colorblind
due to an "incident at 34th street" this morning, my usual train line was delayed at 23rd street to a point where i had little choice but to select an alternate route to work. leaving the station, i found the weather to be pleasant enough for a stroll, opting to forgo the obvious cab or bus across town to another uptown line. at the same relative time, the battery to my ipod decided to give out, leaving me at one with the soundtrack of the city.
it has been quite some time since i've walked quite so far alone without music to keep me company. it's also an interesting experiment to redefine one's morning commute. so much of it is such a routine, from the crossing signals that i always just miss, to the tree stump in the sidewalk that i purposely seek to step on between lex and park. in fact, perhaps the seasons (reflected in the trees of madison square park) are the only part of my commute that do really change with any frequency throughout the year.
and with the exception of the slight inconvenience and a little bit of unwelcome perspiration, i absolutely loved mixing things up. i chuckled in tempered amusement when a park-worker knocked over the trashcan he was emptying and began to jump around and scream obscenities about the mysterious flood of liquid that gushed into his shoes (notably taking a beat to laugh at himself). i sized up the line of carrie bradshaw wannabes queuing up at the diane von furstenberg sample sale on 5th. i paused to watch the unfolding show at the intersection of 39th and broadway where a hardened window-washer on a bicycle took on a mack truck for nearly running him over, cursing and literally flexing his muscles, inciting the driver to climb down from the cab for a spontaneous street brawl--it's amazing how eventful such an uneventful morning can be.
no matter where we are, our daily routines are so mundane, and we go through our motions so blindly, it is truly refreshing to take a bit of time now and again to smell the roses (or whatever happens to be permeating from the nearest corner).
it has been quite some time since i've walked quite so far alone without music to keep me company. it's also an interesting experiment to redefine one's morning commute. so much of it is such a routine, from the crossing signals that i always just miss, to the tree stump in the sidewalk that i purposely seek to step on between lex and park. in fact, perhaps the seasons (reflected in the trees of madison square park) are the only part of my commute that do really change with any frequency throughout the year.
and with the exception of the slight inconvenience and a little bit of unwelcome perspiration, i absolutely loved mixing things up. i chuckled in tempered amusement when a park-worker knocked over the trashcan he was emptying and began to jump around and scream obscenities about the mysterious flood of liquid that gushed into his shoes (notably taking a beat to laugh at himself). i sized up the line of carrie bradshaw wannabes queuing up at the diane von furstenberg sample sale on 5th. i paused to watch the unfolding show at the intersection of 39th and broadway where a hardened window-washer on a bicycle took on a mack truck for nearly running him over, cursing and literally flexing his muscles, inciting the driver to climb down from the cab for a spontaneous street brawl--it's amazing how eventful such an uneventful morning can be.
no matter where we are, our daily routines are so mundane, and we go through our motions so blindly, it is truly refreshing to take a bit of time now and again to smell the roses (or whatever happens to be permeating from the nearest corner).
posted by mark at 1:52 PM
1 Comments:
I love it when I get to walk through the city on my way to work, too (though it hardly ever happens, I'm almost always running late). I also love walking around not listening to music, just the city...I always keep my headphones on still, though, so people won't talk to me. I guess that's just the little bit of New Yorker that's gotten into my system!
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