July 12, 2004, Ottawa to New York City (and Boston and Baltimore and...)
Over the past few days, I was beginning to wonder if I could handle all of the driving that I was planning on doing in the weeks ahead (from Ottawa to New York, Boston, Baltimore and Toronto), but I had made the choice and there was no turning back.
It seemed like a good decision at the time. Sure I could have just flown to New York, and Fed Ex-ed things back to Canada then taken an airplane/bus/train to my various destinations, but I wanted to keep my schedule open to deal with any unforeseeable emergencies that might have come up with my New York apartment.
There were also things that I needed to move out of my New York apartment before it would be open for rent again in September, and having a car to move things out to a donation center or to drive them back to my parents place in Canada seemed to make sense. I wanted to be able to drive directly to my friends' places instead of flying or taking a train or bus. I knew that many of my friends would have to go out of their way to drive me to and from the airport/bus/train station, or didn't have a car to do so.
Oddly enough, though the hours I'd drive would be no small feat, I knew that by driving I'd have to make good on my promises to visit my friends- that was the whole point of driving down to New York! It's not always very convenient to keep a car in New York city and having a car meant being able to leave at a moment's notice and to manage my schedule with great flexibility. In the past I just flew into New York and there were always excuses and distractions that kept me in the city and away from visiting my friends in other parts of the east coast.
Driving down to the U.S. from Canada is my personal commitment to visiting my friends on the east coast- I would have no excuses for not visiting them short of some massive natural disaster.
Last summer I had had to delay my flight back to Canada from New York and before returning to Taiwan due to some issues that had come up with my New York apartment. During previous trips back to New York, I’ve had to renege on plans to visit friends in other parts of the east coast due to time limitations and weather conditions. And when I’m there- I often feel engulfed in the endless distractions- good and bad, sentimental, relentless and abiding- that New York offers.
Over the past few days, I was beginning to wonder if I could handle all of the driving that I was planning on doing in the weeks ahead (from Ottawa to New York, Boston, Baltimore and Toronto), but I had made the choice and there was no turning back.
It seemed like a good decision at the time. Sure I could have just flown to New York, and Fed Ex-ed things back to Canada then taken an airplane/bus/train to my various destinations, but I wanted to keep my schedule open to deal with any unforeseeable emergencies that might have come up with my New York apartment.
There were also things that I needed to move out of my New York apartment before it would be open for rent again in September, and having a car to move things out to a donation center or to drive them back to my parents place in Canada seemed to make sense. I wanted to be able to drive directly to my friends' places instead of flying or taking a train or bus. I knew that many of my friends would have to go out of their way to drive me to and from the airport/bus/train station, or didn't have a car to do so.
Oddly enough, though the hours I'd drive would be no small feat, I knew that by driving I'd have to make good on my promises to visit my friends- that was the whole point of driving down to New York! It's not always very convenient to keep a car in New York city and having a car meant being able to leave at a moment's notice and to manage my schedule with great flexibility. In the past I just flew into New York and there were always excuses and distractions that kept me in the city and away from visiting my friends in other parts of the east coast.
Driving down to the U.S. from Canada is my personal commitment to visiting my friends on the east coast- I would have no excuses for not visiting them short of some massive natural disaster.
Last summer I had had to delay my flight back to Canada from New York and before returning to Taiwan due to some issues that had come up with my New York apartment. During previous trips back to New York, I’ve had to renege on plans to visit friends in other parts of the east coast due to time limitations and weather conditions. And when I’m there- I often feel engulfed in the endless distractions- good and bad, sentimental, relentless and abiding- that New York offers.
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