on my way to self-destruction myself

around fall of last year, i was in new york and central park couldn't have been prettier. of course it was the first and only time i'd seen it so i don't really have any point of comparison, but anyway ... you are free to ignore the first sentence. see if i care.

i was walking with a long-time friend (and by 'long-time', i mean we knew each other before either of us was corrupted by the world we are currently bahhumbugging) who flew from canada* to meet me in new york. i did the usual touristy things – gape at the orange-colored leaves, pose strangely in front of the famous fountain (named 'Bethesda fountain' or 'Angel of the Waters', which i know only because i researched for this blog entry), be scared by the running squirrels, and so on. my friend, who wasn't a tourist, did her part by asking complete strangers to take our picture while i silently prayed they wouldn't run away with my camera.

we finally figured out how to get out of the park when we saw them: two men fiddling with a professional-looking video camera.

"oooh. cute," my friend whispered.

"what? him???" i said, being my usual loyal, supportive self.

"yes. cute," my friend whispered again.

"ok, let me get closer so i can take a picture for you." (don't ask. i don't understand girls either.)

so we casually sauntered over to the two guys, who, amazingly enough, looked at us. meanwhile, my friend was taking back her previous assessment: "oh. sorry. he's not cute."

"hey," said guy1 (not the supposed cute one) before we could run in the opposite direction, "would you like to be interviewed?"

"sure," i said, pushing my friend towards the guy (told you i was supportive).

my friend agreed, mostly because (a) she thought it was going to be a WRITTEN interview (um, there was a VIDEO camera, mind you) and (b) she attracts strange situations. but don't let me get started on that.

"WHAT!?!" shouted my then-freaking-out friend. "you're going to film me!?"

"why not," i said, not knowing what was coming next.

by this time, we had a feeling it was going to be for a prank tv show named 'Gullible Girls in the Park' or 'Stupidity is the World's Biggest Killer'. something.

"what's this about anyway?" we ask.

guy1** replied, "the WEATHER CONSPIRACY."

the what???

allegedly, they were working for the Weather Channel and just needed a few video snippets for some show. fine. what wasn't fine was i found out i had to be interviewed as well. if i knew that, i wouldn't have pushed my friend in the first place. there is a moral lesson in there somewhere. i am just choosing to ignore it.

"you can't interview me! i'm not from here! me speaka no eeengleees." (ok, i didn't really say the last bit but i should've.)

"even better!"

arrgghh.

anyway, i ended up making a fool of myself in another country (so what else is new?), spewing out gibberish about how i think the earth is on its way to self-destruction (where did THAT come from?) and that i don't believe aliens have anything to do with global climate.

i had to pick my friend off the ground as she was laughing herself silly, watching my senseless display. needless to say, i can't wait for the next new york visit.

she owes me.


--------------------
*interestingly, she LIVES in new york now. and fyi, unless absolutely necessary, we never talk about the weather.

**i realize i never mentioned guy2, the supposed cute one. just goes to show that cuteness – or even imagined cuteness – does not translate to an interesting personality, or the power of speech, at the very least.