Trains, Planes, and Automobiles

Going home is never easy, mostly due to the logistics of making it there and back - Subway to AirTrain, flight to Buffalo and then a drive across the border.  And then a few days later, I have to repeat this whole mess in reverse.  My trip home ended up being particularly eventful due to way too many cups of coffee, an unplanned pit stop at the U.S. border and a random dude on the train.  After a delicious Sunday brunch with a couple girlfriends at Spencer's at the Waterfront in Burlington,  during which we lingered over several cups of coffee and glasses of tap water, I got into my tin-can of a rental car (damn you Chevy Cobalt) to head to the Buffalo Niagara International Airport to catch my 7:20 pm flight.  I was flying along and would have plenty of time to top off the gas and relax before boarding, but was foiled by the U.S. Customs agent at the Lewiston-Queenston bridge who informed me that they were x-raying vehicles that day.  I was surprised since I NEVER have issues with customs agents anywhere (do we remember the knife incident in Ecuador?), but proceeded to the line up of vehicles off to the side to be zapped.

While I stood in the cold with the passengers of the other seven cars selected, I began to feel the effects of all the coffee and water on my bladder.  I paced a little and watched the unmarked white truck slowly drive up one side of the line of cars and then up the other. When I was allowed back in my car, I decided (stupidly) that I didn't want to stick around any longer at the border, since I was now running late.  Instead, I began speeding towards the airport in a desperate race, praying that I would not be pulled over, which would have spelled disaster.  I was bouncing around in the driver's seat when I finally pulled up to the gas station by the airport, where I happily used the facilities even though typically I avoid the gas station bathroom at all costs.

The plane ride was smooth and I read a magazine and dined on a mozzarella and tomato sandwich purchased before boarding.  Once at JFK, I took the AirTrain to Jamaica Station where I noticed a cute guy in front of me going through the turnstile also wrangling a suitcase.  Once on the platform, he sat on the bench and I walked forward a bit and stood by the track.  I kept turning my head in the direction of the train, which happened to be cute guy's direction and kept noticing him looking at me.  Usually I get all freaked out when this happens, but thanks to my friends' choice of a fancy brunch spot, I was actually nicely dressed and feeling good in dark straight-leg jeans and a shirt worn under my fitted black wool coat,  a cream colored pashmina looped around my neck and metallic flats on my feet.  Typically, I would be looking all bedraggled in comfy sweats for the plane ride, but this was my lucky day!  Just to be sure I was at my best, when the dude wasn't looking I tried to smooth my hair to make sure it wasn't too crazy and put on some lip gloss. When the train pulled in, he walked over and got on the same car as I did and ended up sitting across from me.  We ignored each other until an announcement was made that we would have to switch trains at the next stop, when we made eye contact.  We both got off the train and the dude asked me "Are you going into the city?"  After that, we sat together on the R train while he figured out where we were with some app on his iPhone and chatted and laughed all the way to Manhattan.  Before he got off at his stop, he handed me his business card and suggested we get together.  I shocked myself with how calm and collected I was and smiled and replied "I'll send you an email."  I sent him a quick note at work the next day and we've made plans to grab drinks.

This trip back to NYC made me rethink a couple things.  Gas station bathrooms have come a long way!  They are no longer an unwashed outhouse to which the attendant gives you a key, but are located in the store and get cleaned regularly (well, at least a lot of them are).  Additionally, I have wasted years of work travel in Business Class, dressed like a teenager, eschewing the typical business traveler uniform in favor of comfort.   Looking like a pulled together traveler has its benefits, like not being told by airport workers "Umm this is the Business Class line you know" and maybe even catching the eye of a handsome stranger also in transit.