I treated myself to a trip to the city yesterday. In case you don’t subscribe to my Twitter feed, I texted in some tweets that went like this:
- Riverbank State Park makes me regret moving to the Hudson Valley.
- Whole Foods @ Columbus Circle makes me regret moving to the Hudson Valley.
- The A Train makes me regret moving to the Hudson Valley.
- The Pope is ruining my day. (I was going to say that shopping at Century 21 makes me regret moving to the Hudson Valley, but the pope had to bless Ground Zero, and all of the streets were closed and I couldn’t get there. I hope he at least stopped to get a deal on new shoes to go with that jaunty hat he wears.)
- Pearl River Mart makes me regret moving to the Hudson Valley.
- Starbucks makes me… Nevermind, we have one of those in town.
- Paragon Sports makes me regret moving to the Hudson Valley. (The store sells every conceivable sporting good known to woman.)
- Giving directions to foreign tourists in the 42nd St. Subway makes me regret moving to the Hudson Valley.
- Max the hairdresser is one of the best things about New York City.
My visit to Max was the purpose of the trip, but I got there wickedly early so I could swim in the Olympic-size swimming pool that rests atop a sanitation facility off of the West Side Highway. I used to swim there quite often when I was living in Manhattan, and going back to my old pool got me nostalgic to visit all my old haunts in the hours before my appointment, and nostalgic it was.
But then I came home to the Hudson Valley where I have friends who check up on me when I break my ankle, and are there for me when I break my heart, and actually return my phone calls when I want to talk (and sometimes I don’t even have to call them first!) I have a crappy home on a beautiful piece of land (there may be a swarm of bees in my mudroom, but there are fish jumping in the pond!) I can park my car without worrying about circling the block 5 times to find a spot, and when I turn out the lights at night, it is so dark that I can’t see my hand in front of my face. Also, my commute to work is less than 8 minutes, and I pass a drive-in movie theater on the way. I think the only solution to my where I belong conundrum is to split myself exactly in two and live both places at once. And once I master that, I’ll create even more horcruxes so I can live in England, Virginia, Colorado, Los Angeles and Australia as well, but I won’t do it in the evil way that Tom Riddle did in Harry Potter.
BTW, the delay of this post is due to the nature that I’m waiting for Max to send me the picture he took after blowing out my hair, which explains the title. It still hasn’t come through, so I’ll have to add that later. in the meantime, please enjoy this picture that I took with my camera in Chinatown:
Posted by xsquared on April 21, 2008 at 10:02 am
Did you know there’s a Century 21 on Rt 4 in Paramus now?
I do, but these days, I only seem to visit New Jersey on Sundays! Down with Blue Laws!
Posted by nancypearlwannabe on April 21, 2008 at 10:05 am
It sounds like you have a pretty sweet deal going there, actually. You get to live in a pretty place and travel easily to one of the brightest cities on the planet to get your hair cut.
Let me know how the Horcrux thing goes. If it works out and you don’t develop red snake eyes maybe I’ll try it out too.
Yeah, it’s nice to visit the city, but it makes me miss living there.
Posted by Howling Hill on April 21, 2008 at 10:11 am
Moving away from all you know is hard. I’ve been in Central New Hampshire for almost four years now. Still there are times — especially when I go for a long visit — where I think I should move back to suburban Boston to be near my friends and family. And then I remember it’s so expensive I couldn’t afford a blade of grass much less a house. And it’s really crowded. And the traffic is bad. And the groceries are more expensive. And my family doesn’t call anyways so why should I move back?
Yeah, my friends in the city never call me, so I wonder why I would have this loyalty to them, when they were just fair weather.
Posted by courtney on April 21, 2008 at 10:27 am
I agree with NPW. You get to enjoy all the good things about NYC without dealing with the headaches of actually living there.
Can’t wait to see your new hair!
I never really had headaches living there, though. My only problem was that I hated my job.
Posted by alexa on April 21, 2008 at 10:30 am
i want to live in hudson valley! it sounds wonderful.
Okay, yeah, it is, actually.
Posted by -R- on April 21, 2008 at 10:37 am
I have seen the Harry Potter movies, but I have no idea what a horcrux is. Is it like a clone?
It’s something you’ll learn about when the last two Harry Potter movies come out.
Posted by Allie on April 21, 2008 at 10:50 am
It does sound like you have the best of both worlds. Although, I’m sure you could do without the bees in the house . . .
Yeah, the bees, they are strange, but non-aggressive, so maybe even they aren’t so bad.
Posted by 3carnations on April 21, 2008 at 11:26 am
Have you calculated exactly how much that haircut cost you? With train ticket and other related trip expenses. Just kidding. Sounds well worth it.
Well, the haircut also cost me money, but that’s why I like to make a day out of it.
Posted by Kristabella on April 21, 2008 at 11:41 am
I drive 50 miles one way to get my haircut, so I know how important that is!
Plus, i just go to a crappy suburb! You get to go to NYC. Not a bad deal….
I’m excited to hear how the horcrux thing works out for you. You’ll be rich!
Having hair you like can make your day when so many other things seem wrong.
Posted by Aaron on April 21, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Because I am a sheep with no original thoughts, allow me to echo the sentiments of the other commenters who suggested that you have the best of both worlds going on. Besides, you live near a drive-in theater. You know this makes me jealous.
I hope the theater actually plays some good movies this year. Maybe I’ll take my bike.
Posted by SisterAlyson on April 21, 2008 at 12:53 pm
max is awesome. can’t wait to see the pic!
He asked about you. I think he misses you. I do, too. Call me!
Posted by Laurel on April 21, 2008 at 1:39 pm
The A train?
Really?
It was always reliable when I lived there (except in the months after the fire at Chambers Street), it has the best seat arrangement of all the trains, it goes where I want it to, and usually gets good entertainment. The best of all the trains, I say!
Posted by kir on April 21, 2008 at 1:40 pm
since moving out here, i cannot imagine what life was like without a whole foods (oh wait, there was a place called wegmans, sigh). and why must there be a starbucks every 5 feet… how the hell do they all stay in business?
We do have a SuperGreat farm market here, but Whole Foods is like a wonderland of strange foods and overpriced salad bars.
Posted by neuteronomy on April 21, 2008 at 2:13 pm
The Pope ruined the first half an hour of All Things Considered Friday, too!
What is wrong with that guy?
Posted by apollocreed on April 21, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Paragon is awesome, it’s true.
You know what I’m talking about.
Posted by Red on April 21, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Your subject title triggered a 20-year-old Pavlovian sobbing response, and I was unable to read anything beyond it. I hope you’re doing well, but I’ll never actually know.
Sorry! That is one of the saddest moments ever committed to film.
Posted by Stefanie on April 21, 2008 at 9:50 pm
If you ever figure out how to split yourself like that, be sure to fill me in. Also, I thought Century 21 was overrated, but I have only been there once, and it was while battling a nasty hangover, so I might not have the best perspective on that.
Yeah, sometimes I don’t like it as much as I think I do, but I’ll never now.
Posted by mickey on April 22, 2008 at 8:41 am
Football helmets can be quite attractive in the right context. Even brown ones, I’m sure. You can work it out.
And I agree with the gallery: you’ve got it pretty good there in the HV.
I guess so. I’ll go back to “thankful for what I’ve got” mode, I suppose.
Posted by Deb on the Rocks on April 22, 2008 at 9:31 pm
Hawt cut!