Thursday, June 12, 2008

hurtling

Over the course of one hundred and five hours in New York City, I:

Ate sushi twice. Saw my dear friend Simon twice, but did not see his wife and kids. Sold CDs at Academy Records and at the Entertainment Outlet on 14th street. Ate the world's best cheeseburger and fries at the Corner Bistro (4th Street and Eighth Avenue). Had dinner and several cups of coffee with my wonderful neighbor Tina and our sublettors Aras and Amy. Donated eighteen 12" x 12" boxes of books, CDs, graphic novels and a stamp collection to Housing Works, an organization which benefits homeless people with AIDS. Ate amazing El Salvadoran pupusas and drank cold ice tea with tamarind juice. Saw my friend Marty, who showed me the vacant block near the Brooklyn Naval Yard where he will be building a $100 million housing complex (!) Sold two crates of vinyl, a handful of CDs, and a couple of books about monster movies at the Brooklyn Flea. Ate great Thai food in Park Slope. Saw my friend Adrienne, who, much like Al Pacino in Godfather III, wants to get out of her racket (the culture-media complex), but "they keep pulling me back in." Bought two pink "NYC" baseball caps for $18 from a vendor on St. Marks. Ate Mexican food once, and it was too salty, but it was great. Met a new wave promoter I knew in Austin 25 years ago (and sold him Austin new wave vinyl.) Bought a beach umbrella, two laundry baskets and a pack of gum from K-Mart. And slept a total of fifteen hours.

Was it fun? Yes. Do I want to move back to New York City? Not yet.

6 comments:

Ed Ward said...

Okay, now I'm trying to figure out who that promoter was. Thanks a lot!

pat said...

Mark Dean. I think he started the Planet 8 night at various clubs. He (or his pictures at least) are at

http://www.flickr.com/people/markdean/

Ed Ward said...

Your epic vinyl sale was all over the Mish! You're a legend!

Flashtrigger said...

Wow...from reading this I can't tell if you had a blast or if it was too rushed for you to even realise anything else was occuring other than "Eat. Sleep. Work." Hoping it was good. :)

pat said...

Exactly. It was much more work than I'd hoped it would be, yet in between all the sorting and selling of junk, I actually got some time with most of the people who are important to me. What I said to them I'm not sure. Did I mention the ice cold margarita? That was good.

Flashtrigger said...

Mmmmm...margarita. With PatrĂ³n?