Another Subway Drama

It's Thursday. 5 PM. I'm so exhausted. I'm in NY today & tomorrow. I've been working like a maniac all week, late nights....my lunch today consisted of Sun Chips and a Peach Iced Tea Snapple. fabulous. Tonight I am going out on the town with my fellow NY co-workers for Shabu. What is Shabu? good question. Click here for more info on that.
Apparently it's Japanese BBQ...and you cook your own meal over a flame? Sounds questionable but I'll report back on my success or failure. Let's just hope I don't pass out of exhaustion onto the open flame and become known as "the chick who Shabu'd her face at the Valentine's dinner".
So I almost got arrested today. I was in the subway trying to figure out how to use the handicap accessible gate entrance instead of the turnstyle. My motto today was "Take No Chances". I decided to spare myself the trauma of fighting through the turnstyle with too much luggage since I was dragging my overnight rollie suitcase, a laptop computer bag, & my big purse. Since I wasn't sure of the routine to get through the gate (i.e. where do you swipe your Metrocard) I thought my best bet was to pause and observe people first:

A lot of people are coming out of the gate door....not a lot of people are going in.....Oh! there's a guy.....he's going in the gate....and....he didn't swipe his Metrocard??....Ok, so I'll do that. Monkey see, monkey do. I walk through the gate holding my Metrocard in my hand with a look of confusion. Do I swipe it once I'm inside somewhere? Where's the swiper?? Maybe you just swipe it when you leave??

My confusion is shattered when I hear a loud...."MA'AM!! MA'AM!!" And a man wearing all black with guns strapped to his hip AND leg is walking towards me. "Can you please go back outside and swipe the card...see that guy over there...(of course the "monkey" I was OBSERVING)...he's getting arrested for going through the gate without swiping his card....that's a good way to get yourself arrested, lady, and I'd hate for that to happen to you this morning"

Yowsers! Thrown in the pokie for not swiping my Metrocard! I narrowly averted disaster. Thankfully my look of confusion (some near and dear to me say this "look" is permanently etched on my face) saved me. So see...what I call my casual/relaxed face really did save me today. So there you have it....it's always helpful to look permanently confused. Try it sometime.