Change of Plans

(continued from the last post)

Saturday was when Simona and I were supposed to visit the Metropolitan Museum. She had to be in the city in the morning for music lessons, so we decided to meet up outside the Met around 3PM. However, I was delayed by almost an hour due to changes with the buses and subways, and when I got out of the station, she called me to say that the security guard at the museum refused to let her in because she had her flute with her. 

We planned to meet outside the museum on 80th Street. Well, I was walking in the wrong direction and I ended up in front of the Guggenheim instead, on 90th Street. (please don't judge me). With it being so cold and windy, I called her to ask if she could meet me at the Guggenheim and then we'd figure out where to go from there. While I waited for her, I noticed a long line forming outside the art museum.

Curiosity peaked as more people showed up, and I learned that the Guggenheim was having a free admission in 45 minutes. That explained the long line. I decided to just stand in line anyway, since I'd never been to the Guggenheim. Simona showed up a few minutes later, frustrated with the Met's ridiculously strict policy regarding musical instruments.

The girl behind us overheard our conversation and made a witty comment about it. And so we started talking. The two girls in front of me joined in too and soon, all five of us were engaged in a get-to-know-each-other conversation, spawning a spontaneous new friendship. And that was how Simona and I hung out with Catherine, Kayla and Catherine for the rest of the day. They turned out to be awesome!

Simona, Catherine E. & Kayla (already friends before this), Catherine M. and myself

The Guggenheim was featuring a Japanese exhibition that week. Plastic tubes with colored water were suspended from every floor. 

Interesting artwork lined the white walls. We tried to decipher the abstractness of the art, but by the end of our visit, we decided that to truly appreciate a piece of art, you have to appreciate it for what it is, and not for what it's meant to be. (I'm not making sense? It's okay, that was meant to be an abstract statement.)

I wasn't aware that the Guggenheim had a "no photography" rule. A security guard stopped me and proceeded to take my camera, and just as I was about to panic, he started taking random shots of me and Simona. And then he returned my camera.

A candid shot of myself, taken by a Guggenheim security guard.

I walked away laughing, wondering what just happened. 

I had dinner plans with my Malaysian pals, but I invited my new friends along and we all boarded the subway to Times Square for dinner at Olive Garden. But Olive Garden required a 2-hour wait (ridiculous!) so Kayla suggested another Italian restaurant a few blocks away, Carmine's. I was down for anything. It was 8PM, I hadn't eaten in hours and I was starving.

So, Carmine's it was. My Malaysian pals (Melwin, Jasmine and Joey) met up with us at the restaurant.

Carmine's was an Italian family-style restaurant, with huge portions that could feed at least 4 people. There were eight of us, so we ordered a salad, two pastas and parmesan shrimps.

Dinner was great, and by the end of the night, we had smoothly transitioned from strangers to friends.

Kayla's tattoo of her grandfather's painting

 

Simona, Catherine M., myself, Jasmine, Joey, Catherine E., Melwin

Things would've been so different if the trains and buses were on schedule, if the Met security guard hadn't prevented Simona from entering the Met, and if I hadn't walked up the wrong street and arrived outside the Guggenheim. Then I would've not have met three amazing new girls, we wouldn't have gone to eat dinner at Carmine's, and we wouldn't have known about the delicious parmesan-encrusted shrimps and the penne a la vodka. Our night would've been very, very different.

Everything happens for a reason, doesn't it? :)