June Renew: Day Twelve
My Time and the City’s
My schedule has shifted again. I used to think 10:00PM was far too late, but that is slowly becoming bedtime for me, especially after a good, solid, after-work nap. If I wake up around 2:00PM, it’s like I get a second day in one, using my time to do all the things I need to do, and some of what I’d like to do.
I used to think my younger co-workers were crazy for going out after work. I didn’t know how they had the energy to do it. But I’m starting to understand it. It’s because they had plans. They prepared for it. They didn’t just roll over and allow this schedule to keep them down. There’s nothing stopping me from doing the same, except my own laziness. And now I’m proving to myself I can have New York evenings again, no matter what state of the city we’re in.
New York at Night
Last night, I felt like a real New Yorker again. I had two different plans in one evening on polar opposite sides of the island. And it was practically nothing for me to travel to both in a timely fashion, something in my 20s I strangely dreaded to do. But not last night.
First, I went to a bar on the Upper West Side to meet with a group of Twitter (now X) people; a coalition of “common sense” New Yorkers, many of whom are mutual followers. It was nice to bring our shared desire for change out of the digital world and into the real one, giving us the opportunity to exchange commonalities that don’t only exist online. It felt great and I wish I could have stayed longer, as I was having some amazing conversations with people who already felt like friends. But my night wasn’t over yet.
After about an hour-twenty and two draft beers, I headed back out to catch the same subway that took me there to catch one going the opposite direction. I needed to be in the East Village by 7:00PM, but I didn’t get there until around 8. An old work friend of mine hosts a monthly comedy show, and I love going to support him. I grabbed a pony neck beer at the bar before arriving fashionably late to the show. It’s a small venue; the comedians are mostly there just to test out their material. And you can blame it on the beer if you want, but I had a good few belly laughs here and there. I even got a laugh and a clap from the crowd for a little outburst in response to one of the jokes. Unfortunately I didn’t see my friend perform because I was too late, but there’s always a next time. And yes, there certainly will be one.
In my cab (not Uber) home, I called my [boy]friend to relay how I was a little tips, and that I wanted to go to the nearby tiny bar for a nightcap. He appreciated my enthusiasm but reminded me I had work in the morning, so I decided to call it a night, satisfied with what happened, eager to write about it the next day, wondering how many more evenings like this I could fit into my busy timetable.
The New Lineup
The city still has a lot of problems. That was relayed during the first get-together. I write about it here all the time. And we have a lot of work to do. But for the first time in a long time, I felt the hope again. I look up in the skies over Manhattan and see real clouds again. There’s a clarity that’s evolved through a lot of hard work and communication, and a willingness to deviate from the comfortable agenda, if only for one weekly evening.
It’s not going to be perfect at every moment of the day, but for once I feel like it’s possible to gain a new itinerary for ourselves. One that isn’t so bogged down by the bad, but rather acknowledging what’s real about our reality, knowing that if we try, we can create a better atmosphere, and remember what makes our living situation so special. New Yorkers get it. Soon the rest of the world will see. No more “get out of cities” chants from Conservabros on Twitter. Right on schedule, of course.