All dressed up

I just passed two guys on the street dressed up for Halloween as doctors but with name tags on their lab coats. Kind of like mechanics. Their tags didn't read Jimmy Bob or even Tony, but "orgasm donors." They had stethoscopes around their necks, and well, it didn't make sense to me. Guess I figured they'd have other instruments...and, more appropriately, no clothing at all. Or maybe chaps. Or a loin cloth or something. Just seemed kind of sterile. And I wonder. Is it like an organ donor? Once you die, all your orgasms are harvested and given unto those in dire need of them?

Me, I'm not sure what to do about Halloween. I haven't gotten into it that much since the days of side ponytails and bangle bracelets. I'd love to carve a pumpkin and may end up doing that. But as far as dressing up...anyone got any ideas?

We're only human

So Bono came into the restaurant with his daughters and wife this morning. At least I think that's who the 3 women with him were. They certainly seemed familial. They stood at the bar waiting for a table. Funny about where I work. Even Bono has to wait for a table. There's just something nice about being fair to everybody. Fine, you're a worldwide celebrity, with the power to impact millions with your influence. And yet you choose to patron a place where you're treated like everybody else. I think it says something about a person. Having all that fame, being able to go anywhere in the city, in the world, and probably have your whole meal comped, all fancy schmancy and snooty, and yet, you choose to go to a place where no one treats you any different than the struggling cellist next to you or the dominatrix on her third Bloody Mary at the bar.

I didn't recognize him at first. Offered them all coffee or juice while waiting, and then heard that all to familiar voice ask for coffee. I almost fell over but didn't let it show. He and his posse were lovely. Everyone noticed him. And yet no one said a word. New Yorkers are a trip. "Honey, look! It's Bono!" uttered under her breath. Then, "Excuse me! Can I have more coffee?" Just goes to show. We're all still people. With our own agendas, loved ones, families, eating breakfast, who take coffee with a smidge of milk.

And a shout out to one of my loved ones. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAVID! I love you my brother!

DMV

I'm not sure what's going on with me and the usual world of bureaucracy. I went to the DMV today to swap my Georgia driver's license for a NY state one. I am finally doing it...committing to New York! So I completed the necessary form, took a number, got my photo taken & eyes checked and heard my number called even before my photo was finished. I had to run to the appropriate rep so as not to be skipped. What?!? The DMV moving faster than me? Holy crap.

It almost makes me worry. I got my social security card in record time, my passport, like butter, and then the DMV, a breeze? It makes me nervous. Nervous.

And with the form I completed, I was also able to register to vote in New York. Woah. What is going on in the world?!?

My code?

I walked outside this morning and felt like I was in Buenos Aires. A gray sky, leaves on the trees turning yellow, the colors and the chill in the air felt just like Buenos Aires. I did a double take, worried that I'd been dreaming for the past few months. It's funny to think the last time I had weather like this was in B.A. in June. How quickly the mind adapts to include new experiences. I'd have thought my mind would have conjured up images of New York over the last few years, but no. It skipped to Buenos Aires. Lovely.

Maybe with a day like today, the world is telling me to get back on the road. First, the international trip down memory lane. Then, I got my passport back in the mail. It took less than a month. Woah, rehiring those who had recently retired sure is working. Or maybe the troublesome passport times for American citizens who've never been arrested who have lots of blond highlights in their hair are over! I was worried it'd be January before I got it back and that I'd have to suffer through my third winter of 2007.

Did you know that US passports are now electronic? A chip embedded in them somewhere links directly to each passport holder's info. Scary. What is this 1984? I can even scan the bar code on the last page to retrieve flight information at online airline kiosks. As though I need the feds to track my domestic flight info as well. It's strange, too, now having a bar code associated with my identity. I wonder: will airport security turn into the check-out line at Stop & Shop? "Price check on aisle 4!" It's enough to make me nostalgic for my old passport, not to mention the cool stamps that barely had enough time to dry before surrendered to the State Department. And I have a new passport number! Dag! I'd just gotten the old one memorized. Well, at least we've still got social security. Knock wood. I bet years from now we'll joke about those. "Do you remember your social security number?!?" It'll be like Name That Tune. "I can name 5 out of the 9 numbers of my SSN." "Well, I can name 6 out of the 9 numbers of my..."

Anyone for tennis?

