Goodnight, New York

My last night in New York. I'm exhausted, having walked roughly 60 New York blocks today. I did some more shopping (some gifts, another pair of sneakers, a few dvds, etc), met up with Self-Service (who no longer works at my company but will always be associated with Self-Service) for awesome ramen noodles in the Village. Good times were had.

Back at the hotel, I had a minor panic attack after putting all the stuff that had to be packed on the bed. But I persevered, and now it is all packed. Yay!

I shall leave you with some more pics from my excursions.

Street art in the Village.

Basketball on an open court on 6th Street.

Playing American handball, one-wall, on asphalt. Hardcore.

"Come on! We were tied at 20!"

"We're up 20-19!"

"Oh come on! Tied at 20!"

"Fine. Tied at 20. Whatever. We'll still win."

And they did.

Scrap Yard. Heaven for graffiti artists. This is

where I bought the bag from yesterday's post.

I was so happy to stumble over this wall painting,

as seen in the mind-blowing documentary Up There.

The Dude abides.

Can you hear it calling your name, Melon?

The cupcakes, in all their glory.

Cookie dough cupcake on the left.

Oreo cheesecake on the right.

*insert Homer drooling sound here*

Sadly, the store didn't exist anymore.

A typical Nolita street.

Rack 'em and stack 'em.

Me and my homie Squeaker.

Bag. Bug. Drink. Fish.

I bought a bag today. Though it's the black version.

I killed a bug today. Then I changed rooms at the hotel.

I had a drink today. With a OdFellow 2009 and her romance writer friend.

And before bed, just now, I ate a bag of these:

In Sweden, they're called "Fish".

I also bought some other stuff. And I walked. I walked and walked and walked. I walked until my muscles burned and my veins pumped battery acid. Then I walked some more.

Tomorrow, brunch with two co-workers, who happen to be here. Then shopping. Then food with an ex co-worker, who also happens to be here. Then agonize over packing. Then sleep. Then fly home. Good night, Internet, where ever you are.

On the streets of New York

I have been walking around New York for a few days now. I've done a shitload of shopping (sneakers, a few dvd boxes, cargo pants, Hellboy's Right Hand of Doom, a Kangol hat etc) but more than anything, this city is always about the people and what goes on around them.

So. Pictures. More text some other time.

Playing petanque in Bryant Park.

"My balls are closer together than yours."

Sit down in Bryant Park, borrow a book, enjoy the sun.

Old men watching a chess game.

Like something out of a movie.

Bryant Park in all its glory.

A street percussionist. He moved all his stuff around the whole

time, and created complex layers of beats and noise. Awesome.

Best fries I've ever had, and a slider. You're really supposed

to eat more than one, but this was more than enough.

In 1995, I saw Deftones open for Misery Loves Co here.

Now it's a small shopping center with hip designer stores.

I had to buy stamps, so I went looking for a

post office. I wasn't expecting The Post Office.

Foosball tables in Greeley Square.

Hanging out with my boy Bob.

Bright lights, big city

It's 1 AM and I'm on my hotel bed at The Mansfield, a really nice hotel on West 44th Street. I managed a few hours of walking and shopping today.

I found the Boomtown dvd box, an excellent police show that was sadly cancelled after only one season, and a bunch of stuff at Nintendo World, for myself, Miss Red and my niece. Tomorrow I will go to the new Lego concept store, Midtown comics, an Army/Navy store and a bunch of other places. My wallet is already screaming in panic...

Times Square. The Virgin Megastore is gone!

Best. Street name. Ever!

Me and my buddy Optimus at Toys R Us.

If they'd had this in the right size my niece would have been

set up for Halloween. And if they'd had it even bigger, so would I.

I have a writing deadline tomorrow, since Meta, Peeko, Alaska, Palin and I decided to submit a story to each other, to keep the momentum from Odyssey going. I went the insane route and started a new story. Today. It's called "Going Viral", and I will post it here as well once it's done.