Things we love, Pt. 2

Plastic Bags

To illustrate a point, Kitty and her sister-in-law got a slice of red velvet cake at Cakeman Raven, home of the Best Red Velvet Cake in New York. After they inhaled their dessert, they walked up to the counter, saw a black plastic bag hanging from a hook and started to throw out the plat...

"Wait, wait, wait... that's not trash! Those are my c.d's... $10 bucks each?"

New Yorkers carry around plastic bags full of things. In Colorado, one would have a backpack, preferably from Columbia. In Seattle, one would have a man purse from R.E.I. Here in New York, you get little plastic bags and stuff as much in as you can.

Oh, and the other thing? Stores in New York don't spend any money on those fancy plastic bags. In Colorado, you'll get your "King Sooper" bags, clearly labeled with the grocery store name and/or "Have a nice day!" Here in the city, all the plastic bags are white or black, whatever is cheapest.

Frequently, you will see a woman, dressed to the nines, carrying a black plastic bag filled with God-knows-what. Maybe, you'll be in the financial district and see a man in a three-piece suit with a large bag with a toy for his kid.

Plastic bags, not just a socio-economic marker anymore.

Video games in the City

As you know, I'm a bit of a video gamer. Since arriving here, I've not had very much opportunity to play. Ever resourcefull, I have found a new "game" that fills the need. For those of you who don't love or know video games, here are some descriptions of all the games that you will need to understand this blog entry:

Tetris- A game where you have falling blocks that drop down a chute. You rotate them and organize them into lines. Key skills: Spacial relations and timing.

Unreal Tournament- Looking to the picture at the right, you will notice a gun in the lower right part of the screen. Imagine you are holding the gun, running around a "virtual world" and shooting all sorts of enemies. While it looks brutal and socially irresponsible, it is basically a game of tag for grown-ups. Key Skills: Aggression, Hand-eye Coordination, memorization of maps and locations.



A Space Shuttle Launch- Technically this isn't a game. Rather, it is the art of going from a stand-still to very fast in a short amount of time.

If you combine all of these things, what do you have? A taxi ride in New York City. I had the dubious pleasure of taking a cab to a clients house this week and at the very instant I shut the door, the cab went from zero to 35 miles per hour. Pressed back in my seat, the driver laid on the horn and yelled, "Where do you want to go?"

"86th and Park" I yell over the horn and the screams of a woman with a stroller who nearly was run down.

"No problem, buddy!" The cab slices between a truck and another cab with only three inches to spare on each side only to slam to a stop at a red light. As I pull my face off of the plastic divider between the front and back seats, Cabby yells again, "So what are you? Arab?"

"No," I say, "Just American." He asks about my geneology and he roars off again, weaving through the cross-town traffic. As I describe my lineage, I feel myself pulling from right to left in the back seat as he cuts in and out, tapping on his horn and complaining about the sweltering heat and humidity of NYC in June.

I like rollercoasters and rides and I consider my stomach to be stronger than average, but when I got out at the clients house I am thoroughly rattled. I throw some bills, collect my receipt and stagger off, hoping I won't throw up in a multi-million dollar apartment.