25 September 2006

ongoing randomness

I am wildly excited about my classes this semester. They are more work than I know what to do with - every one of them seems to want to have a big paper and a big presentation and a big moot court and... - but they are all fascinatingly about the topics I want to learn about: immigration, war, environment, justice. They all fit with the things I was doing this summer and what I want to be doing when I graduate. I'm excited to go to them (almost) every day. Except when I'm not, but that's rare.

On Saturday I took my little break and rode NJ Transit (free for students last week) to Princeton, where I no longer know anyone but I do know two things: the Bent Spoon (best ice cream in the world; I got coconut sorbet twice in one afternoon) and Small World Coffee (best almond capuccino and ginger molasses cookies in the world; I savored the capuccino and saved the cookies for later). So I walked around on the pretty campus and enjoyed the trees and the grass and being anywhere but the concrete city. On the way down, my enjoyment of the train and my music was hampered by a guy, surely a 2006 college grad, who insisted on 1. sitting next to me, 2. talking loudly on a cell phone about his new job in the city, so loudly that I kept turning up my music to deafening volumes in the sound-reducing headphones and still heard every word he said, and 3. not being quiet when I glared at him repeatedly, so that I had to finally say something to him and then he got up acting all annoyed and moved to the space between the cars. I felt like I had been mean and like one of those older people who yells at young people enjoying themselves, but really. He was the only one doing this annoying talking in the entire car. It had to have been bothering everyone and it was definitelybothering me.

But, lest you should think I encounter only people like this in my city life, here are two examples of really nice people:
  1. When a friend of a friend found out that I have a locker way down in an inconvenient spot (particularly since the golf elbow doesn't let me carry much in my arms or even on my back because it pinches the nerve), she offered me hers, completely unsolicited. It was so nice that I hardly even know if I dare take her up on the offer.
  2. I stopped to buy juice this morning at a place that squeezes it fresh in front of you. I ordered a small and got approximately the biggest cup of orange juice I have ever seen. I think it was twice as big as the size I ordered and paid for. It took me all day to drink it, but I think I've had my vitamin C for the day/week/month, now.
Oh, and speaking of my job this summer, which I am still doing, I get to travel for it next week. Travel! Okay, only for a day, but no one has paid for me to travel in quite some time. I am excited.

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