"It's Not Worth It"

Those were the words someone in a car driving down the road separating Graceland from the Visitors Center when we visited Memphis many years ago on a Gentry family weekend vacation. We bought the all-access pass, allowing us to visit the airplanes, cars, buses and, of course, Graceland. It was certainly not what anyone had expected when you think of a "mansion" but it was still magical, the 70's still alive...carpet on walls and the ceiling, 3 TV's in a row for Elvis to be able to watch the major networks at the same time, an enclosed basketball court, everything a superstar could dream of!

It was definitely worth it.

Signage

For those that aren't aware, smoking is not allowed in restaurants, bars, office buildings, or public places in NYC (why our apartment building still has ashcans in the hallways is beyond me, but that's for another time...). Now most smokers, outside of Graydon Carter, head outside for their multiple smoke breaks per day. The management company of the office building I occupy 8+ hours a day has thoughtfully installed signs outside the front doors that are of the very basic, "No Smoking" with both words and a graphic. This is not an uncommon sight in NYC. Nor is finding a group of smokers standing right in front, beside or under these signs.

Do people even read anymore?

Twig and Berries

To the man that sat next to me this morning on the subway in to work, your twig and berries are not to large requiring you to keep your legs spread open wide like the Panama Canal. Oh, and when you got up to stand in front of the door at your stop, the words 'excuse me' would have been appropriate.

Celeb-reality sighting

Today as I was heading home I passed this guy, who I have found out his name is John McNulty, from the perfectly awful reality series "Style Me with Rachel Hunter" from WE tv. He's such a celeb-reality celeb I can't even find a picture of him online.

August commuting

It's the last weeks of August...why were my trains packed today to work and back? It's time for vacations people, take one!

Tornadic Activity

If anyone watched the news this week, you'll know that NYC, more specifically Brooklyn, was hit by a tornado Wednesday morning. It was the first one in the borough in 100++ years. The neighborhood David Ann and I live in, Kensington, was hit pretty hard, some of the trackers put the tornado coming right through here. We made it through the weather just fine with no damage to our apartment or car but there was quite a bit of damage in the surrounding area. Check out the following links to see some of it including a video clip.

http://livinginvictorianflatbush.blogspot.com/2007/08/day-after-more-brooklyn-tornado-news.html

http://kensingtonbrooklyn.blogspot.com/ (scroll down a bit to read about all the damages and clean up activities)

Decisions, Decisions

Both "Stick It", http://video.movies.go.com/stickit/ and "Talledega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/talladeganights/ are both on. Which to watch?!?

Commute: Impossible

This morning's storms have, just about, shut NYC down. Ocean Parkway is a parking lot, trains aren't running, you'd probably have better luck on a water taxi. But then again, maybe not. It's a mess. I'm working from home.

Bras

Ladies, whether you're big or small, everyone needs a professional bra fitting. There were two women on the train this morning that really caught my attention. One of them was fairly small, but didn't have on anything supporting, just some sort of shelf tank. The second one, not by any means large, had quite a bit bulging out up and over the back of her bra making her shirt fit funny. It's time to get over the number and letter that are on the tag. Every lady should have a professional bra fitting every couple of years. I've heard wonders about Town Shop on the UWS, http://www.townshop.com/, and how the ladies can size you up potentially without ever using a measuring tape.

I see a field trip in my future.

Watch Out, B!tch

A Monday night favorite of David Ann and myself is the ABC show "Wife Swap" (http://abc.go.com/primetime/wifeswap/). Last night we watched a new episode featuring a families from North Carolina and Oregon, respectively. That had to be one of the most entertaining hours of reality TV we've seen in a long time. It took us a few minutes before we recognized the accent from North Carolina. It was straight out of "Talledega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" (http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/talladeganights/index.html)

Once we figured that out, it just made it all the more hilarious, especially when the crazy wife from North Carolina told the granola Oregonian wife to "Watch out, B!tch" at the episode-concluding table meeting of both couples.

