Aqua-Bro

Mom and I went for a walk by the Bronx River recently. She wanted to see some of the local places I like to photograph, before I go, so I showed her a couple of places that are easy for her to get to without having to drive.

While we were there, we met some geese, who were enjoying the nature walk with their little one. Some were skittish, but the majority seemed used to humans, and we’re quite friendly. This guy was really friendly.

He came right up to us, while my mom took a few pictures of the river. His head came up to my hip, when he stood up straight. He also didn’t mind being petted, though he seemed a little disappointed that I didn’t have any food on me. We spent a few minutes standing together, in a row and gazing at the river, before he walked calmly into the water for a swim.

Without Looking Back

Today is my last day. I can’t believe it.

Thanks, Ella

There is a statue of Ella Fitzgerald outside the train station I take to work. Since tomorrow is my last day, I don’t think I’ll be able to hang out with Ella so much anymore.

The Ole’ College Try

So, today I put in an application for a job overseas…

After a lot of thinking, and a lot of stress, I finished my introductory essay, updated and polished my resume, and sent in the application. I hope to get a call back soon.

From what I’ve read, if they like what they’ve read, I will get a phone call. Then, a Skype interview. Then, a real interview. Then, maybe a second interview  (day after the first) and a job offer.

After that, I get my things together and start working on my visa, which takes between 2 and 6 months. Once my affairs are in order, I catch a plane and spend (at minimum) the next year in another country.

Harlem

I went back down to the city last weekend to meet some friends. Instead of taking the subway, which takes just over an hour, I splurged and took Metro North. Since I live close enough to the Bronx, I can buy a special City Ticket, and save almost half the cost of a regular ticket. These tickets are only available on the weekends, to people departing from stations that are located in one of New York’s five boroughs.

I rode from the very edge of the Bronx to Grand Central, with the trip taking about a half an hour. The train travels through the Bronx, Harlem, and part of Midtown Manhattan.

There is a bridge just before you reach Harlem 125th Street Station. I always loved looking out the window whenever we go across it.

To be honest, I don’t know all that much about Harlem, and have only been a handful of times. I know a lot of good music originated there, my favorite being jazz. Other than that, I am quite ignorant.

The Floating World of Ardsley

Ardsley train station is an odd one, seemingly floating in the middle of the Hudson River. The first time I saw it, I was reminded of a scene in Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し), where the main character rides a train on tracks that run through a river. There is one moment where the train passes a small station platform, surrounded by water, with a shadow of a young girl seemingly waiting for a train. I see that moment, whenever I pass by this station.

Of Stone

Last weekend I took a trip to the city just for the hell of it. I have an unlimited Metrocard this month, so I figured, why not? With it, I can take buses and the subway as much as I like, without having to worry about my budget.

Because of that, I decided I would try a little experiment. I would take public transportation to somewhere new, by randomly getting on a bus or train just to see where it went.

After a few hours of this, I ended up in the middle of Brooklyn. Outside the window was a cemetery called Greenwood Cemetery. It’s apparently kind of famous.

I thought again, why not?

The cemetery is known for being the final resting place of Civil War veterans, the afluent, and several historical figures. I was there to see what the earliest date I could find on a tombstone was. That and look at the statues.

They really went all out back in the day.

I walked around for a couple of hours before I got too tired to continue. In that time I met a few of the cemetery’s interesting still-living residents  and paid my respects to quite a few of its deceased ones.

When the sun began to go down, I headed back to the main entrance. I then took the R train back to Manhattan, treated myself to a filling dinner, and took Metronorth home.

All in all, it was a good experience, and I think I will be doing more impromptu sightseeing in the future. If you can, and have an interest in New York, I do suggest in investing in an unlimited Metrocard  (they have 1 day, 7 day, and 30 day versions ) as an alternative to expensive tours and the like.

Cold Spring

Today, mama and I took a day trip to a tiny village up North, called Cold Spring. It’s known as a historic sitemail and has a ton of old buildings.

The travel took some time, mostly because we had to transfer at Croton Harmon. You see, the train tracks north of Croton Harmon are not electrified, like the rest of them are. To kill time between trains,  we had a walk around, but there really wasn’t anything interesting. It was like an airport for trains: in the middle of nowhere.

We got to Cold Spring around 4 pm and immediately began to explore. We saw signs for a barn sale, so we went there first. Mama bought me the prettiest little tea pot.

Afterwards, we had a look around the town. A lot of shops were either antique shops or cafés. There were a few restaurants here and there too. The majority of Cold Spring is residential.

Another thing I noticed was an abundance of college students and young adults looking around. It seems a popular place to take a day trip, though I heard that there are also several bed and breakfast establishments as well. The village had a quaint feel to it that invites tourists.

Once it started to get dark, mama and I found someplace to eat dinner. She had something called a waffle chicken and I had a big salad. The restaurant was really nice inside.

Around that time it started to get a bit cold, not helped by the fact that we were close to the water.

Mama and I will likely go back there once it gets warmer. We will also try to get there earlier next time too.

 

Rerouted

This morning, a train broke down on the track ahead of us, so we were rerouted to another station. That caused our normally local train to skip several stops, including the one near my office. However, this route took us under the currently-in-construction Tappan Zee bridge, which was insanely cool! We were dropped off at the station just after it and told to take the next South-bound train to our respective places of employment.

A Fun Weekend

Friday afternoon, I got out of work a little bit early, and went for a hike with my Auntie. She picked me up from work and drove us to a farm on the outskirts of Sleepy Hallow. We walked for about 2 hours (until well after the sun went down) before heading home for the night. It was all really fun.

Saturday, I went down to the city with Mom, to do a bit of shopping. We ate lunch out and then visited a bunch of stores in search of heavy sweaters and snow boots. We found the boots, but unfortunately not the sweaters. It seems that the offerings in women’s wear this year are a bit… lacking.

Today, I continued my Christmas shopping. I was able to find a few things I think Mom would like, and something that I was looking at for Brother, but I am having a hard time of it this year. I have no idea what to get anyone… everything makes me wonder, “does XX really need this?” or “Will XX ever have a chance to actually use this?” or “Is there something XX can use more?”

I am loath to buy anyone on my list some stupid little gift set or the like. Most of my friends are men, who have no use for scented shower gels or jewelry. The three ladies on my list don’t care for that sort of thing either. To be honest, video games used to be my go-to gift in the past, but none of us have time or energy to play them much anymore. That leaves clothes, food, or money.