Worthwhile resolutions, in action

(This is sort of a continuation from the previous entry. I split them into two different posts for the sake of audience. I figure two shorter entries are more likely to be read than one giant entry.)

Maybe not an act of forgetting, but an act of stupidity led to the first test of my New Years Resolution.

The resolution:
2. Be more adventurous, less shy, more confident, less timid.

The scenario:
I borrowed a friend's car for the holidays, as she was going on vacation elsewhere in the country and needed her car looked after anyway (in New York you can't just leave it parked somewhere; it's gotta be moved several times a week for street sweeping). All was well, I drove us up to Maine for the holidays, and drove back to New York without incident. Then, the most dreaded part. I had to find a parking spot.

Téa (my three month old) was an extremely good rider for the entire 6 or 7 hour trip from Maine. We got home, we unloaded the car, we relaxed for a few minutes, then got back in the car to find an overnight parking spot. At this point she was at the end of her patience with riding, and I can't blame her. After a few minutes of driving around looking for a spot, she started fussing. And then crying. And then wailing. I was nervous already, anxiously looking for a spot (I hate parallel parking, hate driving on the streets of Queens, hate doing both of those all the more with cars behind me, which there were). I pulled back up to the house and ordered Anthony to remove the screaming baby from the car; I'd go find a spot myself. I drove around for another 10 or 15 minutes, sure I would never find a space at this point. The later it gets, the harder it is. Finally I saw a space, or what I thought was one. On the corner of a street, there was a bus stop, then a fire hydrant, then a driveway, all of which I knew to avoid, but behind those things was what looked like a perfectly legal spot. It seemed a little iffy, but I was at the end of my rope. I was tired, I was cranky, and I there was the distinct possibility of a very hungry crying baby at home. I parked there.

I felt nervous all weekend. I wanted to get rid of the car so I could stop worrying. My friend was coming back Monday, so Sunday we set off to move the damn thing back to her house.

I was panicking as we were walking toward the car, sure it would be gone (I get a bit worst-case-scenario when I'm anxious). Lo and behold, it WAS gone. It got towed for being too close to the bus stop.

So, my Great Queens Adventure was yesterday. I had to

1. Take the bus to the impound lot, up in West Maspeth (Queens)
2. Walk from the bus stop to the lot (about a mile)
3. Get car
4. Drive back to my friend's house in East New York/Bushwick area (Brooklyn)
5. Take the L train home

All by myself, with baby in tow.

So, here was my first chance to be adventurous! confident! less timid!

I was scared shitless when I left the house.

It really helped to have the baby along; I had someone to talk to. A lady on the bus talked to Téa (who looked at her suspiciously; she'll be a good little New Yorker) and asked me about her. The bus driver was nice, which I was not expecting (seems like no one's very interested in helping anyone here in the city, usually). He let me know when we got to the stop, but I knew anyway, because I had a detailed list of what roads we would pass before getting to the stop (thank god for the internet).

We got off the bus and were suddenly in sort of a creepy industrial district. Lots of warehouse-looking buildings and 18 wheeler trucks. It was a little windy, so I pulled up my coat around Téa and she slept. People at the impound lot were very friendly, especially when I commiserated with one of the workers about what an ass some guy was being. (I'm of the opinion that no matter how pissed you are, you should always be polite and friendly with people who are just doing their jobs.)

Got the car, drove out of Maspeth, part of Williamsburg (ew!), through sort of borderline Bed-Stuy (at which point I locked the car doors and prayed for green lights), Bushwick, and finally to my friend's street just over the border into East New York, where I parked the car in a LEGAL spot and got the hell out of there on the L-train. Téa was fussy in the car (short stop-and-go rides annoy her), quiet on the train and the walk home. She was all smiles when we got home (me too, god!).

Thus concluded my first real solo (completely boring) adventure in the city. I took the bus, walked, drove a goodly distance, and took the train, alone. For a homebody who entered the city feeling completely terrified of it, I navigated pretty well.

Next adventure: Getting a New York ID. Ugh.