Week 4 - The cost of living... it up!

When I made the committment to plant myself in New York City for three months to look for work, during which time I would most likely be unwaged, I knew there would be significant costs associated with the move: pack the house; cover mortgage repayments while I secure tenants; sell the car; refinance; buy an air ticket; drink my wine collection and give away the few remaining bottles; sublet an apartment in Manhattan and pay three months rent upfront ($3000 US per month - I knew you'd ask). Believe it or not, one of the most difficult challenges was deciding what, of my worldly possessions, to pack into my two compact suitcases!

It wasn't until I got to the greatest city in the world that I really began to understand the true cost of living in this heaving metropolis. At face value, food and clothing is similar or even cheaper than in Australia. A movie will cost you $11, a Broadway show can cost anywhere from $45 to $110, a museum tour will be around $15 and unlimited rides on the subway is $80 a month. The real fun in shopping is finding the in-the-know discount places where you can purchase just about anything you need, if you don't mind last season's stock.

I have to admit though that I am well and truly shopped out and have exceeded my optimum tolerance level for the usual sightseeing adventures of a short-stay tourist, so this week I started looking at other ways to fill my time.

I read in Time Out magazine that Donald Trump was launching his new book at Trump Tower on Thursday. (I was one of the few Australians that kept The Apprentice ratings high enough for the television show to air at ridiculously late Monday timeslots, so I am quite a fan of his.) At a guess I'd say that around 200 people showed up to hear Mr Trump's 30-minute interview about his successes, with reference to the book "Think Big and Kick Ass in business and in life". Having just thought big and kicked ass in my own life, I was very inspired by what he had to say.

But what about the hair? What would it cost me to get a close up of that tousle of foliage that has been the focus of so media attention for the past couple of years? I bought a copy of the book for $25 and stood in the slow-moving line to have it signed by the author. As I waited, I got talking to a young guy who works in finance at an office nearby. He looked around the foyer of Trump Tower and said "Could you imagine owning a building like this in New York City?", to which I replied "Yes, that's why I'm standing in this line".

Mr Trump was surrounded by flunkies, each of whom had their own little job to do to progress the queue. One person to cruise the crowd to ensure we all had the book open to the correct page; one person to take the book from us when we got close enough to the Don; another person to say when we could move forward to greet the man; and a whole bunch of others that, well, I don't know what they did, but they looked good.

Then, at last. My $25 investment was about to pay off. I couldn't wait to get a close-up of the hair and write back home about it! I shuffled along to stand in front of the seated MrTrump and for a second was so excited and overwhelmed that I just beamed a smile. He looked up and... wait a minute... did he just double-take? I have to say, it was no wonder given that males outnumbered females by about 4:1. He said "Where are you from?". In hindsight, he would probably have been more impressed with a more Nordic response than "Ustraylia". Eyes down and signing my book, he replied with "home of Rupert Murdoch". For fear of exposing anything other than my serious business reasons for being there, I kept any mention of Jennifer Hawkins at bay.

After 30 seconds or so, I walked away blissfully happy with my autographed purchase. Oh crikey!!! THE HAIR!!! I was so caught up in the moment that I forgot to look. But hey, it just cost me less than $1 a second to meet the man and I got a free book. I guess the hair will have to wait until my next encounter. Anyway, to be honest, the solarium tan is far more distracting.

So what other extreme pleasures did I discover this week about living in Manhattan? The romance and beauty of the outdoor skating rinks at Rockefeller Center and Central Park. I have only ever seen these spectacles in the movies so to see them up close is a dream come true. And one more item that I can add to my list of budget outings.

I hope that this week coming will take me one big step closer to employment in NYC. I have my eyes firmly set on one job in particular, so keep your fingers crossed and your good thoughts coming.

Until next time, think big and kick ass.

Kaylie
P.S. For my fellow performers, my singing lessons here are $100 an hour! But I do get a Steinway in an off-Broadway studio, and a former Broadway performer for a teacher. Sweet.