broadway flea.

So, again, I must repeat that the city is full of markets, fleas, and festivals. Some better than others and the Broadway Flea did not disappoint. Imagine, if you will, a charity flea where each booth is raising money for their charity and vying for a year’s worth of bragging rights, and then imagine that each booth is manned by actual on and off Broadway stars and crew-members. It was brilliant. Most offered really unique gifts like performance worn wardrobe, autographed playbills, their team bowling trophy, and home baked goods! The cast of Wicked immediately sold me on a banana walnut loaf that I saved for later (I never got to eat it – more on that later).

broadway flea 2011. mary poppins cast.

broadway flea. debra monk. she was super nice and I backed away from her out of sheer intimidation.

I recognized the children from the cast of Mary Poppins and as I was perusing autographed scripts at a booth suddenly Debra Monk just popped in and I realized everything there was hers. Each script showed signs of wear and tear and had her name on it, each trinket came from a set or a stage  that she participated in. It was really a great day. We saw piles of memorabilia just strewn about tables, there were autographed this and that and show-worn whatsits galore. It was hard to know where to start. Moreover, if you saw a show and didn’t buy their keychain or t-shirt, someone was likely selling it. We even did this giveaway where you paid for raffle tickets that were stapled together. if it said winner inside they you got tickets to an unknown show. I didn’t win but they did get my $10 and it was exciting to rip them open. I did hear “I won” and “I can’t believe it” called out from a few folks in my vicinity though.

The Rock of Ages table was where I really fell over myself. Have I mentioned that ROA was my very first Broadway show? We saw it in 2009 on our 1st visit to the city. We didn’t want to wait in the TKTS line which appeared to be 10 hours long and a guy handed us the ROA flyer and said the show was great and the prices were right so we decided to pay full price at the window for that. It turned out the prices were indeed good and the show was amazing (save for the very uninterested texter who sat beside me during the show). How better to fall in love with a medium than with 80s rock anthems and a love story or two?

broadway flea. rock of ages.

broadway flea. playbills. these are just a few playbills from just one vendor. there were a ton of them all over.

Anyway, I spied Justice and immediately gushed over her. It was embarrassing but what can I say I love her and the show. She was great about it. I don’t have a lot of experience bumping into celebrities or should I call her a Broadway star? Either way, I figured it was ok to talk to her since her presence at the booth was simply to raise money from adoring fans(?). I tried not to ramble too much but I did tell her that I loved her and the show and that I’d see it in April 2009 at Brooks Atkinson Theater and I thought the new cast was amazing and the new theater also wonderful. (they downsized theaters and many on the original cast are now on the national tour.) As I tried to peel myself away from her I realized my husband had engaged in conversation with a man I didn’t recognize at the ROA booth as well. They were talking about how awesome Austin is of all things. And right beside the man who must have been a backstage person was Sherrie! She was so normal and human and friendly and anyway, after we bought an autographed playbill and wandered away I realized I didn’t get a single snap of the booth or them or ask for a photo with them or anything. I am clearly a rookie at this. I wanted to go back and ask but then I thought I would look silly doing that. So I just glanced back at the booth longingly a few times as we made our way through the street.

One vendor offered playbills from shows older than me, older than… they were from the 1940s! I thought surely there was something I should buy but then I realized I don’t know what was amazing back then, I don’t have any point of reference, and also what would I do with this old playbill? Frame it in some place of honor in my home? To what end? So I perused a little and moved on politely.

broadway flea. wicked shoes. awesome.

The day of wandering and oogling Broadway memorabilia and its stars just made me want to see more shows. There are so many I haven’t seen and so many that have closed without me ever making it in the doors. At brunch my high continued with a super indulgent chicken and waffles from Southern Hospitality in Hell’s Kitchen and nothing could top the soulful sounds of the singer/guitarist who serenaded the dining room. The day of the Broadway Flea was one of the best days full of adventure and happy thoughts. It wasn’t until we were getting the bill that my phone rang. “Mom” it said, I had to run out of the restaurant to answer the call. “We are on the way to the hospital” I couldn’t breathe until she said “they called us, they said to come now, we are on our way,” I knew what she was saying and yet I had to hear her say it. I made her clarify that this was for my dad’s lung transplant. The day of the Broadway Flea 2011 is the day before my dad got his new lung.

broadway flea. southern hospitality. my meal before getting the call that my dad was on his way to the hospital.

