Dueling Majors

Here's something a bit different, a post for my more literature-centric readers. You never get to hear from this side of my brain though, so enjoy this passage I stumbled upon in Wordsworth's Preface to Lyrical Ballads. I'm afraid of the implications it has for someone, such as myself, who is a Journalism/English major.

"For a multitude of causes, unknown to former times, are now acting with a combined force to blunt the discriminating powers of the mind, and unfitting it for all voluntary exertion to reduce it to a state of almost savage torpor. The most effective of these causes are the great national events which are daily taking place, and the encreasing accumulation of men in cities, where the uniformity of their occupations produces a craving for extraordinary incident, which the rapid communication of intelligence hourly gratifies."

...Story of my life.

The Stare

Saturday I attended my first event for my new job as publications intern at the Temple University College of Education, the Dean's Fall Reception. In order to get to the restaurant, I took the Broad Street line to Olney where a co-worker picked me up and drove me the rest of the way to Germantown- so nostalgic, by the way. On the train a crazy man decided for some reason to target me with his loony antics. He sat next to me and began loudly speaking gibberish, insisting that I acknowledge him. I glanced and then continued reading. This angered him so he reached over and tapped my arm. I'm not really a fan of being touched in general, especially by strangers and even more especially by crazy strangers. I snapped up from my book and said, "No!" very firmly. He just stared at me blankly. I held his gaze for close to a full minute, scolding him in my head and channeling my most commanding demeanor, while simultaneously praying that he would just move on to the next victim in his little game. Finally he looked down and sat quietly for the rest of the ride. When I got off at my stop, a guy who had seen this take place- like the rest of the passengers- came up to me and said, "How did you do that?"

I spent a month in Brooklyn one night

Once again I am guilty of shameless neglect of my beloved blog. I don't forego blogging just for the pleasure of having my ramblings requested, honest- I'm not waiting for a written invitation and I'm purposely not going to say, "Back by popular request." Cliches aside, here is my attempt to get back in the swing of things.
Two weeks ago I visited my good friend at PRATT in Brooklyn. It was my first excursion to said temple of hipster-hood and I must say it was everything I had hoped for and more. It was also my first experience with Megabus transportation, and I was most impressed. I for one am even glad that they allowed the nice couple to bring their adorable sick kitten on the bus, despite the regulation against it.
Upon arriving in Manhattan, Arline and I grabbed some victuals in the form of splitting a veggie burger in a restaurant called Trailer Park Burgers- don't let the name fool you, they were NYC priced burgers. After wandering around Chelsea a bit, it was time for another first: a journey in the Subway. An aside, I'm fairly sure I rode the Subway once before with my mom on a school trip in seventh grade, but this memory is so hazy that I'm really not sure it happened. Three transfers later and a hop a skip and a jump and we arrived at PRATT. The campus was beautiful and I especially liked the wicker tree huggers and the metal pillows (used as a fire escape, I believe). Don't let the prestige fool you, the best thing about PRATT is the aptly named Pratt-cats. Why was I treating Pratt as if it was an acronym? Is it? I'm going to desist until further research.
Arline and I then ventured to Pete's Candy Store. It is not, in fact, a strip club, but rather a very small, hip bar. We enjoyed free live music and slightly pricy beer and made some new friends in Hey Ana (check them out):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atT7fBRkDTA&feature=youtu.be

The next morning, I convinced Arline to lead a trek all the way to and across the Brooklyn Bridge. It was so worth it. For me, it conjured up images of The Newsies, for Arline, Kate and Leopold. We strolled along, heroines in our own big apple escapade, taking in the sights, sounds and smells.

I've always enjoyed visiting New York City. When I was 14 I asked my dad to take me to New York City to go ice skating at Rockafeller Center- more movie induced dreams no doubt. We walked all the way from 52nd Street to Greenwich Village to go to Trash and Vaudville. I always find myself wondering if I could ever live in New York. I'm still uncertain. I'm holding off on purchasing an I Love New York t-shirt though, just in case that's where fate leads.