Chat about crazy lady on 6 train - w4m (Midtown East)

You and I had an interesting moment on the 6 train Monday evening when an insane woman almost hit you. We had a laugh and chat about it afterward. When I got off at Astor and looked back you smiled. Wish I had given you my number. The moment was magical.

sara lives down in the financial district. if it were up to her she'd live somewhere like nolita or the west village but with her current financial situation, she'd have to live with 5 people. although it may seem like a good idea, she knows that it's something she'd regret down the line. so for now she has a studio at a recession rental rate. by day, sara works for an uptight communications firm in midtown. it's not ideal, but who has an ideal job these days anyway? she'd prefer a more casual place, a boutique firm where they have a nerf basketball hoop or something in the office. today at work, she gets a text in the morning from jason. the two met in college and grew close fast, they only hang out once every couple weeks but it's always a good time

jason: hey dinner tonight?
sara: heyyy can't do dinner (LIES) coffee?
jason: yah starbucks in astor?
sara: sounds good see you at 7?
jason: yupp later

work is slow that day, long meeting to long meeting to meetings talking about previous long meetings and touchbases. 6:30 rolls around and she's off to meet jason in astor place. she grabs her bag and sees her guilty secret...fit flops..."no" she thinks, not today. pumps and all she descends to the 6 train at 59th st. she experiences that sheer joy as the train pulls up right as she enters and congratulates herself, she timed it perfectly today, well done.

she snags a seat before the slow moving, morbidly obese new yorkers can get to the bench. she wonders how they even manage this city at all, especially in the summer. a boy sits next to her and she doesn't think anything of it, she's more distracted by the ridiculous insane person coming from the other car. the woman keeps screaming that everybody is afraid of black people and that's why nobody is looking at her. sara makes no attempt at eye contact with crazy. as people turn to ignore the insane beast, her frustration grows. she is hungry for a victim and has her sites set on the boy to sara's right.

the insane lady goes right up to him, "what bitch, why you lookin' down, you afraid of black people?" sara looks down and is starting to get a little scared but doesn't show it, her headphones will protect her. the wretched woman continues to the boy, "what bitch?! what!? what now?" and then makes a bizarre request, "order me dinner bitch!" sara loses control and starts giggling, the dinner request was over the top, but typical of a subway lunatic. the boy buried his head in his hands as if he was laughing, which angered the wretched beast. she raised her hand to hit him but decided he was not worth it and shuffled off to the next train. the boy lifted his head up and burst out laughing. other train go-ers were recounting the confrontation and smiling...there was a magical feeling in the air. taking advantage of the atmosphere, sara said to the boy,

"oohhh the 6 train..."
"i wonder what she wanted for dinner?"
"i don't know, but she was really hungry...she was gonna hit you"
"sometimes when i get hungry i hit strangers too"
"yah, its a pretty common reaction i guess"
"she was crazy, i love when that shit happens"
"haha, i usually hate it...especially when you hear, 'excuse me ladies and gentlemen, sorry to bother you'...that's my cue to turn the ipod up"
"haha, i always turn it down, pretend to listen to music but really listen to the crazy people...far more entertaining"
"i'll have to keep that in mind for next time"

astor place was up and her friend jason was waiting, she looked back at her train friend and he smiled and looked down as they parted ways. thank god she didn't put on her fit flops, that would've been embarrassing.


note: the accusations of the crazy lady are based on a real life experience in union square.

You helped me find Bleecker While it Poured - w4m - 26 (Deli by #1 station)

We were both taking cover in the rain at a deli/bodega. You had a bag from Bed Bath and Beyond I beleive. You get confused with streets above 23rd and I get confused below 14th. I thought you were super sweet, cute, and nice. Care to show me around your hood and I could show you around mine?

annie woke up on saturday before her roommates did. she loves when this accidentally happens, it means a quiet living room, fresh shower and some piece of mind before all the activity of a saturday. before getting ready she went for a quick run around the neighborhood (upper west side) then stopped at starbucks to get an iced latte. all set for the day, she could hear her roommates shuffling around inside their rooms. she got a distinct feeling that jeff, carrie's boyfriend had spent the night. although she likes him, she'd rather not deal with his antics today. hastily fastening her sandals, annie escaped the trivial interactions with her roommates still one foot in hand as the door closed.

