9:06am - After a crowded and uneventful train ride into midtown, I receive my first free New York newspaper - AM New York. It's nothing special, and in fact, most people seem to take them just to throw them away. It's cool to live in a city with a free morning paper, though. I head to Madison Square Garden with Josh, and as he goes into work he leaves me with a, "go get lost in the city and I'll see you here at noon."
9:20am - I head into Penn Station and get an application for the Starbuck's there. As I used to work for one in Pittsburgh, and as there are 170 in the Manhattan area, I figure it's a good place to start the job search with.
11:03am - Walking down 6th Ave. I see a man handing out fliers for "jobs." I take one, figuring it can't hurt, go to move on and he begins asking me questions. The conversation goes something like this:
Job Man: "Hey, my man, you think you can handle security work?"
Me: "Uh, sure."
Job Man: "Are you looking for full or part time?"
Me: "Uh, anything, really."
Job Man: "Full time. You ever been in trouble with the law?"
Me: "No."
Job Man: "You have any previous security experience?"
Me: "No."
Job Man: "That's alright, we can train you and get your security license for a small fee of $80. Is that ok?"
Me: "Today it's not, no."
Job Man: [pulls out clipboard] "That's ok, too. What's your name and phone number?"
Me: [I give him both]
Job Man: "I'm-a have my boss call you tonite between 5 and 9. He'll set up an interview with you for any time you're available. Bring your ID, Social Security [card], and the $80 - Cash, money order, cashier's check, debit or credit card - no personal checks."
Me: "Uh, ok. What's your name?"
Job Man: "I'm Mr. Cisco", [shakes hand].
Me: "Ok, thanks."
I walked away and into a Bank of America on 6th and Broadway.
11:07am - I check my balance with the teller at BOA to see fi my mom got my e-mail about floating me $20 until my unemployment comes in. She hasn't.
11:10am - I call my mom to see if she's checked her e-mail. She has and will give me some money later today. I talk to my little brother and sister. My brother asks me, "Have you been to Manhattan, yet? I tell him, "I'm actually calling you from Manhattan right now." He thinks I'm cool.
11:14am - I make my way down to 7th Ave. (aka - Fashion Ave.) and walk to 39th St. where I come across another Starbuck's. I go in and start filling out an application.
11:45am - I decide to wait until I meet up with Josh at noon to turn in my most recent application as he's bringing me copies of my resume and cover letter. Not remembering how quick the walk is, I leave this Starbuck's and head out to meet him.
11:49am - The walk was faster than I anticipated, so I decide to stop into the nearby McDonald's and grab some grub off the dollar menu for Josh and I. I order 4 items and the cashier says, "$7.87." I look at her and say, "Oh, you don't have a dollar menu here?" She says, "no", and I tell her ot forget the order.
11:51am - Right outside the McDonald's, at the intersection of 34th and 7th, an older, Korean woman stumbles and falls in the middle of the intersection. I rush up and grab her by her right arm and help her up and out of the way of traffic. She thanks me. Later I wonder what would have happened had that McDonald's had a dollar menu.
12:01pm - I meet up with Josh who delivers my resumes and cover letters. He even hit "auto staple" on the copier. He is a god among men.
12:40pm - Josh goes back to work and text messages me the phone number for two temp agencies. I snag my first hot dog from a vendor and head back to 39tha nd 7th with my resume and cover letter to add to my application. I turn them in and call the temp agencies who both tell me to e-mail my resume to them.
1:12pm - I leave Starbuck's and make my way towards Times Square.
1:15pm - Jesus Fuck Christ! Everything's gigantic and blinking! Can I have an epileptic seizure without a history of epilepsy? What the --- Is that a giant, almost life-sized, red lobster a top the Red Lobster sign??? This is like Disneyworld on bad acid and business classes. I need to get out of here. Oooh! The Cingular store! Pretty phones...
1:34pm: I make my way towards the H & M store on 33rd and 7th and do some window shopping for a bit.
1:58pm - A man on the street asks, "Sir, can I ask you a question?" I look at him blankly as I keep walking. He repeats himself and this time I say, "no." He asked two already.
2:04pm: I head to the Borders Book Store at Madison Square Garden and ask for an application. They too tell me to submit my application and resume online. I head upstairs to the cafe to put my bag down and look through some paperwork.
3:30pm - It's nice outside today, yet every store I go into feels like the heat is still on. I feel myself starting to doze, so I decide it's time to check my bank account and see if I can buy a Red Bull. I get to the BOA across the street and check my balance with a teller again. My mom put $40 in my account when I only asked her for $20. Woot!
4:47pm - After an uneventful ride back to Brooklyn with Josh, I'm still having the hankering for some McDonald's, and with my new found riches, I decide to splurge as I feel my phone vibrate with a text message. This McDonald's has a dollar menu, but nothing with beef is on it, so I go with a #4 combo. When I get my drink it's in a plastic bag which I find odd and useless. I leave the plastic bag on the counter and head back to Josh's place.
5:05pm - I get back to Josh's apartment and go to check my text message only to find out it was actually a missed call and a new voicemail. It turns out to be the store manager with the Starbuck's at 39th and 7th in midtown, and he wants an interview with me. I call him back, and we set up a time for the interview. I've been in the city for just over 25 hours.
6pm - After dinner I check my e-mail and see a response from a girl I talked with about a Park Slope apartment in March. She tells me she's set on roommates, but that she'll keep her eyes and ears open for me. Even if it turns out to be an empty promise, it's still a nice thing to have said to you by a relative stranger.
