Wild Woman of Queens: Notes on Urban Creativity from across the East River.

Election Plaza, Rockefeller Center, 11/04/08

Wide Awake!

I was happy to finally vote on Tuesday. It took five minutes and it felt like a large weight had been lifted from my very being.Times Square was full on election coverage. On my lunch break I walked around and first visited the CNN set-up in Father Duffy Square. Big screen TV, pretzels, coffee and hot chocolate. tourists actively involved in our election too.CNN gave out terry cloth towels. There must have been a point to that one.

I then headed east to Fox news. They had nothing set up yet so I walked over to NBC election plaza in Rockefeller Center.No food, but I got a plastic mug for my co-worker.There was a fuzzy dog that had on an Obama T-shirt and was quite popular.

When work was over I went back out to visit the same spots. The energy had increased. At CNN the space was tight so I headed over to Fox. The crowd there was slim and the energy was considerably less. It was back to NBC Election plaza. I had picked up a pretzel and hot chocolate from Fox and was well fortified to stand for two and half hours.

I have been to lots of big events in NYC but this one was the most exciting and interesting. I was sorry my knees gave out at 9:30 PM. I wanted to stay there all night it was just so much fun.

What can I learn from all this? It felt like something had shook loose in my being that day. I realized I had been in a prison of my own making, turning my head from possibilities and just focusing on the negative. Despite the negativity I still managed to create. My writing is getting out there. I have ventured into fiction. My e-course is showing new life. Finally I bought a new digital camera, taking photos with abandon. Creation happens. The choice is having it happen well or continue to have it be a struggle. Can I capitalize on this energy? It would be a waste to do anything less.

And here is the rest of it.