August

The traffic's back. I can't believe it. It was absolutely quiet for a week and last night was back to the Philip-Glass-on-crack honking symphony. It was literally non-stop for an hour. I don't get it. Fortunately I finally got tired enough to fall asleep before it slowed down. I really hope last night was a fluke and the extra security for the Citicorp Building on my street really is contributing to the lack of honking.

Speaking of security, I'm interested (and a little nervous) to see what life will be like the week of the convention.

I'm almost to the point where I don't feel so behind in my life. As soon as I finish 2 work-related things, clean the apartment, and deal with the mail, I'll feel much better.

The traffic was quiet again last night- that helps keep my theory of the security stopping more people from honking. I'm certainly not happy that I live so close to a target, but at least I get quiet streets because of it.

I can't wait to see Paula and Harvey's new house and explore the surrounding area. Thanksgiving in Maine sounds perfect. Just have to hope that they'll really be ready for it and that I can take the time for more than a day up there since transportation won't be the easiest.

For the first time, I'm not looking forward to SFU. I just think it will make me even lonlier than I already feel. But I'll watch it anyway. Maybe I can get lost for an hour.

I have lots of mosquito bites- I guess from the park on Thursday.

Traffic was absolutely awful last night. What happened to Sunday being quiet night? And how could there be no noise for a week? I don't understand.

RCN has been giving me problems for the past few days.

Today's been a busy and stressful day.

I guess the trip balanced out to about average with both good (seeing family, running a few errands without issues, remembering some dreams) and bad (dealing with College Park, not getting enough sleep, being around unpleasant judgemental people, health issues [knee and eyes, mainly]). I have quite a few pictures waiting to be put up (mostly from the trip)- no idea when I'll make the time to do that. I could write a lot more (especially about yesterday at Paula and Harvey's), but I'm too tired and none of it seems really important or interesting. Maybe I'll write more tomorrow.

I'm really exhausted. Sometimes I think the part of my brain that understands exhaustion only lets the rest of me know just how exhausted I am when I'm alone.

It feels good to be home. It helps that currently, the traffic is being quiet. I actually called 311 the other night because of very noisy jackhammering in my intersection at 2:00 AM. I was told that companies like Con Ed (I think that's who was out there when I called) can get permits for whenever they want. Oh well. I'm assuming things will quiet down a bit after the convention.

Every few hours, a new bug bite pops up. Does bug spray work at all?

I hope to get to sleep somewhat early tonight and sleep more than 2-4 hours (the amount I've been getting the past couple weeks). My to-do list has been growing to a ridiculous size and I really need to shrink it a little before the end of the month.

About my visit to Harvey and Paula's house: for me, it's just not a comfortable house. It's aesthetically nice (something you might find when you wander through a museum or historic home), but I've never found it a comfortable place to be. I don't think their new house will be any different. Paula likes designing things to look a certain way and doesn't mind if it's not physically comfortable since she just enjoys the beauty of looking at it. But at least this new house will have walls so you won't hear a pin drop in the kitchen from the bedroom upstairs. I took a lot of pictures of the house while I was there, and I realised how much has changed since I lived there. It really looks like a different house (especially upstairs- that's completely different). The entire neighbourhood looks different too, with all the new mansion homes. For selling purposes, they really have a prime area (quite a change from the rural neighbourhood we moved into 21 years ago). We (me, Paula, Harvey, Maxine, Neil, and Abby) took a walk down to the stream, and I wished I had more room on my camera to not only take pictures of the stream but to take pictures of all of us in our makeshift-protection-from-ticks-outfits (I forgot my boots and hat, Maxine didn't have a hat... so we did scarves, socks...). We all looked wonderful.

I watched last week's SFU last night (frustrating since I taped it on Sunday which was a night of storms here and the cable wasn't happy, but I caught about 60% of it). I think Brenda is 100% accurate on her psych evaluation of addressing the behaviour rather than just relying on medication, and I hope they continue to elabourate on her experiences there (but I have a feeling they won't). And I loved the conversation George brought up at the table about beef and I like that Nate was on his side. George has some problems, but I like a lot of his qualities that no one seems to appreciate. I might tape it again tomorrow night and watch it on Sunday after Jon and Michelle leave. Yes, Jon and Michelle are coming up tomorrow. And Paula and Harvey are doing a day trip today (having dinner with Paula and possibly Harvey this evening).

Tonight I had planned on taking care of a few things, including straightening up the apartment, but I think I'll save everything for early tomorrow morning (before Jon and Michelle arrive), and instead watch "Murder By Death" and "Pink Panther"- conveniently TCM is having a Peter Sellers night.

Oh, I finally cut my hair this morning. I like it.

Traffic still has it's nasty moments, but the moments haven't been non-stop like it usually is. It's amazing how relaxed one can be without the constant sound of honking horns. The latest action on my street is for traffic cops to blow whistles at people. Not sure if that's what is causing less honking, but if it is, I appreciate it- I'd much rather hear semi-quiet whistles than extremely loud horns.

The cops are still in my intersection, but their presence isn't as big (only one cop car, no cones...).

