So, I'm in New York now.
Whoa.
That's right, SIT is now coming to you from the 26th floor of a New York University dorm.
Here is my view of the East River:
And here is a view of the city, with the Empire State Building just visible in the center:
I had been here once before for a high school band trip, but I had since forgotten how fucking huge New York really is. I think Chinatown alone is the same size as the entire city of Pittsburgh. Ridiculous.
So anyway, as I was saying, I'm typing this from my room in an NYU dorm. It's really, really small, even by dorm standards, but it's also air-conditioned and is in a suite that includes a kitchen and two (filthy) bathrooms. Not bad.
As you may have guessed, I'm sharing the suite with three other people. I've met two of them, including my roommate for the next six weeks, and I have no complaints so far.
Of course, I am sitting at my computer alone right now, which was my perpetual state of existence back at SU, but unlike those days, I'm in this situation not because I retreated into my shell at the first sign of human interaction, but because the other people in the suite have been living here for about a month, while I've been living here for about five hours. They kind of have prior commitments and aren't 100% focused on making new friends at the moment.
At least that's the excuse I'm going with.
Anyway, to explain the title of the post, it seems like every new chapter of my life begins with a humbling experience. For example, in the time I've been here, I've gotten locked out of the suite twice, the second time happening even after I'd been shown how to open the door (you have to move the key a certain way and push rather than just unlocking it and turning the handle). Not the best of times.
Also, I made an ass of myself attempting to order dinner at Subway. Basically, I decided that the 6" cold cut combo wasn't big enough and changed my order to the 12" sandwich after the original had already been made. Also, I took way too long to choose the bread and cheese varieties because I didn't realize I had a choice. The guy behind the counter probably thought I was retarded or something.
Believe it or not, however, all this is actually a sign of progress. At least I realize what's awkward and attempt to change it as soon as possible. In the past, I would've just gotten pissed off because "everyone is too dumb to understand me" or some arrogant shit.
I seem to be rambling, so I'll leave it at that. Hopefully, I can do some socializing at some point, but like I said, it's a rather unique situation when you move in with three people who already have full schedules.
We'll see...