Sunday, January 04, 2004

"Sunday morning I'm waking up
Can't even focus on a coffee cup
Don't even know who's bed I'm in
Where do I start
Where do I begin"

My cough sounds to me like a death rattle. It tears my eyes and works out my abdomen. After a week in NYC I need a vacation from my vacation. I'm beginning to tire of the guest room in my parents' house, and now that the holidays are over my friends here in VA are returning to work. I'm the only one still at play, and I'm ready for my return to the Best Coast tomorrow.

My last few days have been a blur. The Da Vinci Code, the train ride from Penn Station, east coast Chinese food. Scrabble at Dave's house (I don't care what his cracker-ass 1968 Random House dictionary says -- bo is a Japanese fighting staff and a weta is a giant grasshopper from New Zealand). Before that it was walking all over Manhattan: The Brooklyn Bridge, Lever House, Seagram's Tower, The RCA Building, Rockefeller Plaza, the Central Library, a coffee shop on Union Square, The G.E. Building, The Chrysler Building, The Empire State Building, Grand Central Station, El Greco at The Met. My TJ friend Kerry is now an architectural historian, so my perambulations around the city were accompanied by her knowledgeable commentary. Back at Mack's crib in Jersey City we introduced her to the evil addiction of Halo. Great Korean food. Shitty Thai food: my som tham was like American cole slaw and my Panang curry was as mild as Wonderbread. Watching the fireworks over Brooklyn and the harbour on New Year's Eve. Sleeping on a couch in a two bedroom apartment filled with five old friends. Being forced to have my picture taken in a snaking line at the Empire State Building.

Now, for one last day I'm back in Vienna, VA. My father just left for the airport, my mother and sister are at a funeral, and my dog is using me for my ball-throwing talents. My eyes are tearing, my stomach muscles are tight, and my throat feels like it's filled with gravel. And I can't even focus on my tea cup.