Classic NYC Story

“She’s a queen…. All black women are queens.”

I refrained from making the joke that I was raised in Queens. I really just wanted to finish my pizza.

[...] I stood near the front of the dancing crowd for lack of a place to sit and looked into his eyes. He greeted me silently with a military salute, which (I had forgotten until just then) was my signature greeting back in high school. He blushed when I responded by blowing him a kiss. [...]

I’m wondering if there is a chance that this year might be turning into the year that last year was supposed to be…? I took a yoga lesson today and now I’m sore as hell. I finally found out my yoga instructor’s name. To think all that time in the summer I didn’t know… and [...]

The room was tiny and smelled like smoke and the blinds did not go down all the way to the bottom edge of the window. We settled on that spot after walking around to what seemed like (but certainly wasn’t) every hotel in Manhattan and hearing “Sorry, no vacancy.” By the time we got to St. Marks’ Hotel, my friend was limping, I was wired and it was 9am.

I think it has finally occurred to me that I’m supposed to be single now… except that I’m not entirely certain what “single” means anyhow. Does that mean that any and everyone is fair game, or does it mean that I am fair game? I’m starting to think it’s more the latter than the former. [...]

I made a pact today with my friend in Harlem that today was going to be a good day regardless of what obstacles stood in the way. We pinky-swore to it. (Clearly, we’re both eight years old.) I think I’ve upheld my promise so far. Even though I’m a little tired because I didn’t sleep well last night, I have too many things to do because I have to do all the things today that I didn’t get to yesterday, I’m a little worried about the future, I’m a little hungry because I haven’t eaten since breakfast, I found out today that my purse is just a little bit broken, and there’s no place in the campus library (which is where I am now) to curl into a child’s pose… I don’t care. It’s a good day because I swore to it.

Situation: I’ve just arrived in Harlem after walking about a hundred or so blocks up from midtown. I’ve been at my friend’s house for about twenty minutes or so. Me: So what are you cooking? Him: Man I had a horrible day today … the landlord stole my pots and pans! [insert long explanation here] [...]

My adorable cousin is a year and a half younger than I am and is absolutely not a New Yorker. Certain things that I take as inevitability are absolutely shocking to her… like the fact that the elevators in Penn Station smell like urine.

My friend from Boston and I have been friends forever. We’ve been friends since the Rock of Ages was a pebble. We’ve been friends since before sliced bread was the next “best thing.” We met round about the same time dirt was invented.

I went on a hunt for some coconut water. I found some being sold for a dollar more than I expected, by a brand I’ve never heard of, sitting next to some fat-free-sugar-free-organic-free-range-hippie-something-or-other. You’ve gotta love the east side.