I am entering another week of study mania; I have five tests next week, and so my fourth of July will be spent at the library. I am hoping to get out for some fireworks that night though. This past weekend was absolutely fantastic, such an answer to prayer. One of my dear dear friends came to visit me, and it was so what I needed. I hadn't realized how much my heart was needing to be with someone who knew me before all of this, but it was. So, being able to just enjoy the city and do fun things with my friend was so incredibly restorative. We had many adventures: we walked about 2000 mls (no, it just felt like that); got caught in a rainstorm and absolutely drenched, went to my fave museum in the city, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, saw STOMP (awesome!! but loud) and went to see our favorite actor (Bradley Whitford from "the West Wing) in a funny Broadway play called 'Boeing Boeing'. It was so great! We went to church on Sat. night, and spent Sunday morning at Starbucks, reading the New York Times, and doing the crossword. It was the refueling I needed to attack this week and the next with energy and motivation.
Funny New York stories:
1) I was on the subway and I was reading a book about how doctors think. This little girl got on the train; she was probably 7 or 8, had cute little glasses and curly, crazy brown hair, and sat next to me. She had a picture she drew of Puerto Rico, and after this precocious little one introduced herself to me, she proceeded to tell me all about it, and how she was going to work more on it when she got home, etc. Then she saw my book and asked if she could read it, and I said, "Certainly!" So she took and read it for probably a good ten minutes while I and the rest of the passengers sitting around us looked at her and at one another and smiled. This book has big words in it (for an 8 yr. old) but she seemed to want us to think she could actually understand it. She was turning the pages, but too quickly for her to have actually read it. When my stop came, I told her I had to go, but it had been a pleasure talking to her, and she said, "Same to you. I hope that you have a lovely weekend." Her mother was sitting next to her, and she just smiled at me and shook her head as if to say, "Oh, that girl". I laughed and said "Thank you, I hope you do to! Goodbye!" I'm sure she doesn't know it, but that little girl made my day.
2) I have been compiling a mental list of things I like about NY, and things I don't. Here's what I have so far:
Like:
1) Running in Central Park
2) Finding new restaurants
3) Sugar Sweet Sunshine cupcakes
4) Free concerts
5) The roof of my dorm--great view of city
6) Using words like "bonkers" and "lamey Mclame"
and "skeezoid" to describe things
7) St. Pat's Cathedral -- beautiful!
8) Skyline at night
Don't Like:
1) Bathroom stall doors that have a big gap on both the hinge and handle side so that you can make eye contact with people standing in line, while you are on the toilet. So annoying!! I mean really, why even have a door?
2) Missing free concerts
3) When I'm crabby, and there are
people EVERYWHERE
4) When people are walking reeee
eeeeeaaaaalllly slowly and I am
thinking uncharitable thoughts,
like "move your hinder!!" or
"you make a better door than a
window"
Oops, just realized how late it is getting, time to hit the books! I'll keep adding to the list later...
Monday, June 30, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
My Source of Strength
Coming to a brief reprieve in the test mania; He has been my strength. Before I hit the sack, I wanted to post one of my favorite hymns. So full of truth and hope!
A Mighty Fortress is Our God
A Mighty Fortress is Our God
1.A mighty fortress is our God,
a bulwark never failing;
our helper he amid the flood
of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe
doth seek to work us woe;
his craft and power are great,
and armed with cruel hate,
on earth is not his equal.
2. Did we in our own strength confide,
our striving would be losing,
were not the right man on our side,
the man of God's own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is he;
Lord Sabbaoth, his name,
from age to age the same,
and he must win the battle.
3. And though this world, with devils filled,
should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear, for God hath willed
his truth to triumph through us.
The Prince of Darkness grim,
we tremble not for him;
his rage we can endure,
for lo, his doom is sure;
one little word shall fell him.
4. That word above all earthly powers,
no thanks to them, abideth;
the Spirit and the gifts are ours,
thru him who with us sideth.
