Thank You Toothpick!
I know the title sounds way out there. Why would I be thanking a toothpick? The reason I am thanking the toothpick is because it took me out of my misery.
On November 26, I went out to ride the Grand Street Shuttle along with the D G.O. Since I was starting with the D G.O. first, I made my way to the
My mp3 player was still playing but the buttons would not function. This pissed me off as I like to listen to select songs when I’m out. I usually have a set of songs to match the mood I’m in on a given day. I will listen to a song on repeat for awhile before I switch.
The problem I had was that the play mode was on random. I was at the mercy of the randomness of my player. I tried to give it a minute to see if it would start to work but to no avail. I knew I had to do a reset. Unfortunately I had nothing small enough to fit in the reset hole.
I am downstairs on the platform waiting for a 205th St. bound D. I saw a station cleaner & approached her for assistance. Now that I think about it, asking for a needle does come off as strange. Thankfully she didn’t think it was a strange request. Unfortunately she looked through her key chain & pockets & had nothing small enough.
The next thing I tried was sticking the tip of the pen in the hole. The pen tip was way too big so I was shit out of luck. I had to deal with the circumstances & prepare to start chronicling. The chronicles went off without a hitch. However I still tried to get the buttons to work during them but to no avail.
Desperation started to kick in. How do I know this? Well when I approach a newsstand asking for a needle or safety pin, I can safely say desperation is in full force. The guy at the newsstand seemed to not give a shit & said he didn’t have anything. I got the impression he could have had something right in front of him & would have said no.
Eventually I make my way to
I knew this was probably my last shot to reset the player until I got home. I picked it up instantly & pulled out my player. Thankfully the part of the toothpick that was there was sharp & fit in the tiny reset hole. I was able to reset my player & become a happy man again!
Thank god I carry a hand sanitizer with me at all times!!!!!
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Double Take
I’m on my way home from Dayglow’s kick ass set at the crappy Avalon. I didn’t feel like taking the V to 51
I hope the V down to Broadway Lafayette. I took the 6 down to the last stop of Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall so I could catch the 6 back uptown. On a side note, I wish the MTA would build the uptown connection to the
I’m just lounging in a corner seat listening to my mp3 player, & then it happened. I had to do a double take. The reason I did a double take is because I thought I saw my best friend Dawn. The same best friend who I called earlier to see if she wanted to come to Dayglow’s show after work. I thought to myself it couldn’t be her.
She left me a message on my voice mail as she was on the train home. She sounded exhausted so I couldn’t see her being back in
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Halloween Recompense!
I guess some bad habits are hard to break. Here I am blogging about my Halloween on November 14th! I guess I am getting better since the delay is under 3 weeks! Normally I would be a minimum of 2 months behind.
I had been looking forward to Halloween for over a year. The theme for me was recompense. I wanted to recompense myself for missing out last year. My 2005 Halloween was spent finishing up moving out of
The plan was to go out & photograph the atmosphere of NYC on Halloween. I originally wanted to make this an all day thing. I took my sweet time & ended up leaving in the early evening. The goal was to take some nice pictures especially in the subway. I knew the opportunities were endless in the underground world.
I was invited to a party which I probably should have attended. I had my own reservations about that but I’ll pass on those feelings. The annual parade was my main target location. I normally do not enjoy events like that. I hate being squished in crowds. I must say it was not a bad experience at all!
The underground world was quite interesting on Halloween. I first wondered where everyone was. The train ride down to
The only concern I had about going to the parade was the possible station closings. The MTA made mention of possible closings of the closest stops to the parade due to overcrowding. Thankfully when I got down there, the station was open & I was able to get down to business.
I eventually left the parade & decide to hang out in the L.E.S. The crowds I anticipated on the ride there never materialized. I never saw the crowd size I expected on any of the train rides I took. Maybe the conductors were surprised as well. They made announcements to make room for the big crowds coming from the parade. However they must have been shocked to hardly see any.
In the end, this Halloween ended up being one of, if not the best ever!
P.S. Yes, the first artist/band I played on my mp3 player when I left my house was the Smashing Pumpkins! Who else would it be!!!!
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The Crowds, The Crowds!
Well ladies & gentlemen, don’t pass out from the shock. Yes, I have a blog entry for a ride that is under 24 hours old! This might be a record so mark this day down in your blog, diary, journal, scrapbook, etc…. Ok enough horsing around……..
I had an exciting show to attend last night. My lovely friends & second favorite band Dayglow were performing at a big show at Avalon. I’ll skip over the fact that I have always hated this place dating back to it being the infamous “Limelight”. I have lost count of how many times this place has been shutdown & reopened under a new name.
The common sense route for me to take was the 6 to 51 St. for the V to 23rd St. I got to Parkchester & the train was sitting in the station. Normally I would be happy for this especially when I left later than I originally planned. Unfortunately this was the rare time I wish the train had not arrived.
When I know I’m getting off at 51 St for the E or V, I board one of the last 2 cars. These are the best cars to be in when getting off since they are right by the staircase leading to the transfer. I will get on at Parkchester or Castle Hill Ave. & walk to the back. Since the train had already arrived & I was running behind, I just hopped in a car.
The ride on the 6 was fine until we hit 96th St. The crowd already had a normal amount of passengers. When the train reached 96 St. & the subsequent stations, it only got worse! My fear is always being trapped & missing my stop.
The beauty of my local stop is I can always get a seat. I’m about 10 minutes from the beginning of the line. The drawback is when I’m riding into Midtown & beyond. The crowds can become so bad, I am trapped in my seat & can barely see the station if I even do.
I started to wonder what was going with the crowds last night. I am riding the subway in the reverse rush hour peak direction. The reverse peak direction by default has less passengers than its peak counterpart. However last night I felt like I was riding a rush hour peak direction train. I was trapped like a sardine in my corner seat.
The only saving grace I counted on was that a good amount of passengers would get off at 59th St. Thankfully they did but unfortunately even more got on! My last saving grace was many would be getting off at my stop, 51 St. Many got off & thankfully people were nice to clear space for us to get off in one peace! I was expecting the usual bum rush of people onto the train before letting us off.
I will offer myself & everyone reading a big reminder. If you are on the downtown 6 & going to 51 St, ride in the back of the train!!!! It took me over a minute to get to the back of the station with all the idiots stopping short! I hate having my forward progress impeded. I walk fast & in long strides. Any sort of my progress being impeded is beyond frustrating!
P.S. Dayglow’s set kicked ass as usual!!!!!
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Hauling Ass
So I’m still on that same 6 train heading home going into 3 A.M. on Sunday. I’m listening to music while lyrical fragments are coming into my head. I’m trying to ignore the fragments for a few different reasons. The ride was going fine & the “Odd Behavior” crew was gone.
I did get a sudden boost in energy after we left 125th St. The T.O. hauled some major ass going to & pulling into 3rd Ave./E. 138th St. I loved how he took that curve like a madman but executed a perfect stop without jerking. I don’t know who the T.O. was but I bet he kicks ass on an express run.
To the mystery T.O., I thank you for getting me home even quicker & keep hauling ass on the tracks!
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