christmas

So it was christmas yesterday. I just got home. I decided that I was gonna spend this christmas just wandering around manhattan and talking to strangers. I think the holidays are a perfect time to just talk to people randomly, its not that easy regularly in NYC. People's guard just seems to be down this time of year and they are more open to other people. Its a very rare inviting feeling in NYC. The first encounter was actually initiated by a man on the train. He just sat next to me and said "excuse me" and then went on a very long rant about how awful the MTA service is and how its never on time and unreliable and how he hates that the fare is getting raised to $3 this summer. He went on to talk about how the MTA exploits low income NYers as they have no other option to get around. I sat and listened to him for a while and then chimed in a thought of mine. He replied with "oh, god. I didn't even think you spoke english." I find that kind of amusing that in a city like NY so full of strangers this man just wanted to speak regardless of whether he was understood or not. We went on to talk about a lot of issues such as paranoia and anthropology and the need to just leave NY sometimes. We talked of the church and of bars and of irish residents in brooklyn, we covered alcoholics anonymous and being homeless on 42nd street. And then I wished him a merry christmas. The next encounter was very brief. As I was getting out of the train station a lady asked me if I would swipe her in, no please, just bluntness. I swiped her in, she said thank you and left. I started to wander around and admire the lights on the trees and the couples walking around spending christmas together. I gave all my change to a homeless woman and had a conversation with a doorman at Armani Exchange. The doorman talked about how he has to work on christmas and that the employer has no heart. How he was going to go on a cruise with his fiance to Chile and Colombia and wanted to sneak his own liquor in because it wasn't included into the 3000 dollar ticket fare. But with the state of the economy he had to postpone this trip. We smoked a cigarette together and then parted ways, I continued wandering and he went back to his post. After that I somehow ended up on 42nd street talking to all the various hotdog vendors looking for a pretzel that didn't cost $3, finally I found one for $2, I savored it. I had a short conversation with a black guy who saw me admiring sneakers in a shop window and asked if i was interested in anything, as he had "blackmarket" connections. Afterwards he commiserated with me about the fact that I didn't have enough money for anything that I wanted and we parted ways. I wandered around central park and on the outskirts ran into 2 girls who were looking for the building where John Lennon was shot. I regretted not knowing the answer and kept wandering. I found the building and thought of those 2 girls looking way in the wrong area for it, but there was nothing to be done about that. I kept wandering and luckily ran into those girls again and told them that this time I knew where the building was and pointed them in the right direction. That was pretty much everything and me and my friend hopped onto the train and went home. I think that this was a pretty awesome christmas filled with random encounters and strangers. It is nice to realize that it really isnt that difficult to talk to people, and comparing this day to life, it seems that life is just a series of random encounters. The guy on the train was called Brian btw. I like him and I wish him lots of luck. He wants to pack up and leave NY but he cant seem to find the strength. If any of you run into a brian on the N or R line in NY, let him know that his friend Rostislav says hi. Merry Christmas everyone