eeeewwwwwww!!!

Another "first."

This morning, my wife forgot her Employee ID. So, on my way out, I took it to her. While waiting for a connection to the train, an old woman tried to pick me up.

Eeeeeeewwwwww!!!!

I don't know whether to be grossed out, insulted, or flattered.

I should probably cut her some slack. After all, most people would like to think of themselves as attractive. Perhaps, she just wanted to feel attractive this morning.

Still, eeeeeewwwwww!!!!

RIP, Teddy

I had just come in from taking out Heidi and JonJon early this morning when I heard on the radio that Ted Kennedy died early today. I didn't always agree with his positions; e.g., I was really pissed off when he endorsed Obama over Hillary, but the man deserved respect. If nothing else, he showed that perseverance really will overcome the occasional poor choices.

The Times has a good write-up: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/27/us/politics/27kennedy.html?hp

RIP, Teddy.

lunchtime miscellany

After several days of oppressive heat and humidity, we have had a couple of nice days here. I had a lunch meeting yesterday and couldn't get out, but today I got out of the building. Zabar's is just a few subway stops from here. They have outstanding coffee at really reasonable prices, and I walked a good bit of the way back.

As I was walking towards the subway stop to go to Zabar's, I gained ground on this man walking. Just from a few things, I thought, "This guy has a Napoleon complex." Everyone in NYC has a complex. It's the thing to do. Anyway, this guy was short - probably about 5-2. He had fairly well-developed biceps. The main thing, though, was that he wasn't walking so much as he was strutting. I remember the opening theme from that old CBS show The Jeffersons. George Jefferson would walk with his arms held stiff and just out from the side, and he rocked them as he walked. That was the mirror of this guy I saw.

All of a sudden, he bent down and picked up someone's partially smoked cigarette. He smoothed it out and put it in his mouth. Add another thing to the list of "I thought I had seen it all..."

NYC has a love-hate relationship with smoking. Cigarettes cost about $10 a pack. Smoking is prohibited in restaurants and bars. As someone who has never habitually smoked, I love it. Still, I'm friends with a few smokers and they hate it. Smokers are "banished" to outside in most places, and they show their disdain by throwing cigarette butts all over the place.

***

I made it to Zabar's with nothing else really noteworthy, got my coffee, got some tea, and was heading out when I saw these loaves of freshly baked olive bread in the bakery. We're having tapas tonight, and that bread will be perfect for it. (That's a great thing about NYC. You can always find something that will make a "perfect" meal.) The line was short, so I started to wait to get a loaf. Picture the bitchiest stereotypical old Jewish woman you can imagine. She was hassling the bread guy. He had to hold up about a half dozen rounds of sourdough bread before she saw one that satisfied her. She kept cackling, "That one's not round enough."

Then she had him slice it. Oy vey!

***

Hey, at least the Yankees took two out of three at Boston this weekend. Go Yankees!

Yankees Sweep the Roid Sox!!!

More to be written soon, but oh, the joy of victory.
Thursday: NY 13, Boston 6
Friday: NY 2, Boston 0 (15 innings) I WAS THERE!!!
Saturday: NY 5, Boston 0
Sunday: NY 5, Boston 2

Go, Yankees!!!!!

Caption for photo: Sparky the Yankee dog helps in effort to sweep the Boston Roid Sox!

agency restructuring

Well, I have dodged a bullet for awhile, anyway. The agency I've worked for for almost two years has downsized. My position was merged with another, and I was named to it. Still, it's on an interim basis until the board of directors makes it permanent in October. At that point, I'll have to reapply for it.

More than 40 of my colleagues either opted for early retirement and were fired. To add insult to injury, the official release referred to the actions as "right-sizing." At the very least, those in charge could have shown the decency and respect for those whose lives have just been disrupted in an extreme was not to trivialize what's going on by using cutesy expressions.

My wife suggested that I have a bit of "survivors' guilt." I think she's right. I am extremely grateful to still be working. Nevertheless, I can hardly imagine what some of these people are going through. Some of them have children in school. How will they pay their bills? I hurt for them.

Newspapers

There is no paper quite like the New York Times. Even before I moved here, I read it as often as possible. In my opinion, it's gone downhill a little bit. I think the Times' publishers have tried too hard to make it "America's paper." That's watered it down a bit. Nevertheless, it's a great paper.

On the subway, though, you don't see as many people reading the Times. Maybe it's because it's a normal-sized paper. (Experienced commuters can fold a copy of the Times so only about a 5-6 inch wide section is revealed, thereby not crowding other commuters too much.) Maybe it's because it's up to $2 on weekdays and $5 on Sundays. Maybe it's something else, like those damned earbuds that do NOT prevent music from blaring loudly.

NYC has several papers, but the other "Big 2" are the NY Daily News and the NY Post. For the most part, I wouldn't use the Post to line a bird cage. It is a farce, the National Enquirer printed on a daily basis.

Then there's the Daily News. It isn't the repository of serious journalism that the Times is, but it is a quick, informative read. The editorial page is pretty fair, although some of the letters to the editor make me cringe. And at 50 cents a copy Monday-Friday, 75 cents on Saturday, and $1.25 on Sunday, it's still a bargain.

Sweet!!!

Not only are the Yankees now tied for the best record in the majors, not only is NY 3.5 games ahead of Boston in the American League East, but it turns out that two of the players credited with leading the Red Sux to the title in 2004 and 2007 had the help of some juice - and I'm not talking about orange juice.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/31/sports/baseball/31doping.html?hp

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/2009/07/30/2009-07-30_report_boston_red_sox_sluggers.html

Maybe Theo Epstein should go ahead and change the team name to the Roid Sox. I have a ticket to the game when those bums come to The Stadium on August 7. Oooooooh, it's gonna be fun!

Sweet!!!