19

It occurred to me yesterday that, during my summer here, I've gotten not the visitor's view of New York, but rather the residential tour. I've seen very few of the tourist trap kind of sights, done very few of the touristy things to do. I've been to the museums multiple times, and spent some time in the parks, but for the most part I've jumped straight to the action of living, working, and trying to make friends here.

So homeboy was definitely lingering today. He had a fairly simple order, so when he continued to find ways to stay at the counter, we were just a little bit confused. I helped him with the final aspect of his order, and when I smiled at him and told him to have a nice day, he stopped cold and looked me dead in the eye for a minute. "You are sooo beautiful," he said, and then smiled at me when I laughed and told him it warmed my heart. "Do you have a boyfriend?" he asked, and then said, "the beautiful ones always do." Then smiled at me one final time and walked away. I distinctly remember the first thought that jumped to mind when he said that: "you're actually seeing my face under this stupid hat?" That was just one odd vignette from my already-strange day. It reminded me of a time back at Cool Beans, though, when a young Arab man told me in broken English that I was "too beautiful to work in this place." I also remember holding that over Amanda's head for weeks.

Counting down days: only 18 more days of employment, 19 before I get my final visitor. Pretty much without question, August 5th is going to be the best day ever. And with the Metric concert on top of that? So good. OH right - it's also someone's birthday. I'll think about sending a present, but we'll have to see. I'm looking forward to coming home, greeting my new apartment, setting things up, and getting back into the rhythm of my Columbia life.

Oh Premiere Pro, why do you make things so easy, but make me agonize over getting to the ease?