So, I'm back from my spring break in New York City. How was the trip? It had its ups and downs, starting with the initial plane ride. Tuesday was snowy up north and the NYC airports were temporarily closed, so we had to make a pit stop in Baltimore. After descending three times in a very small plane on a windy day, I began my trip with the ill feeling that keeps a person from wanting to move at all. I sat as still as I could with my face towards my overhead vent, waiting for nausea to subside. Several hours late, we finally arrived at La Guardia.

The first full day was bliss: five hours at the Met. *sigh* All that art. So many cultures. In part due to the Mysticism class I'm taking, I had so much fun going through the religious artifacts. There's something ego-satiating about seeing representations of Hindu and Buddhist gods, and knowing the various symbolism that they are surrounded by. The Greek gods and goddesses are always fun too. I got one pic of pottery decorated with raucus Bacchus (god of drunken orgies, though by the size of his ... extremity ... I'd have thought it was Priapus *snicker snicker*) and his entourage of partiers. Lots of other cool pictures, hopefully to be posted later. I only regret that their Islamic exhibit was under renovation, and that I didn't get to go see the Museum of Modern Art this visit. Not enough time.

The next day, after Tayrn continued feeling sick from our trip in, she felt she needed to go home. I was sorry to see her leave, but I suppose it was for the best, so that she could feel better. :-(

In the following days, I spent some time shopping. One jeweler's on 5th Avenue had a huge sale sign that looked promising, until I inspected a random price tag: $35,000. You know you're in upscale when 70% off still doesn't bring anything even remotely close to your price range. I did get a purse for myself, some sparkly earrings, a mini statue of fat/happy Buddha, and a book of avante guarde Chinese short stories. Went to two Broadway shows (Fiddler on the Roof and RENT), the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (I found immigrant names from both sides of my family engraved in the monument), saw a Jazz concert for free, explored many gothic cathedrals and chapels (though I'd have loved to see some Buddhist temples or Jewish synogogues too), rode subways and cabs (damn cabs are expensive), wandered through Central Park, witnessed the genuinely dazzling lights of Times Square, saw Ground Zero (though since I'd never see the WTC in person, it wasn't as eerie as it probably should have been), bought family members some birthday gifts, ate out at fabulous ethnic restaurants (as well as New York pizza and a hot dog from a street vendor), and generally had a ball. I can't imagine how lovely it would be to live there every day. I'd have to visit Central Park daily. It's splendidly both peaceful and exciting (at least on weekends, when so many people are there).

Oh, and a note on the people I saw: the stereotypes are bogus. New York people didn't seem the slightest bit rude to me. At least, no more so than any other people. Rather polite and friendly overall, especially considering the density of people. The only incident I saw which proved otherwise was some asshole yelling at a hot dog vendor that he was shit and that he was going to "ruin" him. He was going ruin the hot dog vendor guy? Talk about pathetic. Get a life, dude, and stop blowing up over what was doubtless some petty shit. *Sigh* Some people are too fond of their own quick temper.

Another thing. The city was remarkably personal. I mean, pretty much any city you go into, large or small, is going to have its own ambiance, and NYC is no exception. The melting pot effect couldn't possibly be thicker or spicier anywhere else in this country. The cultures, the clothes, the languages, and the full spectrum of skin tones. You walk down the street with a steady background noise of unfamiliar tongues. There were numerous street corner sales-people whose tables were covered with Hindu, Jewish, Protestant, Catholic, and Buddhist icons. Dozens of shops with a wide variety of world foods. That's another thing I'd take advantage of: constantly trying new restaurants and unusual cuisine. You gotta try everything to see what you like, right? :-)

Oh, and I must mention, I am very grateful to my cousin for letting me stay with him and covering so many of my financial costs. Major, major thanks to him. And also, there's a friend whose staying with him who is absolutely wonderful. Very intelligent and unique woman. We had a number of engaging conversations about politics, women in the workplace, the city of New York, fun polysyllabic words, and any number of other things. Both peoples = awesome.

Well, there's plenty more I could write, but I think I'll quit my summary at about this length.