NYC

I'm blogging live from New York City! This is definitely the cultural capital of America. A few thoughts from my experiences of the past 26 hours since I've been here:

• This is the worst driving I've seen in the country, yet people somehow avoid accidents. My taxi cab driver honked as a signal he was changing lanes, or didn't signal at all. Thee cars jockey for the same lane and all speed up to bump the others out the way, and eventually when there's less than a couple inches between bumpers, a winner emerges. That winner gets the lane and has saved 3 seconds of overall drive time.
• The mass transit is quite intimidating. There are so many different subway lines and numbers and letters. And most of them only go North-South (as opposed to East-West). Riding the subway is like watching the beating heart of the city. It is the best way to see the American principle of the "melting pot". At many subway stations, people are playing saxophones are whatever musical instruments they possess. One oriental gentleman was playing something on the subway that resembled a glued-together mandolin and pipe instrument.
• There's a lot of everything everywhere. Grocery stores. Hotels. Apartments. Bars. Banks. Agencies. Department stores. Parks. Cars. Trash. Etc.
• My dorm at Columbia University is pretty Spartan. It actually makes me thankful for the LSU dorm system! It's a split-level, with a kitchenette and "living room" on the top and bedrooms and bathroom downstairs. The view over Morningside Park is beautiful. Speaking of Morningside, I strolled through that park on the way to Central Park, where I would meet my friend Colin Toney and explore most of lower Manhattan. Anyway, Morningside is ridiculously pretty, and even includes a waterfall. Yes, I said "waterfall." Speaking of Columbia...speaking of Spiderman! I know, I'm lame for saying that.
• I saw the place I'll be working in the financial district. Deloitte has security procedures and lots of marble and fake glass surrounding entrance. The World Financial Center is the nicest office building I've ever been in. It's adjacent to Ground Zero, which is a sobering view, to be sure. Just south of my building is the Hudson River, which flows in front of the beautiful Statue of Liberty and nearby New Jersey shoreline.

I'm glad there are some LSU people here. I am lonely enough as it is, without my beloved finacee. Furthermore, NYC can be an oppressive place. It's amazing that one place can hold 10 million people but yet they are so distant from each other. In NYC, you don't say "excuse me" if you bump into someone. You don't say "good day to you sir!" to random people. You plod along and try and grab your sliver of the American dream. If I didn't have Jesus, I would be lonely man tonight. But no where on earth I go can bring me far beyond the reach of my Jesus.