The Day Off

What a delightful Monday! Maybe that had something to do with the fact that I was given an Unexpected Day Off--maybe...(or maybe I am still reeling from such a great weekend: time spent away from the city in the heart of Amish Country, PA for some fresh air & stars, and a gig last night back in the city at The Bitter End, among other things). There are so many mornings that I walk by coffee shops and bookstores and think to myself, if only I didn't have to work... the possibilities and ideas of what I could do with my day are endless in those moments. So, given that I had been *given* this gift of a day off (thanks, bosses), I decided to actually do some of those things. Well, first, there was sleeping in. Then there was reading and journaling and cereal and coffee and emailing. Then, around 1ish, I decided it was time to be out and about (weather report: 71 degrees, mostly sunny = perfect). First stop: Serendipity's Nail & Spa for a pedicure -- summer is HERE people, gotta take care of those tootsies. Next stop: Barnes & Noble on E. 86th where 1 (one) book was purchased: Anne Rice's Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt. Then, I traveled down to Astor Place, a spot I have always wanted to explore, where I purchased 1 (one) pair of Rocket Dog sneakers (on sale for $19 - can't beat that) at a strange, goth/hippie kind of shop. Then I sat in a box of glass (the Astor Place Starbucks) at a very pinnacle point in the city: the point in which Astor, 3rd Ave., Cooper and St. Marks Place all converge. All sorts of people-watching to be done in this spot. Then it was off to Union Square (with a quick stop at Utrecht Art Supplies to buy some *special* pens), where I had some park meandering to do, and apparently some more book shopping to do, since I found myself in yet another Barnes & Noble (my favorite B&N in the city), where I purchased 3 (three!) more books and a beautiful, chunky, hand-made journal from Nepal. I am not really sure what happened or why I bought so much, but it seems I couldn't resist: Honeymoon With My Brother, Blowing My Cover: My Life as a CIA Spy, and Delaying the Real World. From there, it was onto Carl Schultz Park which is right on the East River, where I sat on a bench and alternated between sketching in my new Nepali journal with my new *special* pens, and staring at the water. Heading home this evening, I rounded the corner of 2nd Avenue and 81st where a little girl of about 8 was teaching a couple of younger boys how to dance, specifically focusing on the Running Man and the Roger Rabbit. Needless to say, it was the perfect ending to the perfect day.