Saturday, August 18, 2007

White New York City

Mr. New York City is a bright guy.


Mr. New York City is in his late 20's, and he is working for in the financial services at one of these famous boutique companies that everybody knows on the planet. He got the job just after his undergrad and worked very hard during the past 8 years to climb the social latter, doing everything and anything that a newbie had to do in order to make to the hotshot list.


After many months of hard work, sleeping barely 5 hours a night, working 6 and ¾ days per week, eating at restaurant all the time for lack of time to prepare a salad, taking cab to avoid long hour subway traffic jam, he finally had his new cubicle on the corner of the floor at the 29th floor. He made it. He is a big gun, and probably the only one from Provo, Utah, the only place in Utah place where you have more car than cow per miles square!


He remember the first day when he arrived at university, it was everything was too big for him, place, people, food, time, buildings. But today, his city is his sandbox. He knows where to go, at what time, what to order, when to not go, where is the best dry cleaner in Chinatown open at 3 AM, which serve the best Chili Con Carne in a Plain-butter Katy roll takeaway. He knows the place, it's his.


He has no friends. Not outside the office space. No girlfriend or plenty I would say. Dating became finally an outsource job that he contracted out to the wing girl association, it's not because he can't do it, it's because he doesn't have time for it. How can you seal a deal of multi million dollars and have 15 extra minutes for some girl-chatting. He doesn't have time to call his mum back home in Provo, Utah, so he outsourced it as well to the write-back-home service 24/7 in multi language.


He lost keeping in touch with his beer bodies when he join the company. He was teased about it, but he though he was smarter than anyone and he will fall into the classic trap of loosing contact because you don't have time. But he did. And piece by piece he had lost his best friends one after another to finally ended up talking more often to his doorman at his 30 storey building in downtown Manhattan. Nice place, big and cozy, with a flat screen TV, constantly plugged on blomberg.tv on mute control.


He became finally on of the 1.5 million permanent residents in the lower side of the island, with no preference whatsoever to go above the 3 digits line. No way will he cross the 99 street. No dating above that line either. Restaurant listing and cab fares are mainly the two topics he can relate with his colleague, not because they look to be bad people, neither does he. It's just because he doesn't have time. Look he doesn't have time to call his mum back home in Provo, Utah.


No friend is some sort of a good thing, because he is a serious man after all, he is living the life of many envious in the city of money, and friendship is some time investment. As a good analyst, he knows that a good investment is buying low and selling high, but friend always seems to be the opposite, stick when low, and change when high. This is a very volatile portfolio, with a high sub-prime back ratio on top of it. In other words, a few is good for him, not too many thing to remember and take care off.


Time is money, and money is power and power is good and good time is over. He will be happy later on in his life. He just put his self priority on hold for a while, and decided that he could be living the life of the greatest, one day when he will become his boss' boss. In 5 and ¾ years, if he makes his number he will have a chance to apply. His salary is officially fatter that his belly now he is using the rent-on-line your personal trainer 24/7 in Japanese (a smart way to improve his business Japanese while exercising).


Money was not the objective, maybe at the beginning, but as soon as your have what you need, what bothering making more. No money was the measurement of his sacrifice. No descent human being will put him or herself through that much pain without some compensation, and what better compensation than the Beautiful Liquid Cash.


He has enough for him, but not enough for his family that he dreams about he will have one day. He though once moving back home in Provo, Utah, but he was too much a city guy, he was missing the sweat, the noise, the color and the rage of the city of money to be able to do, He lack a serious motivation. When you only impact your personal life decisions are easy to make, no compromise possible.


No time, many girlfriends, many plastic cards and a lot of information in his head. Running around and around to find the best deal in town is his way of being the last of the jungle survivor. He sometime encounters himself as he was 8 years ago, fresh and naïve. He envies him just because he has to re discover the place again, the place that he likes being. He knows the amount of surprises and incongruous moments he will have to surpass to be a man in the place, and he wishes that he be that again.


No time, many girlfriends, many plastic cards, many info, and time passing by. He is now an old boy in town, people knows him at bar, restaurant and dance place. This is now a nice feeling to have the table ready for him before he makes a move. That always impress his dates when she pick the place and he knows the waiter in the house.


Thank to the newly impress-your-date service he just join, he can make a good impression almost instantly when he walks in the any public place. For 9.99$ he has a full report of the people in the selected place and a phone conversation with the designated waiter for the date, a pre kick-out meeting for the next day date.


He gives a lot to the city and the city gives it back, but he knows that this is the rule. The place is demanding, as much as he is.


He knows that he will not that life style for ever, and this is temporary. He is blowing a lot of cash, and he receives as well o lot of cash. Money goes money comes, Time goes time comes. He goes and he comes.


Don't be under the wrong impression, he likes his life, he enjoy the sacrifices he is making everyday. The world his coming to him on a constant basis, but this has a price. If you want to be the leading role, you have to work hard and learn your lines.


Mr. New York City is a bright guy a bit rough, but it's because he has no time to be nice.