productivity and galavanting

i was actually productive this weekend
i did all the reading for my classes
i did a little bit of work stuff
and i redid the russian club website [again]
i don't know what i've done with myself,
but i'm not sure i like it

i went up to the bronx today
which means i've now been to the four boroughs that matter
[sorry staten island, no one cares bout chu]
i didn't plan to go there today
but events and books conspired to make me go
goddamn cuny library system doesn't want to work for me
so instead of waiting for the book transfer system,
i just went and got the books myself
i have to say, lehman college has a pretty nice campus
it's actually got trees and grass and shit
go figure

we've finally stumbled upon a place that's open all night
[since nothing else in manhattan seems to be]
granted, it's al all–night starbucks,
but it's better than nothing
and there certainly are some interesting characters there
gotta love people who get coffee at 2 a/m

it rained again today [big surprise, yeah?]
but this time, i just happened to be outside and looking for distraction
so, instead of sitting in bryant park under the trees and reading,
i decided to go for a walk in it
i am happy to report that even in the midst of urban sprawl,
surrounded by douchebags in suits and tourists
[and THOUSANDS of umbrellas]
rain–soaked walks are still as cathartic as ever
though drying off in the hot/humid subway tunnels was a bitch

getting along

i have to say,
the more i wander around the lower east side,
the less impressed i am with it
though that seems to be a more general east–side thing
i've generally liked the upper west, hell's kitchen, chelsea, and greenwich better
more than upper east, alphabet city, lower east,
and whatever the fuck the call the neighborhood east of midtown
i think i'm going to call it 'pretentious–as–shitville'

my classes are really shaping up well
they're all taught by awesome professors,
and even though they all run two–three hours a piece,
i can't say i mind it that much
[i'm also saying that not having to work eight hours before hand yet,
so that might change here in about two weeks]
so far, all the reading has been really interesting,
and we've even taken a field trip
[we went to the african burial ground near city hall]
certainly shaping up to be more exciting than another semester at msu

also, what with this weekend being labor day weekend,
there's a huge west indian parade in crown heights on monday
which i am definitely going to go see
it's supposed to be the best parade in new york,
though i suppose i'll have to wait and see it for myself

i think i had something else i was gonna say
but i'll be damned if i can remember what it was
so i guess that'll have to be it for now

food poverty

i am gonna go so goddamn broke eating in this city
there's way too much good food for my own good
from the awesome falafel/schawarma place in greenwich village
to the halal and mexican carts everywhere
shit's gonna drive me to the poor house
[at least i'm taking the most delicious way there]

i'm currently on a quest to get all my semester books from the city libraries
cuz, as interesting as some of these might be,
i'm not spending any money to get ahold of them
i got about half of them from the nypl
and, i gotta say this,
the main building [the one with the lions] is kinda underwhelming
i was expecting a bit more pomp and stuff in it
don't get me wrong, it's an awesome building with great architecture
[it'd be better if the façade wasn't hidden by scaffolding]
i was just expecting a main hall more like the nyu library
but damn, do they have a good selection of books
i could get used to a place with a library that isn't smaller than my house

in other social news,
i seem to to actually be making some friends out here
which, trust me, is a shock to you and me both
there are some pretty chill people in this program
[chill meaning when we're not in class, we talk about things besides labor]
we've all hung out and had some pretty good times
so at least i've got that to look forward to this semester
better than living out in brooklyn/queens by myself,
and not seeing anyone besides maureen on the off chance she's home

also?
there's a hurricane a–comin'
how it makes me miss the good ol' days