There goes the neighborhood...

Current mood: happy

Woke up late Sunday in a very good mood. Very good mood is putting it lightly, how about fantastic mood, how about best mood I've been in in quite some time, how about best mood ever... tough to rank a good mood. The morning started with listening to all the recorded enquiries from the night before, text mail, voice mail, email. To put it mildly and keep it privately, the night ended at and with very good Karma.

Jen got the first call for coffee. Re-parked the car and headed out to the Green Street Cafe. Our second of what would be many "bump intos" was Dave's dog. She looked rather unhappy lashed to a lamppost, barking at another dog across the sidewalk, so I gave her a few petty pets and huggin' squeezes. Of course, as soon as I was through with that, she started barking again. Dave came out with a chair, coffee and smoke. It being after 12, Jen and I stayed in for wine. As it would be the case that day, on the first smoke break, Amy wandered up along with Dylan, Paul then a tossled haired Dan. Obviously, their night hand ended lately, I was happy I hadn't followed them out of the Mark at 5:00 after my bouncy night cap.

We all split up with various things to do, shit, shower and shave, some off to Dan's parents for Easter Dinner, others off to bed, me... a slow long wonderful walk about my beautiful home in Greenpoint. Stops on stoops for thoughts and smokes. A trip to the beach to look at the city, a wander over to Amy's to see if she was ready... home to read email, pretend to work and a quick nap...

There goes the neighborhood...

I live in a small town populated by what seems to be a disproportionate number of 20 something / 30 somethings... Oh, I have my older gang, the thieves, dealers and regulars from when I bartended at what most of the 20/30 somethings like to call the murder bar. I constantly run into these pals while outside the Mark, tuggin' and a puffin'. These folks are the rock-hardened locals who for the most part have grownup; lived their entire lives in Greenpoint, well OK, extcept for the 5 to 10 they lived upsate, the ones who have stayed put. The yungin's on the other hand seemed to have entered a season of constant in motion...

Jen moved out of my place, from Freeman to Huron; Dylan, couching it at Amy's moved to my place from India to Freeman; The kids, Sally and JP moved right the heck outta Greenpoint and down to Bay Ridge [they will be missed]; a few folks who are now friends who haven't quite recorded themselves in my name brain, notably the Jewish guy who moved into the apartment Jen and I looked at last year; and the guy I'm told looks like Beck; moved from parts unknown to Freeman and Green respectively; Amy moved from India to Commercial; and Ian after splitting with Dawn moved from Freeman to Amy's old place on India... Oh, and Rusty, one of the rock harders' house burned to the ground on Thursday... I'm certain, it being spring... there will be a few more moves before this season is over, hopefully continuing to be due to simple matters such as break ups and restlessness rather than, fire.

Living in what must be my 37th loft, or apartment in the 24 years since my first one, all this seems vaguely familiar. As the neighborhood continues to accept refugees from Williamsburg and the city; Greenpoint is starting to feel more and more familiar. At a nice pace, it's becoming like some of the great neighborhoods I lived in Toronto, more bars, coffee spots and restaurants. Of course, it's not the bars, coffee spots and restaurants, it's all those folks you'll meet outside the coffee shop on Sunday morning, when your smile is too big to be commented upon, when you're just a bit less tired and worn out than your pals are; when your riding the fumes from the fantastically, ecstatically wonderfully lovely night you had the night before that ended at and with good Karma. The old and new friends you bump into at just about the right time; the friends you're just plain old happy to be living amoungst.