i've been reading, even the newspaper more recently, after an inexplicable inability to process anything that was going on in the world. but it seems that we will be going to war, in a fortutiously-timed for the party in power manner, exploiting our unresolved feelings after this week's 9/11 anniversary and slyly undercutting any reasoned debate in the run-up to november's midterm elections. convenient, ain't it? yes, i AM that cynical about our current state of affairs.

in contrast, my little slice of the world is going rather swimmingly, all things considered. i am happier now than i have been in quite sometime. you might even call me content. how's that for a shocker. i realized last week that it would take me at least a year to visit all of the shops, stores, bars, clubs, restaurants, cafes, delis, and other establishments within a ten-block radius of my new digs. every new block is a revelation. i've spent hours just wandering aimlessly around the neighborhood, taking it in. i'm not sure if i look more like a tourist or a nutcase. in fact, recently, i've begun to feel very conspicuous as a californian. maybe it's the color in my wardrobe or the way i carry myself. i'm not sure but i feel it and it ain't a bad thing. just that there are scads of things that are just SO new york that i'm not, or at least, not YET.