Trade-Off

A couple of days ago, a tragedy occurred in my neighborhood. Though I was not there to witness it, I knew what happened because I saw the consequences. Next to a building that I walk past on the way to the Subway, I noticed a couple in front of me looking down at the ground. When I arrived there, I could see that they were looking at the body of a pigeon that had obviously plunged itself into most certain death by way of a brick wall.
"Gross," I thought, and did not stay to look, but continued to walk on.

Today, I passed by the same building on the way to work and noticed the pigeon was still there. I thought to myself, "Boy, I hope somebody cleans that up soon." I continued on my way, and went to work.

When I came home from work today, I turned around the corner of the building and much to my surprise, I saw three separate and distinct piles of vomit adjacent to the wall. Each pile was of a distinguishable reddish/pink hue, contained a consistent amount of chunks, and had a radius that was competitive of the other two. It was a sight for sure, but like before, I did not stay and stare, but continued to move forward.

I did notice, however, that the dead pigeon was gone, leading me to believe that its grossness replacement might have been related. A bystander like me might never know.


"Does anybody know where the hose is?"

Loveless

I wonder how long it will take the lawmakers of this country to realize that we don't need guns any more. You can make any argument you want for the practical purposes of owning a firearm, but until you experience, first-hand, the pain and hardship and suffering of a loss from a needless gun crime, I deem your argument irrelevant.

I doubt I can name one person I've met who has ever been protected by the use of a gun, but I could list at least a dozen people, myself included, who have been personally affected or victimized by a random person with a gun. If you haven't yet, then I'm sure you'll get your chance soon.

Of course, I'm writing in response to the shooting that occurred today on the campus of Northern Illinois University. Today, as tradition would have it, was also St. Valentine's Day, the date of one of the most infamous gun crimes in U.S. history. And now, 79 years later, somebody else has made history of his own in a way that was even more coldblooded.

These events have occurred more and more frequently as of late, and it seems that each one hits closer to home. It also seems like every time it happens, a crowd of people is left scratching their heads, saying, "Boy, I didn't see that coming."A person not should feel frightened for his or her life when out shopping or learning in a classroom setting or ever, yet it seems like the only way to protect yourself from any given person out there who is armed to the teeth is to just stay indoors.

If you care at all for ANYBODY, you should think about that when making your decision whether or not to vote in the upcoming election, and who to vote for.

We all have goals in life. Some of us are just getting by. Some get by better than others. Some people choose to love. While there are those of us who are lucky enough to be in love once, there are some people in this world who will never know what love is, and there are other people in this world who get so lucky, they fall in love over and over again.

If you find yourself like me tonight, by yourself on Valentine's Day, don't use it as an excuse to be angry at all the people who have managed to bring love into their lives. It's true that Valentine's Day is used as an excuse to be terribly cheesy and over-the-top for some couples, and I am not immune to being made sick by it, either, but in the grand scheme of things, those people are just trying to love each other while they can, which is really all you can ask for.

If you haven't had it yet, you will get your chance to love. And if you have had your chance to love and you blew it, tough luck.

Know that in this world people are funny. People are cruel. People are smart. People are cool.
People are heartless, merciless, and soulless. Love while you can. Don't wind up loveless.

Snow Night

I finished my first paid day in an office in New York today. It was pretty rewarding. No more slinging coffee for me, unless it's my own. That is something I can be really excited about.

After work, though, I found myself outside in Midtown Manhattan in a downpour of snowfall. I was taken aback, and my immediate instinct was to take pictures of it anyway I could to capture the beauty of it all. The pure clean white snow fell to the backdrop of the magnificent Chrysler building, with cars and buses whizzing by in the puddles before me. The only thing I had with me at the time capable of taking photos was my cell phone, so it goes without saying that the pictures were not of the greatest quality.
But the memory of tonight will stay with me for other reasons. I could not spurn myself to get on the Subway and head home for a night of lonely television or reading. Instead I through myself headfirst into the nature of the beast and just stood and walked around in the snow, many times with my mouth gaping wide open at just how beautiful it was. I continued to take more pictures and video with my phone as I slowly traversed along 42nd Street past Grand Central Terminal, the Manhattan Public Library, and into Bryant Park.
The snow get coming down, kept piling up. I refused to wear my hat and gloves so I could be fully immersed in the weather, and soak in as much as possible. The snow began to form a small drift atop my buzz-cut hair, and collected in the cracks of my backpack. My feet were sliding around on the wet and slippery cement.
Despite the conditions, all the New Yorkers around me kept moving at break-neck speed. They don't even have enough time to appreciate nature, I thought. I don't know how anybody could move in a situation like today. It was just too amazing a sight to ignore. It inspired me.

