After a month in New York, I grew comfortable navigating my way around and keeping up with the flow of Manhattan. However, this weekend I had a reality check. The fast pace that makes this city so unique caught me off guard and made my life more stressful then it needed to be. After coming home from work on Friday, I went uptown to see a friend. Instead of catching the subway back, I decided to hail a cab. I ended up walking 10 blocks before I was able to track one down, always feeling one step behind everyone else. After a half hour in the brutal cold, I was able to get a ride back to our apartment.
The cab driver pulled up to our building, but he was still a little out in the road, which caused a small backup of cars behind us. With horns blaring and people yelling, I tried to pay my fare and gather my belongings as fast as possible. In the chaos, I forgot one important thing: Always check the cab before you get out. I sensed something was wrong as soon as I reached the top step to the apartment building. I reached into my pocket and realized I left my wallet in the cab. I let the chaos around me affect my ability to think clearly. Traveling in the city requires full concentration. One needs to be aware of what is going on around them, while still staying focused on the task at hand. I let the horns of the cars behind me distract me, and a simple everyday occurrence turned into a disaster. From now on, I will take that extra second to make sure I have all my belongings when I leave the cab.
