scattered, but joyful
New York provides. It tests you, kicks your ass a bit, and when you prove you have the mettle, provides. When I have broken sunglasses and exactly three dollars to my name, there is a man on Broadway and Prince selling sunglasses for three dollars. If you asked me my profession, I'd say "writer/editor/freelance copywriter/typist/online retail intern/SAT prep class teacher/jeans salesgirl." But that's only this week. Yes, New York provides. New York gave me a little house in Brooklyn with wonderful roommates and constant guitar. Now, the downstairs neighbors have moved out, and we're going to take over the whole place. Crecia and Emily are moving in with their dogs in tow. I'm hoping to lure Adrienne back here, to make her see that it is not as cold as it seems. Maybe I'll move into the front room and finally paint my door hot pink.
I came from Brighton to Williamsburg, from unpaid intern to Contributing Editor [BLATANT SELF-PLUG ALERT: you can see me on the freaking masthead in the new issue of Heeb, out this week...I almost passed out], from friendless to coffee dates and party invites and business connections. My savings are practically nonexistent, and I still haven't applied for graduate school. But I have never loved anyone quite like I have loved this place. Nothing has ever meant as much to me as the skyline from this side of the East River, as the sinews and arcs of the Williamsburg Bridge.
I am not finished, although I doubt I ever will be ["anything that's not growing is dead"- lauryn hill]. One day builds upon another. Spontaneity. At the free Spoon show yesterday in Union Square they played "The Way We Get By," and I thought I was with Kevin, dancing in the streets in Korea. I'm determined, despite all the jobs and the scrambling, to continue being a writer. I'm working on a thing, tentatively called How I Learned to Hear. It's about my parents, obviously, but also about much more than that. Just like how this story I am living now is about Brooklyn, but it's about so much more than that.
Next up, a week in New Orleans. And maybe Raleigh for Memorial Day.