The New Adventures Began Like This (part one)

My blog seems a bit empty and I really don’t feel like I have anything earth shattering to say at this point, so I am going to go back. Back to a time in which the month of October meant 80 degree temperatures and the State Fair of Texas was a yearly wait and see tradition of mine (wait-and-see if I will actually go). I was living in Texas and feeling the need for something different. Antsy. My position at my job at the time was… shaky at best and my lease was going to be up in a few months. Thus it was during this time (and my subsequent layoff) these odd voices swirled around in my little head.

“Move to the frigid north!! Go to New-“

The new part never finished, but there was certainly a movement afoot. It really seemed to start back when my dad was alive. He and my mother would talk of their time in NYC. Staying out late, the music… the food. They spoke of his visits to my mother in the south Bronx where people were requiring tolls to pass through certain neighborhoods. I, the Boston-born-Texas raised kid, would in turn shake my head and quietly call them brainwashed behind their backs.
It’s cold, it’s old and dreary. Why would I want to go there? Sure I had friends who either visited or used to live there. Each of them with their own flavored tales of NY life. Each with an odd glow about them as they enthusiastically described what they did while there. I would quietly roll my eyes and mutter “whatever” because I wasn’t feeling it. If the place was all that, why are you standing here in Texas?
Now, did I have a curiosity about this place? Sure, who isn’t curious as to how (and *WHY*) 10 million-plus ill tempered people squeeze onto a tiny island(s) and love it so. I have passed through NY a few times in life. Visited both airports pre-911 and been driven through parts of Queens. My curiosity was tempered when I visited Toronto and London a few times and were told they were nicer versions of NYC. That there was good enough for me. That Toronto was a cleaner version and London’s subway system and shopping were on par with the Big Apple. Add in Miami and it’s huge NY influence with warm weather and hell.. why would I want to go to NYC??

“Your mother and I loved it and you would too..”

Yet, the seeds were planted and they took root. So much so that one day when it was suggested I move to New… gulp.. Jersey, I didn’t gag as much as one would think I should have. I have things to say about the Garden State, but that’s for another time. The Jersey idea was being pitched again as it has been in the past by the same friend with a twist.

“Yeah, we’re like 30-45 mins from NY and it’s waaay cheaper here”

Again, this statement will be re-visited another time in the saga. At the time… sounded like a perfect idea. Get over the cold phobia and live somewhere outside of the Lone Star state. So I packed it all up and planned my trek east.

To be continued…

-J