Saturday, June 30, 2007

Blog Tag - Modified

So I don't normally believe in things that get sent around in a chain-letter type fashion. There is just something that scares me about it (especially when information from these chains ends up being read from the pulpit in sacrament meeting). So, to honor and respect my sister I will respond to the Blog Tag list of things, but I refuse to pass it on to anyone else.

Random Facts/Habits About Me:
1. I regret not having more regrets from both high school and my freshman year of college.
2. My freshman year in college I urinated on the Y with a coed group of about 20 people. I don't regret it.
3. I once put a tomato in my brother's bed and didn't tell anyone about it until 10 years later. He always thought it was one of his friends.
4. I don't think I've gone a single day in the last 10 years without eating some form of chocolate.
5. I've seen every cycle of America's Next Top Model except number four, and I'm going to watch it the first chance I get.
6. I constantly have a list in my head of the order of people I like the best to people I like the least. I review it at least once a day.
7. I'm 100% convinced that my nieces and nephews are cuter than anyone else's--Just look at the links to the side.
8. On the outside I am a 22 year-old middle class white man but on the inside I am a 300 lb. black woman.

The New York Subway

I've always loved mass transportation systems. There is something that is wonderful about a whole bunch of strangers being squashed into a smaller physical proximity than they have shared with their family and close friends. At one point I got deep enough into one tunnel that all you could smell was hot garbage. Anyway, two highlights made riding the subway an even more joyous experience that it already would have been.

Highlight #1 - Crazies
There are plenty of insane people in the world, but the number of those seems to double when you are in a big city and triple if you are riding public transit (and multiply exponentially if you are a missionary). I got on my normal subway stop for the morning and was standing next to this disturbed man who was loudly using profanity in extremely creative ways. At the end of a minute or two he would stop and yell "Next question!" and then proceed with what was apparently a very vulgar interview with himself. A few stops down the line a woman with the biggest hair I have ever seen in my life got on and stood at the other side of me. Keep in mind I have lived a substantial amount of time in two of the big hair capitols of the world--Utah and Detroit--if anyone knows big hair, it is me. Anyway, this woman starting singing to herself in a very high-pitched crazy voice. At one point the two realized that the other one existed (which is strange because they didn't seem to know that anyone else was in the traincar) and they started interacting with each other. It was hilarious to be in the middle of this conversation even though I cannot really describe anything that was said.

Highlight #2 - Advertisments
I got on the subway on a different morning and found a usual standing spot. After getting settled I looked up and saw this sign:


It was a breath of fresh air from the usual "Get Tested!" and "Do you have Chlamydia?" ads I normally saw. Apparently this company has gotten some grief for their shocking marketing campaigns, but for someone who loves scandal (aka me) I thought it was wonderful.