A Helluva Town

The Bronx, I'm told, is up. And my battery's down. Fires are breaking out all over, even though I had the car washed on Saturday to induce rain. And it was a tough Manhattan day, which had me juggling three calls/training sessions at once on MS Teams, not a fun thing. I couldn't even do two of them because I was recording the other one and that recording would have been lost if... you know what? Doesn't matter. I'm through, I'm home, I'm thawing, I'm exhausted.

Silly Site o' the Day

It's Election Day in the US, and we're hoping for the best and... well, I don't even know how to prepare for the worst as one candidate is an existential threat to pretty much the entire world. So I'm keeping busy at the office, and Robin's keeping busy at home. Today we found out that our landline has been automatically forwarding calls to Optimum's online answering machine (not even our own!) for about a week, which means we've missed all incoming calls. I'm grateful we haven't heard the political spam ones, but there was at least one from my uncle I would have liked to have heard. Everything's all fixed now, and I'll be making a couple outgoing calls tomorrow to make sure everyone knows what happened. I think we're moving closer to a cell-only life, probably when I retire. In the meantime, enjoy this ballot-box stand-up comedy.

Silly Site o' the Day

Off to the bus in the dark, home from the bus in the dark. I love autumn, even how it smells when the leaves lose their chlorophyll, but I'm not quite as fond as I used to be of walking (or driving!) in the dark. At least I can see things at lunchtime, which today consisted of a couple bad decisions courtesy of a local street fair. Those soup dumplings were neither soupy nor very dumpling-like; second time I've fallen for that place in as many street fairs. Anyway, plenty to eat throughout the day, enough work to keep me on my toes, and now I'm back and relaxing as the temps drop. Oh, speaking of light and dark, here's an interesting overview on the creation of holograms.

Silly Site o' the Day

Between the overuse of the car at my age and the general anxiety over Mom's situation, my body keeps giving out in peculiar places. At the moment it's my right heel, which is actually referred pain from somewhere in the calf. All I can do at this point is brace it, limp, and hope for some sort of cramp in the night which will loosen it enough to begin recovering. At least I only had to schlep my laptop one way today, as I planned ahead to come into the office today and tomorrow given yesterday's PTO. The other issue is my occasional insomnia, which made it pretty difficult to stay awake at my desk. But I really didn't have a choice, and there was enough to keep me occupied (plus at least one caffeinated beverage). Are you ready for a Hallowe'en light show? Just check out this Laughing Squid post that covers all five stages of the performance. I feel like I'm not quite ready for Hallowe'en yet; maybe when the temps dip a little.

Silly Site o' the Day

Hurricane Milton continues to creep closer to the Tampa area, and I continue to hobble about Manhattan. I was on my feet way too much in the office today, and paid the price later. I'm getting too old for this stuff, particularly as the weather starts to cool. At least I don't have to reach for the microwave!

Silly Site o' the Day

After yesterday's Manhattan commute I was just tired and achy enough to be grateful today was a work-from-home day. It also let me watch the playoffs, where three of the four best-of-3 matches concluded, leaving only the NY Mets and Milwaukee Brewers split at one game apiece. Ah well, it was nice while it lasted, said pretty much every Mets fan. Also, can we block out NJ so we only see New York reflected?

Silly Site o' the Day

And I thought Tuesday's commute was hellish! Because there were protests called for around 6 PM in the vicinity of Grand Central, I decided to leave the office at 4:30, but it didn't help much because the protesters were marching and blocking the intersection two blocks south of my bus stop. Between the 45-minute wait until the first bus finally arrived (there were five behind it that wound up breaking the logjam a half hour later, I was told by Robin who was keeping track on BusTime) and that bus being SRO so we all had seat company AND my seat company staying next to me as the bus grew emptier and emptier and getting off at the last stop as I did... well, everything hurts now. At least the Yankees finally won their division. The Mets/Atlanta games have been postponed due to the horrific oncoming Hurricane Helene, so heaven only knows when the regular baseball season will actually end. Have I mentioned everything hurting? I'm removing my squiggle eyebrows and lips and going to bed.

