Day 11

My parents are still in town. It’s really nice being here with them, in my neighborhood. It’s kind of a worlds-colliding situation. Sometimes when people come to visit there’s an obligation that you have to *do* something, be doing something, and something sensorily stunning or culturally significant. But just being here is culturally significant, which is why I like living here. Plus, the energy. I’m very tempted to put quotes around that because it has become a cliche. In fact I’m hesitant to say anything about New York at all because it is a cliche. The energy, it’s a helluva town, it never sleeps, it’s the best city in the world. But I do love it and I think its claim to being the greatest city in the world is legitimate. There’s no other place like it, at least in the US. Partly because it contains so many worlds within itself. [That’s a bit rich, I’m very tempted to edit that but I guess I won’t].

I got off track. There’s often a sense when visitors come that you have to be doing something, but Mom and Dad are content to walk around, people-watch, and eat. I did a few hours of work on my laptop. Dad got a haircut at my neighborhood place which is Bengali owned and operated. Dad was very pleased with the results and Benu, the barber, was pleased we came in. The price is only $10.00 plus tip. One might think that’s very inexpensive, and it is, but I know of at least one place cheaper. DaZhong, in Chinatown. It’s only $5.00, and they do a good job.

We ate at a very nice farm to table restaurant on Cortelyou. The kind of place hipsters like to go and where they work. I’ve been accused of being a hipster myself, and I guess I kind of am. The food was really good. Then we went to CT Muffin. That’s a chain. It never disappoints. I have never been disappointed inside a CT muffin. Then we went home. It was raining very hard.

We passed a film shoot. They were filming for “Elementary,” starring Lucy Liu. Except, because of the rain, I’m not sure they were filming, but maybe waiting for the rain to stop. There were a lot of people walking around in ponchos.

I have seen Lucy Liu before, in real life, a few years ago. One of my celebrity sightings. I was walking down the street in the theater district and she exited a side stage door, followed by a small entourage. She stood there, looking imperious-in-a-good-way. That is, confident and in charge. I was surprised at how small she was, and how many freckles she had. I remember that it didn’t click in my brain instantly who she was, and I had to stand there and access my mental rolodex (an outdated term if ever there was one) to figure it out. I’m sure something in my eyes said “I know you’re someone that I know, but I can’t remember exactly who; give me a second.” And something in her eyes said “I’m Lucy Liu and I am giving you a second.” And then something in my eyes said “Got it.” And something in her eyes acknowledged that I had figured it out, at which point she walked away, her entourage in tow.

5 thoughts on “Day 11

  1. Gah I am so jealous you saw Lucy Liu! I adore her character on Elementary and she seems like such a bad-ass IRL. She’s a single lady who adopted her own kid.

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