The 22 Project: NYC - episode 15

If you haven't seen The 22 Project: NYC - episode 14, read it first!

So lets back track: before my pal Frankie and I ever knew each other – minutes before, in fact – a man got onto our train with two bags, a satchel on his shoulder and in his hands a bag from IKEA.  The big blue IKEA bag was pretty annoying, because it was bulky and filled to the brim with clothes and things, so it probably would have been better to have a duffel, but he didn't.  That stupid bag kept bumping into everyone, sitters and standers alike, which made it really easy to miss the other bag on his shoulder.  Rather, what was poking out of the other bag on his shoulder.  Francisco and I noticed it about the same time: he jumped in his seat, I gasped, and then we turned to each other in shock for just a moment before cracking up, because that's what you do when something like that happens.  (The girl sitting across from us was laughing at us too, but she didn't turn out to be 22 material.)

See it yet? How about now?

And that's how I met Man with the Incognito Dog! 

You'll have to excuse the photo – it was a bad angle, so I cut myself out (for the second time) to get his face in there.  You'll also have to excuse his face, because this must be a really bad picture of him.  Poor guy, he was in a hurry, as the train was pulling up to his stop.

Again, this one's my fault.  Always with the last-minute decisions to go in for the photo!

Things always turn out bad when it takes forever to get up the guts to do them.  "Will I?  Won't I?  Is it going to be stupid? I think I should.  But I can't!"  And back and forth until the decision is made, but it's really too late for anything good to come of it.  (Seriously, just look at this guy's face.)

I've been working on this as of late – that's part of what 22 is all about – but I've got to get better.  I've started telling myself, the minute you get the impulse, just follow it.  See where it takes you.  You might surprise yourself.  Why wait?  There's zero reward for waiting in some situations, and the 22 Project is one of them.  Sure, I could wait until it's close to my stop to avoid the awkwardness of prolonged experience with these strangers who don't know how to take me, but that's silly.  It's already awkward enough, and I should just embrace it.  I'm already the poster child for the socially awkward.  What else should I need?

So there you go, Man with the Incognito Dog.  I embrace you.  And your dog.