I know my ABCs, part I

A is for academia and all of its lovely theoretical abstractions, where one sentence is supposed to be enough to preface all the chauvinistic BS contradictions that follow. That one sentence doesn't make the work anymore thoughtful or qualified.

B is for bathroom. Every time I step foot into a bathroom in NYC, I think to myself:
"Eight Million People Might Have Passed Through Here." Which leads me to think about

Contracting a plethora of unwanted STDs.

D is for my constant state of disillusionment as to waking up every morning and remembering I'm in NYC and that I'm having the time of my life.

E is for the elevators. The elevators at 92nd St Y (my home for the summer) are incredibly slow. The elevators in the subway are incredibly stank and wreak of urine. The Elevator Song is quite possibly the lamest thing created.

F is for facts. I love facts. I've been taking in a lot of facts this summer and here are a few from my readings.
Fact: 45% of the EU's budget is spent in agriculture, mostly payments to farmers. That's a $120 billion agriculture subsidy. That's sad.
Fact: America is a great place to get rich. Ratio between the earnings of a top tier American CEO and the average joe at a manufacturing company is 475:1. WTF.
Fact: Oxford commas are legit. I'm starting to like them. Sorry VW.

G is for golf and how 60 year-old-men should not try to pick up girls with the topic of golf because mentioning tiger woods and an invitation to drink wine in the same sentence just doesn't seem right.

H is for how I wish it were Hot. and not cold. and rainy. and not miserable.

I is for Ice Cream. FYI, NY has both Pink Berry and Yogurtlands now. Tasti-Ds is going to run out of business. Hip Hip Hooray for Globalization!

J is for June, Jessie, Juice and all the other wonderful things in life. Ha, shameless self promotion. P.S. It's my mom's birthday!

K is for Karaoke. Sad to say, but I think Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" is going to haunt me for the rest of my life, no matter where I am. Could of belted out Clumsy, Baish, but the American Idol-wannabes took too damn long.

TBC

Who Gives A Fuck About the Oxford Comma? Clearly, the kids who sat through a thunderstorm.

photos are out of order, but it goes as follows:
nice day at park. pictures at the pond, baishi with alice & friends, real lady statue.
crowded at the park. oh shit, rain at the park.
more rain. wetness. lots of wetness. no umbrella. baishi strips.
(note: in the large crowd photos, you can spot me and baishi in the distance...we purposely did this to create the allusion to Where's Waldo. Find us.)
running in the rain with the mob. crossing the stress with the mob.
rain dies down. we're still wet.

the result: unforgettable day on how our quest to watch Kid Sister and Vampire Weekend took an unexpected turn toward chaos, drippiness, and some lovely pictures.

sunday morning, part tres

trippy.
that's how i feel right now.
life goes in circles, but makes unexpected turns.
we go forward, we go backward. you see something different each time.
we go one place, we end up at another. but in the end, it really doesn't matter.
time passes, memories fade. new ones form.

my first week in nyc has been so much fun and i still don't understand how so many people fit into a 12-mile strip called manhattan; how the streets are still crowded at 3 am, how wandering aimlessly could be so exciting; how there are more restaurants than cars, more idiosyncrasies than truths; how debauchery takes on a whole new meaning, how debauchery comes to define you, how debauchery is expected; how i could have gone 19 years without coming here.

starting tomorrow, i'm going to start classes and work, so this week of exploration was good. i really couldn't have asked for anything more.

“One belongs to New York instantly, one belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years.”
-Thomas Wolfe

“The present in New York is so powerful that the past is lost.”
-John Jay Chapman

I <3 NY

greetings from the east coast.

i always introduced duke as on the "east coast." but it was essentially "the south" more than anything. it didn't have the sky-high buildings, the past-paced living, the OP (original prepsters) i have come to hate--and accept, of course.

right now, as i sit in my small double room, facing a window that peers into the muggy air that is suffocating with life, both unseen and seen, i am overwhelmed and empowered. i want to get up and do something. i want to get out there.
There: the vastless unknown.

everything in new york is more enhanced (read: on steroids)

the coffee is stronger.
the people talk louder. faster.
pedestrians walk quicker. impatiently. fearlessly, in front of moving cars. traffic signals are suggestions, not ultimatums.
stores are larger, brighter, more appealing.
buildings are taller, more majestic.
clothes are sharper, more fashionable, stiff--or nonchalant, whatever your style may be.
store personnel are less friendly. more annoyed.
there's more of everything--more restaurants, more starbucks (if that's possible), more energy, more honking, more materialism, more rich people, more homeless people, more awareness, more direction (or lack thereof).

however, people are nicer than i thought they would be. as i stood cluelessly looking at a large map of the subway system at 86th and lexington, a guy came up and asked me where i was going. i replied "i don't know yet." i just knew i wanted to go somewhere. so, we started talking. he'd been in nyc for 21 years now. he had a 20 year old son. he worked for the MTA, but landed the job unexpectedly and has been at it ever since. loves his job. loves life.

everything is unpredictable.

the strangest thing, though--he asked me if i was a journalist. i didn't say anything about me writing--all i had mentioned was i was majoring in public policy. i asked him how he knew.

"you're a good listener."

damn, people ARE more aware.

i traversed the downtown area, walking/looking/taking it all in.
went to borders and browsed through some NY books with places to hit up.
walked some more.
i wondered if i appeared to be an out-of-towner. wonder if they could tell.

i have orientation in 2 hours. till then, i'm working on internship stuff, listening to rilo kiley, and looking out into the ny scenery, wondering where the subway will take me next.