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November 14, 2007

The Chinatown Bus

The weather was improving in DC and it was good for walking, but I had just finished the meal at the Indian restaurant and felt sluggish. I hadn't overeaten, but Indian food always made me sleepy.

So I digested for half an hour or so and checked email, took a crap, gathered my bags, then headed out. I was north of the mall, and I had already been to the closest museum (Museum of Buildings, with exhibits on architecture and design. They had a nice gift shop although I hadn't bought anything) and didn't feel like walking far. So I headed to one of the $20 Chinatown bus places I had passed the day before.

On the way I passed an arhitectural design company that specialized in 'green roofs'. They had very large pictures in the window that looked interesting and had a notice saying they gave tours on Tuesdays at 10am and 2pm. I looked at my watch and it was exactly 2pm, and it was Tuesday. At times like that I felt compelled to yield to the forces of nature, almost believing that there was a hidden force pushing me to follow certain paths. But I resisted; I didn't imagine the roof would look much different that their pictures.

The day before the bus schedule had a 2:30pm and a 4pm bus both going to Penn station in New York, but when I asked they had a 3pm bus going to Chinatown. I read one of the local papers while I waited. The people who ran the bus were all Chinese, except for one black guy who chain smoked and put luggage underneath. He was very friendly, but I didn't know if he actually worked there or whether he expected a tip. I didn't tip him.

The guy sitting across from me was watching videos on his laptop of some Chinese show with the volume up so we could all enjoy it. The show reminded me of Mexican telenovellas: soap opera + detective show. It was annoying but I'm more able to tune out foreign languages than English. Behind me, two old white men seemed to be having a quiet conversation, but when I looked it was just one guy. He muttered to himself the entire trip. The driver didn't speak one word of English, which made me wonder whether he could read the highway signs. But he seemed a competant driver (I know I wouldn't trust myself to drive a bus).

I started a crossword puzzle and admired the red and yellow trees of the Maryland scenery, and occasionally glanced at the video across the aisle. The video-watcher saw me looking and actually angled his computer so I could see better. I had intended my look to suggest, 'hey man, everyone can hear that racket', but evidentally expressed too much sincere interest. I regretted a bit not spending more time in DC.

We got to Baltimore, then headed north to Philadelphia. We spent quite a long time navigating the streets of the Philly Chinatown. I hadn't realized how extensive it was and I felt a little hungry, although I was still digesting lunch.

I opened my computer, got out the headphones, and loaded up 'Spiderman 3'. The video-watcher was snoozing now and I didn't bother trying to include him. The movie was pretty bad and I gave up after 45 minutes or so. I switched to a week-old copy of 'The New Yorker'. Once we could see the New York skyline I looked out the window and admired the scale. I had been away for 3 and 1/2 weeks and had gotten out of synch with city living (DC doesn't count)

I texted a few friends, asking whether they would be up for dinner or drinks in the Chinatown area around 8, but nobody was.

At 8:00 we were dropped off at Pike St. and Madison St (not avenue), and I had no idea where we were. I saw a bridge looming a few blocks away and figured if I kept in on my right I would be heading north, and the subway stops would be north and west. (later I realized that it was the Manhattan Bridge which actually runs south to Brooklyn, so I was really headed east). For several blocks I passed streets I had never heard of (Rutgers, Clinton, Montgomery) and wondered if all the housing projects nearby meant cheaper rent around there. I finally found a part of the Lower East Side I recognized and navigated to a subway stop at Bleecker and LaFayette. The culture was quite different here, with bars and restaurants full of trendy people. A few people stared at me, one of them an actor I recognized. That sometimes happens but I can never understand why. Maybe I look like trouble, or maybe just don't seem to fit.

The train came quickly and I got on the last car. There was a bum surrounded by food wrappers and odor at the far end and everyone else on the car was crowded into the other half. I sat with them and finished my New Yorker. At 116th street I got out and followed a trail of rose petals on the sidewalk that must have been left from a wedding or something. They had probably been pretty several hours earlier, but they had all been walked on by this time.

I saw Manny handling the garbage in my building and I mentioned that the compressor in my fridge sounded like it was going. I think a bearing in the motor is bad and it's making a lot of noise. I told him it wasn't a big deal (I don't bother keeping food in there anyway since it just goes bad when I'm gone for weeks at a time) and he told me I was 'a good guy'. I joked it was because I don't complain, and he said some of the tenants call him for problems almost every day.

I got my mail, went upstairs, undressed, and didn't know what to do with myself.

Posted by mslaybau at 11:07 AM | Comments (0)