Christmas in the City

I'm not a Christmas “hater.” Christmas is a great time of year. Jingles and carols run 22Ks through my head, Christmas lights put me at ease (well, not the rapidly blinking ones. Photovoltaic seizure, anyone?), and I think that the Macy's elves are actually cute in those little green turtlenecks. But there are some things about Christmas in the City that drive me up a wall. A formal list of grievances follows.

1) All those people. Tourists, actually. Again, nothing against tourists. Nice people, very respectful (except when they're drunk ...). It's just that they don't understand that sidewalks are designed for walking, not for standing around staring up at skyscrapers. Of course, tourists do that normally, all year ‘round, in fact. It’s just that there are thousands and millions and kajillions more of them now, crowding out those of us who actually have somewhere to go. If you ever tour New York, please, please, please don't fill the sidewalk. Stand to one side or the other. Thank you.

2) Macy's. Now, this may just be because I walk by it at least four times a day. Still, Macy's, you're getting on my nerves! A gigantic Christmas tree of lights that illuminates a three-block radius around the store, including both of King's apartments is a great idea! Not. In conjunction with #1, people are now posing on the street, getting their picture taken "in front of Macy's." But they're obstructing the sidewalks! People!

3) Smoking on the street. You may be aware that it is illegal to smoke inside of a building in New York. Subway station, hotel, elevator, basement, bomb shelter/cellar – all alike, no smoking. This, of course, means that people smoke on the street instead. Normally, this isn't such a big deal, because you can see them blowing smoke. If you're walking toward them, you hold your breath and powerwalk past. With Christmas weather, however, everyone is blowing steam, and it looks exactly the same. You’re lulled into complacency, and you stop watching for the telltale signs. Every now and then, you'll get an unexpected lungful of regurgitated Marlboro Light. Just the thing to brighten your day!

4) Elves. Don’t laugh. Do you honestly think that anyone who is “Santa’s Little Helper” for forty hours a week is going to be a happy person?

5) Wind. Weather in general, but especially the wind. Did you know that if you take a road running north to south, line it with tall buildings, and put it really near the Atlantic coast, it’s bound to turn into a wind tunnel? This is not an exaggeration. I step onto the balcony outside of my apartment to test the weather—no wind. Five minutes later, I step onto Sixth Avenue and a straight-line wind is shoving me down the street. Those evil little needles of cold stab through my coat, crystallize my still-damp hair, and turn my ears unflattering shades of pale pink. Now, you may say that winter weather has nothing to do with Christmas. You would be wrong. First of all, it’s December. Everyone knows that it gets windy in December. There’s also something more at work: God must be speaking to us. Obviously, He’s telling everyone to get out of Midtown for the holiday season. Someplace where they can breathe clean air, and where the snow doesn’t become slush when it hits the sidewalk. Like Canada. No sidewalks (or Macy’s) there. God says: GO TO CANADA FOR CHRISTMAS. You heard it here first.

Christmas has its obvious advantages. Food, gifts, materialism, increased GDP, credit card debt, and, oh yeah, Christ’s birth. Anyway, the disadvantages of Christmas in the City are pretty obvious. Actually, the more I think about it, the more it seems like all these irritations are supposed to be telling me something. You know, like "go home." (Just in case I was tempted otherwise) Perhaps God is taking money from my mother. I wouldn’t be surprised.

I got the message, God. Now please get those tourists out of my way!
~~

Other than that, life continues as usual. Everything is building to a fever pitch of sorts as we prepare for finals, etc. I'm going to be busy writing papers this weekend, but that is tempered by the news that my laptop is in the mail back to me, hopefully fixed and well again. I should get it tomorrow, and productivity will skyrocket. Not that it hasn't been high recently ...

Today, I bought two ties on the street. It was a pretty good deal ...

My papers are calling me. Back into the grind ... wishing you a stress-free holiday season.

How Time Passes

I can hardly believe that it has been over a month since I last posted. Time seems to have no meaning here, in the city, at school. I look back to see fervent utilization of every hour, so many hours in every day, every week, but at the same time how quickly the days have gone. I remember Fall Retreat like it was yesterday.

One of the reasons I haven't been posting is the unfortunate failure of my computer. It just gave up the ghost one day -- I suspect a fan died and fried some valuable internal component. While I wait for Dell to get their act together warranty-wise, my life has taken on a new simplicity. Reading, homework, spending time with friends -- all of these things are much easier than walking over to school to use a lab computer. So my time on the infernal machines has decreased. Of course, there are tradeoffs. More steps to take for homework, less convience, and so forth. But only for a season. Hopefully.