Let goods and kindred go,
this mortal life also;
the body they may kill;
God's truth abideth still;
his kingdom is forever.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
The Greatest Thing
Sometimes my heart is so buried beneath my 'to-do' list that I forget to check in with how I am really feeling about something, or doing with something. I've found that to be a bit of an issue being at school. I have so many things to occupy my time that I am neglecting to just sit and be, which for me, is essential. I need that time to process through my day; I need to look over and pray through painful circumstances, time to put my feet up and pull out a book and just think of nothing and do nothing. In this process, my soul loses touch with what is truly important, and I am too busy to even notice. Well, God really ministered to my soul tonight. I heard a sermon that felt to me the equivalent of my soul kicking off its shoes, sitting back in a lazy boy recliner, and completely relaxing into the Word.
The scripture reading was 1 Corinthians 9:23-27; 10: 11-13, about Paul telling the Corinthians to run the race in such a way as to get the prize. The pastor of the church I go to, Tim Keller, has been doing a series on the Christian life, and tonight's topic was self-control. He brought up points that I had never thought of, never even realized were disputable. The way I've always thought about self-control, have always tried to live with self-control, was by willpower. But Keller pointed out that the Bible never says that. It didn't say that Jesus endured all He did by sheer willpower. When are not supposed to overcome our sins by willpower. A simple statement, but profound to me. Below, I am going to copy my sermon notes, because if I try to write them in my own words, I won't do them justice. Granted, they are paraphrased from the sermon, but point would get distilled further if I paraphrased my paraphrase.
Self-Control: Practicing the Christian Life
Every part of us is created in the image of God, but because of the Fall, every part of us is fallen. That's why we can't effectively or sustainedly control ourselves by willing it to be so. What then are we to do? We need to live the Christian life as though we are Olympic athletes; as Paul says, "Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore, I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." and elsewhere, "Do you not know that in a race all runner run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way to get the prize." Paul is NOT saying that he wants to live a 'good Christian life' to get the blessing of the Gospel; he is saying that he wants to live in such a way as to share with others the blessing of the Gospel! The athlete wants to go out partying with friends, eat whatever he wants, drink however much he wants to, but he wants the prize more. And that is the secrete. Jesus, "for the joy set before Him" endured the cross. Not "through His willpower" though, of anyone, He surely could have done it that way. Self-control is all about the priorities of the heart, and ordering its passions. One who sets his heart on the greatest thing, on the supreme thing, will be able to have self-control in all other areas of his life. Thomas Chalmers says that willpower, or subjugating one's desires is not enough, for it will just manifest itself in some other way. He says that if we have a "harsh desire to have one object (desire, emotion) conquered", there will always be some object that is unconquerable. For example, let's say I want some ice cream. I want it badly, but I want to be in shape more. Let's say that my chief end and goal in life is to be successful and well thought of. I can look like a pretty disciplined person to outsiders, when really, it is nothing for me to give up what I need to to achieve a higher goal. But what happens if something comes along to usurp that? Will I not be tempted to lie, cheat, or do whatever I have to in order to keep up appearances? The only desire, the only goal, this does not happen with is when our chief desire is Jesus. This is what we need to know, to pray that God would plant deep in our hearts, (paraphrase from Keller) "Inspite of being deeply flawed, because of what Jesus did, the Father's love for you is lofty as the stars, inexorable as the mountains. You need to know that you are perfectly delighted in, and this can't be lost!!! If that's your foundation, more than anything else, would you be tempted to be anxious or angry? If you know that your life is not about what you do or who you are, how would that change things?" He went on to tell us about a friend of his who seemed to have it all together; everyone loved him, was successful in business, relationships, everything. Then it came out that he had a drug problem, and his life crumbled. And he said something to Keller that he'd never forget. He said that he had always proclaimed that Jesus was his Lord, but in his heart of hearts, he really lived for the approval of people. He thought he could control what others thought of him, and what they thought of him meant everything in the world to him. But once he got to that place where no one respected him anymore, no one felt that he was good or worth anything, he didn't realize what it truly meant to be loved by Christ, and to love Him in return. He said that until Jesus is really the only one who loves you, it is pretty hard to really rely on His love.
