I wish you another strong year of creative achievement
Thursday, December 31, 2015
You know you've lived in New York a while when seeing crowds gathering for New Year's in Times Square is just another spectacle best avoided on the way to work. That said, I'm amazed I've been beginning my work days in such an iconic place as long as I have. Crowds of gawking individuals aren't really my thing. That is, given the choice, I wouldn't make them part of my daily routine, because they're difficult to get by on the sidewalks when I have some place to be. I will say though, I really like seeing "Aladdin" and "Amazing Grace" when I exit the underground each work day
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
On Sunday evening I had this plan to stay upstate with my family, wake up at 7, drive more than 3 hours to New York City, and then go to work from 1:30 to 10 pm. My cousin had just visited with his wife, friend and baby daughter, and given my afternoon shift the next day, it only made sense to sleep at home. I forgot about my ancient history with insomnia.
I tossed and turned until 5 am. I slept until 7, stayed in bed until 8, and thanks to plenty of assistance (breakfast, healthy snacks for the road, absolutely necessary positive encouragement) from my parents, I got on the road at 9:20. I made it to the city by 12:30, which is when the street cleaning period ends and I can park without worrying about it for more than a day. I easily got a spot, climbed the hill with all my bags, took a five minute nap, and then went to work.
Now, this may have been the sleep deprivation skewing my perception, but I think I actually did a fantastic job. I mostly owe that to tea, Excedrin, and the energy you get from people, especially when you've just had four days off and spent time with family. Even though I had been utterly convinced it was physically impossible for me to fulfill my day's duties, my mother's comment about "men used to stay up for three days straight when they were on a hunt" seemed to ring true. I not only made it through the day, but I feel as though I excelled.
What's more, I barely had a free moment to myself. While riding the subway between jobs, I met an ex-con truck driver who had supposedly killed someone thirty years ago (while trying to steal from a truck). He had a lot of liquor on his breath, so who knows if any of it was true. Then, when I got above ground, I ran into a Mexican student, so we talked about New Year's and tequila, and then soon we ran into a student from Ukraine, who had just enjoyed copious amounts of vodka for Christmas.
Somehow I made it through the night classes with lots of energy (the students being in a good mood certainly helped), and then slept a really long time. Today I did not teach as well, because I gave it my all the day before. It's funny how that works sometimes.
That said, we did learn some interesting things today. We learned that the world wide web was first available to the public on 8/6/91. Then I learned from an Iranian blogger that people barely read blogs (or anything of length, for that matter) anymore, and that's something we have to work on if society is to be worth anything truly interesting. Or something like that.
I'm not sure, I'm still tired.
We'll see how tomorrow goes.
I tossed and turned until 5 am. I slept until 7, stayed in bed until 8, and thanks to plenty of assistance (breakfast, healthy snacks for the road, absolutely necessary positive encouragement) from my parents, I got on the road at 9:20. I made it to the city by 12:30, which is when the street cleaning period ends and I can park without worrying about it for more than a day. I easily got a spot, climbed the hill with all my bags, took a five minute nap, and then went to work.
Now, this may have been the sleep deprivation skewing my perception, but I think I actually did a fantastic job. I mostly owe that to tea, Excedrin, and the energy you get from people, especially when you've just had four days off and spent time with family. Even though I had been utterly convinced it was physically impossible for me to fulfill my day's duties, my mother's comment about "men used to stay up for three days straight when they were on a hunt" seemed to ring true. I not only made it through the day, but I feel as though I excelled.
What's more, I barely had a free moment to myself. While riding the subway between jobs, I met an ex-con truck driver who had supposedly killed someone thirty years ago (while trying to steal from a truck). He had a lot of liquor on his breath, so who knows if any of it was true. Then, when I got above ground, I ran into a Mexican student, so we talked about New Year's and tequila, and then soon we ran into a student from Ukraine, who had just enjoyed copious amounts of vodka for Christmas.
Somehow I made it through the night classes with lots of energy (the students being in a good mood certainly helped), and then slept a really long time. Today I did not teach as well, because I gave it my all the day before. It's funny how that works sometimes.
That said, we did learn some interesting things today. We learned that the world wide web was first available to the public on 8/6/91. Then I learned from an Iranian blogger that people barely read blogs (or anything of length, for that matter) anymore, and that's something we have to work on if society is to be worth anything truly interesting. Or something like that.
I'm not sure, I'm still tired.
We'll see how tomorrow goes.
Monday, December 28, 2015
Saturday, December 19, 2015
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Friday, December 4, 2015
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