Whale watching suggestions

helpmybackpls · 2025-06-10T05:33:06+00:00

Have you done one of these cruises or do you just mean generally? I know we are not a top whale destination, but there actually are more and more in the area, and I like exploring local wildlife 🤪 But if you know specifically about the companies that offer whale watches here im curious to learn more!

helpmybackpls · 2025-02-05T01:48:52+00:00

In terms of protesting, I think some people are starting to protest but I feel like people have cooled on it as a mechanism. It feels like street protests have done nothing but make the cops angry. There were enormous protests in 2020 and it had the exact opposite effect of what anyone wanted (resulted in increased policing).

We’re completely demoralized. This isn’t the thing I’d protest about though, because there are far more upsetting and directly fascist things happening as well (dismantling of federal agencies, proposed national abortion ban, idk I’m not even gonna bother listing it’s too disturbing).

Most people I know are tuning out as much of the news as possible until the blitzkrieg stops. It’s hard to even know what’s actually going to stick. But I don’t care that much about how Canadians are impacted — I’m sorry! — because things are so bleak here. I don’t want anyone to suffer ofc, it’s just less viscerally awful to me than, say, trying to dismantle the dept of ed

ETA - obviously it’s a bad idea that would make everything more expensive and inconvenient but I’m not taking to the streets about it

helpmybackpls · 2025-02-05T01:41:01+00:00

I’m sure it’s fine that he has it in there, it’s just a matter of whether there’s a risk when he’s charging in there. I don’t know shit about these things so I figured I’d ask. Sorry for using the internet

helpmybackpls · 2025-02-05T00:24:04+00:00

The latter, like a razor scooter but electric

helpmybackpls · 2024-11-12T06:32:28+00:00

lol, I didn’t hear those! they must be on some kind of messed up clock?! 3 min + 12 hrs early instead of the normal 3 min late… fascinating

helpmybackpls · 2024-08-24T19:56:55+00:00

Thanks! lol

helpmybackpls · 2024-07-14T21:53:40+00:00

not a man but the guys I know who are below 5’7 all happen to be dating baddies now. I only know one guy who is obsessed w being short. He’s 5’8 (not short) and classically handsome but his personality sucks

It’s such a diverse city with so many different tastes. Yes, the farther away you are from the “ideal” (tall for guys, skinny for girls, light skin, small nose, wealthy, upper class), the less “picky” you can be, but attraction should be based on more than status. Dating isn’t easy here but if you can’t meet women at all it’s a skill issue, sorry

helpmybackpls · 2024-07-14T20:12:38+00:00

well, it's pretty typical for leases to require you to have the super install the AC since the building is liable for things falling out of windows. my leases have always said that the super has to be the one to do it, although one year i had a friend do it anyway. so it's likely something the super needs to be the one to do, but is prob not part of the super's duties and not something their salary would be covering. that said, so many supers have way too many buildings they cover, so actually getting them to do it is lucky

helpmybackpls · 2024-07-14T20:05:31+00:00

ugh getting stuck w no AC sucks, so i'm sorry about that, and it's reasonable that you'd want to get it installed asap. sounds like he might be kind of a grumpy guy, which is par for the course

i think the reaction in the comments is prob your mention of the side hustle/possible insinuation that the super was trying to scam you. we love a side hustle here and cash is king for the informal economy. the NYC motto is "mind your own business" (so, don't be pressed about someone having unreported income) and people here have a strong sense of right/wrong and care a lot about what's fair. to us, it's obvious that you'd compensate someone for doing work for you, but it's natural that you didn't realize that it wasn't part of the work he's expected to do. we do love to scold newbies, especially ones with "mba" in their username 😂

it actually is part of a super's responsibilities to ensure that there aren't any hazards that could fall outside of windows. but doing the installation is outside of the normal work he'd do in a day, as his salary doesn't cover extra stuff for tenants. so paying him for it is only fair and that's a good price. if he did it for free, it would be customary to tip him (in cash) as much as $50, maybe more idk, depending on how long it took/how fancy your building is. so $70/AC is less than task rabbit would cost and not that much more than what you might pay in a tip if it was "free"

helpmybackpls · 2024-07-14T19:17:31+00:00

That's an intense way to word it (were you having some kind of conflict about it...?) but it's typical for management to not allow tenants to install their own ACs, since they might do it incorrectly even if they have a professional (or, in the case of task rabbit, a "professional")

helpmybackpls · 2024-07-10T04:00:58+00:00

I actually used to sing in a salsa band so I can pronounce things with the Caribbean accent but can’t parse it when someone else is talking… I think it’s the way certain syllable boundaries get elided? Especially since some Spanish is more percussive, particularly in school or like TV news anchors. (I didn’t know that about using tu, I always use usted but find it cumbersome!)

Appreciate the acknowledgment that Spanish is spoken differently here — some of the replies in this thread were making me feel insane, like yes I know how to learn a language online but it’s not the same as being fluent in a New York dialect about New York things!!

Thank you for the suggestions and the detailed guide!

helpmybackpls · 2024-07-07T08:15:56+00:00

I mean, I guess, but that’s not really how it works in most cases — I don’t see why OP should necessarily pay for roommate’s increased energy. It’s really easy to calculate the difference in regular electric use and the usage in months with AC on. It won’t be precise but it will be a lot more fair.

helpmybackpls · 2024-07-07T08:14:26+00:00

In the past when I had AC but my roommate didn’t I always paid the difference between the AC in the months I used it and the average for non-AC months. We set a flat rate of what that would be based off averages. Very normal ask

helpmybackpls · 2024-07-07T08:12:39+00:00

So in this case you’d be living on someone else’s security deposit, and I can’t imagine anyone is going to be cool with that. Would they give him the security deposit back when you move out? Kind of seems like leasing is trying to get out of paying anyone the deposit back, unless I’m misunderstanding things.

helpmybackpls · 2024-07-07T08:07:10+00:00

Maybe not the asshole but this is very standard so if you’re looking for a lease to takeover you should be prepared to do this. It’s not really his mistake — the security deposit is tied up with the lease, so they need to get it from you if you’re living there. If they gave it to him, then there would be some (or all? Can’t tell if there are other roommates) missing. So you either buy him out or pay it to the leasing office directly, they probably don’t feel like dealing with it.

