frualeydis | New York 2: Hanging with Andreas (Reply)

New York 2 – hanging with Andreas

So, I was staying with an old friend. We met first in 1992 through the SCA but didn't get to know each other until we moved into the same three-flat house as he lived in 1995. He and two guys shared a flat on the 2nd floor and the twins' dad, the twins and I lived on the bottom floor. Then the SCA in Sweden split and i joined the splitting group: Nordrike. However, since we still we're neighbours it's not like we didn't socialize and there were no hard feelings between our local groups (unlike some other places).

I moved out of the house in February 1998, when the twins' dad and I had broken up, but by then Andreas and I had other things in common and still met regularly. That ended in 2001, but we still met occasionally and kept contact. Then in 2009 we started meeting more again, but then he also moved to New York, and since then I've met him twice a year, though one of the occasions is a pretty intense weekend where you spend a lot of time together.

But this trip was the first time that I was going to spend alone with him, and for six days. So, I was a bit nervous, especially since I've always felt that he's so cool and that makes me feel inferior. He's an artist, and a writer and very handsome, and I guess it is my youth when I was picked on in school, but I always feel insecure with handsome and really cool men. It's just a small feeling and really has nothing to with him, since he's very humble and doesn't know how cool he is (or he might now, since I talked about it when we were drunk together ;) )

Anyway staying with anyone for six days may put a strain on the relationship, but I'm happy to say that it worked really well. We both have a great need of solitude, so we didn't get on each other's nerves, but spent as much time together as we both felt like.

Andreas lives in Flatbush, Brooklyn, and has a nice flat and two cats. I liked walking around in the area. To look at shops, and especially Wednesday evening when we took a long walk and looked at really wonderful wooden houses. It was cold but clear most days and I really enjoyed walking in the area.

Important sign:

Thursday night we went walking on Manhattan and then had dinner and went to a few really cool bars, before getting rather drunk and taking the subway home. Then we spent ten minutes having a very serious, drunken discussion on which shampoo I ought to buy at the all night open supermarket. if it hadn't been in Swedish it would probably have been very entertaining for the clerk.

The New York Public library. I could move there just to be able to use their research library, so beautiful ;)

Walking the High line.

Then we walked down to the river and out on a pier. It was so beautiful, and I love being near water so much. It was around 0 C/32F, but sunny and very nice any way.