Welcome to New York. Love, Rivkah.


November 6th. Three days in New York, so far. Sunday, I move into my new apartment.

What a harrowing journey this last month was. And yet, what a blessed one. Never have I felt more the breath of G*d lingering over my shoulder. Yes, it was a lot of work getting here. Yes, is there still work yet to be done. But every bend and corner, every hill and valley, no matter how steep, has never been too sharp or too steep to get around again.

I’m in Windsor Terrace right now. A little cafe called The Oak and the Iris. Coffee is a dollar thirty-five, sixty cents cheaper than anywhere in Austin. The barista speaks broken English, and half the conversations around me I’d need a translator to interpret.  It’s a brisk, sunny 65 F out, and the coffee is delicious.

Six months ago, I made a decision that I would move to New York. I needed comics and I needed friends. This move from the college town I grew up in to one of the most populous, diverse cities on earth has helped me to realize that I need never be truly stuck. If I find myself in the mire, I can swim free again. I needn’t fear stagnation or despair.

So how appropriate to have my first set of keys in my pocket with the key chain given to me that says simply:  New York.

Welcome to the next stage. Welcome to the place I can never say I didn’t have the opportunities. Welcome to my new home.

This is going to be a fascinating journey, and I hope a few of you who’ve seen my posts wane over the course of the last few years will stick around to watch, be it on livejournal, twitter, facebook, flickr, or the face of my new site and blog (mucho tweaking to follow). But no matter what happens, this chica is going to finish another book and get published again. I hope you’ll enjoy it.

Love and Kisses,
Rivkah.

35 Comments


35 Comments

  1. ali_wildgoose  •  Nov 6, 2009 @3:31 pm

    HAH! You're about a ten minute walk from me. I live right next to the southeastern corner of Prospect Park.

    Let me know if you ever want to grab a coffee and chat about freelancing/comics/Brooklyn/etc — I work from home most days, and wouldn't mind the company and the excuse to leave the house. <3

  2. goraina  •  Nov 6, 2009 @3:55 pm

    I was gonna say the same thing, but I'll just leach off of Ali's post here, 'cause, yeah! If you want to grab lunch or dinner soon, or even come over for a home-cooked meal, just holler! (Offer goes out to you too, Miss Wilgus!) We're all a subway ride away. :)

  3. whune  •  Nov 6, 2009 @4:12 pm

    *thumbs up*

    all the best on your new journey

  4. comic_heroine  •  Nov 6, 2009 @4:15 pm

    Fantastic. Definitely wishing you the best in this! :)

  5. violetjimjams  •  Nov 6, 2009 @4:18 pm

    Good wishes your way!

    *sigh* I'd love to move to New York.

  6. elae  •  Nov 6, 2009 @4:25 pm

    Hope everything goes your way, Rivkah. :) Good luck making the big city home!

  7. cetriya  •  Nov 6, 2009 @4:34 pm

    yeah I cant wait to move my self.

    by the way, I think you have 'relative' placement on your site because of my full screen ratio things are misalign and only work if I srink the size of my browser.

    Photobucket

    see what i mean?

  8. fayeyong  •  Nov 6, 2009 @5:06 pm

    WOOT Congratulations on getting to New York. Have a great time living there and of course, stay safe!

  9. lilrivkah  •  Nov 6, 2009 @5:27 pm

    Thanks for the head's up! Just fixed part of it so at least the text is on the page. Working on the columns now. :)

  10. cetriya  •  Nov 6, 2009 @6:09 pm

    yep it works well now

  11. nervousystem  •  Nov 6, 2009 @6:17 pm

    Welcome to NY!

  12. Anonymous  •  Nov 6, 2009 @6:48 pm

    Congratulations!!!

    Your hard work and ability to plan plans are a great inspiration to me.
    Thanks for sharing your journey and process!

    Good luck with everything New York!

  13. lisalees  •  Nov 6, 2009 @7:00 pm

    I'm eagerly waiting to read your next book!

  14. rsjr  •  Nov 7, 2009 @5:18 am

    You're just in time for this:
    http://kingconbrooklyn.com/

  15. trowa  •  Nov 7, 2009 @8:16 am

    yeah! Welcome to NY. just in time to see the Yankees take it again.

