Anyone who knows me knows I tend towards obsessive thinking. For the last few years photography and researching related purchases and education have been the subject of much of it, although trips are right up there too – figuring out where to stay, getting the best deal in accommodation or finding the place that best matches our needs, researching things to see and do, that kind of thing. I’ve been wondering why it hadn’t kicked in for NYC, for quite a while now. I think maybe I just wasn’t ready to commit to either bringing our son with us, or leaving him behind — both options have major drawbacks. Not long ago, my son finally realized that it might be a lot of fun to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa for a few days, and now I’m really ready to leave him.

Sure enough, last night my obsessive thinking kicked in, and I’ve been researching, researching, researching online, mostly about where to stay. This evening, I’m obsessing over whether to stay at the Chelsea Hotel – you know, the title of Leonard Cohen’s song about Janis Joppelin? Yeah, THE Chelsea Hotel. I’m super keen to make pictures there and to see all the art that is all over its walls, but I’m not sure I actually want to sleep there. It’s hard to know from people’s reviews what you’re really in for, because everyone has different standards for comfort and different expectations, but surely it has to be at least a little better than the bedroom we stayed in in Havana? The bedroom itself wasn’t bad at all, but real Cuban plumbing is awful – you can’t flush any amount of toilet paper at all! And the shower head broke off so it made only a little cold, pee-like stream.

As much as I’m not one for roughing it (we never, ever camp), I’m awfully enamoured with the idea of staying there. Just do a little search on flickr for pictures of it and you’ll see why.

I was planning to write about something else today, but that doesn’t seem to be happening. Another day perhaps.