Jesus didn't run on willpower, He ran on joy-power! Think of this: what didn't He have when He was in heaven? He had God, He had dominion over the whole universe, He had everything, except one thing: us. That's His joy. "For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross." Let that sink in. For you, for me, He endured agonies unimaginable, His entire life, to redeem us, and show us abundant life with Him. Not a Gospel of health, wealth and prosperity. Not a Gospel that says everything is going to be swell here on earth. But the Gospel. The Good News. To the degree that you realize that you are His delight, He will be your delight. Self-control is not about willing yourself to "be good". It is about having a heart so firmly desiring the greatest being, Jesus, that all else is in it's proper order and place. Paul wanted himself, the Corinthians, and us, to have hearts like that. Paul did not want anyone to miss the beauty of God because of how he lived his life; he wanted everything to be a testimony to God's excellence.
I didn't do the sermon justice, but that was some of the main points that hit me. What a blessing to go from hearing God-saturated, Bible-saturated, Christ-exalting sermons in Mpls, to here, getting the same, from a new angle. Well, I'm going to wrap this up, I'm tired. But blessed. And wanting Jesus more and more.
The scripture reading was 1 Corinthians 9:23-27; 10: 11-13, about Paul telling the Corinthians to run the race in such a way as to get the prize. The pastor of the church I go to, Tim Keller, has been doing a series on the Christian life, and tonight's topic was self-control. He brought up points that I had never thought of, never even realized were disputable. The way I've always thought about self-control, have always tried to live with self-control, was by willpower. But Keller pointed out that the Bible never says that. It didn't say that Jesus endured all He did by sheer willpower. When are not supposed to overcome our sins by willpower. A simple statement, but profound to me. Below, I am going to copy my sermon notes, because if I try to write them in my own words, I won't do them justice. Granted, they are paraphrased from the sermon, but point would get distilled further if I paraphrased my paraphrase.
Self-Control: Practicing the Christian Life
Every part of us is created in the image of God, but because of the Fall, every part of us is fallen. That's why we can't effectively or sustainedly control ourselves by willing it to be so. What then are we to do? We need to live the Christian life as though we are Olympic athletes; as Paul says, "Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore, I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." and elsewhere, "Do you not know that in a race all runner run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way to get the prize." Paul is NOT saying that he wants to live a 'good Christian life' to get the blessing of the Gospel; he is saying that he wants to live in such a way as to share with others the blessing of the Gospel! The athlete wants to go out partying with friends, eat whatever he wants, drink however much he wants to, but he wants the prize more. And that is the secrete. Jesus, "for the joy set before Him" endured the cross. Not "through His willpower" though, of anyone, He surely could have done it that way. Self-control is all about the priorities of the heart, and ordering its passions. One who sets his heart on the greatest thing, on the supreme thing, will be able to have self-control in all other areas of his life. Thomas Chalmers says that willpower, or subjugating one's desires is not enough, for it will just manifest itself in some other way. He says that if we have a "harsh desire to have one object (desire, emotion) conquered", there will always be some object that is unconquerable. For example, let's say I want some ice cream. I want it badly, but I want to be in shape more. Let's say that my chief end and goal in life is to be successful and well thought of. I can look like a pretty disciplined person to outsiders, when really, it is nothing for me to give up what I need to to achieve a higher goal. But what happens if something comes along to usurp that? Will I not be tempted to lie, cheat, or do whatever I have to in order to keep up appearances? The only desire, the only goal, this does not happen with is when our chief desire is Jesus. This is what we need to know, to pray that God would plant deep in our hearts, (paraphrase from Keller) "Inspite of being deeply flawed, because of what Jesus did, the Father's love for you is lofty as the stars, inexorable as the mountains. You need to know that you are perfectly delighted in, and this can't be lost!!! If that's your foundation, more than anything else, would you be tempted to be anxious or angry? If you know that your life is not about what you do or who you are, how would that change things?" He went on to tell us about a friend of his who seemed to have it all together; everyone loved him, was successful in business, relationships, everything. Then it came out that he had a drug problem, and his life crumbled. And he said something to Keller that he'd never forget. He said that he had always proclaimed that Jesus was his Lord, but in his heart of hearts, he really lived for the approval of people. He thought he could control what others thought of him, and what they thought of him meant everything in the world to him. But once he got to that place where no one respected him anymore, no one felt that he was good or worth anything, he didn't realize what it truly meant to be loved by Christ, and to love Him in return. He said that until Jesus is really the only one who loves you, it is pretty hard to really rely on His love.
