As if you didn’t know already, much of the northeastern United States lost power yesterday afternoon. We in Massachusetts were unaffected by it, but I knew something was amiss when all of the IM addresses in our New York office suddenly signed off at the same time. We live in very interesting times, don’t we? If anyone was starting to feel like the effects of 9/11 were starting to burn off, yesterday’s event put the hurtling train right back on the tracks. Among the media frenzy and swirling rumors, it’s a solid assumption that the first thing people thought of was that beautiful Tuesday morning before the dark clouds of terrorism and bare-fisted, pure fright hit our psyche. As a frequent flyer and devoted follower of history, September 11 still crosses my mind on a daily basis.
All that being said, I feel, in my little corner of the universe, that I should mention how out-of-control our media has become. Of course, the major networks or CNN are the first things we turn on for news, but they really dialed up the melodrama for yesterday’s blackout. Hearing constant refereces from the civilians on the streets of New York about the city’s glorious attitude and their referencing of how much everyone helps one another really gets to be achingly repetitive after a while. It would be one thing if it were true, I suppose. Not to throw my blanket of opinion over an entire city, but let’s get real. A power outage, even one on this grand a scale, does not need this kind of coverage in the press, nor do we need to be told a million times about how cooperative and beautiful the people of New York are, while being told nothing about the people of Plattsburgh, NY or my old stomping grounds of Kent, Ohio. Those people are just as hot (climate-wise, I mean) & frustrated as the New Yorkers are. Oh well. Off my soapbox.
I’m moving “big stuff” tomorrow and will be officially in a new house starting tomorrow night. All kinds of emotion play into that. Of course, the overwhelming feeling that you own a entire property – the work, the responsibility, the debt. It’s an odd combination of fright, comfort & excitement all rolled into one. At times, it’s also very difficult for me to comprehend that I am moving out of the city. I had been convinced that I would stay forever and sometimes it’s difficult for me to accept that I am leaving. Granted, I’m only 20 miles out, but it’s frustrating because the real estate market in and near the city is just offensive, and it’s really a shame, because people like us who truly enjoy being near it and taking advantage of what it has to offer are leaving. At some point, I believe city officials are going to realize just how damaging that is going to be for the city in the coming years – that young professionals who don’t make $150,000 a year cannot live there. More people are leaving Massachusetts than are moving in. While it might not be an epidemic yet, it’s a shame that people like us can’t stay there. It hurts. But I’m excited about the prospect of owning my own place – it’s something I’ve been saving fastidiously for and daydreaming about for years now. Starting a record label sidetracked that a little bit, but here I am. A homeowner. A new day dawning, of sorts. More dollar bills for the Home Depot tills!
Song now playing: Creeper Lagoon – “Tracy”