but we're never gonna survive....unless we get a little crazy

ok so one of the major things that have been on my mind is not work but furniture. when you are setting up your own place you are allowed to go as mad as you want and become as creative as you want of course within your own budget. of course this is adding constant pressure on urself coz you really do want to find the perfect chair, the perfect table and not only do you want it, but you want it cheap too. and as previously explained there are no arbitrage opportunities.

well anyway i bought a rug for my living room/bedroom/study (all 3 in one) (refer to below pigeon hole story). i went pretty mad and drove the sales person mad too. but he obliged me and beared all my nakhras. after i went home, i opened it and flattened it out and didnt like it. and went back immediately. he wasnt least bit surprised to see me, in fact looked positively happy like he expected me to return for the other rug that i was confused about. then we discussed the rugs and thank God i liked the second one better, or it would have been embarassing to return back with the same rug.

i always tend to ask the sales person their opinion. i guess i need the reassurance that im doing the "right" thing. more often than not they point me towards the more expensive one, and sometimes they have really bad taste which i would immediately veto. despite all that i always try and ask someone their opinion. especially if its an expensive thing. so i can always blame the sales person if no one likes it. hahah. just kidding.

so neway heres something else ive noticed. neighbourhoods change by the street. i.e within a few steps. one can be living in a really good safe neighbourhood and in the next block the area is quite dicey and isnt as safe. the outer look of a building may be horrendous and look like its from the 1920's but when you walk inside its almost as if you are in a hotel. im not kidding. when i was looking for apts, the broker showed me a studio in the five story walkup building where the chairman of a big bank lives. and apparently hes renting too. why in the world will someone with so much money rent? they can just buy the whole building! when i asked that, the broker was like oh they are smart they dont want to waste their money on a crap building!! so basically its crappy to buy but its OK to live in! weirdd..


neway manhtattan reminds me so much of mumbai in many ways. in dubai not many rich people will take the bus but here there are a lot of well off people here who take the bus. its very interesting to see these extremes live so close together and for the most part they get along.

other observations: small family owned businesses like restaurants thrive in manhattan, there is almost an unsaid rejection of bigger chain like restaurnts like cheesecake factory or bigger firms like a walmart and target. (major departmental stores). and of course with family owned business comes bargaining, you can bargain a lot here. you also tend to pay a lot for convenience, its evident that regular household things would cost more in a smaller shop than say a huge departmental store (coz of the whole buying in bulk reducing cost thing).

but strangely enough this extends to food and groceries too. the same newspaper in my neighbouhood convenience store costs more than the same newspaper in the subway. this is a first for me, in dubai certain things (bread, eggs, milk etc) have the same price throughout the country. should their not be a control on this??

but like many a places and among all the age groups one thing remains constant. the increasing number of happy faces when today was declared a good friday and most pple had half day off. some kids on my floor have decorated the whole floor with stickers of rabbits and easter eggs. the excitement is quite contagious and i hope the kids have lot of fun and eat a lot of chocolate =)