(no subject)
It's been a while. So here we go.
I love New York. It is alive. There is so much to do, Broadway is in my proverbial back yard, etc., etc. Yesterday, however, was HELL ON EARTH in New York City.
I don't know how much you all have heard, but there was a torrential downpour here in the wee hours of Wednesday morning (and even a EF-2 tornado in Brooklyn!) here in the city. Apparently the subway system is designed to be able to accommodate 1.5 inches of rain an hour. Wednesday, the 3 inches that fell overwhelmed the pumps, drains, sewers, etc. Thus, there was, for all intents and purposes NO subway service in New York.
Now, I got up and was getting ready to go to work. I had the news on. I was kind of aware that there had been some bad rain, but nothing else. How I missed that the ENTIRE MTA was down, I don't know. Mark even called me to tell me that the commute was awful, but I didn't listen to his voicemail until later in the day. These actions all constitute Grave Mistake #1. Had I gotten Mark's message and been, I don't know, even halfway listening to the news (the local news, mind you, that was pre-empting the Today show) I probably would not have attempted to go to work. But alas, I, ventured out anyway. Ignorantly blissful.
As I approached the train station, I noticed several people outside the stairwell on their cell phones. I should have seen the red flag...or at least a yellow one. I make my way down the steps, and there are several hand-crafted (read: the booth attendant didn't have a marker so she had to make bold letters with a pen) signs reading things like "EXTENSIVE DELAYS" and "D N R M SERVICE EXTENSIVE DELAYS." Yet, I ventured on. I needed a new Metrocard, so I bought it and was going to head upstairs to call work and let them know I would be late. But alas, an R train came. "Great," I thought, "the delays are over." Oh, how I was mistaken.
The train continued to the next two local stops, a little slower than normal, but nothing too bad. Then, as we neared the next stop, we came to a halt. The conductor told us that there was an M train ahead of us, and as soon as it cleared the station, we would make our way onward. We waited for about 10 minutes and the conductor informed us that the M train was being unloaded so they could send the M train back into Brooklyn to provide a shuttle of sorts. He immediately came back on and said, "Understandably, the crew is having a little trouble convincing everyone to get off the train." Most everyone in my car let out a soft chortle. It was the one pleasant moment of my commute.
So finally, We pull into the station. And sit there for 15 minutes with no update. Finally, the conductor tells us that due to flooding, the signals aren't working at two future stops, so we'll be taking the bridge to Manhattan (rather than the tunnel) and that we'd be stopping at Canal Street. Well, Canal is past where my work is, so I got off the train. "I'll go upstairs and take the 2/3, it stops near my work," I thought, still unaware of the extent of the problem. The R train I was on sped away. Goodbye R train. Grave Mistake #2.
I went upstairs for my transfer, and started to realize how bad this situation was. There were SO. MANY. PEOPLE. EVERYWHERE.
I walked over to the 2/3 platform, and there was a 3 train that had pulled 75% of the way out of the station and stopped. It kind of looked like the train was dead. I know, a train isn't a living thing to begin with, but still...
So I walked back over to see if I could get another R train. I looked down the steps, and there were so many people on the platform, I could have gone crowd surfing and there would have been ABSOLUTELY NO CHANCE of me getting dropped. Crowds aren't really my thing and I was starting to get really hot, so I decided to go outside, above ground to get some fresh air and to take the bus. I want upstairs and got some air. Then I looked around. Much to my horror, there were people EVERYWHERE! It was a frightening crowd (understatement) of angry, hot, sweaty, upset, stressed-as-hell people. I walked around outside for a few minutes in a daze. There is a mall of sorts there, so I went inside to get out of the heat, as I realized that trying to catch a bus would be literally impossible. (More later.)
My next plan of action was to go to Target (in the mall) pick up a few things I needed, and perhaps by then, it would have calmed down. Target was closed. Their employees couldn't make it to work. For some reason, Target being closed felt like some kind of apocalypse to me. I stood in one spot for 15 minutes in a daze. What was I going to do?!