I have so much to say that the details will have to fall by the wayside. So much has happened since I talked to you last. Midterms last week took a toll on my sleep hours -- I only slept for about 15 hrs in six days, but God blessed me with alertness while I was awake. The same is not true for this week, but I do have more time to sleep.

My grades are improving ... instead of low 'B's in English, I now recieve low to mid 'A's. The same is true for most of my classes. The grade here is so much more rewarding as well, knowing that I put hours of my life into it. The fruits of my toil are sweet indeed. If you ever want to read any of my papers, just email me. I'd be more than willing to shoot them off. I have a few favorites.

I have volunteered to help with the next Inviso, the student visit weekend. I will be one of the Student Ambassadors, a role I'm rather excited to play. That will be taking place the second weekend of November. Also in November -- Thanksgiving. I'll be taking Amtrack to Pittsburgh to meet up with my grandparents, aunt & uncle, and immediate family for an extended weekend. I am very excited to get out of the city ... especially with the ease of transportation. All I have to do is walk over to Penn Station (about 2-3 blocks). No hour-long subway ride to JFK, no NJ Transit rail to Newark, just a 10 min walk.

I love the city, especially now that summer's warmth has irreversably left. It is getting much colder, the sky is grey. It reminds me of November, my favorite month. Even though the weather is right, it doesn't feel like it can be November already. Strange but true: the leaves haven't turned yet. When they do, hopefully on a sunny Saturday, I'll take a book to Central Park, read by the water, and listen to the rustle of the breeze among the falling leaves. Another nice thing about the breeze: it gets rid of the nasty, putrid scent you catch wiffs of when walking down Sixth Ave.

This has gone on for quite long enough. I have so much more to say, but I don't want to put anyone off from reading the post in its entirety. Perhaps it will be easier now to post regularly, after I get back into the schedule of things. I know much better now how to manage my time.

Thinking of you,

J

After a Long Period of Absence,

there is nothing better than trying to remember what has happened. Let's see.

Friday -- Lewis retreat @ Dr. Jackson's house. That was quite the event. I was attempting to turn in my politics paper, and helping others with formatting their papers, when I realized that I had missed my train. Fortunately, another group of guys was going up later, so I rode up with them. We ended up having a spirited discussion (I don't recall the topic, probably the validity of the War in Iraq), and then gathering around a fire for s'mores and more conversation. The O'Dhouls (non-alcoholic beer) and cigars were passed around - I abstained on both counts. Eventually, a group was dispatched for a secret mission in the dead of night -- a mission that ended an abject failure. Unfortunately, I am forbidden to disclose further information.

Saturday -- went hiking with Dr. J and his son, Zach. The hills were much bigger than anything I've seen in Iowa ... ate lunch near a placid lake. The park we hiked in was five minutes away from the train station, but it took three trips to fit all of us in Dr. J's car. Eventually, we ended up missing our train by minutes, and waiting an hour and a half for the next one. Finally, we got back to NYC, where homework awaited us.

Sunday -- MSNY again. Campus ministry hosted a lunch after church -- I wasn't going to pass on free pizza. At 5, I attended a lasagna party in Herald Towers -- it was good to have homemade food again.

Monday - Friday-- School as normal. Breadbreakers on Tuesday. Interviewed for and received a TA position with the adjunct New Testament prof ... had to create a powerpoint for him. First Macro quiz on Wednesday, first Western Civ literature quiz (over Gilgamesh) on Thursday. Visited the NYPL for a College Writing I assignment. Meeting of the houses of Thatcher and Lewis on Friday, to discuss our city involvement project -- working with Student Venture, a Campus Crusade organization targeted at highschools. Walked around, trying to meet kids. Met none.

Saturday/Sunday -- worked on a presentation for Macro, a test for NT, a paper for English. Went to MSNY again. Had another campus-ministry-sponsored lunch. Began to discuss the nature of time -- i.e., does choose to limit himself within time, or is he outside of time? Also -- is time created by God, or by men to measure creation? That was a great time-waster.

Monday -- school again. Presented for Macro. That was passable. Worked on my paper, studied for NT test. Had a Lewis meeting to plan our drama for the fall retreat.

Tuesday -- today. NT test was a killer. I'll be very happy with a 'B.' A low B, mind you. Worked on my paper some more. Ended up 45 minutes late for my Breadbreakers meeting.