Coco MoCA.

coco. king.

We wandered into the Coco MoCA (aka The Museum of Conan Art) during Snowtober and it was a blast. As much of a blast as an art exhibit at the Shops at Columbus Circle can be. No I take that back, it was better than that. The art was all ridiculously creative and inspiring. You might think, it was all some concoction of Conan O’Brien right? So how awesome can that really be? Well, it just was. There were knit Conans and MetroCard Conans and a very strange Pencil Conan, not a pencil drawing of him I mean literally a life sized statue of Conan made of pencils. You had to be there.

coco. metro card.

This was one of those amazing New York experiences. An art exhibit featuring fan art made in the likeness and in honor of a late night talk show host and although we knew it would be there we really did just stumble into it. There was this ridiculous couch that vibrates and talks and kinda hugs you then when you are making the absolute most ridiculous facial expression possible, it snaps a photo of you and lets to Tweet, Facebook, or email it. I visited twice and both photos are akin to the worst photos ever taken of me and yet they are awesome. The second time I tried really hard to keep a straight face but the couch out-witted me and I broke. I suppose if I was going to be out-witted by a couch I’m happy it was the Coco couch.

I will just post a handful of photos here,  you can check them out online for yourself. I should note, the staff encouraged us to take photos. All art titles and artist information can be found on the official Coco MoCA online galleries.

coco.

coco. daughter. this one was supposed to be conan and his daughter. i love it.

coco. knit. i absolutely love that someone out there took the time to knit conan! amazing!

coco. pencils. as mentioned above, he's made entirely of pencils. and he's really tall.

snowtober.

Snowtober came out of nowhere. I was on the phone with my dad discussing his latest PT visit and asking if he’d done his breathing exercises yet that morning when he asked about the snow. I told him there was absolutely no way it was gonna snow, it was just gonna be a blah day with cold rain, maybe late evening sleet and that we were going to stay in and watch movies. Just a few minutes after hanging up the phone giant flakes started falling, they fell quickly and they fell aplenty. We immediately decided that our day in would now be a day out, I called my dad in a rush and told him the good news:

me: Dad, omg it’s snowing! We are getting ready to go out! yay!
Dad: Wait, now that it is snowing you are going out?
me: Yeah! It’s no fun playing in the rain but playing in the snow is awesome!
Dad: ok, have fun, watch out for the wind. be careful.

snowtober. sea lion.

snowtober. polar bear.

We were totally unprepared for the snow. I had to pull out a ton of stuff from our hall closet to find our snow boots and I left the house without an adequate scarf and I never found any of my knit caps. Regardless, we had a very vague plan of checking out the Central Park Pumpkin festival and then seeking out a new winter coat for me. I only have wool pea-coats which are great but not ideal for some outings. And of course we’d be goose-chasing. As we arrived at the park we decided to check out the zoo first. The long slow walk to the Zoo entrance was so peaceful save for the fallen branches and the kindly runner who warned us of other fallen and falling branches in the park. The Zoo staff had sullen looks on their faces that I interpreted as “I don’t want to be here” and “You are crazy for being here” but they let us in anyway and we delighted in the fallen snow and the sea lions and the polar bear. We made our way up the hill to the snow leopard area and had to duck under a giant fallen tree limb before someone came and said they were closing and we’d have to leave.

snowtober. downed tree.

From the Zoo we headed north through the park with the intent of crossing to the West side before exiting. But even when we were in the Zoo we could see and hear the cracking and the trees shaking as branches collapsed under the weight of wet snow. As we walked the path the snow was heavy with moisture. The ground was full of puddles and snow alike. We took a few moments under one of the bridges to tweet and saw the Zoo gates being closed behind us. The cracking echoed through the trees and we saw downed branches the size of cars. Clearly conditions were such that the Pumpkin Fest must have been canceled. We decided for our own safety we’d have to leave the park. It was a lovely, if creepy stroll while it lasted.

snowtober. me.

