I've always known that SoHo's shopping is 9 blocks too close to my office, so this week, I decided to see how close those 9 blocks were. Way too close. I can easily make the 5 minute walk to the good shopping and have 45 minutes to spend browsing the good stores. My Columbus-proportioned moment of discovery has the potential to be my most disastrous. I'm trying to forget about the temptation of Alice + Olivia dresses by exploring the nearby Parks; Washington and Union Squares are also just a short walk, and a little greenery in the middle of the day does wonders for my soul. I love the summer here, street musicians on the sidewalks, and sipping my Vitamin Water under the leaf shadows.
Zack and I have started making sure we walk through the city, at least in part, every now and again. I love how you can feel the energy of the city, it reverberates off the sidewalks and lighted nights and then gets inside you. Zack says it's just the subway, but we both know it's more than that. We're slowly discovering more and more of the city, with every week that goes by, but most of our exploring is on hold for now until the bar is over. Only 11 more days.
With our limited time, Zack and I invented our own conversational game; who saw the weirdest thing on the subway today. I usually win if I commute to work at rush hour, picking up loud-mouthed Jersey-ites at Grand Central and hipsters at Union Square, but if I go in early then his midtown tourists almost always take the cake. Our winners of late:
- An elderly woman who sang her own mashup of worship choruses, loudly and off key, before walking up and down the car saying "blessa my sistah, blessa my brothuh".
- The man who opened the back door of the car to dump a bottle of prescription pills. Suspicious much?
- All of the people who walk into the train car and stand in front of the door, blocking the entrance for everyone else. I get that you like to lean on the door when you ride, but I also like getting home. Move out of my way.
- The tourists who get annoyed whenever anyone brushes or bumps them. It's a crowded subway, what did you expect? Take a taxi if you're going to complain.
- A man selling airplanes, discussing his commissions of $500,000 and $700,000, respectively, as well as his 10% stake in another 7.2 million dollar jet. I'm clearly in the wrong line of work.
- Two men having an extremely sexist and inappropriate recap of their female interviewees for a position in their company. If I'd known where they worked I would have reported them. Disgusting.
- A couple arguing over the best way to get where they're going, and then the wife makes a ridiculously inappropriate comment and they both crack up. Oh wait, that's us. And no, I'm not posting the comment on here.
We've adjusted quite well to public transportation and not having a car. We love not worrying about car insurance, repairs, and gas, and enjoying the commute time that can be put towards things other than just getting somewhere. I love to read the paper on my train, Zack usually has a book on his iPad. It has it's moments though, like last weekend, when the conductor suddenly announced we were taking another route, which would have worked out well if he hadn't changed back to the original route once we got uptown, without announcing it. Whoops. We walked home from Columbus Circle that day. It's the feeling of not having control that irks you in that moment, more than walking in the heat and humidity, or the time lost. But it's the feeling of letting go, just enjoying the sun and the sidewalk, that makes you happy to be here.
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