After my first knee appointment (I have to go to my first physical therapy session next week) I went walking through the 50s towards Times Square when I see Aisha from Shanghai across the street. I waved at her and she saw me. We hugged and she said she's on her lunch break and she's trying to find something to eat. She says there is hardly anything in the 50s and I know! When I was taking LSAT courses in that area every day was a struggle to find a decent place that wasn't a fast food chain.
She's interning at Bank of America for the summer and she said it's been pretty intense. Right now she's in training and she goes into a room with a hundred other interns and all they do is learn about "banking" and "excel" through computer programs. I liked the way she said, "We learn about 'banking' and 'excel.'" She also said there are a few interns whose lives revolve around banking. I said, "BANKING IS MY LIFE!!"
She asks if I'm doing anything and I change course and we go find something to eat. After deliberation we decide on Chipotle since I had to go to jury duty again soon.
We sit for food and catch up. I go to a deli and buy orange juice and bring it back. When she sees it she says, "Oh yeah, I remember you liked your cartons." She remembered me loving the milk cartons that weren't frozen, and how I said I always had to have one. She remembered us freezing in the third floor lounge while studying.
I said Manhattan is such a small world (Why do people call it a concrete jungle? You can see the other side of the island down the street). I can't believe I run into old friends. I also said I'm not used to this downtime and she said to enjoy it. I know, the rest of my life will be hectic, but I still feel slightly guilty!
She asked if I'm seeing anyone and I said no, I'm kind of still recovering from something. She asked what happened and I asked if she knew Sahel. Since we all went to Shanghai together she did. I said Sahel and I went to a party and it ended around midnight. I was planning on going right home, but Sahel and her friend Maggie were deciding on whether to go to the after party or to The Globe for Sahel's friend's party. We decide on The Globe and Trisha from Shanghai is there too, and it's really nice. After dancing we sit down, Sahel and me, and from my right Dan comes and says, "You shouldn't be sitting down" and asks me to dance and I think, "Okay!" We danced for three hours and kissed and he was great! I see Sahel and Maggie getting their things and I go get my things. He asked if I was leaving and I said yes so he asked for my number. Two days later I get a text saying, "Hey it's Dan from The Globe." And did everything change from then on!
Aisha widened her eyes and said it was interesting because I wasn't looking for anything that night. She said, "So you can either thank or blame Sahel." I laughed and I said it was all great. I was really happy and he took me to these pretty places. He was always a gentleman and thoughtful, opening doors, catching me, interested in China and photography, that kind of thing. We saw The Lego Movie, this nerdy science show, walked through parks, by the river, arm in arm, talked every day, you know. It was really great. He did little good things for me, just like that, without hesitation." She said it was strange because I'm so positive about my time with him, and I said there was nothing bad to say. She had that "Awww ;_;" look. She asked what his life goals were. I said he's in finance, worked at Bank of America once like she is now ("Small world!" she said), but he said he's like me in that he's not sure and is still figuring it out. He likes the area of finance he's in now, but he doesn't want to stay in it forever.
She asked what kind of things we did, and I said, "For our first date he took me to a pretty restaurant, we talked for a few hours, and we went walking. We ended up at Bryant Park, which was really pretty and mostly empty, and he asked me if I wanted to walk through the park with him, so we walked through it holding hands, and she said, "That's precious! ;_;" I said we saw the ice skating rink, and we didn't know it was still open. He asked if I wanted to go ice-skating and Aisha said, "No! Aww!" I told her I thought to myself the day before it would be so cute if we went ice-skating, but I stopped myself. But it happened! Her eyes were wide the entire time. So, I said, we went ice-skating and it was the first time he ever ice-skated. She asked if he was a bad skater and I said, "Oh no, he was actually good and I was the one falling, and I had lessons! We ice-skated and he kissed me and it was wonderful." She said, "That's so beautiful and special! Oh my God! It started so beautifully. And who sees Bryant Park that empty??" I said, "I know! We just walked around and kissed at the fountain, you know, that fountain." She knows the one and said, "Oh that's beautiful. ;_;" I said, "Yeah, it was, and that date by itself made me really happy. It made me really happy." At that point I had tears in my eyes and I said sorry! She had that look Laura and Ting Ting had, as if someone died, haha. Remembering how good that night was made me sad.
I said, "Oh after the first date I thanked Sahel because that night by itself was so wonderful! That by itself was enough for me."
Aisha said sorry and it's okay to be sad. She thinks it's great that I know what I want and I do. She's glad I like it when people disagree with me, and I do. Maybe he came to show me how I should be treated, and I said I guess. She thought at least I wasn't thinking, "What did I see in him?? What a waste of time!" I don't think that at all! I told her he took me to all of these places in New York I never would have gone to on my own, and I was happy about that too. She's glad I'm so positive about the experience.
She thought it was like I said, you never really know a person. She also said who knows what will happen in the future, the universe works in mysterious ways. Law school is a whole other animal, or maybe my future husband will be someone I know or someone totally unexpected!
She was happy to hear I was making good memories with people I care about during my last months at NYU. It is interesting, to me at least, that all of this occurred during my final days of college. She said though that the ice-skating night was something special, and it will probably be left that way. She thinks it's okay to have that stand out. I said, "Oh, and while I was putting on my boots, I looked up and he was wearing my panda earmuffs, and I was laughing like, 'What are you doing??'" She said, "That's so cute, AW!!!"
We talked about her boyfriend, who is right now in South Africa. Back in Shanghai she mentioned to me that he had some control issues, and I did think he was weird for interrogating her on where she was and who she was with. I know I can't live like that. Maybe he's better now and she said she loves him. Oh boy! She said all the guys are chasing after me, and I laughed. Jenny said the same thing last night, "Look at you, got the boys chasing after you left and right!" I get that a lot and feel nerdy as a result.
Aisha and I talked more about BANKING and we walked to her building, hugged, and I went off to court.
I got to hear the three attorneys make their opening statements! I can't believe this is real life, haha. It was so interesting!! I can't talk about the case, but I'm already mulling it over in my mind. Afterwards I went walking around for a few minutes until getting on the subway. I went to Starbucks for my hot chocolate. I sat there and thought again, "I really was happy."
I went to the StarTalk Live show at the Beacon Theater to see Neil deGrasse Tyson. Robert F. Kennedy Jr, Jason Sudeikis, a comedian named Eugene Mirman, a professor (she was lame!), and Gyalwang Drupka. I learned so much about water, global warming, agriculture, comets, spiritual views on water, how to make a better world, teaching science, etc. What was great was that even though these topics can be serious and/or depressing it was so much fun, especially with the comedians! I was laughing so much at the jokes, especially the nerdy science ones. The Drupka also talked about gender equality and I loved that bit! I don't know, all of the guests (except the professor) were such interesting people. It was all very heartwarming too!
When it ended I got close to the stage where Tyson stayed to sign autographs, but he couldn't get to everyone. He sat on stage and talked about teachers, how they should get a generation interested in learning again, and I recorded it. My mom and I waited patiently in the back with other fans for Tyson and thirty minutes later he came out.
I'M SO HAPPY. I swear I stared at this picture all giddy! I asked, "Can anyone take a picture of us?" He said, "That's what a selfie is for!" I'm happy and my mom got his autograph too! I just love this picture ^^~ Now I can say I was not even an inch away from him. I couldn't believe the guy I've been watching in Cosmos was right in front of me! I love this picture!
Brittany said, "OMG YOU. YOUUUU. HOW." I love it!