2002-07-13
The NYC trip, posted at 12:24 p.m.
Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com I'm back from NYC. I'll be recovering for a while, both with my finances and my energy level.The highlights included my first ever Broadway show (Topdog/Underdog, which was terrific and starred Mos Def and Jeffrey Wright), a few fun nights out in the city, seeing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar walking down the street, and meeting some cool people, especially this gay couple who are a friend of Nick's. At one point, after hours of drinking in our one real "night on the town", Matt (one of the guys, who had been referring to his boyfriend as his "roommate" all night) turned to Nick and asked him how open-minded I was. He says, "One of the most open-minded people I've ever met" (can you think of a higher compliment to call someone?). Then he came out to me. I already knew because Nick had told me before, but it was still nice nonetheless. He told me he wanted to make sure we were starting off our friendship on an honest level.
That night, I also talked with this aspiring writer for a long time. I can't remember her name. Laura, maybe. She was cool to talk to, but then at the end of our conversation she told me that I didn't look like an English teacher, that I looked like a football coach. I reminded me of when my freshmen year roommate used to call me "big chief". Ugh. I was offended. Football means "big" to me, and I know I'm a big guy still, but I've lost 100 lbs and don't want to be reminded that I'm still physically "greater than" ("no less than, but fucking greater than," as Margaret Cho says on Drunk With Power, which I listened to on the way home, much like most long car trips). Ah well. She was cool otherwise.
The trip was exhausting. The conference was neither illuminating or worth the money that my school spent to send me to it. A lot of the people there had that snootiness that it seems a lot of Americans who travel or live abroad get - the "I've got a global perspective and you don't" sort of attitude that drives me crazy. Yeah, it could be a little bit jealousy-driven, I suppose. The sessions were far below the par of sessions I've attended as part of the NCTE conferences I've been to. And I think I have some major philosophical differences with the International Baccalaureate program in general. For example, they believe that studying theme in literature is superficial. Uh, excuse me? Isn't that why writers write?
I dunno. It wasn't a total wash. There were some moments I liked. I now know the format of IB. The conference had a nice banquet at the end of the week with free wine. It gave us Wednesday afternoon off so attendees could see a matinee if possible.
Socially, the trip was a bit anti-climactic. Nick got sick on the trip, and that put a little damper on things. We had one raucous night out, and that was it - we were in at 10pm, 11pm, and 11pm the other three nights. Teri came up the last night, and I don't think she had a good time because that was the night Nick got his fever.
Still, NYC is amazing. I want to make the trip more often. For the length of time it takes to go from one side of the state to the other in Michigan - a trip I took many times - I can go from here to NYC. I missed seeing Rent while I was there because I accidentally lost my credit card in the bar from the previous night and couldn't get the tickets, and it didn't even bother me too much because I figure I can drive up there some weekend soon and see it. Heck, I wouldn't even have to spend the night.
I no longer feel as overwhelmed by NYC as I did before. There are tons of people - everywhere - but I now know the different areas of the city. I know what Brenda Kahn is talking about when she sings about taking the L-train and "He'd rather talk to the bums on Avenue B than share a shred of his miserable life with me." I could even see myself living there someday for a brief time. Nick was trying to talk me into moving with him the whole time we were there. I'm not too keen on the cost of living, however. Teachers start out at $39,000, which is more than I make here, but the cost of living is significantly higher than it is here.
Right now, I'm feeling exhausted and glad to be ome. Eleanor is in town for the weekend for a conference, and she wants me to drive down to DC tonight to see her. I couldn't talk her into coming here. After driving six hours yesterday to get home, I'm not excited about driving, but I miss her and want to see her. Maybe I'll bring Holden along. I've missed him and Tobey this week. Tobey, by the way, is an amazing cat. He stayed at home (Holden stayed with a friend), with someone looking in on him every day, and he did fine. But he was very happy to see me. I don't think he's stopped purring since I came in the door.
And, yesterday, I caught him tentatively rubbing himself on Holden's hind leg. Yup, he even missed him.
I'm feeling uninspired right now, that's for sure. I could have written last night when I returned, but I didn't. Something someone wrote in Ms. Boombastic's guestbook the other day has gotten me thinking about why I do this. I feel like far too many of the things I write in here are sloppily formed stream-of-consciousness rundown of things I've done, rather than honest reflections about the things that drive my life. I think most longtime diarists begin to feel things like this. I like how Barani has dealt with it. I'm just writing off the top of my head here (and this, ladies and gentlemen, is typical - and that's the problem), so stay tuned, I guess. Blah.