i am so getting a kick out of this

when i was in new york with my aunt we got stopped by a guy who asked if we wanted our photos up on times square. we initially said no, but eventually i went back and said to hell with it, i won't be coming back any time soon, so i might as well. so here it is. my photo up on times square, taken from another building. i just got the photos today.:



oh, and visit this site.

it's supposed to be "i love to blog." oh well. :D back to work.

on subway rides and people

i took my first subway ride the last monday when i went to meet up with lily. she gave me instructions on how to get to where i was supposed to go, so armed with a piece of paper with instructions on it, i ventured out into the big bad world.

the first thing i noticed was that most people had earphones plugged into their ears, which was not surprising considering that i had the same things attached to my head like aberrant tentacles. when i sat down i proceeded to people-watch, a "hobby" i got into to alleviate boredom while waiting.

people hardly look at you when you get on the subway. nor do they look at you during the trip. they get immersed in their own world, wearing their weary i've-been-sitting-here-forever-i-can't-wait-to-get-home look. being a tourist i am pretty sure i didn't wear that look, or at least i hope not. i avoided eye contact. i didn't think they would appreciate a stare from me.

a few minutes later an old man with a trolley and a saxophone came on. i felt a tug around the area of my heart as i noticed the careful way he held his sax, and how his fly was open even though his shirt looked carefully tucked in. he leaned onto a hand rail, switched the gadget in the trolley on and proceeded to play.

the trolley had a player which started blaring out an accompaniment to the man's "the lady is a tramp" rendition. he was surprisingly good and i found myself switching my ipod off to listen. the lady seated in front of me looked at me, made eye contact, and smiled. we were the only people who gave change to the guy. i wanted to clap, but realized it was probably not welcome. the old guy made a tiny bow of thanks when we gave change, and hopped off at the next stop.

several people came on, asking for money/food for some reason or the other. i did my best to not listen as guilt flooded my being. i know that they were probably just scams but a nagging voice at the back of my head kept saying "what if it's true?"

i kept my built at bay and my wallet hidden. and then a tall black man came in. he had no thumbs and said he had had them blown off by a bomb when he was in the service. he now coached some team or another, and was not doing drugs or booze. he asked for change and the lady at the corner who had ignored all the people getting on or off gave him some change. the guy graciously said thank you and said that if the rest didn't have change, he would take a smile.

i could do that! so i smiled at him and he smiled right back, telling me i had a nice smile. the people seated in front of me stayed stoic and he called them the no-smiling section. that made me smile again and on his way out he looked over at me and told me to have a nice day.

i got off the train smiling and feeling a bit less guilty.

it's amazing how people react to things. i guess i enjoyed the people watching and i think i learned a bit more about people in general. who would have guessed? all in the span of one metro ride.

accidental fan

i have never been a fan of tennis. i mean, i used to watch it with my mom but that was it. it's not that i don't like the sport. it's just that i get TOO involved and more often than not i end up jumping on the couch and shouting like a madwoman. incidentally, i have the same reaction when i watch movies, particularly the thriller and suspense, and the horror genre.



anyways, i arrived in new york last saturday and i found out that the semifinals for the US open was ongoing. i shrugged it off. then i found out that they had to move the finals to monday because of the rains. i was going to be in brooklyn monday. we managed to get tickets at a not so steep price and off we went.

i was rooting for federer, but when andy murray started playing like he wasn't there in that court, i found myself screaming and cheering for murray. if only to watch a longer game. it got to the point that i was praying his game would pick up. my knees felt weak, my heart was pounding, and i felt a panic attack coming. (i told you i get involved.)


unfortunately, federer won in 3 sets. and i stood up and cheered with the rest of the crowd.




it was my first live tennis match and though it could have been better, it was still a memorable experience for me. and the fact that harry connick jr. sang at the beginning clinched it for me.



p.s. federer has yummy legs.