I'm super late once again. There seems to be no way around it; without jetlag assistance, I'm hopeless. Downstairs at the lobby, a neighbor holds the door open for someone else but not for me, and I can't help but wonder if it’s an ominous sign of the day approaching.
I text Aliza to see if she wants to take the subway together, since she usually leaves at this hour, but it turns out she’s running even later than me so I head over to the station alone. At the entrance, I see Josh C. pacing around, as if he is waiting for someone.
On the platform I walk past Yaffa J. She is saying the morning prayers and doesn’t see me. Neither does Karen L. when I walk by her. The train arrives quickly and I find a seat, don my headphones, and get ready to watch the next episode of "True Blood" on my phone.
Showing posts with label Josh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Josh. Show all posts
Monday, June 21
Friday, June 11
An Early Start
Even without Jetlag, I can sometimes leave the apartment early. I'm excited to get to work on time, not because I love work so much but because the sooner I get there the sooner I'll leave and the sooner my weekend will start.
On 186th I spot Sara K. going into her building. We wave and I continue on, seeing Ezra F. from across the street when I reach Overlook.
A bald cop holds the door open for me at the station. On the platform I run into Josh and Malka S. I'd normally stop and chat with Josh for a while (he is one of my favorite fellow techies and an old time friend) but I don't want to interrupt their conversation.
The train is crowded and I'm standing shoulder to shoulder with a few people, including a pregnant woman of about my height. She is wearing a gray maternity size t-shirt, black pants, and flat shoes. Her fingers are chunky. Some nearby offers their seat to the pregnant woman but she declines.
I switch trains at 59th and get off at Rockefeller. Exiting the station, on my way to get some breakfast, I unexpectedly run into Aliza B. She says hi and asks how I'm doing and we chat for a brief moment before she turns off onto 46th street and I continue on my way.
On 186th I spot Sara K. going into her building. We wave and I continue on, seeing Ezra F. from across the street when I reach Overlook.
A bald cop holds the door open for me at the station. On the platform I run into Josh and Malka S. I'd normally stop and chat with Josh for a while (he is one of my favorite fellow techies and an old time friend) but I don't want to interrupt their conversation.
The train is crowded and I'm standing shoulder to shoulder with a few people, including a pregnant woman of about my height. She is wearing a gray maternity size t-shirt, black pants, and flat shoes. Her fingers are chunky. Some nearby offers their seat to the pregnant woman but she declines.
I switch trains at 59th and get off at Rockefeller. Exiting the station, on my way to get some breakfast, I unexpectedly run into Aliza B. She says hi and asks how I'm doing and we chat for a brief moment before she turns off onto 46th street and I continue on my way.
Tuesday, March 9
Selling Point
One of my neighbors, riding down with me in elevator, asks if I know any Java programmers but it’s unclear if he is asking about an open position that is available or someone who can fill an open position. Either way I don’t.
I get out on the basement level and Willie, the building super, gets in. I quickly mention that the faucet in my tub is still leaking a bit. In the courtyard I bump in Antonio, and then walk to the laundromat. On my way in, I notice Rabbi S. at the nearby bus stop. On my way out, after dropping off the laundry, I see that he is gone. Another bus is arriving though, and I take it to 184th street.
Josh S. leaves his building on 184th and I follow behind as he walks towards the subway. The A.M. New York Lady is no longer at the station, replaced by a more mild-mannered distributor (can you call them salespeople if the paper is free?).
I am still behind Josh when I reach the stairs. He tosses something into the garbage, and then I lose him on the platform. David M. is also here on the platform.
Nearby I spot a young woman in a gray wool coat, a black skirt, and attractive boots. Her hair is auburn and contrasts with fantastically bright green eyes. She is an Orthodox Jew, saying her morning prayers and swaying gently back and forth as she recites the words.
An announcement is made about the next train just as a drop of water from the leaky ceiling lands on my pinky. I get on the train when it arrives and at 175th a former coworker of mine, from years ago, boards the same car as me. I pretend not to recognize him, as he is probably doing the same and too far away to speak to in any case. At 59th I switch to the B train, and see Scott S.
I get out on the basement level and Willie, the building super, gets in. I quickly mention that the faucet in my tub is still leaking a bit. In the courtyard I bump in Antonio, and then walk to the laundromat. On my way in, I notice Rabbi S. at the nearby bus stop. On my way out, after dropping off the laundry, I see that he is gone. Another bus is arriving though, and I take it to 184th street.
Josh S. leaves his building on 184th and I follow behind as he walks towards the subway. The A.M. New York Lady is no longer at the station, replaced by a more mild-mannered distributor (can you call them salespeople if the paper is free?).
