PICTURES OF THE WEEK
D.G. did a fantastic job of throwing the Saftey Fest party! I even got this photo from J.E.’s photo booth:
My Fresh Perspective On Old New York
Or, there may be no there there, but there certainly is a who...
During my recent trip to New York, A.T.D. asked me what the biggest change I noticed about the city? After a moment of thinking about it, I said “me”. (It was a close tie to all of the multi-colored bright lights that seem to be lighting up all of the towers in the city. What’s up with that?)
While it is accurate to say I moved to San Francisco, it’s probably more accurate to say I moved out of New York. I found myself in a rut there: I’d sort of run out of “new” in New York. Not that new things weren’t happening, but my nostalgia for the way things were kept me from appreciating them. Nostalgia is the mind killer, to adapt a line from Dune.
Being in San Francisco has been good for me: a whole new city to explore, and getting easier access to nature is amazing. (Want to experience awe? Go and see a grove of mature redwood trees.) The near total lack of weather (as I know it) has been amazing! It’s also been good as it let me move away from a lot of the aggressive, angry and abrasive characteristics that living in New York tends to encourage. I’ve cleaned up my diet, and my mood has been markedly more stable. I like to say it feels like I was a plant in a pot too small, and repotting myself has let my mental and emotional roots grow.
I also have a new perspective on New York after living across the continent: Everyone has style! (And it’s so easy to spot the tourists.) There are so many different sorts of people! (And it’s really clear HOW pervasive tech culture is in SF.) People show you their power by how they can help you, not by how they can obstruct you. (Hat tip to
A.R. for that observation!) Also, there have been a couple cycles of evolution, but being removed for a bit, it’s easier to be happy with their replacements. (Walking down Franklin street in Crown Heights was really interesting! Although I was quiet for about 10 minutes when I figured out East Village Cheese wasn’t there any more…) And, people were out late - sizeable groups of people doing things at 1 AM. People’s drive made it seem that getting something done was almost as smile as just saying it.
A.T.D. also asked if there was any specific special place in NYC that we should go. I thought about it, and said “no”. For me New York is it isn’t a specific place that’s interesting, it’s what you do there - walking through neighborhoods and seeing people doing things - is interesting. The house / workshop venue where people are gathered is what’s great, not the places themselves. It’s what you go searching out and what you stumble in to are what makes it interesting to me. That said, I was sure to eat at Veselka.
It seems that my move did what it was supposed to: it kicked me out of my rut. Or more aptly, it gave me some new perspectives. So, who knows, maybe we should hang out more NYC?
Veselka has a new mural!
I feel like the New York Ice Cream would be a team I would root for!
