foiled!
my plan to seclude myself in my apartment for the weekend to catch up on some work was completely derailed when the sun came out early this afternoon. not having seen the sun at all this past week (its been rather poopy here in the city), i immediately threw on my running shoes and jogged over to the reservoir for a couple of laps. there is an old man with an oxygen tank who walks the reservoir in the reverse direction that everyone is running. and we must have the same schedule because i see him there everytime i go. what's curious about him is that he wears around his neck a photo of a man wearing a racing number (from a marathon, perhaps?). i imagine this to be picture of his former self, and that he walks laps to live vacariously through the people sprinting by him. rain or shine, he always gives a small wave and says, without fail: "isn't it a wonderful day? beautiful day for a run." i make sure, as we approach each other, to turn off my ipod so i can reply: "yes, it is. it's perfect weather." i look forward to this genuinely warm exchange, and it invariably gives me an extra spring in my step for the rest of my run.
after my run, i walked around central park for a little bit, then head home. fortunately, as i was getting ready to bunker down to a spreadsheet, moo-moo called and i took the opportunity to walk to riverside park, since "i don't have great cell phone reception in my apartment." really, who can expect to be productive on a day like today? riverside park is great... more like a boardwalk than a park. it overlooks the hudson river, so even though it's adjacent to the noisy westside highway, it's still pretty serene. i might have to add it to my running repertoire, though i would miss my reservoir friend. moo and i haven't spoken since the middle of april, so there was a lot of catching up to be done. in a month, she's moving to san antonio, tx, for grad school. as we talked about her apartment search, she told me that a two bedroom house--a house--in san antonio costs $700/mo to rent. $700. i'll allow that to sink in for a moment. when i compare that to what i pay to live in a studio apartment on the ground floor on the uws in manhattan, i wonder for a fleeting moment if it's worth it. but only for a moment, because at the end of the day, especially a day like today, i can't put a price on living in new york city.
after my run, i walked around central park for a little bit, then head home. fortunately, as i was getting ready to bunker down to a spreadsheet, moo-moo called and i took the opportunity to walk to riverside park, since "i don't have great cell phone reception in my apartment." really, who can expect to be productive on a day like today? riverside park is great... more like a boardwalk than a park. it overlooks the hudson river, so even though it's adjacent to the noisy westside highway, it's still pretty serene. i might have to add it to my running repertoire, though i would miss my reservoir friend. moo and i haven't spoken since the middle of april, so there was a lot of catching up to be done. in a month, she's moving to san antonio, tx, for grad school. as we talked about her apartment search, she told me that a two bedroom house--a house--in san antonio costs $700/mo to rent. $700. i'll allow that to sink in for a moment. when i compare that to what i pay to live in a studio apartment on the ground floor on the uws in manhattan, i wonder for a fleeting moment if it's worth it. but only for a moment, because at the end of the day, especially a day like today, i can't put a price on living in new york city.
posted by cheeky monkey at 11:19 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home