Morning in the City

My cousin, Josh, has been staying with me the last couple days. I just wanna express how weird it is to wake up with someone else in my room (not like a hotel room or whatever where I'm expecting to wake up next to my brother or a friend, MY room). I realize I'm not really used to sharing a room, because I never had to. Though I am used to sleeping with another person beside me, because I slept in my parents' bed until I was 9 years old and now I compensate by having pillows galore. Just an observation.

Point is, I've not had my ordinary mornings with WQXR waking me up as my alarm or listening to NPR while I dress. In fact, I think I really am incredibly less informed. Anyway, so I try to keep it quiet in my room as I putter about for my things. And then I heard construction going on the empty lot two doors down from us. And I oddly found that comforting and like "Yes, it is morning!" Then I also heard this truck roll by in front of our place and felt the same things. As if it was comforting to know that the world was awake with me, and I don't need to resent being up this early.

I also thought about how city sounds aren't weird to me. That I actually grew up in the city (Quezon City, Philippines) and did not encounter the suburbs until we moved to Arizona. I was used to public transportation and taxis and crowds and pollution. I thought that was normal. And I didn't even make this connection until about a year ago, that this is why I immediately felt at home in this city. There was a transition, for sure, but I never really had the thought of wanting to live in the suburbs again really. Except for those "the grass is greener..." moments.