A bit under 24 hours in New York makes for a more familiar break. I
meet up with Nikki and Lorena and, in perhaps the greatest show of
restraint I have ever had, don't pop the collar down on Nikki's preppy
boyfriend's purple polo. This may not seem like a big deal, but it is
for me: I once literally picked up and carried out some douche bag who
wouldn't put his collar down from a party at my school apartment while
enforcing my "no popped collars allowed" rule.
Seeing "Crash," a movie about racial tensions in L.A., while in NYC
makes me think about the 2 cities. Unlike most everyone I've talked
to, I like L.A. slightly better than NYC. Maybe I'm unfairly ignoring
the shittiness that is the sprawling suburbs, but I have an excellent
time sticking around the Venice Beach / Hollywood areas. Also, it's
worth noting that L.A. is for and full of crazy people. The white cop
harassing an innocent black couple is quite believable for me ~ a week
after the older Toyota I was in got pulled over for having had the
audacity to drive through Malibu at night. I didn't meet any Hispanic
locksmiths or Arabic store owners shooting at the aforementioned, but
I wouldn't be too surprised to see even the "Chinaman" smuggling Thais
in the back of his van driving down Santa Monica Boulevard. Anyways,
the moral of the stowy as I see it is that miscommunication has made
L.A. a powder keg that can explode with the smallest spark. This may
be true about NYC too, but I feel like the boom is / can be a lot
bigger over on the west coast. Besides, they've got earthquakes and
the Rodney King incident.
Later, I venture into Brooklyn to see my oldest younger sister's
summer housing. It's near the Jefferson St. subway stop, a
nondescript older building by warehouses with Hispanic families who
may or may not be living out of their vans playing on the sidewalks.
Specifically, she's got a couch in the common room of some
frisbee-playing friend's place. Not the nicest of abodes, but her
$250 a month rent more than makes up for that. Besides, now I can
visit my sister and score some crack in the same neighborhood:)