&%$#ing (expletive) Awesome! New York, is.

So, after a horrendous plane ride and a stop in Vegas I arrived. My candy/medicine made the flight and sleep much more enjoyable, my plane landed on the tarmac 14 minutes early at 6:45 AM. I jumped on the AIRTRAIN and shuffled through Brooklyn to Downtown Manhattan. One thing I've noticed about any form of public transportation is that on Thursday/Friday morning no one is happy; at least I was the only one on my car smiling. But I digress, I arrived at 100 John St. after a short bout of disorientation and meet up with my hostess Lindsay. She was still asleep, which gave me time to gather my thoughts and attempt to compose myself. After an hour of her "getting ready" we hit the streets for what ended up being a long, long day.

Since she lives a stones throw from what was the WTC, we headed on over to get some coffee and see the hole that represents the beginning of what our country has been through in the last 5 years. Unfortunately, Downtown is for tourists and the business type, so my much needed soy mocha was nowhere to be found. After staring at people staring at the empty block for a minute we went to 8 different coffee shops until I found the liquid gold. Ahhh, caffeine, it works wonders when one is disoriented. Cup and camera in hand we walked up Broadway while I captured souls and concrete in binary. We walked and shopped until we made it to NYU and eventually Washington Square, where the sun was shining and the people were smiling. Dixieland music played in the background while we chatted and stared at the masses huddled in the rare sun. October is beautiful in New York. Everywhere I looked people smiled, contrary to the general misconception of the New York snarl.

Changing scenery, we walked to Union Square, where a protest was about to ensue. Then the call came, Matt was in Tribeca and ready to meet, "Washington Square in 20 minutes, under the arch." Lindsey bought 60$ worth of sweatshop clothes at the GAP and we were off. The Whale was waiting. We arrived and the Dixieland was in full force as he arrived. He looked exaclty as he did when I left him at the 7-11 in Thailand; yellow shirt, minus a few pounds, but carrying himself well. Hugs were in order as was the almighty spliff. A blunt probably would have been more appropriate since we were in the square where the black dude from "KIDS" showed me how to roll one when I was 15, but you make due with what you got.

Lindsay snapped a shot and ran off to her Master's Class, which I was told required her to pretend to be a counselor in front of other Grad students, and we headed for the Village. Obviously we had a year of catching up to do and began quickly. A strange feeling swept us both. We could have been any where in the world and it would have been home, yet completely foreign at the same time. Bliss, swept us both as we wandered the cobblestone streets and spoke of the past and future. Hours passed as we searched for his dad's art gallery that "was right around the corner".

After hours of deliberation and circles we found a bathroom, I mean his father's studio, where I tried not to ruin the surprise to come. While deliberating where to fill our bellies we sat and observed some obnoxious Jersey girls, for some reason you can tell the Jersey folk. I decided to reference the guidebook in which I spotted a Vegetarian Dim Sum House. Nothing could have been better. A quick jaunt through Chinatown and we arrived at a quaint restaraunt that was so good we forgot to order the beers we both were looking forward to. Next stop Jersey.

We had 45 minutes to catch a train, yet it took us one hour to find the station. Whoops, made it Penn station and caught the 7:45 to Raritan,NJ. Our other mistake was not buying tickets before getting on the train, which cost us an extra 5 bucks each! But we made it none the less. My first downtime all day was the 1 hour train ride to Raritan, where his mother was nice enough to give us a ride to their humble abode. New Jersey wasn't as bad, once again, as impressions lead one to believe. Their home was in the "countryside" surrounded by trees and rivers close by. Very nice homes in an area where people don't believe in fences. Next stop Jersey City.

Hopping in the Volvo, we had to get gas and when I jumped out to pay the attendant gave a very strange look. Whoops again! Just like Oregon, you cannot pump your own gas. An hour drive brought us to the Turnpike and to the skyline view. Jersey City, once again surpassing expectation, was suprisingly nice as we walked up to his friends art show. The art was lacking overall, but the environment was not. Matt had a lot of catching up to do whilst I stared at the walls. Next thing I knew we were being hustled outside for the green. Scott produced an "L" and more conversation than was necessary. We all wanked about analog and digital for way too long. 1:30 rolled around and we had to go. More art tomorrow

Matt dropped me off at the PATH train where I freaked out for a minute or two as I watched him pull away. "Whew, it does run all night" I thought as I jumped on. Of course I got on the wrong train and ended up in Newark. Whoops X3. Pushed out of the gate and running to the other side, I heard the train coming. In the midst of fumbling for change and money it arrived. Not wanting to miss the train, I freaked out, hopped the style and jumped on. Whoops again, because it was going to wait, so I sat an played sudoku until I heard "Hey, Hey!" very loudly from my left hand side. I slowly look up to see four cops yelling at the guy passed out on the bench next to me. Still sweating as they ushered him out and stared me down as they slowly walk out of the car. Train moves and thirty minutes later I'm staring at the WTC from a much more surreal and telling angle. From the belly below. 2:30 AM as I walk up the steps and head to what I'm hoping is not wood floors. I arrive at Lindsay's and she points to the bed in her living room that appeared from nowhere. Beautiful. So ends Day One in NYC.

Up Next: Lennon, Harlem, A park 174 acres smaller than Golden Gate, Cousins, and Tall dudes named Doug.