Reflectgions on a trip to NYC

I arrived in Penn Station at 5 pm on Friday. I was not happy, it was crowded, announcements to be on the look-out for suspicious activities were blaring. Luckily there was money on my MetroCard and I didn't have to take time out to add to it. Around 8 my conference ended and I headed west on W. 4th to find my friend Kim, her new friend Shawn, her old friend Kelly from Kansas city and old friends from Pitzer, Carrie, Sarah, and Sarah's fiance. The restaurant was crowded, loud and not very good. On the streets after 11 there was not enough room to stand. I was NOT feeling New York.

As we got on the subway, I was not happy being in New York. Walking onto the subway, I was joined be Melvin, an old friend from my time in New York. We chatted Knicks and Bulls, Yanks and White Sox. He's a Brooklynite through and through and my love for New York was restored before he transferred trains.

The next morning I stopped with Kim for bagels at her bodega at 7:30. We waited in line behind a man rattling off numbers for his lottery selections. He and I chatted about money management as we walked through the rain and into the R train tunnel. "I don't know why people use banks," he said, "I don't trust anyone with my money." He vowed to keep only $1 million of his lottery winnings and to give the rest to Katrina victims.