sake and sushi

had a delightful evening yesterday with sake and sushi.  these are two of my new friends.  sake (pronounced "socky") is a rice wine often served in japanese restaurants that you drink when you are interested in making some poor decisions in life.  upon drinking it, the first poor decision is usually to consume large amounts of raw dead sea animals, also known as sushi.  somehow these raw delicacies don't taste like you might expect having had the aforementioned libation.  or, it could be the wrapping of rice and greenery that surround the poor deceased sea creatures...and the spices.  nothing tasted bad at all.  

a very enjoyable evening with my new friends.  perhaps mr. trump and mama mia are next.

braveheart

have to make this fast.  people are waiting for this computer...

while taking a crosswalk walking up 5th avenue, i was struck by a similarity between crosswalks in new york at rush hour and that scene in braveheart when the opposing armies run at each other.  the two masses gather on either side of the street.  growing in number and anticipating the mayhem that is only moments away.  a few more people approach, slowing to a halt so that an even thousand stand on either side of 57th street.  those on the north look serious and the southerners appear equally determined.  

suddenly, the little white neon outline of a man flashes on the box face!  that's all it takes and the two sides are off.  rushing toward one another with all the speed legs can muster in the fifteen feet before greeting the opposing on-rushers.  here is where the similarity ends for rather than clashing with blood and guts strewn across the street, decisions are made in nano-seconds as all pedestrians avoid one another without so much as grazing one another.  truly awe inspiring.  

this kind of movement reveals a divine algorithm the equations 

of which are only known by One.  

i'm grateful to have had the street-crossing preamble to the true battle that is taking place right now in the apple store at 58th and 5th ave .  i'm now ready to stand my ground in this truly unique venue.   the Algorithm continues...

i think someone wants the computer.

chapter 19

the first 18 chapters took 40 years.  you may be familiar with some of the highlights from earlier pages.  6th grade band concerts, project england in 8th, and all the collegiate chapters.  we've come to chapter 19...only took 40 years.  

i arrived in the city yesterday afternoon.  and there was a symphony to accompany my arrival.  we've probably all heard it.  the captain of my united flight was the conductor, the passengers the orchestral players...and all the cell phones were the instruments.  the conductor taps his baton as the plane touches down.  he then comes on the intercom, striking the downbeat of the orchestra saying, "you may now turn on your cell phones."  And with that, the united philharmonic springs to life with beeps and short melodies as once dead circuits surge with battery driven power.  some of the players are lucky to hear the tunes that reveal new messages.  i was among the fortunate few with the ding of new text messages.  it was beautiful. 

 

made my way to the baggage carousel and found my luggage quickly.  took a bus to the port authority and had a nice conversation with a young man attending the culinary institute of america.  he would like to work for a family where he could be a live in chef.  maybe when i strike it rich i could hire him.  i'm sure i could instruct him on the finer points of velveeta preparation.  or perhaps he's already had a class in that.   i'm not sure if that would be covered in culinary undergraduate courses.  could be grad level.  i know i'd be a good professor.  

once at the port authority, jason met me and took me to my home for the next 6 weeks.  lovely apartment with plants on the balcony in a building filled with actors and artists.  i met divina in the elevator on my way to the 26th floor.  she's about to take the bar exam.  her father is an actor.  

since my cousin was in town and staying at the waldorf, i figured i'd subway over there and enjoy the evening with family.  wouldn't you know, the whole credit card mechanism for the entire metro network was down, so i couldn't get the month-long metro card.  started walking...not too bad really.  i'm at 43rd and 9th...the waldorf is at 51st and lexington.  i found myself next to someone while i walked so i asked if she was local.  "yes."  so i asked what a taxi would cost from times square to the waldorf.  she said it would be about five bucks, but that it wouldn't be a bad walk.  so i sucked it up and walked...in my trousers, sport coat, and not so great walking shoes in the 80 degree early evening new york mugginess.  

the waldorf is lovely.  opulent is a good descriptor.  right up there with the broadmoor in colorado springs but smack dab in the middle of the city.  met asheley in the lobby and we went to grand central station which has a market that is out of control!  great foods, cheeses, wine, meats, fruit...she ate well for our late dinner.  i had pizza...which seemed to me to be eating well, too.  after a fun evening, i strolled back to times square and slightly west to the apartment where i'm staying.  

chapter 19 is underway.  the pages will slowly fill

 and spill over into new ones.  what will this day be like?  i wonder.  what will my future bring?  i wonder.  

possessions

one of the fun parts of moving is packing things up, figuring out what you don't need anymore, determining what you want to keep, and then working out all the details. fun fun! well, i went through much of this 7 months ago when i moved from downtown colorado springs over here to manitou springs. so i know i want to keep the things i have already determined to keep! but the fun of this move is that i'm moving to new york city and when i get on the plane next week, i'll have a couple suitcases and a carry on. i can't seem to get my 9' concert grand piano i inherited in my oversize suitcase...let alone my carry on. or my big red couch that was an anonymous gift from a church member. or my wingback chair that has contributed greatly to the calming of my mind on countless mornings. and many other things that have had some value in my life...like wine and candles.

so...one challenge has been finding people to loan things to who won't mind giving them back in a few months or a few years when i find an apartment in the city that is slightly larger than my freshman dormroom and a job that affords it (maybe i can rent by the square foot). last week it was a privilege to give a number of things to a former student/friend of mine who got married over the weekend. his new bride will come home to an apartment with some fun things. another took a couch and some bookshelves to keep the cranium expanding books he loves. sunday night during dinner with friends, i mentioned trying to find a home for the piano...and they said they would love to house it for me! and today was so fun because i met some very joyful people on the incline who all seemed to need a few things. just about every last bit of furniture has found a home...and it was free candle day, as well. fun fun fun!!

all these people have blessed me. not only because i don't have to get as big a storage unit, but also by their smiles in receiving something useful that was unexpected and unearned. no attempt to earn it. no statement of non-worth for such a gift. just reception of what is offered with a smile. this is always a gift to the giver. the gift of gracious reception. would that we receive the gift of grace with the same smile.

now if i can just sell my car...

26 days...

...to departure. how weird is that?! maybe it's just weird to me. for me it's like everyone is leaving my life, kinda. for everyone else, it's just one person who is leaving. yeah...i guess it's just weird for me.

same thing on the other end. when i get to new york, there will be 10,000,000 new people. as far as they're concerned, only one. i hope they can remember my name. i'm going to have a hard time remembering all of theirs.