Greetings from the Big Apple

I got in yesterday from Toronto - thanks Porter. Centre Island Airport really is the shit. But my travel day was a huge hassle. We were delayed for hours, before they just cancelled the flight and put us on the 4:30. I was originally due in New York at 3:45, but I didn't get in till well after 6. Paul met me at Penn Station, which was really great of him, especially since the Rangers had a game at the Garden. Seeing all those hockey fans made me really happy. I am so glad to be in "the City." Paul and I have fallen right into our usual banter. Anyway, we got back to Forest Hills, Queens, and Tati was making dinner. I felt guilty because I was supposed to have dinner plans in Soho. But then Paul pulled out the Vevue, and I knew we weren't going anywhere. Paul had actually just gotten home himself, from the Paris Photo Fair. We watched the Real Housewives of Atlanta, and The Hills Aftershow, because we missed The Hills. The Aftershow is another Canadian transplant that makes me relieved, because I know home is not far away. I actually get re-entry shock all the time now when I am back in the States, and New York is particularly jarring, since NYC is so quintessentially American.


This morning, I came in on the Long Island Rail with Paul, and dropped him off at the gallery. Then I went to Lincoln Centre, for South Pacific tickets. Next I walked across the Park to the Met, Paul recommended the Phillip de Montebello show. He is the outgoing director of the Museum. Not only is he a New York legend, having served for over thirty years in his post, he has been responsible for a number of big acquisitions in his tenure. Those acquisitions are on display in a well curated exhibition of his legacy. I always love going to the Met. It's pay what you want - 1$ in my case, and you can get lost in there for hours. I saw a few sections in addition to the special exhibits, that I hadn't been through before. Decorative Arts is still my favourite, but the room of Dutch Masters is also astounding. All those Vermeer's, mind blowing. The only eyesore, and I found it ironic that it was not part of the Montebello show, since The Hirst Shark, was procured during his reign. That thing looks so bad, I don't think it will survive the decade. It looked noticeably worse than the last time I saw it, in May. I couldn't find the one from the Met, but bellow is an image of another Hirst Shark, for those who need to ask somebody. Anyway, so glad to be here. Miss y'all up North. It is freezing. New York is supposed to get its first snow of the season tonight. I don't understand why the snow is following me.