Packin'

This morning there were a couple of backpackers on the train commuting into Manhattan. One of them had his pack in front of him, resting on the floor. The second had his pack in the seat next to him. It stayed in that seat as the train filled up with passengers looking for seats. When he was done with his journal and all the other fiddling around, he picked up his pack and moved over sitting with it on his lap. They were still on the train when I exited at 42nd Street.

I write this not to write about some random backpackers, but at the fact that NO ONE asked them to move it so they could sit down. I am in a bit of shock and awe over it. Normally on a morning commute, passengers wouldn't have allowed a seat to be used like that.

It's definitely August in New York.

Finally, someone who gets it right

This is a story about a bus driver that started a fight with a young man that wouldn't get out of a seat specifically marked for the disabled for an elderly woman with a cane. Finally, someone who takes a stand. Or was trying to make someone else stand.

http://gothamist.com/2007/08/05/bus_driver_beat.php

Confessions of a Stick-It

It's Saturday night and David Ann has just instructed me to turn the TV to channel 707, our local ABC affiliate, so that he can watch "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" featuring Lindsay Lohan.

The night would be perfect if his other favorite movie, "Stick It" were on HBO again so he could flip between the two.

Nasty Friday

I should have known that the commute was going to be bad this morning when I made it to the platform and found more than the normal crowd waiting. When the train finally pulled up, there were only a few seats to be found and the old Orthodox Jew men pushed all the ladies out of the way to get those. (That's not an anti-remark, it's the truth, ask David Ann.) So I ended up standing until Jay Street, a major transfer station.

Then when I exited the train a woman was walking beside me, very closely. Too closely. As we crossed the ICF Plaza, she managed to walk me into a large planter. So I hustled around her in the hopes of not being walked into the upcoming trashcan. Then she walked up beside me again, this time my newspaper knocking into her shopping bag and walking right into and in front of my path. I literally found myself asking her, "What is your beef? You've walked all over me this morning?" and hustled off again, this time crossing the street in an effort to avoid more confrontations.

This is my dance space, that is your dance space. Try not to invade my dance space, especially on a hot and humid August Friday morning.

A new reason to hurry home after work

Designing Women re-runs on Channel 3. I have no idea what network it is, but 2 episodes run back to back at 7 and 7:30p Eastern, respectively. Tonight's episodes included a group trip to Graceland (sorry Missy, no mention of the new Elvis Reese's Cup, http://full-meridian.blogspot.com/2007/07/day-1-hershey-pa-more.html) and Julia telling a New York City newspaper writer to 'Eat Dirt'.

Look Alikes

It has long been said that people often begin to resemble their pets and spouses begin to dress alike, but I have a question for my 2 readers...how is it that lesbian couples end up looking like sisters? As a regular morning commuter, I often see the same group of people. There is a lesbian couple that ride most of the way into midtown with me that I have noticed look fighteningly alike...same choppy Ellen-ish haircut, same librarian geek-chic glasses, same low-on-the-hips jeans with wide distressed belt, same plaid shirt or long-sleeved t-shirt under a short-sleeved polo.

Today's ride home brought was shared with a couple both sporting saggy pants and matching wife beaters. Not nearly as much matching as the original couple, but it did spark the memory.

Yes, I have taken notice of them and mean no harm or ill will with my question, it's just something that has been rolling around in my head for a while and I finally decided to post it to the readers.

Any thoughts?

Observations on a Ride Home

Today on the ride home I noticed a woman on the train with a very noticeable tattoo on the top of her forearm. It appeared to be some sort of celtic bracelet, I'm still trying to decide between 'tacky' or 'bold' on the tattoo location choice. (I also happened to notice, when she got up to leave the train at her stop, that the backs of her ankles were covered with tattoos as well.) But back to the topic at hand...tattoo woman had on a velvet dress. On August 1st. It was 90 degrees today, at least the humidity was sort-of low.

Remember dear reaers, velvet needs to be reserved for activities after Halloween through the end of February, not a steamy summer day in NYC.

Jelly Shoes, again

I saw a woman, a grown woman, on the train today with Jelly shoes on. I've seen this woman during my morning commute a number of times and she's always very stylishly dressed so I am sure her Jelly shoes were much more expensive than my $5 version from Sears in the 1980's.