Yesterday, I received the invitation and registration form for NYU’s Alumni Reunion Weekend. While I finished college in December 2004, next month marks ten years since my official graduation. It’s crazy to me that so much time has passed.
I’m kind of bummed that I won’t be able to go to the reunion – one of those occasions when I wish I was living on the mainland. I guess that, technically, I could go, since I have the miles and I have just enough vacation time. But it wouldn’t be fun without the hubby. And there’s the added cost of accommodations and fun when we just spent a bunch of money on going on Pilgrimage. Not to mention that this Friday our taxes are due. Ouch! I didn’t establish many long-lasting friendships in college, so I’d be going mostly to see members of my scholars group and my old crewmates and, of course, The City.
While I learned many things in the classrooms at NYU, there were some things I learned just from living in the city. My favorite:
When I headed off for college in the fall of 1991, I said goodbye to my family at the New Orleans airport and boarded the plane with my friend Jennifer, a high school friend also going to NYU, and her mother. When we landed at JFK, we had to take two cabs into Manhattan with all the stuff we had among the three of us. Jennifer and I got in one, her mother in the other. We’d heard cab fare from the airport was very expensive, so we were ready to pay lots of cash. When we arrived at the hotel, the driver told us the cost – I think it was about $60 – which, in our minds, matched the anticipated high price. Jennifer’s mom, riding with a more honest cabbie, paid about $35. First lesson learned: always make sure the cab meter is on.
Fast forward to the spring of 1995. I’d said goodbye to my parents, who’d flown in for my graduation, and headed to the airport for my flight. (I guess they were flying out later or out of a different airport?) I got in the cab and told the driver my destination. He started driving. I looked at the dash and asked him to turn on the meter. He did and I smiled, feeling a rush of pride. My time in New York had not been wasted.
Hey! I was in a scholar's group too! It might also be difficult to travel on such a long flight if you are feeling "pregnant."
I haven't learned the lesson as well as you! Got swindled in a Bangkok cab at Christmas. Taxi meter wasn't on and Chris and I were so happy catching up that neither of us noticed. Good thing a Thai cab swindle is only $2-3 dollars instead of the New York rate.
Posted by: Jennifer P. at April 17, 2005 10:24 AM