Silly Site o' the Day

I was up a bit in the night, from about 4-6 AM, before going back to bed for a little over an hour when I was awakened by The World's Worst Leg Cramp. I mean, my right calf cramped without release for easily (what felt like) a minute, with at least two painful aftershocks. It didn't bode well for our trip to the Great Elephant Migration outdoor art exhibit in Manhattan's meatpacking district, but I slapped on a knee brace and everything wound up just fine. The exhibit was amazing, well worth the local bus and subway trip, and we made side trips to Myers of Keswick and Hao for some lovely English and Chinese food respectively. Home by 3 PM and napping again by 4, no cramps this time. And, aside from the Mets/Braves series being postponed by an oncoming hurricane and the Yankees going down in flames, it's been a terrific end to my last fiscal year 2024 vacation day, even though we didn't get to see the iconic New York pillow fight.

Silly Site o' the Day

Am I home yet? Man oh man, it was a great day to be in Manhattan except for the fact that all the dignitaries, including Biden and Zelynskyy and lots of other heads of state, were in town for the UN General Assembly, and there were so many traffic closures and cops on every intersection that getting around was tricky at best. I took the first homeward-bound bus that crept along, knowing full well it was bound to be standing room only by the time we hit the last pick up, but I made it home more or less at my regular time so it could have been a whole lot worse. And I have my last vacation day of the season tomorrow! So that's something to look forward to. As well as autumn, of course. Ah, colorful leaves, apple cider, chickens carving pumpkins...

Via Laughing Squid.

Silly Site o' the Day

Well, that was a lot of fun getting home from Manhattan today, the first day of the UN General Session with tons of diplomats and dignitaries all wanting to tool around midtown, so naturally the NYPD accommodates by inconveniencing commuters. Wasn't worth walking all the way to the west side bus as that was snarled too; good to know for Thursday's homeward commute. And considering tomorrow is the anniversary of the WTC attacks, I'm certainly not in the mood to watch tonight's political debate. I'd rather watch these wacky rock star animated vignettes.

Silly Site o' the Day

So much for a quiet day! Every time I come into the office, especially if I decide to attend an online meeting or take self-study, inevitably I'll be interrupted and my workload will increase.  So it was today; one partner in and a bunch of others needing things just as I started participating in a group call. Ah well, that's why I make the adequate bucks! And it's my last Manhattan day for at least a week, as I'll be taking Tuesday and Wednesday off and working from home the rest of next week. I'll hardly know what to do with myself! Maybe I'll get into hand-painted 3D body art illusions:

Via Laughing Squid. Or maybe not.

Silly Site o' the Day

Exhausted after a hot Manhattan day and a horribly played Yankees game. Not going anywhere tomorrow except to drop off my recently-read comics at a neighbor's place for her son who is always elated to receive them. Maybe I'll rewatch some Pixar movies so I can get more into this size comparison:

Via Laughing Squid.

Silly Site o' the Day

Given the state of the blister/corn on the side of my left hallux, I didn't want to overdo things today, so the plan was to take an express then a local bus to Chinatown, eat at Nom Wah Tea Parlor, and head right back home. Mission accomplished! It was a lovely day, and the trip was marred only by a couple buses not being air conditioned (which would have been unbearable had the weather been hot) and by my discovery that Nom Wah only takes cash or American Express. Had I known that before setting out I would have stopped at the branch of my bank right on the corner of Canal and Bowery. And alas, the trolleys with the dim sum selections are no more, they give you a menu and a piece of paper and you mark down what you'd like, which isn't nearly as much interactive fun. But the food was terrific, probably a lot tastier than salamagundy, and I was back home and resting by 3 PM, which was important as tomorrow's a Manhattan-office day.

Silly Site o' the Day

I came into the office today on a Monday for a change, because tomorrow's volunteer activity starts first thing in the morning and I wanted to leave my laptop in my locking file cabinet so I wouldn't have to schlep it downtown. Got lots of work done, a few of my partners who were in as well were pleased to see me, there was no queue at the poke bowl place, and all in all it was worth it. Except for missing lots of Olympics - and at that point there are so many sports and so, so many ads in between them (and during) I'm actually burning out - I was fairly pleased with how things went. We'll see tomorrow, when the humidity is scheduled to turn to showers. In the meantime, won't you please steal a button for me (via BoingBoing)?