Of course, I thought, the only way to make this night even more perfect would be to add one particular element. One more item would make such a scene the most perfect thing in the world. Such a perfect complement to the evening could not really be described in words. But if I managed to pull it off would be a sweet glorious victory in the face of adversity and a crowning achievement. I knew how to get the thing that I wanted. But I was worried. I had pursued such desire in the past and had not quite succeeded yet. I knew what it felt like to be left empty-handed. I did not want that again.
I walked for hours pondering this. I examined my possibilities, weighed my pros and cons, counted my money, and continued to walk aimlessly, getting pelted minute after minute by fresh wet snow.
I eventually came to the decision that, if fate was with me, I would get what I wanted. And the companionship of something so perfect, so wonderful, so endearing was worth the risk it took in getting it. The object of my affection is so beautiful, pure as the snow itself, and I could not think of it in a better place than beside me surrounded by the snow and skyscrapers on this most scenic of evenings.

***********************************************************
I can honestly say that I saw the two most beautiful things that night I've seen since I came to New York. The second was the snowfall. The first I saw later...


...When I arrived home that night, I took off my wet shoes, my coat, and put my book bag down. After close inspection, I realized that even after spending hours walking around in the wet snow, after trudging around numerous blocks, up and down streets, through the Subway, and all the way home, my khaki pants were as clean as they were the second I left the office. My pants were as clear and off-white as the first time I put them on, without a spot of dirt or wetness on them.

I don't know how I did it.
A miracle?

Perhaps.

Sometimes clean pants are all we are looking for. Sometimes it's more. I was completely satisfied before I discovered how clean my pants were. This night could not have worked out better.

Complete the Map!

Exploring Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the rest of New York on foot reminds me of playing a one-player, first-person Role-Playing video game, much like Final Fantasy or the Legend of Zelda. It may sound silly, but to a person who has played a lot of these types of video games in his or her youth, as I have, this situation is relatable.

I wander, gently exploring the city with my backpack full of items. I always carry my water bottle, my pocketknife, a pad and pen, and a book. I'm equipped for solitary exploration. Along the way, I might pick up more items. I might replenish ones I have spent, such as gum or MetroCards or arrows. And I might wander into a potion shop to pick up some new potions, or a flavor of Vitamin Water I haven't tried yet.

Sometimes, as in role-playing, the need will come about to have to talk to a stranger. They all have different things to say, some useful, some not so useful. Every once in a while, a person will say something to you that is purely entertaining, and could not possibly get a response to match it.
Often, as in a game of this nature, I am faced with these mini-quests I have to complete before I can move on in the game. It seems as if these mini-quests are only in there to prolong the game and make it more annoying, for instance, in order to get the item you truly desire, you first have to get a different item and travel all across town to trade it with a different item, which you can then trade back for the item you originally wanted across town, or the train you want to ride on to get to your destination is not running its entire route tonight, so you have to detour all the way into Manhattan, and then ride back out again on a different train. That happens all the time, that's when you just take the bus.

There are all kind of pitfalls you have to avoid in this game: traffic, puddles of mysterious liquid, and, of course, enemies. You have to keep yourself from walking into traps, something that is not as easily seen from the first-person point-of-view, but more easily from that familiar third-person overhead-and-slightly-behind point-of-view that we all know and love.
You don't get a sword, so-to-speak, and you don't get a shield, but you do get experience points everywhere you go. You might learn on your way not to get in a black cab, but always a yellow cab, as the black cabs always charge more. You might learn on your way where the cat always runs in front of your path as if you stepped on something that triggered it. You might a great place where you can get great discount cashews, something you never thought to ask about before, but are glad you stumbled upon it.

