y car is in Brooklyn. It has been hovering around the Ninth and Berry intersection of Williamsburg for almost three weeks now. When I left Ada and Neal's to move to the Upper West Side, it seemed like the easiest thing. Come back every couple days to move the car for street cleanings, an excuse to see Ada and Neal.
Now. If I were in Austin, and someone said, "Why don't you park in San Antonio and a take a bus back and forth every couple of days?," I would know what to say. I would say, "Are you off-your-rocker, fool?" because that is my new catchphrase. I might alternately say "No way!" or just give that "What-you-talkin-bout-Willis?" look of disbelief that Gary Coleman once made so famous. What I would NOT do is shuttle between Austin and San Antonio every couple of days, because that would be INSANE.
However. As you probably surmised, that is how long it takes me, on average, to get from the Upper West Side to Brooklyn and back. It doesn't seem like it should, but it does. When Ada and Neal are around, I don't mind, because it's an excuse to see them, but when (as often as not) they are not around, it's tedious. Especially when I realize that I have to move the car, and it's 3:30 in the morning, and everyone is like, "You idiot, just get a ticket," except I am full of pep, and so I decide to move the car, and of course it takes me forever to find the car because I've moved it so many times I can't remember where it is anymore, and I practically fall asleep on the brutal subway back and am near tears by the time I reach Stephanie's apartment as the sun is rising.
This is mostly my fault. (I own 73% of the blame. Also to blame is New York City itself, 10%, its citizen drivers, 10%, and David Blaine street magician, 7%.) I should have taken a taxi back from Brooklyn that night, but I was too stubborn, and broke, to shell out the cash. I should move the car up here, but I'm intimidated by the hectic driving of the Upper West Side. Tomorrow I go to DC for a week, so it's a moot point. My friend Tara says she got me a great parking spot in Philly.

written in New York City, New York