:: Electric Psychedelic Pussycat Swinger's Club ::

:: Friday, October 01, 2004 ::

awakenings

Mount St. Helens erupted today after it awoke from twenty-four years of slumber. I actually remember my first grade teacher, Mrs. Davis, bringing in a small glass vial containing some ashes from that 1980 eruption. Weird to think of any volcanoes existing in the states - well, the continental U.S. at least (Hawaii excluded, of course).

I spent the day running errands all over manhattan. Post office, laundromat, Foot Locker, the public library, supermarket... all the stuff I needed to catch up on. And while I was using my errands as an excuse to be outside on this beautiful day, I realized I wasn't the only one desperately trying to hang on to the last few days of good weather in New York. The girls were out and about in their flip-flops and skirts, trying to squeeze out a few more days before the skimpy outfits get buried in their closets until spring. Damn shame.

I never realized I was such a weather person until I moved here.

Although it's slowly starting to get a little chillier here, I'm looking forward to what may most likely be my last winter on the east coast. Thinking about leaving here is surprisingly saddening. I've realized I'm going to miss a lot of things about this city. Yeah, there's the crazy homeless people that flip out in the public libraries ("I DON'T BELONG TO YOU, MEXICO! STOP FOLLOWING ME, KOREA! I'M NOT YOURS, NELSON MANDELA!"), and even the endless dog shit smeared across the sidewalks, but there's also Monday night outdoor movies in Bryant Park during the summer; Central Park in the Fall; and the first snowfall of the winter.

It's like all the things i've complained about this city in the past are the very things I'll miss when I leave. Maybe it's a sort of urban awakening. From a slumber filled with indifference and oftentimes contempt of this city, to an epiphany of appreciation for what it has to offer, I've come to realize how great an influence New York has had on my road to enlightenment and self-awareness. At the very least, it's definitely made my candy ass a bit harder (some might say too hard) than from my Nor Cal days.

I'm going to miss this place.

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