Tuesday, December 12, 2006

HAHA my NYC JOKE of a LIFE







OHHHHH MAN!!! I have to say for the past two weeks I've done a lot laughing at the weird way my life likes to play with me, including some crying about it aswell.
This entire year I've had one plan with my life. JUST ONE that would last a month, and that plan was to go to HArlem again and sell Christmas trees. Well everything was planned and I was ready to go. I came home from Asia/Australia early due to these plans, set it up with the bosses, and got Andrew onboard to come with me.
Obstacle #1 started when They wouldn't let Andrew across the border in New York. So I felt bad leaving him in no mans land all by himself, so I got off the bus, and walked back to Canada with him. I never have problems with any borders so I didn't see it as a problem. So we got back to Berri Metro, we got Andrew his documents and hopped on the next bus back to the border. This time they didn't let EITHER of us across, and not only that, they let the dogs loose on my bags and apperantly it smelled like drugs so they tore the ENTIRE thing apart, all over the place.
Anyway after some more questioning we took the walk of shame back to Canada for the second time. Ok, the next day I got all my documents ready and with a very juicy bribe recruited an old friend to drive me across the Vermont border, with Andrew's friend Sam (andrew gave up at this point). Anyway they questioned me for an hour and a half, and went through all our stuff, and finally we made it across. YESSS! I made it, or so I thought!

So I get to Vermont, met George and the rest of the X-mas tree gang. We hop in the trucks and are on our way. I slept most of the way there. I get to NYC at about 2 am, sleep on a freezing cold floor of our apartment (because everyone else already took the air matresses) and start work the next day. It's all good, within hours I meet up with all my regular Spanish Harlem friends, we set everything up! The first 2 days go great, then my hands start to itch "hmm just parinoia" I think. But that night I woke up with massivly swollen hands and lips and for some reason my heart is racing a million miles a minute!! just like the last week of x-mas tree selling last year. "SHIT allergies, FUCK not again on DAY THREE!!!!!" So I tell my boss who happens to also be a doctor. She gives me 9 that's NINE!!!! pills to take everyday. Its all good, I don't mind, I feel a bit naucious but my allergies are fine. I spend all day building the stand selling trees, and talking to the locals. At the end of the day I'm sitting around having a chat to Max, when all of a sudden I feel like I'm having a mass asthma attack. FUCK, I gotta get out of here! I was biking back to my apartment (oh ya I was biking back and forth from my apt to work which is about 15 minutes away) thinking of how i would get in contact with someone to take me to the hospital incase (Max and Ace)
my lungs colaps (I was actually really scared for myself,and if you knwo me you knwo that doesn't happen easily). I got to the apartment and realized I just can't sell trees,just no way. Everytime I get a reaction it gets worse, and next time I would probably need a shot at the hospital, I had to give in. Its not risking my health or having to owe an american hospital tens of thousands of dollars.
So completely defeated, discouraged and lost I called my boss and told her. I am now jobless, after everything I did to get to New York and everythign that was counting on this job, I had to give in.

At this point my boss came to give me a big spiel about how they're so sad that they're losing me and yaddayaddayadda! he gave me a lot of bullshit, and told me it would totally be fine if I stayed at the apartment for awhile until i figure out what I'm going to do.
Two days later, after wandering through central park ponderting life he calls me and tells me I'm abusing the fact that i'm staying at the apt and I have to get out because I'm causing "friction" with the others (just one of them infact, cuz he's a complainy bitchy bastard) Eventhough no one even ever saw me there, I made an extra special effort to be invisible to everyone there just cuz I know the last thing people want to do after a long day of selling trees is deal with someone aroudn the house.
Anyway I'm now lost and homeless in Harlem.
When I run into the crazy man who asks me for 2$ once in awhile, I complain about life to him and he offers me a place to stay. Man let me tell you this guy is insane, really nice and hospitable, but CRAZY. I got woken up just before 5 am with violent banging at my door with him yelling "ISABEL FOOD YOU GOTTA EAT GET BREAKFAST IIIISSSAABBBEELLL WAKE UP" Oh god just to give u a tiny example of his crazyness hahahah..

(Derek and I)
Anyway the next day when he left to walk his dog I took all my things and RAN haha back to the trees that is. When I called Tafa. He's an artist in the area, with really impressive work, he's also one of the most coherent people in the area, I always enjoy speaking to him. I complained about my joke of a life when he offered for me to sleep on the floor of his art studio. No one is there during the day and its safe, secure, quiet and warm! PERFECT! this is where I am staying now. I have a queen size air matress I blow up every night and a mass comfy comforter with a wolf on it. I'm quite happy sleeping there. (where I slept in Tafa's studio)
I got up the next morning to buy my coffee and croissant from the moroccan/french guy across the street, and as I had been doign for the past 3 days, I complained about how life was being a bitch, he responded "Hey you want a job, I need help!"
So that is life now, I sleep on the floor of an artist amonst crazy abstract paintings and paint fumes, and during the day I practicly run this bakery which is about 10 meters away. all of this of course is next door to the trees I used to sell. I'm sure Max is sick of seeing my face about 5 times a day. I think I'm sticking around a few more days then coming home,

(the bakery I worked in for nearly 2 weeks) life is too strange here.
Today my bakery boss showed up 2 hours late for work, so I took the day off to wander around downtown NYC what a crazy world it is here!!!well this is the condenced version of my life up to date! see u back in montreal soon!

Oh an here is teh web-site of the guy whose art studio I'm staying in
www.tafagallery.com










(sam,ben and I coming home on the 6 train)

(Rockafeller centre)