Perfect strangers

The mystery friend

You know that person from elementary school, whose name you can't remember and really in fact you don't remember knowing them at all, but you seem to run into them every now and again?

Today I ran into that person. This has been going on since 7th grade. I see this girl and she totally remembers me and I guess we used to be really good friends in like 1st grade. She identifies all my correct likes from when we were 5, remembers my parents' and siblings' names but for the life of me I do not have even the faintest idea who she is. I saw her again as a freshman in high school. I'd since moved into another school system but we saw each other at the hometown drug store. Again she asks me about everything; tells me what she's up to; again no clue who she is except that she ran into me in 7th grade.

I feel kind of bad that I have no clue. Someone who seemed to be so close to me and not even one memory. And I'm usually really good at remembering these things! I can remember my 3 best friends from nursery school, my teachers from all 12 years of grade school, but I can't figure out who this chick is. It's like "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" or something. The last time I saw her, which was about 2 years ago, I made myself promise to remember her name.

I spoke to my parents last weekend, and they had run into this girl. And now I know I'm losing it because they remember her, and told me the update -- she's married, still lives in our town, works as a graphic designer, blah blah blah. They had also given her my number. She was coming into the city and when she found out I lived here wanted to see if I wanted to hang out. Oh man. The pressure.

I figured she wouldn't call me because people don't follow through on vague promises like that, but sure enough when I got home from work there was a message from this girl, E. And much to my own shock, I called her back. I certainly don't want to be rude. We chatted for a couple minutes about our lives, then made plans to meet for lunch on Thursday. I'm kinda excited about it. It'll be like meeting a friend all over again.

This ticket scalping stuff is crap

I know I'm late to the party here, but man trying to buy World Series tickets for the games in Denver was quite the mess. My sister and I consulted by phone -- the deal was that if I could get tickets she would help me find a flight out there.

On Monday, my friend J called and asked if I would help him too. His thinking was that since I'm in New York I'd be hitting a different server than everyone in Denver. I have no idea if this is true or not but I told him I'd buy four and sell two to him at face value. Not like it mattered. Thanks to some idiot (my guess: a ticket scalping vendor) everyone got locked out. Tuesday went no better for me. I was never able to even get into the site.

I think in their reporting on the ticket sale, every media outlet missed the real story: not that the MLB's ticket system got hit by an attack, but that only 20,000 tickets were being made available to the general public for each World Series game. Coors Field seats 50,445. So where did the other 30,445 seats go? Some went to charitable organizations I'm sure. Others went to players of both teams to distribute. Still others went to local politicos (lame). Fox probably got some so they can tout whatever crappy show they want to on-camera by showing their stars in the crowd (really lame).

And the rest? Did they give them away? (yeah right) Were they all used in contests? Did the Rockies hold some back to resell on StubHub?

Yes, resell. This season the MLB struck a deal with StubHub to resell tickets through the online vendor. That's right -- rather than trying to stop scalpers, the MLB decided it too would profit from reselling tickets at artificially high and illegal prices. And the government didn't even blink!

Many states have laws specifically making it illegal to resell tickets at more than 5% above face value. You can use eBay's ticket selling tool to look up the laws in your state. But the laws are a joke. They're rarely enforced.

It's not just sporting events where this is an issue. Earlier this month CNN ran a story about Hannah Montana tickets being scalped for ridiculous prices. Now they're hurting the children! I myself got my first scalping smackdown in college. I'd waited outside the Foley's in the Fort Collins (Colo.) mall for 5 hours in order to buy tickets to U2's Elevation tour in 2001. I was third in line and really wanted floor tickets. I was in the first group let in at 9 AM sharp and it was my turn within minutes, but floor tickets for the show had already sold out. I was incredulous. I ended up buying a pair off eBay for double face value. What's next scalpers? Opera? Broadway? The saddest thing is that some seats at shows end up going empty because at some poing scalpers finally charge more than people are willing to pay, so those tickets go un-resold.

Complicit in this is Ticketmaster. They track every ticket that is sold. They have these credit card numbers. If they put a little bit of elbow grease into it by starting a task force, they could find out who these companies are and block them from buying the tickets. But the crazy demand created in part by scalpers helps Ticketmaster jack up their already ridiculous fees, so they mostly plead ignorance. They finally took one scalper company to court this year. I'd guess they want a huge pat on the back for that one. Remember back in the 90s when Pearl Jam tried to stand up to them? Ticketmaster has such a huge web controlling sales for most US venues that it's impossible for just one band, or one organization to stand up to them and make them do something.

So it comes down to the government. Until our politicians decide to make scalping illegal, or compel Ticketmaster to get off their cash-stashed asses, or make it illegal for major league teams to resell their tickets, this will continue. And it sure ain't gonna get any better.

