My 17 day trip home is coming to a close, only with the best ending to 2006. I did another whirlwind tour of the Northeast, having stopped in Ann Arbor, Michigan for a night to visit with A, and then on to Baltimore for Christmas at my sister's, home to PA, and then to NYC for our New Year's extravanganza. It couldn't have worked out better, since two of my best friends (one from uni and one from high school) who didn't know each other live in the same apartment building on the upper East side, so a lift later I was in either of their apartments. It was one of the best new years ever -- we forked out a pretty penny for Tao, a trendy restaurant in New York, but it was completely worth it. The food, atmosphere, and company of course were unbeatable, not to mention that it was amazing to see the best of New York rockin' the new year away.
The moment I stepped onto the subway in New York, I felt different. It's difficult to explain in words, but the best way I can describe it is that I felt a rush of reality. If New York City were an object, it would be something hard, cool, with pointy corners -- maybe like a square block of swirly marble. It's tangible. Tokyo would be a bubble of reflective light, with the colours of the rainbow exchanging places on the surface, floating away, transient. It's surreal, dreamlike. I like both. But I feel like life is richer or fuller in New York. I guess there are plenty of times to live in your dreams, like when you are old and gray and no longer able to let life absorb every part of you. But isn't now the time to experience the full-bodied taste of life? That's what I feel New York is... a big rush of air that makes you open your eyes and realise you are living. Can a city really have that much power? As crazy as it sounds, I don't doubt it.
That being said, I guess one has to be prepared to really face life in all its dimensions. Tokyo is a different reality, and I emphasise its escapist qualities. But it's my reality, and it's where I see my 2007.
My new year's resolution is to do whatever it takes to feel absolutely fabulous as often as possible. It's pretty abstract, but I think I know what it entails. Maybe it will take more than 2007 to accomplish, but I've got time.
The moment I stepped onto the subway in New York, I felt different. It's difficult to explain in words, but the best way I can describe it is that I felt a rush of reality. If New York City were an object, it would be something hard, cool, with pointy corners -- maybe like a square block of swirly marble. It's tangible. Tokyo would be a bubble of reflective light, with the colours of the rainbow exchanging places on the surface, floating away, transient. It's surreal, dreamlike. I like both. But I feel like life is richer or fuller in New York. I guess there are plenty of times to live in your dreams, like when you are old and gray and no longer able to let life absorb every part of you. But isn't now the time to experience the full-bodied taste of life? That's what I feel New York is... a big rush of air that makes you open your eyes and realise you are living. Can a city really have that much power? As crazy as it sounds, I don't doubt it.
That being said, I guess one has to be prepared to really face life in all its dimensions. Tokyo is a different reality, and I emphasise its escapist qualities. But it's my reality, and it's where I see my 2007.
My new year's resolution is to do whatever it takes to feel absolutely fabulous as often as possible. It's pretty abstract, but I think I know what it entails. Maybe it will take more than 2007 to accomplish, but I've got time.
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