First week in Akron
It’s been way too long since I last posted – moving and
farewell parties got in the way. This is possibly the shabbiest piece I’ve
written. Rather than a thoughtful blog post, this is a scribble of my first
feelings and impressions upon moving from New York City to Akron, Ohio.
Things I miss about New York:
Food: or precisely, SEAFOOD. Juicy, sexy salmon overflowing
in supermarkets. Sushi joints all too close and convenient whether it’s eat-in,
take-out, or delivery. Oysters lying on ice invitingly, seducing my taste bud.
Lobsters curling their red-hot bodies as if to summon me inside Chelsea market.
Fatty, creamy bagels for $1.25 for breakfast. Korean pancakes at 2AM. Trader
Joe’s. Organic stuff. Farmers market. The “TACOS” truck by my old place. All
the ethnic restaurants that make me browse endlessly through Yelp, pondering:
“Should I have Indian, Egyptian, Italian, or Cuban for tonight?”
Convenience: everything was a subway ride away and was
available 24 hours. Here I’d have to bug someone with a car if I need something
Shopping, shopping, shopping baby
The noises, the city lights, the breathtaking beauty
The overwhelming amount of things to do that too often
results in the inability to attend so many events
The nights of me walking and taking the subway alone,
“laughing in the face of danger.” The nightlife unmatched by any other in the
world. Now I sit in my room every night, writing stuff like this.
My ex-roomie and her dog, Pie
Art. Music. Comedy shows. Broadway plays. Free performances
in the park. Live bands in Lower East Side bars. Street performers. the fact
that I could go see any concert I could afford (except for a couple of times
where tickets sold out in 10 seconds and the website crashed, which I still
resent).
People speaking a hundred languages I don’t understand
Spicy food that makes me weep in my eyes, my nose, my
tongue, my throat, and my stomach
Compliments (harassment? Self-claimed feminists nowadays
make it so confusing) from random strangers
People who work 3 jobs. People who work 14-16 hours a day.
People with the work ethic and ambitions I had never seen before living there.
People I admire and use as role models.
The list goes on….
**
Things I like about my new place:
Clean air
vs New York: The subway smell; the smell of trashcans, of
smokers, of drunken folks doing the disgusting stuff on the sidewalk. C’mon,
the entire city smells like piss!
A spacious bedroom, furnished at little to no cost (again,
thanks to my amazing new roommate). A comfy mattress. No more squeezing in a
closet-sized room.
Cheaper prices on everything (duh); and no tax on food!
Feeling just ok. Back in the city, I was flipping
back and forth between hysteria and a feeling of helplessness. Paradoxically,
feeling ok feels strange.
People seeming to be more willing to help you out
Cleaner public bathrooms – yay!
**
In short, on one hand, this feels like a retreat from the
city life. On the other hand, I feel like a hermit/an exile who tells herself:
“everything is temporary.”
Will update soon, preferably in a more organized manner, so
stay tuned.
