Tag Archives: MTA

Poetry in Motion

The streets of New York are both my inspiration and my gym. Earlier this week, I came across this inspiring poem on the wall of the Subway by poet and visual artist, Dorothea Tanning, that really struck me. Having graduated from college in the economic downturn of 2009, I couldn’t help, but be reminded of my own graduation from Syracuse University as I sat on the moving train.  It should have been the perfect moment.  Vice President Joe Biden spoke and I sat in the Carrier Dome in my cap and gown surrounded by esteemed professors and classmates.

But, the truth is May 10, 2009 was the scariest day of my life.  I was terrified of never getting a job, defaulting on my student loans, and no longer being able to be under my parents’ health insurance.  The only thing that made it less terrifying was when the Valedictorian got up on the podium telling us that in spite of everything, we should never forget to have fun.  He then reminded us that the Commencement Ceremony was essentially a huge costume party which really helped to put everything in perspective.  I’ve come to realize that since then, my life has never been more interesting.  But, it hasn’t been easy and a difficult world can be hard to love.    At the same time, I’ve had a chance to do something most people only dream about, the chance to live and work and Manhattan which is truly the center of the universe and for that, I couldn’t be more thankful.

Got Pickpocketed, but I Got my Wallet Back


With all of New York’s splendor and glamour, we often forget that this is a dangerous city. A place with so many people is bound to have just as much good as it does evil. If you watch Law & Order: SVU as much as I do, then you totally know what I mean. Saturday night, my neighbor and I went to see the dark Lars von Trier film, Melancholia, starring Kirsten Dunst in SoHo. What started out as a classy artsy evening in one of Manhattan’s trendiest neighborhoods could have potentially been ruined had I not recovered my wallet after a criminal attempted to steal it right out of my Elliott Lucca purse. I was climbing up the stairs to get off the crowded subway and there was a man in back of me carrying tons of shopping bags filled with boxes that looked like Christmas gifts. As I walked further up the stairs, I noticed that his bags kept hitting me. Nearly all the way up the stairs, I felt something strange and looked down at my bag to find it wide open and my WALLET GONE!

I stopped in my tracks and turned around at the people behind me screaming that someone had taken my wallet. That made everyone stop and give me their full attention. That must has scared him and made him drop my wallet because a girl found it on the stairs and handed it back to me pointing at that guy with all the bags. We all yelled at him and called him a pick pocketer to his face. At first he denied it and tried to blame it on someone else. But, other people getting off the subway had seen him try to take stuff from them. We yelled at him some more until he finally left the scene of the crime (luckily without my wallet.) I guess only a true New Yorker can get pick pocketed on the subway and get their stuff back two seconds later.

Even though I had gotten my wallet back, I was so shaken up about the whole thing. After the movie which was an interesting depiction of the end of the world, I locked myself in my apartment with a bottle of wine and tried to calm down. Perhaps, my impeccable fashion sense ultimately caused me to be the victim of theft. I must have done an excellent job dressing up last season’s boots because in reality, I’m not the ideal candidate to steal from. Remember to always stay fabulous and be on guard, especially in crowded places. The more people there are around you, the more crazy people there are around you. Keep your purse close at all times with the zipper in front of you because having to cancel all your credit cards and report fraudulent charges is super annoying.