Last year I decided each month should be marked by a project.
January Project:Shine light on the mysteries of the F train.

January 4: Saw a guy with a pinky ring and remembered a friend of mine who said she had a boyfriend who wore a pinky ring and did "pinky ring kinds of things". I never knew what that meant exactly, but I wondered if this guy would know what she was talking about.

January 5: Do women with with extremely dense, extremely curly hair use their hair as pillow on the road?

January 6: I've seen many of people in this car before. How long does one live in New York before every day is an encounter with the vaguely familiar?

January 7: The subway car is quiet, but the loudness of people's thoughts is deafening. Wonder if any people here saw Wings of Desire and are thinking the same thing?

January 8: Guy in a nice suit. Drunk. 10am.

January 11: Where does one find blue jeans decorated with AK47 silhouettes? And bullet holes! They have manufactured bullet holes.

January 12: Guy with mismatched socks. Actually not much of a mystery because the guy is me. **Bonus mystery: Why is it that one always sees people reading Marquez novels in pairs?

January 13: French people telling knock knock jokes.

January 14: On the ride home in a mostly empty subway car a girl who is about 20 sat down next to a guy who is about 20. They want to talk. Maybe when I exit

January 15: Fellow with a new Zune.

January 18: Saw a guy who reminded me of a kid I knew in kindergarten named Roderick Ross. Wondered if this guy might be Roderick grown up? I didn't ask.

January 19: A girl in a yellow coat is crying quietly.

January 20: How does a person smell like fish and peppermint at the same time?

January 21: Woman with a violin case decorated with stickers for The Cramps.

January 22: Man wearing 2 scarves.

January 25: A lady is eating black licorice on purpose.

January 26: Black coats all around then a woman in a red coat enters. Everyone turns.

January 27: Girl literally whistling Dixie.

January 28.: Fellow with mullet. Of you mulletman I ask: Where does one go to acquire such a stunning mullet cut these days?

January 29: A woman drew X's, O's, and hearts all over her hand and up part of her arm.She looks tired — not the hand drawing type. Maybe she didn't draw them. Maybe it was one of her kids. She looks too young for kids. Looks like she's going to work.