Monthly Archives: December 2011

December 21, 2011

Instead of Slow Ride, Call it Loud Ride

By simply three cents

Getting on a crowded Sunday afternoon train is never fun. Even less so when people decide to put their feet and/or bags on the seats. Unless those bags (or feet)  ought a second seat – remove yourself and your belongings from the seat for a paying passenger.

Oh how I wish we had seats in the quiet car on the way home from our recent weekend in Washington DC.

Not only were we seated in a four seater with the most annoying man ever, but a lady behind us was trying to beat him out for the loud voices contest.

All decided to have conversations, in elevated voices, FOR HOURS. Literally, hours.

I had gotten so annoyed, that I did call one of my friends but her phone went to voicemail.

I really should have called my grandma – being that she’s losing her hearing – it would have made for an interesting ride.

I was seated next to a student who hooked up his laptop and was on the phone for the whole ride. He was switching between English, Spanish and I think Russian.

The lady behind me was updating people on someone’s cancer prognosis. Not something we should all be hearing — and I’m sure said patient doesn’t want her (yes, I can confirm it was a woman thanks to the nature of the conversation) medical information being shared for public broadcast on Amtrak.

These two had no understanding that they were on public transport. It was as if they were in the comfort of their own living rooms.

How urgent is a conversation on a Sunday afternoon that started at the BWI Airport stop and went on once I got out of my seat at Newark?

While no loud conversation is ideal, inside voices would definitely be more appreciated.

Why do people think the world wants to hear their business? WHY WHY WHY?!

Leave a comment | posted in peeves, train travel

December 20, 2011

To Another Place and Time

By simply three cents

On a recent rainy day I found myself waiting for the F train on the Lexington Avenue line at 63rd Street.

The combination of the rainy day and the deep into the ground subway line reminded me of London.

I think it was the Covent Garden station in London that was so far down into the ground. I took the steps once, but they had these huge cargo elevators to shuttle people from the depths of the earth to street level.

At the 63rd Street station there may be elevators, but what’s iconic are the escalators, and more escalators, just when you think you made it!

Kenny Chesney sings a song called ‘I Go Back’ – it’s about how something in your present ‘takes us to another place and time.’ 

I have plenty of those triggers but the rainy day and the 63rd Street F station was definitely the most recent.

What takes YOU to ‘another place and time’…share in the comments below!

Leave a comment   |  tags: | posted in music, things that make me smile, Uncategorized

December 19, 2011

Mile 25

By simply three cents

At the close of 2010, I knew that I wanted to write more in 2011 and created this blog as a way to force me to do that and went a step farther to make it my 2011 New Year’s Resolution. I knew when I sat down to write, the words would come out.

As excited as I was to see what would come out, I was also a little overwhelmed. I had seen other blogs and the number of posts. 200 or 5000 posts. As you looked in their past posts, there were lengthy lists of past posts, tagged with topics or by months, and there were plenty of posts.

My only goal was to have one post a day for a year and I thought this was going to take me forever – well, 365 days to be exact, which felt like an eternity.

My biggest question to myself was in order to meet this one post a day goal, what the heck would I write about for 365 days?! Needless to say, I found enough stuff to say.

When I look at the number of posts along the right hand side of the screen I see my posts from the past twelve months, one for each day. It’s like a culmination of hard work, though I found writing pretty fun so I don’t think I can call it work (especially when I’m not getting paid for it).

I have definitely racked the posts up over the past year. It’s like I’m at mile marker 25 of a 26.2 mile marathon (but way less sweaty!). Here’s to the last few days of 2011, and to the last few posts that will complete of (one of) my 2011 New Year’s resolution(s).

Yay. And wow. At the same time.

Leave a comment | posted in introduction

December 18, 2011

Touring: The New York Public Library

By simply three cents

I recently stopped by the New York Public Library to take a walk around the inside. Thinking back I don’t know if I have ever even been inside the NYPL before.

First, as I was walking up the iconic steps up to the library, a woman walking just ahead of me fell. Scared the crap out of me. Surprisingly, this woman wasn’t me, but she tripped over some misplaced construction equipment (safety fail by the way). Several of us went right over to her to make sure she was okay. Human kindness at its finest as there were quite a few of us checking on her.

Second, I was surprised at how many people were inside on a weekday. The place was packed. Packed! And not just with tourists checking the place out.

People were working on the libraries’ desktops, personal laptops, netbooks and blackberries. Seats in the various reading rooms were hard to come by for sure.

Because I am nosy, er, curious, I wanted to see what people were doing in the library. I snuck a few glances around. People were writing papers, doing research, playing on Facebook, perusing Google and <gasp> reading.

There were a vast amount of people, and all ages, ethnicities and gender. Who are these people? Are they students? Writers? Researchers? My curiosity was piqued.

I did log on as well to check out any must do’s or sees at the New York Public Library. Thanks to one site, I found out there was a Map Room. Imagine that. Right up my alley. I immediately packed my bag up and set off to find this Map Room.

