Bogs

I can't believe it's still snowing. I take only two steps outside before I slip, and only three more before the snow slips inside my shoes.

On the platform, I notice Luba K. in the distance. She smiles, I wave, the train approaches, and we meet up in the middle of the subway car.

Luba asks me to send her a reminder to email Zehava about her new boots. They are Bogs, and they have handy-dandy handles. She tells me about their double insulation and I decide then and there I should invest in snow boots. It will mean fewer wet socks while at the office, and - perhaps more importantly - no more longcuts searching for a path that has been stamped out in the snow.

Luba still needs to say her morning prayers so we decide to catch up at after we transfer at 59th. On my Blackberry, I watch the end of a children's film I started yesterday. When we get off, we realize that we are transferring to different train, and she goes up the stairs to the 1, while I skirt across the platform onto a B. A scruffy yuppie sees me waving goodbye to Luba, then looks me square in the eye and says "score."

Starlight, Starbright

A new set of leaves have fallen to the ground and, outside, it still feels like Fall. Technically, it is Fall, but I recall the days before global warming, when November was full of snow. I'm typing into my Blackberry on Bennett when a woman, pushing a baby carriage, apparates less than two feet in front of me and startles the hell out of me. Embarrassment unavoidable, at least I am able to swerve out of the way in time.

Henry R. is standing on the corner of 186th Street. He seems preoccupied and walks right past me. On Overlook I see Ezra F. who also walks right by me. A few feet behind I notice Sara R. We wave.

Kara S. is on the platform, saying the morning prayers. Being the beginning of the Hebrew month, today's service is a bit longer than usual. I continue walking towards my spot and Adam F. passes me. That make it three days in a row that I run into him. Weird.

At 59th, I see Luba K. and she waves with a giant smile. "Good morning, Ely!" she says as she climbs the stairs. It's nice to see a familiar face so bright this early in the morning.

Cooper Trooper

I walk out of my apartment building and see a Mini Cooper parked out front. Years ago, the movie The Italian Job instilled in me a minor obsession with the Cooper, and although the obsession is long over, it is still a very admirable vehicle.

On 186th Street, I bump into Harriet T. and we say good morning. I continue towards the station and turning onto Overlook terrace I spot Yaakov B. walking behind me.

Inside the station, I make my way to the platform. At the bottom of the stairs a woman in a long red overcoat is wearing a surgical mask. Further on, I see Luba K.

Luba and I talk about work. She is in marketing, although her degree is pre-law, and is responsible at her firm for one major client. We board the train but can’t find two seats next to each other and sit apart. I wonder if Abbey will be jealous now that Luba has made it to the morning blog.