Two years …give or take lifetime
As I write this blog on the eve of my two year anniversary as New Yorker I can’t help but feel as if today is also my birthday. In a way that I could never have imagined New York has been a rebirth for me. It’s not that I was really unhappy in Austin and those years were some of the best of my life but especially towards the end I felt that I had lived my life there and that I was done with that world and all it had to offer. Since I was a kid I had wanted to live in Austin. Its amazing music scene and the sounds of Stevie Ray Vaughn, The Arc Angels , Ian Moore and so many others made it my dream home. But the story of the boy who got everything he ever wanted just didn’t seem to feel happily ever after.(bonus points if you get the movie reference) And that is when I discovered that it wasnt about everything I ever wanted it was about everything I never knew I wanted. It was about the magical land called NYC.
We’er off to see the Bloomberg…
And two years later I write this birthday /anniversary blog and I smile at the endless possibilities of things to come in my new home. Where as in Austin I just wanted to be around the music and the amazing writers and comedians. New York allowed me to see amazing artist like the late Les Paul ,and the amazing Sarah Silverman and has awakened my mind to my passion for writing both music and words. While I will likely never do so on any sort of even semi professional level just the process and the feeling I get from the act of creating music or putting pen to paper ( or keyboard to monitor) is exhiliarting beyond belief and for that I thank you New York.
even the grafitti encourages creativity..
I am a 36 year old man. I have no drivers license. I have never owned a car. I have never driven. I dont care to. (yes I really am from Texas originally) and in New York I dont need to. Since coming to NY I have gone to 3 different states just by hopping on a train. I have gone Apple picking in the fall (highly recommend to anyone!!) , Philidelphia for cheesesteaks (overrated) and the Fourth of July ( the roots preformed with Lauryn Hill –epic!!! ) , New Jersey ( imagine Chernobyl after the meltdown but with a nice sports arena in the middle of it. ) to watch the San Antonio Spurs. I have gone to Boston and eaten in an Irish Pub and had boston creme pie (amazing!!) and am looking at taking a trip or two to Washington DC and also do some more exploring upstate New York…and for that I thank you MTA , Amtrak , and even you New Jersey Transit ( but i do so begrudgingly ) and most of all I thank you New York.
why would I possibly want to be stuck in the middle of that?!?
I have seen the blazing reds and golden ambers of fall foilage against the deep grey slate that forms the foundation of New York. I have seen the rolling hills and valleys along the Hudson River valley. I have seen the beauty of the first snowfalls of winter covering streets and parks turning grown adults into giddy children as they slide down anything resembling a slope. I have felt the power of a hurricane throwing the city into a panic and seen the awesome beauty of lightning against the amazing backdrop of the Manhattan skyline. I have felt the earth tremble with an earthquake that left most New Yorkers wondering when NYC became part of California. I have discovered that there are actually distinct seasons and that I actually love each one of them but Fall and winter are absolutely magical to me…. and for that I thank you Mother Nature and New York.
I think its pretty rare to find a texan made of snow.
I love fall!!!
In a strange way New York has brought me closer to my family than I had been in years. I discovered I had a cousin living in upstate New York and not just any cousin. A cousin that I looked up to as a kid and who I wished I could be as smart as. Tragically he passed before we got a chance to get together in my new state but through that tragedy I reconnected with so many of my other cousins and family members through facebook and at his funeral. It was his last lesson to me …that no matter how far away we may be physically true family is always around you. and for that I thank you my cousin Paul Mendoza and New York.
🙂
The greatest…And finally New York has given my wife and I a chance to go on wild goose chases around the city, to spend birthdays picking apples and watching amazing broadway shows, to watch the ball drop on New Years , to take a nap on the Great Lawn, to find little pieces of Texas all over Manhattan to remind us of our former home, and the best part of all has been realizing that as great as New York is, the greatest city in the world is whichever city I am in with her.
our apartment before all our stuff was moved in.
Manhattan Bridge
Post Script- October 20th I participated in an American Association Heart walk in honor of my cousin Paul Mendoza. We raised over $3000 and had an amazing amount of people turn out all wearing shirts and pins in his honor. My wife and I got to spend time with friends and family and his spirit was truly felt. My cousin was an amazing person that touched many peoples lives and he wife and two girls carry that torch of kindness and faith in a way I could have never imagined . They are truly three of the strongest women I have ever met in my life and I am forever grateful that through my cousin Paul I am getting to know them and for that I thank Paul , Melissa , Gabriela and Sofia.
Group picture before the walk in honor of my cousin Paul
A Texican In New York 