122. Disruptions

I played Brooklyn resident for a week. While I stayed at a friend’s Harlem-like brownstone on a tree-lined street reminiscent of my own, it was clear that I was in a very different place.There was a lot more restaurant/cafe bustle. Everyone seemed to have a toddler or a dog. Mosquitos were unexpectedly abundant—and aggressive—at all hours. Manhattan felt far away, like a different country; I was disinclined to cross back over during my stay out. toddler-dogExceptionally, I found myself also avoiding trains, even within Brooklyn itself. Despite the brutal heat, I took 15,000 to 20,000 steps a day, commuting to work earlier in the day, exploring neighborhoods after. I went to farmer’s markets. I discovered cool businesses and talked to the people who worked there. I went to see a screening of Signe Baumane’s Birth, which a filmmaker friend was moderating the Q&A for at the Greenpoint Film Festival. I had breakfasts and dinners with suddenly-proximate friends. I got caught in a…