NYC

A million people — manners free and superb — open voices — hospitality — the most courageous and friendly young men,
City of hurried and sparkling waters! city of spires and masts!
City nested in bays! my city!
-- "Mannahatta," Walt Whitman

I deserve this break. It's not a need, it's not a want- I deserve it. Period. Of all the vacations I've ever had, I honestly have to say that this is one of the few I believe I've earned. So if it means me coming home a few hundred dollars poorer and more than several pounds heavier, so be it. I DESERVE THIS, remember?

We leave for New York on Wednesday and I'm so ready (in fact, I've been ready for the past four weeks..). Thankfully, a good friend helped us get a deal at the Doubletree Metropolitan on the East side of town so we don't have to clutch our bags and hearts in fear of dank and sleazy rooms. It's close to just about everywhere so that's great. No slushy jostling on the subway with prickly New Yorkers. Jude & I had hoped that we would make it to the city in time for The Gates displays in Central Park but that ended yesterday. I spent the last 2 weeks reading about those stunning saffron cloths- it would have been wonderful to be able to get a picture or just stand beneath them. Oh well, on the bright side there ARE seven hundred and thirty-two other things to do in three and a half days in New York...

Just a few on our list:
1) The museums. The three-month old newly opened MOMA is top priority followed by The Met. There's just something about museums that I find very alluring. I'm no consummate art maven; I might appreciate it a little more than the average person, but I don't think I could hold an intelligent conversation about composition, tone and aesthetics for more than an hour. But just to be in the presence of great art is an awesome experience and I think that's what it is about museums which give me that rush. The prospect of being able to see the Matisses, Picassos, Chagalls, Klimts and Rothkos in their entirety alone is worth this journey. Jude's also looking forward to catching the Bill Viola exhibit at the Whitney. He's idolized the man since his theatre days so this is going to be a real treat.

2) The food. Duh... No. 1 on our list is Nonya, a Singaporean restaurant some people say is even more authentic than it is back home. Beef rendang, chicken rice, mee goreng... I feel my stomach clenching already. Help... someone... please... And something Jude and I have been dying to have for the longest time is a decent bowl of ramen. I'm not referring to those dried squares of egg noodles with MSG-laden packs of seasoning- you know that right? We're talking the authentic Japanese deal here in its rich resplendent glory... Nothing warms the cockles of this girl's heart like a steaming bowl of noodles. Well, there's always a steaming mug of freshly brewed coffee, but you know that already...

3) The shopping, although I doubt I'm going to have time to do as much of this as I would like. There's Chinatown and Canal Street for those genuine kate spade and Coach knock-offs (grad students+ shoppping= cheap), and since we're on the theme of cheap, we'll probably be heading for the city's largest flea market on 6th and 26th Aves just before we leave. I've always loved flea markets (any open-air markets for that matter)- the people, the little trinkets and gems you end up finding for ridiculously low prices. I like...

There's clearly a whole bunch of other things we want to do (and hopefully might just be able to find time to, e.g. Arto Lindsay at Tonic for some experimental bossa) but we do only have 84 hours. Jude and I have decided that it's a good thing we didn't end up doing our PhDs in NY- we'd never graduate (because we would have squandered all our time and money on the very things we're going to squander our time and money on on this trip). So yes, the ironic blessing of a Midwestern college town...