OK. We all know that Wendy's burgers have hearty beef patties. But what about their butter packets? Today I received this droplet of "Buttery-Best Spread" with my baked potato. I don't care if there's only zero grams of trans fat in this thing. There's not even enough there to butter a kernel of popcorn!
Today I did one of the stupidest things I think I've ever done; I went running in the middle of the day in humid 88° heat with no money and no metro card.
I thought it was gonna be a quick run. I was going to go from my place on 139th to the George Washington Bridge on 180th and then back home. Unfortunately, sometime before getting to the bridge my system gave out, and I started feeling weak and nauseouss. I should have just turned around and headed home, but I was too excited about seeing the little red lighthouse under the bridge. I started walking. I must say, the lighthouse was definitely worth it. But after seeing it, I definitely would have been wiser to just go home.
Unfortunately the George Washington Bridge area was just too neat. I had to go exploring. There were all these cool abandoned passageways and tunnels where bums live at night. It was way too fascinating to pass up. At that point I was so thirsty that I thought I'd better get some fluid before heading home. I thought I was close to Sarah and Megan's house up by the Cloisters. Certainly they could give me some refreshment, I thought to myself. I think I was in fact near by, but of course I had to get lost on the way there. By the time I got to their house there was nobody home. No water. No rest. No air-conditioning. It was then that I realized I was going to have to walk 38 blocks to get home. I would have ended up a skeleton on the sidewalk had it not been for running into a group of ten missionaries on the street doing their tracting. They lifted my spirits, and I made it home alive.
MORAL OF THE STORY: Never, ever leave your subway card at home. Even if you have no pockets. Slip it in your underwear if you have to. Just don't leave it. Not unless you want to join me for Super Stupid Run 2006½. You can get a head start. I'll be over here by the air conditioner.
Tonight Jared and I went to The Knitting Factory to see the the amazing music group DANIELSON FAMILE. (Yes, they are all siblings.) This is only the second time I've paid money to see a concert this summer, so that is saying a lot. To put the show concisely:
Great music.
Unsurmountable cheerfulness.
Adorable costumes.
Bizarre arrangements.
Christian message.
Indie vibe.
Who could ask for more?
I certainly didn't, yet somehow I was lucky enough to run into Sufjan Stevens after the show.
Me: "Hey. You look just like Sufjan Stevens!"
Sufjan: "Yeah, I've gotten that before."
Of course, I knew all along it was him. I just had to be sure. He was a nice fellow--kind enough to walk half a block with me. (And not treat me like an idiot for getting star-struck.)
Once I got home I popped in a documentary about early New York City history. Watching it confirmed my belief that this city was always destined for greatness. From the moment Henry Hudson landed on the island in the 1600s clear up until now, Gotham has risen at an alarming pace.
As the ground below me trembled from the asphalt roller outside, I learned about the city’s transition from New Amsterdam to New York. I would have thought that the Dutch would have put up a big fight when the British came to conquer, but this was not the case at all. The people of New Amsterdam were less interested in who governed them and more interested in simply continuing their way of life. Within only two days of the British arrival, the entire infrastructure of New Amsterdam was transformed without any violence. And by the third day it was back to business as usual.
I’m constantly amazed at how this city bounces back. It seems like nothing can stop it. Not a blackout. Not a terrorist attack. Not burning down. Nothing. I’ve come to realize that it’s precisely this momentum that keeps me drawn to the place. Despite so many differences among the people, there is an undeniable spirit of harmony that helps New Yorkers to simply move on.
This morning I was greeted by a pigeon pecking away at our shiny new street. Fallen blossoms were already piled onto the smooth asphalt, and nearly every parking spot was already full. “Amazing,” I thought to myself. In less then twelve hours our street was good as new, impossible to detect it had been a construction site just the night before.
Without pausing, I hurried on down to the 1 Train along with the rest of Hamilton Heights.
In the past month a lot has happened. I moved from Morningside Heights to Hamilton Heights (better known as Harlem). Chateau and I extended our internship at Ogilvy and have been working on a print ad for SAP. For the day to day stuff, keep checking back. I'll probably start posting more than once a month. And for those of you curious about my attempt at using Wordpress, you can check it out here.
