Close Encounters of the New York Kind

Have you ever been close to a man? I mean really physically close, and sat there inspecting some small detail, such as his scalp or the little patch of razor burn on his neck or perhaps the fibers in his jacket? I did this tonight, but the people were all perfect strangers.

I started off the evening doing some photography for an awards dinner at work, but unfortunately the power in part of the building went out, which meant that about 100 people were up on the 35th floor with only one elevator to their name. That was a comfy elevator ride, made longer by the fact that it stopped on every floor because if someone happened to press a button anywhere in the building, that elevator was going to be the one to stop. I finally got downstairs and realized that I'd left my coat, all the way up on the 35th floor, but decided to brave the chilly weather rather than try to get up and down again.

Then I got to the Path train, where people were already shoving onto the train at the first stop. Each consecutive stop just shoved my face a little closer to the guy standing next to me. If you were ever to try this as a social experiment, without the excuse of a crowded train, you would probably get arrested for invading someone's personal space. I kept waiting for someone to crack a fart joke, hopefully not a real fart. Public transportation can be wonderful, but it can also get too close for comfort.

Leaving you with a photo, my boss made a tasty apple pie and brought it in today.