Mc Sesquiquadrate N. Node

I don't know exactly what a "Sesquiquadrate" is, and I'm too focused on about 15 other things to look it up now, but I do know that Mc is Mercury, and my mercury is in Libra. I also know that my North Node is in Pisces. And finally - most importantly, I am aware that Mc Sesquidrate N. Node has appeared as part of my daily horoscope, accompanied by the below description (from astrology.com), repeatedly for the past 8-10 months:

	Mc Sesquiquadrate N.node
			Nov 16, 2009
			Your career and overall direction in life reach a turning point. You no longer want to do just what is practical, secure and logically correct; instead you want to pursue the things that mean something to you. If your job does not express your deeper talents and interests, you may make a job change or you may become more involved with a hobby that is more personally rewarding and motivating than your job. This is a time of questioning your basic values. You must make any necessary changes to get your life to match up better with your inner feelings and instincts, even if some sacrifices must be made. For example, you may decide to accept a lower salary in order to pursue a career that is more meaningful and exciting to you. Try not to become fanatical about following your inner instincts if common sense tells you that your pursuit is impractical. Become aware of your inner purpose. Develop a realistic plan for achieving whatever is truly important to you. Avoid the tendency to become pushy or one-tracked in pursuit of your personal goals.

And so. While I will try not to become "pushy or one-tracked in pursuit of my personal goals," I am wholeheartedly investing in

1) Becoming aware of my inner purpose

2) Developing a realistic plan for achieving whatever is truly important to me.

Hooray for that.

Speaking of: I woke up no fewer than 3 times last week to the Jay-Z/Alicia Keys single, "Empire State of Mind," playing on my clock radio. On Friday night, my brain addled by 3 straight days of online job-applying, I turned on my free TV to dip into the balm of basic cable. What to my wondering eyes should appear but Mr. Z himself, belting out his paean to the city in black leather and shades at the European VMAs, accompanied by a gorgeous, and gorgeous-voiced backup singer who replaced Ms. Keys, who couldn't make the trip. With a look as iconic as Ms. Keys' - Asian features, jet-black shoulder-length hair with bangs, black & white minidress - she beamed her love for the city out with every syllable.

I beamed with her, belting out the lyrics while reminding myself that I currently live in Detroit, and resolved to heed the words of the psychic who told me a week before to "Be where my feet are". I left the cold comfort of MTV2 and solitude to bask in the fabulous chaos of drunken midwestern karaoke and late-night gay boy chatter at 2 Ferndale bars (Dino's and Como's), then the next day, to my old 'hood (midtown) for coffee at Avalon organic bakery, to check out the new City Bird shop, to converse with Claire at the Bureau of Urban Living, and a 2 hour amble with the dog on the gorgeous (and, like most spots in Detroit, blessedly not overdeveloped) downtown Riverwalk.

As I circled the dry "donut" fountain on the almost-empty plaza, was drawn into conversation by a tourist couple from Washington state who had come for the the hockey game (she's a Red Wings fan; he's for the Ducks; but they're still boyfriend and girlfriend, she assured me). They - or rather she, accompanied by the smiling boyfriend's silent nods - praised the beauty and history of the city and described the excitement of "watching them blow up a trailer" on a downtown street for the filming of Red Dawn.

I ended the conversation politely, eager to commune further with the sparkling river and ambling crowd. But before my eager dog and I could join the throng, a woman (tight jeans, sleeveless argyle sweater vest, black straw hipster cowboy hat, black sunglasses, black arm tattoo) called out to let me know that she'd Detroit native who said she'd gone away for 10 years to New Orleans but had to come back, she'd missed it so much. "People are real here," she said. "They check you out and then they're nice to you. In New Orleans, they're nice off the bat, but they don't mean it." "I hear you," I said. "I grew up in the South. It can be that way."

But I'm thrown back to my earlier stop at the Bureau: just before leaving, I stayed to meet & talk with Claire's friend J, a woman with rad burgundy hair, tribal earrings, and a vintage coat, one of those fabulous yet down-to-earth powerhouse detroit hipster jills-of-all-trades - currently editing a music & culture website and giving women's health education workshops - freshly back from a stint of working in New Orleans. "It's the Detroit of the South," she said, "But they're making things happen faster than we are. They're like Katrina? Whatever. They get small enterprise, they get that they have to move on - they're not waiting for handouts, or afraid to admit what's wrong - and they value their history - when I told them we'd torn down the birthplace of motown to put up a parking lot, they were appalled". It's true: this city has been, and still is, crippled sometimes by a deep lack of confidence, a resistance to change, an attachment to the mythology of the past coupled with a lack of care for, and preservation of, the places where that past took place. However: it should be noted that the aforementioned conversation about Detroiters' lack of initiative in entrepreneurship and moving forward took place in a locally-owned shop smack dab in the middle of midtown Detroit, that sells and showcases art, jewelry, and other items by local artisans - in a way that complements its very recent new shop neighbor, City Bird.

And in that moment, Saturday afternoon, I could feel the love on the Riverwalk - the tourists' fascination, the native's loyalty - and even the deep love that J expressed for the city in the midst of her frustrations. I could walk on, breathing in the November air and Detroit River blue, smiling at the people who smile at my dog's happy trottting, being where my feet are, right now, right here, ignoring and then smiling too at the involuntary soundtrack of my mind as it plays, unceasingly, the familiar siren's call: "These streets will make you feel brand new / These lights will inspire you / Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York..."