I decided on the little carryon

…and it was a good thing, too.

I thought I was going to take public transportation from the Newark airport.

I waited for the bus to Penn Station.

For a while.

Some other busses came.

Finally the bus to Penn Station arrived and I was climbing the steps to get on it and I must have looked more than usually bewildered/worried, because the driver asked, “Do you want Newark Penn Station or New York Penn Station?” “New York Penn Station,” I said. “Oh,” he said, “you need to go over there and wait for the [indecipherable].”

So I did that.

It didn’t work.

Long story short: I got one of those shuttles that goes to multiple destinations within a certain (extensive) geographic area. The driver had been working since 5 am (it was about 5:30 pm when I got on), had a cold and was sneezing and coughing, and kept getting texted by his girlfriend. Finally he called her back and said, “Baby, now is not a good time, I got a bus full of people here, I’ll get with you later.” He also kept getting harrassed by one of the other people in the shuttle who’d waited a long time for a pickup and who got progressively angrier as other people’s stops came up before his. And did I mention the traffic?

Meanwhile, I am calling my delightful hosts ellen_kushner and deliasherman at intervals to update them upon my whereabouts as I am now two hours later than I thought I would be and we are allegedly going to a play at 8 pm.

Fortunately, at 7:35 when I relayed my 20, it was conveniently close to Lincoln Center!

So I got out of the shuttle and gave the driver a big tip, because he was having a way worse day than I was. “I hope your night gets better,” I said. “Oh, it will, it will.”

I started laughing when I was halfway across the street, contemplating the spectacle of myself and my luggage going — more or less — straight from the airport to a show. We all got there just in time.

It was a good show, too.

Next post: will be actually about the conference!