"Fish in the sky? I'm telling you Morris, there's something not right about this month."
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Wow, that February month sped by pretty quick, quicker than most other months I would venture. Can someone tell me why they only give it twenty-eight days though? You would have thought that it made more sense to take a day from, say, January and July and give it to February - they all get thirty days and no one's left out. I digress.
The short-changed month actually brought up a milestone moment for me, last week was my New York anniversary. Already it's been a year since I decided to up sticks and venture to the New World in search of opportunity and burgers. I've officially lived through four American seasons, from the blooming of floral life in Central Park through the frying pan heat of summer and the burst of autumnal golds and browns, to recent days that literally brought chilling pain to the soul. In particular I found the ice storm a novel experience. Imagine shards of ice whipped into a cyclonic whirl by an arctic wind... and then imagine sticking your face into it. I've had kinder journeys to work.
With this my 21st entry since I've been here I suppose I've shared a few of the big experiences and cultural anomalies but I do begin to wonder at what point you lose sight of the novelty. Just flicking through some of those earlier posts I remember how crazy the TV output seemed to me, how big and brash everything was here, how no one understood a word I was saying. Now I can happily sit juggling between the commercials, watching several shows simultaneously, phone pinned under a baseball cap, ordering a takeout large enough to feed a small African village from a non-English speaking restaurant employee. Even my written sentences have been supersized!! And exclamation marks appear to have wormed their way into my life...
So, as I sit here about to blow out the one candle on my blueberry muffin I can't help but wonder what the next twelve months have in store. Will I learn to sleep through a New York night without using earplugs? Will I ever pluck up the courage to steal a doughnut out of the hands of a chubby policeman and make him chase me up the street? Will I ever eat something that's "broiled"? And will I ever find out why February only has twenty-eight days? These are exciting times... I'll be sure to keep you posted.
