My Personal Bubble

Living in a crowded city like area like New York, space is a luxury. From roommates, to crowded subways, to crowded elevators, one can easily lose their personal space. But people here have developed a talent that allows them to create their own flexible personal bubble.

Space is all in the mind. No matter how close in proximity you are to people you don’t know, if your mind is somewhere, then, voila! you are in your own bubble. Headphone and books make you oblivious to your surroundings. Staring at nothing also keeps you occupied in that long subway ride when you forget your headphones. But there is always that jerk that bursts everybody’s personal bubble. The trick is to tell that jerk to ef off (which I don’t do), give the jerk a withering stare (which never gets results), get away from the jerk (this I do, if the jerk is insufferable) or let go and go back to your personal bubble.

Ahh.. only in NYC can one be so close to another person yet so far away.

Walking in the Streets of NYC

Some important things I learned when walking in the streets of NYC. In no particular order.

ONE. You can jaywalk. It’s ok. Even with a cop right in front of you. But jaywalk at your own risk because

TWO. Cabs will run you down. Yes. This surprised me because I lived in Manila where cab rivers are also pretty aggressive. In NYC, cabs don’t stop because you are crossing the street, especially if you are jaywalking.

THREE Look carefully at both sides before crossing the street even if it’s a one-way street. Sometimes, bicycles or rollerbladers can appear out of the blue in the wrong direction of a one way street. This is especially true in some neighborhoods.

FOUR Yeah, and walk fast, especially during rush hours. Please! I wanna catch my train.

Happy walking New Yorkers!