Most of the time I am so happy and proud to still be living a student lifestyle. I like to think that the simple life is for me. "I don't need all that stuff or those mere conveniences that other people my age have." And then I realize that I really do like to buy books instead of always checking them out from the library. I would like to go out more often and not worry about the arm and a leg I need to pay the babysitter. I want to have a little more tucked away. But, we're almost done. Real salaries are in our future and so I think I need to glorify the student lifestyle while I still can. Plus, we get tons of time off.
Phil and I have been planning a trip to NYC, the scene of our young friendship. We wanted to go for a romantic getaway, but we also didn't want to spend too much money--after all, last time I was living there it was mainly my parents' money I was spending. And Phil, well, he wasn't spending much money at all; he is more careful.
Saving money is always a fine balance. You must weigh the costs you may save with the suffering you must endure to save it. So we decided on the following plan. We would skip an airplane, train, or regular Greyhound bus. We would take the Chinatown Bus, $30 roundtrip. We debated a bit about lodging. Of course we could bunk with some of our friends, but then we would miss out on some of the "romance". So we decided to opt for a one star hotel on the Upper West Side. Orbitz described it as a standard room with a double bed and a shared bathroom down the hall. Phil called and discovered that there was no AC. We could handle that. $62 and I threw my flip flops into my backback on top of my library book, just in case the bathroom was wet when I needed to shower. We were off to a frugal start.
The Chinatown bus seem great at first. I pulled out a book and with my feet resting on my backpack I got into it. I made a couple calls. Philip and I chatted a bit. Who cared that afer about 45 minutes my neck and back started to tighten. They would have on some dumb (and short) plane ride. Then I started to feel queasy, a case of good old-fashioned car sickness. No more reading and Philip was asleep and it was dark and there was nothing worth looking at out the window anyway. I gritted my teeth and with a stiff upper lip endured. No vomitting or anything.
As advertised, we were dropped off on a seemingly random corner in Chinatown at about 12:30AM, but the city was alive. Really awake and moving and working. There is just no other city I have lived in that works this way. The 1/9 subway was crowded with all types: three medical students, Chinese speaking biracial African-Chinese-American and his Chinese-American friend, lots of Latinos looking like they were on their way home from work, some punky teenagers of all races, a handful of preppy Columbia students, and us. We got off by our hotel and checked out about three busy bars before settling into one that had outdoor seating. A pint later, in the middle of a summer downpour, we sprinted to out "hotel". The lobby looked legit and we innocently took the key and bouned upstairs, still excited from running in the rain.
When we opened the door to the room we didn't quite know what to do. My mom would have described it as a flop house. I told Phil it looked like a set from Law and Order. Phil had no words. And so, we laughed. Let me begin with the things this room did NOT have: a mattress cover, a chair, a lamp, a light cover for the floresent light, a mirror, a hook, a closet, a phone, or a floor I could put my bare feet on. It did have stained (but laundered) sheets, a sink, a microwave, lime green paint, a peep hole, a window fan, a eight inch hole in the ceiling, an air shaft view, and several locks. We had been imagining dorm room, not shit hole. So we laughed some more and changed into dry clothes. It was nearly 2 AM and we had no lead on another room, plus we had already paid for this one. So we laughed some more and climbed on top of the sheets and played cards (I won) all the while wishing we had hooded pajamas to sleep in. Fatigue finally overcame the creeps and we slept for a good 7 hours before checking out and finding a hotel one block away that gave us a real hotel room--attatched bathroom and all--for not that much more.
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