And in other security news, walking by the Citigroup building today, I saw that 53rd was entirely blocked off. I thought it's been open like 54th has been open.

And in hopefully-not-related news, yesterday I saw a plane fly by my building and did not look high enough in the sky at all. It looked like it was lower than some of the buildings. I only saw it for a few seconds though, since it disappeared behind the Bloomberg Tower. Then this morning, I saw the same thing happen a few blocks away. I was walking west on 57th and saw a plane that looked like it was flying between buildings. They both looked like commercial jets. Maybe it just looks low (my depth perception is pretty awful), but I really don't remember ever seeing planes flying that low over Manhattan. I thought it wasn't until they got right around La Guardia (and Shea) that they started to descend to highrise level.

Anyway, Jon & Michelle had a trouble-free trip up yesterday. They went to the "Wicked" matinee, and then I met them and Michelle's cousin, Trisha, in Little Italy. After that, we went to the Village to try a few places. Michelle suggested a piano bar, and I mentioned Marie's. We went for a few minutes and they weren't impressed, so we walked around to find something that suited them. We wound up at Red Lion (only remember the name since I still have a faded handstamp with their name on my hand even after a shower and washing my hands a few times). Jon, Michelle, and Trisha were happy there, I was not. A loud, bad band in a crowded room with obnoxious people. Finally I saw some empty tables kind of behind the band and decided to go sit there (it was still loud but at least I didn't have obnoxious people bumping into me over there). It was a fairly late night.

This morning we went to have bagels before Jon and Michelle went to check out some art galleries for ideas. This afternoon they're meeting Michelle's sister for lunch and then going to see "The Boy from Oz" before they head home. So I have the rest of the day to myself. They're coming back in November for the New York marathon. November's going to be an apartment-filled month.

My sarcastic, New York attitude side has been coming out this weekend- enjoying the witty repartees with old time New Yorkers at Ess-a-Bagel and classic FDNY guys. It's been fun.

I ran some of my errands this morning- will finish up on Tuesday. Now I have to deal with the huge pile of mail that's been building up on my shelf for the past 3+ weeks. Then I plan on tackling some of my to-do list. And then 2 SFUs. And then I hope for an early bedtime and a full night of sleep.

Last night was both good and bad. Bad: traffic was beyond awful. Good: it was a clear, cool night, and I could faintly see 2 stars out my window. And I did get 8 hours of sleep, so that was good too (although it kind of felt like too much, as I was groggy most of the morning). I still managed to get a lot done today though.

I broke the pattern of not remembering my dreams. I've remembered several recently (especially at Neil & Maxine's). Don't remember too many details anymore, but last night's dream included a large hotel/mansion and an ocean with HUGE waves (I kept trying to take pictures of them from a 2nd floor window).

Today, after several phone calls to my insurance company and to a few facilities, I made my first physical therapy appointment. August 30th (the first day they had available). The first day of the Republican Convention and the first day of classes. I just have to hope that my appointment is on time and that it doesn't go on for too long. If I'm late to classes, I can use the convention as an excuse, but if the convention makes me even later, guess I'll miss the first class (which would not be good).

I think almost everyone I know has moved recently or will be moving shortly (in the past year: Jon & Michelle, Eytan, Jennifer, Matt & Brie, Robyn... soon: Rebecca, Paula and Harvey, Brian and Rebecca...

Also yesterday, I went to print out the digital pictures of Paula and Harvey's house. I was in Union Square yesterday and passed by a CVS, so I stopped in there to do the pictures. I figured you select the pictures you want, and then they print out. Not true. I selected the pictures, filled out the envelope, paid for them, and then the woman said to come back tomorrow (today) to pick them up. If I had known you couldn't get them right away, I would have gone somewhere closer to my apartment. So since I had to go back to Union Square today, I stopped by the greenmarket to pick up a few things and tried clothes shopping but didn't last more than a few minutes (just couldn't deal with it today).

I saw another plane flying fairly low yesterday. I guess they always fly that low, and I've just never noticed.

Well, I thought I liked Amazing Race (watched it once, thought it was okay), but never mind. I sort of watched it last night and it was awful. What a bunch of immature, disgusting, idiots.

My to-do list is shrinking and half of what's left are things that could stay on there indefinitely :)

I'm tired of people who feel they have to fit a set of standards and expect everyone else to do the same. If you like opera, why do you also have to like reading The Times, and going to upscale restaurants? If you like car racing, why do you also have to like drinking beer and country music? What's wrong with coming home from the opera and watching a little NASCAR? If you like "The Big Sleep" why do you also have to like "The Maltese Falcon" and why can't you like "Dumb and Dumber"? Why can't you have caviar and champagne one night and dine at Red Lobster the next?

Tonight has been emergency vehicle after emergency vehicle, there was a car accident on my street a few minutes ago, and currently there are some angry motorcycles (seriously, they sound angry) whizzing by.

Launch is playing good music tonight (Pink Floyd, The Doors, a Spacehog song I like...).

I can't figure out a way to put my bathroom lightbulbs up. Three of them burned out, I finally got 3 new ones, and now I can't reach well enough to achieve illumination. I'll have to look into it some more.

