A West Side Story

I awoke Saturday morning with a horrible restlessness bordering on depression. I knew exactly what is it was, Change. I yearned for a new scenery, a purpose to life outside of the cement and routine of a 9-5 job. I was feeling stuck. I have been living in New York, Carroll Gardens, to be exact for 6 years. Prior to that I was living in San Francisco, also for 6 years, seeing the trend here? And to validate that feeling I was invited to; not 1, not 2 but 3 “Going Away” parties that same night. Man, was I reeling with jealousy but also, I couldn’t help but take it as a sign. If you ask me where I want to go and why, I will be flaky and answer, somewhere Latin, so I can fulfill my dream to speak fluent Spanish and to be in a place that is not New York. Another minute I may say that I want to live somewhere in Colorado or Maine or Vermont, any place I can hike and bike around daily. In any case, I yearned for the great out doors and nature that can compel me to have a great outlook on life and the world that surrounds me. I went to 2 of the 3 parties, both were in my neighborhood, just to make feel even more ‘stuck’. Both these hosts to were embarking on a new adventure; one, a 6 month residency, in India, the other, a year residency in Asia, and I wasn’t even getting out of Brooklyn that night! Pass one more pot cookie please, I need to go away at least mentally.

The very next day, this feeling of happiness and joy and utter pride and appreciation washed over me, and extinguished my self-imposed rut from just hours before. See, I purchased a new laptop the day before. It only took me three years of complaining how I needed to be technologically mobile, but too cheap to throw down the cash on such an imposing implement of technology. I despise most electronics, and hence my gradual craw into the 21st century. Yes, I was the last one to own an ipod, and when my employer enforced a Blackberry upon me, and I thought I would die. In any case, I had to buy an external hard drive from J&R, so I used that as an excuse to hop on my bike, head over the Brooklyn bridge and towards Battery Park up the West side high way along the water. It restored my love for New York again. I didn't need to leave New York, I just needed to leave Brooklyn and be a tourist. I’m all about being a tourist in my own city. It's like being on vacation everyday and they do not annoy me because I am sharing in their newness and pleasure, but I also own the pride of residing in my city. The water did wonders for my spirit, as did the rest of the greenery, flora and architecture I was unaware of.

Along the route I saw the gas station that my brother and I turn right at to get to the Holland Tunnel when heading home to Pennsylvania when visit our folks. It was closed down, the 2nd one that day. The first was one in Brooklyn went I went to get air in my tire. I have connections to most things here, and this is one of them, I didn't realize the connection until I saw it was closed down.