Elizabeth, New Bruinswick, and Rutgers

I wake up later than I intended to today because I had forgotten to take my phone off silent after Broadway last night. Shoot. I'm still dead tired too. I think it's the floor. I drag myself to the shower after Josh leaves for work giving me a wake up nudge on his way out. Making sure I have everything (all this moving around is going to make me forget something somewhere I swear), I head out and give the key to the front desk telling them no, I'm not leaving yet, and start walking to Penn Station about 11 blocks away on 34th Street. It's always an interesting adventure when you haven't taken a certain route yet (in this case, NJ Transit), and you wander around looking for where you're supposed to go next. I'm never worried because I know I'll find my way around. But I'm not one of those people who can just walk and look like they know where they're going. When I don't know where I'm going or am not sure what to do next...I definitely look like I have no idea what I'm doing. I look up information and directions beforehand online, but not extensively, so I'm more of a go with the flow kind of person. And I ask lots of questions. If you smile while asking it, people are more than happy to help you. And, as I discovered, if you wear a dress or something nice (a damsel in distress look maybe?), people will come up to ask you if you need help with directions LOL. Or maybe I really just look THAT lost lol. Of course, they tend to come up right when I just figure it out so I ask some stupid question I already know like..."Which way is ___?" when I already know the answer. Perhaps I just like confirmation because sometimes I know I'm wrong.

Anyways, I awkwardly get all my stuff onto the train and take off to Elizabeth, NY. Note to self and rest of the world: DO NOT take the elevator down from the train platform to street level in Elizabeth. It apparently has a second use as a public restroom. There are stains to prove it if the smell doesn't kill you first. I don't care if I have to lug down ten bags...I'm taking the stairs. I see a 9/11 memorial in front of the station...how appropriate considering today is 9/11.

Nate's right on time pulling up to the side of the road within a minute of my arrival with a hoooonk to announce his presence. I load up my stuff and we take off down the street to get hot dogs for lunch. There are apparently two hot dog places competing right next to each other and how they both survive is beyond me. Jerry's is the only place that Nate will eat at...a devoted patron. We take our "the works" hot dogs and sit on a bench to enjoy the outside air and chat. I can't believe I'm here. After all this talk for the past year about the east coast this and that, I'm here. My world just got a little smaller...in a good way. Friend's aren't quite so far anymore. We stop by the house he grew up in and I meet his brother and dogs. Omg I love dogs and the pugs were so cute. Onyx was too of course. :) I'm baffled by how steep the stairs are in the house. You definitely couldn't run down those stairs. I actually had to go down them sideways to make sure I didn't fall.

Anyways it's time to go and we hop onto the breezeway towards New Bruinswick after a Dunkin Donuts pit stop for some Munchkins and Iced Coffee. There are tolls all over these freeways. I thought it must be annoying at first, but it made sense since it meant that only the people who used the freeways actually paid the "tax" on them. Unlike California where everyone pays and a chunck of our tax dollars goes towards maintaining the roads whether you used them or not. So perhaps they're smarter in that sense, but that sucks to have to stop every few miles to pay...time eater...gas guzzler?

We pull off the freeway and arrive on the Rutgers campus. The land opens up and the buildings and trees greet you like "Ta-daaa." The weather is gloomy but in a rather welcoming way. It's almost emotional. Unfortunately, the weather doesn't go to well with the dormitories. I feel like I'm in a gloomy cave walking into the apartment since the light is so dim and the walls are bare. But he's a hall director so he's got a place normally used to fit four people all to himself. It's mostly the lighting though that makes me feel almost isolated. I notice some asian decor on the wall and scent of eucalyptus makes me smile. Not that I'm Asian enough to "feel at home" in this setting lol...but it smells good. Nate puts on some classical music and shows me around the place. Okay, he is officially more Asian than me since he has a rice cooker and...I don't. Lol. I get myself settled and we head out, umbrellas in hand, to take a tour of the campus and town.

There's a football game today and the campus is swarming with students and family in their red shirts and hats. And I mean...everywhere!!! BBQs, tail gate parties, beer pong in parking lots...it's one huge party of a few thousand people all over campus. Bright red every where you look. They rented out charter buses to transfer the students all around and between campuses. We tried to catch an A bus but the swarms of students waiting to get on was quite dense. Nate pushes his way to an upcoming bus with me right behind him and manages to get on, but somehow between him and me another 5 students pushed on through. I was standing halfway up the steps on the bus and it didn't seem like I was going to get up much further than that. The driver was a prick and just sat there not saying anything like pack on back or if we should get off or anything. He just sat there until we looked at him and he said he needed to be able to see and so everyone behind me got off. I should have too, but what would I do without Nate, packed in five people infront of me lol. I squeeze myself into the first row leaning against the front railing practically sitting in the girls lap, but it's enough for the driver to close the doors and head on out. I stand in this awkward position for what seems like forever leaning all my weight on one arm against the railing under me and three people literally (yes literally) standing ON my feet in the aisle. I guess it helped hold me down from falling over the railing when the guy stepped on the brakes. But thank goodness I didn't wear flip flops.

I'm facing the back of the bus and all these students have blank bored looks on their faces. I on the other hand am grinning ear to ear I'm so exicted to be here and looking every which way out all the windows at the scenery passing by. They don't even check for my ID which surprises me really. We get off at the main campus and walk around the streets, through downtown New Bruinswick, and back through campus. It feels small and big at the same time...probably because it's all new to me. Nate reminises on his olden days as an undergraduate. I find it funny how he speaks because it was so "different" back then and yet here he is a student once again. It's the same...just different perspective. A prime example of what time does to us and our maturity. I feel old too talking about the fraternity parties and drinking when here I am a 23 year old who didn't even do any of that stuff until I was almost 22. It's been like a year and already it was old stuff to me lol. Somewhat at least.

We catch a bus back to the stadium and the dorms and start walking back against the crowd. There was a guy in front of us on the bus that was talking on the phone and then passed out within two minutes of hanging up. The poor guy's head kept falling sideways and he'd wake up to sit up again and then nod off. When we reached the end of the line, Nate got up and gave him a nudge. The guy didn't budge. "Is this guy for real" he says and gives him a small punch. Nothing. The guy wakes up when Nate shakes his shoulder and we all head off the bus. You gotta kinda hop skip down the steps and this guy almost ate it coming down. If you haven't figured it out already, this guy was drunk off his ass. How do you enjoy a football game or time with friends if you're that drunk? Sheesh. He proceeded to thank Nate for waking him up and told him he'd had 15 shots. Goodness. That would kill me.

We walk back like salmon swiming up stream against the crowd of people headed to BBQs and the stadium and turn on the game back in the dorms. Haha Nate passes out on the floor cause he's so tired. That's really nice of him to show me around the town and I smile to myself thinking that I have such great friends. Then it's time to hit up a potluck across campus and watch the game. Rutgers played North Carolina, who hadn't won a game on the road in 6 years, and were squashed by them. It was sad. By the third quarter, the stadium had emptied out of spectators. A guy even flicked off the camera and the rest of the world on ESPN (someone out there is in trouble), and they showed a poor boy who was distraught that they were loosing and had the saddest face with wide eyes and a towel covering up his mouth (like an "oh no"). It was hilarious and they kept showing it I almost felt bad for the guy who got this national coverage, but it was just too funny. Anyways, yea, Rutgers lost big time. (they lost to Fresno State in the first game too)