I'm thinking about going to see a production of "A Clockwork Orange" at EST next week. I don't know anything about it, but I've liked every show I've seen at EST, and I think I should take advantage of the fact that I'm even somewhat interested in a show.

Sometimes I really amaze myself with how much I can get done in a small amount of time. I can take some time to relax now.

I get so tired of having to rely on other people when almost everyone is unreliable. How am I supposed to get things done when other people drop the ball and I have to wait for them to get around to doing what they need to do? At least I'm not super-busy right now and can hopefully finish everything up in time as long as the other people don't completely screw things up. In the meantime, I can take the time to do some little things I've been meaning to do for a while.

It's really felt like fall here this week. Once again Jon and Michelle were up here at the end of August, and once again they did not bring warm enough clothes. Michelle had to buy a shawl when we were out Saturday night. At least they were in the theatre during our huge storm (as opposed to having various sports activities rained out like their previous times here). But other than too much humidity, I like this week. I've even had some of my fall moods the past few days.

"Spinal Tap" was fun. The music brought back memories of high school- that was one of the albums that used to get me to school in the mornings.

Paula and Harvey are coming up tomorrow since they leave for Singapore from here. I've really been dreading social activities recently. They seem to sound more like chores than something fun.

The weather isn't fall-like anymore. It's just humid and muggy.

Had an annoying night dealing with computer messes (still can't fix the CD burner- guess I'll have to take it somewhere at some point) and Harvey (between his not wanting to talk about almost everything and his excuses for why he can't talk [too much work, in the middle of a TV show, too tired...], I don't understand how we're ever supposed to have a conversation). But I also spent a little time updating my site, which went smoothly, so that was nice.

It's hot and humid again.

Paula and Harvey are taking the train up today. Hopefully the security won't delay them too much (and same goes for the airport tomorrow).

This album is making me want to roam fields in Ireland.

Traffic was quiet last night and the night before! Two weekend nights of quiet- amazing. I wonder if less people are driving because of the convention.

Today is going at the speed of light. Not appreciated. Not much of the day left, especially with an hour for SFU and then having to go to sleep early because I have to wake up early tomorrow. And I have a feeling tomorrow's going to be crazy- first day of physical therapy, first day of classes, only 20 minutes to get from one to the other, and the convention causing delays. Wish me luck.

Every so often, I check Weimarband's site to see if there's any news, and sure enough, I checked tonight and found out they'll be at the New York Musical Theatre Festival. So I got a ticket for "Blue Flower" at the end of September. Can't wait to see their live show!

Now I need to try to get tired enough to fall asleep as early as possible. Long day tomorrow.

Last night I got sleep (woke up a few times but was always able to get back to sleep). The streets were quiet (I didn't even hear one honk from 8:00 PM - 1:00 AM- then it got a little loud for a bit and then got quiet again)! The city must have scared everyone from driving in during the convention. And I remembered parts of my dream (it was ODD- too hard to explain in words).

Physical therapy was a waste. It was a tiny place with a bike and treadmill in the reception area and 1 "exam" room. There was one physical therapist and a physical therapist in training. Both were ridiculous. The PT looked like she was ready to go out to a trendy restaurant (not exactly clothes one would normally wear as a PT) and didn't know what she was talking about- she told me I had narrow feet (my foot width? EEE- as far from narrow as you can get). The PT in training was a complete airhead. The PT asked her questions, she gave wrong answers, and acted like everything she was doing was silly. They did a few strength tests and then put me on a bike for 10 minutes. Then they showed me a few excercises to do and didn't pay one bit of attention while I was doing them (I had to get up after each one and find them to tell them I was finished) so they didn't know if I was doing them correctly or not. And that was it. A bike and 3 excercises. The last time I went to physical therapy, they put me on different machines to strengthen my knee and gave me excercises to do at home. This place didn't have any of that. I'm not going back. I may call another place to check out, but more likely, I'll just do some home excercises (I did get a theraband out of yesterday's place) and hope that helps enough for now. My knee isn't so bad that I can't do most things I need/like to do.

Since the PT appointment wasn't exhausting at all, I wound up walking to classes and arrived early. The classes are what I expected. We don't have a syllabus yet for visual elements so I'm not exactly sure what we'll be doing, but he said he likes giving a lot of papers, we'll be working on the lights for the production, and doing a lot of drafting. The guy teaching play analysis seems okay (he'll be laid back unless people don't keep up with the reading), and according to the syllabus, we'll be doing an insane amount of reading and an average amount of writing. Both classes had us going around the room, introducing ourselves. Everyone said the same thing- that they don't know when they can graduate (Hunter makes it extremely difficult) or what to do after they graduate other than go to grad school. It's really a depressing situation.

The post office radiation occured at my post office. That means no mail and blocked streets (not even pedestrians are allowed around those blocks) for a few days. My neighbourhood must have a little black cloud over right now. The post office is right across from the targeted Citigroup Building. And of course it had to happen during the Republican Convention to freak out people who are already on edge about an attack happening this week.

Click ME- I know you want to...
Journal
Home Page