The two-hundred-and-fourteenth day...(a little belated)

Sorry for the belated post everyone. I felt so drained yesterday that I fell asleep almost as soon as I got home. I actually fell asleep on the train and the bus on my way home, waking up just in time for my stops on each. I don't know why I was so tired, but I was out like a light at 9:30. The sad part is I don't feel rested at all :( It's going to be a long day.

I passed these trees on the way to the train yesterday and smiled a little - until I realized that it's still October.

It looks like the man and woman in the center weren't impressed

I love Christmas and all the accompanying decorations, but can we at least get through Halloween first? A few houses in my area actually have their Christmas light up and turned on already. Too soon people. Too soon :)

I was excited to see this on the bus though...

"As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning

from uneasy dreams he found himself

transformed in his bed in a giant insect."

- Franz Kafka, "The Metamorphosis

A new Train of Thought! Yea! It's been awhile since I saw one - and this is a good one :)

And then when I got home, this was waiting for me...


Another catalog; this one for Gifts of Service through the Seva Foundation. I haven't signed up for anything recently so I'm not sure why I am getting all of these types of catalogs now; but I am happy that they are all for such good causes. You can check out the site here if you're interested.

Have a great day everyone!

The hundred-and-fifty-fifth day...

My commute to work and back usually takes about 1 hr 45 min to 2 hours, each way. I believe that's long enough, don't you? 4 hours a day. Well, this morning, due to signal malfunctions, stalled trains and idiots who don't get that they can't stand in doorways when those doors are trying to close, it took me 3 and a half hours to get to work. It makes it even worse that since I was underground, I couldn't call anyone to let them know what was up and that I was going to be late. When I finally managed to catch a train that let me off in the vicinity of my job, I called my boss. Her response? To tell me that my ears must have been burning as she was just talking about me (never good) and to remind me to stop by her office when I arrived to let her know that I was there. I was an hour late for work. It was a craptastic morning.

During lunch, I foolishly tried to do what I thought would be a simple 10 minute task. I tried to return an item to Best Buy. The problem arose because I purchased two items at the same time online. I did a store pickup for one and had to have the other shipped. The item that I picked up in the store was broken and I wanted to take it back - for a return not an exchange. Now, even though I had asked if i could return the items individually (I actually asked three times, once when I did the store pick-up and then during two subsequent phone calls to the store), and was told that I could, the machine would simply not allow it. It seems that I needed to bring both items to the store...even though the shipped item has not been delivered yet...and the 14 day return period for the picked up item is almost up. I was basically told that the situation 'sucks for me'. I wasted my entire lunch hour (and then some) there while the cashier and her assistant/a manager/someone who never identified herself messed around with the computer. They looked up every so often to say sorry and then went back to accomplishing nothing. I was there for 1 hour and 20 minutes. At the end of that time they had still accomplished nothing and I had to settle for an exchange. Total bull! The cashier I was dealing with was pregnant and managed to groan and rub her belly before she looked up at me - every time. I couldn't yell at her - she's pregnant :) I see a scathing letter being written to Best Buy Headquarters in my future.

Good thing? A few pictures that I managed to take as I trekked to work this morning.

I hope everyone had a much better day than I did :) Enjoy the rest of the night!

The hundred-and-fifty-fourth day...

Just like yesterday, I am beat.

I was exhausted going in to work this morning and I'm exhausted now. I feel like I should throw an apology out there to the woman who was standing over me on the train this morning. Something along the lines of 'I'm sorry I hit your purse with my head each time I nodded off,' but whatcha gonna do :)

So, I'm off to sleep, but before I go, here are some more pics from my wonderful and relaxing ride into work yesterday...


and last, but not least...


...oh, weird advertising :)

Enjoy the rest of the night everything!

The hundred-and-fifty-third day...(a little belated)

Sorry for the belated post everyone :) I collapsed in an exhausted heap as soon as I stepped through the door last night. I hope I'm not coming down with something as 1) I hate being sick, and 2) being sick is inconvenient - too much work to do.

