Vagabondage! A Nomadic Adventure

Part 2: Unexpectations


written Friday, June 4 2010


At 9am this morning I was standing in a cemetery.  I got up early and went for my first run in NYC.  Not far from Emily's neighborhood is this gigantic old Lutheran cemetery, apparently one of several in the area.  I've never seen so many statues, mausoleums and pillars erected to the dead.  The cemetery just stretched on and on.  After I'd wandered and shot photos and sat and wandered some more, I came upon a lone tree that rested atop a hill.  As I climbed the hill, expecting to see an expansive vista of Queens, the horizon came into view and revealed itself to be...more cemetery!  How big is this thing??  I really couldn't believe how it just kept going.  Many people find cemeteries to be morbid and creepy, and I get that.  But sometimes, like today, they can be incredibly peaceful and serene.  The birds were still chirping, the smell of mowed grass hung in the air, flowers sprang up everywhere...it was a very dreamy, pleasant feeling.  Future meditation spot, for sure.


Spent the morning at the apartment, cooking breakfast and getting ready for the day.  I love sitting at the computer next to the open window, a light sweat going on and the sound of the train outside.  It kinda hit me that, however temporarily, I live here.  I don't have an apartment in Austin.  Wherever I go, there I am. :)


I'm sitting in Antique Cafe in the Flatiron district, drinking iced coffee and listening to the likes of Fred Astaire and Frank Sinatra.  Fairy tales can come true, it can happen to you, if you're young at heart.  Thanks, Antique Cafe staff. I'm experiencing my first pang of loneliness.  I knew this was going to be a journey of self-discovery and that it wouldn't all be a piece of cake, but I didn't expect to feel this so soon.  I should probably move on from these old crooners tugging at my romantic heartstrings.


Saturday, June 5 2010


Today we're headed to Battery Park and elsewhere to run errands.  Something's telling me I need to be near water today, and I'll be seeing the Statue of Liberty for the first time!  Loneliness at bay, it's a brand new day and the city awaits!