Jesus didn't run on willpower, He ran on joy-power! Think of this: what didn't He have when He was in heaven? He had God, He had dominion over the whole universe, He had everything, except one thing: us. That's His joy. "For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross." Let that sink in. For you, for me, He endured agonies unimaginable, His entire life, to redeem us, and show us abundant life with Him. Not a Gospel of health, wealth and prosperity. Not a Gospel that says everything is going to be swell here on earth. But the Gospel. The Good News. To the degree that you realize that you are His delight, He will be your delight. Self-control is not about willing yourself to "be good". It is about having a heart so firmly desiring the greatest being, Jesus, that all else is in it's proper order and place. Paul wanted himself, the Corinthians, and us, to have hearts like that. Paul did not want anyone to miss the beauty of God because of how he lived his life; he wanted everything to be a testimony to God's excellence.
I didn't do the sermon justice, but that was some of the main points that hit me. What a blessing to go from hearing God-saturated, Bible-saturated, Christ-exalting sermons in Mpls, to here, getting the same, from a new angle. Well, I'm going to wrap this up, I'm tired. But blessed. And wanting Jesus more and more.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
I am totally and completely procrastinating right now, which is not a good thing to do when you have three big tests next week and are taking twenty-two credits in two months...but I will continue to procrastinate a little more and finish this post. Today was the first day of clinincals. I couldn't sleep very well last night; I was too nervous for today. But it went off without any major incidences. My group of 8 and I are on the colorectal and bariatric floor. The hospital we are at this summer doesn't divide up the floors into med/surg, etc., it divides them according to patient issue. We do have a few orthopedic overflow patients, but anyway. I will be doing a lot with ostomy bags, cancer recovery, and GI issues. So basically, I will be all about the poo in this clinical. But I figure, hey, it's best to deal with the worst part of nursing first, so everything else seems manageable by comparison. I'll just have to think about how I'd feel if I had colon cancer and had to have someone change my diaper or colostomy bag. My heart goes out to these people. Anyway, it was nice to be in a hospital again; I have severely missed my dear NICU and all the adorable babies, but I 'met' a nice older lady today who let me get her vitals and listen to her heart and lungs. ( I am equally fond of the elderly; there was this cute little lady who was probably all of four feet tall with curly white hair, and an adorable older gentleman with a bowtie that made me want to give them both a big hug!) I say 'met' like that because she was quite out of it, and only smiled at me briefly before she fell back asleep again.
My group is great; we were all laughing uproariously at lunch today, trading funny stories and jokes. Lots of fun, dedicated people to work with. So, I think it will be a good summer. Day 1: success. I prayed before I left today that God would use me, and I hope that He did. Really, I want nothing more than that, to be His conduit of blessing to the people that I will be serving. Becoming a nurse is the coolest; I just hate feeling completely incompetent when I want to be great at everything right now! I shared that with one of my classmates, and she said she felt the same way, and then said that maybe it was because we liked to be in control. I had to think about that one, but yes, I think that she definitely has a point. I don't like being at the mercy of anyone or anything, except God, and I am at the mercy of un-knowledge right now. Which is why I need to end this and go study...
One more thing, another funny subway aside; I saw the CUTEST old man getting on the train the other day. He was tiny and petite, and I could have probably picked him up and put him in my backpack if I had wanted to, he was so small and precious. He looked like the quintessential grandfather figure. I saw his shirt had writing on it, and I figured it said something like "World's Coolest Grandpa" or something like that. I was wrong. This unassuming, deferential gentleman had on a shirt that made me laugh because it was the last thing I expected. It said, "Don't piss me off. I'm running out of places to hide the bodies." Classic.