A turn of the weather makes me sick

I've been lazier than usual this week, and it's because I'm sick. The weather finally turned a bit colder and it's been raining steadily since Thursday. I started feeling like crap on Tuesday and now I have the cough that won't go away. I don't smoke but this sore throat makes me sound like Patty and Selma.

I'm not the only one. It's been a chorus of coughing on my walks to and from the subway and work has blazed through the recent tissue order. New York City is one big germfest right now. Early in the week I kept asking myself how I could be sick when it was 75 degrees outside. But then it cooled down, and then it warmed up again, and then it cooled down again, and the cold I had almost shaken settled into my lungs for an extended stay.

On Thursday morning I happened to have an appointment with my allergist so I asked if he had any idea what I had. Probably just a virus, he guessed and suggested soup and some over-the-counter cough suppressants. I went to work and coughed the entire time. My podmate T jokingly asked me to crank it down. Or maybe he wasn't joking. I used to hate that person -- the same one who would cough constantly during tests in high school. They'd kind of go in a rhythm for awhile, and just when you start to pin the timing down they'd try to hold it in for an extra two beats until they finally erupted into a 45-second uncontrollable fit.

The gelcaps weren't really working out, so I decided to try another tactic. Tea is out -- I can't stand it. I'm not a big fan of soup either but Wichcraft makes this awesome potato watercress soup with bacon that has really kept me going. Plus it comes with two awesome breadsticks. And lots of sleeping. I feel like I was asleep more than I was awake this week.

As a result I missed some cool shit (again). On Tuesday a few of my friends went to see Stephen Colbert at the 92nd St. Y. I've watched "The Daily Show" for pretty much it's whole run and I enjoy the "Colbert Report" too. But I didn't really start liking Colbert until I saw his now infamous speech from the White House Correspondents' Dinner last year. I think his idea to join the South Carolina primary is pretty damn funny. And if it inspires a few more people to vote, so be it.

Political tirades aside, this weekend was the Breeders' Cup right next door in Jersey. And I was so looking forward to hitting it. My favorite race besides the Classic is the Distaff, followed by the Filly & Mare turf, followed by...heck, I love them all. Instead I watched the races today from home.

Tonight brings the Rockies and Red Sox in Game 3 -- go Rockies! Win one at least. Please. Speaking of things making me sick, MLB games on Fox are best watched on mute. The only good thing about the Joe Buck/Tim McCarver train wreck is that at least Buck can't commentate on NFL games on the same day as baseball games.

So that's why the subway was so crowded

It turns out yesterday's delays on the 4/5/6 line were because a robber jumped into the tunnels after robbing a streetcart on 116th St. So the the line was shut down from there to 125th St. The guy got away (the story says there are three levels of tunnels down there. Wow.). Maybe it was all just a weird promotion for the DVD release of Spider-man 3.

Sardines in a tin (aka riding the subway)

I don't feel like New York City is overcrowded. But the subways sure are.

This morning the violin guy at my 6 station played "My Country Tis of Thee." I don't know why, but it sounds very forlorn when he plays it...this lonely violin that occasionally doesn't hit the right notes but sounds beautiful and tortured nonetheless.

I had plenty of time to enjoy the song over and over, because as usual the 6 train was packed. I've tried many different techniques: going to work before 8:30 AM. Waiting until 9:15 AM. The only strategy that consistently works is calling in sick.

It's not inherently a given that the subways will be crowded. Sometimes I get lucky and the train is practically empty. But all it takes is one police investigation or one stalled train or "an earlier incident" as the disembodied announcer sometimes says and the whole system gets thrown off.

When I walk into a packed station, I usually wait against the wall for all the super aggressive riders to get their trains and then step forward myself. Admittedly I sometimes I am that aggressive rider -- I force my way through the crowd; anything to make sure I get on the next train. It sucks when you're running on a tight schedule and the subways are crowded.

But I'm not the worst person. I try to put it in perspective -- I used to be this crowded for an hour on the Metro North trains when there was a problem. In comparison, this is nothing. The people that really kill me are:

1. The ones standing outside who ask people on the train to move in a little bit. Yeah sure. because there's plenty of room in here! Oh, you mean that huge gap in the middle? We should move there??!? Hold on -- nope, there is no goddamn gap! These people are most likely at 33rd St, 59th St, or some other middle station that gets screwed. I feel for you. Now shut the eff up and wait for the next train.
   
2. The ones who squeeze on the train where there really is no room. You know who you are. I really try not to do this. There is nothing worse than some hot, smelly, sweaty dude pressing into your back for a 7-stop ride. Throw in bad breath, and you've got a police investigation in the making.
3. The ones standing by the door who do not let people off at stations. Yeah, ok, the train is crowded. And yes there are a ton of people waiting to get on. But if you are standing right in front of the door that is opening at a station, you need to get out and let the people off the train!
   
