Thank you all for the birthday wishes! It was a good one, indeed. Nerdy as I am, I spent it up at my old stomping ground (a sleepaway camp in Vermont) with some of my best friends in the whole world. I have lots to blog about (I’ve been “head blogging” for the last few days—i.e. writing entries in my head that I promptly forgot about) and I’m not sure if I can get it all out in one sitting. I’m still in New York (humidity friggin sucks) and I’m heading back to the land of the silver and turquoise and drought tomorrow. Here’s the first of several stories about the weekend:
When I go home after being away for awhile, I prefer to slip back into the anonymity of city life without being noticed. I don’t like the “where the hell have you been?” questions that bombard me and I like to carry on as if I had never left. It’s not that I’m avoiding people, or that I don’t want to see them, but in my neighborhood I can’t walk but four paces before someone recognizes me and I find myself engrossed in a long conversation, and frankly, it’s sort of difficult to get things done when it takes 20 minutes to walk two blocks to the subway.
My first venture out onto the streets of New York went smoothly. I tiptoed passed the parking garage without being seen; Barnard (the homeless guy, not the college) was so engrossed by a novel that he didn’t see me walk by. He was also bobbing his head to ‘music,’ but upon closer inspection I noticed that his headphones where not in fact attached to anything, and so I just kept going.
At the corner bodega I stepped in to buy a few things. An old woman ahead of me in line was attempting to argue with the cashier about the apples she had just purchased.
“I got home, took a bite, and they’re all brown on the inside.”
The cashier is Korean and speaks very little English. “Round?”
“BROWN!”
“ROUND?”
“BROWN! Cut it open and you’ll see!”
The cashier came out from behind the counter and walked over to pile of apples. She dug around for some new ones and presented them to the kvetching old lady.
“They look good on the outside but I’m telling you, they’re brown!”
“Apple suppose to be round,” said the cashier.
“They’re BROWN!”
Then Frankie the Cold Cut Section Guy entered the store and saw me.
“Hola, Laura!” he said with a grin. I was able to avoid the “where the hell have you been?” conversation (which is even more difficult when I must attempt it in Spanish) because Frankie made a beeline for the apple situation. I watched for a minute as the three of them stood there arguing about apples in Kospanglish, the store’s official language (Korean + Spanish + English), and then I slipped silently out to the streets, ducking passed Salvador (the guy who makes sure that no one steals the fruit) to go the long way around the block so I could avoid a few doormen who might recognize me.
Santa Fe is a small town, but sometimes New York is even smaller.
21 responses so far ↓
1 soleilseven // Aug 23, 2005 at 12:52 pm
hahaha, welcome back
2 Jay_galk25 // Aug 23, 2005 at 12:56 pm
Head blogging, dear god, I thought I was the only one who did that
. Btw read the post before the newest one, and youll read about birdwatching in boystown 
.
Jay “I Love Kat Rawr”
3 aropeofsand // Aug 23, 2005 at 1:08 pm
Thank you! The layout is made with Macromedia Flash, which feels like the only thing on the computer I know how to use anymore.
Oh, and I’m so glad you introduced “head blogging” into my vocabulary. It seems as soon as I’m away from a computer its all I do, and I was beginning to think it might not be normal.I love reading your journal, by the by, and I love those two other entries you have linked in this one.
4 TimsHead // Aug 23, 2005 at 3:00 pm
Oh that’s such a beautiful story. The Big (round, not brown) Apple’s melting pot in a nutshell. And hey, nothing lame at all about spending your birthday by hanging out with people you like. Beats the heck out of a big, empty bash with people who aren’t really important to you. Cheers, fellow cool August baby.I had to laugh as well as the head blogging concept. I’ve written many blogs in my head and in my bed that never saw the light of day. Which, many times, was just as well.
5 chicagoartgirl23 // Aug 23, 2005 at 4:12 pm
I am laughing out loud at the bodega scene— it reads like Cho stand-up. I love it! So, I hope you are feeling less stressed and that camp gave you the precise backdrop you needed to get another year older. I want camp to happen to me again! ::smile::On another note, thanks for your awesome comments on my previous post. I think you really gave people a lot to consider (myself included). I think my writing in that essay needs to clarify a few things that I don’t know if would have gotten to if it weren’t for you. I attempted to clarify them in the comment below yours on my blog, if you are interested in my brain trying to untangle itself in writing. Anyhow, thanks for the awesome feedback. You rock.
