MTA and memories

So my vacation to NYC is coming up soon, and I started doing some homework last night in preparation of the great getaway. Since I won't be driving, four of us will have to commute across the Big Apple. I went to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority(MTA) to familiarize myself with the subway/bus routes. I saw the subway map for the first time and this is the abysmal complication of blueprint I gazed upon:



Look at that. What the hell is that!? It makes the TTC map look infinitesimal. The map is not complete but I superimpose a rough L-shape image over it, with little flowers sprouting from the top left corner of the city (where the Bronx is). We'll be staying in a hostel in Brooklyn which is south-central, and we'll be travelling probably every line on that map as much as humanly possible within four days.

My self-written itinerary boasts vists to the Empire State Building (observatory deck also), the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island fairy, Brooklyn Bridge, Madison Square Garden, Times Square, Chrysler Building, Ground Zero, Central Park, and maybe some projects in a couple of the boroughs. My plan with that was for all of us to take a cab and make him drive through the gangster-ridden locales while I quickly snap pictures with my SLR and document the true gangsters in their natural habitat, robbing people, bumming weed, and staring down my cab with icy eyes. LOL. These visits on the itinerary aren't suggestions, they're mandatory tourist points that I HAVE to see, or else I stay there forever.
I will be updating my blog daily while I'm in New York. The hostel claims they have free Wi-Fi access points, and free breakfast and linen too ^_^.

Alright time to jump into Hyperspace.
Last weekend seven of my friends and I saw the film UP in 3-d. Terrific film, it was my second time seeing it. It was funny that for a moment in the film (during its sad turning point near the beginning of the film) there was pin-drop silence in the theatre because the audience could not believe the likes of such a tragedy (comparable to Mufasa's death in The Lion King fifteen years ago). I found that I never knew my friends were capable of such compassion for a character. Like no talked, NO ONE. We all stared in silence at what was happening on the screen. Of course I had already seen it, so I knew it was on its way, but my reaction to their reactions was that I found it stunning. They were all looking at the character and feeling sympathy. It was so silent in the theatre a mouse could fart and wreck the moment. I knew they all felt sorry about what had happened in the movie. The movie was enjoyed by all regardless and afterwards we talked about it. They all agreed it was well worth the 13.50 for the 3D picture, and for the movie itself.
On a similar note, I remember at one point in my life when my friends and I (the same ones that are alongside me today) would talk about video games and TV and all the leisurely things in life without a worry but to get home on time to watch Digimon. Now our conversations are rich with credit card concerns, driving tickets, getting more hours at work, and relationships. What happened to the simple talk? Not that I mind these new subjects that have predominated our discourse over the last five to six years, but I just miss what we USED to talk about, ya know? It's funny when I visualize these things in retrospect I see all that has come and gone and I miss it a lot. I do a lot of reminiscing, especially while listening to my iPod. I remember the sweltering summer days spent in the pool or running around the block playing cops-and-robbers or manhunt and taking the TTC (ten of us at a time) to watch the new wave of Marvel movies like Spiderman, Hulk, X-men, etc. Those days are long gone now but I still remember these memories like they took place last night. I read somewhere recently that one sense brings back memories moreso than any other, and that is the sense of smell. When you smell something you haven't in years, a feeling of nostalgia overwhlems you and you start travelling back in time while standing in the same spot, also while other people are standing around you and wondering what the hell you're doing. Believe me, it's happened to me before. Smell triggers visuals immediately for me.
Anyways, I must get back to completing my itinerary, I will blog back shortly with updates.

-BLOG OUT-