Why I love living in NYC
I just started working at this program that tutors preschool kids at a daycare between Harlem and Morningside Heights. This morning, I got up at 7:30 in the morning to volunteer at this literacy festival, "Read out Loud" at a local public school. We started the day with 1,200 donated books, plus 400 more author donated (and signed) books, and 20+ boxes of promotional things like highlights, Captain Underpants hypno rings, Election Day posters, and millions of Scholastic bookmarks (all of which I was in charge of distributing). By the end of the day, we were completely out of books and were down to half a box of loose brochures and bookmarks. It was amazing to see these kids walking out with arms piled high with stuff, all for free. Of course, I managed to snag some things for myself, Madeleine L'Engle's Wrinkle in Time b/c believe it or not, I've never read it, a magazine on Leonardo, and two pieces of kid painted artwork. Not a bad day at all, despite the 8 hours I spent on my feet.
After I got home, my friend and I decided to wander around Riverside Park and kick around a soccer ball. I'm terrible, and wasn't wearing the right shoes, and I was exhausted. But even so I scored a goal! After that we had yummy Korean food, and watched Robin Hood for like... 3 hours. Around 10 some friends called and said we were going out. They told me they'd had a bet for 3 weeks not to eat meat. This was the final night and we were all journeying down to 53rd and 9th for the best chicken and rice in the city. Skeptical, I only went because they offered me beer. In my friend's room, we had some Coronas and watched the best part of Gone With the Wind. Then we set out.
The subway went straight from 72nd to 42nd, so we had to get out and walk 11 blocks. Part of the time we were all looking for bathrooms b/c of all the beers we'd consumed. Luckily we found a 24 hour Starbucks in the nick of time. the whole time walking those long 11 blocks, the boys kept assuring us who'd never been that this was the best chicken and rice in the city and possibly the country. We got there, waited in the block-long line, recieved our steaming hot plate of rice, chicken, lettuce and pita and piled them high with "white" sauce and hot sauce, then sat down to enjoy.
And you know what? It was pretty damn amazing.