** Prison **, July 4th 2006.
I wanted to leave New York because as hard as it is to believe, it was boring me. I love the skyline, the hustle and bustle, the chaotic traffic, the aggressiveness of New Yorkers, plethora of businesses, the fast pace of life and the diversity of people. However, I was feeling congested by the city. A trip to New York had ceased to be the adventurous journey into the unknown urban jungle. Now each commute was a painfully slow drive through the identical looking streets flooded with bedazzled tourists. I was sick of them. Even though I knew very little about the city itself, I felt too comfortable in the city. The element of intrigue was gone. Every trip into New York from Hoboken was too predictable. The Lincoln tunnel, more than ever, from its exterior looked like a prison and the old tiles on the inside walls made it look like an extremely busy restroom from inside. This freaked me out a lot because don’t young men get raped in prison bathrooms?!
I decided to drive from Hoboken, New Jersey to Denver, Colorado. I didn’t know what to expect. My worst fear was that my neighborhood would turn out to be a redneck sanctuary. I had nightmares about a biker with a leather do rag coming up to me and saying “you got sum tan on ya boy, we don like yor kind roun hea”. Fortunately, my prejudices were ill founded and every one seems very friendly and welcoming. I have just leased an apartment in Lakewood but i am living with my friend’s family in Loveland where they have just purchased a gas station. For the next 3-4 weeks I will be pumping gas….great. Its only been a day since I left her but I am starting to miss her already: my faithful companion for the past four years, New York City. Every time I was sad or unsure I would search her majestic skyline for answers and now it seems I am going to have to make new friends.
** My new lover **, July 24th, 2006
Rocky Mountains are truly magical. After working around the clock at the gas station, me and my friend finally took a day off and went up into the mountains. It was tiring and exhilarating at the same time. After spending 8 years living below sea level (four years spent near Amsterdam and the other four near New Amsterdam), it was quite an experience to be at 13,000 feet. I felt at home in the elements. I felt calmed by the tranquility of the vast mountain ranges. I felt humbled by the majesty of the mountain gods. I felt touched by the sheer beauty of the mother earth. I felt welcomed. I felt high. I felt free. It made me wonder why anybody would want to rely on booze and drugs to experience euphoria in this part of the world. If Rockies were any higher they would have broken into heaven. I think I may have found a new lover.
