First Thing in the Morning

In the new apartment, the head of our bed is right up against the window. It's been great so far, since a cool breeze has been coming through it every night. Heavenly. Blankets in the middle of June! On a third floor apartment with no air conditioning! I never would have thought.

As I lay in bed this morning, glorying in those magic, 60 degree puffs of air, a neighbor stepped out into the giant, communal yard space, fired up some sort of power tool, and went to town.

Groan. 7:15? Really? There's no other time for you to do your yardwork? I lay frozen, holding my breath and waiting for Oliver's sensitive ears to drive him out of bed in a fit of sleep-deprived rage. No, not tension first thing in the morning! I can't stand that! That's why I set my alarm clock to "radio". I need peace... soft sounds...

Nearby, in one of the apartments to our right, a screen window slid open. I have done just a bit of editing to the poetry that followed:

"Hey, you trucking jerk! ...

Shut that trucking thing off! ...

It's 7 in the morning and I'm trying to trucking sleep! ...

What the truck is your problem? ...

TURN that TRUCKING thing OFF! ...

Shut it off NOW or I'm gonna call the trucking cops!"


Window screen closes. Silence. Dead silence.

"Is he for real?" I whispered. I didn't dare talk out loud, for fear that our lovely neighbor would punch through the walls and strangle me.

Black and White (and Middle Gray)

I thought I would throw a few photos up here - photos I've taken for my black-and-white photography class. I've got a lot to learn, of course. That much is obvious after a quick glance at my pictures. All the same, I feel proud of my little shots. No mere point and shoots these; I've fumbled around with film speed, shutter speed and aperture for each.

All the photos below were taken within a five minute walk of my apartment. Many are of the arch at Grand Army Plaza, the others on 7th Avenue.

Stacking Up

So... phew. Crazy week. Great week. Things are really, um, stacking up. In good ways.

For starters, last Saturday was Book Expo America, the publishing industry's big trade show. Translation: free books. Scads and scads of them. Hardcover. Autographed if you're willing to wait in line (which I always am). See that picture above? Those are all the books I took home with me. (Did I mention they were free? Hot off the presses? Awesome? Free?) Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeal!

Then came Sunday. Moving day. Looong day. But good. We're in Brooklyn now, and tripping over boxes at every step. And walking down the block to fabulous coffee houses, antique stores, vintage clothing stores, pizza places, parks, farmers markets, bars... Seriously. Brooklyn.

Then came Tuesday. The first day of my summer internship. I'm working with metadata at Fancy Pants University (if ever mentioned again, hereafter referred to as FPU). It's a challenge, which is a good thing. And I really like working with those librarians! I really like just about every librarian I've met in the last year, actually. That's a good sign. Maybe I've chosen the right profession.

Then there's the rest. I'm taking a summer Rutgers course in web design, which is condensed from the usual 14 weeks down to 6. That means twice as much work per week. Oh, and did I mention that I signed up for a photography class in Manhattan? And that I'm training for a 4-mile run in July?

So I'm a little busy. But it's a good kind of busy - days jam packed with things I'm really excited about.

Past, Present (Future Perfect?)

When Oliver and I moved to this area last year, I more or less hung up my running shoes. Not that I’ve ever been a serious, dedicated runner, but I had been averaging two to three times a week at the office gym, and even did a nice 5K at one point. Leaving Toronto meant leaving my free gym, and no gym meant no treadmill. And that’s a deal breaker, ladies.

I really want to get back into running, though. Badly enough apparently, to break away from the comfort of the treadmill. I've started running through Liberty State Park, Jersey City's waterfront park right across from Lower Manhattan and next to Ellis Island.