The train delivered us to the West side and soon the puddles were inside my shoes. North Face had some great boots but my size wasn’t in stock. We did however get out of there with about $150 worth of goods. 2 pairs of gloves and one winter hat. North Face is pricey but the gloves are the fancy e-tip style that allows you to use your iphone touch screen without removing them. Eastern Mountain Sports offered a great coat selection but again not in my size. “Not in my size” is a theme in my life. I tried on a few mens coats but men are built differently than women. They have no hips and I need a coat that offers a button/zip option not just one or the other. I only glanced at the boots and coveted a few pairs but had already decided to wait on the North Face ones. Century 21 was smaller than I expected and both the coat and boot sections were a disappointment.

snowtober. pedestrian signal.

snowtober. new boots.

As we were deciding where to go next I realized that my socks were really wet. Last year’s winter boots just gave up entirely on this year’s first snow. I needed new boots asap. We doubled back to EMS and as I asked for a size I had to shamefully tell the sales girl, Elizabeth, that I’d also need new socks as my boots had sprung leaks. :( She was really great about it and I got over my boot shame quickly enough. She brought me the boots I asked for and I fell head over heals for the ones she suggested as my 2nd option. I didn’t even glance at the 3rd option, ok I glanced but clearly they were not for me. I opted for the muted black ones over the awesome two tone ones and practically skipped out of there with a smile plastered on my face. We ended up at Magnolia Bakery and actually got seats! I’m not on the cupcake bandwagon, or the super sweets bandwagon but their German Chocolate Cake is to die for. Literally, if you eat a whole slice you might slip into a sugar related coma. Luckily Paul was there to finish it off for me after he finished his… I don’t even know what he had, I was too consumed in my cake.

snowtober. no pumpkin fest.

Anyway, Snowtober was one of those truly good days. There was no Pumpkin Fest for us this year but I mean there was snow, there was central park, there were animals, there was shopping, there was cake, and there was my silly husband. I won’t spoil it by mentioning how I found a piece of paper cooked into my burger at Big Nick’s Burger Joint. I will mention that we went to the Coco MoCA and it was awesome. Blog tomorrow about the hijinks involved….

thank you friday: snowtober, fall, brooklyn bridge, Coco, phone calls with dad.

Maybe this Thank You Friday thing will be bi-monthly thing? We’ll see.

October is my favorite month ever (although November isn’t looking bad either). The cooler air starts wafting in and the colors start changing. People get festive and start decorating their lawns and doors and in New York I’ve learned that they go all out even in the tiniest of spaces. BUT this October was like a none other. My first birthday in New York was this year and we celebrated by taking a train out of the city. It was beyond anything I could have imagined. And to top it off, a totally random snow storm struck just when fall was settling in! Snowtober was great (recap tomorrow). But I am  happy it’s over. I am happy to see the brilliant fall colors.

fall colors!

coco moca. this portrait was made entirely out of metro cards. :) The art was actually pretty awesome, some pieces were sillier than other pieces but all very amazing.

I am thankful for Coco. Not the warm beverage, I’m thankful for the man or the show or the persona. You get the idea. And specifically the Coco MoCA which was on display at the Shops at Columbus Circle, you know above Williams Sonoma, which lets just go ahead and say I’m thankful for them too. We wandered and ogled every piece of art on display and we sat in the amazing couch that talks, vibrates, and hugs. And we’ve been DVRing his NYC shows and watching them after work. The energy and creativity in the NYC shows has been awesome. So I guess I’m thankful for the silliness and the laughs Coco has brought into my week. Oh he’s also given me free t-shirts just for stopping by.

I am super thankful for Trouble. He’s my cat as you’ll know if you read yesterday’s post full of awesome photos. He is 14 1/2 years old and he is the best. He is fierce and will scratch or bite if he’s upset and we aren’t heeding his tell tell warning signs, i.e. turned back ears, flicking his tail, scowling eyes, etc… (he has a lot of signs) but he is the best. Our friend Andrea (who I think is visiting this weekend?) walked him over in a large bowl from her house down the street 14 years ago and we picked him because he seemed like the calm one of the bunch. Through our ups and downs Trouble is always there to keep us company.

