Come on ride the train

Tonight, Lauren, Andrea and I made the exciting trek out to Long Island for the (drum roll please) So You Think You Can Dance tour. Now, if you are not a fan of the show, this may not sound very fun. Or cool. However, if you are a SYTYCD fanatic like the three of us are, this was a more than worthwhile effort for the best.TV.show.'concert'.ever.

The evening started out eventfully, of course. Lauren was meeting us at Nassau Coliseum, so Andrea and I made plans to meet at Penn Station to take the 5:51p train out. I allowed a full 45 minutes to get from my office to Penn Station, which should usually be plenty of time. Unfortunately, I got held up by a slow, crowded E train, and I ran into the train station at 5:45p.

Once I got a cell phone signal, I got the text message from Andrea that she already had my ticket. Relieved that I didn't have to stand in line, I called her to meet up and board the train at track 14 together. In our frantic, rushed state, though, we absolutely could not find each other, despite the fact that we were both in front of the strip of restaurants that resembles a food court. With the clock reading 5:49p, we decided to just board the train separately and find each other at the next stop. Makes sense, right?

Problem one. Neither Andrea nor I can figure out if we are at the front or the back of the train. We both know we're kind in the middle-ish-end-ish area, but we don't know if we're close to one another or not. We try to read each other the number of car we are in, only to realize that the cars are not in sequential order and the car number does not help. Once the train starts moving, though, we determine that I am in the front and she is in the back. Andrea quickly befriends her conductor, who opens up the CTU map of this Hempstead-bound LIRR train and tells her exactly how many cars apart we are.

Problem two. LIRR train conductors - shock of all shocks! - actually want to see your train ticket once you board. Andrea had two tickets, and I had....zero. Andrea's BFF, the conductor, instructed her to tell me to just explain the sitch to my conductor and cross my fingers. As I loudly discussed all of this with Andrea on the otherwise silent train, I think my conductor sympathized with me, because he never asked for my ticket. Check, problem two solved.

Problem three. We get to the next station. Andrea calls again and we make a plan to both run out on to the platform and find one another before the train departs again. Poised and ready, the train slowly creeps in to the station, only for us to discover that the first four cars were the only ones in front of the platform. This meant that I could leave my car, but Andrea was more or less stuck in hers, unless she wanted to hike through the grass and climb on to the platform. She did not, so we decided to wait for the next station.

Problem four. Only the first four cars had a platform at the next station, too. Another frenzied phone call. Another series of 'you lunatic' looks from the other passengers around me (who by now have come to recognize my Beyonce 'Irreplaceable' phone ring).

Problem five. We are now approaching the large Jamaica stop. Although every other stop only had a platform on one side, Jamaica (of course) has platforms on both. Should we go right, or should we go left? Thanks to a kind heads up by Andrea's new best friend the train conductor, we are made aware of the dual platform issue a few seconds ahead of time. Andrea calls, we decide to bear right, and we're good to go.

At this point, we (finally!) both exited the train, locked eyes on the platform, ran toward one another, hopped back into the train, and proceeded to Nassau Coliseum to meet Lauren. The rest of the evening went smoothly - perfectly, even - as we swooned and screamed over the SYTYCD dancers. It really was a fantastic show, and we are more in love with Neil and Danny now than ever before (although we don't think they swing our way, mm-kaaay?). Floating out of the coliseum on cloud nine (and through a freezing monsoon), we peacefully headed home with visions of dreamy dancers all in our heads.