Inside, there were globes, maps and so many people just as in awe as I was. I could have spent hours checking out old globes and maps and just releasing my inner explorer.

The library had beautiful architecture and an amazing collection of books. In fact, I stumbled upon an entire wall of World Book Encyclopedias. Remember those?

Have you ever been to the New York Public Library? What were you looking for? Did you find it?

1 Comment | posted in in and around NYC, observations

December 17, 2011

Is it a December to Remember?

By simply three cents

We’ve all seen them. The December to Remember commercials. With the easily identifiable theme music and the cheesy situations, the commercials play over and over and over.

I think they are so annoying. Whether I like it or not, the commercials are successful because I remember them. I can identify their music, I know what the offer is and they bother me.

I worked in advertising, I know good or bad, so long as there’s recall, there’s a happy client.

Even though most of these commercials annoy me, there’s one that stands out. And the first time I saw it, I think I even got a little choked up.

It’s the one where the family of four is playing a version of Guitar Hero and when it’s the mom’s turn, of course her song is the easily identifiable song. Her face changes to shock/happiness and they go outside to see the new car. Cheesy I know but it gets me every time.

On the flip side who is surprising someone with a car in this economy? It’s a pretty big investment for one person to pick out all the details and assume the recipient’s tastes. What if it’s a practical problem? What if the recipient is short and can’t see over the steering wheel. Or what if it’s an aesthetic thing? What if the recipient doesn’t like the color?

That’s 36 months of payments for something someone may not even fit in, or like! I guess if someone is buying someone a car, you gracefully accept it but it’s a pretty ballsy investment for the giver to give. What happened to a sweater? Or a book?

Leave a comment | posted in observations, shopping

December 16, 2011

A little bit of springtime

By simply three cents

I was in the elevator earlier this week. I had picked up some Gerber daisies (aside from tulips, my other favorite) to add a bit of spring to my apartment. There was an older woman in the elevator with me and she commented on how vibrant the colors were. I mentioned that I hated winter and thought a little bit of spring would be nice right about now.

She said she livens up the dreary days with a cocktail. I then lifted my bag which held a bottle of wine. To which she told me she stopped drinking wine because there are too many calories and carbs. Sidenote: wine has carbs? Oops. She said she sticks with vodka these days.

The elevator opened on her floor. I figured she seemed like a cocktail connoisseur so I said what do you mix your vodka with?

As she walked out of the elevator, her response? “Ice.”

1 Comment | posted in apartment living, things that make me smile

December 15, 2011

Not so sure what’s going on

By simply three cents

Have you ever been inside a liquor store where you feel like it’s just about to get robbed?

Yeah, I was the other night. I ust wanted to quickly buy a bottle of white wine to go with dinner for that night.

I walked into the store. Felt like it was a little more shady than normal and walked right out.

Leave a comment | posted in observations

December 14, 2011

Mortality Check

By simply three cents

This morning a 41-year-old woman was killed by an elevator in her midtown Manhattan office building en route to work.

She works in the same industry I used to, and in fact, I had a very similar job as she did.

It was a freak accident but it is a grim reminder that life is very fragile.

There were apparently two other people in the elevator that likely saw this woman get killed.

My heart breaks for every one of these three people and their families.

It is clearly time to reassess your mortality.

Leave a comment | posted in in and around NYC, reality check

December 13, 2011

For x press 1, for y press 2

By simply three cents

Don’t you hate phone chains?

Please press 1, please press 2. After a while I tone out, and usually have to go through the phone tree all over again.

And what about when you’re calling a place and an answering machine tells you their working hours, and you happen to be calling during those working hours, yet no one answers after repeated calls.

Frustration!

What irks you about phone trees and answering machines?

Leave a comment | posted in peeves

December 12, 2011

Banana Cream Pie

By simply three cents

Ok, so I told you about the new REI location that recently opened in Soho. I didn’t tell you what I bought because I know you probably just don’t care.

But I have to share one purchase. Do you know what I did buy? It wasn’t on my shopping list but it was just too irresistable to pass up…

Sidenote: the boyfriend LOVES bananas. LOVES.

I was wandering around the store and came across the wall, yes the wall – an entire wall, that was dedicated to hiker food.

Hiker food: the kind where you mix in cold or hot water and let it sit to create a meal. The meals are in similar packaging that astronaut food comes in. When you squeeze the package it feels like flakes inside.

There were so many options…beef chili or black beans with rice or a Mexican omelette. And then there were desserts.

I found one called Banana Cream Pie.

Just add water! Of course now my curiousity was piqued, and it was only $5 so of course I had to buy it.

I showed it to the boyfriend later that night and he was hardly as amused as I was. We haven’t tried it yet. Personally I’m not as big of a fan of banana, or banana cream pie or adding water to make an instant meal – but challenge accepted.

Stay tuned for a post about it when we do open and ‘cook’ it.

Leave a comment | posted in shopping