a puff of smoke

it's monday afternoon, about 3 o'clock, i hop on the f train, transfer to the a, transfer to the 5 and get off at bowling green. (this sounds tedious, but it's really quick, actually) this is battery park, and awfully familiar. i am conquering the financial district today, but i guess i didn't realize that i had been to battery park before. i am immediately excited because the blossoms on the trees are oh so beautiful, and they weren't here when i was here last, and it was also dark then. not today. today is a bright and sunny, blue sky, warm enough to take off my sweater day.

tourists are promenading along the promenade, and i feel like one of them, because i'm wearing tennis shoes with jeans. ( a new yorker would never wear such a get-up.) i'm also carrying the columbia guide to new york 2007.... and not working on a monday. (so when exactly do i stop being a tourist)

(an unnamed couple having a moment)

i wander for a while, sit down, and then i stand up and decide it's time to get financial already! i walk to wall street, where it seems like everyone and their hedge fund manager is outside smoking a cigarette, i mean really, i didn't stop to take pictures of the new york stock exchange because i thought i'd be enveloped in a puff of smoke. get me outta here! cough!

i pop into a borders to sit down for a minute and put a mailing address on a birthday card. i'm back out and i fall in line with the suits that were just released for the day, and i'm looking for a mailbox. i figure i'll find one if i just fall in line... and then there it is... as plain as day...not a mailbox - ground zero.

i'll be honest, i was not looking to visit the site of the world trade center. i'm that person who visited auschwitz and secretly regretted it right after. and 9/11 was a mere 9 and a half years ago, there is no way i want to visit the very spot it took place.

i'm standing here looking at this huge area. things are moving, in and out, construction workers, trucks, equipment, there is so much productivity. this may sound wierd, but i really feel, as i'm watching all of this movement, a sense of rebirth, and even... hope? is that a platitude? cliche? probably, but there is a sense of a new beginning here, and frankly that's kind of the theme of my life...

...so i'll go with it.

accidental exlporation!

i officially began my journey to "discover new york, one borough at a time", on monday in the financial district, but the day before i did some impromptu exploring in the upper west side:

chris and are awake at 7am to go to a church called redeemer. a few of his company mates attend that church, so after service we are at brunch with them at mermaid inn. (makes getting up early so worth it). it is such a sunny, gorgeous day, we sit outside on their patio. i'm having the steel cut oatmeal (dee-licious) and green tea (one lump or two? they have sugar cubes at this place), they're discussing (and tasting) the difference between frittatas, omelettes, and egg casseroles.

they all have two shows afterward so, at the suggestion of their stage manager i make my way to the 77th street sunday flea market! now, i don't have the patience to look through racks of random clothes, but if i had my own home right now (i'm subletting) i would be in heaven. they have the most amazing home goods for a great deal. and a little haggling never hurt anyone either. (i too was nervous about haggling until i read this: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/bargaining-skills)

after dreaming about the day i can fill my home with baskets and mirrors and antiques, i am wandering, looking for a place to print out more resumes, and babysitting flyers. go-go-gadget blackberry map, and i decide that i can just walk to a fedex office. i start out and get distracted by this shop called therapie. difficult to describe, but i think i'm in love with it. you walk in and there's all of this beautiful stationary, but they also have a large selection of high and low end hair and beauty products. (including devacurl a few dollars less than you'd find it at ulta; a curly girl's dream). they have a little loft area with undergarments and their accessories, i buy what is called a "comfy bra" for $9, ( my regular bras give me acid reflux, and this has worked wonderfully for that) they also have an overwhelming basement toy area. i'm not going down there.

after this, i say "tia focus!!!" and i continue to walk toward fedex office and find myself in a very familiar space. "i've seen that urban outfitters before" i say to myself. i text my pal andrew " i think i'm in you neighborhood" he texts back "stop! what? don't lie... it's not funny... wait for real?" i don't think he knows i moved here. we meet up for about 5 minutes, until he has to run off to a meeting. sigh.

it was nice to see a familiar face.

more on monday's adventures to come. it's time to get up and make someone hire me.