Fitness Fashion

Contrary to my own firmly held assumptions, 33 degrees is apparently not too cold to sport midriff-baring low rise leggings for your post-yoga walk to the subway. 

Supporting my own firmly held assumptions, it is important to double check the size of any midriff-baring low rise leggings before finalizing your purchase, lest you inadvertently end up strolling down 42nd street wearing leggings two sizes too small.

KP goes back to TS in the NY

Thursday 1/13:  I have been avoiding Times Square for over a month now, for several reasons.  The crowds were probably a little worse, or at least a little more aggressive and ornery around the holidays.  I was certainly crankier and less equipped to remain calm and appreciate things during the last couple weeks of December.  Also, taking the B train cuts a little time off my commute, an important feature when getting out of bed at all is a feat requiring great strength.

But this morning, perhaps by fate or the intervention of the universe, I looked up to realize that I was at Nevins Street, having missed my chance to transfer to the super speedy B train.  So I stayed on the 3.  And I was rewarded, welcomed back by one of my least favorite places in the world, with offers of many things to learn.  The shoving and selfishness and getting in the way of people getting off the train was in full effect.  I joined in, passive aggressively running into a guy who was in my way.  But coming up the stairs, I could hear the Ebony Hillbillies playing.  Starting the work day with live music is really pretty amazing.  The sun was shining brightly over the trees of Bryant Park, all the way down 42nd street.  It is bright enough to feel warm, but not so bright that it hurts my eyes – it’s different, less aggressive than the afternoon sun.  And while the manic flashing lights and traffic are there in the morning, Times Square manages to feel like it is still a little sleepy too, that it needs to move a little more slowly and gently.  The slush made the blue-painted pavement look like the surface of a lake.  The streets and sidewalks felt strong and grounded and ready to accept all the people and movement that would inevitably come their way today.  That’s something to remember tonight – that even if the people and lights are moving and crazy, the ground is still and solid. 

What amazes me is that I learned all this and was even given some joy by a place I really truly can’t stand.  I trade relative comfort and a little time for the stronger experiences of anger, outrage, astonishment, joy, and surprise.  It was a real lesson that when we make efficiency the greatest good, so many other things are lost on the way. 

In a stroke of amazing timing, I was wondering this morning whether I wanted to keep writing this little project, or whether it was no longer valid.  Simply by going from thinking about plans to moving, the answer came to me, I didn’t have to look for it.

Things I learned in December

Wednesday 12/1:  Mormon missionaries aren’t always pairs of 20 year old blonde young men.  Today I saw a man and woman in their 50s with their little black nametags on.  Also, the Chinese music duo is back to two musicians.  And, as crazy as Times Square is, I still felt a twinge of self-consciousness as I put my jeans on under my skirt on 42nd street.

Thursday 12/2:  I wear clogs a lot.  But today, wearing smaller-soled shoes, I discovered that the strip of yellow plastic with raised dots, whose primary function is to warn passengers that they are dangerously close to the subway tracks and oncoming trains, feels just like a foot massage, and that sometimes it can feel good to make more direct contact with the ground I’m walking on.  Also, if the Ebony Hillbillies are playing Times Square in the morning, it is worthwhile to stop and listen.  Time will slow right down. 

Friday 12/3:  I took a break from Times Square today, opting instead for the B train to Bryant Park.  People were so considerate – at every stop, every person in the door looked around both ways to make sure no one needed to get off.  People stepped aside, even out of the train to make sure people could get off.  People moved their hands up or down on the pole to make sure everyone had a reasonably comfortable place to hold on.  Remarkable!

Monday 12/6:  A mid-afternoon walk on a windy and gray December day led me to walk along 42nd street, across from Bryant Park.  A slightly old but familiar song snuck up on me over the hum of bus engines, and I realized it was coming from the Salvation Army bell ringer.  He was dancing and ringing his bell in time to the not-so-classic Smashmouth song “Walking on the Sun.”  It’s a bad song indeed that can make you wish you were hearing “All Star” instead, trading in 1997 for 1999.  But I suppose I would always trade 1997 for 1999.

Monday 12/6 addendum:  The evening commute brought me to Times Square.  I was feeling as grey and cold as the evening when I walked down the stairs to the best free stage in the city, where a quartet of young white guys were playing Dixieland Jazz.  There was a banjo, some sort of soprano saxophone that didn’t sound like Kenny G or Marian Meadows, a bass made from a 5 gallon wonder bucket plastic food container with a broom handle and a string, and a drum set make of a box the drummer sat on, a snare, and an old V-8 can for a cymbal.  They played “I’ll Fly Away,” which had me crying and smiling and singing along.  Then, just when I thought the moment couldn’t get any better, an Elvis impersonator walked over and started dancing, and I danced with him. 

Tuesday 12/7:  Despite a firm commitment to stay on the 3 train and ride it all the way to Times Square at the very last minute in the Atlantic Ave stop, I decided to switch to the B instead.  I got to work painlessly and on time.  Then my co-workers were talking about how no trains were going in to Times Square because there was a suspicious package on the street that shut down the train station.  Yay for avoiding a bomb scare!

Friday 12/10:  When people almost run into each other trying to get to the train, even though they think of each other as enemies and obstacles, it looks like they are dancing. 

November Wisdom

Thursday 11/11:  Apparently there is sufficient demand for Red Lobster in New York City to cover the rent on a location at Broadway and 41st Street.

Friday 11/12:  Stone Temple Pilots is coming out with a new album!  I should add that the year is 2010.

Monday 11/15:  The universal, frantic, relentless pursuit of individual self-interest guarantees that no one’s self-interest has any possibility of being met.

Tuesday 11/16:  On a gray and rainy Tuesday morning in November, accompanied by the roar of traffic, the flashing lights, and the distant cry of a siren, even Times Square can seem quiet.

Wednesday 11/17:  The Orient Wind Chinese Music Duo is comprised of five (5) musicians.

Thursday 11/18:  One must be vigilant lest one’s choice of boots cross from “funky fashion” to “old medical bandages” or “mummy who stepped in a mud pit.”

Friday 11/19:  Even when you try to avoid Times Square, if only by one block, the universe and the subway system can conspire to bring you there against your will.

Monday 11/22:  The Salvation Army bell is a powerful force, able to slow the pacing of commuters to its rhythm.