(no subject)

Last night I went into New York for Puzzled Pint, which was held outdoors in Central Park. It was my first time in NYC in a year and a half, my first time riding a train in a year and a half, my first time seeing thirdblindmouse and another friend in a year and a half. Lots of new experiences.

Trains were less crowded than I remember, and the trip was very easy. I have sort of forgotten how to do New York, though. I took wrong subways (Got on the E instead of the C and almost ended up in Queens). I got disoriented and forgot what street I was on. It's weird, I have prided myself on being able to navigate the City really well, even long after I moved away, and I'm definitely not at tourist level clueless but I felt out of place there. The city is also different, of course, because the City is always changing. Ebikes were everywhere, even more than they used to be, and getting a sense of how to look out for them at intersections was a new challenge. Penn Station and other places have been reoriented for social distancing in ways that were confusing to me. It was all a lot of adjustment.

The puzzles were fine, but I would say that the story and theme were better than the enigma content. My teammates did more solving than I did, but I brought extra puzzles so after we finished the puzzle set I did a variety cryptic while my friend sat next to me solving the WSJ crossword, asking each other for help when we got stuck. It was really pleasant to sit on a bench in Central Park on a lovely summer evening and solve puzzles as the sun went down. Sadly, the organizers did a poor job of advertising, and we were one of only two or three teams to show up, but it was a start at returning to a favorite monthly ritual. Hopefully more teams will come next month.