Highs and lows

It’s fascinating how many different impressions and emotions can be packed into one week. This one was a wonderful example of that.

Somehow there was a bit of bad energy in the air for most of the week. Sometimes there are periods where something is always subtly going wrong. Where you cut your finger while cleaning, tip over a vase of flowers and somehow everything always turns out differently than planned. I had just such a streak this week and it started off really badly. After returning from a doctor’s appointment with my father in Germany, I hit another car parked in the street while parking my rental car. Not too hard, but still: dents and scratches on both cars. My first accident ever in my entire life. And it happened at a time when my calendar was already full of appointments. They were all no longer important and instead I sat at the police station, clarified things with the car sharing company, filled out documents for the insurance company and had contact with the person whose car I hit. Fortunately, she took it all calmly and with humor and I was immensely relieved about that. 

All mixed up

So my schedule for the week was completely mixed up and things went on like that. More and more things came up that I had to do before I left. And it was this departure that put me under pressure and meant I had to get everything done by Wednesday evening. Somehow I managed it though. By early evening, my suitcase was packed, all the items on my preparation list were checked off and I was ready to go.

Escaping

Then on Thursday, the trip to New York, which had almost become routine. It was still somewhat characterized by the bad vibrations. The tram I wanted to take was canceled and my planned train connection to Zurich almost fell through. Thanks to a sprint with my suitcase and against the crowds at Basel main station, I caught it at the last moment. The flight was delayed and took what felt like an eternity, and in JFK immigration once again demanded all the patience I could muster after a 9-hour flight. But then I sat in the cab and with every foot closer to Manhattan my tiredness evaporated and the bad energy vanished into thin air. I was back in my beloved big city!

New York City winter

To counteract the jet lag, I first went jogging on Friday. I only wanted to do a short lap, but in the end it was another 5 and a half miles run. Another reason for the jog was that freezing temperatures and snow were forecast for the weekend. These actually happened and on Saturday morning the city was covered in a blanket of white snow. Christmas spirit was in the air.  The arctic temperatures kept outdoor activities to a minimum, limited to grocery shopping, visits to restaurants in the neighborhood and the purchase of a Christmas tree.

See all Photos of this week