A busy week

and no time to write. I can barely remember a week ago. Went to Costco on Friday with Matthias, Kelly, and my roommates ... had some suitcase problems on the way back. Matthias's "Juggernaut" had some problems with melting wheels -- it contained nearly 60 lbs of foodstuffs.

Saturday -- went to IKEA in Jersey during the day ... bought two barstools with backs -- I don't know what they are called. Apparently IKEA pays NJ Transit Authority for buses on the half hour to IKEA every Saturday - there were so many people there, I can see how they make a profit. We had lunch at the buffet there, and I got some really good Swedish meatballs. Yummy. On the way to the apartments, I carried a 35 lbs bookshelf on my back -- I had to watch Matt's feet in front of me so I didn't run into anyone. That evening, we went to a party in 4B6 -- Joanna Wagner invited us and some others over for burgers and fries. It was a delightful meal with about 10 people there, and then I went over to a wedding celebration reception. Two King's students got married over the summer, so this was the official celebration. They were in the middle of starting swing dancing - I didn't get involved, to my great regret. I did play HORSE with pool though. And lost.

Sunday -- went to church at MSNY again. New location was about a 30 min walk through Times Square and up Broadway, service was good. Josh, one of the youth directors, invited Matt and I to play Halo sometime. Actually, the six of us got separated quite a bit on the way. Went out for pizza afterwards as a group. In the evening, had our "hazing" for Lewis. Involved going into a restaurant, helping people in a store, convincing people to say the name C.S. Lewis without mentioning his works, singing "Sound of Music" on the stairway of Columbia Universities' Library, carrying Kyle up the hill at Riverside Park. Zachary washed our feet back at his apartment. It was a great experience.

Monday - Labor Day, slept in late. That was nice. There was also a picnic on Roosevelt Island, played some soccer, some football, watched some ultimate frisbee. Ate four burgers and a hot dog. Paid $5. Well worth it. Worked on homework, I think?

Tuesday - Thursday -- School. Had a Lewis meeting Wednesday afternoon, English paper due same day, nothing else. Boring. Big Politics paper due tomorrow, Lewis retreat to Dr. Jackson's starts at 3:30 PM. Should work on that tonight, probably.

The Weekend Awaits

... but not until classes finish for the day. Yesterday was quite interesting - again, I didn't want to get up, but I did get to class ten minutes early. This lecture class was Introduction to Politics, with Dr. Innes, and I sat in the front row. Because I like sitting in front. The lecture was very interesting -- along with Matt and Matthias, I got to talk a lot. The class encourages participation, which is nice.
New Testament followed Poli, and I was a little less excited about that class. It was taught by a new adjunct - he also pastors in the Village, so he's pretty busy. During class, he offered a T.A. position - to which I applied. I felt it would be a good way to get a better feel of the professor. We did discuss an interesting idea regarding belief circles, and a rather extensive discussion ensued, actually pulling us slightly off track.
We had a forty minute lunch break before Western Civilization, but I made the mistake of going back to the Vogue instead of going to Subway or something like that, putting me in WCiv three minutes early - the last person in class. Western Civ looks like it will be fun as well - the extra credit opportunities were intuitive, and seemed interesting. Anyway, at 1:50, I was done for the day. I went to the King's library for a while to work on Politics, and sat at the same desk as Provost Olasky. That was neat.
Had leftover spaghetti, used the last of the meat for burgers, and had an otherwise slapstick supper. Went up on the roof with Matt after the meal -- talked with Matthias, as well. Then some sophomore girls came up, and Matthias played some of his guitar compositions. We got embroiled in another discussion (I don't remember how it started - it gradually became transubstantiation and later deistic evolution), and I walked off to call Mom. Eventually, Angie came up to invite us to one of the guy rooms, where they were watching the original Die Hard. We all moved downstairs ... I must admit, I fell asleep for part of the movie. I think I got the gist, though.
After the movie ended (around 1:30), Matt and I walked the girls home, and then hit the sack at 2. Good thing there is no class on Fridays ...

