Adventure in the City!

Unlike one of warkythechocobo's adventures, mine doesn't have anything overly weird, dangerous, or scary happening, so for those of you hoping to read something along those lines, I'm sorry. And Warky, I love you.

So today I was supposed to meet otakreg in the city. Yay. Got up nice and early for cartoons, and was out of the house by nine-thirty. I decided against going back to sleep for a bit because it'd throw the whole timing of the day off. Took a picture in the subway of the many layers of paint on the pillars (it's SO gross, lol), while I waited for the R, which went EXPRESS. YES. Got to Home Depot, found my gloves and stick, and lightbulbs for my room so now I can see. YAY. It's really bright in here, now, so I'm pleased.

I called Kreg and made my way down to 48th St. on foot. I was supposed to meet him on 7th. As I was walking between sixth and seventh, I happened to spot someone wearing a Gryffindor-looking scarf. "Wow," I thought, "that scarf looks a lot like-- hey, WAIT!" And it was Kreg walking with his family, whom I met briefly. They wandered off in their own direction, while I took Kreg to the Nintendo Store.

Considering I didn't even make it inside the Nintendo Store the last time I visited, this trip was pretty good. XD It hadn't changed much, except you could try Mario DDR on the game stations upstairs. I was tempted, but didn't go for it. Maybe another time. ^_^; We browsed around the store, commented on how Nintendogs were glorified Tamagotchis, found some ridiculously overpriced Nintendo DSs -- seriously like five and six hundred dollars; they were covered with little rhinestone-looking things which I thought made the lot of them look SOOOO tacky, but it turns out they were genuine something-or-other (who CARES?!) -- and left the store. We were promptly hit with a blast of cold air from outside. ;-; It was toasty warm in the store; I should have set up camp.

That makes TWO TIMES I should have done that. Oh, Venus. When will you learn? HAHAHA.

Kreg conveniently mentioned manga as we left the Nintendo Store, so I took him to the conveniently placed Kinokuniya on 49th, figuring he could fanboy over some of the stuff there. And fanboy he did: fifty-five dollars worth of fanboying. He bought a Japanese Newtype, three manga in English and two in Japanese. After that, some walking.

He showed me something I didn't know existed -- because I don't look up when I'm in Manhattan, like a good little native -- the Hershey Store. Whoa. You walk in, and like Dylan's, the smell of sugar knocks you down. I had to laugh at the prices of some of their wares, like thirteen bucks for a little Reese's Pieces teddy bear. Oh, Manhattan. You're so funny. But then, tourists will buy ANYTHING.

We walked down to Toys R Us from the Hershey Store, hoping to play with the big light display thing on the second floor. IT WAS REMOVED. I no longer have a reason to visit TRU, except maybe to say hi to Kat (okay, SSBM, SCII and Mario DDR, if not Mario Baseball, plzkthnxbai). He wasn't working today. ;-; Anyway, so the light thing wasn't there, and we wandered around the second floor a little bit, looking at the new version of the Easy Bake Oven (Cinnabooooooooon @_@) and the giant Lego displays. Took a picture of an "ogre" that looks like Ganondorf on first glance. Kreg also bought two of the newest -- newer than mine and Alex's and dimitriobsidian's -- Tamagotchis, one for him and one for his sweetheart. Awww. And of course, I have to get one now. I have EVERY generation ('cept the very first one because I was poor when I was fifteen. Holy shit, it's been eight years), and I promised Ingrid one last year, besides. I have to make good on that.

After TRU, we continued our trek downtown. We were hungry, so it was time to stop by Book Off ("Irasshaimase~!") and then next door for food. Book off was pretty cool; I found Fushigi Yuugi number six, which I have NOT been able to find in English, for whatever reason. It was only three dollars, and I should have bought it, but I like to have whole series, and while there were copies of vol. 7-12 right next to six, there was only one copy of vol. 2 before it. Miaka and the Suzaku Seven evade me again. :::shakes fist::: One day.... I also spotted some Excel Saga and... something else. There were a couple of cute kids running around... awww. "Nakunaide, little boy! Nakunaide~~" Kreg bought more manga.

