on ny, part deux

Ahhhh...New York.

Almost two years after the most intense experience of my life in New York City, I no longer feel stressed out as some people do when they visit the big city. If you've ever felt "shit-I-haven't-lesson-planned-for-tomorrow" induced adrenaline, you know precisely what I'm talking about. If you haven't experienced this trauma, relish your oblivion.

Instead, my trip to New York last weekend was like a contemporary screenplay of my favorite classic book - it contained many of the same themes and plot lines, but included a host of new and sometimes surprising characters, while missing a few key ones (most notably, M., C., and R - who are extremely hard to picture my ex-New York life without). At random, events would happen that deviated from the original: the strange woman with two golden retrivers running after us and yelling "Vegans have better sex!," my legs hurting from too much walking (wimpy, I know), and my favorite bubble tea joint - Saints Alp Teahouse - was devastatingly closed for renovations.

But, there was something refreshing about this new adaptation, especially about re-living my favorite New York experiences alongside people who were experiencing them for the first time. I felt jubilant introducing my new cast of New York characters to my oft-frequented places - Sarabeth's and Max Brenner's for brunch, Central Park and Greenwich Village for traipsing, Two Boots and Klong for late dinners, and Rockwood Music Hall and Camp for only-in-New-York entertainment. I was reminded of what it is to enjoy dressing up - Houston has been remarkably unproductive in improving my fashion sense - and ransacked my favorite thrift store in my rediscovered passion for interesting and unique clothes. And best of all, I was reminded of what it meant to feel known and cared about, even by people who live hundreds of miles away.

jenga game that became an analogy for life

reunion of teachers for america

ex-RAs & education geeks vs. chocolate pizza

underground Indian dance team
ninerz: taker of the 1 a.m phone call

Other cities have got a lot to live up to.