My group is great; we were all laughing uproariously at lunch today, trading funny stories and jokes. Lots of fun, dedicated people to work with. So, I think it will be a good summer. Day 1: success. I prayed before I left today that God would use me, and I hope that He did. Really, I want nothing more than that, to be His conduit of blessing to the people that I will be serving. Becoming a nurse is the coolest; I just hate feeling completely incompetent when I want to be great at everything right now! I shared that with one of my classmates, and she said she felt the same way, and then said that maybe it was because we liked to be in control. I had to think about that one, but yes, I think that she definitely has a point. I don't like being at the mercy of anyone or anything, except God, and I am at the mercy of un-knowledge right now. Which is why I need to end this and go study...
One more thing, another funny subway aside; I saw the CUTEST old man getting on the train the other day. He was tiny and petite, and I could have probably picked him up and put him in my backpack if I had wanted to, he was so small and precious. He looked like the quintessential grandfather figure. I saw his shirt had writing on it, and I figured it said something like "World's Coolest Grandpa" or something like that. I was wrong. This unassuming, deferential gentleman had on a shirt that made me laugh because it was the last thing I expected. It said, "Don't piss me off. I'm running out of places to hide the bodies." Classic.
Monday, June 9, 2008
I'm Pretty Sure I Can Get that For Free
So, I was walking back from dinner tonight on the upper West side, and I noticed something that made me burst out laughing. Maybe it's because I have a lot on my mind in terms of schoolwork; maybe I'm just tired; maybe it's just because that's the way I am wired. Maybe I'll write more so in rhymes I'll be mired. Maybe if a potential employer reads these lame rhymes I won't be hired, or if I was, I'll be fired. Okay. Moving on. The point: at one of the many many street food vendors, my eyes just happened to fall on a sign listing breakfast items for sale and their corresponding prices. The list:
Bagels $1.50
Toast with Eggs $3.00
Toast with Jelly $1.15
Donuts $2.00
Muffins $1.50
Scorn $2.00
No, that wasn't a typo. It actually said "Scorn" instead of "Scone". Now, how didn't they catch that? Not only was a letter transposed, its position in the word was also shifted. It wasn't just a simple substitution error. I burst out hysterically though, making everyone around me think that for sure they were dealing with a crazy person. It was actually pretty ironic, seeing that sign in New York, the city that is stereotypically known for presenting a tough, metropolitan, scornful attitude. I've never heard anyone talk about "New York nice". (Although, I do have to say, every person I've met out here has been an absolute gem.)
I'm pretty sure one could get scorn for free. I sure wouldn't pay for it. Maybe I should go there tomorrow and ask for a piping hot scorn.
Bagels $1.50
Toast with Eggs $3.00
Toast with Jelly $1.15
Donuts $2.00
Muffins $1.50
Scorn $2.00
No, that wasn't a typo. It actually said "Scorn" instead of "Scone". Now, how didn't they catch that? Not only was a letter transposed, its position in the word was also shifted. It wasn't just a simple substitution error. I burst out hysterically though, making everyone around me think that for sure they were dealing with a crazy person. It was actually pretty ironic, seeing that sign in New York, the city that is stereotypically known for presenting a tough, metropolitan, scornful attitude. I've never heard anyone talk about "New York nice". (Although, I do have to say, every person I've met out here has been an absolute gem.)
I'm pretty sure one could get scorn for free. I sure wouldn't pay for it. Maybe I should go there tomorrow and ask for a piping hot scorn.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
On Being Modern
My feet are raw; raw and red and have skin rubbed off over bony parts. I wish I could say it was because I was doing something altruistic, like hauling water for miles over pebbly ground to give to thirsty children. But alas, it is because I, like every woman I know, wore a pair of cute shoes out tonight that had nothing to do with function and everything to do with fashion. Now, I know that cute shoes can also be functional, but I chose a pair of those witchy-toed shoes that squeeze the heck out of the upper third of your foot, and look really great if you don't have to walk anywhere at all, and can just stand there looking beautiful in your witchy-toed shoes.
