I am a Wasteland

Here's a little teaser post about Thanksgiving, mostly because the other one will just be about the food aspect. This is about me getting from my apartment to my dinner destination. In addition to it being a holiday adventure, it had that little something extra because it was my first time going to Queens (other than going to the airport, which I don't count as spending time in Queens).

My first time traveling to Queens involved taking a couple trains with just one long transfer (hey, Times Square station, hey). Probably the best part about my journey was noticing that everyone had a bag or two, like me, that contained food. One guy must have just finished baking the pie that his bag contained because when he walked on the train, the entire car soon filled with the aroma of fresh-baked pumpkin goodness. I would have probably noticed more, but I was ferociously reading in an attempt to finish my book.

Maybe I've acclimated to New York so well that I look comfortable even in new areas. Maybe I just look pleasant and approachable. For whatever reason, when I got off the train in my friend's neighborhood, I was soon approached by a gentleman who was about my age. Our conversation went something like this:

Him: "Excuse me, miss. Could you help me? My friend told me to get off at this stop and walk towards the McDonalds. Which direction is that?"
Me: "Not sure. See, my friend told me to get off this stop and walk towards 21st street sooooooooo yeahhhhhhh. Sorry!"

We laughed and parted ways. I'm going to assume he found his way. I win because I was more observant and easily saw which direction to walk.

Headphones back in, Ben Folds serenaded me as I made my way further into Astoria. There were Christmas decorations above the street and trees being sold on one corner. Then it happened. The song "Effington" came on. Now, I love this song. It's great. Here, have a listen, if you like.



And my first thought is about how Astoria kind of looked like how I imagined the epicenter of Effington would look. So I tried to snap a photo to capture it.

I mean, it doesn't really show everything that I saw (but it does very conveniently include the Christmas decor). Oh, Effington/Astoria/Whatever-You-Are, you are adorable. Soon I arrived at my destination, ready for some Thanksgiving magic.

Most of the supplies for the cooking were already in Kelsey's apartment. We had done our shopping a couple days prior and I allowed her the honor of schlepping the wares back to her abode without my assistance. Yes, I am that good of a friend. However, that does not mean I arrived empty handed. My bag contained a number of goods. I had dessert (some pumpkin and chocolate chip cookie bars), my book I was reading, a backup book in case I finished that one, some seasonings for the turkey, a sweater, my water bottle, an empty container to put leftovers in, and a couple tea bags in case I wanted to make tea. Chris, Kelsey's boyfriend, commented that I was much like a boy scout. Because of my current literature, I replied that I must be a Wasteland, and thanked Chris for helping me realize that. He was confused.

I pointed to the cover of the book and explained the premise of the chapter of the same title. (Quick book review: It is a delightful, it made me laugh, and Patton Oswalt is a lot of adorable.)

We made dinner. Drinking games were played. Football was watched. And at the end of the night, this Wasteland trekked home. On the return excursion, I did indeed finish my book (so good planning ahead on my part having that back up book) and began the next one, even with all of the distractions surrounding me. There was first the pile of vomit at one of the car I walked into. Then there was the whole people having bags obviously full of leftovers. And then the couple walking through the Times Square station with giant Toys'R'Us bags, full of their already-acquired Black Friday plunders.