New York City!? ...get a rope

Please forgive the above reference to an old salsa commercial.

Whose idea was it to start this trip in New York City!? They were right about the whole not sleeping thing. Yeah, I'll spend a few days in the craziest city in North America before I fly down to spend time in the wilderness with indigenous coffee farmers. And then come back here after two months! Hello culture shock, I'm looking forward to getting smacked in the face by you any day now.

Connections are falling into place for Guatemala and I'm very relieved to feel like things are coming together. Thank you Mel for the contacts, and thank you rad people and friends of friends for already being in Guatemala. It's all very exciting.

I owe a remarkable debt of gratitude to the wonderful folks from Royal Coffee, NY who I had the pleasure of visiting with on Friday, roasting and cupping coffee, eating pizza and geeking out on Lost, sample roasters and Kenyan micro-lots. Heaven. To know they got my back while I'm in Central America, even if moral support is all it is, feels like a net underneath me. Thanks y'all!

Last night, my world changed. for the first time ever in my life, I danced all night at a club in New York City. It was amazing. Remember that one movie with the scene in that packed club where music was really loud and lights were crazy and people were dancing all over the whole place and there was an attendant in the bathroom and everything? It was like that. All my gratitude to the proprieter of the establishment for his hospitality. And speaking of hospitality, my buddy Rich is a remarkable human being. He moved to NYC only three months ago to start acting and is already well on his way to a pretty sweet career in it. Go Rich.

Sadly, I missed all the incredible huge art pieces that have already been moved out, but earlier today I assisted in the evacuation of Alex Grey's studio. Ever seen Alex Grey's work? I'm sure you have. look it up, that is an order. it's amazing. Actually, just go here to www.Alexgrey.com. holy wow.

One last thought. In New York City, at least manhattan, there are almost no places to dip into to get a cup of coffee (disregarding bagel shops or deli's or whatever, I'm talking about an actual coffee centered coffee house with good coffee) that isn't a starbucks. I walked eight or so miles through the city yesterday and saw only one coffee shop that wasn't starbucks. entire neighborhoods with nothing at all. For shame, New York. It's almost tempting to consider opening a radical neighborhood specialty coffee shop up north on Broadway or something. Too bad about my three day limit in the City.

Stay tuned. next stop, a bookstore and then, Guatemala City!