Take a Little Trip

The other day Angela and I were walking from the Seaport, where we saw a concert, to SoHo. It reminded me of the evening, shortly after I'd moved, when I got lost on my way to a reading at the old Astor Place Barnes & Noble and ended up in Chinatown. It was a humid July night; I bought pastries from a Vietnamese bakery and peered into the tall windows of showplace apartments in TriBeCa. I didn't mind the detour because I wanted to visit TriBeCa but didn't know exactly where it was. I also found Ground Zero, which I'd been avoiding; I wanted to prepare myself, but really you can't. The ominous hum of generators gives the site a Hitchcockian feel, especially after dark.

Thinking about that night reminded me how I love to wander (Harlem, Chelsea, the Upper East and West sides, for example) and how easy it is to settle into routine -- though don't get me wrong, love me some routine.

One of the perks of semiemployment (my contract came up about two weeks ago) has been re-acquainting myself with Kensington and surrounding neighborhoods. And en pied, objects are closer than they appear: Sunset Park, with its Olympic-size public pool and expansive East River-views, is a 15-minute walk (30 by train, with transfer). On Sunday I walked to Flatbush, which I hadn't done in ages. It's also about 15 minutes away and boasts beautiful Victorian homes and a Sunday greenmarket. On the way home I passed ball fields and vendors offering Mexican and Caribbean fare, and two cute cafés I'd never noticed. Maybe they're new.

The last few weeks have reminded me of the first few. In addition to the job search, which is fruitful (the market seems to have relaxed a bit after the fourth-quarter panic attack), I've been reading and borrowing DVDs from the library (my new hobby). I feel reinvigorated, plus a little older and wiser. And while I've been writing this I accepted a 3-4 week assignment. Summer of Fun rages on.