Looking South From East Campus

Crazy with the US Airways plane landing in the Hudson River, right? What a relief everyone is OK. I always wondered if water landings would actually work, and, here I see they do! One less thing to worry about when I fly.

I can't help wondering if I were at my Alma mater, in my senior year dorm room, would I have been able to see any of the spectacle. My senior year dorm was (and still is) 20 stories tall. On-campus housing for sophomores, juniors, and seniors was picked via lottery number draw, and you could group together to try to get a suite in certain dorms. I didn't pick the number because I have the opposite luck of the Irish. I never win anything. At least I don't remember picking the number, but my memory for details is sometimes fuzzy (might have logged this in one of my journals...). The draw was pretty good, not one of the first low-low numbers, but good enough to get us the 18th floor with a group of 2 seniors, a junior, and a 2 sophomores (had we been 3 seniors and 2 sophs, we'd probably have been on the 20th).

From my dorm room, I could see the Hudson River (and, obviously, the "lovely" state of New Jersey) and with a little bit of straining to the right, I could see the George Washington Bridge. From our common area, with, again, some straining to the left, you could see the Twin Towers, way down the island of Manhattan. That must have been quite a view in 2001. I'm not sure I'd have wanted to see it, though it's certainly a story to tell your kids. I can at least say I used to work across the street from it and eat lunch by the fountains in the courtyard. I still have a few things I bought back in 1999 from the shopping center in the basement - a J. Crew sweater and a Gap shirt. I don't think I'll ever get rid of them. Just because it's something from a place that will never exist again.

Sometimes I miss the Big Apple. Looking at the CNN shots of the river and the plane, it was cool to see all those ferries coming to the rescue - how many cities have that many ferries running around the city daily (in addition to a huge subway and bus system)? Not many. Lots of people like to comment on how New Yorkers aren't friendly, everyone's rude, etc. There are a fair share of those types of folks, but the reality is, when, it's necessary, that city rallies together. I remember one time I was on the subway, heading down to my first REAL internship/job (the one where I worked across from the towers), decked out in my suit, all 98 pounds of me. I had been coming down with something, and, standing on the train, gripping the pole for balance, I could feel the light-headedness of a fainting spell coming on (I've fainted maybe 3 times in my life - I tend to have low blood pressure). I saw a seat open up and went for it, but this guy grabbed it before me. Another woman could see I was not doing well, and told the guy to get up and let me sit. She even gave me her Diet Coke as the closest thing to sugar she had. So, yeah. There are tough New Yorkers out there. But there are also lots of friendly, awesome New Yorkers.

Even though I only spent 4 years of my early adulthood there, I think I'll always think of it as one of my "homes." I really couldn't have asked for a better place to spend my college years.

Comments

  1. I think college in NYC would have rocked! I don't know how you so easily made the transition from NYC to LA. That must have been night and day.

    You should post about that decision. I don't remember reading about why you decided to do it. And your parents...what got them to come with you...or were they already there?

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  2. I just have to tell you - nursing pads are a LIFE SAVER. LOL If and when...all this goes down for you....have them handy! :) The goods of breastfeeding certainly outweigh the bads and annoyances. Hands down.

    And the college in NYC...I think it sounds like heaven. I always daydreamed about getting to be there...living there. It's nice to hear a story like yours, a good one where you enjoyed it.

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  3. Ya, I'm jealous. College Station, TX is the antithesis of NY and yet, I bet our experience of growing up and spreading our wings wasn't all that different. (I'm reassuring myself...)

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  4. My first thought was: everyone is safe, what a miracle.

    My second thought was: your seat cushion REALLY CAN act as a flotation device? Who knew.

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  5. aww, what a sweet tribute!!What a hero the pilot was... I saw the pics and it was quite a sight!! Thank goodness it ended the way it did...♥ LA

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