I am in New York City and a week has passed in a seeming whirlwind of travel and rain and cold and drink and interviews and more drink and meagre food rations. New York City always seems big, and the more time I spend here, it just seems to get bigger. I’ve been in Queens and Brooklyn and also out to Long Island. The distances seem vast. But New York City is like a cosy village when it comes to the instant warmth of people once you talk to them. There is not much of the polite and polished veneer that makes relations smoother in Canada, but also makes things more distant.

Yesterday I saw rats in the subway. How they seem to like the subway, those furry beasts.

Today I saw two kittens walking around in a Queens car sales lot. Weird. Abandoned kitties? I thought of Banchi and wanted to adopt two new companions for her, but thought better of it.

I will really welcome being home again. It’s good to know that New York City is never that far away, but it’s far enough to start missing home pretty soon. I want a nice dinner with my girlfriend and a big lazy breakfast the morning after.