New York Carrot and Stick
by Doug Dosdall in North America , USA , New York
I think I'm safely out of New York's clutches. The Portuguese coast is on the monitor so I can write that. It was touch and go for a while, it seemed like New York was trying to keep me. It was kind of a carrot and stick approach. Funny, it wasn't so many years ago that New York was trying to get rid of me (remember this from 1998: NYC 6 Doug 0).
The carrot was planted early, on the bus ride into New York. In Providence, RI a
fellow got on the bus and sat next to me for the long ride into NYC. Jason
turned out to be a very interesting, very sweet and very smart guy (not bad to
look at either which I gotta tell you is a rarity on an intercity bus!). We
chatted the whole way in and met up a couple of times after too. It punctuated
one of the great things about New York: you meet such interesting and diverse
people. I mean, I met 4 filmmakers in 2 weeks. Not that filmmakers are
inherently but you get the point. For a guy who just finished 'What Should I Do
With My Life' (by Po Bronson), it opens up the mind to many possibilities. I was
also reminded that I already have some great friends in New York. I managed to
stay with 5 (!) of them during my 2 weeks in the city.
Of course, the other carrots of New York is the amazing scope of what's
happening here. The city is just so big that anything can happen there. I didn't
hurt either that September is a great time to be there. The weather is
pleasant which makes all the difference. And a day on the beach in Fire Island
or Sandyhook is only a few hours away. I flirted with the idea of living here
again. But ultimately I wasn't convinced. I know what a hassle it is to live
there: incredibly expensive, noisy and everything just takes an extra effort to
get done (don't ask about the 4 hours I spent in a bank branchÃ-urgh).
So here's where NY wielded the stick. I got sick as a dog a few days before I
was to fly to Spain. Three or four days of fever, extreme exhaustion, neck and
shoulder muscle aches and my head so cloudy that I managed to launder my entire
wallet when I was trying to get ready for the flight I didn't end up taking. I
made the smart move and changed my flight for 2 days later. It didn't feel like
any flu I've ever had. Wednesday I woke up with my head clearing and my muscle
aches receding. On the way to the airport yesterday, I was reading an article on
West Nile virus and there it was. My exact symptoms were described right down to
the fact that 3-5 days later, the fever would clear up (although the article
stated I have two weeks of low energy to look forward to). The article actually
mentioned that an estimated 500,000 people get West Nile every year. We hear
about the handful of deaths but I guess it's now part of our landscape to stay.
Wednesday went well until I got to the train station to get the train to Newark
Airport and there was an immediate announcement that there was a power failure
to the whole Northeast corridor and all trains were cancelled. Yikes. Anyway, it
wasn't as bad as it sounds, I got a bus, I got my plane and the fact that you're
receiving this indicates I made it to Spain (hey, that rhymes!).
And now, soon I'll be arriving in Spain. I'm looking forward to being in a
culture which appreciates the small things in life. New York is a little more
big picture than that. Actually, I was really motivated to write that by how
undrinkable drek this airline coffee is. We got a 7 course meal but the coffee
tastes like dishwater. I don't even want to consider that croissant knowing we
were provisioned in New Jersey.