although she loves her friends, annie enjoys that saturday morning solitude that so many of us long for. she grabs another drink at starbucks to sip as she heads down to the west village. there were a few clouds in the sky but nothing to worry about. her ipod on shuffle she smiled as beyonce's single ladies came on, a guilty pleasure for our decidedly indie annie. as she taps her foot to the beat she thinks about where she'll head once she gets off the train. her mind jumps from marc by marc to rag and bone and always ends up at magnolia. if you ask her, she'll deny loving those cupcakes, but, come on, she loves red velvet. plotting her journey, she quickly realizes that as a resident of the upper west side, she is largely unfamiliar with the winding streets of the west village. no matter, she is happy to wander aimlessly in search of retail triump. arcade fire is now on her ipod, thank god, she's cool again. her stop is up and she exits the scarcely populated train into a peculiarly crowded station.

annie realizes it's raining and most MTA patrons are choosing to wait out the downpour underground. it's hot and sticky so she decides to make a break for the nearest above ground shelter. sprinting up the stairs, she wanders into the street in a somewhat dramatic fashion (she's channeling some scarlett o'hara right about now). umbrella-less, she ducks underneath the awning of a deli/bodega. leaning against the window, she is quickly joined by brendan. annie can't really make his face out in the rain, but decides he's probably very handsome. he's cool too because he lives in the west village (who else would be there this early, other than her?). the rain starts to let up and annie remembers that she is essentially lost. just before brendan heads back to the street she pipes up,

"excuse me, do you know which way bleecker street is? i'm a mess below 14th st."
"ha, yah just keep walking that way" he says while gesturing down christopher st.

annie quickly develops one of those instantaneous infatuations with brendan, he's friendly, attractive and based on his outfit, not a d-bag. smiling at him she replies,

"thanks, do you live around here?"
"yah, all my life. it's funny though, i still get confused too...except above 23rd st."

not knowing what to say after this...annie simply retorts with, "well thanks again, see ya round." the two part ways and annie thinks she should've pursued him further. she knows there are no guys like that on the upper west side, only guys like her roommates boyfriend, jeff. jeff the accountant. gross.

14th St A train, heading uptown - w4m - 23 (Chelsea)

14th Street, A train, then...? Between 5 and 6 PM. This is the second time that I've taken the train with you. We're never within convo distance of each other, but I can't help noticing you. Today I thought I caught you checking me out a few times.
You need a shave. But I like it.
If you by some chance do read this, write back and tell me what I was wearing.

danielle is one of those girls that people are publicly friends with, but really, cannot stand. it's not that she's a bad person an it's not that she isn't pretty either. everybody has their version of danielle, that slightly annoying, completely bossy mentality she permeates is just too much to handle. danielle is okay in small doses but anymore than 20 minutes and we're talking lethal. today, our fair bossy lady was en route to her apartment in hell's kitchen. it's a luxury building closer to the west side highway in the 50's, where she lives with her "bff" from college and her "bff's" other "bff". coincidentally, all their aim profiles read, "hell's kitchen's devils, love my girls" and induce homicidal tendencies even in social care workers. danielle had a rough day at work today, and her suit from express shows all the drama she had to deal with. an inter office gchat

daniyell: omg, i'm so over this right now...why do i have to do everything
staySEEluv: ugh i know, it's like nobody does what they're supposed to and i have to deal with everything
daniyell: i can't even believe that i have to do this work right now
staySEEluv: it's out of control how much work i have to do because nobody is doing their work
daniyell: nobody is responsible here, it's like i have 3 jobs for the price of 1, i have so many things on my plate right now
staySEEluv: i am so tired of working, i can't handle it, i need a break...like a real one
daniyell: i did all of the work yesterday and am doing it all now, i am so done!
staySEEluv: i have so much to do.

