New York, will I love you?

I woke up today looking at my still empty bags. I know I should pack soon, but I need to do laundry first. I'll pack later, I tell myself. I look out the window instead. The morning sun has been diffused by a layer of fog, making everything milky and unknown. Tomorrow when I wake up I will be ready to board a plane where I hope to kickstart my adventure, taking a bite out of the Big Apple. I just hope I don't choke.

I've had the dream to see New York City for longer than I can remember. For me who has never experienced such an urban metropolis at this scale, New York holds a fantastical quality. I have this image of this landscape; buildings, apartments and skyscrapers, that go off into infinity. I imagine born and bred locals who have never even seen all of their city. I see a world removed from my reality, a world where anything is possible.

I made this trip co-inside with a concert by the Icelandic quartet Sigur Rós, a band who's music I nearly worship. The last time they had a tour that brought them to the States was in 2008 and of course, there were no venues even remotely close. I had a taste of what their live experience could be like when Jónsi, the band's singer, came to Moogfest to promote his solo project. It was such a affecting and magical performance that I vowed to myself that then next time Sigur Rós included the US in a tour, I would find a way to go. Seeing as it is now 2012 and the supposed end of the world, I better knock out two dreams at once.

What will I be doing there? A great friend of mine who has been to New York a couple of times will be accompanying me acting as tour guide. We're going to go sight seeing, attend a Broadway show, see the city from the vantage of the Empire State Building, peruse museums, have fun at Coney Island, watch Shakespeare In The Park, eat some traditional New York fare and many more adventurous activities. 

I hope I get lost, lost in the city, lost among the people. I hope I fall in love, transitory, fleeting, pining love. I want the City to teach me things about myself I could never learn anywhere else. I don't want be static, I want to keep going, running, doing. I want time to stop in the perfect moment where everything will be enlightened. And in that moment I want to realize everything that is good about the world. I might fall for the city, crush on the streets and towers. I might desire to be apart of the life blood that makes this magic work. I might never want to come home, and when time comes for me to depart, I might run from the airport and embrace my new home. You never know.

So this is what I will be doing for the next week. I'll keep you posted regarding my adventures. I promise you'll be on my mind during all of it. Wish me luck and bon voyage.

Now, where is that charger...