My first weekend truly alone in this city. And surprisingly, with no car, no apartment, no boyfriend, no internet, no TV – I’m doing just fine! Given my circumstances, this past week between coming home from work and going to bed I’ve taken to reading with a newfound enthusiasm. I’ve gotten through a 470-page book in a week and a half with this zeal! To add to my intellectual stimulation I’ve discovered the closest library around (within walking distance!), experienced Miami’s tourist season outside of Miami Beach (heard at least 5 different languages on Saturday), and discovered where the muscularly-enhanced men and women of the greater Miami area hang out (Crossfit?).
Whereas my bookishness has been sparked even further during my time here in Miami, I fear that my social capacities have fallen below par. My social interactions at work are minimal, and the last time I had a real conversation with someone was 1 week ago with my new Hollywood friends. Today as I was walking around on numerous occasions I caught myself just blatantly staring at social interactions between couples, families, friends, and even strangers. I would actually stop walking, stand there and just stare as nonchalantly as I could. Last week over lunch with my coworker, lacking for any other kind of face-to-face conversation, I relayed the entire plot of the aforementioned 470-page book I was reading to your typical American man who listens to sports radio and doesn’t read!
After reading a travel book on Miami, which for the most part focuses on another city called Miami Beach and all of its wonderful art-deco buildings you should see, celebrities you might happen upon, and nightclubs you must go to (no wonder everyone raves about Miami!), I’ve actually found myself wondering if I should just go out, alone. Get myself dressed up, go to a bar, sit down, and see what happens. No, no, even I am not that embarrassment-proof! And I don’t mean just ANY kind of going out, why just today I ventured off of this island I’m lazily staying on (by lazy I mean because it is a 3 minute walk to my office on the other side of the island, and I couldn’t remember the last time I had made the 5 minute walk across the bridge to the ‘mainland’). Honestly I didn’t go far. My checkbook and new strappy sandals didn’t allow me to stray too far, so I took the free Metro Mover, transportation that I’d heard only tourists and immigrants take; which, as a devoted rider these past 2 weeks, I would like to point out is false! No my friends, on weekday mornings between 8 and 9, that small airport shuttle-like monorail is bustling, sometimes I would even have to say “excuse me” to someone standing in front of the door to make my way out!
If you’re confused how I would know the public transportation system during rush hour when I previously stated I was staying at a place just 3 minutes walking distance from my office, well it’s because I haven’t kept you up to date on all of the places I’ve stayed here in Miami. With a closet at my office storing my material possessions, I’ve managed to nomadically make my way from one accommodating abode to the other – even to a different continent altogether! From my current pad to a hotel to a friend of a friend’s place in Hollywood for the weekend and finally back here to the island apartment that has everything a $800,000 apartment could provide, except internet. Now back to the abysmal silence and another book…
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