We’re in that weird time of the year where there’s really no good TV on. GOT is over, Broad City just started but you can only get it if you have Comedy Central. This is Us is good but it’s one episode a week and do I really want to sit on my couch and cry? No.
So what do you do? You turn to your trusty Hulu subscription that your friend Loren so generously shares with you and binge watch The Mindy Project. Because aside from the fact that it’s just fun, easy watching, she’s HILARIOUS and on more than one occasion, I’ve thought to myself, her life is kind of awesome. #mindygoals So, when in the most recent episode I watched, there was a bit about her making eyes with some hottie on the train and looking for him via missed connections, I decided to hop on New York’s finest transit system and keep my eyes open.
Friday night, I had a dinner downtown on the LES and though I’m from Brooklyn, I’m massively ditzy when it comes to directions and once you direct me anywhere other than the west side of Manhattan, I’m likely to get lost. So when I entered the F train station at Rock Center and only saw a B train, I was of course confused about whether I would make it to my desired Delancey stop if I boarded the other train with the orange circle. For better or worse, I have a foolish belief that even if it’s the wrong train, I’ll get where I need to go, so I stepped on and made my way towards the subway map.
Halfway there, I noticed a very handsome, tall, blonde man reading a book. Boom.
Me: “Excuse me, does this go to Delancey?”
Him: “Nope, you need the local. Get off at the next stop.”
I gave him my most charming, I’m late and frantic and lost, smile, and hung on to the pole.
At the next station, I saw the F across the platform. He motioned that it was go time and I booked it over only to miss it by a second. Shit. Turning around, handsome train-man was smiling and beckoning me back onto the M train.
Him: “You can catch it at the next stop.”
Me: “I’m from Brooklyn, this is so embarrassing that I still can’t ride the train”.
We rode down another stop and saw the F train across the way. Giving another smile, I told him to have a great weekend and flounced off.
As I sat on the F train, I thought, how could I have made that work? Is there ever a slick way to give a stranger your number? It’s not like I have business cards so what was I supposed to say? Follow me on instagram? Here’s my handle? Awkward.
Well, here’s my chance to live a little bit like Mindy. I decided to take a page out of her book and post my train encounter in missed connections. Now, if you’ve ever looked at the missed connections page, there’s everything from the sublime to the ridiculous. There’s men trolling for sex, women looking for love and everything in between. I didn’t actually think there was any real likelihood we’d find one another, but it was a fun game to try.
In the days since our meeting, I’ve gotten some hella weird responses to my post. Even a dick pic or two. It doesn’t seem likely I’m going to find my handsome, literate train main but hey, it makes a good story and I’m one step closer to #mindygoals .