I actually think that it's the work that's making me so tired. I've been running myself ragged for the past couple of weeks with these 4 projects. They all just decided that they have to start immediately (one on 9/4 and three on 9/8). It wouldn't be so bad, except for the fact that I will be out of the office on Friday and Monday, and so those just become wasted days during which I know my counterparts on the other end of the equation will take my absence to mean that they can forget about everything until I get back. I hate when I have to scramble around at the last minute - especially when it's not my fault.

One wonderful thing that happened yesterday though was that my man surprised me by picking me up in the morning and driving me all the way to work :) That was wonderful. It is so much nicer to start the day relaxing in the car with the one you love instead of being squashed into a bus and then a subway car with irate strangers. We drove through the Midtown Tunnel on the way into the city.

I love driving through these long tunnels, but they've always kind of freaked me out ever since I saw Daylight - yes, Daylight from '96. I mean the lanes are so narrow. At least the Midtown Tunnel isn't as long as the Lincoln Tunnel.

Anyway, I hope everyone had a great Hump Day! Enjoy the rest of the night!

The hundred-and-thirty-second day...

Today was a lovely day - lovely looking anyway. It was actually steamy, humid and horrible feeling - but it looked lovely.

Beautiful skies and no traffic. What fun :)

The sun was shining, the sky was clear and I enjoyed most of the day from the comfort of my office. I had to run out to the post office, but I literally ran there and back. It took all of 10 minutes, but it was more than enough time to be outside. I was lucky on the commute home as well and my train and bus both had air conditioning (yesterday's trek home was another story). Oh man, I seriously believe that air-conditioning is one of man's greatest inventions :)

In other news:

1) The toxicology report results on the mother from the Taconic Crash came in today and showed that not only was her blood alcohol level twice the legal limit, but she also had traces of marijuana in her system. This horrible tragedy just keeps getting worse. We can only wait and see where the law takes this case from here;

2) Bill Clinton's still got it :) After stories like the one above, it's nice to hear good news every now and then;

3) One of my oldest and dearest friends (Kendra :) is now blogging for Stratejoy; which is cool website for women who feel themselves experiencing a bit of a Quarterlife Crisis. All of the bloggers are interesting, and the posts are fun to read. Kendra is the wonderful writer and storyteller who blogs on Tuesdays. Her latest post can be found here; and

4) How is it that I am just becoming aware of the sarcastic news-spinning genius that is Philip DeFranco? My sisters and I started watching his YouTube show (The Philip DeFranco Show) a couple of weeks ago and were instantly hooked. It's a seriously funny, weird, clever, sometimes cringe worthy vlog :) You definitely need to have an open mind and a sense of humor to get the full enjoyment. It doesn't hurt that PhillyD is easy on the eyes - yeah, I like the sexy geeks :)

Stay cool and have a great night everyone!

The hundred-and-eighteenth day...

It was a rainy day; but even worse than that is that it is supposed to rain (on and off T-storms) for the entire week.

I hate taking mass transit when it rains. The trains are extra musty and smelly; some of the seats are wet, and people who have no sense of umbrella etiquette allow their wet umbrellas to drip all over you.


Waiting for the bus in the rain is no joy either :( It has all the of the above along with leaks that allow water to drip down on you from who knows where if you sit in a seat by the window.

I think I'm just cranky...sleep time :)

Have a great night everyone!

* 7/22/09: Sorry for the delayed finished post and picture :) For some reason, the post just would not go through last night. I'm seriously hoping it was a Blogger thing and not a my computer thing.

The eighty-second day...

Due to signal issues and a stalled train in the tunnel, I had to do a bit of walking before I could catch a train home tonight. Thank goodness the rain had already stopped, but I was still soaked by the time I got on the train. Humidity, I loathe thee.

A few pics from my walk:

Yet another spectacular fountain :)

Well, I'm off to sleep. Have a great night everyone!

The sixty-second day...

Did anyone else have a hard time getting back into the swing of things today, or was that just me? I felt like my brain was still on long weekend time - it was so hard to focus on projects and phone calls and all that work stuff.

I had to get out and take a walk, so P and I decided to pop into the New York Transit Museum store on our lunch break today. Well, it was more like I have always wanted to visit the Transit Museum, as I have never been there before, and since P was bored she decided to accompany me. I'll definitely go back another day so I can take a real look around; it was kind of interesting to see what's going on underneath the city :)

Trust the subway. It's safe, sturdy and fun!