Back to the street where a man with a bull horn was yelling that there was no subway service but the Long Island Railroad was working. Had I exercised this option, it would have cost me extra money, taken a LONG time, and dropped me off in Midtown...I work downtown...very far away. So I nixed that idea. There were people yelling and going crazy. Van pool type cans kept pulling up offering rides into Manhattan for anywhere from $5 to $20. TWENTY DOLLARS? YOU ARE AN OPPORTUNISTIC RAPIST! Not like there wasn't hell traffic anyway. At this point, I decided to check the subway one more time and if it wasn't running, I'd just take a bus home. (A bus headed away from Manhattan, so ultimately less crowded.) I went downstairs and there was an N train and an R train waiting. Great. I hopped on the N train. After about 15 minutes, it whisked (read: WENT SUPER STUPID SLOW) me away over the Manhattan bridge to Canal Street. I tired to get to an R train, to no avail. I went up to try to get a bus, but they were SO PACKED, people's faces were literally pressed up against the windows. Besides, traffic was literally standing still.
I started to have a mini-panic attack thinking, "oh my god, how am I going to get home?!"
I went back down to the R platform to gather my thoughts. I looked at the map and realized that I could try to catch an A train. I walked a few blocks, and low and behold...THE A CAME RIGHT AWAY! It whisked (yes, whisked this time) me away to Chambers Street, two blocks from my work. I got there, was soaking wet, physically and emotionally exhausted, and just plain tired. But I had made it. And I think scored a few brownie points with my boss. He said something about dedication...but I was too dehydrated to really be listening.
By the way, co-worker walked all the way to work. From 86th St. and Lexington Avenue to Greenwich St. and Park Place. For those of you who don't know, that's about EIGHT MILES. Whoa.
Anyway. Wednesday was crazy.
But Thursday, something even weirder happened on my way to work.
I got on the train (running normally, thank goodness) and got off at my stop. I was walking down the street to my building, and my arm knocked into someone else's arm. (And by knocked into I mean BARELY BRUSHED.) Well apparently, this caused him to drop something. I saw him bending down to pick said item up, briefly apologized and went on my way.
I turned the corner, and felt his presence kind of stalking behind me. I glanced around and he was like, "DUDE WHAT THE FUCK?!"
Oh god.
So he stops me and he's like, "DUDE! YOU MADE ME DROP MY GLASSES! AND NOW MY LENS IS CRACKED!" He held up the glasses and, indeed, his lens was cracked. "I'm sorry," I politely reply.
Crazy Glasses Man:
"DUDE WHAT THE FUCK? WHAT THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO DO!?"
Me:
"I'm sorry. I didn't hit you on purpose. I was just walking to work. I apologize."
CGM
"DUDE! SO WHAT THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO DO? WALK AWAY WITH BROKEN GLASSES? MY LENSES COST $147!!!!"
Me:
"Look, I'm sorry. Like I said, I didn't hit you on purpose. I'm sorry about your glasses."
CGM:
"DUDE! YOU GOTTA MEET ME HALFWAY ON THIS!"
Me:
"I don't have any money. I barely made rent this month. I can't help you."
CGM:
"WHAT?! SO I JUST HAVE TO WALK AWAY WITH BROKEN GLASSES?!"
Me:
"I'm sorry, I don't have any money."
At this point, he stormed off, muttering curse words. Throughout the exchange, he cursed a lot more than I demonstrate here.
I wouldn't normally put up with something like that, but he was semi-threatening, so I didn't want to just walk away. I was rattled for a moment, as most people, I think, would be. But I shook it off quickly when I started to think about it.
First, I can't emphasize enough that I BARELY BARELY BARELY touched his arm. Second, the glasses he showed me were SUPER shitty. They were tacky gold wire frames, the frames were a little bent and scratched, the lenses were DIRTY, and the one that was cracked was cracked really bad...not something that probably would happen just from a little drop on the sidewalk. (I know this because one time, with my old glasses, I did a pirouette, and my glasses FLEW off of my face. The frames clattered to the ground, both lenses popped out, and the glasses got away unscathed. By the way, did I mention that I was on a date at the time? Super embarrassed was I. I digress...) Also, he said his lenses cost $147. Now, I just got new glasses. Designer glasses. EXPENSIVE GLASSES. My lenses were only $95.
The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that he was a conman. It looked like he went to Duane Reade, got a $10 pair of reading glasses, broke the lens himself, and then does that to people on the street. I wonder if he's actually ever gotten any money from anyone. I wasn't about to give him money. I don't have any to spare, really. And who is stupid enough to bring a scary, angry man who is yelling at them to an ATM?