I am still behind Josh when I reach the stairs. He tosses something into the garbage, and then I lose him on the platform. David M. is also here on the platform.
Nearby I spot a young woman in a gray wool coat, a black skirt, and attractive boots. Her hair is auburn and contrasts with fantastically bright green eyes. She is an Orthodox Jew, saying her morning prayers and swaying gently back and forth as she recites the words.
An announcement is made about the next train just as a drop of water from the leaky ceiling lands on my pinky. I get on the train when it arrives and at 175th a former coworker of mine, from years ago, boards the same car as me. I pretend not to recognize him, as he is probably doing the same and too far away to speak to in any case. At 59th I switch to the B train, and see Scott S.
Thursday, January 14
Beautiful Nightmares
Dumping the garbage on the way down, I head outside via the open courtyard behind the basement exit. The air on Bennett Ave. is fresh, calm, and strangely serene. For the nth time this week, I run into Ezra F. near my building. Walking slowly, and thinking of the song "Falling Slowly" (simply because it rhymes), I take my time getting to the station.
"Current events, everything that's going on in the world, right here in AM New York." The woman holds out a newspaper and shoves it close to my nose. It's a daily event now.
The train pulls into the station just as I reach the stairs leading down to the platform. From the top, I can see Sara R. though she doesn't see me. Trying to get as close to my spot as possible, I pass Josh and Malka S. I try to say hi, but they don't see me either. When the doors open, I board right behind Kara G.
The door we came through closes, and Kara leans on it, while I lean on the door directly across from her. The advantage of my side is that it will open at the next two stops, but not again before I get off. It's a bit of investment for a better ride.
Kara is wearing an elegant gray coat and has a matching plaid bag slung over her right shoulder. Her gloves are the kind with a flip-over mitt that can expose fingertips, a style that seems to have become very popular in light of text messaging and full keyboard phones.
Nearby I can hear "Sweet Dreams, or a Beautiful Nightmare" playing through someone else's very loud headphones. I wish I was still in bed, getting some dreaming of my own for a little bit longer. I am daydreaming, at least, alerted as such by a beautiful smile from a young woman in who's direction I must have been blindly staring at. Funny thing, to be daydreaming about night-dreaming.
"Current events, everything that's going on in the world, right here in AM New York." The woman holds out a newspaper and shoves it close to my nose. It's a daily event now.
The train pulls into the station just as I reach the stairs leading down to the platform. From the top, I can see Sara R. though she doesn't see me. Trying to get as close to my spot as possible, I pass Josh and Malka S. I try to say hi, but they don't see me either. When the doors open, I board right behind Kara G.
The door we came through closes, and Kara leans on it, while I lean on the door directly across from her. The advantage of my side is that it will open at the next two stops, but not again before I get off. It's a bit of investment for a better ride.
Kara is wearing an elegant gray coat and has a matching plaid bag slung over her right shoulder. Her gloves are the kind with a flip-over mitt that can expose fingertips, a style that seems to have become very popular in light of text messaging and full keyboard phones.
Nearby I can hear "Sweet Dreams, or a Beautiful Nightmare" playing through someone else's very loud headphones. I wish I was still in bed, getting some dreaming of my own for a little bit longer. I am daydreaming, at least, alerted as such by a beautiful smile from a young woman in who's direction I must have been blindly staring at. Funny thing, to be daydreaming about night-dreaming.
Thursday, January 7
Viagra Vacation
It’s the third day in row forgoing Starbucks for my own brew, but with less time available this morning (snooze malfunction), I have to take it on the go. The cup is warm in my palms.
Ezra F. is on Bennett Avenue, most likely on his way to synagogue. I walk to the station and on my way down the steps I see Josh S. near the turnstiles. I want to get to my spot so I don’t wait to say hello. On the platform, I pass Zippy K. and then Kara S. She waves.
Sarah M. is also on the platform. I ask her to hold my coffee while I finish typing an email on my Blackberry, and by the time I’m done the train arrives. We board together and speak mostly about the same thing we did last time we took the train together – travel and vacations. She tells me how, on a recent trip to Israel, her plane made an emergency landing in Rome. On the way back, she got stuck in Brussels and made friends with a fellow Washington Heights resident, whom she recognized at the airport. They toured together for several hours, until the trouble at Newark ended and their flight was able to take off. Our conversation ends, just before I get off at 59th street, with a discussion about her profession, pharmaceutical advertising. Though Viagra is one of her firm’s clients, she does not have that account.
