Life Highlights: A Fortnight On

Wandering around Greenwich Village

"I think really and truly an artist wants to keep finding an even more direct and interesting way of expressing himself, I think, and as long as he ever has that passion, and has an interest in life, I don't think that's ever diminished. I think the passion for working never really diminishes. Look at so many great artists who've worked all the way through to their deaths. And I suspect that I won't be stopping until I drop, probably. In some form or other I'll always be working, for sure." - David Bowie

I've officially been in New York City for TWO FULL WEEKS now, and here's the skinny:

I've been out of work now for 18 days and I can't stand it.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not upset in terms of the job itself (food & beverage and close interactions with the public are only so rewarding), but with the community I had at both of my jobs.  I miss having co-workers to laugh with, commiserate with, and share in the experience of life with.

I also, in a more philosophical sense, miss working in terms of having inspiration for creating something.  Since moving to New York I've been writing every day (I have quite a lot stored up that has not been posted on this blog).  However, most of it are drabbles, bits and bobs, odds and ends of pieces of writing whether they're half-formed arguments or book ideas or musings on life itself.  I would really love to finish one solid piece again on something related to philosophy or art or Bowie (who is both).  It's not like I don't have the time.  Perhaps that will be what I do tomorrow.  Although, I'd rather explore without having to research on my laptop.  Being glued to my laptop is for snowy days in the winter - not beautiful days at the end of summer (with the caveat of today - 90% humidity for a west coast girl is no joke, and I am pretty sure I died walking around today even though I hid in Rockefeller Center for a lot of it).

Currently, I'm depressed about two things: 1) The slow-going process of making friends and meeting people (of which I've officially met and talked with 2 people and gone to 1 church service in the past two weeks) and 2) Wanting to go and explore the city, but realising most of the things I want to do involve a "disposable income" (looking at YOU all the delicious eateries located in East Village/NoHo/SoHo/Greenwich Village area)

I wish that my friends from the west coast were here with me.  But at the same time, I know that I definitely can't move back yet.  I sense that this is exactly where I need to be (for whatever reason) and that this is only the beginning of my east coast transition.

Unrelated to my more gloomy thoughts, if you're ever obsessed with an artist I seriously encourage you to "date" them.  I thought that I was beginning to know Bowie after reading his favourite books, listening to his favourite music, watching his favourite movies, and analysing his own art, but moving to his city has been next-level stuff.  Walking around Greenwich Village today I had yet another crucial insight to his album "The Next Day" (my second favourite of all time).

The song "(You Will) Set the World On Fire" opens with the lines: "Midnight in the village/Seeger lights the candles/From Bitter End to Gaslight/Baez leaves the stage".  Seeger and Baez most likely refers to Pete Seeger and Joan Baez, American folk singers from Greenwich Village and the Beat Generation (and Baez has additional fame being a previous lover of Bob Dylan's).  Therefore, it's clear that the "village" being referred to here is the neighbourhood of Greenwich Village in New York City.  This is further reinforced with the allusion to "Bitter End" and "Gaslight".  Both venues have had various famous musicians (particularly folk musicians - notably Bob Dylan again [yet another reinforcement of Bowie's use of Bob Dylan as a character and symbol in his work - see: "Song for Bob Dylan"]) and are located in Greenwich Village.  Although the coffee shop Gaslight closed in 1971, Bitter End is still around as a popular music venue and club with live music every night.

Today I wandered around Greenwich Village (and yes, I moseyed on down past the Bitter End) and I was fascinated by the area.  To think so much music history happened on the same roads I walked - and that Bowie himself was equally (if not infinitely more) enamoured with the same culture (both of the past and the present) was beyond anything I can express.  I felt an even deeper connection to him and his work, and I gained even more insight into the influences and meanings of his pieces than I could've if I had never visited.  (As a side note, I also saw "The Friends Apartment" while I was there since I was in the area and I really wanted to scream at the top of my lungs "IIIIII'LLLLLLLLLL BE THERE FOR YOUUUUUUUUU").

And finally, I bought a candle today at Target.  I wish I could've bought a cool one at a fancy little boutique in NoHo, but I'm too cheap and broke to be able to justify spending money on such a frivolous thing.  Although, I have to admit, having my own candle to brighten my room has been pretty nice this evening even though it has a ridiculous name (how does one arrive at "Reflection + Clarity" from the scent of "sea salt sage"?)