New York Chapter Three

New York Chapter Three from Tim Lane on Vimeo.

Getting Out of My Head

Yesterday Tiffany, Zachary and I all went to Coney Island. We walked by freak shows, relaxed under the sun, went for a swim, had a picnic and rode the Cyclone roller coaster. This is a coaster you can hear all of the way down the beach for the way it rattles and rolls. It was built in 1927 and purportedly has the ability to grant miracles. 

Case in point: a boy who'd been mute for five years road the Cyclone and screamed for the entire 2+ minutes of the ride. Miracle.

We decided (despite the hefty 8 dollar entrance fee) to give the coaster a go. Tiffany was NOT scared as we walked up. Zach and I were trembling. The safety bar came down over our laps, the ride conductor laughed manically, and we were off. We climbed up the first hill, the coaster rattling ominously over every wooden plank, and then right as we crested, it began to rain, hard. Then the entire world dropped away and we plunged down the shaky, wooden slope.

We united in a chorus of screams.

For the entire 2+ minutes.

It was exhilarating. cruising along the same "death defying" curves that have relieved patrons of their lunch for 81 years pushed everything out of my head except for the present moment (and the rain, oh yes, the rain was falling hard by then). Gone were any worries about finding an apartment, gone were any twangs of loneliness or fear, gone, gone, gone.

I was out of my head and loving it.

On the ride home Zach put it nicely.

"It's not often I get out of my head like that. I needed it."

Exactly.

New York: Chapter Two

New York Chapter Two from Tim Lane on Vimeo.

First Few Days on the Job

Well, my first two days of work are under the belt. I feel good about it all. A LOT to learn, and I foresee many loooong hours ahead of me, but I enjoy the work so far (again, only two days) and the people. Tiffany and I have been exploring the city and there is some amazing stuff here. It is all so exciting. Every place we turn there seems to be another famous corner or restaurant that we have seen from the movies. Now, here's hoping that I can free up enough time to enjoy it all.

New York: Chapter One

New York: Chapter One from Tim Lane on Vimeo.

Streets of New York

Keeping the Jackson spirit alive via sidewalk chalk.

Here We Are in the City

I expected something terrible to befall us when we got to New York. Surely there would be some scene at the airport where a hardened New York con-man took the wide-eyed Oregonians for all their money, belongings and dignity. However, much to our relief, it all went off without a hitch. On the flight over I played a trivia game with the entire plane. You could answer questions and see how you stacked up against Elliot in 23B or Johnston in 36C. Elliot was quite the competitor and we fought back and forth for the lead on Delta Flight 744 from PDX to NYC. I ended up the champion in answering the following question correctly: Which non head of state or king is buried in West Minster Abby (Charles Darwin).

When the plan landed I found Elliot in 23B and saw that he was 12.

"Good games, Elliot," I said.

"No prob, dude," he said.

Then for the entire taxi ride, everything amazed me. Look, TV's in the cabs. Look, there's a bridge. Look, New Yorkers are crazy when they drive.

Last night I drank wine with friends, made jokes about close encounters with thieves and then fell asleep to the lullaby of taxis and trains.

So far, so good.

It Was My Birthday!

Birthday Dinner from Tim Lane on Vimeo.