...and so on and so forth. in reality, the other people in the company are looking to trim the fat and although our danielle isn't hefty...they're looking in her direction because nobody has any idea what she does all day. she was so tired at work today that she skipped out early while everybody else was in a meeting. just before heading into the station she gets a mass bbm from a roommate

jess.E: hey ladies, lets have champers and a roomie conv. 2nite...luv jess

perturbed that jess.E didn't appropriately abbreviate conversation with "convo" she boards the a train. her express suit is really getting the better of her now and her steve by steve madden pointy toe heels aren't helping the situation. she starts checking out the "man candy" (a phrase common to her and her friends) in the car. nobody "within convo distance" is eligible enough for our young lady but she spies a stubble faced gent at the other side of the car. he's casual and well dressed and is the type that NEVER goes for girls like danielle, for they learned their lesson about her type in pre-school. her bossy attitude emerges as she decides that if this relationship is going to work he has to shave. our boy looks over at her and can't help but stare because there is an awkward thing happening with her coach bag strap and her jacket that is providing almost attractive cleavage, but not really. thinking she looks better than ever, danielle takes this as, "date me please, pretty pretty girl and i will shower you with gifts!" she spends the rest of the ride eyeing him and pondering their life together. had only they been in convo distance...they would have connected.

how sad. she returns home for "champers" and a roomie convo.

F train. We both got off at Broadway/Lafayette - w4m - 20 (Downtown)

You were sitting across from me on the F train uptown at around 3 o'clock on Friday. I was wearing a blue dress. You had a plaid shirt. You were reading The Fall. I saw you on the staircase when we got off the subway. I smiled at you.

coffee?

caroline is an intern and she told all of her friends that this is going to be "the best summer ever". she's not just any intern though, she's a fashion intern! caroline landed a gig as a pr intern for tory burch. in truth, she would've preferred to work at one of the golden child labels, alexander wang, rodarte, yigal azrouel or even alexis bittar. but her father's connections could only stretch so far--no marc jacobs or lacroix for her but she's happy enough. after a long day of steaming garments and checking samples in and out of the unforgiving pr closet, she was happy to skip out a little early. summer fridays are a godsend she thinks to herself as she tucks her blackberry pearl into her black quilted chanel bag. she's looking around the train and decides at that moment that she will live in new york when she graduates in 2010. she confidently looks at her reflection in the mirror, mentally complimenting her contrived ensemble of a blue dress, boots and cropped blazer. legs crossed and tapping along to the beat of katy perry she peruses the passengers on the subway, passing silent judgement.

to the boy in the AA tri blend tank: hipster, tired look, over it
to the better dressed girl: who do you think you are? i intern for tory burch (she is an associate editor at conde nast, tread lightly, intern)
to the older man staring at her: perv, you have issues
to the two guys coming from work, talking about work: leave work at the office and take me to a nice dinner
to the mother with the crying baby: why didn't you take a cab? this baby is annoying me
to the man with the bike: you have a bike, why are you taking the subway, lame.

passing judgement has always come naturally to caroline. she's conventionally pretty and with a fashion internship to bolster her ego, it appears there is no stopping her. secretly she dreams of becoming an editrix but with any luck, forces already in place will save us all from her rise to editorial power. caroline blissfully bobs to the beat of kelly clarkson's femme nazi anthem, "i do not hook up" and remembers james, a boy who toyed with her emotions back at her southern conservative university. no matter how hard she tells herself she "does not hook up" she's not fooling herself or anybody else. sadly, caroline will never be one of those girls that owns her own actions.

trent is waiting for the f train that is carrying our fair caroline. he's reading the fall and getting lost in an existential world of confessions, guilt and amsterdam. conventionally handsome, trent used to be into the whole super prep lacrosse deal until he suddenly realized how stupid his surroundings had become. he transferred from george mason to nyu and is taking some summer classes to chalk up the credits that didn't go through. luckily for our caroline, his lacrosse magnetism remains and the moment the doors open, she senses him. girls like caroline could find lacrosse players during pride week in the village if necessary. trent doesn't notice caroline at first, he's used to attention from girls and to be honest is quite sick of it, particularly from girls like caroline. his taste is currently running more towards a brooklyn dwelling, non-hipster, intellectually inclined, strong willed towering beauty (because those are everywhere). caroline is trying her usual tricks, artfully alternating her leg crosses, shuffling her position, brief glances, and even smiling in his direction. trent can feel her gaze and is really put off by it, thinking, "jesus christ bitch, do i look like i'm interested in hooking up with the huge bag of issues you're carrying with you?" from his lacrosse player hook up past, he can spot baggage a mile away. avoiding eye contact still, trent exits as caroline follows behind. with a spirited pace, caroline passes trent on the stairs, looks back through her blonde locks and smiles. a spitting image of his past hook ups and girlfriends, trent averts his eyes.

