I'm sitting in the Hayden Rose Planetarium watching an asteroid collide with the earth and in the burst of fiery destruction, the bits and pieces that kicked up into orbit coalesce together and form our moon. The best part about it? I'm getting paid to watch it. It's narrated by Robert Redford, and I'm surrounded by 8th graders from Cape Cod, accents and all, who keep asking me if I'm Jason Mraz. I understand, they're young, high on sugar and raised in a celeb-centric culture. The last handful of jazzed 8th graders from New England I had thought I was Dane Cook. Precious little hormone-factories think anyone interesting in New York City must be some someone they can liken to something on TV or the interwebs or wherever they feed their heads. No matter to me, I'm getting paid for eight hours of work and I'm doing only about 90 minutes of actual working. The rest of the time, is PCT.
12:51pm
Patsy's Pizza on 74th & Columbus is one of the half-dozen in the pantheon of "Greatest Pizzerias in NYC" (Name the other five. I dare ya.) It's been around since 1932, which means that their coal oven was grandfathered into legality when New York City outlawed any new coal ovens, resulting in a new era of gas-ovens. The result is a pizza that's softer, and more foldy than the classic Buffalo Mozzerella, Pomodoro sauce, and the thin, crispy-crust that pops out the coal oven in 8-12 minutes. But today, I'm getting the chicken cacciatore, which is also excellent. I ask for the bill, and am told that there is none. The manager, a beautiful plump woman in her fifties with a lovely black dress and greathighlights asks "When you gonna bring more people in here?" I promise to try, but make no guarantees, drop $5 for a tip and laugh my way to my bicycle.
1:45pm
Porto Rico Coffee Importers, on St Mark's Place is the only place I buy my coffee. I'm not out of coffee yet, but the group is ending their day at STOMP at the Orpheum Theater right around the corner, so I might as well ride down here on my paid free time, get some coffee and hop the F to the B train back. If only this damn broad behind the counter would take my order. And then the F train is ten minutes late. Dammit, I have to be back at the Museum by 2:30!!
2:28pm
Nice. "OKAY KIDS!! ON THE BUSES!!"
4:55pm
I'm sipping Thai beer for $3.25 a piece at a very charming Thai joint on 38th and 9th avenue. Should've remembered the name. But it doesn't matter, I got my Wednesday new-comic book fix out of the way, and now I'm finishing Bonfire of the Vanities and am dying to know what's going to happen to Sherman McCoy. I'm wearing the new sneakers I bought at the 34th street Payless, and I've got my new black ink cartridge taken care of as well. All while the group is at Madame Tussauds, then going to Planet Hollywood for dinner. I don't have to join them for either of them, and I'm still getting paid.
7:30pm
"Arright you guys! Enjoy STOMP and enjoy your time in NYC." I leave them to retrieve the bike I left trustfully locked up on the corner of 2nd ave and Houston, and I'm laughing all the way to the Williamsburg Bridge.
9:42pm
Maggie Brown's on Myrtle ave and Waverly makes really great burgers. And the lights are low enough to sit and huddle over a computer and recount my thoughts of the day. A good day. A Perfect day, if only to make up for the less than good day I had yesterday. It was last night however, that still haunts the outer rings of my memory.
The stroll down East 7th street, the bright cerulean tank top she wore with black cardigan over her shoulders and blue jeans. A body stacked like a mountain and eyes that dared me to look away. One should be well-composed on a first date, but I was frumpy from a day of getting caught in in-and-out rain storms while killing time in the city in-between two ill-conceived 1-hour tours. One at 8:30am, and another one at 4pm. A bunch of unpaid time on an alternating rain & sun day made me cranky. My lousy, crumbling sneakers were wet and my feet ached while I tried to put on my most charming demeanor, and was unsure if it was successful.
I'm seeing her again on Monday.
I guess today was my victory lap.
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