I had an A+ day; met some friends at the Sheep Meadow in Central Park and sunbathed/studied for awhile; went to a posh athletic club and rinsed off in cold water before sitting in a eucalyptus-infused steam room and allowing my pores to be opened and the toxins to come out; ran into a friend from nursing class and had high tea and tea sandwiches at a cute place on the West Side, had some amazing Mediterranean food down the block; and to top it all off, went to an exquisite ballet at Lincoln Center called "Jewels". The New York Ballet is amazing, and it was such a treat. My friend and I went to drinks after at a very very nice restaurant located on the 35th floor of the Mandarin Oriental hotel, called 'Asiate'. All in all, it was great! But the feet would not agree with me on that one, and by the time I got home, it was all I could do to not throw those shoes in the trash. Problem is, they are the only pair of short black versatile heels that I own, so until I find a new pair, I'm going to have to suck it up and keep wearing them. I suppose torturing ourselves for the sake of fashion is not a new phenomenon though; look at the ladies who wore corsets, not able to breathe nor eat for the sake of having a small waist. I wonder if Eve ever had any similar experiences with apparel? Maybe she turned to Adam one day and said, "Do you think this fig leaf makes me look fat?" or "Should I wear the clam-shell shoes with the rock heels or the badger-skin flats?" No, the whole fig leaf thing is a myth; the Word says that God made them clothes out of animal skins. But I'm digressing. Suffice it to say, I learned my lesson, and won't be wearing those shoes again unless I absolutely have to.
I had an A+ day; met some friends at the Sheep Meadow in Central Park and sunbathed/studied for awhile; went to a posh athletic club and rinsed off in cold water before sitting in a eucalyptus-infused steam room and allowing my pores to be opened and the toxins to come out; ran into a friend from nursing class and had high tea and tea sandwiches at a cute place on the West Side, had some amazing Mediterranean food down the block; and to top it all off, went to an exquisite ballet at Lincoln Center called "Jewels". The New York Ballet is amazing, and it was such a treat. My friend and I went to drinks after at a very very nice restaurant located on the 35th floor of the Mandarin Oriental hotel, called 'Asiate'. All in all, it was great! But the feet would not agree with me on that one, and by the time I got home, it was all I could do to not throw those shoes in the trash. Problem is, they are the only pair of short black versatile heels that I own, so until I find a new pair, I'm going to have to suck it up and keep wearing them. I suppose torturing ourselves for the sake of fashion is not a new phenomenon though; look at the ladies who wore corsets, not able to breathe nor eat for the sake of having a small waist. I wonder if Eve ever had any similar experiences with apparel? Maybe she turned to Adam one day and said, "Do you think this fig leaf makes me look fat?" or "Should I wear the clam-shell shoes with the rock heels or the badger-skin flats?" No, the whole fig leaf thing is a myth; the Word says that God made them clothes out of animal skins. But I'm digressing. Suffice it to say, I learned my lesson, and won't be wearing those shoes again unless I absolutely have to.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
And again...
I love how I say, "For the sake of brevity..." and then follow that up with probably my longest post yet. My friend Jess would give herself five, Tina Fey style, for something like that, so I will too. High-five, myself!
A New York Kind of Feelin'
I love the transportation system out here; truly, these people knew what they were doing when they set it all up. The subway is a world unto itself. You walk down those steps, slide your ticket, and go through the turnstile into another universe. Down there, time doesn't exist (unless you are running late to get somewhere, and then you stand at the edge of the waiting platform, looking desperately into the dark tunnel, hoping to spot those headlights coming at you with the characteristic 'whoosh') People are always in movement; musicians are peddling their lyrical wares as life flows around them. Anything goes in this underworld, and I have seen many interesting goings-on. For the sake of brevity, I'm only going to list a few, but each encounter left me wondering what exactly this subway culture was all about.
