Journal #18: The Big Apple

Journal #18
As I have now pretty much decided that my journaling / blogging will take place on a
weekly basis, I write from a BoltBus departing from New York City, after spending a weekend with friends. This was my first time in the Big Apple, and the city did not disappoint any of my expectations. New York is truly a city which never sleeps, as I learned last night waiting to get on the Subway at 2:30 in the morning.

We arrived on Friday.

My friend Kristina and I had decided only a few days before that we were going to get away for a weekend and celebrate one of our other JV friends’ birthday. Delphine had told us a few weekends before at the Baltimore party that she wanted us to come up to NYC to visit and celebrate her BDay. Of our house, it was just the two of us that dropped the cash down for a bus trip to NYC. I was looking forward this year to making the trek out to NYC, but it didn’t really occur to me until I was smack dab in downtown Manhattan that one of my life goals was now a reality. Soon enough, after the 4 hours of sitting, I was being dwarfed by towering skyscrapers and lost in the hustle and bustle of the city. Luckily Kristina had brought her iPhone with her and she immediately took charge, leading us to the nearby subway entrance.

We descended into the bowels of the city.

I re-read that metaphor and despite its absurdity, I think it gives a good representation of what the New York underground is like, if you have never been. It is hot, sticky, dirty, but oh so necessary. I can’t imagine what the city would be like if there wasn’t a subway system to get people where they needed to go. The sheer volumes of bodies being transported on this system are staggering, as congested as the roads are right now in NYC, there would be 24 hour gridlock without a public transit system. Each year there are 1.5 billion riders of the subway system, that number alone speaks a lot for just how extensive and complex the system is. It’s also expensive. I think I spent around $24 this weekend just on subway fares, no matter where you go, its $2.25.

We were bombarded by light.

After settling in, seeing Delphine’s workplace, eating some pizza, we made our way out of Brooklyn to the island, down-town Manhattan to go to the place that was #1 on my list of places to go. Times Square. One word is all that is necessary to describe this display filled, mob packed, consumer driven center of NY. Overwhelming. I think that after 5 minutes trying to take in all that was going on around me, my senses were overloaded and I need to just close my eyes. We continued walking around and after what seemed like days, we escaped the illuminated signage only to find shopping heaven on 5th Ave. I think we spent about an hour in H&M, trying stuff on, I did make only one purchase, a scarf which I am sure will come in handy during chilly DC nights. As we made our way through downtown we found the Rockefeller Center, a building doused in light. Spotlights from buildings all around made the building stand out against a dark night sky, accentuating its towering magnificence. We were disappointed to find that a trip to the observation deck was a staggering $15, so we instead marveled at the beauty from ground level. Our next stop was Grand Central Station. As I’ve said before, Kristina has done me the disservice of feeding my TV addiction. After being introduced to the show, Gossip Girl, I have not stopped watching. What’s more, I had an obsession with trying to find all the places in New York where the show has been filmed. In the pilot, one of the main characters, Serena, finds herself back in a town she has left. For what reason, we do not know, but there she is: spotted in Grand Central Station, looking lost and unsure of what is to come after trying to escape a part of her life. As I stood in the same place, looking out at Grand Central Station in the same spot as Serena had stood years before, I thought too, what is this trip, this year going to hold for me. I also took that time to stand still in a place that is always moving. Standing still allows us to reflect, to see the beauty that exists around us. I’m reminded of the cliché, stop and smell the roses. I think that of late, I haven’t been doing enough smelling. I’ve been looking, I’ve been running, I’ve been doing things to say that I’ve done them.

We took a train to nowhere.

On the way back, we missed our stop. As we waited for the next one so we could turn around, it came…..we weren’t slowing down, and then it went. We had gotten on the express train and interestingly enough, Delphine had wanted to visit Coney (sp?) island, and that happened to be the last stop on the train, so heck, we just stayed on in hopes of seeing this place she had told us is “ammmmazing” at night. Well…after 40 minutes on the train we got there, and already we were a little suspicious. There was NO ONE in the streets. It was deserted, the Ferris Wheel was un-lit, the fair was over. We just laughed, and laughed. An hour later we were home, and in bed.

I made buttermilk pancakes.

The next morning, I woke up. We were to meet up with our other JV friend Nick at Central Park to walk/run. After being fortunately delayed talking to the others in the house, sharing doughnuts out on the roof as the sun began to warm, once again, the brick walls. We made it to the park, only 20 minutes late, and began a beautiful day of exploration. I’m going to wrap up this journal, only for the reason that I’m getting sleepy on this bus, and I’ve been tempted this entire time by the knowledge that at my fingertips, is another episode of Gossip Girl. To simplify the rest of this journal I’m going to outline the rest of our day.

1. Central Park
a. Walk
i. Chat with Kristina
ii. Take pictures
iii. Observe the beauty
2. Staten Island ferry
a. Free
b. Busy
c. Great view
d. Seagull almost crapped on my head
e. Arrival
i. Immediate departure.
1. There’s apparently nothing on Staten Island.
f. Pictures
g. Laughing
h. Convo.
3. NEED FOOD
a. Figure out how the heck we’re going to get to China Town
b. Subway
c. Find Chinese Food
i. Cheap
ii. 4.50 for 5 entrees
iii. Not the best quality but it will do.
iv. Candid conversation
v. Enjoy company
vi. Leave for Little Italy
4. Little Italy
a. WTF
i. Utter chaos in the streets
1. Oh ya, there is some festival
ii. Work our way through the crowd
iii. Find Italian Bakery
iv. Eat Gelato
1. Good
5. Find Metro – Return to house – Part ways with nick
a. Long convo with Alison, I miss her.
b. Get ready for the debauchery
6. PARTY.
a. Say no more.
7. Sleep.