Entries this day: AM Central_Park_GET_Challenge Francois_fights_a_lion GET_challenge GET_sleepy Junk_food_run PM_summary byebye_New_York

AM

8:55am EDT Wednesday 20 July 2005

I'm feeling a teeny bit sick today, and I want orange juice, but we are not allowed to have it on the boat in New York City. Grrr.

Central Park GET Challenge

11:30am EDT Wednesday 20 July 2005

I'm supposed to go meet for the GET Challenge running around Central Park in a few minutes; I got the blood sample done okay, but I'm not sure how I will get it to a Federal Express pickup point today given that I will be busy with GET Challenge Program.

12:53pm EDT Wednesday 20 July 2005

Central Park is nice. There are curvy paths and trees and sunbathers and lakes and water fountains and squirrels and dogs and bikes and many other things.

- - - -

We got lost in The Ramble, and some Puerto Rican guy led us out, telling all sorts of stories about how dangerous it is. I gave him $5 for getting us out and back to the meeting point basically on time.

Francois fights a lion

3:53pm EDT Wednesday 20 July 2005

We are at Columbia University and I just met Rebekah who took my Fedral Express pack to the dropoff point across the street. Awesome perfect great!

I got a picture of Francois fighting a lion, but it's backlit so a bit hard to see. Oh well.

GET challenge

11:30am EDT Wednesday 20 July 2005

I'm supposed to go meet for the GET Challenge running around Central Park in a few minutes; I got the blood sample done okay, but I'm not sure how I will get it to a Federal Express pickup point today given that I will be busy with GET Challenge Program.

12:53pm EDT Wednesday 20 July 2005

Central Park is nice. There are curvy paths and trees and sunbathers and lakes and water fountains and squirrels and dogs and bikes and many other things.

- - - -

We got lost in The Ramble, and some Puerto Rican guy led us out, telling all sorts of stories about how dangerous it is. I gave him $5 for getting us out and back to the meeting point basically on time.

GET sleepy

During the campus tours around Columbia University, I sat with Kim, Josh, Yuuka, and (someone else??).. Yuuka fell asleep. It was funny!!

Junk food run

6:07pm EDT Wednesday 20 July 2005

Headed out to RiteAid to get some foodage. They have a pretty decent selection of the junkfood I'll be craving on the way to Jamaica.

6:37pm

This is the fourth time I've walked up 50th street in 3 days. I note that, though this doesn't feel like home, I am no longer walking with a badass "I'll kill you" look. I'm just walking. Not suspicious of everyone. Except that guy; wtf is *he* doing here??

Haha the streets are gridlocked. Man I'm glad to be walking and not in a car.

7:11pm

I bought 2 quarts of orange juice, and 100 chewable vitamin C tablets cause I can feel a bit of a tickle in my throat like I'm getting sick. I'm going to bunk up in bed soon as I take a shower and forgo the rest of the evening. Though that means I won't see Niveen waving from the port. Dammit. Maybe I can successfully take a nap, go wave bye, then get back to bed bed bed.

Also bought white nail polish because I wanted to use Katt's white nail polish for my toes, but she doesn't have any. I also bought some instant hand cleaner for Angie cause I used a significant (and by significant I mean statistically significant) percentage of hers while we were in Egypt.

Also bought some chocolate covered raisins.

And a fine point sharpie to mark CDs (though I've heard Sharpies destroy CDs).

And some jelly beans for Christina from Bulgaria who works in Topaz Dining.

And toothpaste. But I forgot to buy a deodorant stone from Whole Foods yesterday. That would have been a good idea. But I did buy 1.5 quarts (?) of Odwalla Superfood, that delicious dark green drink that looks like motor oil but tastes like heaven.

Cool. I just saw a FedEx truck with a slot on the back side that says "FEDEx Dropslot" so I could just toss stuff there. Pretty kickass. Makes sense, too.

PM summary

8:07pm EDT Wednesday 20 July 2005

See ya later, New York City.

I'm back on the ship; our boarding limit is 8:30pm, so I'm not likely to go back out.

I never saw Frank, but I did see Paige yesterday and the day before.

I got my blood sample Federal Expressed to be HIV tested. Though it won't give me an all clear if it's negative, I will know everything through January is all good.

I decided today that I would no longer practice unsafe sex (sex with untested partners). One reason I don't smoke is that smoking kills people. From now on, I'm choosing to apply the same rule to unsafe sex.

Though I mentioned Paige and then sex in the next paragraph, let it be known that she and I did not sleep together, nor even kiss.

I rode the subway yesterday. The system is pretty straightforward. $2 to enter and go anywhere. Don't have to scan the ticket on the way out. The system is not that big, either. Compared to Tokyo, at least.

I like how it's an old system with the metal structural frames of walkways and walls and supports visible. It gives an under-construction look that I enjoy. The trains are old and loud, but still effective.

Actually, though, I was only on two different lines.

byebye New York

11:07pm EDT Wednesday 20 July 2005

The people leaving the ship were stuck behind glass and not allowed to go onto the top parking lot area. That was frustrating; we could have talked to them and given our last verbal hugs and byebyes. I got some cool photos of parts of the boat and Empire State Building and the moon, that I'll give to Paige who will absolutely recognize all three.