B to the B

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Another full, but not full day yesterday. We didn't make it to the Met until 2pm. We still did manage to cram in some time at the H&M (non-existent in provincial cities such as Austin, though widely available in European provincial cities).

The evening managed to be very rushed. After several hours of walking around Manhattan, we returned home to quickly change and meet Stew and Elizabeth for a drink. This later turned into dinner at a overpriced, but decent Peruvian restaurant. Then, we had to make a dash for the F train to Manhattan. Apparently, getting to Grand Central from Brooklyn is no easy task. Three transfers and two city blocks later, we found ourselves dashing through the marble hall to Track 38, which was located convienently on the complete opposite side of the building. Just as we entered the car, the conductor blew the whistle.

Whisked away to the depths of the Bronx, Alison and I attended a party of one friend Blossom. Suprisingly, a crowd of music students largely from Austin was a highlight of the party. I joined these bad smoker kids on the stairs to the 5th floor landing of Blossom's walk-up apartment. Funny folks. Also, an unattractive and very drunk woman dressed in an outfit fitting for Charro kept falling down. She slipped in the hallway, she slipped in the kitchen, and her apparent boyfriend carried her out over his shoulder at one point.

Yesterday evening, I also learned that hanging out on the fire escape to smoke cigarettes can be a sketchy proposition. Blossom's fire escape had a gaping hole, which didn't not agree with my fear of heights. I remained glued to the window ledge.

Speaking of cigarettes, the state of New York must be trying to encourage people to stop smoking mightily. $7 for a pack. I don't think a pack even costs that much in a London pub.

An important lesson for going to parties in the Bronx, when you are sleeping in Brooklyn. Have a car or a friend with one to get home at 3am. Alex saved our lives or at least saved us from a two hour subway ride home.

On tap for today, Chinatown, Little Italy. In the Time Out New York, there was a write-up on this video artist that has an exhibit in Chelsea. Going to a Chelsea gallery would position me for at least scoping out the scene a little bit in that neck of the concrete.

Oh. My new Web site is up and running. nothing special. zilar.com

I also have a new blog set up. It will soon be replacing this one, I think.

zilar.com/scherzkecks/pivot

I made it to NYC. Little delay at La Guardia. It probably took me 45 minutes to get from the gate to Alison’s apartment.

Last night we went to this bad disco DJ show at this club called LUXX. Alex P. made the poster for the “Avant God” show at the club. Apparently, a good DJ was going to play last, but by 3am we were wrecked. At the club, we saw Chloe Sevingy of Kids, Last Days of Disco, and American Psycho fame.

Also, I got to see two potential fights on the street in Williamsburg and in Sunset Park. Lots of shit talking going on... Of course, Alison mentioned that this kinda thing never happens... Michelle said the same thing about the homeless person that attacked me in San Francisco back in February.

Today has definitely been a lazy morning. We still haven’t made it to Manhattan. Considering that I’ve been a huge ball of stress, this doesn’t bother me so much. Probably heading to the Met today. Some party tonight in the Bronx. Nicolle just moved here as well.

Still haven’t called Stewart and Elizabeth.

I'm up late again. Actually, I'm not chatting away into oblivion or some insomniac fool either.

Forward motion is what tonight is all about. With the illustrious Barqs' help, I have been setting up my personal Web site. It looks like I will even have my own site resident blog. There's this freeware called Pivot that let's you set that up on your own site. So, tonight, I've been recalling UNIX commands from the depths of my brain. Funny how I learned so many useful computer geek skills from my days as a cartography drone. I am really appreciating the under-the-hood UNIX part of OS X on my iMac. I don't have to download five million things to manage a Web site. Everyone, abandon their PC now and buy a Mac! Run, don't walk!

Dos XX and I found a new roommate. AnchorSteam is from the Bay Area via a three-week stint in Dallas (he came to his senses quickly and decided to find employment elsewhere). He won't move in for another week, but he seems like an interesting guy.

In two days I head for New York. In light of today's terrorism alert, I'm wigging out a bit. I DID buy some travel insurance, just in case I get stuck in the La Guardia or Houston Intercontinental coffee shop for five days. My travel agenda is pretty slim so far. I fished Sake's old New York Lonely Planet out of the garage and have a subway map from a previous dream of a New York trip. I know that I'll visit Moma or the Met and probably Ground Zero (though I like to play the Ostrich in this regard sometimes).

Strangely, three people I know have moved to New York this summer. Suddenly, NY, NY, beats San Francisco as the hotspot in the US for out-of-town friends. Of course, London is still a very close second.

Another thought. I must call RedStripe when I get back. It looks like she's been a blogging machine lately. Where does she get these writing exercises from?

She might inspire me to do that novel in a month contest...

I cannot sleep right now. Insomnia has not been a problem for several months. Maybe even a year.

I have started smoking, albeit just one or two an night, outside of my usual regimen of travel outside the US and drinking.

Work has been REALLY stressing me out. Nothing like when I worked at Hoover's, but still bad. Having two bosses isn't fun. Earlier, I complained about having no boss. Now I have too many.

I'm going to New York on Thursday, September 12. This scares me and excites me at the same time. I have not been to the Big Apple in more than ten years. I guess I did fly back through Newark one time, but a layover at an airport hardly counts.

This trip will be a bit of a scouting mission. Three people I have known have moved up there this summer. Will more follow?

Everyone seems to be moving, plotting out grad school&0151;I'm trying to come up with something to do. Anything.