I spent Thursday in the city

This trip didn't include many pictures. We started off the day at the 9/11 memorial, moved on to the Jekyll and Hyde Club in Greenwich Village for dinner, went to Strawberry Fields in Central Park and then walked around Times Square before ending up at Ellen's Stardust Diner for ice cream. After that, I went back to my hotel room and watched Project Runway. It was an early night and I was fine with that.

9/11 Memorial

I really tried to be as detached as possible while at the 9/11 memorial. Not out of disrespect, but because I never want to relive that day. I remember everything that happened (I even posted about it here last year) and it is painful. The events of that day were something that I really struggled to deal with for a long time. It was one of my worst nightmares come true (our country being attacked), I did not know what was going to happen next. I had just spent several days at the Marriott at the World Trade Center one month prior to the attack, everyone working there...I cannot even think about what happened to some of them. I could not watch the news. I did not watch the towers fall. Even now, if I see video or pictures of it, I turn my head away.

Being at the memorial felt surreal. I was there and I knew why I was there, but it did not seem real. And if I had allowed my mind to wander, I knew I would break down.

I have been to both Jekyll and Hyde Clubs (it has been at least ten years since I have been back though) and I preferred the one in Greenwich Village. There are animatronics on the wall that "come to life" at different intervals.

This gargoyle will take you on a plane ride to Hell.

These skeletons were hanging upside down from the ceiling.

My experience this time was pretty miserable. There is a man who works there and will come over and "talk"  (more like grunt) to you after you are seated. This did not happen the first time I went there. At first, I accepted it as part of what happens when you eat there, but the more I think about it, the more disgusted I am.

I played along because this is part of what they do there and I felt that it would have been worse if I didn’t, but…

I feel like this is one of those things that crosses a line. You know how if you go to a haunted house, the people working there can get as close to you as they want and harass you for as long as they want, but they are NOT allowed to touch you? There are boundaries. And Jekyll and Hyde should learn what they are because it was not just that this guy was touching me (and everyone else that I was with), he was literally ALL OVER us. He had his arms wrapped around me. Wrapped around my head, wrapped around my shoulders, he was hanging all over me. And not for one second. He lingered there for at least thirty seconds each time he did it.

And now, I will never go back there again. I love it there, it is really fun, but. It is not worth it. I thought once our food was served, he would go away. But even while we were eating, he was still all over us. It stopped being entertaining and got really annoying/uncomfortable. I do not know this man. I have no idea what he is thinking. He could be nice, but maybe he is not. I am uncomfortable when people I know touch me like that, so having a complete stranger do it made me cringe.

Strawberry Fields, Central Park

It was already dark by the time we got to Central Park, but I really wanted to walk through it because I have only been there once and I wanted to see the John Lennon memorial. It was really nice and there were a lot of people jogging, biking and walking in every area. It felt completely safe. However, after I went back to my hotel room and turned on the news when Project Runway was over, I found out that a woman was just attacked there recently. Had I known that prior, I probably would have been a bit apprehensive about going at night.

Inglot billboard

The city is ready for Halloween! I was so excited.

A new view of Ellen's.

It was not the worst day I have ever spent in the city, but it was very somber to start off with and Jekyll and Hyde pushed me over the edge. Hopefully next time will be better.

What makes Darkness Falls so scary?

I had an epiphany last night while I was in bed, unable to fall asleep after listening to one of the stories on Pseudopod. A complete "Aha!" moment that made me feel validated in what I had assumed was an irrational fear for years.

Let me start by saying that plenty of movies scared me as a child. Every time I watched Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, I thought the movie would change and Talbot (in wolf form) would finally catch Wilbur in the woods. The Tingler terrified me. The thought that not being able to scream, being paralyzed with fear, could lead to death...That's frightening. And let's not forget dolls. Anything involving dolls would prevent me from sleeping. I had a recurring nightmare about them after watching an episode of The Twilight Zone. They would walk from the kitchen, through the living room, to my bedroom. Hundreds of them. I can only assume they intended to kill me, based on the fear I felt when I woke up. I think I had that nightmare almost every night when I was seven years old. (I still remember it vividly, along with another recurring nightmare I had.)

But none of that compares to how unsettled I felt after watching Darkness Falls.

If you don't already know, Darkness Falls is about the Tooth Fairy. If you look at her on the night when she comes to take your last baby tooth, she will kill you. And if she doesn't kill you, she will stalk you all your adult life until she gets another opportunity to get the job done. The only thing that can protect you is staying in the light.

