four-footed fashion

One reason I haven't written anything is a while is because nothing particularly interesting has happened to me in a while. Unlike some who find fascination in the realm of the mundane, I find I need to go out into the world to get my thoughts churning. This summer, however, has been horrifically wet, disallowing any real meandering through NYC on my part. One thing I have come to realize, however, thanks to the rain, is one of my favorite aspects of a rainy days in New York City.

Tiny dogs in tiny rain coats.

It's maybe one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen, yet it's a sight that I've taken for granted for most of my life. It's just that the sight of a chihuahua (a breed of dog I've now started referring to as “hot wings with four legs and a tail”) in a yellow slicker is so absurdly common here that this fact alone makes me wonder if we've all (forgive the cliché) gone to the dogs. Do dogs that tiny really need to be walked outside, anyway? And what if it starts to really pour? They could be swept away by a stream into a sewer grate! O, the canine horror!

tick... tick... tick...

As I wrote in an earlier post, my grandfather passed away in January. I asked if I could keep some of his things as keepsakes, specifically his pocket watches. As a hobby, he had been fixing watches for over 60 years. He had amassed tons of watch pieces, among them several pocket watches. I had always loved sneaking peaks at them when I said I was actually taking a nap and had asked that he fix one and give it to me as a graduation gift.

I didn't get to pick out the watches because I went straight back to school after the funeral, then over spring break I was really sick, so my dad just took every pocket watch he could find and put them in a bag then put that bag in my closet. I just found it and went through all the pieces. They're freakin' gorgeous. Curious, I wound one of them. It still ticks. The hands don't move and it needs a new glass face, but it works. I'm sure there's a metaphor in there or something about how my grandfather is still with me, or that time runs out or something, but I'm still trying to work that out.

My goal is to get most of the watches in working order. I think I'll start with the one that still ticks since what needs fixing is just superficial. It's Swiss; that's probably why it still works.