Bright Lights, Big Actuality

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Due to the wonders of my pink laptop and pink cell phone, I am once again writing from the train on the way home. Yes, my 24-hour trial period in New York City has expired! And, while New York City is a fantastic place to visit, I don’t think I’d want to live there. I was not gone long enough to show signs of PW (Pet Withdrawal); however, after about four hours in NYC, I do start to experience WOSW (Wide Open Spaces Withdrawal).

As usual, James’ show was wonderful, and the Rockwood was packed. Usually, if I get there 30 minutes before the show, I always get a seat right in front of the stage. Last night, I got there an hour before the show and had to stand for 45 minutes next to the door, being repeatedly bumped by it, until a lone stool at the back opened up.

I went to sit on the stool, because I was closest to the person getting up, and as near as I could tell, I had been standing there the longest. As I moved to the stool, I saw the woman next to me moving toward the seat at the same time. She sensed me moving in for the stool kill, and then quickly said to me, in somewhat the same way that an electrical current comes out of a taser, “Oh, do you mind if I have it, because [five second pause] I have a butt issue!” A what?! I think she may have sensed my country bumpkin naiveté before she blasted me with her electrically charged words; of course, I bumpkinly responded, “Sure.”

After she sat down, she pulled her arms around her boyfriend’s waist, whose neck and bottom she had been previously groping continuously within inches of me, and pulled him into her lap. 1) “If you have a butt issue, then why are you putting 180 pounds of weight in your lap?” asked the Bumpkin, and 2) It’s one thing to practice PDA, but then it’s another thing to do it right in someone’s personal space zone!

Come to think of it, there wasn’t a lot of personal space to be had at the Rockwood. (This was illustrated when I was waiting to use the bathroom. The locked clicked, the door opened, and out came not one person but two, a man and a woman.) Anyway, if given a choice, PDA in my face was preferable over bruises from the door banging me in the arm all night long.

Once another stool opened up 15 minutes later, I all but dove into it shouting, “Butt issue, my ass, Woman!” Of course, then a couple, both over 6’, stood in front of me for half of James’ show; thus, it definitely appeared that I had paid for the seat with the obstructed view for the evening.

When I go to NYC, I never know what to wear. Packing for this 24-hour trip usually takes me 72 hours! I think I’ve watched too many episodes of Sex in the City; thus, I feel like if I don’t wear something Carrie Bradshaw-esque that I will be voted off Manhattan island, only to lose Fashion Survivor. But, finally, after two years, I've learned not to watch Sex and the City for the week prior to my NYC pilgrimage in order to stop the Barney’s and Manolo Blahnik voices in my head from intimidating me!

Of course, like everywhere else, most everyone wears jeans, and that’s what I pack. But, I always like to bring something vintage with me for a top. This weekend, I brought my three-quarter length black embroidered Indian coat from the 60s. Now, what did I say about vintage? Yes, you’re guaranteed no one will ever show up wearing the same thing as you!

And, no. No one showed up with my coat; however, I did receive a million compliments, oddly, most of them from men. James asked me where I got my coat, and I said, “eBay,” and he laughed. Now, what did I say about the Internet? (No, not “Who needs a man when you’ve got the Internet?” But, you're right; I did say that.) I said, "You can find a lot of good things and people on the Internet!"

After post-gig drinks, I went out to try and find a cab. It’s was 2:30; there were plenty of cabs driving by, but they were all full. I was tired, and I walked up to one cab by the curb, which was occupied. I frowned and the man already in the cab gave me a big smile, reached for the door, opened it, and I said, “Are you going my way? And, if so, can I share the cab with you?” Sometimes it’s nice to be rescued when you least expect it, especially at 2:30am on Allen Street in New York City.

I was just thinking about how good it’ll be to get back home. I miss the kids, and I miss the cats; okay, I miss Monty, too, just not the barking! I love my wanderings to NYC. Yesterday, I felt that wandering might be a “bad” thing; however, today, I decided that it really isn’t it. I liken it to Rover’s journeys across the street to Eileen and Harold’s (http://goddessofallthingslovely.blogspot.com/2009/10/he-conquers-who-endures.html). They are brief interludes where she finds something that she is looking for that she needs, and it is something that I can’t even identify; however, despite her need to leave, she always returns home.

It could be that wandering makes you appreciate more of what you have at home; however, on this trip to NYC, I realized that while things are missed at home, you can also wander into things that you might have been missing at home for quite some time.

In NYC, I found a piece of the “Me” puzzle that had somehow gotten wedged underneath the sofa cushion a long time ago. And, I was finally able to put that piece in, figuring out again how to make myself look like the picture of me on the outside of the “Me” puzzle box. Sometimes it's only when you wander outside your world that you can really see some of the wonderful things about yourself and about life that you may have misplaced, albeit temporarily, too long ago. ♥

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