caroline sings to herself, "i do not hook up" as she bounces up the stairs, wishing she could hook up with trent.

me: cargo shorts - you: toe ring - m4w - 25 (w. village)

I saw you Friday night waiting for the F train at the W. 4th station. I was the guy who looked like a former fraternity date rapist who was checking you out. It was around 12:30am. Me: khaki cargo shorts, ambercrombie sandals, a sun tattoo on my left ankle and an Ed Hardy shirt with this really cool design. I saw you look my way.. You had a hammer toe on your right foot with a pretty toe ring, you were wearing sandals too! I wanna get to know you!

chris is a proud college graduate. he works in one of those finance jobs at one of those finance places in one of those finance cubicles and has one of those finance futures. he is by all means, a dime a dozen new york d-bag. he could potentially be from staten island but most likely hails from the dirty jerz. currently he is co-habitating with two of those finance guys in hell's kitchen in one of those luxury buildings. when it comes down to it, this is the type of guy that new york welcomes at first but will surely spit out at some point in the future. earlier that day he had a gchat with his friend

chris: whatup brah
justin: whatup c
chris: gettin' after it tonight?
justin: for real, going to sway downtown...you down?
chris: i'm game

the rest of the conversation continued to objectify women, detail alcohol plans and possible securing of narcotics. chris hurries home from work that night, while eyeing girls on the train. he's so excited at the prospect of hooking up tonight and can hardly contain himself. he gets home to find one of his roommates watching tv, and they order a pizza. already a few beers deep, chris hops in the shower. before exiting the bathroom he gives himself a pep talk, flex session and hair gel moment in the mirror. then came the outfit decision for the evening, so many decisions. green cargo shorts, khaki cargo shorts, or dark khaki cargo shorts? he rolls with the khaki and takes a shot. he grunts and shakes his head to chase the vodka, so cool. now on to the shirt, the closet doors fling open and the hangers glisten with the light of jewels. like the cave of wonders, you can even here little twinkles! it's a fabled collection of ed hardy and affliction tee's. he dawns a stunning number with a bejeweled skull and of course it says, "love kills slowly" he heads out the door and heads for the subway.

he strategically places himself in front of a window on the train so he can make sure his hair, shirt, cargos, flip flops and general attitude are on point 100% of the time. in typical chris fashion, he thinks every girl on the train is interested in him. why wouldn't they be? he's awesome. he's the king of the bro patrol. before he can undress them all with his eyes, his transfer is up for the F train at W4. waiting for his train he notices anna, who is pacing back and forth in anticipation of the train. chris catches her looking at him, her thoughts are as follows,

"1. ed hardy, goodbye, 2. your hair looks like a biore pore cleansing strip (post cleanse) 3. stop looking at me creepzone 4. why are you going out in shorts? 5. i hope you don't try to talk to me on the train"

his thoughts are

"1. she likes what she sees, i'm down for that 2. who wouldn't like what they see? 3. toe ring, hot. 4. she likes what she sees, i'm down for that. 5. who wouldn't like what they see?"

the train arrives and chris is still checking anna out, his shirt twinkles in the light of the subway train as anna makes a concerted effort to get into a different car. bewildered at this development, chris decides she is a lesbian and heads to sway.

unfortunately for our friend, they do not allow shorts or flip flops at sway and he is rejected straight away.

note: he describes himself as looking like an ex-frat-date-rapist. he is one. beware.

two guys at the met - w4m - 18 (Midtown)

we made eye contact when i laughed at a certain thing you did to a statue. tell me what you did to that statue and in which exhibit the statue was. thanks for giving me a little laugh on saturday!

