famous!

it's been awhile... i guess not too much exciting has happened on the subway... i DID witness a shoplifter get chased and handcuffed on broadway. apparently there are undercover cops at those little outdoor markets everywhere... because THAT is who was running down the street- a plainclothes cop. chased after this guy, started frisking him, taking things out of his shirt, then handcuffing him. it was quite a site. that was about 20 minutes after i had been walking down the street, and passed a guy walking towards me, and thought "hmmm, i know htat guy, i must have been in the elevator with him.. he must work in my building..." but then i thought "no... that's not it... i feel like i worked with him.. do i know him from borders?" then it dawned on me, it was John Krasinski from "the office"! it was rather funny.

today when i was walking on the street i heard a guy say "i knew i wanted a milkshake!" and that made me laugh...

i think that is it for now...

best guy ever.

i first noticed this guy sitting across from me on the subway as i was coming home from work because he had a back to the future t-shirt on. i thought "awesome."
then.
i noticed, he was reading a comic book compilation of the comic book "silver surfer" and he was fully immersed in it. he had thick, black, plastic glasses on, black jeans to match the black bttf t-shirt, and black sneakers. his face was rather dotted... and he was awesome. i stared at him whilst he was reading the silver surfer. he fascinated me. i think i just love it when i see a ridiculous stereotype. yes, i think i love stereotypes. i love them in action. i love the nerdy guy wearing a back to the future tshirt, with thick glasses, pimply skin, reading a comic book.
do i fit into a stereotype? actress with a day job? do people stare at me and smile thinking "this is amazing, what a great stereotype in action"???

every day i see it, the guy who hates his office job, the woman who hates the fact that she has to ride a subway, the working mom who takes her kid to the preschool close to the office in midtown, the elderly lady who has been taking the 8:35 train (even though there are really no times) every day for 55 years, the nerd, the drama queen, the outcast, you name it.

i always say there are stereotypes for a reason. stereotypes arent made up. stereotypical comic book boy, stereotypical struggling actor, stereotypical city mom, stereotypical working man. they exist, and if you sit on the subway, you will see them every day.

i do wonder what stereotype i am... youngest child? small town girl in big city? actress? snob? irish girl? tribeca receptionist?
being individual is a stereotype too...

we have stereotypes for a reason: most of the time they are true!

crazy talker and a cozyupper...

last night after a fulfilling energy class, i got on the N train, and i could hear an older man talking to a younger woman (my age) - and i sat down kind of next to them (their seats were perpindicular to mine) - and this guy was TALKING. about everything, the book she was reading, cuba, florida... told her not to read the book in florida because they hate cubans... and was just going on and on.. .trying to guess her profession...
so i started thinking of ways to save her.. i was thinking i should say "HI JEN!!!! how ARE you!!!???" but then i thought if i did that he would start talking to both of us how the subway is so crazy for meeting people. i didnt want to catch the guys eye either. then a guy got on and sat next to me. and started FALLING ASLEEP AND SLOWLY leaning INTO ME!!!! so i am staring at him, willing him not to fall on me, but slowly, slowly... so finally i pushed him, he "woke up" then started at it AGAIN. and i started thinking "if this guy falls on me, talker is going to comment on it, then i will have to talk to the talker..." then i was thinking about how i would react if someones HEAD with HAIR fell on my BARE ARM. and i realized i would probably yell and jump... then i was wondering if he was doing it on purpose... wanted a cuddle.. finally, he got off... without falling onto me.

but the talker was still going strong. i heard him say "im a writer, producer, director of movies..." and ithought "here we go, i am GOING to have to intervene now - he is going to ask her to be in a 'film' that obviously will be porn" but then he said he is working on a horror film...
he then asked her if he would see her again. again, i thought i would have to intervene... but she said "do you ride the train a lot?" it was great.

so then FINALLY he got off. 2 stops before me. i looked at the girl who made a face and i said "ohmygod!!! i kept trying to think of how i could save you!!!" so we chatted about him the rest of the way- then the guy next to me chimed in about how he felt bad... and how he feels bad for girls etc.

it was a lovely chat and she appreciated that we all felt for her...

it was nice to bond with someone on the subway - makes the other people real...

I NEED A NAKKIN

ok. i was on the subway last week, and these two guys got on. they were the type of guys who dont use discreet, inside voices when on the subway, and you arent sure if it is because they WANT people to hear them, or they just dont care. i think they were coworkers - one was older than the other, but not old enough to be a father, and i didnt get the brother vibe from them.

so. they walk in, and immediately i can tellthey will be interesting. They are dressed in workmans clothes - jeans, work boots, flannel shirts.. one of them wants to sit down right next to the door, but the other (the older one) doesnt.. so he walks further down the train. the other one starts to follow, and spills his coffee. needless to say, a parade of expletives follows. but he moves to where his friend is. he sits down, and starts saying "I NEED A NAKKIN. I NEED TO GET MY NAKKIN! I NEED MY FUCKING NAKKIN" and i immediately start cracking up. i always have a hard time understanding adults who say "nakkin" instead of "NAPkin" or "valentiMes instead of "valentines" "libERRY" instead of "liBRARY" do they not see the other letters? was it just that they always said it like that as a kid and no one ever thought to correct them, and they believe that everyone else is wrong in the pronunciation? i am fascinated by that concept.

the coffee issue subsided, and tehy started chatting away about mutual friends etc... then suddenly i hear "he dont know dave! if he dont know richie, he dont know dave... because they're brothers" and it just cracked me up. i love hearing snippets of peoples conversations. my sister and i want to write a book and have just lines of things we overheard... taken out of context who KNOWS what people are talking about!

another thing i love about the subway is how everyone, when the walk in, looks to see if there is a seat available. i love watching people do this. i dont know why.

i also enjoy reading whatever the person next ot me is reading. except when it is a newspaper and i am reading an interesting article and they turn the page. annoying.

it's a straight thing...

today is about straight hair.

i normally have curly hair, and everyonce in awhile when im feeling bold, and feel like taking the time, i will dry it out straight and use an iron.

