Today I...

went to SoHo, saw topless men in red board shorts at Hollister's entrance, saw a live window display where a man was walking on a treadmill with heels with a sign that said "embrace men in heels", was asked to support gay marriage, checked out Uniqlo (no patronising "Welcome to Uniqlo's" in this one!), checked out American Apparel and felt like I needed a see-through mesh dress, went into Urban Outfitters and felt an inappropriate sense of superiority because I don't have to spree online for UO stuff, walked 50 short blocks and 4 long ones, strolled through Central Park, still felt the same sense of sadness I had for the poor carriage-pulling horses, had a caramel macaron from Bouchon Bakery (and then some), watched A Lifetime Burning (for five bucks: while it could've been less, I felt it wouldn't have been enough; the acting was fantastic, so much irony and symbolism, hurhurhur, I feel like a pretentious ass talking like that, but seriously the storyline was utterly surreal, a white chick who mentors underprivileged kids for their GEDs has an affair with a Latino 19-year-old boy she mentors. Wtf?!), took the subway unsupervised, and communicated with three strangers today.

If I had to pick a favourite animal, I don't think I'd choose either a dog or a cat if I could have a horse. I think horses are the most regal and stoic creatures with a sense of humility. They carry their load and bear a cold, hard metal bit digging into the corners of their lips with quiet acceptance. I want to have a horse. Or a pony. Whatever. I think my empathy for them partly arises from having read Black Beauty when I was younger. But only rich people have horses. Hmm, there's a motivation.

I'm still trying to cope with making random small talk to strangers. It's not like they really care when they ask "how are you", do they? Of course they don't. It'd be most silly to think otherwise. Oh, and I realised a difference between Asians and Caucasians: when I had to wiggle my way through people to get to my seat, I said "sorry". When a Caucasian couple did the same, they said "thank you". Forever the apologetic people, aren't we?

I don't normally like to watch TV, but I am a sucker for reality TV because I like warped versions of reality. My own reality is way too chaotic. Reality TV is like orchestrated chaos: I like it. It's like The Sims. It's like playing God. Playing God is awesome. And American TV's got soo many lame reality shows. Like Gay Straight or Taken. A woman interacts with three men and tries to figure out who is gay, straight, or taken. Then there's Dating in the Dark, which takes a "blind date" to an entirely literal level. Couples get to know each other by dating in a pitch-black room, and when they reveal themselves to each other, the man can choose whether to continue seeing her or leave the show. I think I'll actually fare better in the light. Not so sure I have that dazzling a personality, hah. Then again, it's easier to get touchy-feely in the dark. Then there's The Bachelorette, which we all know about. There's also Wife Swap, which is hugely entertaining.

Also watched Wrong Diagnosis, where people with strange symptoms go to countless of doctors and take forever to figure out what's ailing them. Now that I know a couple of people who are going to medical school, it makes me wonder if my friends are competent enough to rise to the challenge. Not that I underestimate them or undermine them in any way, it's just that ill people are such immensely complicated things, and a wrong judgement could be quite fatal. Definitely don't want to put myself in such a compromising situation - not that I have the chops for it!

It's been sooo long since I did culture-vulture things like watching plays and people-watch. The only sort of culture I've been exposed to in the past few months was the mat and minah culture, and I'm not entirely sure I want that to rub off on me.