elizabeth pembroke lives in the city, and is a member of the upper east real side, that is to say she doesn't live in normandie court but on east end, york, park, madison or museum mile. it should be known that lex, 3rd, 2nd & 1st are reffered to as the upper way east side by myself and my cohorts. we know york and east end and york are further east, but they have that same feel of park and the others. anyway, elizabeth lives with her family in a lovely pre-war brick and white trim building with a doorman and working fireplaces. the pembrokes don't live in the penthouse though, a fact they publicly ignore but privately abhor. she goes to spence along with a great many of her friends and has aspirations to study art history in college so she can become a young "gallerina" when she returns home.

on this particular day, her step-mother was annoying the hell out of her, she kept insisting they go get their hair done together. elizabeth saw this as yet another transparent attempt at bonding and wonders when step mom will just get the picture that it's not going to happen. step mom continues to probe elizabeth as to what else she is doing today that's so important. in truth, she had no plans and most of her friends skipped town for the hamptons this weekend. she would be there with them except their home is being fumigated this weekend. feeling trapped in her classic six+two apartment, elizabeth lies to step mom and says she is meeting a friend downtown for lunch and shopping. knowing that step mom despises downtown, she is safe and heads out the door-balenciaga, iphone and blackberry in hand. she rides the elevator with a boy who lives a few floors above, he goes to dalton, she smiles and considers spending the rest of her life with him. his girlfriend, a true ho-bag waits in the lobby in some kind of trash bag uniform. repulsed, elizabeth walks out and thanks the kindly doorman.

planless she debates window shopping madison, a walk through the park, or actually going downtown. elizabeth makes her mind up to hit the park today. on her way she walks by the met and decides that the heat will get the better of her and it would be most comfortable to peruse the galleries in the air conditioned, art filled halls. gracefully squeezing through the crowds, elizabeth heads to the greek and roman galleries. ipod still in her ears she walks slowly and pensively from one sculpture to another. as she examines the drapery on one statue, she sees two guys horsing around in the distance. at first thought, she considers them stupid and disrespectful but somehow can't stop looking at them. dan, the clear leader of the mini bro patrol looks behind a woman statue and pretends to lift it's dress to get a peek at what's underneath while jason snaps a picture. after rebounding from the flash, dan looks up to see elizabeth laughing and they briefly make eye contact and smile. before they get the chance to talk to each other, dan's friend jason waves him over to another statue they can pseudo-desecrate. still laughing to herself--elizabeth exits the gallery to continue wandering the museum, keeping a watchful eye out for her comedian.

You saw Harry Potter 10:45 PM opening night - m4m - 24 (Murray Hill)

We bought popcorn in adjacent lines and we looked at each other brieflly... we met again at the butter and napkin station. You watched the movie by yourself, as did I. I should have stopped you as you walked out of the theatre after the movie, but I was too shy.

matt loves his job and his co-workers. he works for a boutique advertising firm that has had some major accounts but usually keeps it low key. they dress casual at his office which is essentially one large room, of course it's all white, painted exposed brick, ceiling fans and exposed pipes. macs are everywhere. our hero was running just a little late today, and threw on a pair of cuffed denim shirts, a scoop neck tee and a short sleeve buttondown on top of that. he's a slim guy and although he won't admit, looks at his reflection in store windows every five minutes.

the day at work starts off slow, he's on gchat and cursing the firewalls for blocking him from his usual blog checks, he settles for nymag.com & twitter. harry potter is a trending topic, and he's been anxiously awaiting this movie and has been trying to persuade his friends to go with him, unfortunately, they already have purchased tickets for another theater which is sold out. he's mad they didn't tell him they were going and briefly wonders if he's that friend they all make fun of and exclude. happily, he and his friends are all complaining about their "good" friend christie on gchat and he is released of anxiety,

matt: hey what's up
jason: christie is being so annoying, why does she think i care about a guy who once looked at her at yoga?
matt: why would she want to date a guy from yoga? that's just weird
jason: he's probably really bendy
matt: she doesn't know what to do with bendy

after poking enough fun at christie, matt secures tickets to the only harry potter showing not sold out--murray hill. he isn't particularly excited about this location but will brave the dbag neighborhood in honor of his hogwarts friends. upon arriving at the theater, he is overcome by a sea of pastel colored polos and gossip girl wannabes. matt smiles waiting in line for popcorn and thinks to himself, "she couldn't be blair waldorf because she's fat and is wearing a juicy couture dress." he also ponders who would be a better hogwarts romance, and ultimately is torn between harry and dean. before further debate, he decides he is being childish and should think of something else. just then, he sees his newest thought in the adjacent popcorn line. he's a typical murray hill resident but instead of khakis he has jeans, he has a white v-neck t on, and a buttondown over it. the guy is in less than perfect shape. you can tell he played something like lacrosse in college, but my how the half year since graduation has taken its toll. feeling his eyes on him, the stranger turns his gaze to matt and they make eye contact. the line moves, connection missed.