C-1 -- First Day of Classes

Classes started yesterday at 9 AM. I got up at 7, read the Wall Street Journal, ate breakfast, jumped in the shower, and ended up four minutes early for class. Since most of the class was already there, I got a couple odd looks when I walked into Macroeconomics. The class was very interesting, and it looks like it will be challenging (read:difficult). Following Macro was College Writing I. CW looks like it will be interesting as well, especially since it is a "Introduction to New York" course, as noted by Prof. Campbell. Class wrapped up around 11:50, so then I went back the apartment for lunch.
In the afternoon, I went to get my ESB building pass ... ended up waiting for an hour as those who came in before their 2 PM Logic class flooded the office. After that, I worked on my Macro assignment - doing my "entry interview," ten questions answered in 100 words or less. After four years of King's, every student takes the same "interview." Apparently, it's a way to judge how well you learned.
Later in the evening, Chris Ross called to tell us about a party we and some other rooms were invited to attend. The party, held in Herald 3C5, ended up being two rooms of freshmen boys and Chris' room. Apparently, 3C5 is the "sister" room to Chris' room, and the girls wanted to adopt us as "little brother" rooms. They did feed us (banana pie!), and there was French press coffee, and we had a stimulating discussion about the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Then the discussion broke into smaller parts, and I talked to Emily and Matt for a while about the Founder's competition last February. Matt actually determined that there was five Founder's winners in our room at one time, which was intriguing.
Around 11, the conversation shifted to the sophomore level Plato & Aristotle class, so the remaining freshmen (Emily, David, and I) took our leave of the party. Quite enjoyable, overall. When we got back, we had another brief discussion with Zachary, who stopped by to say hello. I think I ended up in bed around 12:30.

NSO - No Small Operation

Or simply New Student Orientation, part II. It all started with photos taken for our King's ID, plus free breakfast wraps and OJ. A surprisingly good combination, actually. Then we went to the City Room for an address from the interim President of King's - following that, we learned about the Interregnum event (basically, a three-day period of focus on our yearly theme, Civilization - along with House competition events), and then we had a ceremony to sign the Honor Code.
The Honor Code states, "A student of the King's College will not lie, cheat, steal, or turn a blind eye to those who do. Every student is honor bound to report any other student who violates the Code." We were called up by House to sign the Code, and then our staff advisor came over to pray with us for the year. The signing of the Honor Code marked our entry as students to The King's College.
We were on our own again for lunch, and my room actually ended up coming back late to the Time Management seminar at 1. Oops. It was good to hear the reinforcement of sleep, eating, and study habits. I learned that one hour of massage is roughly equivalent to four hours of sleep ... very good to know, actually. After the TM seminar, the Great Race began.
I was on the planning team for the Great Race. This meant that I and five other Lewisians were given nine riddles that we had to solve. Each of these riddles pointed to a structure or location in New York City, and we had to determine where and (here's the tough part) send our team of runners to the location. There were six runners (including my remaining roomies), and they had to find the faculty member assigned to the location, and get their picture taken with him. They could also answer a "five-minute bonus" question on Robinson Crusoe for extra points.
Due to an ... ahem, tactical error, on the part of the planning team, the runners got sent up to the MET, which wasted half an hour, and moved us from a likely championship to fifth place. Reagan (hissss) won. We hope to redeem ourselves soon -- as soon as the next competition occurs.
For supper, we made Mac & Cheese, and cooperatively cleaned up. It worked well. Later that evening, we visited Chris (our Chamberlain) for brownies and a "roommate pact" discussion. It was actually a lot of fun, and we learned some things about each other that could've caused conflict later. And the brownies were excellent (completely homemade!).
Around 11:30, Zachary (Helmsman) came by to chat, and we had a discussion for about an hour, at which point we collectively decided to go to bed in order to get up the next day for classes. Got to bed around 12:30. Again.

NSO - "North," said Oscar

Actually, NSO is New Student Orientation, and we were quite involved in it yesterday. The attire of the day was business professional, and it was pleasantly warm in the City today. However, pleasant quickly became "suffocating." We were fortunately in the CUNY Graduate Center, a conveniently placed building around the corner from ESB, that included an auditorium. New students, parents, faculty, and student leaders were in attendance.
The morning lecture was 9 to 11, then we had a little discussion about the house system, and I ate lunch with Dad, Matt & family, and some of the Lewis leadership. It was good to hear their vision for the house this year.
At 2 PM, there was an information fair in the Lower Lobby of ESB - the only productive thing I did was get my network access and email configured. Then I hung out for an hour, met another admission guy, and headed back to the room.
Met back with the Lewis guys at the Lounge for House pictures and a night out on the town - went to Lombardi's just north of Little Italy for some brick-oven-baked pizza - excellent! Our president, Dustin Pope, gave us a little pep talk, and then I talked to David Lapp, our scholar, on the way back. It was fun.
Later in the evening, some girls from SBA (Susan B Anthony) came by to invite us to a rooftop worship event on the roof at 10 PM - went up, Matthias Clock played the guitar (excellent!) and we sang for about 45 minutes. Then more people came up and the group decayed. Ended up going to bed around 12:30 again. Big day, and bed was delightful. Tomorrow will be even better.