Silly Site o' the Day

My first No-Work Wednesday of the summer, and I'm still addicted enough to my email and texts that I did follow along but, because I had no laptop with me at home, no actual work got done, just me schmoozing and giving pointers in our exec assistant Teams chat. So restful! Of course it would be a lot better if I could go anywhere; we tried to get the windshield washer reservoir looked at but the auto shop guy said his usual mechanic was on vacay this week and could we come back another day at 9 when the fill-in mechanics arrive, so I'll schlep it back down on Friday. I can't wait for the weather to cooperate more so I can take advantage of being a tourist in my own city! Even if I have to mask to avoid any pandemic resurgence, like others are actually still doing.

Silly Site o' the Day

The week from hell continues, as my homeward-bound bus never showed and I had to wait in the heat and humidity for at least a half hour for a bus that finally came, stopped everywhere, and was totally full up, with me having to squeeze in behind a fellow who wouldn't push his seat back up so I could fit behind him comfortably. Body parts hurt that I didn't even know I had. Maybe I can just take a bed next time:

Via BoingBoing. Ow.

Silly Site o' the Day

Alas, the foot isn't that much better, but I managed to stay off it for the most part except for the commute to and from the bus both ways. I'm beginning to suspect this is an after-effect of the toe infection, but I'll double check with my podiatrist a week from Saturday. At this point I think my planned trip to the NY Botanical Gardens that day is right out. Oh well, I'd rather see a Notre Dame marble run, and I can see that right here:

Via Laughing Squid.

Silly Site o' the Day

The good news: I got a clean bill of health from my diabetes doctor. Except for my higher A1C, higher than normal triglycerides (I suspect that's a portion control thing), and a bit of dehydration possibly caused by two of the meds I take, I'm in pretty good shape. Weight stable, BP terrific, LDL really good, all those other numbers where they should be. The bad news: after logging off for the work week I had to ride a local bus from terminus to terminus to receive that info. Masked all the way down and back, but my goodness, so loud and crowded! There are times I really get energized from living in The City, and there are times when it leaves me completely drained. I think I need some Friday Cat Blogging:

I was about the age of that girl in the still photo when this came out. Via BoingBoing.

Silly Site o' the Day

Back to the office, which is actually pleasant when I get to sit in my usual spot instead of the cold basement level. Got enough done to fill out a timesheet for two days, and I'll be logging on briefly from home tomorrow (an official PTO day) to do a bit more, so much of Thursday's time will be accounted for before I even unpack myself back in the office again the day after tomorrow. My antibiotic regimen is almost done and I'm seeing the podiatrist again tomorrow, so maybe after that I won't need anything remotely like this survival kit.

Silly Site o' the Day

A lovely day, and tomorrow won't be as lovely, so we ventured out to Kura conveyor-belt sushi in Scarsdale again, spent way too much money (but cheap if you consider we aren't going on any vacations), and perused the Super ShopRite in the same strip mall complex so I could pick up stuff I usually find only in the ShopRite by Mom's house. The supermarket was weird, sort of two buildings smushed into one with a ramp between the two in the back of the store, and after our meal we weren't much in the mood to shop, so I got most everything on my list and realized afterwards that I had forgotten to include premade dinners. So this week I'll be choosing from the freezer and larder, as well as cooking a stir fry tomorrow when I feel like eating again. My updated notary stamp also arrived, which I'm taking to work on Tuesday so I can begin notarizing again. Apparently my online notary license (which I never fully pursued after being commissioned as the needed equipment is a bit cost-prohibitive, and not worth it once our back-to-office mandate kicked in) supersedes my traditional one, but allows me to notarize traditionally as well. I didn't find out any of this a colleague told me she'd visited the Bronx County court to verify my notarization and found out my old stamp was no good. Once I contactt the NYS Department of State folks they were very kind and communicative about all of this, and even sent me a PDF of my new licensure so I had proof of my new number and expiration to order the stamp. Sorry to bore you with all this techie stuff, but sometimes I put things in my blog as much for me to remember as to communicate with others. It could be more boring, it could be The Hobbit read like a shipping forecast:

Via Laughing Squid.