Living in NYC 101: Blisters

Living in New York City, there are many options for public transportion: subway, bus, taxi. But the cheapest, and by far the most frequent, way of transportation is walking. Most of the time, wearing comfortable shoes is not a viable option when working at an office, and so I've been wearing simple but appropriate shoes.

Which still thrash my feet. I walk almost a mile to work, and then any activities I do after work is just icing on the cake. Of metaphoric blisters. I didn't know that the skin on my toes could bubble so much, or how many layers of skin could be worn away.

The remedy, the blessed remedy - or at least source of relief - is the Duane Reade, the druggist which dots the street corners. There, I purchased for a grand total of $13 Dr Scholl's arch support insoles and heel cushions and the generic Duane Reade corn and bunion cushions. (I was in Sports Authority the other day and saw foot support for runners; would probably also help, not sure if they'd go inconspicuously with your 5-inch stilettos, and didn't check the price point.)

These things help. Help. Not cure. There is no cure to blisters, other than completely staying off your feet and letting your cells work their regenerative magic. Even then, when you do decide to walk outside again, the problem will just reappear.

I suppose alternating shoes, and thus the areas which are rubbed raw, should ease the concentration of pain on any one area, but that would be spreading the "joy" of blisters to all parts of the foot. Monday and Tuesday might be pain-free, but by the end of the week I don't know if I'd be able to walk...

En fin du compte, blisters constitute a ceaseless struggle with the City. To be continued?

Another Concert in the Park

Or an attempted one, anyway.

Whilst at work, my sister emailed me about an extra ticket to a Black-Eyed Peas concert happening in Central Park later in the evening. No one else in her acquaintance had jumped on it yet, so I did. Whoo, I had something to do in the evening! I was getting nervous that I wouldn't have something to write home about tonight.

After I ate my dumplings, I met my sister at her office, and we made our way to Central Park together. We came out of the subway station and were awash in people, all trying to get into the Park. My knee-jerk reaction was to turn tail and head home; it wouldn't be worth fighting all the crowds. However, I steeled myself and figured this was New York City. There are crowds. Deal with it, self. Tickets to this concert were done by free raffle, so there were bound to be loads of people. And besides, you're a student in a very expensive city - standing in lines for free things is the experience. Ooh, memo to self: write editorial post on these kinds of experiences and feeling happy that I'm having these experiences because I ought to have them instead of enjoying them for their own intrinsic value.

As we were standing in line to get into the Park, the heavy, humid clouds gave off a flash of lightning. The crowd said "aah" in its usual mindset of "entertain me" and "everything is a spectacle." It was at this point that it started to rain. Umbrellas up (my sister had advised me to bring two), and we started to mosey forward like a bunch of cattle wielding pokers. It's a mild feat to walk forward while keeping of track of someone as you hold an umbrella and avoid poking multiple people's eyes out, mind you.

In our cumbrous fashion, we moved forward until it really started to rain. At this time, it was about 8 p.m.; the concert had been scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m., but it had been delayed for rain. One member of our party had cancelled on us, and the other member was AWOL. Well, the cry went through the crowd that the event was cancelled; a woman standing near us confirmed the fact by looking at the concert's Facebook page.

We were, in a sense, quite washed up.

To avoid the crowds coming home, we started heading home. Walking in a summer rain, even in New York City, is enjoyable, and we walked all the way home. We stopped about every ten minutes for a photo opportunity, to talk to someone (on phone, and actually my sister ran into someone she knew outside of FAO Schwartz), to eat waffles with spekuloos from the Waffles & Dinges food truck, or to take grungy photos of ourselves eating food outside of posh stores. It continued to rain sporadically, the heat was still oppressive, but the pavement was awash in bejeweled light, spilling from every building side and lamp onto the pavement.

Like Edinburgh, New York City has its own type of starlight.

Walking, walking, and more walking

I am walked out. Before coming to Edinburgh, I knew that I'd have to walk to a lot more places, and that the city was much more spread-out. However, there is a difference between knowing such a fact beforehand and actually having to experience it. Walking is all I seem to do here (gross exaggeration).

Last night, I missed the bus to Family Home Evening for the Young Single Adults, and I didn’t want to stick around waiting for the next one, so I walked. The terrain is completely flat, so it's not hard, it just takes a while, and when my shoes are not very comfortable, it makes me less inclined to want to make the journey.

Coming back after the activity, I managed to catch the bus. It was a mere ten-minute ride. It’s amazing how much more quickly one can get around with a car - and the difference conversation makes, because I met a fresher who goes to Church and lives only a few blocks from where I do (yay a bus buddy!). 

And not to say that I didn’t try to catch a ride home with someone; as far as I know, none of the Young Single Adults who attended tonight have cars. Some will soon have cars, but that is not helpful at this point in my life right now.

So, the take-home point is that the journey to Church is very long. Enjoyable, just lengthy.