It's a Small World

I thought maybe moving to a huge city would mean that I wouldn't be able to use the phrase "small world" anymore. As in, someone knows someone who knows someone else and you all end up at a bar at the same time. "Crazy! What a small world!" I figured that New York is the place to lose yourself, be tortured and lonely, feel like a small fish in a big pond. (And, believe me, I have days or mornings or nights where this is absolutely true, and it seems like I don't know a soul, and I'm a sucky writer anyway, and what am I doing here, I'm such a poseur, etc etc.)

But I'm here to report that even NYC is small. Comfortingly so, sometimes. (Warning: there is a ridiculous amount of name-dropping to follow, but it's all names of normal people! So it doesn't really count as name-dropping!) Tonight, I went to Union Hall (a bar/music venue in Park Slope; think an upstairs with dark wood and library books and ironic comfort food like "basket o' corn dogs" and $3 PBR's....combined with a dark basement where cool local bands play). I brought along Julie, a wonderful painter who moved from Boulder in April—I met her through Christie, a wonderful friend from Cedaredge. Julie and I met up with Porter, a fiction and creative writer who used to work for Powder magazine and now contributes to great pubs like The Believer (check out this story). Julie knew Nancy, whose boyfriend is the drummer in a band called The Loom, would come by to hear the music. In walked Nancy. While Julie, Porter, and I were sitting at the bar, my classmate Lauren came in with her boyfriend, who's also in a band. Then another classmate of mine, Mary, walked in—her boyfriend just joined The Loom (banjo, mandolin, dobro). Attack of the groupies! Also: Porter worked on Swimming Cities of Switchback Sea and the artist Swoon, which I blogged about a couple weeks ago. Julie's roommate, Michael, also works for Swoon, collecting found materials for her art projects. And this is in New York! I thought it was anonymous here. Now I might have to go to Union Hall by myself sometime, sit at the corner seat, and see what familiar faces show themselves.

Got it? The takeaway: The world, thankfully, is still small...even in the midst of urban hugeness. Maybe like minds gravitate together more in places like this.

Now for one quick REAL name-drop. (This one's for you, Rach!)
Check out this clip of my classmate.
G'night!