There's no better way to end the week than by listening to a motown acapella group in Penn Station. Kinda erases all negative encounters of the week - ready for a clean slate of craziness on Monday.
They were jamming out to their own version of Shout and it totally made me want to be at a party. I was definitely swaying along. We're not talking some subtle foot-tap mixed with an occassional head-bob - I mean full on swaying. Loving it. And the guy in front of me keeps turning around, grinning, nodding and saying, "They're good, right?" Agreed, sir. They even had a dude playing a large stringed instrument (Sorry, but by the end of the week I'm not up on my orchestra lingo).
And mad props to them for ending the number with, "If you're drunk come sing along! ...If you're sober we don't wanna hear from ya!" Soo wish I'd made a pitstop at Rose's* beforehand because no doubt I'd be swaying and singing.
And a belated shout-out to last Friday's patron of the week: the guy who sat down on the shuttle and said "It smells like liquor on this train! Is it me?!"
*Rose's - Penn Station = 4 bucks for a gigantic cup of beer...You're welcome.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Good Morning to You Too
It's amazing how many more people are in the subway at 9am versus the "serenity" of 9:30. And, trust me, there's no coordination to the 9am chaos.
Getting on the 1 today, a man said to me, "Go ahead - push your way in bitch!" Well good morning to you too, sir.
First of all, if you were patient enough to hang around you'd see there was plenty of room in the car for you. Secondly, I was there before you and moved out of the way to let a suitcase guy through. And last, do you really think calling people bitches is going to get you where you need to go and produce a better day? Good luck with that. Really.
On a lighter note, the McDonalds virtual fish tank is playing galaxy clusters again. I might have to stop calling it a fishtank since its been a week since I've seen any fish - but first impressions die hard. And FYI - hashbrowns are only 89 cents. Score.
Getting on the 1 today, a man said to me, "Go ahead - push your way in bitch!" Well good morning to you too, sir.
First of all, if you were patient enough to hang around you'd see there was plenty of room in the car for you. Secondly, I was there before you and moved out of the way to let a suitcase guy through. And last, do you really think calling people bitches is going to get you where you need to go and produce a better day? Good luck with that. Really.
On a lighter note, the McDonalds virtual fish tank is playing galaxy clusters again. I might have to stop calling it a fishtank since its been a week since I've seen any fish - but first impressions die hard. And FYI - hashbrowns are only 89 cents. Score.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Group Hug and Galaxy Cluster
So, me and 20 of my new friends just joined in a group hug on the 6. I thoroughly enjoy group hugs, but I usually prefer them to be over something more inspiring than another almost blizzard. Though group hugs are so rare, I guess you gotta take them when you can get them huh?
I forgot that my alarm was set to go off at 9 - which turned out to be the exact second that I piled onto the subway - and I thought jeez these people are going to hate bc there's no way I can get to my phone to make it stop. But luckily the pressure of the group hug took care of it for me.
Fortunately the MTA was overcompensating for last week's blizzard delays because the back to back trains made it easier to deal with the fact that I couldn't get onto the 2 trains that came and went in the time I was standing there. All the while I was wondering if I'd rather be back in LA where it takes 1+ hours to drive 4 miles - no def don't miss that - but at least while doing that I never had a puddle of ice water in each boot.
Of course by this time, its no longer a puddle - it's formed and ice block around my big toes. Just my big toes though - don't really get that. I should def invest in rain boots.
While trying to get on the first train, a kind woman inside politely hollered at the other patrons to move in and make room, to which a man told her to get on the next train. "I'm already on it. I'm just trying to make room for the other people. I see a hole over there. Move in." His response was a collection a curse words.He must have had a puddle of ice water in his boots as well. As the doors slid shut she ended it with "Well, I hope you have a nice day sir." To which he responded, "YEAH? Well I hope you have a nice NIGHT!" Really, sir? That's so threatening. Really. The best part, of course, was the jolly man on the platform that leaned in and said "Don't worry miss. He's a crazy person."
But at least I wasn't three hours late to work like last week's blizzard. I actually had time to go to the fancy McDonald's by my office. The one with the virtual fish tank - really? In a McDonald's.Actually, today instead of fish it's footage of vintage boats and a galaxy cluster. Random.