Oh Crazy Glasses Man.
I love New York. It is alive. There is so much to do, Broadway is in my proverbial back yard, etc., etc. Yesterday, however, was HELL ON EARTH in New York City.
I don't know how much you all have heard, but there was a torrential downpour here in the wee hours of Wednesday morning (and even a EF-2 tornado in Brooklyn!) here in the city. Apparently the subway system is designed to be able to accommodate 1.5 inches of rain an hour. Wednesday, the 3 inches that fell overwhelmed the pumps, drains, sewers, etc. Thus, there was, for all intents and purposes NO subway service in New York.
Now, I got up and was getting ready to go to work. I had the news on. I was kind of aware that there had been some bad rain, but nothing else. How I missed that the ENTIRE MTA was down, I don't know. Mark even called me to tell me that the commute was awful, but I didn't listen to his voicemail until later in the day. These actions all constitute Grave Mistake #1. Had I gotten Mark's message and been, I don't know, even halfway listening to the news (the local news, mind you, that was pre-empting the Today show) I probably would not have attempted to go to work. But alas, I, ventured out anyway. Ignorantly blissful.
As I approached the train station, I noticed several people outside the stairwell on their cell phones. I should have seen the red flag...or at least a yellow one. I make my way down the steps, and there are several hand-crafted (read: the booth attendant didn't have a marker so she had to make bold letters with a pen) signs reading things like "EXTENSIVE DELAYS" and "D N R M SERVICE EXTENSIVE DELAYS." Yet, I ventured on. I needed a new Metrocard, so I bought it and was going to head upstairs to call work and let them know I would be late. But alas, an R train came. "Great," I thought, "the delays are over." Oh, how I was mistaken.
The train continued to the next two local stops, a little slower than normal, but nothing too bad. Then, as we neared the next stop, we came to a halt. The conductor told us that there was an M train ahead of us, and as soon as it cleared the station, we would make our way onward. We waited for about 10 minutes and the conductor informed us that the M train was being unloaded so they could send the M train back into Brooklyn to provide a shuttle of sorts. He immediately came back on and said, "Understandably, the crew is having a little trouble convincing everyone to get off the train." Most everyone in my car let out a soft chortle. It was the one pleasant moment of my commute.
So finally, We pull into the station. And sit there for 15 minutes with no update. Finally, the conductor tells us that due to flooding, the signals aren't working at two future stops, so we'll be taking the bridge to Manhattan (rather than the tunnel) and that we'd be stopping at Canal Street. Well, Canal is past where my work is, so I got off the train. "I'll go upstairs and take the 2/3, it stops near my work," I thought, still unaware of the extent of the problem. The R train I was on sped away. Goodbye R train. Grave Mistake #2.
I went upstairs for my transfer, and started to realize how bad this situation was. There were SO. MANY. PEOPLE. EVERYWHERE.
I walked over to the 2/3 platform, and there was a 3 train that had pulled 75% of the way out of the station and stopped. It kind of looked like the train was dead. I know, a train isn't a living thing to begin with, but still...
So I walked back over to see if I could get another R train. I looked down the steps, and there were so many people on the platform, I could have gone crowd surfing and there would have been ABSOLUTELY NO CHANCE of me getting dropped. Crowds aren't really my thing and I was starting to get really hot, so I decided to go outside, above ground to get some fresh air and to take the bus. I want upstairs and got some air. Then I looked around. Much to my horror, there were people EVERYWHERE! It was a frightening crowd (understatement) of angry, hot, sweaty, upset, stressed-as-hell people. I walked around outside for a few minutes in a daze. There is a mall of sorts there, so I went inside to get out of the heat, as I realized that trying to catch a bus would be literally impossible. (More later.)
My next plan of action was to go to Target (in the mall) pick up a few things I needed, and perhaps by then, it would have calmed down. Target was closed. Their employees couldn't make it to work. For some reason, Target being closed felt like some kind of apocalypse to me. I stood in one spot for 15 minutes in a daze. What was I going to do?!
