February 15, 2009
I want to check on Mike Dresser
Mike packed and moved to New York recently…. Mike, are you well? Are you getting enough to eat? Are you happy? Lonely? Is there anything you need? Questions (and answers, hopefully) in comments.
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Last thing I saw of him, he was down to one sock singing The Age of Aquarius with Lucy.
He makes some noise on twitter every now and again.
oh, I know he’s around, and has been, I just wanted to know how he is, check in, make sure everything is okay. you know, give him a chance, if he wants to, to talk about how it’s been. sort of a mini-interview about the process. (if he (and we) are up for it.)
I’m here! I’m well! Well enough. NYC is incredible, of course. I’ve settled in to a third floor brownstone apartment in Flatbush, Brooklyn. The neighborhood is mainly Caribbean, which means incredible 24-hour fruit stands, passable butcher shops (brined pig snouts! dried fish!), and a plethora of cell phone shops and stores with names like “MAXIMUM $7.99 (and up).” I am a minority here, but it is a comfortable neighborhood, with grandmas and children and the general bustle of daily life. The downtrodden guys in front of the liquor store address me Hey, Papi! when asking for change.
The thing that has most surprised me about coming here is the sheer normalcy of the place. One day you’re on the plane, and the next day you’re dodging bike messengers, rushing to catch crowded trains, and hey there’s the spire of the Chrysler Building sticking over a rooftop. The men still wear hats and overcoats, the women, fur. When you stop to think about it, it’s just like all the movies, but it mainly feels like home.
I have been dragging my feet on seeking employment. Of course I will and I must find something eventually, but I am currently suffering a bit under the tyranny of choice. In any direction you look, there are people doing what they love, who have clawed their way to the life the dreamed of. With enough work, any door here is open. Great. So what do I love?
…
And that’s where I am now. I have shelter and food and entertainment, but am painfully lacking in a sense of self or direction. That’s probably a good thing; that’s probably why I came here. I am at once happier than I’ve ever been and also terrified, feeling like an empty shell or a shadow or something. Maybe just human.
Thanks for looking in on me, Deron. Y’all have been a reassuring constant throughout the past weeks. I’ve been lurking, but I’ll be post some pictures and stories soon enough.
Hey, Deron: You should follow him on Twitter. I was not worried about him for just that reason.
It was, though, good to read that many-more-than-140-characters update from you, Mike.
I’m glad to hear you’re landing on your feet, Mike. Sorry I haven’t followed you on twitter. Every time someone I know sets out on an adventure, I’m always curious to know how it goes.
And, Mike, I hope you’ll keep in mind that you don’t have to figure it all out in the beginning. There’s a lot to be said for getting a low-stress job that allows you time to keep exploring your interests and options.