TS and I went up to New York for the weekend. Friday night, we visited my college friend and her husband in NYC. Fortunately, our friends here in DC were also planning a trip up to NYC for the weekend, so we got a ride with them up to my friend's place on the upper west side. Our ride was mostly uneventful (despite the prediction of huge rainstorms, we didn't hit any), although it did take forever to get out of DC, since we were taking Connecticut Ave. out of the city to 495 at 4:30 p.m. on a Friday afternoon. I have no idea how all those commuters do it on a daily basis; I could have gotten out of the car and walked faster. Not to mention all those people who actually live on Connecticut Ave. during that stretch... there's no way for them to get out of their driveways into that traffic. If you had an emergency, you'd be barricaded by gridlock in your own home.

Friday night, we met our friends and went out for a delicious Peruvian dinner about a 20 block walk from their place. (I love how you can get actual meals in NYC at 10:30p.m. DC could take a few pointers on that.) Dinner was yummy, sangria was even yummier. It was actually a really nice night after the storms came through (before TS and I got there), plus we'd just eaten a ton of food, so we decided to walk home too. The guys were a few paces ahead of us, and my friend was telling me a story of how she and her husband were walking around that area late one night, and this guy was headed straight for them and she kind of freaked out, but then as he got a few feet away he exuberantly yelled out their names and ran up to give them a hug... and then she realized it was one of their doormen (who was more than a little bit intoxicated). Just as she finished this story, these three teenagers (two guys and a girl) were walking the other way, apparently arguing.

Then, out of nowhere, the girl screams "You fucking bitch!" and shoves me to the ground.

The three teenagers just kept walking on after she shoved me, although once TS and my friend's husband realized something had happened and had turned back around, the girl sort of started back towards us, apparently looking for a fight. I assured TS and my friends that I really wasn't hurt at all (which is actually kind of surprising, given how injury-prone I am**) and to just ignore her. She hadn't mugged me, I wasn't injured... it just wasn't worth it to make the situation possibly worse.

My friend and her husband kept apologizing, even though it obviously wasn't their fault. We may not have been in the greatest neighborhood, but we were in a pretty public area (this all happened right outside a restaurant where a lot of people were eating outside), and it was just a random freak incident. Actually, the whole thing was pretty surreal. I obviously hadn't done anything to the girl, she apparently didn't intend to cause me any serious harm, and they didn't even attempt to take my purse or go after my friends. It was all very, very odd. In fact, I still feel safer walking around NYC (well, the parts I've been in) late at night than DC, just because there always seems to be other people around.

* The punchline to one of my favorite jokes, because I have an odd affinity for totally lame-ass puns.

** In fact, TS's first thought was that I just tripped over the sidewalk and that's why I was on the ground... and that is a totally rational conclusion to come to when you find me sitting in a twisted heap on a sidewalk. It wouldn't have been the first time. (See giant scar on my left knee.)