One year ago, I went to the Idealist.org Graduate School Fair at the Gleacher Center. It was lightly raining that night and I rode home in the dark, the first time using my front and rear lights. I had the Benotto for about six days. I spoke with the folks from the Vanderbilt and Harvard Divinity Schools at the fair and rode home happily; I actually sang for much of the way, even through Wrigleyville on a game night.
As I was entering Evanston on Clark/Chicago, a car hit me and then sped away. I took the hit ok, physically, probably because I moved with the energy of the crash (thanks, Tai Chi). My fork and wheels were trashed, though. This young man picked me up from the intersection, got my bike, made me sit down on the steps of the law office nearby, and helped calm me down. A few moments later, a woman came by to help, though. She said that she just saw me lying in the intersection and the young man running. She was afraid that he was accosting me, and noted this right in front of the kid. Evanston, like most other places, has a lot of racial tensions, acknowledged and not. I wanted to shake this woman for what felt like prejudiced comments and for saying them right in front of the kid. He is reminded everyday that as a young, black man, many people don't expect anything but crime from him. Before he walked away, I thanked him again, telling him that he saved me and the day. The kid knew what to do and I would have sat in the intersection, in the rain, in shock and balling for much longer if it weren't for him.
I didn't apply to any graduate schools or divinity schools last year, though. I went to the Idealist.org Graduate School Fair again this year and spoke with the Yale, Harvard, and Claremont representatives. I got the best vibe from the Yale program; previously, I hadn't given it too much thought and now will possibly apply there.
It's been more than a year since some really hard stuff has started in life. I'm lucky, of course, because I am physically ok, I have a job, a roof, enough to eat; I know. This October just feels like a marker, though.
18 October 2007
12 October 2007
Fall?
Fall took a few steps forward, then a big leap back, and has now jumped ahead again. It's cold. I'm preparing for (read: procrastinating) my morning run. I tried to run indoors on my gym's treadmill yesterday morning and found it really uninteresting. By mile two, I was ready to finish. Even with music and even though the treadmill is situated in front of a large window, allowing me to watch passersby, I was not that stimulated. The great thought-processing tool that running can be never turned on, either.
Here I go, in my layers.
Here I go, in my layers.
11 October 2007
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