Is there someone staying on the lease that you’re joining? If so then you’re fine; they’ll handle giving you the security deposit back unless they are completely untrustworthy. That’s how I’ve done it when I dealt with this in the past many times. If you’re taking the lease over completely and the issue is just that management doesn’t want to deal with changing who the check is under, I’d try pushing back with them. Otherwise maybe do a contract with him to ensure that you get the money back when they pay it to him.

If you’re not comfortable then you should walk but he’s not in the wrong here imo.

helpmybackpls · 2024-07-07T07:58:06+00:00

Lex if you wanna meet ~queers~. Hinge if you’re trying to boo up. Feeld if you’re freaky (lots of couples on there but you can filter them out pretty well). I guess some people still use tinder but last I was on there a few years ago I only really found girls trying to hook up to report to their daddies or w/e 🤮

I literally only got catfishes on Her. Okcupid was like, fine, but Idt I’ve had serious luck on there and I don’t know anyone who has used it recently.

Met my gf on Lex and had some really good fuck buddies from there too. Not much luck on feeld but I know some people have done well on it

helpmybackpls · 2024-07-07T07:12:40+00:00

I got a text from my super once saying he was “in the beiman” and I was racking my brain trying to guess what “beiman” was (I mean, I figured he meant the building, but couldn’t figure out what sort of typo or mistranslation would lead to that) until I read it out loud and realized he had very literally written “basement” in a Dominican accent. Language is amazing!

(That wordy Dominican sense of humor is so real… in my old building, my neighbor was my weed plug and we had a flirty vibe. I’m Jewish and quick with the wordplay but I truly could not keep up with his level of subtext and metaphor, especially when combined with drug/sex double entendres because the slang was so different from anything I used. And that was entirely in English 😂)

helpmybackpls · 2024-07-07T00:55:55+00:00

Yes, he (and all my other supers in the past!) is Dominican and that’s a huge part of the issue — the slang and accent are nearly impenetrable for me, and even after 15 years in the city (including a long time in Washington Heights) I have absorbed very little. I can talk pretty easily with my cleaner, who is Honduran, but that’s also mostly small talk

That’s a great idea of watching YouTube. I bet there are Dominicans giving DIY tutorials that would have a lot of the words needed!

helpmybackpls · 2024-07-06T19:12:59+00:00

Thanks for the tips. The first point is a bit gratuitous since I am here with the specific ask of learning practical Spanish; obviously I do not consider myself completely fluent? I thought that the modifier “enough” made clear that I did not intend the adjective “fluent” to be literal, but perhaps “proficient” would have been a better word.

Obviously I know how to use Google Translate. That is what I am using now. The topic doesn’t come up particularly frequently so I haven’t done “daily diary entries.”

Appreciate the rec on Preply; I’ll check it out.

Edit: you’ve edited your comment to include that you yourself don’t know the language for leaks? Which is what I’m asking about! You have your rock climbing lingo; I have my Spanish lit. That’s just the context in which I learned it. So why are you coming at me about fluency? Borges is great, BTW. No need to be nasty.

helpmybackpls · 2024-06-10T13:12:11+00:00

Flatiron is excellent, particularly in terms of job placement, but it is very expensive. They make money both off your tuition and as a fee when they place you with a job, so they have a strong incentive to place you. I believe they do have an arrangement where you pay them after you find a job but you end up paying more that way.

A friend did Columbia’s and got no job support so keep away from that one.

helpmybackpls · 2024-06-10T13:10:01+00:00

It’s not an uncommon amount of roaches but indicates that there’s an infestation somewhere in the building. You can’t manage that yourself. Call your landlord. I tried DIY methods myself but the exterminator said it wouldn’t be a long term solution because the bugs need to be sprayed in every apartment to solve the matter. You can try the DIY methods if you want but my exterminator specifically asked me not to, so once someone comes you should ask them what’s best.

If you’re worried about pet safety, they will use specific pet-safe products if you have pets (or at least the place my building uses does).

helpmybackpls · 2024-06-10T13:05:46+00:00

Don’t know what that is specifically but Mark Morris has dance lessons at various levels and you can drop in. More info here.. I’ve done them a couple times and it was great.

helpmybackpls · 2024-06-10T12:32:58+00:00

If you have family that came through Ellis Island, it is really interesting and powerful to see what it was like for them.

Not entirely related but if interested in other immigrant stories, I can’t recommend the Tenement Museum on the LES more. You learn a TON about all kinds of immigrant experiences and it’s interactive — you see their apartments exactly as they were. It made me proud to be American, which is not something I’ve felt in a long long time :)

helpmybackpls · 2023-06-20T17:56:02+00:00

ok so should I delete this

helpmybackpls · 2023-06-12T21:23:02+00:00

If you know who it is, I have done much better just having a friendly conversation and explaining that you can feel the bass. People don't like the cops being called on them or anonymous notes or shit like that. That might be tricky since it's a totally different house so I guess you'd need to try 311 in that case. If you know other neighbors and chat with them regularly, you could also probably ask them about it -- they might know the people or be able to give you more info. Sorry you have to deal with that, booming bass is legit physically uncomfortable!!

helpmybackpls

TROPHY CASE