Observations of the City

The apartment buildings are super old…50 years old is considered new. Tall stairways in elevator-less apartments all lean to one side after years of climbing feet.

There’s less blond hair walking around…a lot more dark hair.

The squirrels are huge and just as jittery as anywhere.

There’s a lot of dog poop on the sidewalks.

Homeless people sometimes sing.

Walking around you hear as much Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, French, Russian, etc., etc., as you do English (maybe more).

Most people aren’t rude, they’re just focused on what they’re doing and where they’re going that they don’t take any extra time for pleasantries.

Restaurants are usually small with tables for two. Takeout is as popular as dining in.

Walk North or South in Manhattan for 10-15 minutes and you’ll noticeably change neighborhoods. The people, the shops, the air will all become something new and distinctive.

Lots of people ask for directions. Especially about where 8th Ave. is (this has happened to me 3 times in the past week…I’m going to have to go check out 8th Ave.).

Most buildings have a sublevel accessible by a trap door located just outside on the sidewalk. These are often left open and can be dangerous for a careless pedestrian.

Metal grates line sidewalks and provide ventilation for the subway underneath. I walk on them a lot and wonder if it’s safe.

There are specialist lawyers who work exclusively on cases involving trapdoor and metal grate accidents.

Pizza slices are eaten folded up and while you walk fast down the street.

The Statue of Liberty appears when you least expect it…like from the window of a plane, a view between two skyscrapers, or from the Ikea Brooklyn cafeteria.

NYC: days 1 – 4

It feels like college in some ways. I think that’s mostly because my room reminds me a lot of my college dorm room—a long rectangle with a tall ceiling surrounded by white stone walls and a heating pipe that runs beside the window. The room is also furnished in a similar way with a bed and a simple desk and chair. This leaves a whole lot of white wall…a prospective canvas for elaborate photo projects later on.

The building in which I live is also like my college dorm…tall, brick exterior, built a while ago. There are several of these same buildings all together filled with residents (many of them young people) so it gives the feel of a community—just like living in the dorms.

Then there are the buses that idle and roar outside my window from time to time…just like when I was in college. At least there aren’t any loud hall mates shouting over video games next door.

There’s also this sense of excitement at the newness and open-endedness of my new home. Like my first few days at college, my first few days here have been a time when every new restaurant I pass or person I meet has the possibility of become a new part of my life.

New York is a massive collection of things…people, buildings, ideas…and every time I walk around town I watch and observe all the things I see. I’m in an observing/analyzing mode as I try to understand my new home and how to live here. So far I love it…I love the potential for growth, new friendships, and new discoveries. I’m also a bit intimated by everything. It’s like a big bellowing machine with grinding and steaming parts that I don’t fully understand, but I know can crush a foot or chop off a hand if I’m not careful.

Hmmm, maybe that’s too harsh…but the dirty subway is a bit scary—especially compared to the comparatively clean, high tech system found in Japan.

Anyway, I’m liking the feel of the city…the convenience of my apartment…and the gradually unfolding of life here.

First sight

The plane eased downward through the clouds as the pilot announced our descent into the New York City area. I looked out the window at the gray and white mass of clouds wondering if I would be able to see much of the city from the air. The crowded plane murmured and chirped as the passengers prepared for the landing.

Suddenly the clouds broke away and the sky was clear, the setting sun bright over the land. I saw some buildings and roads…then water…and then a thin green figure far below. Green figure? OMG, the Statue of Liberty?! YES! That’s the Statue of Liberty! And Ellis Island! And that’s Manhattan!

The rigid and crowded cityscape of New York rose sharply from the flat water and I gawked at the chaotic browns and grays of the buildings. I couldn’t believe all the buildings and roads…this was New York City…this was my new home.

The plane turned and my view of the city was blocked by the wing. A moment later we were bouncing on the runway…and soon I was standing outside the airport repeating my address over and over in my head so I could confidently tell it to the taxi driver.

