Fall breeze blows outside...

I missed New York, my home below Canal, the city streets at night, so terribly today. I used to walk out of my building after dark and move in any direction. All directions were lit, all directions offered a nocturnal adventure, an escape from the stress that is insomnia. Sometimes I carried my camera and captured light reflecting in leftover puddles of city-steam. Sometimes I carried a book and walked my way to a coffee shop or a park bench. Sometimes I even walked out the door in pajamas and landed myself in a bar, drinking Jack and watching the World Poker Tour.

I met people, if I wanted to. I would sit next to a homeless guy and share my gloves with him. I would accept a drink from a regular at the bar. I would stop and talk with the large woman who worked the night shift as a security guard one block away. I would go to the library and converse with fellow students during 4am snack breaks. I would run into other insomniacs, sometimes at the same places, at the same time each night. I didn’t even have to leave my building to meet people. I would drum in the stairwell and be visited by a fairly constant stream of music enthusiasts, curious cats, or sometimes people just stopping to ask if I would please take my drum and make noise elsewhere.

My gym was open 24 hours and I was never the only one there, running, stretching, avoiding sleep at 2:00am.

My excursions were not always nocturnal, I would wander around during the day as well. I would head up to the Cloisters Museum and sit on a rock, overlooking the George Washington bridge. I would go to Central Park and people watch. I would stoop-sit in the West Village and enjoy the quiet particularities that characterize the neighborhood. I would even come to rest in the peaceful echo of a random church at noon on a Tuesday. If I wanted to feel inspired or humbled I might move to a museum where I could admire magnificent art of all forms. If I needed to escape I might ride the subway for hours, avoiding cellular service and enjoying the journey, completely uncaring about the destination.

I missed all of this so terribly today.

About the list: Thank you for the comments. I tend to assume that no one reads my blog so its fun to see that people actually do. I think we have all done a lot more than we realize. I love to keep good memories, funny stories and such in the front of my mind. We spend so much time trying to figure out what we want to do in the future and I think we could gain a little perspective if we took a moment to look at our past. OK, enough mushy stuff!

Some things I left out:

Rented a car, ice-skated, roller bladed, biked down a boardwalk, slept in a hammock, ran a red light, stood in Tienanmen Square, bought moccasins from a Cherokee, rode in the back of a cop car, rolled down a hill, flaunted my female anatomy to get things, got stuck in an elevator, climbed a tree, did a walk of shame down 5^th Avenue while carrying my bra and shoes on a Sunday morning, threw a toga party, painted a self-portrait, used finger paints, made myself vomit, peed in the woods, danced on 80’s night at a club, sang karaoke to Lil Kim, watched Lord of War at a bar in Africa, won a game of darts, dyed my hair blue, took a pregnancy test, plucked my eyebrows, rode a camel and a pony, saw a scene from one of my dreams in real life, bought dinner for a Liberian refugee, turned down a marriage proposal from a Spaniard, took care of a heroin addict, saw most of the Marley kids in concert, competed in a tennis tournament, collapsed from dehydration, made out with the lead singer of a band, voted in an election, played violin for guests at an Italian dinner event, helped build a house for someone else, slept in a tepee, bench-pressed my own weight, brought a woman to tears while performing Pachelbel’s Canon…

I feel like I have lived a full life.

I was bitten by a monkey, hiked up a mountain and down the other side, ate a baguette in Paris, went topless, got lost, lived alone, skipped a class, made my own clothes, started my own business, collected over 300 Beanie Babies, was in love, was depressed, had a 9-5, traveled into the unknown with no plans, breathed with a woman in labor, published a poem, printed photos by hand, prayed with the Catholics, Jews, Baptists, Muslims and more, cared for a newborn, shoplifted, was chased by the military, slept with bedbugs, danced on a bar, took a bucket shower, skinny dipped, crashed a motorcycle, taught a class, lead a lecture, was followed in Harlem and robbed in Bali, sang in a choir, played drums for an audience, walked under a waterfall, ate goat in Ghana, made pottery, received acupuncture, chiropractic and homeopathic treatments, caught a fish, smoked a cig, kayaked, camped in the cold, buried a friend, touched the statue of liberty, was on Indonesian national television, had a secret admirer, touched a stingray, won a canoe race, gave things to homeless people, wrote a love letter, shared with the Buddhists, the Hindus and the Hari Krishna, tutored the underprivileged, was on MTV, met Bono, drank alone at a bar, won money playing poker, slept in my car, had a few operations, got turned away at a border, lived with orphans, kissed a girl, went to an AA meeting, wore only a man’s dress shirt to a party, played pool against a national pool playing champion of Egypt, wrote a press release, bathed in a river, threw a surprise party and was surprised by one thrown for me, kissed a lover under the stars, performed in Disney World, ran a race, had cyber sex, was confined to a wheelchair, cut my own hair, walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, snorkeled along a coral reef, was blessed by a fetish priest, called 911, won an award for my photography, had a migraine, passed a bowl, wrote a song, jumped in a fountain, danced in the rain, graduated, planted a tree, watched a man die, drank milk from the carton, hitchhiked, helped save a life, protested, passed out drunk, saw the Yankees in NY, grew my own food, built a snowman, gave away the shirt off my back, laughed until I cried, kissed a stranger, sang karaoke, walked through ancient Olympia, acted in a movie, went on a cruise, wrote a letter to the government, was raped, wrote a blog, played in the leaves, cried at ground zero, practiced yoga, walked an old person across the street, ate a coconut off a tree, rode an elephant, made snow angels, won first place in an Irish music competition, stayed out till the sun came up, kept a journal, went on a blind date, got a tattoo (temporary), bargained at a market, rode a horse through the woods, ate duck penis, went to prom, white-water rafted...more to come.