Thoughts on Space

This is an image of the Great Planetary Ambush of 2002. The Moon knew too much and was thinking of defecting to the Andromeda Galaxy. Fortunately, Jupiter, Neptune, Earth etcetera beat a few new craters into the Moon. Speaking of which, I wonder if we're ever going to name the Moon? It's like someone named Person, or Infant, or Human Being. Anyone have any recommended names? How about Moonhamed? Ok ok ok.

So we know that the aging process is slower in outer space. We also know, or at least I possibly misread once, that the faster one travels in space the slower one will age. We don't have the technology now, but I wonder if we'll be able to reverse, or slow, the aging process, by making some sort of space simulator, a room, that one would sleep in at night. The first invention will seem like a fraud--comparable to those 19th century merchants that sold syrup to cure flatfootedness--the first one may only reduce your age by mere seconds. It take innumerable seemingly stupid ideas to create one of quality. More likely, it will be more profitable and more logistical to just make some sort of pill. But who doesn't like large round-a-bout inventions that produce the same effect. Think of the game mouse trap.

If we travel the speed of light for about 8 minutes, we will land on the Sun. Only 4 minutes to travel to Mars. 35 minutes to Jupiter. A little over 4 years to reach the next star. The closest ones with planets are over a decade. So much we would have to accomplish to leave the solar system if we tried to do so. 26,000 years to make it to the center of our Galaxy--a good place to meet a supermassive black hole. The next closest galaxy, Andromeda, would take 2.3 million years to reach. There are countless galaxies. This is the size of our universe. We may be the Tree Sloths of intergalactic species, or we could be about average, or better. It makes one think about the bug on the wall which takes an hour to get from the light switch to the door knob.

The Andromeda Galaxy is also the furthest object we can see with our eyes. Why I can see something 2.3 million light years away and not something 15 feet away at Subway is beyond me.

In New York, you can't see anything. In the sky that is, outside of the planet, except the Sun and Moonhamed. The stars in this city tread on the ground.

I'll comment more on Stars, distance, shaped, etc another time.

Winter: December -

Music: "Winter" by Vivaldi

I've been teaching myself French. I met someone from France and walked across the Brooklyn Bridge with her. She had a camera. I had the flu. It was 30 degrees.

The coldest day so far had a wind chill of 4 degrees! For some reason I didn't mind it too much.

So it's been about 8 months. I don't know where I'm going or what I'm going to be, but I'm sure I'll blunder myself into success. Unwittingly back myself into genius.

The rest of my posts will be more specific. I had a lot of catching up to get to the present day. Sadly, despite my usual semi-phenomenal memory there is very little I remember of my life the last 8 months. Almost as if I've been trying to block it out. Work is a new thing for me. Uses up much of my time. It's very monotonous. I don't use an ounce of my ability. I was hired because I was another human being. It is therefore worthy of forgetting.

I hope to have an apartment soon. My next posts will detail my apartment search and coffee shop searches and anything else that may occur.

'til next time!

Autumn: September, October, November

Music: "Autumn" by Vivaldi

This might be the most mediocre season in NYC. Summer is the worst. Worse than winter. Except for dead and dying leaves this season lacks personality. People start overdressing because they're excited about wearing their winter clothes a little too early.

Election day was nuts. The result was great. People here are very politically active, active enough to clog every population center and start brawling by midnight.

These were the months that I got used to my situation. The fits of melancholy and homesickness left. The were replaced with the agony of nearly 400 rejected resumes and tales of woe in apartment hunting. I almost had an apartment--I was supposed to have it--but plans fell through on the last day. The places I like usually don't take me. The ones I don't like are rather creepy. Either it is the people (one person won't stop calling me) or the location.

I walked through the (in)famous Queensbridge Projects in the middle of the night on accident. I could have turned back, but I suppose I wanted some excitement. Nothing happened. I was the only person outside.

Summer: June, July, August

Music: "Summer" by Vivaldi

One of the pictures is of a bunch of people that fell down. In June, the gravity was so intense (but only in NYC) that only the strongest people could stand erect for longer than 15 minutes. The other picture is actually a picture I took. It was scraped off the next day.

Summers in NYC are much worse than they are in Texas. It's 10 degrees cooler, but the humidity is absolutely unfathomable. Thousands of people pushing down Broadway--heat rising to the heavens. Much bralessness amongst the ladies. Sweat is the flavor of the season.

I took my walks at night. Nothing is more beautiful than walking down the near empty avenues of Manhattan at 3am in the morning. Especially in company--one could walk and talk into oblivion, or before the Sun reminds you to go to bed. The thing I miss most about life in San Marcos was that I could be completely nocturnal--my natural state.

Saw the following celebrities at work: Ashley Olson, Amy Hempfel, Simon Winchester, Chuck Palahniuk, Salman Rushdie. And apparently a bunch of other people, like Rachel Ray, and the President of the Dominican Republic and others.

Spring: April and May

Music: "Spring" by Vivaldi

Greetings friends. So I know I've been in New York City for awhile, but I thought it would never be too late to start a blog about my life here.

In case you don't know me. My name is Jonathan. I'm from Texas. For the last 7 years of my life I lived in San Marcos where I felt I knew everyone--a great place to meet great people. Unfortunately there isn't anything to do there.

I finished my MFA at Texas State and fled to this Northern state in the month of April (before I actually graduated, but I finished everything and took off).

I expected instant success, friends, love, etc. Instead, I'm having an intense training in loneliness in the loneliest of all cities. However, some days are great. I will not give up, we shall see if I make it.

You might be wondering what the pictures are? The first is a watercolor or color chalk picture of Central Park in spring. The trees are amazing here, the few they have. The next picture is a view out of the window of the Long Island City apartment that I'm in. The last picture is where I work.

What can I say of New York City in spring? The color is assuredly pink. Cherry blossoms. We found water on Mars and the Earthquake near Chengdu China had the whole city ordering Szechwan Chicken at the innumerable Chinese restaurants. Many signs in numerous shops had "recession specials" which weren't very cheap. Obama graffiti.

People here don't smile. They are impatient. Busy. Unfortunately, this transformation is happening to me. I was never an asshole before, but I'm in my fledgling stages now. And my eyebrows are turning white.

This month and the summer months were among the hardest days in my life. I went from having nearly everything one wanted in life to starting from the very beginning. No possessions, no connections, no job, no money.

I'm insatiably curious as to how I make it through this. I will make it through this.