A Rainy Sunday Walk

I'll start this entry with the email I read about 10:30am. My epal (Macy's Walker) sent me an email that he was cancelling at the last minute joining me and Vpal (my vegetarian epal) for a walk along Manhattan's greenway (Henry Hudson Parkway or Westside Highway). I was a bit annoyed at the last minute cancellation considering I had asked Vpal to change his schedule to accommodated MW. However later, I thought it was nice that he took the time to send both a email and a text message.

I called Vpal to let him know about the cancellation and see if he wanted to go back to the original meeting time. He said that since he was already up, we should continue with the earlier meeting time. We agreed with a 1:15p.m. meeting time.

I arrived about 10 minutes early, but Vpal was about 15 minutes late. The meeting place was Dyckman and Broadway -- that's way uptown for you non-New York readers. The plan was to start from Dyckman Street and walk as far south as our legs would take us. I will try to attach a map of the Manhattan Greenway. The Greenway is a plan that would surround Manhattan Island with tha pathway for walkers and bikers around the perimeter of Manhattan Island.

We started from Dyckman Street and the walk was going okay, until we arrived at 145th street(about 3.5 miles according to Google Maps). Then, the sky started to darken. Once it started raining, I was in no mood to walk in the rain. I suggested that we take the train downtown and go see a movie. Vpal agreed (suggesting 14th street). We went to 14th street and union square. I asked to stop in Filene's Basement. I wanted to buy a cheap pair of long pants. I knew the movie theater would be cold, and I wanted to be prepared. I thought Filene's was a discount store like a five and dime imitation store, but I was incorrect. There were a lot of expensive clothes (expensive to me) that I really didn't like or were too expensive. However, I settled on a pair of navy blue sweatpants ($29.99).

After we left the store, the rain had stopped, but we went to the movie theater to see what was playing. Basically, mostly sci-fi movies were shown. Right up my alley. However, Vpal did not seem to be interested. He would have settled for the Dark Knight, but it was sold out. Vpal suggested that we try another theater that was only a couple of city blocks away. Again, mostly sci-fi. V-pal suggested we try another theater on 23rd street. I agreed providing it didn't rain. We arrived at the theater on 23rd street and again ...mostly sci-fi with a couple of dramas. There was no way I wanted to see "Brideshead Revisited". However, Dark Knight was available. Unfortunately at that moment, I then remembered that a couple of people had already asked me if I was interested in seeing Dark Knight. I told them I wanted to wait for the crowds to decrease, and I wanted to see it in IMAX. All of a sudden I wasn't interested in seeing it at all. Vpal suggested another movie theater "down the block"; that theater was closed. Now, I was
wet (soaked to my underwear with sweat),
cold, (I was wearing shorts sweating from walking about 90 minutes),
and hungry (I had only eaten a bowl of cold cereal around 10a.m.).
Feeling a bit bad about being willing to see Dark Knight, then at the last minute refusing to see it, I suggested we walk to 34th street to see a movie from a theater there. I really wasn't in the mood for more walking for the reasons stated above, but I suggested the 34th street continuation. And at 34th street, again, mostly sci-fi movies. The marque on the outside did say that "Meet Dave" was shown. Vpal seems to really want to see that movie. The commercials look dumb, but I did not say anything. I would have been willing to see the "Dave" movie. However, no Dave was showing. Someone did not update the marque. I was ready to end this walk then and there, but Vpal suggested that we walk to 42nd Street. We walked.

Along the way, Vpal said he "saw me looking at the Subway restaurant store, so I must have been hungry". He was correct about the hungry part, but I didn't even know we had walked passed a Subway restaurant. I think that was Vpal's way of saying that he was hungry. And since they served veggie patties, he could eat there. Problem. I really wasn't in the mood for a Subway sandwich. Subways is a nice snack restaurant, but not usually when I'm very hungry. I didn't have a taste for a sandwich, chips and a soda. However, I believed Vpal wanted to eat, and being a vegetarian, his options were limited. We went in. I sat while Vpal waited on line. I thought he was waiting to order, but he only wanted to ask if they had any veggie patties. Nope they didn't. Now, I really annoyed. We must have passed a half-dozen BBQ restaurants, MacDs, and Burger Kings; we finally go into a restaurant I really didn't want to go in, and we turn around and walk out. We continue on to 42nd Street.

And on 42nd Street, more sci-fi movies, but no "Dave". I had had enough. I had one final suggestion: "we would walk (rain or shine) to 14th street and call it a day". Vpal agreed. We walked to 14th street, stopping along the way at Penn Station for a bathroom break.

When we arrived at 14th street, Vpal says that he is going to continue walking to 4th street. I agree to walk him to his station. We arrived at his station. At first I was annoyed; I felt I was walking further out of the way from the diner I wanted to go to. I mentioned the diner in previous blog entries. However, it turned out the diner I wanted to go to was right across the street. I had not mentioned the diner because one of the things that Vpal likes to suggest is that we can go to a place that does not have anything he can eat, he will "just sit and watch me eat", which would make me feel a bit uncomfortable. I walked Vpal to the turnstile expecting to say goodbye there. I had forgotten that I could have also taken the same train (going in the opposite direction). Problem. Once Vpal swiped his Metro Card, he was expecting me to follow, but I already had my hand out saying Good Bye, Nice walk...etc. I think he was a little hurt, but he didn't say anything, he just shook my hand and said that he would see me next weekend.

I went to the diner. I ordered my usual -- I've ordered the same thing the three other times I had been there(two with epals and once on my own). I ordered a large orange juice, a hamburger deluxe, and "onion rings on the side". I should have said, "instead of french fries, please give me onion rings". The result, I got both, french fries and onion rings. Since it was my mistake, I didn't say anything. I ate a few fries, but most I left. For desert, I ordered cherry pie a la mode. I left the diner feeling full and happy.


I decided to walk back to 14th street and see if any of the sci-fi movies were playing at that time. "Hellboy 2" was playing. I had about 30 minutes to kill, so I sat on the floor outside the theater 3 and read my DS9 book. So how was the movie?

The movie was okay. I was entertained, but I wasn't too impressed. I thought the movie was a bit sloppy and uneven, with a few weak plot points. I wasn't thrilled with Hellboy and the fish guy doing a drunken sing-a-long. The part where Hellboy fights the giant plant thing when he has a baby in his hand (scene from the trailers) was not the ending, so that should tell you something about the uneven plot. I thought Ron Perlman was good, as well as the fight scenes. Although, the fight scene where Hellboy was seconds ago on the floor barely able to sit upright, and then appears perfectly sobbor was stupid. I also thought the Prince's (unintentional disappearing and reappearing (when the plot needed) didn't help the movie. Example? The movie suggests that Prince Nuada kills a bunch of security guards to get into the top secret underground compound, yet the alarm doesn't go off until he is well within the top secret compound. His sister pushes the panic button on the wall. Short summary, the movie was not great, but it was entertaining.

I was out of the movie about 10:30p.m. I headed for home and arrived about 12midnight.


Post Date - Wednesday, August 20, 2008 10:58AM
Completion Date - Monday, July 28, 2008 2:51PM