The title's so because yohtan and sumanai and I tend to do the same things when going into New York, namely:

-get to Newark
-take PATH into WTC/Penn
-meet with SpiralSea at Penn
-Go to Book Off, where SpiralSea, yohtan, and sumanai ogle the cheap man porn used manga
-eat
-go to Oscar Wilde's
-wander around the Village/Union Square
-go home

This one was different, as it was senkami that had invited me to go along with his friends. I thought the plans had fallen through, and so thought to just go with yohtan and sumanai, who initially said they couldn't go, but then plans freed up. Turns out not to be the case, so college acquaintences get to meet at-home friends. [insert reference to worlds colliding/the Seinfeld episode about the different groups]


So the day started out normally, that is, my informing my family roughly three thousand times of where I was going and with whom.

Dad: Where are you going?
Me: New York.
Dad: Oh, is the interview with the Japan place today?
Me: No, Dad, that's the eighteenth.
Dad: Oh. So, who are you going with?
Me: yohtan, sumanai, senkami, and some of senkami's friends.
Dad: Ah. Going into Newark?
Me: No, MetroPark.
Dad: MetroPark?
Me: Yes, MetroPark.
Dad: MetroPark?
Me: MetroPark. (thinking "It's right by your damn hospital.")
Dad: Ah! MetroPark!
Me: ...

I gave an estimate time of return that would be a gross understatement. It's never a right estimate, but I tend to be generous, not lacking.

After running errands I called up yohtan, telling her I was ready to go. She'd woken up late, apparently, because she was working on some pieces until four in the morning, so could I please give her half an hour to finish getting ready? I have inherited my father's obsession with being late. This will get me more and more frustrated as the day wears on.

So, I start to call sumanai and senkami, in forming them of our late arrival. sumanai Had been doing a half-day at work, and was taking the bus into Manhattan. She boarded the bus as I was talking to her. senkami informed me of a late start, so they'd be getting into MetroPark in about an hour. (His group lives south of the Mason-Dixon Line Raritan. The train station we'd all meet up at is a bit closer to my group.) This, in fact, was perfect based on yohtan's timetable, so it was all set to go in an hour.

yohtan is ready and we spend a few seconds debating which car to take.

Me: If we take my car, we need to stop for gas.
yohtan: Yeah, my car'll need some gas, too.
Me: Might as well take mine, you get the brunt of moving us around, now.

We run an errand for her mom, get go to get gas. While on the way, I get a phone call from sumanai. She informs us that she's already at Port Authority. I curse. We tell her of the current status of things, and then tell her we'll call later to say whether to meet up with her at Penn or at Porth Authority. I get gas, get on the Parkway, and go off to MetroPark.



yohtan and I get to MetroPark with no problem. After slight navigation difficulties, (read: making a U-turn because I entered the parking arena of the place in the wrong way) I park the car and we go to wait and get our tickets. Another call to senkami reports that his group is still in transit.

We decide to kill time by getting our tickets and perhaps be slightly gouged for food. It's after one now, and the sun is hitting directly into the screens of the ticket dispensers. yohtan gets her rain of Sacagaweas and waits for me. After deciding that my machine didn't want my cash, I move down to hers. I see some pink in the corner of my eye, and think some girlie girl is at the machine next to me. I start to complain about how the displays on the machines really should be back-lit, and a deep voice answers in agreement. It takes me a few seconds to register the incongruity in my head. Then yohtan clinches the identity with two words:

"Nice skirt!"

A thing about yohtan: I don't think she's ever complimented a female about her skirt in my presence in the decade plus I've known her. She also likes to draw men in what are considered traditionally female items. Therefore, the person next to me had to be a male. We continue to snark about the machines, anyway, as we got our tickets. A glance over once I was done confirmed I was speaking with a guy. He was dressed in a frilly French Maid's outfit with a cropped wig and spangly red sunglasses. I complimented the glasses, he said thank you, and after saying goodbye we all went on our way.