last night, mike and i went to our friends' house to celebrate new year's. turns out that none of the three husbands there was feeling very well so we called it a night earlier than usual. (as the host, steve, said "it was a rocking party!")

this meant that mike and i caught the subway coming north from the world trade center to our home on 34th street at 11:42 p.m. we thought that maybe we'd get out of the subway in time to hear the excitement from time's square as the ball dropped.

but, the train refused to move and then, when it did move, it moved agonizingly slowly.

mike and i celebrated the midnight countdown (perhaps fittingly, and like real new yorkers whose lives are ruled by our public transit system), on a train somewhere between 14th and 23rd streets. it's a testament to new york's unflappability that mike loudly said "happy new year!" as the clock turned and none of the other riders even looked up.

so, basically, we started the year trapped on a train and ignored. every new yorker's dream.