culterize

I met a friend from my speech class a few semesters ago, today because we hadn't hung out in while. She is always so busy doing homework and studying and doesn't make enough time for TV. I remembered when we met before, she was not so good at directions once she'd come up from the train. She wouldn't know east from west, north from south. Before we met this time, I was sure to send her easy, phonetic directions:

"its on Washington and Dearborn"
"walk one block west on Washington"
"Walk 1 block on Washington AWAY from Millennium Park"

I was waiting for about 30 minutes before she shuffled in; her hand covering her face. She slumped down in her chair across from me. "Hey buddy, hows it going?" I offered. She did not smile. "I did not know where to go when I got off the train, and I walked over there." she pointed towards Millennium Park. "Well, I sent you easy directions. Why didn't you read them? You got here." She put her hands over her nose and asked me to get her a tissue.

I like to hear about her Chinese culture. She has only been in the states for about 4 years, and is still learning about everything that makes America the Land of Opportunity and the Home of The Brave. She told me about her job in a restaurant, south of Chinatown. It gets pretty shady as you go south of the loop. "Is it dangerous where you work?" I asked, knowing it is not in the safest neighborhood. "Uhh, yeah we are safe. You see, we have these huge walls of glass over the counter that protect us." She turned and motioned a wall with her hands all along the cash register counter of the coffee shop we were at. "So we are safe," she confirmed. "Is there a little metal tray under the thick glass for customers to slide their cash," I asked, motioning sliding cash in a metal tray to match her stride. "Yes," she said, nodding her head. "Well, i'm glad you are safe. I was a fool to think other wise."


As a prepared for bed tonight- brushing my teeth for 2, dentist-ordered, New York minutes, I reboogered myself into a staring contest with the man in mirror. "What have you done?" I asked him. Most people de-booger, you see, probably while they prepare for bed, maybe in the car driving to work. Some people just do not care, I have learned from personal experience, and they find it quite easy to dig for booger buddies on the public transit bus. I tried to re-step my tracks and find the SOB that ended up sliding down the pipe. Luck was not on my side.