Carlos Mencia

I’m thankful for old friends, new friends, and comedy shows. We saw Carlos Mencia perform at the Gotham City Comedy Club and it was like spending the evening with old friends. Juan V performed before Carlos. His jokes told in his soothing Latino/Texas accent were brilliant. Blanca Gutierrez – I’m just saying. We saw an old friend from Texas there and he was friends w/Juan V so we got to chat with him and it turns out he is just as Latino/Texas as he seems. So perfect. Carlos was hilarious I nearly fell out of my chair when he told the jokes about his father.

snowtober card from husband. he is awesome.

I’m also thankful for mail. Not the dumb online “e” kind of mail the old fashioned pony express kind. Well, not pony express exactly but you know USPS but not junk mail, real, thoughtful mail sent from a friend out of the blue to say hi. One of my friends from Texas and I send postcards to one another. He even gave me a bunch of pre-addressed and nearly pre-written postcards to send him when I moved. There are spots for me to fill in the blank as needed. You know like, “today I visited __________ and it was ________, I think you should ________” It is really hilarious trying to fit my thoughts into those tiny blanks but I love it. I also got a card in the mail from my husband. YES he does live at the same address as me but it was super special all the same. How often does someone you love send you something in the mail? It brightened my day in an instant and coincidentally I sat down and wrote a few letters myself. I will not give away the details just yet but if you are lucky you just might be getting something from me very soon. ;-)

dad & baby. two new lives sharing a moment. (thank you sister for the photo)

I’m insanely thankful for phone calls with my Dad, especially post lung transplant due to Pulmonary Fibrosis. Dad has a cell phone that he rarely used in the past (in his healthy years), but he’s carried it with him religiously since the disease made him fear being alone (should he fall or his O2 stop working – no bueno). Anyway, he’s kept the habit now post transplant and I know he’ll actually answer when I call (as opposed to before the disease when he’d never have it on!). So I call. And it rings forever, ’cause at first he usually doesn’t recognize what sound that is from lack of use, hahaha. And we chat about football (I need to brush up for our next call) and I ask about his exercise and he asks about New York and it’s great. It is a luxury to have an extended conversation with my dad where he doesn’t have to stop mid-sentence to catch his breath and his words no longer sound like slurred gasps! This new lung has given him his voice back!

Oh and before I go, I’m thankful for clear days and the Brooklyn Bridge. We spent a recent Saturday or was it Sunday, we’ll just say it was a day in Brooklyn and part of it was at the Brooklyn Bridge Park. The view of Manhattan was amazing.

view from the brooklyn bridge park. this photo is unaltered. i took it with my fancy iphone 4s and I am very impressed with it.

If you are still with me, I’m thankful for bloggers. I’ve been reading a lot of race reports lately and this one about the Marine Core Marathon was amazing. I literally laughed out loud and cried and… just go read it and see what I mean. I also love reading Ali On the Run, sometimes I feel like she is in my head (you know, if I were an awesome dancer/runner/marathoner/writer/editor). Anyway, she’s my sometimes-blogger-best-friend (even though she has no clue about it – more on my many unbeknownst-BFFs later) and always has something awesomely ridiculous to say. I keep forgetting to post a photo of my new I heart Sweat shirt! next time, although I’m sure mine is in this blog’s photos somewhere! OK, more tomorrow.

What are you thankful for???

Moving to New York with pets.