You also might find people to join in your journey with you. As in the RPG, you always start out by yourself, but eventually, you always develop a company that comes along with you. They stick very close to you when you are walking together, but when you battle, they all spread out and show their unique individual power. Usually, there is always one guy who is bigger than you. He usually represents the brute strength of the outfit, though what he makes up for in attack he lacks in defense. It's important to keep him healthy.
There is always a girl in the group. And girls are always magical. Just like in real life. Girls possess magical powers that no man can contend with. They usually have all those healing or trickery spells up their sleeves. Confusion is a common one that comes to mind. Sometimes it backfires and gets cast on the male members of your own group, instead of the foes. While the girls always possess magic capabilities, they are still prone to material distractions, such as purses, jewelery, or shoes, or worse, enemy guys who flatter them and buy them drinks. Also, poison. So if the girl of the group is taken out one of these ways, no one is left to do the healing of the group, and you're left with no other option but to keep downing Vitamin Water until you have none left.
The last person in the group is undoubtedly the nerd character, who is always ready to make a comic book reference or go into a Kids in the Hall monologue whenever necessary. And he knows how to fix a computer or defuse a bomb. The skill is probably not very useful in everyday life, but should the situation come up, life-saving. That's why it is always worth it to have him around.

What makes me compare exploring New York to living an RPG more than anything else is my relentless desire to touch every last corner of the map and see every area I possibly can. In the RPG, you are given a map of the land or dungeon you are exploring, and when you look at the map screen, the areas in which you have explored may be lit up or a different color than the areas you have not been to yet. When I played Zelda, I made it a point to explore every room in the castle or dungeon so that all the areas on the map would be lit up. I would go into rooms even if there was no significance to the room. I would go in just to go in then come out. In Super Metroid, I explored every possible crevice, every hidden room, so that the entire map would be colored in.

I think that mentality has stayed with me as I explore New York. I want to get off every Subway stop, walk down every street, and go in every building. I want to leave no stone unturned. I want to complete the map, and fill it in, so I can say I've seen everything I can see. As you walk down streets you haven't been down before, you see where there meet up with the streets you have been down before. You see how everything fits together, how one neighborhood leads to the next, and you slowly figure it out.

You can never get enough experience points. There are always new levels to achieve, new skills to learn, new people to meet. You want to keep your posse close by your side. Keep them healthy, interested, and equipped. They will help you out. You're going to need all the help you can get, because sooner or later, you're going to have to beat the boss.

Super Fat Giant Tuesday

Today was a rare day. It was Super Tuesday. It was Fat Tuesday. It was Giant Tuesday. It was Super Fat Giant Tuesday here in New York, a rare occurrence indeed. I believe it only happens once every couple thousand years, much like one of those cult-inducing comets.

It was Super Tuesday on account of the oncoming Presidential election. Just about every state in the union had their primary election today, accounting for the majority of the votes in the primary stage of the election process. Since most votes for the primary are cast today, typically it is the day when, once all the votes are tallied, the winner of each nomination can more or less be declared. Thus, it is a very important day for the candidates and for voting in general. And because it is so important, it has been deemed "Super". At least that is my understanding.

New York was one of the states that was involved in this year's Super Tuesday, and thus a lot of people went to the polls. I was not one of them, however, because I am not registered in New York. I'm sorry to let my country down.

Fat Tuesday is the day that immediately precedes Ash Wednesday, in the Catholic tradition of Lent. Since a major part of Lent involves making sacrifices in order to improve your faith, Fat Tuesday has been made a tradition to party really hard and try to get as many vices in before the clock strikes midnight and Lent officially begins. This holiday is celebrated with high regard in cities like Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, known as Carnivale, and, of course in New Orleans and St. Louis, where it is known by most Americans as Mardi Gras. It has been extended into the days and weeks leading up to Fat Tuesday (it turns out people enjoy partying way more than giving things up), but as tradition has it, the biggest celebration is always saved for Fat Tuesday.

The celebration of Fat Tuesday was not as apparent in New York as it is in other cities, but the spirit is still there. I saw people wearing beads throughout the day, and the themes at all the bars that night were appropriately Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras.

The culmination of events that could happen all at once on this fateful day of celebratory obligation was the celebration of the New York Football Giants' recent winning of the Super Bowl. It goes without saying that it was a pretty big deal to New York sports fans. I happened to have the esteemed pleasure of being located in the heart of downtown, amidst thousands of dedicated fans for the victory parade and the contagious collective effervescence of cheering for the home team.
It was fun. I was able to be a part of something that doesn't happen very often, and I was all the more appreciative of the Giants' victory in seeing how happy it made all of my fellow New Yorkers.
The rest of the day fans wore blue and continued to celebrate, adding to the madness that was already cumulating due to everyone voting and partying.

I'm not sure if there is much else you could jam into a Tuesday. It was quite a day for New York. I'm happy I was able to see it with my own eyes. It'll probably be a while before it comes around again.