4. The ones having the obnoxious loud conversation. I realize this is a personal OCD thing of mine. There certainly is no rule saying that the subway has to be silent. But I hate it when two guys start talking about who they're going to bang tonight or two chicks start talking about their gawd awful friend so and so who is always trying to make everything about her blah blah please just shut up! I don't mean to be rude, but if my MP3 player is up loud enough for other people to hear and I can still hear you, you need to shut up. Speaking of which...
   
5. The ones playing their music really loud. Some of them play their music so loud it hurts my ears, and I'm not even the one playing it. There is no excuse. They're like the burbanites who have extremely loud bass systems. I don't get it.

In the summer when there are tons of tourists, I think residents do a great job of being much more patient about this kind of stuff. You can always tell who the tourists are -- they have wide eyes as they are being squished ever closer together. But come fall all bets are off and you will get packed closer and closer and closer until you become one glob that only a spoon could pry out.

Sounds yummy, right? At least in the winter, it keeps me warm.

The kindness of strangers

New Yorkers have a reputation as being rude, heartless and cold. And some of it is well-deserved, I suppose. But I think New Yorkers are sweethearts when it really counts. Look at what happened during the 2003 blackout. Or after September 11th. Yeah, we're tough cookies here, but we have hearts of gold.

Yesterday I met up with an old work colleague for lunch. We chowed at Bread Bar and then decided to walk around Flatiron a bit to catch up. There was chilling in Madison Square Park. There was wandering up and down 6th Ave. After an hour W had to head back to work, so I walked him to the subway station. As we said our goodbyes, he reached for his wallet to grab his MetroCard.

Only it wasn't there. His wallet was gone. Initially we figured he left it at Tabla. But we went back and they did not have it. The maitre d' gave W a card, but when he went to put it into his pocket it fell right through. That's when we realized someone had slashed his back pocket. It wasn't totally obvious -- they'd slashed just the bottom and not a very big hole.

"Didn't you feel it when they grabbed your wallet?" I asked him. "Not at all," W replied, face in hands. Not only were his license and credit cards gone, but he'd just taken $500 cash out of the bank to put down a deposit on a guitar. I asked if maybe his jeans just had a hole but they were pretty new so he doubted it. We had bumped into a few people walking but nothing out of the ordinary. So many streets had been crossed. We retraced some of our steps but there was no sign of his wallet. Not that we really expected to just find it laying on the sidewalk. But in New York you never know.

W put on the brave face, but I was seething. Suddenly that cold-heartless reputation seemed to fit. I bought him a $20 MetroCard and lent him some cash to buy groceries. Back at work, he cancelled his credit cards and called his bank to let them know what happened. W kept things in perspective -- it was mostly the cash that was bothering him.

Then today, he got a call at work. It was the police. Someone had turned in his wallet the day before. He called me from the station. They made him identify his wallet (I asked if there was a lineup and he joked yes, he couldn't decide between 2 and 5) and once he was able to he got it back. He quickly checked inside and was flooded with relief as he found that all of his cash was still in there.

The police told him that another guy caught the crook slashing his pocket. The almost-victim grabbed the thief and started yelling at him, but he managed to wriggle free and escape...directly into the clutches of two NYPD officers who witnessed the scuffle. Ha! The guy had something like five wallets on him. W offered some of the cash back to the police, but they wouldn't accept and the almost-victim hadn't left his name.

"All of which proves my theory that New Yorkers are the best people in the world!" Native W said to me.
"Except for the guy who slashed and stole," I said.
"Nah, he was obviously a transplant."

On finding a Rockies bar in NYC

There is a sports bar for every NFL team in NYC. I only know this because friends from college who are Broncos fans (and even Raiders fans) found bars that cater to them. It's unbelievable. Seems like every NBA team has a home base too. But the MLB? Not so much.

Sure, the older teams have their fanbase in the city with a chosen bar. I have a small gaggle that wants to watch the World Series, and about half of us absolutely refuse to go to any pro-Red Sox bars. The Riviera and Hairy Monk were out. Neutral territory would be easy to find but we started wondering if there was such a thing as a Rockies bar in NYC.

We pondered for awhile over lunch. DU has a large alumni chapter, as does CU. Even my alma mater CSU has a respectable clump. And without a doubt all of us took in games from the Rock Pile or better seats at Coors at one point or another. In fact, one of my friends in college ran the JumboTron for Coors. It's a rush to be on, let me tell you. But the Rockies don't have that national appeal of the Cubs or the Red Sox or my poor sweet Yankees.

A search on the goog didn't reveal much. I asked every Colorado transplant I know. Since I don't really know any Rockies fans my email was met with mostly sarcastic responses. My gaggle didn't have any better luck. In Denver the obvious answers are Jackson's or Sports Column. I think it would be hysterical to find a large group of Rockies fans here in New York though. I am determined to find them in the city!