Ezra F. is on Bennett Avenue, most likely on his way to synagogue. I walk to the station and on my way down the steps I see Josh S. near the turnstiles. I want to get to my spot so I don’t wait to say hello. On the platform, I pass Zippy K. and then Kara S. She waves.
Sarah M. is also on the platform. I ask her to hold my coffee while I finish typing an email on my Blackberry, and by the time I’m done the train arrives. We board together and speak mostly about the same thing we did last time we took the train together – travel and vacations. She tells me how, on a recent trip to Israel, her plane made an emergency landing in Rome. On the way back, she got stuck in Brussels and made friends with a fellow Washington Heights resident, whom she recognized at the airport. They toured together for several hours, until the trouble at Newark ended and their flight was able to take off. Our conversation ends, just before I get off at 59th street, with a discussion about her profession, pharmaceutical advertising. Though Viagra is one of her firm’s clients, she does not have that account.
Friday, September 4
Script
I head over to the Laundromat on the way to work today. At the corner of 187th, Josh C. sees me from across Broadway and waves. I make the drop and the woman behind the counter reluctantly agrees to have it done by the time I get home, which should be earlier than usual since it’s Friday.
Lazily, and armed with an unlimited metrocard, I take the bus three blocks to 184th. I get inside the station and onto the platform and see Josh T. who for some reason looks a bit nervous. I take a seat on one of the benches and spot a Latin woman with a short checkered skirt and a black tank top. Her boots are made up almost entirely of two thin leather straps that start at the sole and twist back and forth around her feet and ankles and halfway up to her knees. They are funky but she is not cut out for this kind of outfit. When I board the train, the girl she sits next to me.
Sitting on my other side is a tall guy accessorized with a golf hat and dark sunglasses. His sneakers are missing the laces. He has a Mac laptop and is writing the outline of a screenplay call “Snowmobile Thriller.” In its current state the plot does not seem like blockbuster material to me, but Hollywood has churned out its share of terrible films so it could theoretically happen. I start to wonder if he is also reading the things I type out on my Blackberry.
Ironically, the woman sitting across from me is reciting the lines of another script out loud. She is tall, thin, and pretty. There is fat girl in a pink sweater standing between us who keeps smiling at me. I smile back but avoid further eye contact, and continuing to read one script while listening to another.
Thursday, September 3
Chainsaws and Tats
A loitering man, armed with chainsaw, provides under normal circumstances a reasonable cause for concern. But in lobby of a Bennett avenue building I can safely say good morning as the man holds the door open for me.
Ilanit H. is sitting outside playing with her baby and talking to some local women. I walk to the station and on to the platform, where I see Aviva W. and Josh C. sitting on a bench near the stairs. We wave.
On the train, a 30-something man is sitting next to me, reading "Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World." He is wearing checkered jeans and black felt shoes. His dark muscle shirt has a "worn out" look and has been meticulously stained with blobs of white paint. His skin is tan, and on his right arm, there's a tattoo of... He catches me eyeing his tattoo and fires a glare towards me.
On my other side is a women in flat shoes, black denim pants, and a beige, almost skin-toned sweater. She has fallen asleep with her head resting on a silver mug that is poking out of her large blue hand bag. One of her hoop earrings keeps clanging against the mug as the train rocks her head back and forth. We get to 125th street and the train screeches to a halt. The woman wakes up from the noise and then drapes over her head what are the largest headphones I've ever seen. They are painted with colorful designs (the cord attached to her iPod is yellow) and are branded “Skull Candy.”
The man's tattoo appears to be the cartoon of a penis.
Ilanit H. is sitting outside playing with her baby and talking to some local women. I walk to the station and on to the platform, where I see Aviva W. and Josh C. sitting on a bench near the stairs. We wave.
On the train, a 30-something man is sitting next to me, reading "Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World." He is wearing checkered jeans and black felt shoes. His dark muscle shirt has a "worn out" look and has been meticulously stained with blobs of white paint. His skin is tan, and on his right arm, there's a tattoo of... He catches me eyeing his tattoo and fires a glare towards me.
On my other side is a women in flat shoes, black denim pants, and a beige, almost skin-toned sweater. She has fallen asleep with her head resting on a silver mug that is poking out of her large blue hand bag. One of her hoop earrings keeps clanging against the mug as the train rocks her head back and forth. We get to 125th street and the train screeches to a halt. The woman wakes up from the noise and then drapes over her head what are the largest headphones I've ever seen. They are painted with colorful designs (the cord attached to her iPod is yellow) and are branded “Skull Candy.”
