Stairway in Sleepy Hollow

My Day Off

Seth told me about how he and his brother agreed it was unfair that I get the day off today for Veteran's Day. I would gladly trade them jobs and show them that, indeed, it is not unfair. I needed this day off. Days off are what keeps teachers from losing their minds. 

I slept in this morning - instead of getting up between 5 and 5:30 a.m. I was up at 7:30 a.m. :) Still early, but it sure makes a difference! I walked Seth to work and enjoyed a nice warm cup of coffee at the Lyceum before he jumped on the subway. He suggested we go to the Bagel shop, but I refused. That is the only place I can go on normal work days because no other places are open. Although their coffee is delicious, it has a strong kick of energy that I was trying to avoid on my relaxing day off. 

Just before lunch I headed into Union Square to do some shopping and see if I could find Seth some jeans. Poor guy runs out of clean clothes so fast these days! For his birthday, I've agreed to help replenish his wardrobe. (I'm also trying to get rid of his ugly t-shirts... the ones he wore all through college and should have left behind!) 

Lunch was nice, Thai food instead of my normal peanut butter and honey sandwich or left overs. Bric joined us. We discussed some of our Thanksgiving plans, which are still not set because someone (Bric) doesn't have their oven hooked up yet. Just over two weeks away, and I cannot wait. I'm looking forward to the Thanksgiving Day parade (if we can all convince ourselves to crawl out of bed early and head out into the cold), our feast, and the long weekend with my husband. 

Central Park in the Fall

On Sunday, Seth and I finally made it to Central Park to see the fall. It was a crisp fall day as we entered the park and bought a (horrible) coffee and hot chocolate to warm our hands. Despite our not-so-satisfying drinks, the park filled us with the satisfaction we were looking for. The trees were beautiful and the park was calming and relaxing. It reminded me how lucky I am to be living in New York City, despite how unhappy I feel about my job.

Love the Bethesda Fountain. I cannot help but stop every time I'm in Central Park. We only meant to take a quick look and move on, but of course, we lingered for a while, took pictures, and enjoyed an awesome street performance. 

Seth gets credit for this picture. It's one of the flowers spotting the water in the fountain. 

I love what the fall colors do to the backdrop of the fountain. Unfortunately the trees along my favorite walkway, the Mall, have already lost their leaves. It was not as pretty as the Bethesda Fountain and Terrace. 

Our last stop before we headed for the subway was Strawberry Fields. Our ears were treated to a sweet surprise of music by the Beatles. I always love walking through Strawberry Fields. It's a peaceful place and the music added to my enjoyment. We wished we could have stayed longer, but the weather was cooling down and the sky was growing dark. 

Can't wait to see Central Park in the snow. I've seen it in the Dead of the winter, but this year, I want to see it with a fresh blanket of snow. Wonder how much convincing I'll have to do to get Seth out in the cold in the middle of winter. :)

Tall Trees

People Watching Watching People

I have a favorite path through Central Park. My trips there always include the Mall and the fountain at the end. On the weekends, I've had the chance to watch bits and pieces of this hilarious street performance that takes place at the bottom of the west stairway leading to the fountain. Even though today was my third time of seeing it, Seth and I still stopped and watched the end of it. This was my view as I headed into the crowd to find a spot for the show.

Bethesda Fountain

President Obama

Some Park Sloper must be excited about our new President-Elect. Whoever it is climbed the pole and added a tag to the street name! :)

Rescue Me

When I came above ground from the subway on Friday, the streets were lined with trailers and other large vehicles for filming... The lady at the coffee shop told me they were filming Rescue Me down the street. For those of you who watch TV know it's a television drama dealing with fire fighters... Crazy to have filmings taking place in my neighborhood. I should have walked back and taken a look around, but I was on my way to get some health insurance paperwork faxed at Staples (paperwork that the school should have faxed, but I was not in the mood to be treated like crap by the school secretaries).

Wall of Moss

From our trip North of the city - Sleepy Hollow... wish I were wondering the cemetery now.

I am a Human Pillow... Again

I'm wondering how I could let this happen again! Sleeping Creepster somehow ended up sitting next to me for a second evening commute home again! The post about the first time is here. As he was falling on me and crowding me into the window, I began jabbing my elbow into him enough to make him realize he should Stop. At one of the stops, he comes to enough to turn his body so he's sitting sideways on the seat and leaning against the back of the seat rather than me. Good Plan, I think to myself... until he starts leaning back on me. I can't even believe he slept through my elbow jabs... the ones jabbing right into his back... but he did... This Sleeping Creepster kept falling further and further back, pushing me closer and closer to the window and closer to claustrophobia.

I'm watching for this guy from now on, and I will make sure Not to let him sit by me. He really pissed me off today, especially when I was trying to get out of the corner to get off at my stop. He pissed me off enough that I had to pull out the "F*ing people" comment under my breath as I yanked myself out from where I was lodged. That's a first... I guess maybe NY is rubbing off on me. (Sorry for the language readers, but that's how much he pissed me off today.)

Flea Market

Love Flea Markets. I stopped by the local one a few avenues up this last weekend. Thought this was an interesting thing to have sitting out. I didn't touch it, nor would I touch the towels under it. I would expect to see something like this back home, not in a flea market in the middle of Brooklyn.

The Clothes Line I Wish I Had

Subway Rider

I love the subways (most of the time). They sometimes have a mind of their own, like the other day when the D turned to an F... and became Very slow. Or... when 3 B's came before the D decided to show up. They provide me with many opportunities though... like time to grade papers, which I can do for the whole hour commute I have from between home and work. Or the opportunity to see some great dancers... like today, when I saw some of the best "subway performers" I've seen to date. (Involving a young child with major talent)... I even donated money (granted it was less than a dollar), but I have made it a point to only donate to the ones that are the Best. Subways also provide me with an opportunity to completely space out. I turn up my iPod music and will disappear from this world, only existing in my mind with No clue of what is going on in the outside world. I also love subways because I get the opportunity to people watch. Sometimes I'll be the only people watcher on the subway... Other times, I share the space with other wondering eyes, trying not to make that awkward eye contact with my fellow watcher.

The other thing I've noticed and started enjoying about my morning commute is meeting up with the people I commute with, the regulars who hit up the subway at the same time as I do. I see them almost daily, but I don't know them. I won't know them. They just join me as we jump on the train and head to the city for yet another work day. They join me in peering out the window as the sun starts to wake up the city and reflects the beautiful morning colors across the windows of the skyscrapers in downtown Manhattan. Ahh, yes, I do love the subway, especially the one that crosses over the Manhattan Bridge.

Expressing Feelings

Check out the sign on the left side of the building...

Water for the Runners

One more shot from the weekend Marathon. The street was lined with tables full of water and Gatorade. Are we surprised it's Poland Spring Water?