New York, New York

Yesterday I got my visa. Finally. All that fuss over a silly little piece of sticker on a page of my passport. It's funny how I kept looking at, and touching, and reading the words on the visa for about a whole 20 seconds after.

I'm just so glad all this hassle was worth it.

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Caught some pretty good jazz at Garage on Grove and 1^st - Larry Newcomb and friends were playing. Listening to good live jazz - as sporadically as I do - always reminds me how much it means to me, and how much I miss it.

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New York is an amazing city.

It's not my first time here, yet some of the sights and sounds give me the mental jump of a virgin experience.

The cab drivers are scary. New York traffic is crazy. The horn blares are really just another part of the cityscape.

Yet, in serendipitous moments of solitude amid the madness, there are little precious gems that remind me of the multifaceted character of this part of the world.

Piping hot apple cinnamon oats on a blistering cold (snow storm!) morning on 6^th Avenue. A really old (!) gentleman voluntarily helping me carry a piece of my baggage for a whole block (to the Brasilian Consulate), and refusing to let me buy coffee after. Watching a dad hoist his little girl up to touch a big statue soldier's belt.

There are many more moments I want to capture in my mind's eye, forever. I probably can't. For what it's worth, though, I am savouring every bit of warmth the people in this city bring to the cold of winter this time of year.

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I love how Christmassy New York is now.