tammytoes

yesterday, a young woman stopped margi and me on the way to the subway about a block from our house and asked us if we lived in the neighborhood.  we both hesitated for a moment and then, much to our surprise, we answered, “yes.”

to wit/adventures thus far:

we spent friday night in jersey city with margi’s friends, and it was a strange but lovely stopover before the city.  the next day we drove the moving truck through manhattan – because, after you’ve driven 1,900 miles across the country already, why not just drive right through manhattan?  it was a saturday morning, traffic was light, and the drive was surprisingly fun and victorious.  and the universe served up a nice big parking spot across the street from our apartment and we were convinced it was the greatest, incident-free move across the country ever.

and then we hit a car.  oops.  helluva way to meet a new neighbor.

[...a $650 check later at a body shop, a handshake, and an invoice on which the words "paid in full" are mercifully written, and that matter should hopefully be cleared up.  my spidey sense is still tingling about this one, but i'll trust it to the heavens that the fender bender was the only hitch we had on the move here...]

and then we moved in.  and spent the afternoon drinking beer and talking in our new courtyard instead of unpacking, which was exactly the right thing to do.

and here we are.  and i am strangely untethered and simultaneously very grounded in this new home.  and it’s awesome and i am very, very tired.  next week i begin the process of being really self-employed. this weekend, i’m planning on seeing some sites i haven’t yet seen.  in the meantime, i’m unpacking boxes and taking naps at will.

i already love living here.  on sunday, my ever amazing brooklyn field guide ehren took me to the socrates sculpture park in long island city to see a free fiery furnaces show.  the music was great, but the view overlooking the east river was even better.  we ended up in williamsburg, and got our asses kicked on the asteroids machine at barcade.  and last night was margi’s 35th birthday, and we went to a drag club, then closed down a karaoke bar.  and somewhere in there, i signed a lease, got blisters on my feet, started a list of favorite places from friends in other places (moving to new york city is like stepping into everyone else’s love letter to new york city), found the rice cooker (it’s not home until you’ve made some rice), got about a gadjillion mosquito bites, and spent a lot of time marveling at the fact that i am really, really here.

i parallel parked a 22′ moving truck on the street in jersey city this afternoon.

stop dragging the river…  i made it.  and i’ll be unloading the truck in brooklyn tomorrow morning.

film at 11:00.

And, for the record, we really did NOT need the 22′ truck.  At all.  However, the extra 6′ sure have been bringing all the fun.

Two notes from the Super 8 in Columbia, Missouri:

• I think that Kansas should be partitioned into several smaller states in order to improve everyone’s travel experience.  The drive just wouldn’t be as bad if you felt like you were making progress.  Observe: the length of Kansas is 1/3 of the way to NYC from Denver.
• It seems like nothing ever comes to no good up on Choctaw Ridge.

Bedtime Conversation:

Tammy: Margi, are you technically allergic to the state of Kansas since it’s the Wheat State?

Margi: Yeah, I guess that makes sense.  After all, the whole state makes me stupid.

i disappeared from the final, quiet going away festivities tonight because i didn’t want to say anymore goodbyes.  it’s time to get some miles behind me and make new plans with old friends and discover the meaning of old hat with new friends.

it occurs to me now that i’ve met a few people here on the cusp of goodbye, and gotten to know a few more who are always saying goodbye of one sort or another who move me in a way that i’m unprepared for.  who take me by storm and question the value of my boundaries, the source of my center for so long now.  so here it is, the final gift that i’ve been given in this last year: it might just be soon that I feel like I can fall in love again.

until then, there are 2,000 miles between me and the comfort of my old bed in a new home.

…we find Margi’s costume box.

And it saves our lives.