"Oh, we’re so disarming darling, everything we did believe is diving diving diving diving off the balcony. Tired and wired we ruin too easy. Sleep in our clothes and wait for winter to leave. Hold ourselves together with our arms around the stereo for hours, la la la la. While it sings to itself or whatever it does, when it sings to itself of its long lost loves. I’m getting tied, I’m forgetting why. Tired and wired we ruin too easy. Sleep in our clothes and wait for winter to leave. But I’ll be with you behind the couch when they come on a different day just like this one. We’ll stay inside 'til somebody finds us, do whatever the TV tells us, stay inside our rosy-minded fuzz for days. We’ll stay inside til somebody finds us, do whatever the TV tells us, stay inside our rosy-minded fuzz." ~the national

I think the best songs are ones that don't hit you right away. The first few times I listened to the song quoted above, "Apartment Story," I didn't think of it as anything special. I'm not sure when I first "got it" and realized how brilliant it really is. Now it's probably my favorite song on Boxer and one of my overall favorite songs. I have a recording of Friday night's concert and they played a good version of "Apartment Story" so I've been listening to that for the past couple of days; I just keep playing that song over and over.

What is it about me that makes people want to talk to me? I can't figure it out, but for some reason I seem to attract people who feel like telling me their life stories. I was just walking down the street to the garden of St. Marks in the Bowery where I am now (because I get wireless internet access here) and a man started walking alongside me and talking to me. At first I didn't realize he was even talking to me. He ended up telling me all about the battle of the street vendors for territory (he's a street vendor) and all about his brother and his new apartment and all kinds of little things about his life. He was a very nice guy. I walked with him to where his table of books was set up and he gave me his card and we parted ways. It was nice to talk to someone (well, I mostly listened), but it happens to me a lot and I wonder why. Maybe it's because I'm alone a lot. And I don't look very intimidating, so I'm approachable. Maybe most New Yorkers are just searching for company and reach out to whomever they can, even if that means a stranger walking down the street or sitting alone on a bench.

This morning I went to Redeemer Presbyterian Church for the first time. It's Tim Keller's church (he's a pretty famous minister) and he gave a good sermon today. I'm pretty sure I'll go back.