Money, Stress, TFOMO

Posted by Nick Martinez in New York Nick

photo by Trodel on Flickr

New York is expensive. This is a given fact that everyone knows, regardless if they have ever personally visited the city. Manhattan is especially guilty of this. My dad likes to tell a story about when he visited a friend here in the late ’90s. His friend was a street vendor who operated in Brooklyn. One day my dad helped him move all his wares across the East River and up by Midtown. Suddenly that knockoff Gucci purse went from $20 to $40.

The price of everything jumps in New York. I sweat bullets every time I realize it’s time to go grocery shopping. Too many times it’s 6 p.m. and I realize I haven’t eaten yet. Thankfully, 2 Brothers Pizza is there to save the day at a $1 a slice.

If you look a certain way, though, there are advantages to my lack of income. Every week for my newspaper internship, I have to do Man on the Street coverage. This entails me standing on a street corner or walking down the street, stopping people, and asking them a question of the week.

“Excuse me ma’am can I ask you a quick question?”

“I’m sorry, I’m in a hurry.”

That’s a popular response.

“Excuse me sir, can I ask you a quick question?”

“You just did.”

Touché.

At first I would take the subway to the Upper West Side, Upper East Side or Downtown, ask my questions, and ride the subway back. Now, I walk. I walk a lot. Sometimes, I take the train up to West Harlem at 125^th Street, then canvas my way back to Chelsea, where I live, at 29^th Street. Other times I take the train to East 80^th Street, cross central, then make my way back. You get the picture. It’s a ton of walking. And that’s only one day of the week, not including my courier duties and my own personal exploration.

The combination of me skipping meals and walking so much has been great for dropping some pounds. It’s not exactly healthy, but hey, I’ve never been healthy anyways. At least I’m using unhealthiness for good!

But, for me, the biggest problem that a lack of money brings is The Fear of Missing Out. I’m not sure if this is a modern phenomenon or not, but I have it. I’m not 21, so when my friends hit the NYU bars to see if they can spot Zach and Cody, I’m missing out. When they go to the top of 30 Rock, but it’s more than $30 a head, I’m missing out.

It points to how spoiled I am for me to be complaining about this, especially considering the actual poverty and destitution I’ve witnessed covering stories for Straus. Fuck it, let’s call a spade a spade.

Dial 1-800-776-4566 to donate to the Nick Martinez Foundation for Beer Money and Other Essentials.

Creative Writing major Nick Martinez is spending a semester in the New York Arts Program. You can read more of his adventures here.