Coming home
I got myself a place to stay and some meals for the weekend, so Friday morning I bid adieu to my current hosts and found my way to Queens.
Whoever devised the street numbering system in Queens is both a genius and a complete a--hole. Some parts are brilliant. For example, take the address 137-14 72nd Rd. What's the cross-street? 137th.
On the other hand, walk south, in the direction of increasing numbers down 141th St. You hit 70th Ave. What's the next street up? 70th Rd. Then 71st Ave, 71st Rd. Then? 72nd Ave, 72nd Rd, 72nd Circle, 72nd Dr.
The plan was to see what Kew Gardens Hills is like. Friday night, my hosts took me to a nearby shul, black-hat. Saturday morning, I tried out Netzach David, which is apparently where the singles tend to go. The guys were all dressed up in suits, which doesn't say much. The girls had that hairstyle. I don't know what it is, but it's straight shoulder-length hair with that hairband. Seemed Yeshivish Modern to me, but I wasn't uncomfortable.
After Shabbos, I wandered into the city to see a movie. The automated ticket machines that dished out tickets for Fandago reservations was broken, and he was getting inundated with people wanting to skip the twenty-five–minute line (one cashier on duty). He was shouting at moviegoers and eventually tossed his vest over the desk and walked away.
I ended up seeing Ocean's Twelve. ★★★☆☆. It was amusing at points, but overall it was disappointing. The first movie was clever, and it was interesting how the scheme unfolded. Here the overall plotting was disconnected, with a large number of flashbacks thrown in to show instances of backstory when they were needed. It might have seemed clever in the script, but it only ended up confusing me and giving me a nasty case of temporal whiplash.
So here I sit in the terminal, B5 in LaGuardia, waiting for my flight which is delayed. Overall, my trip was ★★★★☆. Some things I didn't get to do, and some stuff I need to come back for (I need to spend a Shabbos in the Upper West Side to see what it's like) but overall it was pretty good. I got to see most of my friends and got to check out one place. We'll see soon if I can arrange a sequel.