Hi! I’ve had a few weeks off with no obligations besides socializing and running errands. May is often my favorite part of the year for this reason. I finish my finals, go home, and I can see summer stretched out in front of me.
Inevitably, spending extra hours on the internet begins to feel exhausting and claustrophobic, so I have to leave my apartment and go outside. I’ll often get on the subway and exit at a random stop to walk around, buy a cold drink, and window shop until my feet get tired.
In the spirit of venturing outdoors, the ADHOC categories of the week are A Walk in the Park, Dining Out, Haircut, On the Train, and Climbing.
A: A Walk in the Park
I make an excuse to go to Central Park almost every day. Today I ran a slow four miles in the 80-degree damp air, passing strangers and watching them pass me. Yesterday my brother and I walked across the Great Lawn to go to the Strand bookstore, where I got a signed copy of Good Material by Dolly Alderton and he got two books I don’t know the titles of.
I wrote an essay about the Bridle Path during freshman year of college. It’s a 1.7 mile loop in the park that wraps around the reservoir, and I used to take it to high school every day. This is my favorite excerpt that I think captures the mundane wonder of parallel lives intersecting, just for a moment, in this one place.
It’s early morning, and New Yorkers are on the move. As I trek along the Bridle wearing my twenty-pound backpack, I pass stay-at-home moms in athleisure, gripping the leashes of their labradoodles. Herds of shirtless cross country boys in too-short shorts displace the gravel around me with their quick, powerful strides. They’re getting their workout in while it’s still brisk out, before the sun hits the path. A father and son, both impeccably dressed, pace to elementary school drop-off hand-in-hand. The dad has a business meeting in Midtown in forty-five minutes. The boy, though he’s only in third grade, is wearing a uniform: navy blazer, khaki slacks. They speed up after giving each other a knowing look—in New York, early is on time. God forbid either of them is late.
When I was working remote in New York two summers ago, I’d take a quick walk around the park during my lunch break. It was my favorite part of the day. People who walk often also live longer. Before meeting my friend Iva for a picnic, I passed by a film crew and a dozen people with their phone cameras out by the south end of Central Park. I asked a woman if she knew what they were filming. “Sex and the City, I think.” She grinned, and then turned away from me to click record.
D: Dining Out
I love New York restaurants more than I will ever like the ones in New Haven. Eating out can be an entire evening’s activity. I’ll get dressed, put makeup on, pack my little bag with hand sanitizer and lip balm and headphones. I’ll take the Subway, or if I have enough time, I’ll walk to wherever the dinner is. I think conversations are more fun at restaurants, in the dim light, amidst dozens of other voices. Here are three places I’ve visited recently:
Cho Dan Gol is owned by Hand Hospitality, the trendy Korean restaurant group that has taken over K-town, but it feels more like a mom and pop shop. We waited an hour at a nearby rooftop bar, where we drank baby-pink cosmos next to an after-work event full of finance guys. By the time we sat down we were so hungry we could have ordered anything. But we got beef hotpot, spicy rice cakes, and a seafood pancake. It was all salty and spicy and delicious. I love banchan (the assortment of side dishes) at Korean places, because they’re different wherever you go and so fun to eat.
ma de was a reminder that some food is really made to be looked at (and photographed) instead of eaten. Everything on the menu sounded so good, but the execution was a little bit off. The butterfish was too salty, the white asparagus was lukewarm. The ramp hummus was awesome. I am not a picky eater, but I want to spend money on food that I wouldn’t be able to make better myself.
Winona’s (Pop-up by
and Nadia Gilbert) was in a part of Brooklyn I had never been to before, wedged between tiny parks with playgrounds and three-story apartment buildings. The interior was bright and warm, with hanging plants and a disco ball and evening light glowing through the sheer curtains. We ordered five dishes. My two favorites were the Taste of the Land, which had the most delicious Armenian string cheese and za’atar, and the katafi wrapped shrimp with herb oil and pomegranates. I appreciated how all of the flavors were comforting but not totally identifiable (at least to my palette). I felt like I was trying new things but in the least intimidating way. The spritz I had was also delicious. My friend Chris and I got to meet Pierce at the end, and he was lovely. 10/10 experience.
