hit by a school bus...a short one none the less

it's true. i was in the middle of switching subways for my homeward bound commute when i noticed. i stepped off the first subway and i took a deep breath. i smelled the aroma of sweat, soot and mold. off in the distance i heard something with a beat, so i followed it. as i drew closer to the sound, the remix version of beverly hills cop danced around in my ears, and my heart beat widly with anticipation. what could it be? someone listening to their i-pod too loud? no, it couldn't be, the sound was too rich and real to be streaming through someones earphones. as i continued to follow the rhythm, i stumbled upon a large crowd gathered around. my heart beat faster and faster and i tried to peer through the crowd, but being short didn't help. but then, as someone moved out of the way, there it was. the most glorious thing i have ever seen, a tear formed and tumbled down my cheek. there was the one thing that i had been looking for to make my life complete (sorry, noah). as the person finished moving out of my line of sight, i caught a glance of my very own......OMARION. well, not really Omarion in the flesh, but good enough. there they were...half dressed, sweaty and spinning around on the floor to the beats coming out of their 1986 boom box. a plethora of asian and african americans bending and flexing in ways i didn't know existed to the beat of music. guys had their shirts off, girls had their jeans rolled up, and all were entertaining the crowd and each other. i was watching when all of a sudden someone said, "you just mad, 'cuz today, you suckaz got served." actually, that didn't happen, only in my head, but it would have made my experience complete. all too sudden, i had to leave. as much as i would love to hang out in the subway and breathe rotten air, i had to go to catch my train. but as i walked away, i felt complete and whole. people getting served really does happen, and i think it makes the world a better place. don't worry, Omarion impersonator, i'll return to watch more serving.

on the subway the other day, i noticed a cut on my pinky finger, and the first thought that came to my head was, "oh my gosh, now i have aids." thanks to noah sending me some stats, the third leading cause of death in NYC is AIDS. living in the city is an experience, but it is making me paranoid. now, i am not judgmental, nor do i live my life by statistics, but you can't help but wonder, "what if?" i know that i am being overly dramatic. what's next, i fall down and bruise my knee, now i have scabies. i get sneezed on by a stranger, now i have cancer. i brush up against someone on the street, now i'm pregnant...it never ends. i also think a big part of my paranoia is being by myself. having no one makes someone overly paranoid. all i need is one friend in the city, and then i wouldn't be scared of everything...hell, i could make out with some stranger and not even think about getting oral gonorrhea. j/k, i don't talk to strangers, either.

ok, so, for those of you who don't know, i am in new york city for the next 4 months while i do an internship with VH1. i voluntarily threw myself into this chaotic city, and i fear it might eat me alive, that is, if the flesh eating bacteria from the subway doesn't get me first. i am living on an island right next to manhattan called roosevelt island, and it mainly consists of apartment buildings and grocery stores...oh, we have a post office, too. the city is really pretty at night (in case you have never seen it) and times square is nuts with all the lights. i do, however, sometimes miss the normalcy of ortonville/oxford/mount pleasant. i miss the $1 pints of beer and the hicks that chew tobacco and spit in a cup. i don't think i could ever get used to paying $8 for a gallon of milk and seeing 8-year-olds that are more gangster than any adult i have ever seen. i think that coming home in may will be a huge relief, and i won't have to tote hand sanitizer with me wherever i go.