Whoopsies!

Day: Two Hundred and Forty Seven

Photo taken on Tuesday, April 5, 2011 on the 7 platform in Long Island City, NY at 519pm.

I'm an idiot.

And as I'm trying to take this picture my hand is shaking because I'm giggling like an idiot too.

Steve and I have planned a trip down to our new digs this evening to drop off some stuff (namely the two tie-dyed bean bag chairs that I have insisted are important enough to move TODAY) so I have been instructed to get on the Farmingdale train. I love this train because A) It goes out of Hunters Point therefore I skip the Penn Station hassle (B) It has three seaters so no one sits next to me and (C) I rode it for three years and even had my own "assigned seat"*.

So today, as I'm heading to the 529 LIRR train, I get wrapped up in two songs on my iPod while the 7 subway speeds underneath the East River towards my destination. I'm changing the lyrics to two particular songs so they can be tailored to my voicemail. Some of you have been privy to my voicemail but others simply stick to texting me probably to avoid my voicemail because I sing it. It's been decided that I have had my own rendition of "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" for way too long so right at this moment I'm stuck between two other hits to use instead. I'm so engrossed in this process that I don't even realize we hit my stop.

And then pass it.

I don't even realize something is amiss even when we start inching out of the underground tunnel and sunshine streams across my face because I'm staring intently at my iPod. When I switch the song I look up, just in time to see people filing along a platform, waiting for an incoming train.

My incoming train.

But I don't even realize it then either. I swear to Jesus I just look out at these people and think to myself, "huh. Look at all those people at Hunters Point."

A beat.

Another beat.

Wait for it...

"Oh shit! Hunters Point!"

And that's when I start laughing out loud. And that's also when other passengers slowly start to inch away from me. And that's also when I realize I have no idea when the next stop is so I quickly shoot off a text to Steve letting him know I just may end up on the usual Smithtown train. Though somehow, through some stroke of luck, I make it back to Hunters Point with time to spare and find my assigned seat vacant and waiting.

Life is good.



*"assigned seat"- Believe it or not, there are many LIRR commuters that have become accustomed to sitting in the same seats day in and day out. It's hard to do in Penn Station because they call the train before the train shows up so then everyone pushes in at the same time, thus making it hard to get the same seat twice. But at Hunters Point the 7 train drops us off in waves so it is easy to fall into a routine of getting in the same car with the same people in the same seats.