Puck surprised me on Sunday by stopping by in the afternoon and finding an excuse to stay the night and go back to Long Island in the morning, so my Valentine’s Day treat was getting an unexpected morning waking up with my love in bed (even if we had to wake up at 6:30 am). They was coming back from NJ and missed their connecting train to Stony Brook.
So instead of just a quick stopover before the next train, we decided to color their hair again – we had just been to Edison’s salon last weekend, but the color was a little bit light so they wanted to darken it to a richer red color. It was the first time I’d ever colored anyone’s hair – it’s actually kind of fun. It doesn’t smell as strongly as the chemicals I remember when I was a child, watching my mom color her hair. It turned out pretty well, although maybe not as red as we’d have liked.
One of the bestest things about living where I live is opportunities like this, the unplanned days of spending time together. I absolutely made the right decision to live in the city. I love the energy of walking through Times Square, especially when the air is clear and it’s not too crowded. If I lived in NJ, I might be closer to work and save money on commuting and taxes, but then I would spend most of my weekends feeling very isolated. And frankly, the majority of my time at home I do spend alone, but it doesn’t feel so alone knowing I could walk out my front door and into one of the great crossroads of the world. If I lived in NJ, I probably wouldn’t go to Poly Cocktails as often, I wouldn’t be able to host meetings for OLNY, and I certainly wouldn’t see Puck as much as I do, which is a joy.
I’m thinking about living locations today because my best friend Lori called me yesterday to catch up, and I found out she’s buying a co-op in Elmhurst, Queens, where Hiba and Bonnie live. Apparently she and Erik can’t stand living together, so they are going to live separately but still be a couple. Hopefully everything goes well for her and she will move in April. I’m excited for her, and it will be nice to have an excuse to go to Queens and try more of the wonderful and authentic Asian foods to be found there.
I don’t know that I’d ever buy a home again. I guess a lot depends on my working situation and other people who may come into my life. I’m happy where I live, even though it’s a long commute. Ultimately, I want to be where my friends and the people I love are, and days like Sunday make it all worthwhile.