Church & Costco

So Sunday morning was rather confusing. When I woke up at 7:15, I had no idea what church I was going to attend - I didn't even know when the varied groups were leaving for services. After asking around within my room, I discovered that Kyle was visiting Morning Star New York (MSNY) with his parents. I looked the church up on the web, and it seemed fairly innocuous, doctrinally. So Dad and I went over there for the 11 PM service - we had to walk around ten blocks, which was not bad at all.
The service was excellent. Worship was powerful -- one of the most powerful I've ever witnessed. Then the message was well-presented as well - contemporary, yet insightful. I was compelled to take notes. Next week the church is moving to a new location, but it should still be within walking distance, and I plan to attend.
After church, Dad and I headed back to the apartment so I could change and we could get some lunch. However, Kyle's family arrived shortly, as did Matt, so we skipped eating and moved right into planning an afternoon food run. For an hour and a half, we debated the merits of going to Costco in Queens as opposed to Trader Joe's in Manhattan. Dad, Matt, and I ended up heading to Costco, while Kyle & his parents went to Trader Joe's. Trader Joe's, however, was right next to the CUNY campus, with thousands of new students moving in that very day. So it was crowded. Costco was about ten blocks off the subway in Queens, so it wasn't that bad. After we filled it up with $150 worth of groceries (two suitcases full), hauling it back through the streets and subway turnstiles was quite the experience. It probably took us 1.25 hrs from Costco to the Vogue - about 2 miles. But it was worth it!
In the evening, went up on the roof again - talked to some Reaganites for a while. We are rooming next to the freshman Reaganites, so we've gotten to know them well. Hit the sack about 12:36 - latest of my room.

Moving Day

Yesterday was rather busy. We arrived safely in New York via the New Jersey Transit train, and then walked to the Vogue from Penn Station, not more than half a mile. No sooner had we arrived at the Vogue when 5-8 King's students and staff mobbed us, taking my bags, sending me up to check-in, and so forth. Then, since we were the first to arrive at the apartment, I quickly selected a bottom bunk, as recommended by our House Chamberlain. Dad swept the floor while I unpacked - then the remaining three roomates showed up -- all within ten mintues of each other. The situation quickly became chaotic.
On a side note, our apartments were much more spacious that I was expecting. We have a small kitchen/kitchenette, a rather spacious living room, four large closets (about twice as much as I was expecting), a linen closet, a coat closet, a cramped bathroom (to be expected), and a good-sized bedroom (with two bunk beds). We also have a balcony -- but no view whatsoever. Air conditioning, high-speed Internet, even a dishwasher ... better than home! I may post some pictures on Flickr.
The rest of the day was spent unpacking - I brought the least amount of stuff, by volume, but I don't know how much more is being shipped. There is still plenty of room regardless. In the evening, we had no pressing committments except to attend a student reception at 9 PM in the Student Lounge. We played an icebreaker game (called "Bunkbeds") and mingled for a while. After they kicked us out, twenty or thirty students were assembled on the roof of the Vogue, so I joined them with some of my roommates. I took an early night around 12:30 PM.
Church today, and free time later. We might go to Costco - there's some stuff we need to get.

The Tribulations of Travel

Getting to New York is proving to be half the experience. I left home yesterday, accompanied by my father and sister. We drove in our Honda Civic from Washington, IA, to Pittsburgh, PA, in just over 13 hours. Assorted stops aside, a good trip. No one got sick. Stayed with Dad's sister and husband overnight.

Tonight, we are flying out of Pittsburgh to Newark via Continental. Newark, however, has a low cloud ceiling, so our 5:50 PM flight is delayed until 8 or 8:30. This gives me a great chance to use the airport's free WiFi.

I said goodbye to my sister today ... she didn't seem real torn up about my departure. Mom cried yesterday morning, but that is to be expected. Now I just have to bid Dad farewell on Monday ... and then I will be completely on my own. Until Thanksgiving.

I'm just ready to get started - moving, meeting people, everything. I guess the waiting is important too - I can catch up on my required reading for this fall.