With our one year New York anniversary behind us I am reflecting on our early days as New Yorkers a lot. One year ago we bundled the last of our belongings up into a cab along with our cat, Trouble and checked in for our JetBlue flight to JFK. It would be the very first time Trouble ever flew and our nerves were very much on edge. Trouble is not a young cat, at the time he was a little over 13 yrs old, and he’d been exhibiting some major signs of stress in the weeks leading up to the move. We were culling and moving things around and then the movers came and occupied our apartment for a few days just packing us up. Trouble was not a happy camper about that at all. But Trouble was never far from our thoughts, in fact when we were apartment hunting the first question was do you accept cats and the 2nd was to physically check out each apartment to see if there were big enough window sills for him to lounge in and other nooks he might like. So, here are my tips for others traveling with pets or moving across the country with them via plane. Seriously, learn from my mistakes, I made a lot of them.

old apartment. trouble claiming all the boxes as his own. we weren't sure if he was protesting the move or if he was just hanging out.

1 – Keep your pets favorite sleeping area in tact. We had every intention of packing up Trouble’s basket and favorite toys last…but we didn’t think to label his basket so when the movers packed the bedroom the basket was swept up in their efficiency. Fail. By the time I realized what had happened, all the boxes looked the same. I couldn’t tell if it was in a wardrobe box or in a regular box. I opened a few and didn’t find it, so poor Trouble had to make do without for a couple of days.

trouble. sad. because his favorite basket to sleep in is packed up and we didn't know where it was.

2 – Call your airline to make absolutely sure that your pet can fly with you. Most airlines allow a limited number of carry-on pets per flight and they all have very specific rules about the size & type of pet as well as the size of the carry-on container. We chose JetBlue because they offered a direct flight to New York and we’d both already flown them before. To be super safe, I bought the bag made by the airline I was using. But the JetBlue bag is actually kinda small compared to say the American Airline bag (which I later learned). JetBlue was really pet friendly. But be prepared to fork over at least $100 for the  pet ticket. I did a ton of research online and read horror stories about pets put in the cargo hold and dying in-flight from the pressure fluctuations and the stress. I also read of animals being lost or escaping. All of it was too much to take so we insisted on listing him as a carry-on and followed the rules very strictly. The last thing we needed was for someone to get a little suspicious of an over-sized bag or missing paperwork. I confirmed everything with JetBlue more than once before we arrived at the airport (except for the time the JetBlue desk opened so we arrived about 30 minutes too early and had to wait until the staff turned on their terminals).

flight to nyc.

3 – Get medical clearance to fly from your Vet! I don’t think everyone observes this rule but apparently when traveling with an animal you need to get medical clearance (maybe it is only because he was serving as one of our carry-ons) that shows all his shots are up to date and he’s healthy enough to fly. We also asked to have him chipped. If for some reason he wandered away from us in our new city and we couldn’t track him down we’d be devastated. Our Vet was great and did a full workup and during the exam she we told her about how stressed he’s been and how hungry. She sent his blood for some tests and the day after we arrived in New York, they called to tell us he had Hyper-Thyroid disease and if it had gone un-medicated for too long it would have spread and ultimately… They said I’d need to get him to a local vet immediately so he could get on the medication without delay. I’ll add to this one. Don’t assume they are just stressed about the move. He takes 1/2 a pill twice a day and will for the rest of his life. BUT he is much better. At first he had to check in with his new vet (who we found through recommendations) every thirty days then 60 days and now I think we are on a 6 month rotation or until he shows signs of the illness.

trouble in our old apartment. this basket was the missing one I mentioned in this post. we'd set it in a sunny spot and he'd lounge there for hours. the basket was originally intended as an easter basket for our god daughter but trouble claimed it.

4 – Test any new medications well before you fly!  We asked our Texas vet for advice on sedating Trouble for the flight. He can be a nervous cat sometimes and we were super worried about him getting through security. I read that most vets will give you something but ours suggested 1/2 a children’s benadryl. We tested it the night before the flight. Not smart. Trouble doesn’t like pills so we tried lots of different ways of tricking him into taking it and when he finally did he started foaming at the mouth. Literally, there was foam oozing from his mouth in a constant stream. We called his vet for help. If Trouble couldn’t fly because of this error on our part then we wouldn’t fly either. After being a part of our lives for at the time 13 years we would not abandon him. The vet said that this just happens sometimes and that we should encourage him to drink lots of water to flush his system and that the foaming would stop in a short while. Imagine the guilt and stress we were feeling. Never again.

looking very thoughtful in front of the bookshelf. I'll admit this post is in part a selfish way for me to share some great photos of my cat. he's settled into the apartment nicely. thank goodness we aren't moving anytime soon.

