a new direction (or maybe several old ones)

I just got really excited about November 11, 2011. Maybe I should focus on something more attainable, though, like October 10, 2010. Now there’s a reasonable date. Or, how about April 10? That's the one. Onward!

A week and two days has passed since I arrived in Brooklyn – at the beginning of a new year and so much more for me. It didn’t take long to feel a spark of hope for 2010. Even this new decade shows promise, ten years that will largely be defined by my generation. Deluded? I don't think so. Diluted? Maybe. To understand the progression of people and ideas through space over time is not a claim I am willing to make here. I’m just saying this period of time is ours to persuade. Just sayin…but enough of the abstract.

I think at this point it would be good to lay out a new structure for this blog, to help both of us. Me as I write, and you as you read. Writing here helped me make it through my final days at Christ Community, and I thank you for your patience in that. But now I will have more to share than the time it takes to type it, and I don’t want to overwhelm anyone here. A few categories have presented themselves as recurring themes in my thoughts and activities, so I will start with them. If there is anything else you would like for me to write about, please leave a comment and I will address it as I am able.

This should get us started:

Working in New York: I have already written some about this, and the next two weeks will largely determine the content here, so I will save it for another time.

Winter in New York. Fleeting memories of dismal Dallas winters are all that I had to go on when I came here, with isolated winter travel experiences still charming my perception of snow and of the cold. When I view a place through a tourist’s lens, I tend to look past the things that make a place unique in their season. Now I see so much more than the landmarks. The trees here are haunting, their skeleton branches looming over every street (though the avenues tend to be free of them.) As you walk through the city, the salt on the ground creates a sort of pedestrian soundtrack with the sounds of mass transit and of rushing wind as rhythm and bass. Faces like drones survive the cold in their own way, hardening more than you might expect of the average New Yorker. Garbage finds its way to the streets and sidewalks here (big surprise), but I really feel like litter is more of a problem in the winter. At our stop on the subway in Crown Heights I am almost always shocked at the amount of trash that clutters our path. Today I thought to myself “I should pick this up; no one else is going to.” The thought has visited me more than once, but every time it does a voice inside whimpers “It is so cold out here.” And then I continue on my way. I don’t expect this to change any time soon, but it might with the season. I know the grass is always greener and all that, but it’s nice to think I might…. The bottom line is it's cold, and it seems to change everything. But while it may sound drab or even ugly, I assure you it is extraordinary. How people live through this year after year is a marvel of civilization and a testimony of human resilience. At this point, I still remember what it was to have a car with a heater. All I can do now is remember it fondly and deal with the fact that the seats I sit on here aren't heated.

Music in New York. For years concerts and tour dates in this fine city have mocked me from their lofty perches. With joy I declare: those days are over. Robin got us tickets to see Passion Pit, sold out for three days at Terminal 5 (grungy, industrial venue lodged between two car dealerships on the West side). The show was great, and I could hardly believe that this is the type of thing I can expect to see on a regular basis. I hope I make it to some venues that don’t require so far of a walk into the abyss, though (when you can see Jersey, you know it’s not good. Alan and I thought we were going to have to swim there.) Music is alive and well, and I am excited about growing and changing with the industry that makes it viable. Expect much more on this in the future, maybe even with some reviews if I am feeling articulate.

Food in New York. I’m no foodie (I crave Papaya Dog on a daily basis), but I love to eat more than anyone I know, so I feel like I have some cred. This place has everything you can imagine, and most of it is delicious. This week I ate 4 different kinds of pizza (all fantastic), visited 5 different bagel shops (one was a dud. Beware, Colbert), feasted with my hands at an Ethiopian dinner for Lena's birthday followed by Hungarian pastry and coffee (abandon all hope, digestive systems), had the best eggs benedict I have ever had (brunch at 7A), the best pancakes I have ever eaten (Tom’s with Sarah), general tso’s chicken that laughs at the Golden Buddha in Gainesville, and a Ukrainian midnight snack (borscht and macaroni and cheese that reminded me of the kind Cathy Brown used to make). Oh my, the list goes on. And believe it or not, I have refrained from eating a lot, telling my nose “no” at least once an avenue. Be advised: I will go on and on about food. It’s what I do. Sarah even commented on how I constantly talk about how good things are as I eat them. I have since realized it’s true but have made no plans to stop. Food in New York excites me almost as much as music.

Travel in New York. It seems getting here was the easy part. I will try to do one of these a week, because there are always plenty of things worth mentioning. Travel within and between boroughs is the most important thing to understand as a newcomer here, and the sooner the better. For the sake of time (and of my fingers), be advised that weekend schedule changes on the subway can ruin you, especially if you live in Brooklyn. Your social and professional lives depend on a living knowledge of the MTA. Its serpentine movements beneath our feet are fickle and unrelenting, and you can get almost anywhere you want to go if you anticipate them. More tales from the New York underground at a later date.

Coming soon: As a sincere “hope to say farewell soon” to my trusty phone, I will present a blackberry picture blogroll of my time here so far.

A note to you, the reader: I am thankful for you. Whether you are a friend or family member, or if you wandered here one day from somewhere else and liked what you found, I write this with joy knowing there is an audience reading. I hope you enjoy it.

All for now. CBH