The man's tattoo appears to be the cartoon of a penis.
Thursday, July 23
Lotus
I'm already late when I leave my apartment at 9:00 AM, mostly due to sleeplessness and tardiness. I drop off my laundry and carefully avoid a large pile of broken glass on the way to the train station. Today is another Sudoku day, I've brought with me the book Genna gave me a year and a half ago and I'm determined to finish it. The puzzles get progressively harder and even though I can average 3-4 per ride I'm still in the "easy" section.In the tunnel leading to the station I see Josh S. leaving the train. He doesn't wave or say hello and I continue on to the platform. I have numerous "usual spots" on the platform, depending on whether I'm getting breakfast, stopping at the gym, or going straight to work. I'm going straight today and at this usual spot I see an unidentified Jewish girl saying her morning prayers. Also here, ironically, is Moshe G. who until last week was the rabbinic intern at the local synagogue. I don't think he knows who I am and so I don't bother to say hello.
On the train there a white haired man is meditating. His hands are resting on his knees, palms up, his index fingers touching thumbs. His back is in perfect posture and his eyes are closed. When I sit next to him I try not to disrupt his lotus energy but he open his eyes ever so slightly and turns them towards me without moving his head. When he returns to his pose, I snap a few shots and wonder if he suspects that he is the subject at the other end of the shutter’s sound. He doesn't stir, and I give up and play Sudoku.
Monday, July 13
Sara, Sara
I'm just out the door and there is Esther T. across the street. I would wave but she does not see me, so I keep going. Just ahead of me, still on Bennett, is Aliza B. I'm emailing on my Blackberry as I walk, so she is much faster than me and before long I lose sight of her.
At the station I can hear the train approaching and I make a run for it. It's rare for me to run for a train but I'm insanely late this morning and feel encouragingly fit after yesterday's 10 mile bike ride. As I get down the stairs I see Aviva W. and Josh C. but I zoom past them, trying to get towards my spot on the train. They are always together.
I switch trains at 59th and when I finally get off at Rockefeller, I run into Sara S. Seeing her on the train means I am even later than I originally thought. She is wearing a pretty blue top, black skirt, and sandals with a flower design. Sometimes she wears her hair up in a pouf and I make fun of her but no such luck today, it's straight down. We chat for a bit as we exit the station and talk about the weekend. We both spent yesterday afternoon at the beach, although different beaches and with different friends. Before I know it, I'm lost in the labyrinth underneath Rockefeller center and she has to show me out towards 48th street before entering the elevator bank that leads to her office.
Every week, Sara is my Wednesday lunch date, but we also meet up today, along with Dani U. At Cafe K, the three of us chat some more about our respective weekends and upcoming vacation plans. I try, unsuccessfully, to convince them to come to Egypt with me in August. We all order the penne with vodka sauce, which Sara has every time she eats here. A lengthy discussion ensues with waiter about the recent decline in quality of their pasta. He urges us to return the food if it is not to our liking, and we all do. As we wait for another round, the topic shifts from summer plans to personal commiserations and various other topics. The pasta is only slightly better the second time around. We make plans to meet at my place tonight to play Wii.
At the station I can hear the train approaching and I make a run for it. It's rare for me to run for a train but I'm insanely late this morning and feel encouragingly fit after yesterday's 10 mile bike ride. As I get down the stairs I see Aviva W. and Josh C. but I zoom past them, trying to get towards my spot on the train. They are always together.
I switch trains at 59th and when I finally get off at Rockefeller, I run into Sara S. Seeing her on the train means I am even later than I originally thought. She is wearing a pretty blue top, black skirt, and sandals with a flower design. Sometimes she wears her hair up in a pouf and I make fun of her but no such luck today, it's straight down. We chat for a bit as we exit the station and talk about the weekend. We both spent yesterday afternoon at the beach, although different beaches and with different friends. Before I know it, I'm lost in the labyrinth underneath Rockefeller center and she has to show me out towards 48th street before entering the elevator bank that leads to her office.
Every week, Sara is my Wednesday lunch date, but we also meet up today, along with Dani U. At Cafe K, the three of us chat some more about our respective weekends and upcoming vacation plans. I try, unsuccessfully, to convince them to come to Egypt with me in August. We all order the penne with vodka sauce, which Sara has every time she eats here. A lengthy discussion ensues with waiter about the recent decline in quality of their pasta. He urges us to return the food if it is not to our liking, and we all do. As we wait for another round, the topic shifts from summer plans to personal commiserations and various other topics. The pasta is only slightly better the second time around. We make plans to meet at my place tonight to play Wii.
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