5 – Know all of TSA’s policies and remain calm at the airport. Trouble HATES his carriers because he knows they mean going to the Vet which he also hates. The morning of the flight however, he let me put him in the sleek new JetBlue carrier with little fuss. I think he could feel the stress I was feeling, that and I’d been sprinkling catnip in his carrier for days trying to get him comfortable with it (that would come back to me later). Anyway, We checked him in and we got in the security line. I have never been an expert flier but the security line specifically makes me feel so out of sorts. I over think the process and somehow always carry too many things with me and it is just a bad experience. But like Trouble that morning, I was in a bit of a stunned calm. My husband on the other hand was the one with the issues. He was a nervous wreck and insisted on being the one to carry Trouble through security. Oh, did I forget to mention that when a pet is serving as your carry on the TSA requires you to remove them from their carriers and in Trouble’s case carry him through the scanner yourself? We knew this but still, no bueno. Anyway, we got everything on the scanning belt thing and Paul held Trouble and tried to go through. The security woman waving people through was short tempered and already in a foul mood, Paul was nervous and forgot to remove his hat so she yelled at him, he held trouble in a blanket (he has his claws and isn’t afraid to use them) and she yelled at him to get rid of it. There was a total lack of communication. I had this sinking feeling that we weren’t going to make it to New York. She kept saying yelling things like “I don’t want any problems” and “don’t start any problems” with a very cavalier attitude. I couldn’t pick a worse way for our day to start. And once they finally let Paul and Trouble through I quickly gathered up our bags since the husband was otherwise occupied but then the other security guys watching the x-ray machine held onto Trouble’s carrier to examine it further on the screen. My guess is they were concerned about all the catnip I’d been sprinkling in there (so maybe don’t do that?). From there though the trip was pretty uneventful. Trouble was too freaked to make a peep and I was so tired from the tension of the ordeal I think I slept a little.

trouble. looking very relaxed in our new apartment. :)

6 – Carry with you or ship yourself any essentials your pet might need. Finally one we did right! We shipped ourselves a box of essentials for Trouble like, new litter box, litter, scooper, toys, blanket, cat nip, both wet and dry food and of course a laser pointer, etc. It was a  heavy box so it was expensive but it worked out brilliantly, the doorman had the package waiting for us when we came in and we were able to set up an area for Trouble right away. We could have gone out and bought the essentials for him after arriving but we were concerned about the time it would take to do that and also about leaving him alone so soon. Also, seriously, after leaving our old apartment, traveling to the airport, waiting at the airport, flying and then traveling to our new apartment, Trouble was in his carrier for over 5 hours. He deserved a place to pee and sleep as soon as he was out.

trouble. new apartment. giving a new spot a try.

7 – Check your new apartment for all potential hazards before letting your pet out. Another rule I learned the hard way. So, yes, we were eager to let Trouble out so he could get comfortable in the new apartment right away. Too eager. While my husband was busy opening Trouble’s delivery and setting up his area he asked me to let him out of his carrier. I did this without too much question and started pulling out some things we’d need right away like toilet paper. Trouble was out of my sight for less than 2 minutes before I realized he wasn’t in the living room or kitchen. I was actually happy he was exploring and checked the bathroom – nope, checked the bedroom – not there, I started to open closed doors and check behind open doors, I started to open cabinets and double check places more frantically. There are not many places for a cat to hide in an unfurnished apartment, actually there are if you are my cat. We finally found him what felt like hours later but really just minutes, under the kitchen cabinet, way under. It was a brand new building and we were the 1st inhabitants of our unit. Trouble found a small section of the baseboard under the cabinets where it wasn’t nailed in properly and he somehow squished himself down and scooted into the blackness under the cabinet. We tried to lure him out with canned food, cat nip, laser pointers, sparkly toys and nothing worked. Each time he came close to the food or toy he backed away out of our reach. We lay flat on our kitchen floor for a very long time until we were finally able to force him out and promptly shove our bags in to the open crevice until the super could fix it.

