I’m just sittin’ here waitin’ for the cable guy to come so that I can FINALLY have some cable and internet and phone up in this piece! They’re supposed to come before 11am and then I have about 3 peoples comin’ to see the apartment. Keep your fingers crossed for me! Then, hopefully, before the day is over, I’ll get a chance to hit the gym, the tanning salon, the Turkish or Russian salon/bathhouse, the supermarket, the laundromat and make it back in time for Desperate Housewives! Think I can do all that in 6 hours? Well, actually, with Tivo, I can take my time! hehe. Oh, before I forget, here’s the rest of the story about that night when we all went out to Lobby and I had a crazy after-party story!
LOBBY STORY:
I said good-bye to val and unbeknownst to me, embarked on a whole new adventure! So, I go over to my $2 vans that take me across the Lincoln Tunnel into West New York and right to my corner. I have excatly $2.75, so I think to my self, “hmmmm, I can maybe get myself a little snack for 75 cents!” Not extremely unreasonable, right? So, I go over to the deli right next to the bus stop and am immediately drawn to this huge croissant. Can’t remember the last time I had a croissant. I pick it up and ask how much it is. The answer “$1.35″ told me to put the croissant down, quite reluctantly, I might add. My eyes are scanning the rest of the counter when suddenly, this either drunken or speech impeded man half drawls and half mumbles, “I’ll buy it for you if you want…it’s kinda weird that you asked how much it is.” I was so surprised by the fact that he was not only listening, but that he had such frankness in what he was saying! Of course, I didn’t refuse, but did offer to throw in my 75 cents that I had planned to use anyway. In any case, we paid for our stuff and he actually said, at the counter, “why don’t you get some butter on that…it’s free you know”!!! I was crackin’ up! We ended up taking different buses. whew! don’t know if I woulda been able to converse with him for too long! But I sat down with my croissant and was happy as could be!
Theeeeenn…..this guy and girl got on the bus. The guy started droolin’ over my croissant right away, so I peeled off half of it and handed it over to him. “Here,” I said. “I didn’t want all of it anyways…and some drunk guy bought it for me.” He was so pleasantly surprised and although refused such a big piece at first, eventually took it happily. So, as we sat there, munching on our croissants, we chatted for a bit, mostly about how long it would take the bus to start moving…so, we basically became van buddies for that moment in time. Several minutes later, the drunken/speech-impeded guy comes onto the bus and hands me a piece of paper. “Here, just for the hell of it,” he drawled. I took the paper cautiously, not knowing what to expect, and said thank you. I looked at the scrap paper, and scrawled on it were ten digits and the phrase, “just for the hell of it!” Hilarious! I handed the paper over to my van buddy and told him he could have it. He dialed and verified the phone number, then handed it back to me, saying, “It’s okay, I don’t go that way!”
Finally, the bus driver came and we were on our way home! I was playing on the computer for a minute and then started getting really sleepy. I nodded off several times and at about 10 streets from my house, was realllllly fighting the drooping eyelids. “C’mon, Jeanette, stay with me!” I kept yelling at myself in my head. I was dying! Of course, five minutes later, I open my eyes to unfamiliar streets outside. “What stop is this?” I ask frantically. The bus driver said 65th…(I live on 60th) and so I yelled, “Stop please!” What a mess! hehe! I get off, exasperated and weary and dreading the walk that seemed soooo long at that moment, especially taking into account the heels I had on that night. I sighed and looked down the boulevard. “I knew we shoulda woken her up,” the girl next to me whispered loudly. It was the guy and girl who were sitting next to me on the bus! She comforted me and explained apologetically that she had a feeling that they should have woken me earlier. I smiled understandingly and brushed it off. Nevertheless, that walk was looking mighty ominous.
Suddenly, the guy, (croissant eater) asked me where a store was nearby. I hadn’t the faintest idea, but offered to walk him partway…until I got to my house, of course! “Go, walk her home,” his cousin urged/scolded him. I was grateful to not have to walk alone, and then, at that moment, a cab pulled up, peddling rides. “Where you wanna go,” he said to us, his beady eyes shifting around. “How much is it to the nearest store,” my bus buddy asked. “How much you wanna pay?” the shady taxi driver asked. He was obviously off-duty and tryin’ to get some extra mula in before the clock was up. “Five bucks,” van buddy said, like a true bargainer. “Five bucks!” exclaimed the cab driver incredulously, like a true bargainer. “Alright, ten bucks, but then gimme one of those cigarettes,” said van buddy. With that, the deal was made and we hopped inside our new ride! Five streets and a cigarette later, I was safely on the corner of my street and giving directions to the cab driver to the nearest store so that van buddy could get a bag of chips! That’s some expensive chips! Anywhoo, I walked out and towards my home sweet home, shaking my head at the bizarre chain of events that had transpired within the past hour. Only in New York…only in NY!
at the end of the service! It’s so much fun! A few days after my visit, I received a welcome card from them with a $4 metrocard 
inside, instructing me to “Enjoy the Journey.” I guess the card is for me to go and come back from church! so clever…i love it!
They gave out this book, The Case for Faith that I’m reading right now. It’s written by a journalist who decides to investigate the basis of faith and ends up building a real case for it! Lee Strobel interviews this guy, Templeton, who was a colleague of Billy Graham’s and at one point, parts ways with Graham because he begins to question the logic behind God and can’t bring himself to live as a Christian when he is racked with doubt. Strobel lists eight points which are huge objections in the belief of God.
