Next time, just hail a cab.
Today was an adventure in pushing my body's limits. And let me tell you, those limits do NOT like being pushed. Not to mention, passing out on a subway platform is not very becoming on me.
So I went downtown this afternoon to help Ryan move "some things" (his words) up to my/our apartment from his current place. As soon as I walked in his door I was not pleased. A giant box containing what looked to be the biggest microwave I have ever seen, and a cart containing more clothes and a toaster. I told him we already have a microwave and toaster, but he said his mom insisted he take them with him anyway. He has plans to just sell them, but in the meantime, it was up to us to move them uptown. So with a handcart with pretty shoddy wheels containing heavy boxes with a toaster on top AND a mini-fridge sized microwave, we went forth to bring said items uptown.
Now, any normal person would look at this array and think, "Throw it in the trunk of a cab!", but not Ryan. For whatever reason (probably financial) he seemed to think we could do this all ourselves via walking, subways, and elbow grease. Geographically speaking, he lives in Chinatown, which is far downtown east. I live in Harlem, far uptown west. It's not a straight shot. There's walking on crowded streets, subway transfers, and stairs. A LOT of stairs. We had a sense of humor about it as we sweatily navigated through 90 degree Manhattan with 10,000 lbs. of his stuff. Finally as we were on the 1 train, all seemed more or less golden.
But then it wasn't. We were standing and talking, when all of the sudden my vision started to go dark. Before I knew it I could hardly stand and I ambled my way to the only open seat in the subway car. I could only sit for 2 stops before we had to get off. As soon as we carried his things off the subway, my vision went black again, the noise around me sounded dim and muffled, and I couldn't stand up so I braced myself against the wall and kneeled on the ground. I don't remember much of what happened during this time except Ryan left me to deal with his stuff and some guy kept asking me if I needed a doctor. The guy stayed with me to make sure I was okay until Ryan came back. As much as I adore Ryan, I was irked that he'd leave me alone on the subway platform when I was in such a state of disorientation. Maybe it was only for a split moment, maybe it was for several minutes or longer, I really can't recall. Either way, I somehow made it the 3 blocks to my apartment where I promptly guzzled a 1.5 liter bottle of water and put some food in me.
Right now I feel fine. After eating dinner, showering, and basking in the AC, I'm back to me. Although I have my 2 hour fencing class tomorrow morning and am worried that a repeat of today might occur. I asked my mom and she seemed to think that as long as I'm feeling good again, I should just make sure I keep super hydrated before, during and after my class and keep some fruit/carbs on hand and I should be fine.
So what did I learn today? That overexertion in the summer heat is NOT a good idea, and that the next time Ryan enlists my help to move his things in, we're hailing a cab.
In other news, guess who's in the NY Times? My favorite Paris projectionist Teddy! To see what the Paris Theatre projectionist booth looks like and hear some of his stories (which I've heard a million times, thank you), check out the article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/17/nyregion/17ink.html?ei=5070&en=468b5ea4ceb91922&ex=1185595200&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1185501148-v1VJ/+JUE48esiRdoWxE9Q
6 days until Orlando.
13 days until Cincinnati.
42 days until tour....
So I went downtown this afternoon to help Ryan move "some things" (his words) up to my/our apartment from his current place. As soon as I walked in his door I was not pleased. A giant box containing what looked to be the biggest microwave I have ever seen, and a cart containing more clothes and a toaster. I told him we already have a microwave and toaster, but he said his mom insisted he take them with him anyway. He has plans to just sell them, but in the meantime, it was up to us to move them uptown. So with a handcart with pretty shoddy wheels containing heavy boxes with a toaster on top AND a mini-fridge sized microwave, we went forth to bring said items uptown.
Now, any normal person would look at this array and think, "Throw it in the trunk of a cab!", but not Ryan. For whatever reason (probably financial) he seemed to think we could do this all ourselves via walking, subways, and elbow grease. Geographically speaking, he lives in Chinatown, which is far downtown east. I live in Harlem, far uptown west. It's not a straight shot. There's walking on crowded streets, subway transfers, and stairs. A LOT of stairs. We had a sense of humor about it as we sweatily navigated through 90 degree Manhattan with 10,000 lbs. of his stuff. Finally as we were on the 1 train, all seemed more or less golden.
But then it wasn't. We were standing and talking, when all of the sudden my vision started to go dark. Before I knew it I could hardly stand and I ambled my way to the only open seat in the subway car. I could only sit for 2 stops before we had to get off. As soon as we carried his things off the subway, my vision went black again, the noise around me sounded dim and muffled, and I couldn't stand up so I braced myself against the wall and kneeled on the ground. I don't remember much of what happened during this time except Ryan left me to deal with his stuff and some guy kept asking me if I needed a doctor. The guy stayed with me to make sure I was okay until Ryan came back. As much as I adore Ryan, I was irked that he'd leave me alone on the subway platform when I was in such a state of disorientation. Maybe it was only for a split moment, maybe it was for several minutes or longer, I really can't recall. Either way, I somehow made it the 3 blocks to my apartment where I promptly guzzled a 1.5 liter bottle of water and put some food in me.
Right now I feel fine. After eating dinner, showering, and basking in the AC, I'm back to me. Although I have my 2 hour fencing class tomorrow morning and am worried that a repeat of today might occur. I asked my mom and she seemed to think that as long as I'm feeling good again, I should just make sure I keep super hydrated before, during and after my class and keep some fruit/carbs on hand and I should be fine.
So what did I learn today? That overexertion in the summer heat is NOT a good idea, and that the next time Ryan enlists my help to move his things in, we're hailing a cab.
In other news, guess who's in the NY Times? My favorite Paris projectionist Teddy! To see what the Paris Theatre projectionist booth looks like and hear some of his stories (which I've heard a million times, thank you), check out the article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/17/nyregion/17ink.html?ei=5070&en=468b5ea4ceb91922&ex=1185595200&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1185501148-v1VJ/+JUE48esiRdoWxE9Q
6 days until Orlando.
13 days until Cincinnati.
42 days until tour....