trouble. working? i caught him in the middle of something important. :)

8 – Keep an eye on your pet to make sure he is adjusting well. Trouble is a Texas cat through and through. He loved to lounge in front of the windows of our old apartment. He’d always find the sunniest spot to nap but the new apartment wasn’t as hot as the old. We arrived in late October and soon enough it was winter. Trouble was adjusting to new medications, new doctor, new apartment, new sounds, and everything he ever knew was in a different place, on top of all that the temperature wasn’t as warm as he liked. We tried what seemed like everything to help him adjust, we played with him every day, we gave him more canned food that we liked, and we set up his favorite mats on the large window sills. For a long time he seemed depressed or afraid of everything. He would jump at the sounds from the hallway and we’d often come home to find that he’d wiggled under the the comforter to nap. If we couldn’t find him we’d check the bed for bumpy masses. The Vet said that he’d need time to adjust and as his health improved he’d feel better. Once we set up a small space heater we found he really liked the heat and started to come out more. When he finally started showing some attitude and trying to scratch at a door jamb we were thrilled. We figured if he is acting up then he is definitely getting back to his old self and we were right. He is just as rambunctious as ever and it is pretty awesome.

trouble on a mac. literally. I felt compelled to share a photo of trouble using a mac so you would't get the idea that he was strictly a pc cat.

…

there’s no train.

no train.

The title of this blog post is precisely what I heard as I was approaching the steps to get on my train Tuesday. Like a slap in the face the words stung and floated in the air like cartoon bubbles over everyone’s heads. I noticed there was an oddly large crowd of people walking away from the general area of the platform but not until I heard those words did I put two and two together. I guess if you want to get technical I never put two and two together they were given to me that way. So I had a panicked moment. I could go with some of the crowd to the nearest stop, and likely keep going until we found a station that had trains running or I could take my chances on the bus. I opted for the bus, which I hate. I don’t hate many things about New York but this particular bus, I do hate. But just as I was getting to the stop I saw an already overcrowded bus pass the stop by.

Smarter Astorians were walking to the next bus stop before mine and catching it away from the crowds. Another two came and went before I spotted a few people trying to hail cabs. This new third option seemed worth a try. But again, people were walking away from the crowd to get cabs and then they’d ride past us. One passenger per cab seemed like selfish madness. I asked around until I found others going to the Upper West Side and we agreed to share the fare and the car. Eventually we lost one as he jumped in a crowded cab with another group of people, seems he made more than one taxi alliance. Never mind him, a new person took his place in our taxi sharing scheme before we knew it and yet the cabs kept passing us by. Either they couldn’t cross the lanes quickly enough or they’d already have a single passenger in the back seat that was willing to pay the full fare. Again, I need to point out that when everyone in Astoria is suddenly without transportation to Manhattan and our jobs you are not doing anyone any good especially your karma by sitting in a cab all by your lonesome as others wait. Finally a black car looked like he was going to take us, it looked like he waved at my little group but by the time he crossed over the lanes another jumped in the car. One of my companions was flabbergasted. The next time we got the signal from a cab that he was going to pick us up we started running after him until he stopped. Others were much closer and could have taken it but I think the sight of three professionally dressed women running down the street might have scared some people off. After being burned once I’m sure we gave off an intimidating aura.

It wasn’t until we got in the cab that I started searching my pockets for cash and we exchanged names. Maria was on my left and in a major rush to get to some fair or expo her office was hosting, she’d drawn the early shift and didn’t want her boss to have to fill in. I agreed to be dropped off closer to her stop than mine so she would have less to walk. Steph was on my right and very cutely dressed in colored leggings. I don’t know if I could pull off colored leggings. She seemed much calmer. We’d all already called our offices. about $10 later Maria and I got out of the cab and Steph continued. I decided that I was closer to Starbucks than to my office and under the circumstances that I should get the coffee. As I strolled into my office I started to regret the coffee. Walking in late with a venti in hand might seem like I was late because of the venti when in reality it was just a teeny part of my morning. Anyway, I checked in with my boss who hadn’t listened to my voice mail or even noticed I was missing yet.

