This has been a quiet but good week. It is Thursday afternoon and I feel like everything has fallen into place. I received the three boxes of my belongings from home and my desktop computer Janet sent. They are unpacked and everything is in place. At first I thought I had packed too much but the fact is everything fit nicely. I have just enough personal items to remind me of home (vs a hotel) and it is very comforting. I love having the desktop though I have the option of going downstairs to the business center or to a local Starbucks with my laptop. It is so good to have flexibility—and isn’t that true in all forms of life? Now that I have a few things from home around the apartment, it really does feel a tad bit more like home and although I love my home I can’t say I am missing it. I have my very favorite blanket, a pillow that Maitecha needle-pointed for me and a “lauburu” pillow Angela gave me. I have a couple of framed photos of Anna Marie, Mickey, Ashley and of course, my brother Marty. I even have a photo of the “gang” from a New Year’s Eve party taken at the Basque Cultural Center in San Francisco: Kathie, Remy, Jenny, Jesse, Noel, Raymond, Bernadette, Louise and me. I find I have more time to work on the computer, to devote to other projects and to even sleep. Yes, sleep…a 5-letter word. I am not opposed to sleep but I do find it a frightful waste of time. I am thinking the difference here is that I don’t have to devote much (if any time) to daily chores and those that I do are quite limited. It boils down to a two bedroom/three bathroom place vs one room/one bathroom.
While I do miss my daily walks with Kathie and Jeanette, my daily walks are exceptionally interesting. I am getting to know the neighborhood fairly well and even though I may go around the same neighborhoods, I find I do venture out a bit more each day. Did you know the population of Manhattan as of 2021 was 1.6 million people with a density of 71,000 people per square mile? It is unfathomable, really. Try this on for size: Manhattan is 13.4 miles long and 2.3 miles wide. That is a lot of people in a very small area…and this doesn’t even account for tourists…which, BTW, are in front of me all the time – I really love the people who stop abruptly (in front of me) to discuss where they should go next. Nothing makes me happier. At the same time, I feel quite safe everywhere I go and I am always cautious just how far I do venture out.
Across the Freedom Tower and tribute pools there is a strange looking building. I was told it is the shape of a whale’s skeleton; but I found out that the steel “ribs” that reach up and out actually symbolize a hand releasing a dove. It is called the “Oculus” and is a lasting reminder of the attacks of 9/11. I have passed in front of this many times, but when I looked for directions to the nearest UGG store to buy Ashley a birthday gift, lo! and behold!This strange building is a shopping center. It goes down at least three levels below the ground and the Apple Store is two stories high.
This place also serves 12 subway lines and the PATH train—I have no idea what the PATH train is but that’s what I read. Now! Wasn’t that a lovely discovery? Incredible.
This week I joined the Chino Basque Club board meeting by Zoom. It’s hard to believe that I was actually 3,000 miles away. I love this day and age. Tonight I will be zooming with “Me & Co.” and once again I will marvel at modern technology. I have managed to stay in touch with several friends and family, and each day in New York is just as enjoyable as the day before.
Although I love my quiet little life (not much different than when I am in California) I am still looking forward to a few events coming up this weekend: seeing Danielle and Shane along with Pierre and Grant, sailing on Saturday, going to a Basque restaurant, Haizea on Saturday night, and finally walking the Brooklyn Bridge on Sunday. As Kevin Costner once said in a movie, and I am paraphrasing, “If we don’t do things out of the ordinary every once in a while, then life would just be a bunch of Thursdays strung together.” So, true, Kevin…so very true!