highlights.

I have been in new york city for the past month, (the new york summer studio intensive program).  We had (shitty) living situations at SVA, and awesome studios in DUMBO.  

encounters:

While biking on the Brooklyn Bridge, my chain popped.  I stopped, pulled over, and flipped my bike upside down.  While going into my bag to retrieve a wrench, a guy stopped to see if I needed any help.  He was a racer, and wasn't sure if I had a wrench with me.  After brief conversation, we both realized we were from Pittsburgh.  It is astounding how incredibly small the world is.  He was thinking of moving back because it is much cheaper, but hadn't been there in awhile; we began to talk about what had changed in the city (not much), among other things.  Afterwards, we went our separate ways with the satisfaction of a good conversation.  That was enough.

I decided to venture out to the Flushing-Corona park in Queens to see the Redlining show at the Queens Museum.  Afterwards, I was exploring the park area, when I received a phone call.  I proceeded to sit on the bench around the globe leftover from the '64 Worlds Fair.  My baby (Mamiya 7 II) was wrapped around my side at the time.  During the call, a Mister Softee truck pulled up to where I was sitting.  The guy working stared at me for about 3 minutes, and then served the line of screaming kids cones and shakes.  Afterwards, he pointed his Mamiya 7 II out the window and smiled.  I went over to have a brief conversation about how great of a camera it is.

I also ran into a few friends (that I haven't seen since high school) in the city.  Given how many people are not only living, but visiting, I find it amazing that I am still able to bump into people.