A Night in Brooklyn--Deep in Brooklyn

After a long sweaty day of Apartment shopping it looks like we might be getting a place on the Upper West Side.  We gave our Broker a $500 check and what seemed to be every bit of personal information possible.  I even had to make up a wonderful job title for myself to prove employment; I believe my current position at the high-end CHERCH Lounge and Restaurant in the prestigious Downtown area of Fullerton is "Head of Marketing and Entertainment Coordinator."  Hook, line, and sinker because the lease should be signed at 4 o'clock today.
After leaving our Broker, Kevin and I (oh I should mention Kevin is who I'll be living with.  He's an incredibly special person in my life whom I've known for over 10 years--way too much history to get into now--just know he's special) decided to part ways for the night and meet up with the generous people who are housing us.  Kev took a short trip to Midtown and I met up with my friend to hop on the subway to Brooklyn.  But not just anywhere in Brooklyn... our destination was Bed-Stuy.  As we got off the train, I was amazed how quickly my ass tightened up.  No joke, I was out of place and slightly scared to say the least.  My friend warned me about telling people where I was staying and expecting the reaction of "Oh, god...where?  Aren't you scared?"  To that, her customary response is always, "No, there's a cop on every corner, and plus the police station is 2 blocks away."  But in the end, it wasn't that response that eased my concerns of safety, it was the fact that she seemed to know everyone and everything in this neighborhood, which truly was a neighborhood complete with community garden, daily chess matches in the park, basketball games, crazy ladies in the park, and of course the cop on every corner.
This morning when we left the apartment for our commute to the city, we turned a corner to find some men hanging out as they do every early morning.  As we passed by, one yelled out..."HEY...cake lady!!!"  I couldn't help but smile.  An affectionate name given to my friend by members of her community because she often takes freshly baked goods to work for her colleagues.  Someday I'll be a member of my new community.  I wonder what my name will be...god, I hope its affectionate.