My apartment

With the arrival of the couch my apartment is finally finished. Here are some pictures so you can have an idea. My warmest thanks to Sean who helped me with the couch two days in a row.

Red Sox-Yankees

I went to the ballgame today. Red Sox-Yankees, the two richest teams in the league and with a rivalry only comparable to Barça-Madrid. Even though the Yankees won 5-0, they are five games behind the Sox in the stands, with the playoffs waiting ahead in October. Most likely the Sox are in, while the Yankees are fighting for dear life in the wild card. We have a very interesting last month of the season ahead of us.

Jamón and chorizo in the Lower East Side

There is a gourmet food store in Boston, Formaggio Kitchen (244 Huron Ave, Cambridge), where I used to get my jamón, chorizo and cheese when I lived there. In my trip two weeks ago, I bought enough to fill my pantry, but I found out that they have a branch in New York, Formaggio Essex. I went there today to check it out, and it's really worth it. If you are interested in buying quality Spanish sausages and cold cuts, go to the Essex Street Market (120 Essex St) and you'll find them.

By the look of the picture, you would think you are in any Castilian butchery, and not in the Lower East Side in Manhattan.

First day of class

Today was the first day of class in my College. It's always charming to see the students on their first day, with their new backpacks, looking for their classes :) A lost girl this morning had missed her way and asked me: "Excuse me, which way it is to campus? It's my first day." This picture is the view from my office window, where you can see the building across (Shepard Hall) and all students walking on campus. What a change from last week, where campus was totally deserted.

Charlie Parker Jazz Festival

As I promised a few days ago, we went to the Marcus Garvey Park to check out the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival. I know you can't see much in the picture, but hey, that's the best I can do with my phone camera.

We've seen a band play for a while (the first song they played was Autumn Leaves), but the most interesting thing was the crowd. There was a middle-aged couple with a green parrot. But I found this family very charming, with the kid sleeping on top of his father.

In New York there's also top manta

[top manta is the name that in Spain is used for the vendors of pirated movies and CDs on the street, on top of blankets (mantas)]

I... must... resist...

This morning I was wandering around and I entered one of those joints which will spell my doom: the Apple store on Fifth Avenue :) This is the ultimate Apple store, open 24 hours a day, it contains everything Apple and related stuff.

The store is underground actually, the only thing which is above street level is the transparent cube you see in the picture, but when you enter there is this huge basement bustling with people. Although most of them are tourists checking their e-mail.

Ant the star device is, of course, the iPhone. It's amazing. It's a combination of cell phone, Ipod and WiFi terminal. I have been debating with myself whether I should buy one as soon as it came out. There's two versions: 4GB and 8GB, which cost $499 and $599 respectively. If that were all I would have bought it already, but on top of it you have to sign for two years with AT&T, at the price of 59.99 a month (the cheapest plan), and all of this plus taxes, which are several of them in the AT&T bill. But that's not all, because since I am here only for six months, when I leave I would have to pay a penalty for early termination (like 175 dollars). So all together it would be well over a grand, and I think that's not worth it, no matter how cool. But oh, it's soooo cool... It's a technology marvel, phone, WiFi and ipod, great aesthetics, incredible. I am still resisting, but... it's... hard... very... hard... I... must... be... strong... and... resist...