As I rode in the cab towards Manhattan, the tall peaks of the buildings were constantly in view in the distance. I looked at everything trying to absorb it all; a tall man carrying a load of roses, two police officers chatting on the sidewalk, a guy on a skateboard pushing past cars at a stoplight, a woman pulling a dog in a wagon. Everything was New York and I felt like I had so much to learn.

I crossed the street to me new apartment building smiling like a kid. I was excited, but a part of my brain was refusing to believe it all and assured me this was a dream. I was in New York…to live in New York…to start some kind of new life in New York.

Pharaoh’s tomb and cardboard boxes

Recently my dad and I got the chance to go see a special Ancient Egyptian and Tutankhamun exhibit in downtown Atlanta. Both being learned scholars of ancient history, we enjoyed the exhibit that covered a lot of the 3,000 years of Egyptian civilization with a special focus on the tomb and relics of Tutankhamun. The entire exhibit contained hundreds of artifacts and lots of information on ancient Egypt and really gave us a sense and image of that long ago empire.

The description of Tutankhamun’s tomb upon opening in 1922 was a “series of small rooms cluttered with objects from floor to ceiling.” The scene that met archeologist was overwhelming due to its historical uniqueness and value, and also because it meant one heck of a clean-up job for them (a job that took nearly 10 years to complete all the examining, preserving, and cataloguing). But through it all the researchers were rewarded with beautiful and significant artifacts that stirred their hearts and imaginations.

I have had a similar experience here at my parent’s house going through old boxes of stored stuff from my past.

Instead of a stone tomb, I have a garage and bedroom; my relics aren’t in golden vessels covered in hieroglyphs, but rather come in cardboard boxes scrawled on with black Sharpie. The dust and cobwebs are the same…and the stirring of emotion that comes with examining the items found inside.

There are books from university that remind me of my favorite classes, toys and action figures from childhood to my early 20’s, clothes I would never wear now, and pictures of friends and events from the past ten years. A lot of the items carry a peculiar “time lag” effect with them…even though they aren’t that old, they are from a pre-Japan life when I was quiet a bit different in some ways from who I am now. Things that were cool to a “university student Justin” seem a bit immature to the “world traveler Justin”.

One example, these cups with Adult Swim characters on them (black, foreground) and two large plastic cups stolen from my university dining hall (clear, background).



At one time they were trophies and reserved for special drinks (like the sometimes imposing mixed drinks my friends and I attempted at age 21-22). But now their context is lost in myth and would really only make sense to a handful of close friends.

This is just something I was thinking about…and decided to write about it instead of packing and filling out my tax returns. NYC in T-minus 2 days!

Countdown to NYC

In less than 2 weeks I’ll be living in New York City. I have my one-way plane ticket and a place to live upon arrival. My bags are yet to be packed, but I’ve had a lot of practice doing that, so no worries.

I’m leaving the heart of the south on February 14th, Valentine’s Day. I think that’s pretty cool. If nothing else, it gives me permission to avoid the “Omg! I don’t have a sweetheart on Valentine’s Day!” drama that can arise. I’ll be too busy trying to confidently hail a cab and walk hurriedly through crowds of fashion-savvy New Yorkers.

It will be really hard to leave the south…and my family. I’ve enjoyed my time here so much…and it’s been invaluable time to reconnect with family and places that serve as my foundation. I love the south more now than ever before…and I think I had to go to Japan to be able to really appreciate the culture and charm of this part of America.

In the last 3 months I’ve eaten a lot of good food, given and received a lot of warm hugs, and watched a lot of stupid TV. I’ve cried and laugh and yelled and apologized to people who I’ll always love and been reminded of where I came from and how much potential I have to go wherever I want.

In this time of transition and change, I’m reminded of one of my favorite Tolkien poems…a few lines that seem to sum up my life at this time:

"The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And wither then? I cannot say.”

True dat.