Enjoy the rest of the night everyone!

The forty-eighth day...

On the train ride home, I saw this David's Bridal bag and had to take a quick picture :)

I'm not sure if the bag belonged to the first or second lady; and while I'm reasonably sure that it contained a prom dress and not a wedding dress (it is prom season, after all), I chose to imagine it housing a beautiful and luxurious wedding dress. Thanks to no less than three friends/co-workers discussing their upcoming weddings - and the lists upon lists of details that they have yet to take care of - I've got wedding on the brain. I kind of like it :) I also just sent my man a mental signal to calm down - just in case. I swear sometimes I feel like he can just feel when I even think the word wedding :)

Have a great night everyone!

The forty-fifth day...

Thanks a bunch MTA.

Trains running less frequently during rush hours, huh? Until December 31st? Yeah, no, that makes sense. Why not just cut service altogether and tell everyone to walk, run or swim home? I agree with the random flyer tagger - typical MTA.

How's everyone's Saturday going? Enjoy the rest of the night :)

The twenty-fifth day...

My man and I headed out to the movies again this weekend :) We ended up pulling a double (again). We saw Dragonball Evolution and Monsters vs. Aliens in 3D.

I only loosely followed the Dragonball/Dragonball Z comics, cartoon, etc. so I have to say that I enjoyed the movie. I have to follow that up with saying that my man and I had also gone to see Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li when it came out and as completely god-awful as that travesty was, I had only the lowest expectations for this film. I mean, there were some sites that gave it half a star out of five. But, as I said, I enjoyed it. My man is a huge fan and, as such, he absolutely hated it. Not knowing the back story though, I was able to take it for what it was - a half ass attempt at bringing Dragonball to the big screen with some cheap laughs and some really nice special effects. And the movie also had the added bonuses of:

1) James Marsters (even though he was covered in green makeup and barely recognizable, he's still awesome);

2) Chow Yun-Fat (or rather Yun-Fat Chow, who is great); and

3) Justin Chatwin (who may have been a less than perfect choice for the role of Goku, has been adorable in quite a few films).

Monsters vs. Aliens was really good (my favorite character was BOB - of course :) I didn't enjoy it as much as Wall-E, but I did really like it; and I have to say that 3D technology has come a looong way since I was a kid. Goodbye red and blue lenses in a flimsy paper frame, and hello sturdy pair of actual glasses, and amazing effects. The fact that the 3D tickets were $14 a piece smarts a bit, but it's not like I'm planning on seeing 3D movies every day. I had to ask the cashier about the price tag though. I also asked him whether I would have to pay the trumped up price for my next 3D movie if I brought my own glasses. His response was that the price would be the same as the customer is paying for the privilege of seeing the film in 3D - the glasses are included in the price. Well, thanks for clearing that up. And thanks for bestowing that privilege on the viewing public Dreamworks :)

And now for today's picture...

I took this of the Train of Thought poster on the bus. I love looking up and seeing these posters on the buses and trains throughout the city. I love the quote listed on this sign, but I've been seeing the same quote for quite a while. I can't wait to see who they quote next.

How many goodly creatures are there here!

How beauteous mankind is!

O brave new world,

That has such people in't!

William Shakespeare (The Tempest, 5. 1)

Enjoy what's left of the weekend everyone :)

The twentieth day...

It's always hard to bounce back into work mode after a vacation - no matter how short the break. Today was a long, hard, strange day. Little annoying things kept happening this morning, and by 5:30 I was ready to slam my office door and flee the building for the comfort of my worn-in couch at home. Unfortunately, I am flexing this week, so I couldn't actually leave the office until after 7, but whatcha gonna do?

First, this morning on the train, the lady next to me fell into a deep, deep sleep. I completely understand being tired on the train - I think it has something to do with the rock, rock, rocking of the train car - and I didn't want to nudge her, but it was getting dangerously close to that time. I said excuse me a few times and she eventually popped awake and let me out of the corner seat. She was apologetic, and I just let her know that it was fine. The train hadn't even fully arrived at my stop yet, so no harm, no foul.

