My Not-So-Triumphant Sort-of-Return to New York City

Meh.

I had an appointment in the city today. During the two-plus years since I left my most recent city job for the employer for whom I currently slave, I’ve been back to the Big Apple only a few times, and all those times I’d driven in.

Today I experienced my first train ride since very early 2009, after 14 years as a Long Island Railroad commuter. I was surprised that the experience didn’t seem as strange as I thought it would be. It was as if I'd been on a two-year vacation. The main differences between my last train ride and today’s is that I now have a phone that allows me to surf the Internet, and I have a netbook small enough to fit in my bag and which can be used without taking up too much train-seat real estate.

I took some pictures to document this somewhat boring trip!

I didn't miss the parking situation at the station...

...whose waiting room was as classy as always.

Some small changes since I've been here.

What was kind of freaky was recognizing some of the same people I used to see when I was a regular commuter. I never learned their names, because I wasn't a very social commuter, but I identified them by physical description, like Lady In Large Sunglasses And Soft Sweatsuits or Black Guy In Suits That Always Look A Couple Of Sizes Too Big. Good to see they haven’t lost their jobs during this unpredictable economy! If only they could tell me the status of Heavy White Guy With Suspenders And Cheesy Mustache!

It took me a little bit of time to settle on a seat. I prefer the aisle seats with the armrest on my right, facing forward. The problem was, the only available seat like this in the car was the very last row, without a window. At least my front view was so interesting!

Another difference between 2011 commuting and 2009 commuting: several people had iPads.

Eventually, the train filled up a bit and a thin older (as in, probably not much older than I) woman with even thinner pants sat next to me. I'd forgotten how close you can end up sitting next to a fellow commuter, and realized why I didn't catch as many colds once I stopped commuting by train.

I had some time to kill, so I walked my beat-up shoes to a shoeshine place at Penn Station, still run by the same old lady who worked there when I was previously city-employed. The result...

...like mirrors! The shine guy asked me if my shoes were either leather or plastic, which might be a sign that I should get some new shoes.

In the Amtrak section of Penn, I tried to take a picture of a group of National Guardsmen because one of them was sporting an automatic rifle weapon bigger than my son, but one of them wandered over to me and said -- discretely but with a chilling firmness -- to please delete the photo. I complied, and also offered to destroy the entire phone.

I had some time to kill before my appointment, so I wandered around Macy's in Herald Square, ascending and descending on their famous wooden escalators. Macy's always had a couple of places to eat within the store, but now it has a McDonald's and a pizza place and a Starbucks as well.

Before I caught my train home, I grabbed a Krispy Kreme donut. I can't remember when I last had one of these. Krispy Kreme followed this trajectory in my life:

1. No, I haven't heard of Krispy Kreme. What's that?
2. Wow! A Krispy Kreme! Let's check it out!
3. Now there's a Krispy Kreme not far from where I work.
4. Now there's a Krispy Kreme not too far from where I live.
5. They have Krispy Kremes at the supermarket.
6. The Krispy Kreme near where I live closed down.
7. Yeah, I haven't seen Krispy Kremes around much anymore.
8. No, I haven't heard of Krispy Kreme. What's that?

After I devoured that donut in about three bites, I went to another area at Penn and noticed the appearance of Tim Horton's and his donuts, which I'd heard was infesting the city. Using as much willpower as I could summon, I stopped myself from buying a Tim Horton's donut, which I would have done under the pretense of "comparison shopping."

Finally, I returned home, unsure whether I'd ever want to commute to the city again. I've been relatively happy driving, I thought to myself as I approached my house. Sure, gas prices are through the roof, but I drive a little car, and the LIRR ticket prices have skyrocketed too. Other than traffic, not much goes wrong on the roads.

I thought about this as I rubbernecked at the demolished truck that crashed a block away from home.