Istanbul

I'm off to Istanbul tomorrow. My luggage is packed. Passport and ticket are in place. I lost my voice from chatting with my friends on the phone, wishing everyone a happy new year :-) I am already mentally there, who am I kidding? I closed the chapter of 2005 New York in my mind. I'm already in my parents' living room. I have so many people to see, not sure how it will all fit in.

Going to Istanbul is like diving into a dream. Swimming underwater, when noone else can disturb the moment. No phone calls, no access to email. Just floating from one familiar home to another, following the threads of well-worn streets.

I am sure things will have changed. My dad will have more gray hair, my mom will be taking more vitamins, my brother will be all decked up in his business suits--no longer a student. I'll walk by new storefronts, new restaurants, look for ways to go over highways that cross my shortcuts from ten, fifteen years ago. Who cares? I shall blend in within a day or so. 'Cause I am from there. I can rewrite my memories of Istanbul and reconstruct an idyllic city in my mind, the way I like, when I get back to New York.