character sketches

Remember when I mentioned the wide variety of people one sees on the metro? Well the other day I was bored on my daily commute (iPod batteries had gone dead, if you must know) and began looking around and writing down descriptions of my interesting fellow passengers. So here's a real-life list of some of the people who were riding the red line at 5:30 in the morning, and here's what you might have noticed if you were on that train:

1) A man in his 50s or 60s, reading the newspaper, with a truly amazing gray comb-over across an almost entirely bald head, and a mustache that looks like it belongs on a sheriff in the Old West

2) A middle-aged man in an unexpected combination of baseball cap, short-sleeved button-down shirt with a tie, elbow brace, wire-rimmed glasses, hiking-type shoes, and a briefcase on his lap-- and is that a pocket protector, or does it just look like it from here?

3) A 40-something woman in a rather stylish suit and-- literally-- rose-colored glasses, her hair dyed an unlikely shade of burgundy with lipstick to match, complete with lip-liner carefully drawn just outside the actual borders of her lips

4) A pretty Asian girl in a cute lime-green top and carrying a Coach purse, bravely applying mascara on a moving, jolting train-- an impressive feat

5) A trendy-looking, college-age Latino guy with gelled hair and a cigarette tucked behind one ear, wearing Nikes and a t-shirt that reads "chicks dig boarders" or something similar, dozing in his seat

6) A middle-aged man in a plaid shirt and hair that clearly hasn't changed a bit since he styled it after his favorite rock stars in the 80s (except for going gray)

7) A 40-ish guy in black jeans and a bright purple Oxford shirt, with a mustache, his hair cut into a flat-top, and carrying a red backpack

8) A 20-something girl with somewhat frizzy hair, in scrub pants and an oversized pullover, creepily looking around at the other passengers and scribbling in a small notebook-- oh wait. That's me.