Lessons learned from my train-less hijinks. Opting to take a cab is faster than waiting for the train to start running again. The last time I was without train there was snow and wind and the temps were in the 30s. I stood on the platform until the train finally made its slow approach but I didn’t get to work until almost 11:00 a.m. I go in at 9 so that’s kinda late. Yesterday after all my deciding and waiting and trying I got to work about 9:15 – big difference! And I read that the train didn’t start moving again until after 10:00 a.m. so I made the right call. Also, I met people from the stops all around mine and I learned that none of them were working so the only option if I chose to walk would have been to go all the way to Queensboro Plaza and catching a 7 to Grand Central Station, then an S to Times Square and finally a 1/2/3 to my final destination.

thank you friday: apples, phones, lungs

apples for the picking. so that's where they come from.

So, I realize I’ve been an absentee blogger of late and I think a good way to return is with a Thankful Thursday post, but it is clearly Friday so we’ll adjust.  I’ve seen that this is a common theme among many bloggers and it always makes me very happy. So to summarize some of my recent adventures here is my thank you friday post, think of it as a cross between a tgif (because yay it’s friday) and a thankful Thursday. So read on and I might make you happy too…

I’m thankful for what seems like a million things right now, most recently for trains, buses, apples, and adventures. Although I LOVE living in New York City and all that it has to offer, I found myself having one of the best days and it all started with a Metro North Rail Road train ride to Poughkeepsie. The train and the bus that followed led to pregnant cows, a 3-day old calf, goats trying to eat my jacket, teeny tiny towns, antique-ing, apple picking and wine-tasting.

This is one of the last photos taken on my old 3gs. she was a good phone while she was my phone.

I am very thankful for my shiny new iPhone 4s, my super cute case and of course Siri. I bought the cutest iPhone case I could find. Normally, I opt for some dull black case, something super practical, and often nowhere near cute. So the new case makes me smile every time I see it. Siri also kind of rocks. I haven’t exactly found a practical use for her just yet (I don’t exactly have to schedule so many appointments that I can’t do them myself efficiently) but she makes me laugh. So far I pretty much just ask her questions about her and more often then not she refuses to respond and at least once she’s asked me if we can please just get back to work. The phone itself is also a super fast step up from my old 3gs.

cherry pie from Hill Country Chicken.

I’m super thankful for cherry pie. I absolutely love cherry pie, a love that was passed to me from my father. And let’s just say neither one of us has particularly high end tastes, I seem to prefer the canned cherry pie stuff poured into a pre-made pie crust over most cherry pies I’ve tried over the years. BUT I pushed forward and opted to try the beautiful cherry pie at Hill Country Chicken (you might recall me blogging about Hill Country Barbeque? Well, the names sound similar ’cause the mastermind behind them is the very same) and to my great surprise, it was absolutely delicious. My face hurt from smiling so much as I ate it. And even now, weeks later, I am still yearning for another bite.

birthday sushi. yum.

Oh I’m thankful for a husband who has taste buds more akin to a 5 year old than my own and yet made the effort to find a restaurant that had an A and offered both sushi and General Tso’s Chicken.

this place saved my dad's life.

Finally and most importantly I am thankful for lungs, specifically my dad’s new lung. And while I’m at it I’m thankful for the donor and the donor family and the surgeons and the transplant coordinator that never gave up on my dad and for my mom who is the most amazing woman I’ll ever know and for airplanes and for cannulas and for oxygen concentrators and tanks and wheel chairs (and I’m super thankful my dad doesn’t need those last few anymore) and I’m thankful for super awesome ICU staff and I’m thankful for kind strangers and waiting rooms and hand sanitizer and the helicoptor pilots and neck pillows… you get the idea. My dad is alive and breathing on his own and it is more than amazing.

Dad. This is the day he got home from the hospital. My sister texted me the photo and although the lighting is dim there is no mistaking that there isn't a cannula in sight. He is sitting and breathing on his own for the first time in a very long time. thank you.

…