Walking Through Harlem

I'm struggling for a break from email, so I thought I would stop by here and catch up. I spent last week in the garden state with my whole team and our director. We were recording the audio for our next training CD, so we had a little fun. I got to dust of my musical chops and create some music for a game show I wrote and "hosted" and had a pretty good time! Of course the creative freedom had to be punctuated by little sessions with the director to discuss actual business, but there were a few moments where I thought - "Man, I can't believe I get to do this at work!"

The weather was crappy until Thursday, when it warmed up and perked up all the flowering magnolias and cherry trees. Friday, Teresa and I made it into the city and had a ridiculously expensive snack that took so long we missed the last hour of MOMA. I really can't believe people take vacations to go to New York, I don't see the attraction in shoving yourself in with humanity so you can see a few tall buildings and shop in places you'll never afford. When you travel a lot I think you feel so at home on the road that you don't consider yourself a tourist anywhere.



I missed the last bus back to Jersey, so I crashed on Teresa's friend's couch in south Harlem. (Thanks Erica!) The most enjoyable part about the whole trip, besides good company, was my walk in the morning to catch a cab. I walked about 25 blocks before even seeing a taxi, down first avenue past the Jefferson Houses and then down 2nd for another 10 before deciding to hail a ride. Pooping dogs and their owners were the only others on the sidewalk... it was quiet, cool, almost serene. I forgot how bad my feet hurt and just soaked up the calm. After a week of extraverting myself to record the cd, I needed to feel like a little island floating through manhattan.



I was a happy tourist then, catching the city that never sleeps taking a nap.

As the cab took me downtown, people were out and I recognized the crowds from the night before. Next time you're in new york, take a walk through the 100's in the early morning.