It's a beautiful run, really. Manhattan skyline, Statue of Liberty in the distance, Ellis Island. My favorite part though, is the part that's least known. I run past the Central New Jersey Railroad Terminal, which is where all immigrants from Ellis Island came to catch the trains to wherever it was they were going. Some of my own great grandparents caught trains here to Michigan. The building itself has been preserved, but the tracks have long since been ripped out and there's this beautifully eerie effect of weeds and grass growing wild where train tracks once sat. You can really feel the past mixing with the present, and it always gives me a little tingle to contrast my own situation with my ancestors'. Would they be proud of their family today? Would they feel they had made the right decision in selling the reindeer herd and coming here? I like to think so.

Running past it the other night, I wished I could bump into my great grandfather. It would be neat to thank him, talk to him... something.


A: Great Grandpa! You don't know me, but I'm your great granddaughter. Allison. Listen, I just wanted to thank you. Thank you for coming here, for giving up everything and taking a chance on America. It'll take a little time, but your family will thrive here. We owe that to you.

GG: (in Finnish) Who the hell are you? What language are you speaking? Is that English?

A: (to crowd) Does anyone here speak both Finnish and English? I really need to speak with this man; I have something important to say to him.

GG: (pointing at my tank top and running shorts with disgust) And what are you, some sort of harlot? Put on some decent clothes! If you were my daughter, I'd horsewhip you.

A: Hey, are you criticizing my clothes? They're perfectly appropriate for the time I live in. I actually dress pretty conservatively.

GG: (Stands silently and looks away, hoping I will leave)

A: Listen, you're going to have a daughter named Ida. She's my grandmother. She'll have 5 sons and they'll have children... Great Grandpa, we make it. We all make it. We do really well, actually. A lot of us will go to college, have good, stable jobs. In fact, do you want to come see my apartment? (motion for him to follow) It's really nice. It has running water, electricity...

GG: Will someone get this prostitute away from me?

A: (being led away) You don't understand! I'm your descendant! I'm from the future!

Aaaaaand scene.

I Love (Love!)

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden. At first sight. From across the room.

My first visit was on a brilliant, sunny day this past weekend. Everything was in bloom. Everything smelled great. The colors were overpowering. The light shimmered through everything.

Maybe we'll be in the NYC area for awhile. I still haven't decided whether or not this is a good thing. Staying here means no space. No yard. No quiet. When I have my "what do I want my life to be?" moments, these things come up.

What if I had the Botanic Gardens instead of a yard? Would that be so bad?

Another End

The semester is rapidly coming to a close now, and I have fewer and fewer pressing tasks to complete. Feels good. I look forward to doing things aimlessly in the next few days. No plan, no desired outcome. I don't do that enough.

I've had the chance to do a bit more pleasure reading, too. Mostly on train rides to and from campus - that hour and a half I no longer have to fill with readings for class. Ah, pleasure reading. My dear pet. I'm just finishing up Ann Patchett's Bel Canto, my progress slowed by the occasional and distracting desire to rip pages out of the book and eat them. Those words. Those passages. What a beautiful book.

5 Boros

So Allison, how would you like to go on a long, scenic bike ride?

Sounds great!

The 5 Boro Bike Tour. 42 miles, all 5 of New York City's boroughs. You'll love it.

Yesssss!

It'll be on the colder side come tour day. You'll have to wear a sweater and a windbreaker. Is that okay?

That's no problem at all. Where do I sign up?

It's going to rain, too. Just for a little while.

Oh. Um, I guess that's still okay.

When I say it will rain for a little while, I actually mean to say that it will rain the entire time. 7am to 3pm. Sometimes light and sometimes heavy. By the end of the day you will be soaking wet, cold, and only partially able to use your hands.

Uh...

And after you finish biking in the rain you will be forced to stand outside in the rain for another half an hour - no umbrellas, no shelter - waiting for the Staten Island Ferry to take you back home. Sound good?

I uh, um...


Yeah.

But you know what? It was still fun!

And as an added bonus, Oliver continued his slow march to conquer (via bike) every bridge in the tri-state area. Yesterday's vanquished: the Verrazano Bridge.