H: Haircut
I haven’t cut my hair since November, which doesn’t feel like that long, but some of my guy friends get a haircut every three weeks. I cut my own bangs in deep Covid (April 2020), and I’ve kept them (in some form) ever since. So I was starting to feel a little bit exposed when they grew out.
I’ve been getting my hair cut at the same place for like 10 years. I feel like a new person.
O: On the Train
Trains are by far my favorite mode of transportation. You don’t get motion sick. They aren’t subject to traffic. You can read or do homework or chat with the person next to you. On my way back from school, I aggressively texted my friend for the full two hour ride, with my knees curled up against the seat in front of me. I always take the train home for breaks, and it gives me a dedicated window to reflect on the last couple months at school. I’ll usually write about my friends, my classes, how I’m feeling.
I really do think of the Metro North as the connective tissue from home to school, and I love it more than it makes sense to love an old, slow train. It’s getting some updates, though! I took a special express train on Sunday and the trip was 99 minutes (instead of 2 hours) for $18.25, which isn’t bad at all.
Obviously I also love the subway.
C: Climbing
On Saturday, in between baking and decorating pavlovas, Phaedra and I walked to City Climb, a rock climbing gym 20 minutes away from campus. The outside looked like a warehouse, and the inside smelled like sweat and chalk. There was a little kid’s birthday party happening in the top-rope section, so we had to try bouldering.
I think of myself as pretty athletic, so the entire climbing experience was very humbling. I couldn’t finish most of the routes, and I couldn’t pull myself up even when I had my hands in the right places. I used to get annoyed when I saw guys who think too highly of themselves post self-timer climbing videos, but it was a ton of fun, and I was incredibly sore for days.
Yesterday, I went again in NYC, at a gym a flew blocks away from my apartment. I tried to convince my brother to come with me, but he was “sore from his arm workout” and “had to meet a friend for lunch.” So I walked over alone, filled out the virtual waiver, and rented a pair of shoes and a bag of chalk. I started doing all of the V0’s in the gym, then the V1’s. I was surprised by how much better I had gotten in just one visit. My movements felt smoother. I tried more ambitious foot placements. I tried to push from my legs, rather than pull with my arms. I did one V2 successfully.
I stayed for an hour and a half. At the peak, there were around 8 other people in the room with me. Everyone was mostly quiet. Some had headphones in. An hour in, I was attempting a route that I had failed two times earlier. A man who was much better than me stood back and started to encourage me from below. I grasped at the last hold and fell ten feet to the mat. I let out a little yelp. “Almost,” he said. “So close.”
That’s all! Love you!
these are so fun! hot girl walks always
The last time I took the Metro North into the city it broke down and they had to transfer us car by car to a new train. There was this buff old middle-aged man who made it his duty to re-explain everything the announcer said in authoritative tone. He gave other passengers directions as if he were a military officer. He was friendly, but addressed the situation as if every detail was of dramatized significance.
Last night I was traveling on the D to meet my friends up in Hamilton Heights and someone in the second car kicked out the subway window, which we promptly ran over. The conductor had to get out and check underneath each car bed to see what the issue was. The crew couldn’t really go radio silent, so the woman on the announcements would whisper when she had bad news she wasn’t excited about the passengers hearing, and spoke loud and clear when she received good news. At some point during every announcement, she made sure to include that we would be “moving momentarily”. The whole ordeal took an hour but the people in my car were in surprisingly good spirits.
Sometimes the city can blend into story-less faces and utility if you don’t take time to stop and be present with the people in your environment. Train failures turn an experience that is usually solitary in nature and focused on getting from point A to point B, into an opportunity for something humane and communal. NYC trains are the best.