skblog

7 March 2026

9:41am

It's Saturday morning. In about three hours, R and I will leave the apartment and venture south to Sunset Park.

11:38pm

It's Saturday night. Oh what a wonderful time it was, this afternoon in Sunset Park! On the day I moved to Brooklyn, almost four years ago, as my mom dropped me off on 8th Ave in Sunset Park, I met a neighbor, Y, the first person I would ever meet in this NYC chapter of my life. Y is a muralist, and would invite me to various spots around town, so I could sit and chat, or help paint, as she completed mural after mural. From bakeries and bars to fishmongers and restaurants, from community events in the park to an unveiling of trash trucks, Y became a staple of my early New York days.

I was glad to get a coffee (we both had tea) with her a few weeks back, shortly before she set out for an international trip. She returned on Wednesday, and already R and I were invited over today! How great to be back in touch. Once again, I thought about my Grandma and her wise words about 'community' as R and I, across from Y and J, scooped congee into our mouths in the incredibly warm and lovely apartment. The apartment reminded me of high school, in the best way. It reminded me of L's house, it even had that same smell to it. Not sure how to word that in a way that does indicate that that is a positive thing.

It was truly the greatest, to all four spend time in that apartment. I'd never been inside before, however once, in maybe November or December of 2022, I'd dropped off some dal for Y and J, when they'd caught Covid. It was fun to reminisce all of the times I'd tagged along on Y's projects, we all warmly chuckled about it, I was eager and 22! After congee, we had tea and sweets, and some of the grapes that R and I brought. I surely was glad we brought something, something to show how much this meant to us...

We left, explored Industry City, and walked nearly the whole way home! We stopped for a loaf of bread, and some day-old pastries on the way. This day of old neighborhood and former neighbors brings me to my tale from yesterday:

I called my grandma as I left the museum yesterday, and happened to find a rare moment when she was home alone! Everyone was out procuring fish sandwiches. That was all she had to say, for me to know that they were at Point Loma Seafoods. I decided that I wanted to keep her on the line as long as I could. I lingered outside of 77th street station for quite a while, before deciding I'd walk south, with her still on the line. How could I say "I've gotta go!" when these are precious moments?

I initially thought I'd just walk until the next station, 68th street, until I looked up at the street sign ahead of me and remarked "Oh grandma, didn't you used to live at 75th street? That's only one block behind me!", and she replied "It was 74th. 74th and 1st." Oh, well, since I was already on her street, I figured what's a few blocks walk east -- I just had to 'bring' gram back to her old apartment again! She said not to go out of my way, but I told her we were already nearly there -- and once we arrived I know she was glad we made the trip!

As I walked down 74th, I brought her along on facetime. I asked her if it looks much different, and I was surprised to hear her say it looks the same. She even remembered the cathedral school just down the street from her building, she recalled seeing all of the kids outside. When we arrived, she asked the doorman if he ever knew Georgia Smith (something we'd done on facetime before), but alas, that was before his time. We stood outside, across the street, and for the first time I saw her window. There it was, the 22nd floor. I understood now what she meant when she said her view showed her downtown along 1st Avenue, the window was angled facing downtown, right above the corner balcony! What a view. Oh I imagined my grandma in there looking out. It's hard to believe that is the building where she met my grandpa. That that all happened in a real place. It's 11:58pm, so soon I'll still be writing this entry, but it will be technially March 8th. I'll let it slide.

That whole experience of bringing my gram back there again (for the third time, I believe!) made me wonder what would evoke that sort of feeling for me. I imagined my future grandchildren facetiming me from the ground floor of the sunset park apartment. Oh, I do think I'd love that, though I do imagine it to change quite a lot in that area... Maybe that 'change' thought is influenced by my time in S.P. today! It felt very fitting to see that apartment yesterday, and then have the wonderful time in my old neighborhood today, as both experiences felt full of Grandma Energy. My very special Gram.

Oh, and as for the note about triple dates... let's just say I think I'm cursed! (12:02am)