but lo! connection revived at the butter line. there is an awkward tangling of hands, the stranger doesn't look up, he is probably straight/homophobic and thus worried that matt will turn him to dust with his eyes or worse, perform an unforgivable curse. matt sees him in the theater, just a few rows below but decides not to approach him after the movie, he is very distressed at the death of dumbledore.

he was a great wizard.

blonde hair black dress sunac - m4w - 23 (williamsburg)

i walked out of sunac you looked right in my eyes i looked into yours and then i skated away while you waited outside of sunac

what the fuck was i thinking?

lou is a hipster by any definition. he doesn't have a full grown beard yet, but has enough stubble to maintain his "i'm choosing to be poor but have my parent's emergency american express card just in case" look. lou has a two bedroom railroad apt. in williamsburg, the second bedroom is vacant at the moment but there is an ad on craigslist. in any event, he isn't a vegan but prefers natural food because it leaves one feeling healthy, refreshed and energized. he awoke hungry that morning, but raided his pantry last night after getting home from some show at prospect park.

he dresses (sans shower) in jeans, a plaid shirt and a pair of converse, the traditional hipster uniform. making his way to sunac he realizes, as all other williamsburg residents do, that he looks exactly the same as his neighbors. no matter, he doesn't have to wear a suit today and that's all he cares about. dipping into his local coffee joint, he orders an iced coffee and makes small talk with the guy working the counter. everything is always sunnier in williamsburg for lou and he loves that he isn't at a starbucks in rock center.

moseying through sunac he grabs his usual natural food snacks, nothing out of the ordinary for this one. he approaches the checkout counter and is presented with that age old choice, mastercard (his own) or amex (his mothers). he weighs his options and decides to go with the amex today to punish his mother for arguing with him yesterday. she won't notice anyway, she only gets mad if he spends over $600 a month on it. a nice exchange with the cashier and he's out the door. then it happens, that childhood giddiness only achieved when you see your ideal counterpart. she had long blonde hair and a braided gold headband with aviator sunglasses. her locks were kind of a mess, but lou hadn't showered so he couldn't judge. he's feeling especially skinny today and notices her eyes are transfixed on his own. her black dress draped dramatically as they walked by and lou was so dumbfounded with luck, he couldn't say anything. as they passed she looked down and headed in to sunac to buy her groceries.

a hipster romance we'll never know. fear not, the same hipster dramatic moment occurred simultaneously in five natural food stores across the borough.

Butter Monday 7/6 - w4m - 23 (noho)

Only an entirely random series of coincidences would bring you to see this but what else are tuesday mornings for anyway? Met you on Monday the 6th and thought you were both handsome and charming but was too shy to talk to you on my way out. You were wearing a black suit-type jacket and a white shirt. You got me with your joke about going downstairs for the party later that night.

I now feel silly for doing this but I'm hoping you'll come in on another night when I'm working so I can try this again minus the reticence.

tracy is a confident young new york woman. she moved here after going to a small liberal arts school and when she first settled, her parents were paying for her rent in a lux doorman building on the upper way east side. she lives with her friend jessica, who used to write her name with hearts over the "i". tracy works, but she isn't a career type and is secretly jealous of women who pursue rewarding and fulfilling careers. her job at a communications firm is sufficient for income, but will no doubt lead to general distaste towards the city. on july 6, she gchatted roomie jessica who works as a hallway decoration (attractive assistant) at a hedge fund.

