So the first three days of the trip I was in New Jersey with Pnut, looking at houses. This was a whole bunch of fun, primarily because we stumbled upon the most kick-ass real estate agent, ever! I highly, highly recommend Jo Ann Hesse if you are looking for a home or rental property in Jersey. Not only is she incredibly committed, smart and frank, but she’s absolutely hilarious and knows how to enjoy life! We found about a million great homes, and fell in love with Dover, which is apparently called “Dover Rico” by the locals and has a reputation for being unsafe. As far as I could tell, though, this is solely because white people don’t like to be surrounded by hispanics because… you know… Spanish is SCARY. I walked up and down the street where we fell in love with “our” house (fingers crossed) and spoke to a bunch of neighbors. They were all incredibly friendly and thrilled to have Spanish-speakers potentially moving in, because the previous occupants of the house “only said hello, goodbye, but in this neighborhood we all know each other and look after each other”. There were plenty of folks out on the streets with their small kids, wash hanging from the lines in the back yards, music playing, and… yep, I did not meet a single person who did not speak Spanish. I couldn’t have MADE UP a neighborhood where I felt more at home.
After house-hunting, I headed to Chicago for the memorial service of a family member. Like most Indians, my family ties are far-reaching and incredibly tight. It’s hard to describe to Americans how I am related to some people, because technically I am not. But culturally and emotionally, I am. So, I spent four days with my fairy godmother, shopping for decorations and watching her bake for the memorial service for her mother, Claire Rose. Claire was like a grandmother to me, though I could never apply that word to the incredible, fearless bad-ass who once made out with Jack Kerouak and drove cross-country in her seventies to start a whole new career. It was her blessing, as my eldest family member in Chicago, that I sought before my wedding in June. Her absence in the world will continue to be felt acutely by anyone who ever entered her non-stop energetic orbit. Even from her hospital bed, she would rather talk about YOUR life and how YOU were than anything else.
I also had the opportunity to visit the cardiology ward at the University of Chicago hospital and shadow the nurses in the ICU there for a day. Let me tell you, I would have just stayed in there listening and learning if I could have. There is no doubt in my mind now that I absolutely belong in a hospital environment. After living in the gilded corporate towers for so long where the chant is “money money money” it was incredible to be in an environment where the chant is “people people people”. Sure, I saw egos and drama there. But guess what - it’s worth it to me put up with that shit if I’m busy saving lives; it is not worth it to me to put up with it when I’m busy making money for shareholders. Oh - and the best part? I got to see a guy whose face was eaten up by herpes. And I did not freak out; I was just disappointed they wouldn’t let me get close enough to see better. Pnut finds this hilarious, because when he called me later in the week I was crying over the dog with the broken leg on some Animal Planet show. Damn that Animal Planet for making me cry over every fucking show, but rendering me unable to change the channel. I’m glad we don’t have a tv here! Seriously, when I see injured people I just want to roll up my sleeves and get busy fixing it but when I see an injured animal I throw my hands in the air and cry hysterically.
The last week of the trip I went down to Nashville an spent a week with my folks. Alarmingly, my mother and I made it through almost the whole week without a major blow-out fight. We did manage to get at each other’s throats on my last night there, but considering it took us longer than 24 hours together, I’ll mark this up to progress made. I also spent a day building walls for Habitat for Humanity with her. This was my second Habitat build, and it was as rewarding as I remember. If you’re looking for a tangible way to contribute to your community, you may want to check into Habitat. Despite all the Christian hooboo jooboo surrounding the organization (I LOATHE that crap - I’d rather spend those extra ten minutes building shit than feeling uncomfortable while everyone around me prays), it’s a good time and you’ll learn some great skills - especially if you’re doing any work on your own home.
Okay, well, them’s the news, folks. It’s Wednesday morning and I’ve written all of this from a bar up the street from Pnut’s office. God, I love being laid off!
