Kitten in the Big City

I'm sitting at my desk - looking down on what i believe to be madison square garden - it's just a giant circle so i can't imagine what else that would be - and given that my office is across the street - i'm fairly certain on this assumption. The skies are grey and the buildings in my view look rather dark and dirty. The 'woooop woooop' of a siren just passed somewhere below. I can see part of a church spire - jutting upward 17-18 floors - the brick is a dark deep red - patinaed, now aqua, bronze crosses stand atop smaller spires circling the largest. I'm a bit of a voyeur - i love looking into the other buildings. There's a mix of apartments and offices. I find it interesting to watch people go about their daily lives. I like to see how people live - what their homes look like - what they surround themselves with. I've peeked into some amazing homes and have also seen some sad little hovels - each is interesting though - each makes a statement.

This is such an incredible city. I love the energy - the pulse - the palpable buzz - it's constant. I love soho - rich and i spend most of our weekends in that area. I love the exposed cobblestones - the bottleglass sidewalk grates - the smaller side streets - the architecture - the whole sense of the area. The artists and actors, the boho's and the ladies who lunch - the street vendors and the shopkeepers - they've created this eclectic mix of social utopia - where - regardless of stature - they're all together - brushing elbows - mixing it up - finding their corner - owning their space. I'm aware i romanticize the area - but it's the way i see it - and i wouldn't change a thing.

I've been here a week - and this trip has been more mellow than the others - which is nice actually. It's more like being home than being 'away'. We're ordering in rather than going out - we're having friends over - spending time with other couples - groups of friends. It's more of how our life will be than the other trips - it's more settled - more constant.

The grey skies are breaking up a bit and there's a steady stream of puffy white steam coming off the roof of madison square garden. The last time i was here we saw a guy parachute past our windows. Without so much as lifting his head from his paperwork - one of my co-workers says - man is he in a shitload of trouble once he lands. Maybe it's the parachuting executive - or the way they say fuck in the office (all the time) - or the way we can order sushi and omelets at 3am if the mood strikes - or that it's cold enough to swaddle myself in my new chinchilla wrap - or the way the buildings look when the sun sets behind them - or how i feel young when i'm here - almost innocent - or how when i carry groceries back to rich's i wonder if people think i'm a new yorker - or the sense of endless possibility - or how central park looks with a fresh blanket of footprint-free snow - or how i feel pulled back here - again and again and again - but i think i have a crush on new york.

Yeah, I'm smitten.



K