Live from New York... it's Thursday Night!

Thursday, November 05, 2009

Hey peeps. It's 11:30 PM here in NYC, and as has been the case the last couple of weeks, falling asleep is difficult. It's not unusual in the sense that I've got a lot going on and a lot of thoughts fighting for attention in my mind... but compared with an average night, it is unusual. And so I've brewed some tea and decided to write a bit.

First, an update on all the official stuff... I've got movers booked. They'll be carting away my things on the 19th and arriving at my as-of-yet-unidentified apartment on December 5th. I'm heading out to Seattle next weekend (14th-16th) to apartment shop in the Capitol Hill neighborhood downtown, and have made several appointments with buildings I'd like to check out. (I'm rooting for the brand spanking new one with a rooftop lounge complete with pool table.) I get back to NYC on the 17th, and have the 18th to finish up packing things for the movers on the 19th... and then it's time to start bidding a fond farewell to the people and places that have made this city into one I'm glad to have lived in. I'll head up to CT to meet up with my friend Justin the night of the 22nd, and on the 23rd we begin our big adventure westward. Our first stop will be picking up the few items left in my apartment in Brooklyn, and then we're off to Tucson for Thanksgiving. Then it's up the west coast until we arrive in Seattle on the 30th. The next day, December 1, I begin the new job...!

Now, on to the less official thoughts that have been developing in my head over the last couple weeks... More than anything else, I've been pondering over how my perceptions of NYC have changed with time - namely that even a city as big as this one can begin to feel small after a while. I remember the first time I visited here in 2005 - how nervous I was about getting to Astoria. I practically clung to another passenger on the train in from Connecticut, frantically asking questions about where to go and how to transfer between subway lines. I remember riding the subway, wondering if people could tell just by looking at me that I wasn't from here... I also remember my first time coming to Brooklyn. It felt so far; like I was on the subway for hours. Nowadays that first part of Brooklyn I experienced, so far away, is only the halfway point between my office and apartment. Perhaps familiarity makes a place feel smaller - like there are fewer surprises left up its sleeves and fewer reasons to keep my eyes open. Perhaps I only saw the tip of the iceberg before making the decision to leave. Who knows?

Now is probably a good time to admit that I'm secretly and guiltily excited about getting a car sometime in the near future... being able to get around without one is awesome and what not, but only as long as one doesn't want to go anywhere that isn't the city. This is no good for me, because getting out of here every now and then has been a crucial part of maintaining my questionable sanity.

I believe that NYC is an example of how certain manners and polite behaviors are forgotten when you simply have too many people in not enough space. It encompasses most of the senses - sights, sounds, smells, touches... normal rules just don't apply here, and I've never bought into that. Maybe a couple of years of enforcing Quiet Hours in a dorm left an imprint on me, but I still cannot fathom how easily people invade one another's space with loud music... dogs barking... people screaming... The term 'personal space' need not apply here. I guess if you have no choice but to stick your nose into someone else's back, hair or armpit enough times on the subway, eventually you say, "To hell with it," and stop trying to be nice. People come and go as they please, and it is your responsibility to work around them - no matter how egregious their actions. Defensive driving... defensive walking. This, I shall not miss.

I've learned enough about this city that I will look forward to visiting, seeing the people I want to see, and then leaving for a home where I don't feel so hardened and bombarded.

And on that note, I think I'm getting tired enough to try zonking out...