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