It sounds pretty ridiculous, right? It is. And yet, I spent years sleeping with the covers over my head so that if I opened my eyes in the middle of the night, I wouldn't see something I wasn't meant to see. Keep in mind, I was not a child when I watched this movie. So why was I so afraid? Last night, I figured out the answer to that question.

Darkness Falls taps into that fear of waking up in the middle of the night to find an intruder in your bedroom. What would you do? If you pretend you are asleep, maybe they won't harm you. ("If I don't move, open my eyes or make any sound, they won't notice me." Like they are a Jurassic Park T-rex.) However, once they realize you are awake, it's all over. And I think, subconsciously, that is what really disturbed me about that film for so long. Not the idea of the Tooth Fairy (I even acknowledged, to myself, that the movie was terrible and being afraid of it was pathetic), but the idea of anyone catching you sneak a glance at them while they are invading your home and what that would mean for your safety.

I am not the only person who was afraid of this movie. Everyone I talked to agreed that it was horrifying and if it was ever brought up during a late night conversation, it was guaranteed to make us lose sleep. Now I understand why. The Tooth Fairy is not going to try to kill you while you are sleeping, it is not possible. Someone breaking into your house and attacking you in the middle of the night is not beyond the realm of possibility though. So well done, Darkness Falls. Even being one of the most ludicrous movies I have ever seen, you still managed to scare everyone I know.

If you have yet to watch this movie, you should. Late at night, with all the lights off. There's nothing to be afraid of, right?

This wasn't supposed to happen yet

I'm not finished setting this blog up. I still had things to do.

There are over 200 posts here that I transferred from my old blog. I fixed the dates on them so that they would be posted on the dates they were originally posted, but clearly...They haven't been HERE that long because I only made this account last month.

I wanted to play around with the colors some more. Personally, I'd make this entire thing pink and yellow if I could, but I don't want to scare anyone away.

I've just decided to switch over all my links from Melo to Blogger so that people will be directed here instead of the old blog...I didn't want to do this. Because as I said, I'm not finished setting everything up yet. I wasn't even finished transferring my posts. But something happened that made me change everything over.

Melo crashed. Again. Melo is so unreliable that I made an account on Blogger, just so I would have a backup of all my posts in case it ever crashed for good. It's been about five days now.

I was forced into this.

Hopefully, anyone who followed me on Melo had it bookmarked and doesn't realize I've added the link to Blogger on Twitter/YouTube/Tumblr. Because I don't really WANT anyone to see this just yet.

But. If you're one of the people who noticed the new blog. Hi. What do you think I should do about these colors?

I'll change my mind again tomorrow

I think I take Long Island for granted. 99% of the time, I hate it and think, "This place is as boring as it gets." Probably because the shadow of the city is looming over it and really, how could anything compare to Manhattan?

But every now and then...Usually once every few years, I'll look around and think, "It's not so bad." This normally happens during Fall when the leaves change colors and the weather is perfect. Not hot, but not cold...Chilly, with that bite to it.

I was walking around my shabby little town this afternoon because I had to go to the bank. I'm not sure "town" means the same thing to everyone, so allow me to explain what it means here. It's not the town as a whole, it's the place where there are a bunch of stores, delis, bakeries, boutiques, banks, etc. The church is there, the middle school is there. Not EVERYTHING is located there, I don't live in a rural community, it's not deserted. But this seems to be where everyone gathers.

So that's what I mean when I say "shabby little town." The stores on this one particular street. Today was the first time it didn't appear too terrible. I always compare it to Babylon's town because it's SO nice there. Not the actual town, just you know...Their street with all their stores. In comparison, my town isn't all that great. But on its own, it's nice. It's home.

I'm also beginning to realize I take the LIRR for granted. I've never considered how lucky I am to be able to get on a train whenever I want and go to the city. Because I've always lived on Long Island, the railroad has always been here. I can't really imagine what it must be like to live somewhere else and not have that option. I know a lot of friends who live out of state have mentioned how fortunate New Yorkers are to have public transportation everywhere.

There's really no point here. Other than I sometimes have to remind myself that Long Island isn't that terrible.

Tweeting in my sleep

I must have been 90% asleep when I did this last night, because I don't remember it at all.

I have to say though, I think it's a good idea.

I changed my name on Twitter, by the way.

http://twitter.com/JenneWithAnE