Before the Christmas uproar I promised you more details about my two month adventure from Arizona to New York and back to LA. Let’s start in the middle, shall we?
Those who know me know I don’t care to fly. I’m fine on the plane, but committing to traveling 30k above the planet is another matter. Sitting in the Arizona desert, and with the gentle prodding of my dear friend Nathalie (she sat down with me and made sure I clicked ‘buy now’ on Priceline), I bought a one-way ticket to the Big Apple. Three weeks later I was circling on approach to NYC, watching the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges sparkle below. (Whoever tipped me off to BMW – thank you!)
Love at first sight – that’s all I can say about this city. From the air it was magnificent and on the ground magical, maniacal and mythical. Visiting the Apple Store on 5th Ave - akin to visiting a temple or church (Kudos to Apple for achieving a primal brand.). Riding the 6 train at all hours – comforting and nowhere near life-threatening. Sampling a new cuisine each day at local-known eateries – realizing just why New Yorkers don’t need kitchens. Walking, rushing and jay-walking – finally understanding the New York Minute.
In Tibetan Buddhist-style, I was connected with a great hostess in the East Village. Jessie let me stay at her place for 2 weeks, not caring that I usually didn’t get back home until after 1:30 each morning. We didn’t see each other very often, but on Thanksgiving when we both had a craving for a little traditional dessert, I ran down to Frank’s to pick up two pieces of pie and a latte. I have a history of interesting Thanksgiving adventures and this is right in line with my New York experience.
Although it may sound like I was in NYC for holiday, I was there to study the third chapter of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. An intensive teaching schedule that involved not only attending classes, but volunteering, meditating and meeting classmates for study each day took up the majority of my time. Formal study involved arriving at Pure Yoga (swanky yoga studio on 86th) by 7pm for a study session with our teaching assistant. Ten to twelve homework questions, plus heap of questions, kept our TA’s very busy. Formal teaching began sometime after 8:30 and continued to mid-night. Nathalie and I stayed after class to help clean-up the studio and then we’d duck out into the cold night, walk the 2.5 blocks to the subway and travel back to the East Village. Quieter, but by no means asleep, the city at that hour was still full of people living their lives.
I stayed an extra few days to celebrate at the book release party for “The King of the Dharma,” a beautiful art book depicting the life of Je Tsongkapa. After helping to prepare appetizers for 800 expected guests and doing a little post-event clean-up, we danced until 4 am at the MercBar. I got my last walk in New York, laughing with Nathalie as we hurried down Houston and up 2nd. Three hours later I was leaving New York City on a train bound for Charlotte, NC. My exit was as surreal as New York can sometimes be. Five a.m., hailing a taxi and another taxi cuts him off, screeching to a stop in front of me as I am quickly stepping back onto the sidewalk. A verbal fight ensues where I am implored to choose my driver. I choose the guy who got cut off and we’re off to Penn Station. On the way we talk about Rumi and Sufism, a perfect ending to that part of the journey.
A phenomenal resort destination! To all who come to this happy place, welcome. Downtown Repalone is YOUR bar! "All I Wanted Was a Sink!"