I woke up in the second
bedroom in my brother's home in
North Carolina at 8:00 AM, after seeing
Wendy Liebman last night. I woke up, brushed my teeth, and made
breakfast to the
chatter of my brother's kids and two children being cared for by the wife. They were all talking about playing
Super Smash Bros. with my older (and dumber) brother's son who was also visiting. I had my last breakfast of the vacation as usual -- two
eggs, sunny side up. I didn't have the chance to make toast or tea because the house has none of them. Two hours later, I was dressed, packed, and ready to go. My brother packed off my
computer, the
suitcase, and a potted plant that will grow
chili peppers. I said
good bye to the kids, and to my brother's wife before I left.
I was shipped off to the unmanned train station in downtown Cary. The station has a small farmers' market, selling tomatoes I would die for, and fire jelly.
The train was supposed to arrive a half-hour before noon, but it was late and came in a few minutes after noon. My brother checked my computer as baggage, and I carried the suitcase and the plant. I didn't say good-bye to him (because I was finding my seat in the train), but he told me to call back when I get back home.
The ride to New York took half of the day, leading to midnight. I started sitting in the coach class, but I did find my way to the business class seats just by asking the conductors after the train left NC. The food was just enough not to be associated with airline food (because you have to pay for it). I wanted to get back to listening to the Blade Runner love theme in the train's sound system, but the system shuts down too much to play the music...
My sister picked me up at midnight in Penn Station just like that (snaps fingers). It's fortunate that both of us had some patience this time instead of me being forced to leave the station quickly by a taxi.