Summer 2008.
Twenty years old.
Summer after year one at Hofstra University.
Two person flat in Queens, Astoria with Michael LaFem.
Two months before we get kicked out of the apartment at the end of the lease.
The week of final exams, I made a spur of the moment decision. Instead of returning home to Ohio--where my family provides a lovely two story home, quaint but on the water with a lovely view of the sunset, no charge for rent and food gratis, and where I had numerous jobs lined up--I decided to stay in an itty-bitty living space in Queens, Astoria with horrendously high rent. Oh, and without any plan for a job.
Within two weeks of moving in, I was waitressing part time at Florio's Restaurant and Cigar Shop in Little Italy, selling art in Union Square Park, and working from my computer, collaborating with two Hoftra students for an environmental proposal that we were projecting.
Florio's was by far the most interesting establishment in which I have ever worked.
Brief Overview:
Florio's is owned by "Italians" who have lived in Little Italy all of their lives (and speak very little Italian.) There was one Italian waiter from Bari, the rest Moldavians, the entire kitchen was Mexican, and me, the token American from the midwest. The restaurant was on Grand Street, just off of Mullberry, so rather than being hit by the bulk of the tourists, a good portion of our crowd were regulars. Many faces I saw numerous times a week, which made for a very welcoming atmosphere.
Florio's entire kitchen was Mexican: the position of any worker depended on his English skills. I, naturally, was a novelty with my blond hair and my "golden" arm hair, and got lots of practice speaking spanish.
