10th street and 11th ave

the other day i was given directions to go to a friends house on the corner of 10th st and 11th ave......

and all i could think to myself was....if this was a nyc address, where would it take me....somewhere within or just below the meat packing district, where the streets have the cobble stone bricks peaking out around the worn asphalt pot holes...where the graffitti takes on the look of refined art.....where the old elevate tracks sit rusting over the gas station by the chelsea market and the slight smell of lumber from prince's yard a few blocks away

a little nostaligia, a little regret, a little moment of knowing what there is to go back to.....

and yes i know that 11th ave doesn't really start until 23rd st...but for those who are rigid in the geographic sense just consider it the intersection of westside highway and 10th street

when and how to be in a relationship

this is something that i am not good at, haven't had much practice and find myself contemplating more often then i would like

i guess dwelling on things in general is what happens when your life is not whole consumed with work

how do you know what a relationship is because they are all different- there isn't one answer

i have gotten to the point that i am who i am and i am totally comfortable with what that all entails- my life of moving around a bit, my friends scattered to the winds- really only a phone
call away, a career that will be a process in the making and a great family support system with a few dings in the side.......

this is all good

however, i have come to the realization that this is me, by myself and i have never really had to be me with someone else for a prolonged period of time and it makes me wonder who and how i will be with someone else......

i think this is what scares or scars me (pick your word) when the big "R" word comes to mind....i think in a way i am shooting myself in the foot before i get the chance to go for the walk.

the bug vacuum

yesterday, i bought what i happen to think is one of the coolest little boy toys i have seen in a long time.....the bug vacuum

my nephew is a typical boy....tree climber, lizard catcher and now with his new toy from his cool aunt he can be come a professional bug vacuumer....

it is this great gun shaped green plastic thing that sucks bugs up into a viewing chamber that has air holes- so the bug can breathe-and a magnifying glass on one end to see the bugs up close.

today we had our first test run, after we convinced my nephew that he could not suck up lizards, he promptly found a beetle in the oak leaf dander that is everywhere around here...

he put the vacuum down in front of the bug and sucked it right up.....the bug was examined, used to taunt my 8 year old niece and then released back into the bug world

all in all, i would have to say it was a great $20 investment