Sidewalk Rage

Researchers claim that extremely hot weather breeds anger, but I beg to differ. When I'm extremely cold, my patience takes a major nose dive...particularly when I'm being prevented from reaching my warm, indoor destination. Manhattan is known for crowds, but this time of year is abnormally busy with the holidays drawing near. I can't walk a block without having someone in front of me stop dead in their tracks to figure out where they are, forcing me to a screeching halt with nowhere to move to the right or left. Another blood-boiler is when a group of people walk in a horizontal line across the sidewalk at a pace that would be comfortable for the most lazy of tortoises. This way, no one can get around them; their group controls the entire speed, or lack there of, of foot traffic.

If you suburbians think road rage is bad...try sidewalk rage. Sidewalk rage is far worse for multiple reasons. First of all, you can't let out your aggravation with explicit remarks and vocal outbursts like you can in the privacy of your own vehicle. Nope, unless you want to cause a scene, you have to bottle up all of that frustration. Imagine how it feels five or ten blocks into a walk. On top of the bottling problem, weather is not on your side. You can't turn on the heat to at least make yourself comfortable during a road-rage incident. Instead, freezing cold wind slaps you across the face as you're unwillingly transformed into a human bumper car...making you even more mad that these annoying tourists are delaying progress.

Brit and me promoting Street King

I guess you sign up for that kind of thing when you move to New York City, but that doesn't make it any more bearable. You sign up for hurricanes when you move to Florida, but it doesn't mean you like them. I wish I could come up with a solution (for obnoxious tourists...not hurricanes- I can't really mess with Mother Nature's choices). While promoting Street King in the 37 degree weather on a street corner this morning, I started brainstorming possible ways to avoid the crowds. What if there were trains and sidewalks designated for residents only? Nope, that wouldn't work. How would you know someone's a resident? There's too much turnover in this city to keep track of who actually lives here. Okay...what if they build underground tunnels that were only accessible to people who have more than $40 on their metro cards? That way, you know that everyone there is a seasoned NYC traveler. Eh, way too unrealistic. I'VE GOT IT: what if there were lanes, like on roads? You can't stop in the left lane. Even better: the homeless people could paint the lines! Job opportunity. BAAM. Obviously, this was my best idea.

Don't worry, my week has included more than just brainstorming ways to avoid irritating walkers. My friend from the Street King promotions, Kelly, invited me to a fundraiser for her kickball team on Tuesday night. Wednesday, I worked for the attorney and had my weekly date with Lindsay to watch "Revenge." Yesterday, I worked at Street King all day (see picture), then went out for happy hour with Jim, Jacob, Justin, and Linds for Lindsay's birthday. Today, I did Street King again (make that money!) and am getting my staple cheap Thai dinner with Rayna, Kelly's roommate and fellow Street King promoter, then possibly drinks with Conor. Finally, my social life is picking up! I have the stress of finding a new apartment and a full time job looming over my head, but I'm much happier than I've been so far in New York now that at least one area of my life is coming together...even if it's technically the least important part. Actually, I think socializing is quite important for maintaining sanity. Enjoying time with friends rejuvenates me, enabling me to be more productive and positive in nailing down other aspects of survival.

I don't have any major plans this weekend, aside from Street King events, so I'm planning on saving up all my sleep for Thanksgiving weekend! My mom and stepdad will be in town (wooo!!) and it will be Brittany's last weekend in NYC. Plenty of celebrations to look forward to! For the record, that refers to a celebration of Brit's time in New York...not a celebration of her departure...