Yesterday and today were 2 of those days. Yesterday at work every single person commented on it "oh, it looks nice, oh, megan! you look so GOOD!" "I LOVE YOUR HAIR!!!!!!!!!!" "you look BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!"

doi look so grotesque with curly hair?

today, i went walking on my lunch break. as i was walking along, there was a group of men standing around. they STOP mid conversation and one of them says "hello... you look beautiful today!" i said "thank you!" and continued on my way. one block later, a man in a delivery truck yelled "HEY SWEEETHEART!!!!!!!" to me.

was it the straight hair? was it the short jumper i was wearing? WHAT WAS IT????

walking from the subway in harlem where i ALWAYS got comments - i got even MORE - 'hi!" "hi pretty lady!"
what IS it?

on my way BACK to the subway in harlem, i had a large back, plus my cart FILLED with stuff from my apartment. RIGHT at my door a man ON HIS CELL PHONE stops MID sentence and says "do you need help with that?" at that point i wasnt even struggling to get it off the stoop, i was merely walking along with it wheeling behind me. i said no thanks and continued. turn the corner - "hi there pretty!" i smile. walking along, another man on his cell phone - "hi baby - you need some help?"
no. no i DONT need help.

where were these men when i was walking down the fucking steps to the subway!?

i had to change trains at one point, and there is A LOT of stairs. i was at the top, preparing, when two men immediately stop, one takes the bottom, the other the top, no questions asked, and take my cart for me. one of them evenoffered to put it on the train for me, but it wasnt the right train - i had to wait for a different one.

let me stop a moment and talk about a couple i observed. it was so obvious it was an early date in the relationship - and DEFINITELY the first time that they were going to do it. they were on their way to his apartment to finally do it. he was so into her and so excited - and she was a bit more nervous. not that she wasnt into it - she was - but he was thinking about it the ENTIRE time. you could tell, and he was A LOT older than her.

so i get off the train at my stop. i carried the cart down the first leg of stairs- and that was fine because it wasnt too much - and te people around me had bags on them. however. when i got to the stairs to the street, i was preparing for my trip down the stairs, when two lovely young men (18 probably) offered to help. one had a cute little varisity jacket on that said "brandon" i wish i had told them to tell their moms what they did. it was so cute.

so that was my day with straight hair.

how can going from curly to straight hair transform someone SO much that every man on the street takes note!?
do we live in a straight hair-biased world? if my hair had been curly tonight - would i have gotten the same treatment i had as a straight hair woman?

was it because my dress was short?

i dont know.

coincidence?

today, i was standing when i first got on the train. at 77th i see a seat open across from me, so i booked it over there. i sit down, and who FLIES from the other side to sit down - tangerine girl. although not tangerine today - grey. she seemed a little out of it today...

still. how often do you notice the same person on the subway!

and, last night, i was on my way to astoria to meet a prospective roommate (she is going to live with me!) and i was sitting reading and i hear "megan?" and i look up - and it was my dear friend jonny kay from when i did the berkshire theatre festival. he himself lives in astoria. so we chatted for the whole train ride, until he had to get off 2 stops before me. it was lovely. hadnt seen him in nearly 5 years.... sad how that happens...

nothing too exciting...

this isnt really a crazy person story, but a story from the subway nonetheless.

this morning i was standing, holding onto a pole, minding my own business, waiting for one of the people sitting near me to get up. now, for those of you perhaps unfamiliar with the subway, let me just say that when you are standing at a pole, there are usually 3 chances for getting a seat - the people on either side of the pole, and the one next to the person on the side of the pole you are on. however. once another person comes to share your pole, your chances are shot to only 2- the people on your side of the pole.

enter girl wearing tangerine colored "shirt dress" over black jeans, with black flats... and a hair in a messy ponytale.
with ipod nano. she stands next to me, and immediately i hate her because she has just diminished my seat chances. of course, the next stop, the guy sitting on HER side gets up. i notice when she sits, she LITERALLY sits ontop of the girl on MY side, so much so that the girl on my side noticed and gave her a look. then i see tangerine girl look up so i look. and it is a very cute guy standing there. she OBVIOUSLY had tried to make the 1 person spot big enough for 2 thinking that cutie would sit next to her. she stareda at him. he was immersed in a book. so some middle aged woman with short brillo pad red hair with circular blonde highlights sits down next to her, complete with her 3 tote bags. tangerine is clearly annoyed that cutie didnt sit next to her, and i am thrilled that all these events are taking place.

tangerine KEEPS STARING at cutie. sorry honey, but staring intently at someone isnt going to make them say "will you PLEASE go out with me?! your staring has enticed me..." it is going to make them say "STOP STARING AT ME FREAK"

however, nothing happened, cutie left, and tangerine was miffed. eventually a seat across from me became available so i took it, giving me perfect tangerine view. everyonce and awhile i would see her staring at someone, then she would have a wierd "knowing" smile on her face. it made me uncomfortable. at 23rd she got up and went near the door. she stood there. her music was SO FUCKING LOUD. people. there are studies about how loud your ipod should be. i have a feeling tangerine will have a hearing aid at an earlier age.
she stood by the door, and at the next stop i realized she was on the WRONG side for the next stop - so i had a moment of glee. but then she stayed on. . she stood for a few more stops, then regained her seat across from me. why?

WHY?

she got off at bleeker.

weird.