i was the creeper on the subway. it was ME.

Two things happened today that I feel compelled to share with you.

- There are so many people in the world that rub me the wrong way and they never did anything at all to me.  Carrie Underwood, for example. My high-school AP Gov teacher.  This guy in my creative writing class.
I have taken the liberty of carefully marking a portion of today's notes and transcribing them here, for you. Let me set the scene: sometimes in lecture, when you hear something interesting, you may quietly "hunh" and mark that interesting thing in your notes. You might even, if it's REALLY INTERESTING, unconsciously blurt a "wow, that's interesting" and mark that REALLY INTERESTING thing in your notes.
This guy during lecture:

"The title, Improvisations ['uh-hunh'], evokes several levels ['hunh'] of interpretation. To improvise ['uh-hunh'] means to be unprepared ['Hunh.'] but also suggests, for example, intimate knowledge ['HUNH'] of the form; an understanding of the instrument ['HUNH'], of its scales ['HUNH'], ...of the type of music ['Oh WOW, HUNH'] ... you want to evoke."

I am IRKED.  This is going to be a grating semester.
I am also CERTAIN he is a really great guy. Do not misinterpret my irked-ness as a character judgment on him.  Enthusiastic participation in seminar is great and I bet if I got to know him, we would be excellent friends.
But until that day: for the love, "HUNH" guy.  I am DISTRACTED.

- An open letter to the guy I über-creepered on the T:
Today I was on the subway from Temple U to City Hall to meet my g-biffles for lunch (MMM Philly Restaurant Week) and it was packed. I squished into a door area, since CH is maybe 5 stops down, and out of my peripherals I saw ... Devin. But like, Devin.
For the longest time I just froze, glassy-eyed, trying to figure out why I couldn't stop staring at this guy. Then out of nowhere my face went "DEVIN?!!?11!?1" right as my brain went "Wait, you have no idea that that's Devin" and that was an awkward five seconds.
I don't really know Devin. I know he lived on Y3N freshman year and was Andrew's (?) roommate and that is the extent of my knowledge. So on the one hand: that was fellow Tribesman Devin in PHILADELPHIA WOOT and on the other: ".... IS that Devin?"  I desperately wanted to shoot him some sort of TRIBE-ONLY secret handshake but WM is not cool enough for that. But I couldn't NOT acknowledge that that was probably Devin, fellow Tribesman in Philadelphia.
This situation needed rectifying because it was FRYING MY BRAIN.

Suddenly one of my genius ideas cropped up: my phone has a CAMERA. My phone is still silenced from lecture! I am meeting DAN of Y3N for LUNCH this is HAPPENING.
So I whip out my phone and front like I'm texting.  I do that thing where you shift around, "looking for signal," and type a few random numbers with a concentrated look on your face.  I ever so carefully position him center-frame and nonchalantly click "Take Photo."

Turns out, even when your phone is silenced it makes a deafening "CLI-CLICK" shutter sound.  And everyone in your immediate area will hear it and look to see who you are creepily taking a picture of.

He looked right at me as I not only scrambled to assume a "I WAS SO NOT PHOTOGRAPHING YOU" expression but simultaneously dropped my phone in the crowded subway car.  By the time I fumbled it back into my hands, shame-faced, the blurry photo was erased and so too was my pride.

The worst part is, at lunch Dan pulled up a group shot of his entire hall on his iWhatever and Devin was not in the picture at all.  If I ever see him again, I cannot confirm his identity as we both will only remember the very awkward day I über-creeped him.

Sorry, maybe-Devin. I'm sorry for photographing you today on the subway.