august 27

well, i made it. now let's see if i can make it. after dropping off my stuff in the apartment, i stopped off at cafe grumpy--a coffee shop down the street that a bank of america teller told me about during my last trip (although not without some difficulty. in her polish accent, she pronounced it gram-pay and spelled it g-r-a-m-p-e. i'm not entirely sure how she couldn't spell it since she claimed to be a regular and it's written on the sign, but whatever). the place makes a delicious cup of coffee and just happens to have free wireless so i could check my email and get the password to the wireless in the apartment, since i had overlooked that complication when i decided not to write it down. but while i was there, i decided to do some research and find out what was in the near vicinity. i found a bar called r bar which, in all its reviews, was described as a friendly neighborhood bar where all are welcomed and remembered by name. obviously i read this as "zog's: brooklyn" so i decided to check it out for their 2 for 1 happy hour special. unfortunately, it was closed (how decidedly un-zog's like).


i decided instead to wander around and eventually found myself in williamsburg. feeling like enough of a local to stray from the main streets and check out the lesser trafficked areas, i was walking down a side street when i passed a sushi place called sea. it looked like one of those places where the host scoffs at your ignorance if you don't have a reservation, with ultra-hip chairs and booths, and a giant pool/fountain in the center of the restaurant crowned with a giant buddha statue. the first thought i had as i hurried past was "what the hell am i doing here?" so, when i passed a soul food place a few blocks down, i had to stop in for corn, mashed potatoes, and mac and cheese to feel more at home.


but while i was eating and people-watching out of the front window, i saw a guy that i had seen while i was here last. i wouldn't have recognized him, except he was wearing the same exact gun holster as before. that's right, i said gun holster. as a fashion accessory. and apparently it's an everyday thing. i have so many problems with that. i know carlos d does it, but that's while he's on stage playing shows. that makes it (closer to) acceptable. and if you are going to try to pull that off, don't do it everyday. come on. that's just not one of those things you want to be known for. let's not forget, it's a fucking gun holster.


then again, i guess that's the kind of thing i came here to be around. well, not fashion accessory gun holsters and the douchebags who wear them exactly, but a different kind of culture. it's just much more apparent now that i'm here that it might take some transitioning to get used to it. i forgot how intimidating it is to be surrounded by so many people and to know so few (erm, none) of them. i just have to keep reminding myself that i didn't come here because it was the easy choice.