sweet dee rupee: "Welcome to New York, ya em-effers!"

Moss does grow fat on a rolling stone. I have turned into a creature who loves the comforts of home in one short month. It’s so easy to get sucked into the work/life/country zone out here!

Yet, the past few weeks haven’t been incredibly easy. I went a little crazy Super Bowl Sunday and (almost) cut off part of my finger in the middle of a meltdown. Needless to say, I didn’t make it to any parties that evening. Throughout the week I managed to wreak havoc on our office, the people at the insurance office next door and the roads of Montpelier.

I got so crazy I even used the Internet to find a friend (in a roundabout way, through an actual friend) and he seems pretty normal so far. We both like music, fun and positivity, so it’s a good match. It’s nice to have one friend here.

BUT the day after I made my friend, I got super sick with the bubonic plague and almost died. Or at least felt like it. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t hear, it was really, really awful. As soon as I started feeling remotely (barely) better, it was time to go to New York City.

So, leading up to going to the city, I was already not feeling awesome. Add to it the fact that since I work at a doctor’s office I have access to all sorts of liquid, injectable antibiotics and steroids, and you’ve got a sick kid about to OD in the city that never sleeps. And it took FOR-EV-ER to get there. It’s “supposed” to take five hours by car; it took us eight. Ai carumba.

It was worth it once we got checked into a sweet suite at this dope hotel (Affinia 50 at East Third and 50^th); we had our own room and a balcony that overlooked East Third: booyah! Yet, before we even left the room for dinner that evening, I had a roid rage attack and freaked out and started crying about being so forgetful and brainless as to forget not only my medication at home but also my entire wallet including my ID and all forms of money. Yeehaw!

Luckily, I didn’t need too much money to get me through the weekend, as I was out with my benefactor (and hers – the Steele’s, the people who own the insurance company next door). They go to New York all the time and know everybody from the bellhop to the owner of the little Italian restaurant we ate at called Lasagna’s. It was like being with royalty, the place was packed and there was five of us, yet they managed to make room for us and the owner came over and greeted us all with hugs and kisses. Whoa. Who are these people?

Later on back at the hotel, I managed to catch a buzz and talk about life with my life twin. It felt nice to know that I’m not alone. Someone else has been here, has dealt with being plain vanilla crazy and feeling like they’re losing their mind. Thank God.

Woke up in the morning to start a carbohydrate crawl, for real. We ate Essau’s bagels for breakfast both days, and my goodness, I feel like I’ve never eaten a bagel and cream cheese before! They were so, so so so so good, even the cream cheeses were fluffy and amazing, with like 30 different flavors to choose from, made fresh, right there, every day. The bagels were hot and crunchy on the outside and super chewy and doughy on the inside. Ahhhhhhhhhh… I fell in love with a food, indeed. I’ll never eat another bagel again.

Later in the morning, we traveled across Manhattan to visit the 9/11 Memorial, which was very beautiful and very powerful. They situated two giant waterfall-pools at the foot of where each of the twin towers used to stand. The moving water is really cleansing, therapeutic and suggests movement and life in a place where so much was lost. So lovely.

Afterwards, we continued the carbo-crawl with a stop at a touristy Irish pub for drinks and French fries, to be followed by a stop at a really old cemetery, and another small bar for more drinks. That’s pretty much how this crew rolls on vacation. Day drinking is a bit difficult for me, so I usually just have a beer or two to appease the crowd. If I get drunk before sunset, I set with the sun, lol.

The rest of the day was filled with more stops, shops (including FAO Schwarz and Tiffany’s!), pasta, New York style pizza (which is pretty effin good, we ate Famiglia’s), and a horse-drawn carriage ride at dusk around Central Park. I definitely did more touristy stuff in one weekend than I think I ever have in my life, haha. I guess it’s good to do once in a while, but I would love to go back to New York with some friends who have been/live there to show me around to where the young, hip kids (whatever those are) hang out.

New York has potential, but it’s no Chicago :)

After having a rough-night of sleep Saturday in New York, complete with night sweats and dreams about Jesus, I decided I needed to lay off the steroids. And the carbs. And maybe come back to the light. And the country. I was definitely ready to get home on Sunday. There was six inches of snow to return to in Richmond, and I loved every flake. I’m staying put for a while.