So I waited on John McEnroe today. And one daughter, for sure. The older one may have also been, but you could definitely tell that the younger was. Daddy McEnroe has a tattoo on his arm which I never knew. I've seen him broadcasting tennis matches, if anything recently, in a suit, so I never guessed he'd be the tattoo sort. He certainly had the attitude necessary, though, to pull one off, as I recall. My co-worker wanted to take his order and, regardless of what he said, reply, "You cannot be serious!?!"

John was super pleasant with me. Just goes to show how many people each of us can be. And the different people we play in this life, whether at work on a tennis court, in a restaurant, on t.v., even as a dad.

It must be fun to be the blend of celebrity who is as equally famous as infamous.

Baker's dozen

Another reason I love New York: street fairs! Just whenever. You turn the block and all of a sudden you're aswim in roasted corn, crafts, Victoria's Secret surplus. I have to admit, I've never felt quite right about buying unmentionables on the street.

My favorite soap people are out today. Yes! Copa Soaps. Now, that's some good stuff, indeed. Here's my baker's dozen selection for winter 2007: forest, cocoa tea tree, peppermint (especially great during the holidays!), scrub, vetiver peat (the owner's all-time favorite), oatmeal, ginger carrot, and for my 13th pick, spice. All tasty, and all for me! Happy showers, Anita!

Origins

The Fiesta Parade happened today. Right past my job up Amsterdam Avenue. Guess it was somehow related to Columbus day. I think it was an all-inclusive Spanish-speakers parade. But the jury is still out, I thought. Was Columbus Spanish or Italian? Not that it's all that important, I guess. Either way, I feel kind of indebted to his adventurous spirit and/or dumb luck. And I think I may be the only one, for that matter.

I was talking to my cab driver on the way home from work. He used to drive a semi transporting stuff all over the States. He's from West Africa but has been here for 17 years and is proud of the US. He's proud to live here, to work here, to be here. Nice to hear a positive outlook. It's easy to forget what kind of life any kind of person can create here.

Good for the gander, but not this goose...

I got up at 5:30 am to make it into to the city, refuel and drop of the rental, and be at work by 9. On the LIE, Northern State Parkway, Grand Central Parkway, any of them, and I tried them all, what a nightmare! I thought that three hours alloted would surely suffice for an hour and a half trip. On the contrary, I barely made it. And I wasn't alone. I sat in traffic for the last hour and a half on packed bridges, exit lanes, side streets. Those of you who drive in to the city from wherever, I have no idea how or why you do it.

I did enjoy having a car for those few days. Out in the middle of nowhere. But coming back into the city made me realize that I cannot have one living here. I have too much stuff as it is. Why add a car to the list of things I'd like to get rid of one day?

The Long Island Mutants

I've had this theory for a couple of years now that Long Islanders are mutants. Maybe I've mentioned the theory, but it just seems to recur in my life, the point continuously being raised and then proven. As though we've moved from theory to hypothesis, experiments ongoing. I'm not sure what it is but Long Islanders are just a little different. Maybe it's a side effect of being down stream from Manhattan, I don't know. But I've been thinking about the positives lately. They could have a team called the Mutants. Maybe hockey. Or rugby. Not sure what the mascot would look like exactly...maybe part human part frog...but algae would definitely be involved.

Now here's the interesting part. Most native Long Islanders agree with my theory, fully embracing their own mutations and mutant kin. Hmm. So then I wonder. Do they think they're more evolved? Those mutations making them better equipped to deal with, say, influenza, your run-of- the-mill biohazard, even nuclear war? Something to consider.

Heather and I spent the day driving around small North Shore towns way out here on the island.We visited Duck Walk Vineyards and enjoyed a tasting of five wines. The Pinot Meunier, with a black pepper finish--spicy!--and the Blueberry Port took the cake for me. It's always nice to buy local. We had lunch at Love Lane Kitchen in Mattituck. I'm convinced that anything prepared with love is bound to be good. And was it delish. I'm not sure how much traffic the place gets but it's worth nestling in for a tasty lunch!

To close out the day, we stopped at a cemetery. On the bank of a pond, the graves look out onto the water full of ducks and swans. The air gray with fog, the scene was ripe with autumn. What a lovely place to spend an afterlife. Whether man, woman or mutant.

Eclipse

So I'm out to Riverhead to teach my friend Heather how to drive. She's 25 and wants to get a car, so she figured she'd better learn how to drive. And get a license in the mean time. So I rented a Mitsubishi Eclipse convertible. Not the greatest thing ever but pretty smooth. To my surprise, I turned a few heads in morning rush hour traffic. Perfect car to teach a friend how to drive!