saturday, november 4

wow. i'm actually in new york city. i feel like i'm in a movie, sitting here watching all the (fucking) people go by. outside on the corner of 8th and 42nd the cars, the taxis, the people, the billboards, the honking...i felt dizzy. i actually thought i could feel the ground sway beneath my (burning) feet.

i've been sitting here for only half an hour and i've already gotten my fill of urban stereotypes. the three jewish mothers in the city to shop (think paul's mom on 'mad about you') trying to order their fancy coffee ("you want frozen cap-ooh-chee-no or hot?") and immediately partaking of the little brownie samples on the counter. the crazy homeless woman walking down the corridor swearing at someone only she could see. the dude with his (poor excuse for a) boom box, drinking malt liquor out of a bottle in a brown paper bag (who later came up to me asking for "fity cent" at the concession). the intense, thin, angry-looking woman on the subway.

the subway! i love the "learn english" ads. i asked randy how someone was supposed to read that if they didn't know it already. he shushed me with a conspiratorial twinkle in his eye.

in less than twelve hours i've been in/on/through queens, park avenue, madison avenue, harlem, the bronx and yonkers and they're all different. it's amazing. it's dirty. i don't know why, but i didn't expect that. i suppose i'm just not used to that. then again, i live in a city with 10% of new york's population.

when i deplaned at jfk last night, one of the ground crew was asking the stewardess about where the plane came from. what i heard of the conversation went like this:

stewardness: "... of course, it's a big city."
ground crew guy: "yeah, but is there any action?"
stewardess: *laugh*
ground crew guy: "what about the snow?"
stewardess: "it actually doesn't snow that much there."
ground crew guy: "but... it's Canada."

i was tempted to turn around and say something, but i just chuckled and kept walking. i told randy about that last night and he laughed for five minutes.

things i'll never see at home:
- ads for "chock full o' nuts"
- signs entirely in spanish
- anything saying "yonkers"
- hazelnut coffee called "noisette" (french? in nyc??)
- traffic signs such as: thickly settled, blind people, or pedestrian in road"

sunday, november 5

after a minor stress out because i'd forgotten how to get to the gate to catch my bus, i managed to board and make it safely to woostah and heather & gary were right there to fetch me.

the bus trip wasn't too scary, despite the stories i'd been told. while waiting in line to board i met sister teresa dion(ne). she is an absolutely lovely and fascinating woman. we talked for most of the four hour trip and i learned a lot about her. she's the middle of nine children, travelled all over the world (she was the first sister of st. anne to ever go to india), was the first woman on the eccuminical board in the united states. oddly enough, she's from the same college my friend monica went to, where she (sister teresa, not monica) taught world religions for fifteen years. she clucked disapprovingly when she found i'm faithless, but that didn't stop us from having a great conversation about religion and christianity specifically.

i think i warmed to her so much because she reminded me of my grandma.

i can't imagine what it would take to be married to god, but i appreciate people whose faith is so strong they can choose that life.

i also learned the difference between a sister and a nun (thanks heather).

we stopped in hartford, connecticut to change busses. sister teresa pointed out the gold-domed city hall building (at least i think that's what it was. if you're from hartford, feel free to correct me). i thought it was actually a pretty town. nice and quiet compared to new york (*har har*).

as we pulled out of the hartford bus terminal on our new bus, the driver told us that dispatch had forgotten about our transfer and had they radioed him a minute later we would have been stuck. this driver was pretty cool though. especially for not stopping on the interstate to stuff a sock in the horrendously loud and obnoxious child who decided to have a screaming and kicking fit for most of the trip. i really felt bad for the mother. she tried desperatly to console her kid, while the entire bus got more and more annoyed.

of course, as soon as we pulled into worcester the child shut up and adorable. damn kids.

then there was the young french guy who was talking to the couple seated in front of us. he was in the row in front of theirs and had turned around to converse. but he was doing most of the conversing with a hungry look turned upon the red-headed girl, which was obviously ticking her companion off. it was amusing to watch.

i can't forget to mention the flight. first, my fears about crappy airplane food were not realized. heck, it was practically something i'd cook myself at home. but, i still got nervous when they asked that question: "chicken or beef?"

then there was the man with the gorgeous eyes i shared the exit row with. we kept making eye contact and smiling at each other. i noticed fairly early on that we was reading an interesting-looking book by an author i favour, but i was typically too shy to say anything. finally, just before we started our descent, i asked him how the book was which led us into a conversation about books, which led into movies, which led into where we lived and what we did, which led into where we were going and what we were doing.

it was nice. not that you could tell from this trip, but i usually don't talk much to strangers when i travel.

monday, november 6th
rowan's thrid birthday

rowan didn't take much time in warming up to me again. she especially enjoys my willingness to be at her beck and call. "hessie! hessie!" and i come a-running (since there are two heathers, they all call me hessie to avoid too much confusion).

she's so adorable. blond and blue-eyed. when she smiles it's like xmas morning. i like being an auntie. the kid loves you 'cause you don't discipline them and you're usually willing to play.

i think today'll be a lazy, stay at home day. that's a good thing, though. i may go to the store and buy stuff to make taco salad for dinner. heather read my entry about the things i'd miss while away and specifically mentioned that i was more than welcome to cook while here.

friday, november 10

the first week away has flown. we really haven't done anything exciting, but just having people around all the time is an effective time-killer.

went shopping yesterday. bought a couple comfy shirts, the neatedst shoes ever, and a corset. i was tempted to get a pair of burgandy velvet mary janes, but i couldn't bring myself to buy tommy hilfiger. even at only $22.

i've discovered my biggest pet peeve: mess. it's not quite ocd, but it takes a lot for me to just let it go and relax. the weird thing is that i'm not the neatest person ever, but i guess i do have certain tidyness issues. deep calming breaths. inhale. exhale. inhale. exhale.

i ran out of cigarettes. argh! not really. well, okay. yes, really. i don't know why i've been smoking so much while i've been here. the amount i brought should have been plenty, excessive even, for two weeks. oh well. i either have to find a place to buy canadian cigarettes (yeah, right) or do without for a week. i refuse to smoke those stinky american brands. bleh. it's like smoking manure.

oh! i was so excited when i found dum-dums at the candy store. i couldn't wait to tell deadman! yes, small things. i know.

camel cigarettes really do taste like manure. ptooey. i broke down and bought a pack of camel lights... probably only because i'd forgotten just how nasty they were. they're horrible. i did get a kick out of the camel c-note though. too bad i won't be around to get enough to actually cash them in for something.

monday, novemeber 13

wednesday, november 15