Once I got off the train and turned to walk up the steps, a fellow straphanger decided that he would like to try walking on my back, and tried to knock me down. I don't know where the lightning quick reflexes came from this morning, but I managed to keep myself upright.

Once I was topside again, I realized that I had like 5 minutes to sprint to work. I came across a family of tourists that were laughing and walking with linked arms and blocking the entire sidewalk. Cute family time, but they were moving at a pace of about a millimeter a minute. The woman in front of me who was trying to get past them was growing increasingly aggravated with each failed attempt. She finally just ducked under one of the sets of linked arms. It was like one of those old grade school playground games. As I was walking by - I opted for the say excuse me twice and then walk in the street route - my purse lightly and accidentally brushed the arm of one of the women walking. The woman started screaming. She was screaming "Oh my God. Oh man. What was it?!!! What HAPPENED?!!!" Her linked arm party members then also began screaming "What was it?!!! What happened?!!! What was it?!!!" I had already said sorry as I was passing and felt the bag touch her, so I didn't turn around at the overreaction. She then started saying "Hello! Helloooooo!!!" I assumed that she was talking to her group and not to me, so I just kept on going to work.

As I said, it was a crazy morning. It was made even crazier due to the fact that I got almost no sleep last night and was on edge and exhausted for the whole day as a result. Tomorrow has to be better - except that I'm still flexing so it is going to be another loooong day.

Oh well! On a bright note, I did some shopping today :) I got two pairs of adorable flats to help ring in Spring and Summer - if the rain ever leaves. I hate breaking in new shoes only to have them end up soaked and gross.

Dark metallic silver flats with beautiful shocking pink insoles and cute flats with black, gray and white hearts

I also bought a little silver clutch (no pic, sorry), which I didn't need but bought anyway, and hats for each of my sisters. Sis 1 got a cute pinstriped fedora and Sis 2 got a cute green military style bucket hat. Hope they like 'em :)


I didn't even want to buy anything today, but I do love a deal. Now I just need to be good for the rest of the week (or two).

Have a great night everyone!

The fourteenth day...It IS April right?

Why is it snowing in April? Granted it's light, non-sticking snow, but seriously - (1) it's April, and (2) it was colder today, but not that cold. Why can't NY have that beautiful, balmy kind of light jacket wearing weather all year round? That would be wonderful. Go away snow. Look at your calendar. It's Spring now.

Snapped via camera phone...

I really hate public transportation sometimes - especially the subway - but I do like this shot.

Enjoy the day everyone!

The thirteenth day...

Why is it that some people can’t seem to hear how loud their own voices are? There was a group of five co-workers on the train this morning. Three sat to the right of me, and two women sat across the aisle from them. One of the women across the aisle seemed to think that the rest of her party was actually sitting a few cars back – or maybe she thought that she had accidentally left them in the station – because her voice continually reached the ear-piercingly loud level. What decibel level is that? Harpy?

Don’t get me wrong, I completely understand the need for a person to speak up a little at times on the train. There’s a lot of background noise to overcome; but I was diagonal to her for 10 stops and my ear is still ringing. I feel sorry for the guy that was sitting next to her who actually had to get up and move to stand at the end of the car halfway through the ride. I would feel differently if she seemed to have a naturally loud and high pitched voice, but she didn’t. There were times (too few and far between) when she used her ‘indoor voice’, but then she would get riled up again and turn into Siryn. She was engaged in a rather heated argument with one of her across-the-aisle co-workers and, even though the train was nowhere near packed, she decided that the only way to get her point across was to shout it out. She kept inching forward on her seat and screaming about (1) if and when a fax was ever received, (2) who picked up the fax if it was, in fact received, and (3) how, she absolutely refused to believe that the fax was ever received even though all of her co-workers continually tries to let her know that the information was actually e-mailed instead of faxed, and that the e-mail was received. I was on the edge of my seat to find out who actually received the e-mail; but either they didn’t say, or the ringing in my ears prevented me from hearing the vital information.

Anyway, back to that same problem project at work. Hello, another long workday.

Picture enjoyment time...

This is the sign that the one of the vendors around my job puts up when he's on lunch or just doesn't want to be disturbed. From the people I see walking away when they see it, I think it might be costing him some business.