Hurricane Sandy happened and I thought little of it. Marcus was house sitting for some friends in Jersey City and I went to stay with him for Saturday 10 November night, and he took me on a damage tour. The hurricane hit on October 29 and I was surprised that there was still no electricity in many parts of Jersey City, including in the financial district near the Goldman Sachs Tower. It was unsettling to see so many of the important buildings downtown with gutted central floors because of high water flooding everything.
I am continually baffled by the lack of coffeehouses and wonder what it is that people do here. I thought that wanting to go hangout somewhere and get snacks and chill was a universal human desire but I guess not, because I walked for a couple of hours with Marcus in Jersey City through places which I felt ought to have coffee and they did not. Marcus took me to this place called “Basic Food and Beverage” and I appreciated that the place did have coffee but it was just another place that made espresso and put it into a full-size paper cup so I had drip coffee. Jersey City does have a lot of parks. It also has a streetcar so the neighborhoods seem friendly and accessible.
I enjoyed cooking food with Marcus. He took me to India Square and we got some ingredients and talked about cooking more soon.
When I went home Sunday night I wanted a snack when I got to Manhattan and before I got on the train home. I went in this place and there was this boy working at the counter. I must act strangely whenever I meet a new person who I find attractive because I get called out a lot and that makes me feel even more shy. This guy thought it was funny and he just asked me, “Why are you nervous?” and I said I am not nervous and he asked me what I called it then. I was sleepy and wanted to get to my train and I was thinking about how I cannot imagine meeting so many people who expect to meet so many people anywhere except in a city like this. I wish I could have done or said anything clever but dude told me I should stay in touch with him and all I could think about was how I had no time to talk and did not want to make time to hook up so I just let the opportunity pass. There seems like endless opportunity here.
I left and got on the train to go home and a coworker, John Santa, sat next to me. We noticed each other after he sat down and I thought that was strange too. Every month I have been in this city I have met someone I knew when I was in some general public place that was not particularly aligned to any rare common interest I have with my social circle. This meeting was good for me because just the day before I had wanted to talk with him.