3/19/03 I introduce Gina to Sushi, find Cuban currency, and see the "Talk to Me" people in Times Square:





I edited most of the day. But then I joined Gina, a friend of mine from Rubin Hall, my freshman year dorm, for some sushi at Kura. We've been meaning to go there for a while, as I have talked the place up (to everyone), and she's never had sushi before! So I introduced it to her.


She didn't like it.


But for the strangest reason.... the seaweed. She said it was the part that made it taste fishy. (Not the fish!). So she proceeded to pick out the rice and other ingredients from the inside of the honey-asparagus-sweet shrimp roll she had.


But then, she decided, she also didn't like the fish very much either. So, she's not a sushi person. She said it's not the taste as much as the idea. I told her I feel lucky that I was introduced to it at the age of 6, BEFORE I was told what I was eating.


She said that she was sad she didn't like it, because I made it look so good to like. I've been told that on occasion... the first time was when I was really thirsty at camp, and chugged a can of Barques root beer. Elana Fishbein happened to be there, and watched me enjoy the shit out of that can of root beer. And she told me that I made it look so good, that she went at got her own root beer, even though she hated root beer. And then... many years later... this past weekend, we were out somewhere and she told me that she now drinks root beer, as she has since acquired a taste for it. Ha!


But I don't think Gina will be acquiring a taste for sushi. She did like the following things:


1. Sake. Mmmmm.

2. Fried Ice Cream.

I told her we should split a Green Tea ice cream because it's awesome. And the waiter asked if we wanted it plain or fried. Gina's eyes lit up. "Fried?" She looked at me like a puppy that desperately needed to be taken for a walk... "Fried, please," I said.



And it was awesome. Runner up only to the fried twinkie I once had. I will go back there in due time and take photos. Yes. FRIED TWINKIE.







Then we went to the subway. She had to go back to Long Island. She's on spring break. And I rode with her to Penn Station. While she bought a Metrocard, she demonstrated how fond of having her picture taken she is.




Then, just after, I looked down and saw something shiny. And I realized it was two pieces of change. But when I picked them up, I found that they were not American pennies, nickels, dimes, or quarters. They were CUBAN!



It was a 20 cent and 5 cent piece. The 20 cent was about the size of a US quarter. The front has a star with two "X"'s in it. These are roman numerals for "20." It says "Patria O Muerte." And "1969," which is the date of the minting. The reverse says "Republica de Cuba" and "Veinte Centavos," which I loosely translate to mean "Republic of Cuba" and "Twenty cents." I took AP Cuban in high school and it finally became useful today!


The small one was minted in 1994.


So then we took a train ride, and I took this picture of our reflection in the glass of the doors across from us:



And then we transferred from the Shuttle to the 1/2/3/9 trains at Times Square... and on the way, we ran into one of my favorite "subway performers." Except these guys are hardly performing. Or are they?


They are the "Talk to Me" people. I've seen them all over the place on various occasions. I've even read a NY Times article about them. They literally sit there, and invite you to just talk to them. This confuses New Yorkers a lot more than people who want money from you. The woman on the right was taking their picture. Gina was totally intrigued and wanted to approach. (I was taking this photo while hiding behind a support column.) So, we went right over to them. The guy on the left was talking about the war. He was not in favor of the war, nor the Bush administration, explaining how it was crazy and making him afraid of terrorist revenge. The girl sitting on the right then turned to us and told us that this was an open forum, and that we could join in with anything we wanted at any time. We were inclined to be spectators. And then we moved on. I really like those guys. I like the idea. They want nothing from you. Merely conversation should you be so inclined. Brilliant.