Monday had to be one of the strangest work days I’ve had in a long time. Shame I didn’t blog this sooner — might have had more relevance to the moment. Then again, blogging hasn’t been a daily thing for me in a while, so where’s the surprise?
For some reason I woke up at 5 am and stayed up. Those who know me best know that I love my sleep dearly, but I’ll admit that I’m enjoying mornings a bit more these days. Call it maturation in progress. Anyway, I was making my way to the office and was just about to walk into the lobby through the back of the building when I came across a burnt out wreck of a station wagon on the street outside. Not everyday you get to see the remains of a car-b-q on a Tribeca street; at least not in this day and age.
A few hours of work go by and then it’s off to lunch at Pongsri with some of the guys from work; all part of the interview process for a new hire in the web department at work. Still strange to be part of the process, but I guess it’s getting easier being on the other side of the table; asking questions and not answering them. On the way back we noticed some metal security railings along Braodway outside the office. I had seen parking permits the day before about filming for Conviction so I really didn’t pay them too much mind, thinking they were somehow related to that.
But then around 2 pm, there were unfamiliar sounds coming from outside that grabbed all of our attention: people chanting. A group of us made our way outside to the rooftop garden to see what was going on. And for the second time that day I was rewarded for bringing my camera with me.
Then it dawned on me. In my earlier-than-usual morning, I had time to catch up on the news, and they made mention of planned protests about the immigration policies in this country. I knew they were happening in Atlanta and Washington, so it’s wasn’t too far of a stretch to see one here too, what with New York being the center of the universe and all.
That’s right, I said it. The universe goes around New York and Copernicus was a flake and a fraud, but that’s neither here nor there. ^_^
Anyway, the rest of the workday took on a very strange atmosphere. Every ten minutes or so chants would go up from the protesters and seemingly punctuate whatever minor task we were taking care of. My personal favorite example was the loud round of chanting that kicked off just as I was concluding a phone interview. I even raised my arms in mock adulation to my many fans outside. Things were still going on some four hours later when I was walking out the door to make my way to the Big Quiz Thing, but the epicenter was further south.
Another dozen and a half pics of the protest — from the roof and from ground level — after the jump.
