Getting Accustomed

Today's in-office day was a bit better except, again, for the walk. But with Robin's help I finally have that sorted out. I can take the express bus to 72nd Street, change for the local going down 9th Avenue, and that leaves only a half-block walk to the office without all the Penn Station crowds! And I can just reverse it on the way back. Both 72nd Street (southbound and northbound) transfer places have bus shelters so that's good too. And if I can't get the express bus back at 72nd, the subway is right across the street and has elevator access, so I'm set there too. Good thing too, because I had to leave early today after five or six bathroom trips - it was either the lovely champagne yesterday or the food from the Moynihan Hall or the awful commute or probably a combination of all of the above - and even with the long walk I got home a lot faster on the "1" train. I even ignored my stomach ailment long enough to surrender my expired MetroCard and get all its funds (over $30) put onto a standalone OMNY card should Robin or I ever need one (I have two OMNY accounts online, one linked to my commuter card and the other a senior half-price travel account linked to my main debit card). I'd been wanting to do that for awhile but this was my first foray into the subway system in awhile, and I knew I had to grab one with a customer service booth while I could! The subway portion took less than 45 minutes to get to my neighborhood, the local bus an additional 10-15, a lot less time than the express bus! And I found my ideal lunch place, the nearby Whole Foods Market has a huge buffet section set up, which even includes a sushi station. Bonus, it's a supermarket as well in case I need to pick up anything to take home. Crossing my fingers the new commuting plan makes that easier! I still haven't found a solution to "what if I need to go into a private room to call Mom?" but I'll work on that next week. Tomorrow and Monday I work from home!