It was my first night on my own here, and it was late; well, Stef late, not average 26yr. old late. It was pushing 11:30pm. In NYC, the night was just getting started, but for me, I was finding my way home after meeting a friend and her boyfriend in SoHo for drinks. They had given me instructions on how to get back to my neck of the woods, and it sounded pretty straightforward to me. 'Take the such-and-such til X stop; then transfer to the so-and-so and you should be home in half-an-hour, tops." Since I was talking to two experienced New Yorkers, I had no qualms, and set off for home. En route, however, I was waylaid by Paramount Pictures, who decided that they needed to film their latest movie right by the subway station I needed, and had furthermore decided to cordon off a multi-block radius. Since I didn't recognize any of the stars in the movie, I moved on, in search of another station. I found one, got on the right train, and thought I made a successful transfer at the right time. I was wrong. I ended up heading in the exact opposite direction that I needed to go; I was on an express to Queens. Total bummer, as it was getting later, and the amount of time I could sleep before class the next morning was draining away, much like my patience. Half-an-hour later, I was finally headed the right way, after a brief foray into a semi-abandoned part of Queens ( I say semi-abandoned because there were men of various shapes and sizes lurking in doorways and on corners), and as I was waiting to make the right transfer, a group of youths (am I really so old now that I am calling people 'youths'? Oh man.) walked by, three men and a woman. Something struck me as peculiar, and as they got closer, I could see what was up. One of the guys had the woman on a make-shift leash, through her back beltloop. It gave her about a two-foot lead, but that's it. When they stopped in front of me, the guy said to her "Sit! Sit. Sit." And she looked back at him and squatted down. I had to make myself not gape at them, but I was trying to figure out why any woman would take that crap from any guy, and why any guy would think that was cool to treat any human being, man or woman, like that in the first place! I thought maybe they were just messing around, but they were all serious, and the guys pretty much ignored her, besides telling her what to do. I mentioned this to a friend later on, and she said that maybe he was her pimp. He looked pretty poor to be a pimp, but I guess I really don't know what a pimp would look like.
Second strange encounter; I was sitting on the subway, on the way back from my "Walk around and explore Manhattan day because this is probably one of the few days you will actually have time to do it - day" and this young man, yes, a youth, got on. It was a somewhat crowded car, and after he gets on, he stops, pulls out his cologne, and squirts himself with it a few times, before going over to sit next to some girls who look about my age. He was wearing big gold chains, and sunglasses, and apparently trying to look all cool, and the girl he sat next to was turned away from him, mouthing "Oh my GOSH!" to her friends sitting next to her, laughing so hard she was shaking. I was staring, I couldn't help it. Comedic drama was unfolding before me, and I had to get it all! I wanted to see if he was going to follow up his exhaustive prep with actually making a move, but other than generally sitting there, trying to muster up a 'cool' affectation, he didn't really do anything. He got off in a few stops, and some of the girls, when they were getting off at their stop, looked over at me and said, "And I was going to give him your number!" while pointing at me. I busted up, I couldn't help it! It was too funny.
Third scenario, I am on my way to somewhere, now I can't even remember where, and this guy gets on, probably mid-thirties, and sits next to me and gives me the once over. I'm thinking, "Oh, brother, here we go" and steeling myself up for what I figured would be an interesting exchange. I wasn't disappointed. He starts in on 'where are you from', etc. etc. and he tells me about himself and a friend that won't talk to him anymore, and all this stuff, and I am politely nodding and saying "Umm-humm" at appropriate intervals, and he asks what brought me to the city and I say school and he says where and I say "Columbia" and he says "Oh, so you are waaaaaay out of my league, but I guess I can still talk to you, right?" and continues to make more comments about how I think I'm better than him and am being condescending. Now, I was like, "Lord, am I? Is there something in my attitude or behavior towards this guy that is coming across as superior?" And then I thought, "Alright, Stef, get a grip. God correct me please if I am being arrogant, but this is just weird, and I am humoring this guy, and I can't wait until my stop comes..." It was a looooooong couple of stops, and even then, I was going to get off early so that he wouldn't know what stop was mine, but around my area is not the safest area, so I decided to just get off. At this point, I'd had enough, and I wanted to go home, where there was normalcy and men who don't need to be in counseling of some sort. I do pray that God finds him some help, though.
So, those are some of my subway stories. Life continues on here; school is getting busier but I love it, and I need to go to bed. Who knows what interesting folks I'll meet on the subway tomorrow, and I need to have my energy up to meet the challenge that some of them obviously present!
