New digs, fresh start

Sometime mid-last week I felt the first twilight chill in the air, and this time I dug my winter clothes out from under my bed and kept them out. Though the next day, when I tried to wear a purple wool cardigan, drops of sweat beaded on the small of my back and I looked around and it was hot.

It's still too hot for turtlenecks and wool. I know this because I moved across town today, and even in a cotton t-shirt and cut-offs, perspiration pooled and plinked off of me and off of the Uzbek movers. After they had loaded the truck (while I frantically finished packing the kitchen) they set off downtown and I did the same, taking a cab so they wouldn't beat me there. What luxury the cab people enjoy, speeding across town with a view on every side! We mole people of subway voyages get none of that, not counting the occasional sight of a rat.

My driver took the FDR highway, which hugs Manhattan's Eastern edge, and as we merged and he accelerated I realized how little I ride in cars anymore (especially during the day) and how apparent driving's precariousness is to me now; I'm skittish in a car. But the view was glorious, grand, sweeping, and every other cliche. The angled light of a late-fall afternoon burned blue above the East River, above Queens' former factories (now lofts), with the Triborough reclining elegantly in the background. I was suddenly no longer consumed by drudgery of packing and moving. I felt as light, and as much in wonderment, as the day I arrived.

It was a good way to begin a new beginning. And that's what this apartment is, a fresh start. It's more beautiful than I had anticipated, the poshest place I've ever had. Of course, my standards for poshness in housing aren't high -- throw in a dishwasher and I'll swoon as though you offered me the penthouse suite at the Ritz. But it's apparent that care has been taken in the details. There's a marble stoop, granite counters, exposed brick, recessed lighting, closets galore (with clever separate storage units above) and brand-new, good quality kitchen appliances.

So it's gorgeous and for two days, until Sabra arrives, it's mine alone. Mine and my boxes -- they have a life of their own. But I'm tired of being owned by stuff, so a lot of this is going. It's smarter to purge before you move, but it took this new place to inspire me. I now see that the old place was a drag on my energy. I'm glad to be out, and so glad to be here. Bring on the new season, the new place, new opportunities and new attitudes.