I forgot that my alarm was set to go off at 9 - which turned out to be the exact second that I piled onto the subway - and I thought jeez these people are going to hate bc there's no way I can get to my phone to make it stop. But luckily the pressure of the group hug took care of it for me.
Fortunately the MTA was overcompensating for last week's blizzard delays because the back to back trains made it easier to deal with the fact that I couldn't get onto the 2 trains that came and went in the time I was standing there. All the while I was wondering if I'd rather be back in LA where it takes 1+ hours to drive 4 miles - no def don't miss that - but at least while doing that I never had a puddle of ice water in each boot.
Of course by this time, its no longer a puddle - it's formed and ice block around my big toes. Just my big toes though - don't really get that. I should def invest in rain boots.
While trying to get on the first train, a kind woman inside politely hollered at the other patrons to move in and make room, to which a man told her to get on the next train. "I'm already on it. I'm just trying to make room for the other people. I see a hole over there. Move in." His response was a collection a curse words.He must have had a puddle of ice water in his boots as well. As the doors slid shut she ended it with "Well, I hope you have a nice day sir." To which he responded, "YEAH? Well I hope you have a nice NIGHT!" Really, sir? That's so threatening. Really. The best part, of course, was the jolly man on the platform that leaned in and said "Don't worry miss. He's a crazy person."
But at least I wasn't three hours late to work like last week's blizzard. I actually had time to go to the fancy McDonald's by my office. The one with the virtual fish tank - really? In a McDonald's.Actually, today instead of fish it's footage of vintage boats and a galaxy cluster. Random.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Coordinated Chaos
You know that scene in Across the Universe during the Come Together set? The one where all of the business people are rhythmically traversing across Rockefellar Plaza. That's what I think of every evening as I'm dashing across Grand Central underground to get to the shuttle. We're not talking beautiful-I've-seen-this-in-so-many-movies Grand Central. I don't see the light of day during this commute. We're talking a massive subway station jammed with people trying to rush from one subway line to the next. Yet somehow it's so coordinated and no one ever runs into each other - because we do this every day. We know how it goes. And every single time I think of Across the Universe and it makes me ecstatic. So if you're navigating GC subway rush hour and you see the girl in business casual with a much too large bag and a massive smile on her face - that's me.
From the time my train gets into Penn I have 20 min to get to work - and this involves taking the 1 to Times Square then the Shuttle to Grand Central and then the 6 downtown. And if there's even a slight delay on the LIRR, I have to brave the 10 degree weather and the midtown tourists in a mad sprint across town.
So today I'm at shuttle track 1 and the shuttle is all the way at track 4. I'm part of a mass exodus around the tracks to get on this train even though another one will probably be rolling up on track 1 any second now. But you know the shuttle - it sits there for what seems like hours before it actually leaves. So I'm behind this girl with a suitcase. I hate the suitcase people - but somehow she's booking it - very impressive. Really. And then she just stops - in the middle of the one narrow pathway that leads to track 4 - she just stops - really? And so I get to the shuttle just as the doors are closing and myself and this big linebacker looking guy are both like dammit! And now I also hate the people who block the doors - if you're already in the car its a pain in the ass. And I swear neither me or the linebacker blocked the door but magically the door pops open and we both jump and land inside the train at the same time just as the doors slide shut one last time. It was like synchronized jumping - and it was beautiful.
From the time my train gets into Penn I have 20 min to get to work - and this involves taking the 1 to Times Square then the Shuttle to Grand Central and then the 6 downtown. And if there's even a slight delay on the LIRR, I have to brave the 10 degree weather and the midtown tourists in a mad sprint across town.
So today I'm at shuttle track 1 and the shuttle is all the way at track 4. I'm part of a mass exodus around the tracks to get on this train even though another one will probably be rolling up on track 1 any second now. But you know the shuttle - it sits there for what seems like hours before it actually leaves. So I'm behind this girl with a suitcase. I hate the suitcase people - but somehow she's booking it - very impressive. Really. And then she just stops - in the middle of the one narrow pathway that leads to track 4 - she just stops - really? And so I get to the shuttle just as the doors are closing and myself and this big linebacker looking guy are both like dammit! And now I also hate the people who block the doors - if you're already in the car its a pain in the ass. And I swear neither me or the linebacker blocked the door but magically the door pops open and we both jump and land inside the train at the same time just as the doors slide shut one last time. It was like synchronized jumping - and it was beautiful.
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