New in Town

A few definitions:

The New York Subway - a metal box with windows that flies through and under the biggest city in America. Carries anything from hammered junkies to Wall Street's finest. Every class, type, size, ethnicity, and color of humanity clump together at rush hour like sardines while an eerie silence floats through the air and a monotone male caucasian voice calls out the stops. Babies cry, ipods rap, suited men smirk and students try to sleep as we fly in unison through the rat-infested tunnels waiting for our respective stops and thinking about what we'll do when we get there.

I think the subway is one of the most interesting places in the world. I guess I'm new to the whole experience, but where else are incredibly different people forced to share the same twenty by six foot space? It's a beautiful thing. I can barely stand it, and I've been making a point of starting conversations on almost every ride I take. Yesterday I sat next to a guy covered in skull tattoos who was reading a Martha Stuart book. What?! How could I not talk to him? It is a writer's paradise where characters sit next to you breathing the same air, waiting for the same stop.

The craziest thing about the subway, though, is the silence. At rush hour, we are crammed butt to butt, groin to groin, face to face with complete strangers. In Minnesota, the uncomfortable situation would force us into small talk. Not in New York. We all just stand there and pretend we have already arrived at our own destinations. Of course there is the guy in the back singing the newest Kanye West song to himself and the two girls next to the door gossiping about their mutual friend who is cheating on Ryan, her one-year boyfriend. But the rest of us? Nothing. I think it's hilarious. I think it is sad. I don't know what I think. It's weird how people can be lonely in a city of millions. I hate loneliness. I hate it.

Astoria, Queens- Twenty minutes from Manhattan. (I've found that in New York, you rate every place based on its proximity to Manhattan.) One of the most diverse places in New York. I heard over ten languages my first day here. Up and coming - which means that its close proximity to Manhattan will soon attract semi-rich people and make it more expensive next year. Greek restaurants, actors and anyone else you could imagine. My home.

My first five days in New York - Confusion, ambition, exhaustion, excitement, exploration, late nights, early mornings, new people, getting lost, job hunting, wine, subway, cooking, Twins losing, writing, prayer, dealing with a new kind of freedom.

Random notes:

I'm getting headshots taken next Thursday.

I joined a running club which runs through Central Park. They are intense, and I'll be sore tomorrow.