Headlines: Subways, Jay Z, The Voice, Kate, Margiela, Gangnam

1. A 58 year old man was struck and killed by a train near the Times Square subway stop in New York City. You can read the horrific story here. This isn't the first time someone is struck and killed by a train, but what makes this story special, I guess, is that there's an image of the man struggling as the train approaches. The NY Post placed the image on the cover with the headline "DOOMED - Pushed on the subway track, this man is about to die." You can view that image here. The photographer of the image, R. Umar Abassi, went on the Today show to tell his side of the story. You can watch the clip here.

2. In lighter news concerning the subway and NYC, Jay-Z's 24 minute Barclays Center documentary "Where I'm From" was released. There's a sweet clip of Jay Z and his entourage getting on the subway to Brooklyn for his last show. He sits next to "an old lady" who is actually an artist herself, Ellen Grossman, and has a humble conversation with her. Watch the sweet clip here.

3. If you haven't heard, Kate Middleton is pregnant. In his own words, my boyfriend (who is the last person to know what's going on with celebrities and really doesn't give a flip) said "She has morning sickness. Why the hell do I care?" and I agree with him. But it's news, and everyone and their mother knows, though I doubt my mom knows... I might be wrong.

4. I'm obsessed with reality singing shows, just not American Idol. The first season was all they needed. Go Kelly! I stopped following after that. But then I got obsessed with The Voice and now X Factor. Obsessed is the wrong word because I actually just watch clips on Hulu/Youtube, but I am rooting and booing for some people. Well, Melanie Martinez (I love impersonating her singing) and Amanda Brown got eliminated. Both Christina Aguilera and Adam Levine's teams are out. As for X Factor, I'm rooting for the 13 year old Carly Rose... something. I haven't checked yet, so I hope she's still in the running!

5. Margiela and H&M collaborated and... it failed. Less than two weeks after the launch, you can find the new items in the clearance section, with markings up to 85%. And customers who bought the items cannot get a price adjustment, and if they returned it, would be refunded at the current selling price. There's always eBay (which is what I'll be doing, dang it). I shouldn't be surprised because this is exactly what happend at Uniqlo with Undercover. I should know better.

6. Lastly, Psy's Gangnam Style is the number one most viewed youtube video, reaching almost 1 billion viewers and he's making a lot of money from it. And more than half of the viewers don't understand a thing Psy is singing. We live in a strange world. I still find it strange to walk into a Harlem supermarket, and all of a sudden Gangnam style begins to play. Oh what a strange world we live in.

My Hurricane Sandy Experience

The day before the storm, I decided to stop by my neighborhood market. I guess everyone decided to show up too.

9 months in the city

I need them to see

I had to walk to 8th avenue again. The D was running on the A track again. The rain stopped, and I also stopped to take a deep breath, filling my lungs with my favorite aroma. I love the after rain smell, the smell of the rain hitting the dry pavement.


I hung up on Francis, ending our long conversation that should be saved for the road trip. Topics like loneliness and memories shouldn't be discussed at 2 in the morning with 952 miles between us.

Once I wobbled down the stairway towards the turnstile, the D train arrived. I can't believe this normal occurrence made me so happy. The D train arrives all the time, but the fact that it came right as I entered the station makes me believe in miracles. It won't take me an hour to get home tonight.

There was a young man, I presume in his late twenties, tall, dirty blond curly hair. He reminded me of a skinnier Seth Rogen. From the corner of my eye, it looked like he was tying his shoes, or putting on his shoes. I stared ahead, and there were three other people, sleeping. I liked how they were all evenly spaced apart. I walked past the man fiddling with his shoe and sat three seats away from him. I had to make sure I was keeping with the trend of keeping a good space between me and the next passenger.

I took out my Trader Joe's bag of onion chips. I forgot to take my thirty minute break at work. I really was enjoying them until I saw the man with the shoes walking towards me. I kept munching, this time aggressively, with chips falling on my lap. I was trying to scare him off.

"Where did you get your glasses?"

Really, sir? At this time? "Korea," I said.

"I really like them. I ordered a pair like that online."

I kept eating.

"You know, I just googled the glasses place. It's probably from Korea. It looks a lot like yours."

 The train was running local and I couldn't stand having a conversation with a stranger about glasses for the next thirty minutes. I stopped eating, placed the bag in my tote bag, and smiled.

"This is 59 street," said the conductor in a whisper.

"Well, you have a good night." The man with the shoes and new glasses walked away from me, toward the opened doors.

March to May

I took the A train today

I took the A train today, and if you work, you know the A train going downtown is always packed. I once was lucky to walk in and find a seat by the door.  The thing with the subway in New York is that it's unpredictable. I saw the C train running on the B/D track. The A train became local all of a sudden and would only stop at certain stops. The L stopped working and I think it was because of the guy who committed suicide and splatted his guts everywhere.

I love it when I walk down the stairs and both trains come at the same time. It's one of the most beautiful things, I think. You stand there in the middle as these two trains rush by and it causes your hair to fly everywhere. I make sure to pause and enjoy that moment. When I got in the train, I barely took two steps. I found the nearest pole and held on. I never really know what to do when I'm standing. Usually I sit, look around really quickly to see how crowded the train is, then I close my eyes. You would think that I should open them and enjoy what's around me, and I agree. But I can't do that for 35 minutes. I'd look at the advertisements, which usually consists of some community college posters. My favorite is the Guggenheim one, which has been there for three months and should be taken down because the exhibit no longer exists.

I was standing there and I wasn't feeling sleepy so I kept my eyes opened. The young lady standing next to me was reading a book. I couldn't stop looking at her short blond hair. I wish there was some type of real life pinterest to collect everything I've seen that has inspired me. But I used my peripherals and I really wanted to ask her to turn around so I can look at the back of her head. Don't worry, I didn't do such a thing. But I kept glancing over. The three people who were seated in front of me all had their eyes closed. Actually, everyone seated had their eyes closed. It was awfully quiet for such a packed train. I couldn't see what stop it was and I hate it when you couldn't hear the conductor because for some season, he/she doesn't understand how to turn on the volume. I wasn't at a panic. I knew that after 59th, half the people leave the train anyway. "This is Canal. Next stop is Chambers. Stand clear of the closing doors." That's usually my cue to start walking to the door.