Back to the street where a man with a bull horn was yelling that there was no subway service but the Long Island Railroad was working. Had I exercised this option, it would have cost me extra money, taken a LONG time, and dropped me off in Midtown...I work downtown...very far away. So I nixed that idea. There were people yelling and going crazy. Van pool type cans kept pulling up offering rides into Manhattan for anywhere from $5 to $20. TWENTY DOLLARS? YOU ARE AN OPPORTUNISTIC RAPIST! Not like there wasn't hell traffic anyway. At this point, I decided to check the subway one more time and if it wasn't running, I'd just take a bus home. (A bus headed away from Manhattan, so ultimately less crowded.) I went downstairs and there was an N train and an R train waiting. Great. I hopped on the N train. After about 15 minutes, it whisked (read: WENT SUPER STUPID SLOW) me away over the Manhattan bridge to Canal Street. I tired to get to an R train, to no avail. I went up to try to get a bus, but they were SO PACKED, people's faces were literally pressed up against the windows. Besides, traffic was literally standing still.
I started to have a mini-panic attack thinking, "oh my god, how am I going to get home?!"
I went back down to the R platform to gather my thoughts. I looked at the map and realized that I could try to catch an A train. I walked a few blocks, and low and behold...THE A CAME RIGHT AWAY! It whisked (yes, whisked this time) me away to Chambers Street, two blocks from my work. I got there, was soaking wet, physically and emotionally exhausted, and just plain tired. But I had made it. And I think scored a few brownie points with my boss. He said something about dedication...but I was too dehydrated to really be listening.
By the way, co-worker walked all the way to work. From 86th St. and Lexington Avenue to Greenwich St. and Park Place. For those of you who don't know, that's about EIGHT MILES. Whoa.
Anyway. Wednesday was crazy.
But Thursday, something even weirder happened on my way to work.
I got on the train (running normally, thank goodness) and got off at my stop. I was walking down the street to my building, and my arm knocked into someone else's arm. (And by knocked into I mean BARELY BRUSHED.) Well apparently, this caused him to drop something. I saw him bending down to pick said item up, briefly apologized and went on my way.
I turned the corner, and felt his presence kind of stalking behind me. I glanced around and he was like, "DUDE WHAT THE FUCK?!"
Oh god.
So he stops me and he's like, "DUDE! YOU MADE ME DROP MY GLASSES! AND NOW MY LENS IS CRACKED!" He held up the glasses and, indeed, his lens was cracked. "I'm sorry," I politely reply.
Crazy Glasses Man:
"DUDE WHAT THE FUCK? WHAT THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO DO!?"
Me:
"I'm sorry. I didn't hit you on purpose. I was just walking to work. I apologize."
CGM
"DUDE! SO WHAT THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO DO? WALK AWAY WITH BROKEN GLASSES? MY LENSES COST $147!!!!"
Me:
"Look, I'm sorry. Like I said, I didn't hit you on purpose. I'm sorry about your glasses."
CGM:
"DUDE! YOU GOTTA MEET ME HALFWAY ON THIS!"
Me:
"I don't have any money. I barely made rent this month. I can't help you."
CGM:
"WHAT?! SO I JUST HAVE TO WALK AWAY WITH BROKEN GLASSES?!"
Me:
"I'm sorry, I don't have any money."
At this point, he stormed off, muttering curse words. Throughout the exchange, he cursed a lot more than I demonstrate here.
I wouldn't normally put up with something like that, but he was semi-threatening, so I didn't want to just walk away. I was rattled for a moment, as most people, I think, would be. But I shook it off quickly when I started to think about it.
First, I can't emphasize enough that I BARELY BARELY BARELY touched his arm. Second, the glasses he showed me were SUPER shitty. They were tacky gold wire frames, the frames were a little bent and scratched, the lenses were DIRTY, and the one that was cracked was cracked really bad...not something that probably would happen just from a little drop on the sidewalk. (I know this because one time, with my old glasses, I did a pirouette, and my glasses FLEW off of my face. The frames clattered to the ground, both lenses popped out, and the glasses got away unscathed. By the way, did I mention that I was on a date at the time? Super embarrassed was I. I digress...) Also, he said his lenses cost $147. Now, I just got new glasses. Designer glasses. EXPENSIVE GLASSES. My lenses were only $95.
The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that he was a conman. It looked like he went to Duane Reade, got a $10 pair of reading glasses, broke the lens himself, and then does that to people on the street. I wonder if he's actually ever gotten any money from anyone. I wasn't about to give him money. I don't have any to spare, really. And who is stupid enough to bring a scary, angry man who is yelling at them to an ATM?
Oh Crazy Glasses Man.