The Many Adventures of a Thede

It's really just the first part of this clip that's relevant:



I really like the subway. Yes, sometimes you have to wait for a long time for a train to come. Yes, in the summer it's hotter than hell on the platform. Yes, sometimes you switch from a local to an express train, but the express train runs so slow that the local beats you anyway. But the benefits far outweigh these minor inconveniences. I love being able to do something else on my commute...read a book...play my gameboy...stare into nothingness. I love that I don't really have to go figure out how to get someplace. I just have to know which train will take me there. I love that I'm being nice to the environment without really trying. I REALLY love that I don't have to worry about the price of gas. But, really, the reason I love the subway is because of the direct contact with my fellow New Yorkers. People from all areas of the city, and from all walks of life ride the subway. Businessmen on their way to work, teenagers going to a movie, mothers with babies, young couples back from a day of Ikea shopping. The other day I was sitting across from an elderly Chinese man who must have had about 100 rubber bands around is wrist, a few laced around his fingers. He wore a bright, multi-colored polo shirt and socks emblazoned with "USA" in patriotic colors. And I was totally entertained on my way to work, just by looking at this man, and wondering what he was going to do with all those rubber bands.

My apartment building seems to be emptying. I guess summer is usually the time of change for people who are moving. A woman who lived on the third floor moved out recently, although I never really saw her much. A girl from Germany who lived on the 4th floor returned to her home country. And just yesterday, my neighbor, Marylin moved out, and she's headed to Spain to live with her fiance there. She met him on a bus when he was here visiting New York. At the end of his week-long stay, they were engaged. He's been back to visit her once since then, but they have basically only spent about 2 weeks total in the same country. I've already told her all the practical things...he might just want a green card...he might want her money...he might be...anything! She barely knows him! But she's promised she's not going there to marry him right away. Oh, well. It's her life. Anyway, now there are three empty apartments in my building not counting the one that has been empty since I moved in almost a year and a half ago. So, if anyone needs a place in New York, let me know! I'm pretty sure I live in the cheapest building in Manhattan.