It was my first night on my own here, and it was late; well, Stef late, not average 26yr. old late. It was pushing 11:30pm. In NYC, the night was just getting started, but for me, I was finding my way home after meeting a friend and her boyfriend in SoHo for drinks. They had given me instructions on how to get back to my neck of the woods, and it sounded pretty straightforward to me. 'Take the such-and-such til X stop; then transfer to the so-and-so and you should be home in half-an-hour, tops." Since I was talking to two experienced New Yorkers, I had no qualms, and set off for home. En route, however, I was waylaid by Paramount Pictures, who decided that they needed to film their latest movie right by the subway station I needed, and had furthermore decided to cordon off a multi-block radius. Since I didn't recognize any of the stars in the movie, I moved on, in search of another station. I found one, got on the right train, and thought I made a successful transfer at the right time. I was wrong. I ended up heading in the exact opposite direction that I needed to go; I was on an express to Queens. Total bummer, as it was getting later, and the amount of time I could sleep before class the next morning was draining away, much like my patience. Half-an-hour later, I was finally headed the right way, after a brief foray into a semi-abandoned part of Queens ( I say semi-abandoned because there were men of various shapes and sizes lurking in doorways and on corners), and as I was waiting to make the right transfer, a group of youths (am I really so old now that I am calling people 'youths'? Oh man.) walked by, three men and a woman. Something struck me as peculiar, and as they got closer, I could see what was up. One of the guys had the woman on a make-shift leash, through her back beltloop. It gave her about a two-foot lead, but that's it. When they stopped in front of me, the guy said to her "Sit! Sit. Sit." And she looked back at him and squatted down. I had to make myself not gape at them, but I was trying to figure out why any woman would take that crap from any guy, and why any guy would think that was cool to treat any human being, man or woman, like that in the first place! I thought maybe they were just messing around, but they were all serious, and the guys pretty much ignored her, besides telling her what to do. I mentioned this to a friend later on, and she said that maybe he was her pimp. He looked pretty poor to be a pimp, but I guess I really don't know what a pimp would look like.
Second strange encounter; I was sitting on the subway, on the way back from my "Walk around and explore Manhattan day because this is probably one of the few days you will actually have time to do it - day" and this young man, yes, a youth, got on. It was a somewhat crowded car, and after he gets on, he stops, pulls out his cologne, and squirts himself with it a few times, before going over to sit next to some girls who look about my age. He was wearing big gold chains, and sunglasses, and apparently trying to look all cool, and the girl he sat next to was turned away from him, mouthing "Oh my GOSH!" to her friends sitting next to her, laughing so hard she was shaking. I was staring, I couldn't help it. Comedic drama was unfolding before me, and I had to get it all! I wanted to see if he was going to follow up his exhaustive prep with actually making a move, but other than generally sitting there, trying to muster up a 'cool' affectation, he didn't really do anything. He got off in a few stops, and some of the girls, when they were getting off at their stop, looked over at me and said, "And I was going to give him your number!" while pointing at me. I busted up, I couldn't help it! It was too funny.
Third scenario, I am on my way to somewhere, now I can't even remember where, and this guy gets on, probably mid-thirties, and sits next to me and gives me the once over. I'm thinking, "Oh, brother, here we go" and steeling myself up for what I figured would be an interesting exchange. I wasn't disappointed. He starts in on 'where are you from', etc. etc. and he tells me about himself and a friend that won't talk to him anymore, and all this stuff, and I am politely nodding and saying "Umm-humm" at appropriate intervals, and he asks what brought me to the city and I say school and he says where and I say "Columbia" and he says "Oh, so you are waaaaaay out of my league, but I guess I can still talk to you, right?" and continues to make more comments about how I think I'm better than him and am being condescending. Now, I was like, "Lord, am I? Is there something in my attitude or behavior towards this guy that is coming across as superior?" And then I thought, "Alright, Stef, get a grip. God correct me please if I am being arrogant, but this is just weird, and I am humoring this guy, and I can't wait until my stop comes..." It was a looooooong couple of stops, and even then, I was going to get off early so that he wouldn't know what stop was mine, but around my area is not the safest area, so I decided to just get off. At this point, I'd had enough, and I wanted to go home, where there was normalcy and men who don't need to be in counseling of some sort. I do pray that God finds him some help, though.
So, those are some of my subway stories. Life continues on here; school is getting busier but I love it, and I need to go to bed. Who knows what interesting folks I'll meet on the subway tomorrow, and I need to have my energy up to meet the challenge that some of them obviously present!
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