  16. minakokenshou  •  Nov 7, 2009 @9:11 am

    Congrats!

    Added you on twitter and flickr. :>

  17. Anonymous  •  Nov 8, 2009 @2:52 am

    I'm a native Brooklynite. Though I'm in Georgia to finish my schoolin'. There is a great Moroccan place across the street from Holy Name Church/School. It's a bit of a hole in the wall but they usually have a sandwich board out on the sidewalk during lunch. I have to recommend it to ya if you're over there.

  18. lilrivkah  •  Nov 9, 2009 @9:01 am

    Once I get a little more settled in, I'll be taking you up on this! :)

  19. lilrivkah  •  Nov 9, 2009 @9:02 am

    I'd love to grab a cup of coffee sometime! <3!

  20. lilrivkah  •  Nov 9, 2009 @9:03 am

    Thank you! I'm looking forward to the road ahead. :)

  21. lilrivkah  •  Nov 9, 2009 @9:04 am

    Where do you live now?

  22. lilrivkah  •  Nov 9, 2009 @9:06 am

    Thank you! Oddly, it already feels like home. There've been a few scary moments where I felt I was in the wrong part of town, but even so, I don't feel out of place and nothing feels foreign. If anything, from what I've seen so far, Brooklyn feels more familiar than Austin ever did. There's an interesting sort of logic to how this city is laid out and common sense to how people act that just make sense.

  23. lilrivkah  •  Nov 9, 2009 @9:06 am

    Do the buttons on the left still nest over each other like they do in your screenshot, or did the previous adjust fix that?

  24. lilrivkah  •  Nov 9, 2009 @9:07 am

    And hey! Now England is just a short plane ride away! <3!

  25. lilrivkah  •  Nov 9, 2009 @9:07 am

    (hugs) Thank you! So far I'm lovin' it!

  26. lilrivkah  •  Nov 9, 2009 @9:08 am

    (hugs) Thank you for sharing that. All I can do is just keep trying my best and never give up.

  27. lilrivkah  •  Nov 9, 2009 @9:09 am

    It'll be a bit because it's a long one, but that's at least part of what the move is for. <3

  28. lilrivkah  •  Nov 9, 2009 @9:10 am

    Ah! Dangit! Just missed it. I'd have been a basketcase if I'd tried to make it though, anyway. I spent all Sunday just getting my room in enough of a working order to be livable. It's scarily empty, though. ;_; Maybe next convention, I can at least find some art for the walls.

  29. lilrivkah  •  Nov 9, 2009 @9:10 am

    If only I liked baseball! But hey, I can still root for 'em. ;)

  30. lilrivkah  •  Nov 9, 2009 @9:13 am

    Woo! Thanks Lindsay! Add you back. Hopefully there'll be some artses soon, too. :)

    Btw, if you're ever in the New York area, you're welcome to crash here. I should have a decent bed in a few weeks, and that means I'll have an air mattress to spare. Plus, there's two futons in the living room and my roomies are perfectly cool with friends crashing here. So, if you're ever contemplating a visit, don't hesitate to ask!

  31. lilrivkah  •  Nov 9, 2009 @9:14 am

    Mmm. Hole in the wall places always seem to have the best food. I remember seeing it, so I'll make sure to check it out! Thanks!

  32. lilrivkah  •  Nov 9, 2009 @9:14 am

    Yeay! Thank you! (hugs)

  33. cetriya  •  Nov 9, 2009 @11:34 am

    yeah, it doesnt do that on IE but does in Opera but IE doesnt seem to read the special font

  34. violetjimjams  •  Nov 9, 2009 @12:38 pm

    Las Vegas, NV. Of course, I also live with my family still, since I'm not working full time yet, and probably wouldn't live on my wages, anyway.

  35. minakokenshou  •  Nov 11, 2009 @11:10 am

    Aww, thanks. :) As it so happens, I recently registered for an artist alley table for NYCC next year. Not sure if my application will be approved, but if it is, I'll need a place to stay, and would definitely love to take you up on your offer. :) I'll let you know what happens.

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