6 thinlizzy17 // Aug 23, 2005 at 4:18 pm
Happy late Birthday! I’m usually great about catching birthdays. *sheepish grin* It sounds like a great trip.
I love the concept of head blogging too. I do it often, but now it’s got a name. When I’m staring blankly off into space and someone says, whatcha doin? I can say “head blogging.” That’ll be met with a blank stare, and that will be my reward. Heh.
7 HaveyoumetGreg // Aug 23, 2005 at 4:47 pm
Happy belated birthday. May they all be shared with your closest, and dearest.
8 Gnarlysurf // Aug 23, 2005 at 4:47 pm
Hey! Welcome back to the north east. It certainly hasn’t been the same with out you. Did you fly to get here? Or drive? Are you going back? Woah wait.. sorry with all the questons. Yes head blogging is a good idea. I come up with a lot of good stuff but of course forget it and then am forced to write the crapola that you normally read. Sorry…. I think no matter where you live it becomes small. I’ve lived in many places with different settings: sleepy New York suburbs, countryside, major city etc… and all I can conclude is that you adapt and then get used to it. Woah…does this comment even make sense? Oh well…happy belated birthday. Post that pic of you stuffing your face with a cup cake. It seems festive.
9 rubyblue123 // Aug 24, 2005 at 3:26 am
Very enjoyable. Glad you’re back.
10 Didya_evawonda // Aug 24, 2005 at 4:02 am
Happy birthday…sorry I missed you on your trip back.
11 babyboomer64 // Aug 24, 2005 at 4:14 am
Happy Birthday! I missed reading your entries, since I’ve been away a good part of the summer. Try not to stress so much about your plans. Do the thing that will make you the happiest and give you the most opportunities. YOu really might want to consider writing a book of short storoes. Some of these are so good and so funny.
Hope camp was fun!
12 babyboomer64 // Aug 24, 2005 at 4:15 am
(sp) stories. damn!
13 sunshineboy78 // Aug 24, 2005 at 4:16 am
It was so not humid yesterday, or Monday. Habia mucho frio. Estoy shivering right now. I know what you mean about New York being a small town. I can’t walk down the street or take the train without bumping into someone I know. Thankfully, I’m as thin as they remember me, now.
14 Lucy_the_Valiant // Aug 25, 2005 at 5:19 am
Oh yes you were definitely saved by the New York moment!;)I felt sorry for the Korean guy that he spoke very little english.Red Eye.. umm well its about this girl who is a hotel manager. She’s on a plane heading back to her hotel and she sits next to this guy who’s a terrorist. If she doesn’t comply with helping the terrorist kill someone then her father gets killed.Thats basically the summary.Have a lovely day!~rivkah
15 Coccinella // Aug 25, 2005 at 8:46 am
HEYYYY!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I missed it, darnit.
thanks for the comment..i’m sure this storm will be no biggie. take care.
16 xavier1818 // Aug 25, 2005 at 9:03 am
Do they make listerine strong enough for your soul?
17 AZcowboy // Aug 25, 2005 at 10:25 am
Sorry I missed the big day! Happy belated Birthday!
18 Gabe_Real // Aug 25, 2005 at 12:03 pm
Happy Belated Birthday… Am I the first to notice the color scheme change? (and the change to the banner! Rockin’)Positive Vibes!Gabe
19 pumpernickel_rye // Aug 25, 2005 at 1:29 pm
The garlic sourdough is awesome, if I do say so myself. I can’t stop eating the stuff. And happy b-day to you too!
20 StigmataMartyr42 // Aug 25, 2005 at 6:39 pm
Yeah, everytime I go visit relatives in California, I see old friends and such and they always ask “How are you doing, blah blah blah?”. I make a face, tell them I am going to school and that I am only in town for a little bit so I have to get going and take care.
So it’s all humid in New York? That sucks! It’s way humid here in Michigan also. California was so nice. Just find some shade and one dries off. I didn’t really sweat all that much anyway, and I am a sweaty type of guy. I hear that there’s a lot of walking to be done in New York, and yes I am not taking my car when I go, so I am sure I will sweat like a piggie. Take care!
21 MaximaBella // Aug 25, 2005 at 8:40 pm
You? Im still trying to grasp that im pregnant!
btw, podcast is a funny word