UPDATE: When you Do drop an entire bottle of olive oil, sprinkle oatmeal over the entire area and you’ll be amazed by how quickly it soaks up the oil. I have learned my lesson – whenever random shit happens, first check google for appropriate advice.
Weather patterns blow through here faster than anywhere else I’ve spent time. Very quickly, I realized that the weather forecast couldn’t be relied upon for more than twelve hours in advance. And now, I’ve gotten used to saying things like “the storm broke.” But the weather here requires a completely different philosophy and I’m not sure I’ll ever get the hang of the mid-atlantic climate.
One thing that hasn’t changed for me is how my body responds to an afternoon rain storm. I was feeling drowsy at work and realized I had to get some caffeine in me. So I took the subway home, figuring it would be easy to keep working there. Well color me wrong. I somehow lost 5 hours. I got hit over the head and for the life of me couldn’t do anything but sleep (with my mouth open to boot). As soon as I got in my apartment, I was somehow trapped in this deep undeniable sleep. It sure was a strange feeling.
Most days, it’s a gamble whether I manage to pick an appropriate outfit for the day. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve leaned over to put my palm flat against the window screen, as if I could somehow tell the temperature outside from that. My apartment, a classic six dating to the twenties, has a pretty constant temperature around 75. There isn’t much to be done about it either. But it is amazing how much subtle knowledge a climate requires. I can tell ya, I haven’t yet mastered dressing for success in New York City.
This summer though really is getting off to a good start. I’ll be working hard for the next month to get a handle on my project: just how many ethnic associations were there in New York City at mid-century? I have to answer this first before I can even ask how have immigrant aid societies have changed since the post-war period. In other words, I am spending a lot of time with Patience and Fortitude at the NYPL. My other research projects are also satisfying, especially as they are paid. With all this stimulation and support it is worth prolonging the isolation of being out here on the East Coast for a while longer. But I find what they say feels very true- there is a greater divide between east and west than north and south. I think I’m pretending that this way of life here is normal.
When I awoke from my crazy-rain-induced nap just now, I had one of those moments which could possibly make it all worth it. I sat up in bed and saw the glow of Manhattan spread out before me, dots of fuzzy golden glowing windows surrounding the darkness of the park in the distance. And I am so grateful to get to appreciate all these feelings.
