ANTM night

Last night I enjoyed dinner at Joanne’s place. She made her version of chili which I LOVE. Spicy enough to make my nose run. Made with fake meat too! Delicioso. What was the occasion you ask? Why, the two-hour season premiere of America’s Next Top Model. Which we watched while sipping wine. And thank god for the wine. Otherwise I don’t think we would’ve endured the show. For those that did not watch, let me explain a little. They decided to set the first hour in this quasi-futuristic model laboratory where they supposedly churn out all these amazing models. All the while wearing these silvery, plastic jackets, horribly fitting pants and makeup that wouldn’t have looked futuristic even 30 years ago. It was just strange.

Feeling a little funny in the head, either from the wine or the show, I hopped on the 86 bus and headed home. Now, I had my headphones on (rather loudly) and stepped onto the bus and placed my “charlie card” on the reader thingy to pay my fare but for some reason the stupid thing wouldn’t work. I didn’t realize the malfunction until after I sat down and noticed the bus still sitting at the stop and that everyone on the bus was looking at me somewhat angrily. Including the bus driver. He was actually starting to raise his voice so I quickly took my wallet and headed back to the front of the bus. I placed my card on the card reader again and got an error saying the card couldn’t be read. Even though the thing worked a mere 4 hours prior. And it wasn’t a matter of not having enough money on the card to pay for the fare because I made sure to do that earlier in the evening.

Eventually, after several tries, the thing worked. All the while we stayed idling at the bus stop. So at this point the passengers are annoyed as is the bus driver. Which only caused for aggressive driving, speeding and herky-jerky starts and stops. I ended up writing (sloppily due to wine intake and herky-jerky bus ride) in my journal about the experience and how the only thing keeping me calm was listening to “Sailing” by Christopher Cross. I listened to it 5 times in a row. Yikes.

OH! Almost forgot about the lady that got on at the stop after mine. She either had a cold-cut combo sub hidden in her purse or she, herself, smelled of cured meats. And the odor was strong! It permeated throughout the whole bus. So, not only did I endure an awful ride, that was only assuaged by Christopher Cross’ smooth, clarinet-y singing style, but my olfactory nerves were assaulted by the smell of salami and roast beef.

A night to remember!