36ish hours in New York City

For me, the strangest part about being back to life in the US is watching my calendar fill up three months ahead of whatever I'm doing today. Last weekend, since we didn't have any pressing obligations, Jameson and I had planned to spend the weekend camping to celebrate my birthday...but weather forecasts predicted rainfall over the entire south east of the continent. I decided on a whim that I wanted to take the overnight Chinatown bus from Richmond to New York. So, Jameson though exhausted, consented. It was a nice little 35 hour escape. We stayed with my friend Julia, who I met while studying in Asia. We spent Saturday walking around the city. When we first arrived Julia greeted us outside the gate of her apartment wearing a bath robe and an eye mask on her head. She rather quickly woke up, threw on some jogging shorts and led us all to prospect park where we were still managing to make the designated "dog off the leash" time of day. Never before in my life have I seen such a sea of kanines, and all different shapes and sizes. Silly New York City dogs who didn't seem to know what to do with their new found freedom. Most seemed to loiter around their owner and cautiously sniff on-coming dogs, making sure to maintain proper spacial limitation. Our representative pug/pomeranian was happy rolling around in the muddy spots of grass.

Mid-day, we met a friend at the Union Square farmers market. Oh what wonders there are to see! A man with a monkey head, lost in the crowd, a lady with a parrot sitting on her shoulder watching a man playing the guitar wearing a feather headdress, and flamboyant men everywhere carrying tiny dogs.

That night some of Julia and her boyfriend Kareem's friend had a party on the rooftop of his Brooklyn apartment building. We grilled our veggie dogs and listened a band play old time folk music, though It didn't feel quite right in NYC, not the way it does back in old Virginia. I listened and stomped along, thinking that at least the banjo player was from North Carolina. Cold rain rolled over us at about 11. My lack of sleep caught up with me and I passed out downstairs on the sofa.
-Laney