without the repercussion of losing a deposit somewhere down the line.

This pace isn't for everyone as some people might find a town of 72,000 excessively boring.  After living amongst eight million people (that's seven million people PLUS another million) for such a long time, I welcome the boredom.   The air is clean, the beauty is unending and the sky is different every night.  Here are some various pics of the adventure so far.

My entering the state from the viewpoint of one 14-foot Uhaul.  

My girlfriend is driving my eBay purchased Toyota mini-SUV ahead of me.

I managed to get my girlfriend into my armor.   She looks wonderful.

What I loved and hated about NYC in one short article.

If you haven't heard of Improv Everywhere, allow me to shortly describe whose these people are.   Basically, a group of artists get together and pull various harmless pranks on the city.   Just about every event they organize is brilliant.   For instance, they'll get a bunch of fat guys to walk inside Abercrombie and Fitch and remove their shirts, obviously poking fun at the shirtless idiots Abercrombie constantly has walking around its store.   Another stunt involved fifty or so people at once heading into Best Buy wearing blue shirts and khaki pants.

More recently, Improv Everywhere spray painted this graphic onto a Fifth Avenue sidewalk, garnering much attention.

I love this.   I think it is clever and most people found it quite amusing.   No harm done, except for maybe a little vandalism.  No biggie.   However, upon reading about the prank in the New York Daily News, I read this quote, "Real New Yorkers don't notice crap like this," said Rolando Gilbride, 33, of Brooklyn.  "We don't look down when we walk.  We look forward."

What a total prick job.  I generally try to stay away from name calling, but this guy deserves it.  Get over yourself.

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/05/20/2010-05-20_lane_just_for_tourists_spices_up_fifth_ave.html

Perfect timing

I couldn't have picked a better time to move out of New York and I think my always changing landscape was as big as of an incentive as any.   Here was my wonderful view in my last apartment in NYC.

Here is a picture from the same viewpoint upon my last day before leaving.