Windows

Probably one of the most interesting things about working in a large city is the change in perspective. I'm used to the suburbs. I've lived in the same suburb for a number of years, and another one before it. I haven't lived in a large city since I was six years old. So the utter difference in perspective I get from working in one now is enthralling.

I've never really loved cities. There's not enough fresh air, too many people, and traffic is just unbearable. But somehow, this is nice. Stepping off the train or the bus every morning, I see a different sort of life. It's like watching a giant animal that is made up of all these people, rushing along in this massive flood of the living. It's easy to forget in a situation like that, just how human every individual is. You start looking at it all as a mass migration, and in that you forget that every person there has their own concerns and priorities. Everyone is going somewhere that is in some way important to him or her, they're not there merely to be another piece of this giant rush.

There's a window near where I work on the 4th floor of a large building. It's about 30 feet away from me, but if I turn my head ever so slightly to the left, I can see outside. I can see buildings rising up around me, and people walking down below. And the view of the rain is just breathtaking. For once, I don't just see the rain as droplets in front of me or coming down from above. When I look out, I see not only in front of me, but also under me, the water tracing its way down through the air, like tiny meteoroids coming down onto the unsuspecting victims below.

It's nice to be in the city for a change. I guess it'll probably grow old pretty quickly, and the view from the window on any day, rainy or not, will be lost on me entirely. But for now, I'm rather enjoying it. It's one of the nicely interesting bright spots on an otherwise chill and muggy day. If only that window were just a bit closer though...that would be nice.