Paris Ain't Got Nothin' On New York...

...for sheer springtime magnificence! I have made no secret of it: I love, love, love, adore, venerate, worship this city. Yes, it has its priorities messed up, sometimes royally so, and yes, the real estate situation is going to prevent us from buying a property here, and yes, gentrification is slowly and corrosively eating away at my two home neighborhoods of El Barrio and Chinatown...but for sheer brilliant beauty, you would have a hard time beating out Union Square Park on an April afternoon with 72 degrees on the thermometer and a baby due in only a few months. We left the Union Square clinic, where I finally met Lisa the head nurse and where Dr. Peretta put a microphone against Ting's abdomen, allowing us to hear Michael's heartbeat. I am not going to get foolishly optimistic, but...all signs are good. Signs are good. Ting is happy and so am I.

And to top things off, I am going to a surprise birthday party tonight for Evan's fiancee Lauren, and that means 2 great things: barbecue and margaritas. Yay!

Seeya later...

Sunshine, on my shoulder...

OK, this has been a day. A beautiful sunny day, absolutely spectacular. The Yankees are up in the Bronx having their home opener, and the year is hitting its stride.

We just got back in from Beth Israel, from Ting's latest ultrasound. Whenever I go in there, I am always nervous, a legacy from the Allison incident. Michael, however, appears to be fine. Just fine. Thank God. His spine, size, everything appears to be in order, and he currently weights 18 ounces. His first pound! Only 189 to go till he matches me!

Ting is radiantly beautiful to me lately, which is an utterly cliched thing to say, but it is true. I have never seen her so happy.

I believe this baby is really and truly a gift from Grandma, dear Grandma, who passed away one year ago this week. I miss her daily. I can only hope that she is happy, reunited with all but one of her children.

Anyway. Michael is fine. Ting is fine. We are fine. More to come later.

Sunday, sprung ahead

Sunday, a sunny day, 54 degrees.

Is is two days after my 44th birthday, our 10th wedding anniversary. A wonderful party on Friday night, thanks to my resourceful, bed-resting wife. I am in Apartment 14C in Chinatown, the window wide open, the sounds of the city drifting in. Listening to Patti Smith, "Because the Night," playing through a tiny set of Creative SBS Vivid 60 speakers I got for Ting so that she would not have to rely on the PowerBook's dinky speakers. Still hammering away at my Education paper, which is due Wednesday. Later, I will need to do lesson plans for the week and in general get ready. All that is happening today, still needs to get done.

Ah, but now...right now...

Right now I am sitting on the edge of the bed, in front of a dinner tray, typing this on Ting's PowerBook. She is lying on the bed, behind me, asleep. Inside her, Michael grows day by day.

I am content. Wherever you are, I hope you are too.