trace: heyyyyyyyy
jessie: heyyyyyyyyyy
nothing is said for 2 hours
trace: heyyyyyyyyyy
trace: what are we doing tonight??? do you wanna go out?
jessie: um, yes. drinking?
trace: isn't that what going out means?
jessie: truth, you're destined to be on texts from last night someday
trace: love it

they make plans to meet at butter for dinner at about 8:15, no dates tonight...it's a "girls night out". trace decides to skip out of work early and go home to change into something that straddles the line of carrie from sex and the city and samantha from sex and the city. even though it is a girls night out, she wants the he-men of the city to know she's available an open for business. trace makes her way downtown to meet jessie who headed up straight from work, but dresses casually for her job. they're running a little late and the hostess is visibly perturbed at their tardiness and outfit decisions. the hostess is an intern at tory burch by day, so obviously, she has some authority. our heroines wait at the bar and have a cocktail while perusing the scene full of their own crowd and devoid of any depth. dinner is uneventful as the two talk about work problems, parent problems and how they have no money (their tab runs easily to $150, but they're "so poor").

as they make their exit, jessie realizes she left her pink blackberry pearl at the table and she goes back to get it. while waiting for her slow poke/drunkish crony, tracy is taken with a guy at the front. he is wearing boot cut jeans that are ripped at the bottom, black loafers, you can't see but he is definitely wearing white gym socks, a white button down and a black blazer. his name is chris, and he is headed for the podium to check in about a table for him and his bro patrol. tracy overhears that his table can't be sat until his whole party arrives and says, "isn't that like the dumbest rule ever? how many people travel with all their friends?" chris replies, "i know, my boys are coming in from jersey and it's always a mess." just then two extremely well dressed tall girls check in at the podium for a party in the birch room, "have you ever been down there, it's so cool!" one says to the other as they shuffle off. they annoy chris and tracy, but in reality they wish they could hang out with these girls, "wow that party must be SO COOL if it's in the birch room" remarks chris. tracy giggles a little bit. just then, tracy's drunken comrade emerges from the dining room. chris's bro patrol arrives and in the hurried mix of new jersey boys and soon to be new jersey girls, our two would be lovers lose their connection.

think coffee - m4w - 23 (Greenwich Village)

you told your friend you thought I was cute as you walked out of think coffee, and my friend didn't tell me this until you were already gone, or i would have talked to you..i'm sure this is a lost cause, i had long hair, stubble of a homeless man and goatee...i thought you were cute too

marcus doesn't live in manhattan anymore. he used to when he went to nyu, which is the same time he became familiar with think coffee. he likes to avoid starbucks because it's always too crowded and in the end he doesn't think it tastes that good. he graduated in 2007 and moved to brooklyn with two of his roommates from school. he and his roommate, jake, left the house in a hurry today--on their way to union square to meet up with some friends. marcus grabbed his keys from a bowl by the door that has some old business cards in it, one from an old barber and the other from a restaurant.

jake and marcus rode the train into the city and discussed hook up possibilities while making the journey. jake is considering getting back together with a girl he used to have casual sex with in college but marcus advises against this, he's been down that road before. jake is clearly annoyed with marcus and they change the subject to something less sensitive. the l train deposits them in union square a few minutes early so they head down to think coffee to grab a quick, well, coffee. there is a good crowd there today, bohemians to pseudo bohemians and they're all thinking while drinking their drinks. amy and sarah are sitting at a table together laughing about a text that amy just got. marcus and jake look them over quickly but avert their eyes before being noticed. beverages in hand the boys sit down and jake brings up his old flame again. entranced by amy across the room, marcus shrugs it off, furthering angering jake. the girls get up to leave and amy looks at marcus as he glances somewhere else and whispers to her friend how she thinks he's cute and laughs as she exits. jake picks up on this and instead of telling his friend, he spites him for his disapproval of hooking up with his ex. to add insult to injury, jake waits like a praying mantis to tell marcus of this development until after the girls are out of sight.

this is how we play the game

new york city is teeming with hopeless and tiresome souls. when i first moved here, i stood on a rooftop and saw them, thousands of them, lives crashing into each other all over the streets. never have i been more aware that i am just one person living amongst millions. if there is any way to become a jaded new york citizen, this is it.

in any event, i started reading missed connections of craigslist. it seemed as if the lives i pondered on that rooftop, the lives that collided on those streets were trying to make amens through craigslist. their true stories eluded me, so i had to make them up. the next logical step is obviously, blogging.

so welcome to missed connections of craigslist, the blog.