The Lodger

Since a couple of days before Christmas, we have been looking after a cat belonging to a coworker of my mom’s. It took a few days of passive aggressive hissing, a slew of dirty looks, and a lot of playing mediator between our guest and our spoiled prince, but they are finally starting to get along.

This poor dear has gained so many nicknames (I call her Star-star or Babygirl, while mom calls her Starchild, and Kit just makes a funny little warble when he wants her attention ). She went from being a bit under weight to being healthy in the days we’ve had her and she is also becoming super soft from all the pets.

I’m going to miss her once we give her back next week.

Happy Holidays

Happy holidays all. Happy belated Chanukah, Happy Kwanzaa, Merry Christmas, Blessed Yuletide, Happy Winter Solstice, Happy New Year, and happy mid-week followed by an extended weekend to those whom do not celebrate the above.

Almost Christmas

I’ve been counting down the days until Christmas since last week. I don’t really have any concrete plans, save for hanging out with mom and some cat sitting, but that doesn’t bother me. I’m looking forward to a quiet holiday and a few days off.

Today, my boss gave me a Christmas present of tea and a new mug to drink it out of. The tea set is from the UK and comes packed with 90 teabags of delicious black tea. I’m going to enjoy drinking it during my 4 day weekend. It will go well with the sugar cookies my friend promised me.

Speaking of friends, I need to figure out when/where we should meet up to exchange gifts. I like watching people’s faces light up while they open up their gifts. It might be selfish (and ego boosting) but I feel good when they like what I get them. That’s the best part of the holidays.

 

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.

Glow

The lights are back. The front of our apartment complex is covered in lights of varying sizes and colors. It looks fantastic at night, when I get home from work. It really improves my mood and cuts some of the winter-evening gloom caused by the sun setting at 4:30.

Mornings Really aren’t my Thing

So, I meant to wake up a but earlier this morning to meet some friends down in the city. Before going to bed, I chose and laid out my clothes, packed my bag with everything I thought I could need, charged my phone, set two alarms, and packed some pears into a little plastic bag for a quick breakfast. I shut my eyes thinking “no problem”.

I still managed to oversleep.

I awoke wondering why I wasn’t hearing the annoying melody I’m so used to. I should have been up around 8, but the clock read 8:40. My train left at 9:30. I scrambled to get ready. I was out the door around 9:10.

The station is only about 5 minutes away, but I got side tracked in the stairwell  (forget about the elevator in my building, it’s slower than molasses) and again in the lobby. I rushed out the doors hoping I could make my train.

I watched it pull away as I stood on the crest of the hill, connecting Yonkers to the Bronx. I asked myself, “What now?”

There are two other ways to get to where I need to be in the city. I can chance the 2 train to East 180th, connect to the 5, take it to Grand Central, then walk. However, there’s always a lot of work being done on those two trains on the weekends. Sometimes the 2 turns express or terminates mid-Bronx, leaving passengers to transfer to a shuttle bus running through a truly unsavory part of New York.

The other way is to hope the BX16 bus is running and take that to the 4 train. The ride is shorter, but the walk to the bus is about 20 minutes and the bus ride another 20. I would also have to wait for the next bus, as buses have cap schedules on Sundays.

I chose to catch the 4.

As of the time I am writing this, I am on the L (shirt for elevated) portion of the 4 route. I called my friends to tell them I would probably not make our appointment.

I still have a little over an hour until I make it into the city.

 

 

Noir

The dark only serves to make the light all the more brighter.