The cafe next door that mightyomnivore took me to after work one day last year was being renovated, so we found one next door to THAT where we could eat. I had some sort of beef dish, and Kreg opted for a California roll. We both took pan to go with our meals, and got drinks afterwards. Peach Calpis isn't bad, but I prefer the original.

After that, I was genuinely out of ideas for things to do, when Kreg suggested Madame Tussaud's. His parents offered to pay for our admission. To be honest, the idea of the wax museum didn't thrill me too much, and more than that, I'd feel guilty about spending his parents' money just because they said we could, so we hopped across the street to Sanrio Times Square instead. ^_^ Everyone was right; the store was about twice the size of ours, but mine looks prettier. Work-training started to take over in my head, because I wanted to pick everything up and put it away (there was a LOT of stuff strewn around. Our store is smaller, but it's MUCH cleaner), and put SKUs on the $2.50 gift sets because they didn't have any. Everyone knows the SKU for them, but still. Kreg bought MORE stuff, some small things, but the cashier offered him a big bag for all his stuff.

Back into the cold, and to the hotel room to drop off his stuff, but first, we hunted for a subway map, cuz I thought I was going straight home. We got the map (so now he can show everyone where I live) and I was invited back upstairs for hot, passionate, wild animal sex. XD We were talking about shikamachu over lunch and her adventures in Japan, and I mentioned how she'd gotten an e-mail from one of the girls she was living with, so he decided to read it. Shouko (the girl) was unintentionally mean -- I mean, she thinks she's in the right -- and called Diana impolite and a brat and was kind of condescending. :/ I really hope you get to stay past November, Diana.... <3 Kreg called his family -- his parents weren't paying attention to their phones and he had to talk to his sister, lol -- and decided to meet up with them at Macy's, which was on 34th St. The hotel was on 47th. Solution? SUBWAY!

Like everyone always does, Alex, Dustin, everyone, Kreg asked if it was legal when I swiped my card to let him pass, then paid for myself. It's so funny.... but I can see where they're all coming from; it DOES seem like something that would be illegal. I assured him it was okay. XD We wound up on the R for two stops and since the stop is where B'Way and 6th intersect, I pointed him in the direction of 7th. And so apparently since I was such a good tour guide, we're teaming up again next time he's in the city. Hurray for friends. We split up then; he went outside and I transferred to the F. I miss you already, Kreg!

On the way home, I met a very nice woman, and chatted with her a bit. She was going home from Hunter College, the alumni meeting, she said. She told me she graduated in 1937, and I didn't believe her because she barely looked older than my dad, who was born in 1937. She was so happy and full of life, and she was -- wow -- almost ninety years old. God bless her. She made me smile. I love meeting random people on the subway like that; the ones that just make your day or contribute to your outlook on life. I don't know the woman's name, but she won't be forgotten anytime soon: "the white-haired lady that talks a lot," as she described herself, who happens to get off at 71st Ave.

Costume talk now. The bus ride home was uneventful. When I got home, I found a saw and started working on hacking my stick to pieces. I only got halfway done; I shouldn't need more than one pack, and it was getting dark and cold out besides. So I hacked off my three eight-inch pieces of dowel and set to work painting them. I didn't have much red, but the brown made up for it, and I found the PERFECT color for dynamite. Not only did I have enough red, I had enough to spare (but I do have to go to Michael's soon for some more red and black). I only got a thin coat on, so they dried quickly, and I glued them together to reinforce the binding I made with electrical tape. I glued string to the top of each piece and twisted them up so they come together and make a fuse. The whole thing looks beautiful, let me tell you, and hopefully, you'll be able to see pictures of it really soon. I'm proud of my dynamite; my mother freaked out saying how I should be careful on the subway with it, while my dad was impressed by how authentic it looked.

Need. To find. My combat boots. They're somewhere in the house. As soon as I find them, and get dressed (with the mop and all), I'm out the door and on my way to Lu's. She couldn't fix her wings today, so I've got to step in and help, AGAIN. But we'll get it, and there shall be much rejoicing at the par-tay in Oceanside, w00t.

I LOVE HALLOWEEN.

Time to tidy up my room before going to sleep. Tomorrow and Monday should be some nice long days. ^_^