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My NaBloPoMo Triumph! Five years running, I have achieved 30 posts in 30 days - NaBloPoMo Day 30

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I discovered that in the entire universe, it's apparently me and 32 other weirdos who continue to honor November as National Blog Post Month by writing 30 posts in 30 days. Well hurrah for all of us who made it in 2024. This year I was pretty tight with my sandbagging approach. Pluses and minuses there because I think it's pretty clear I wasn't you know brunching on a random Tuesday like some geriatric scarlet. Anyway, in the spirit of celebration, let me leave you with this dance video I've been forcing friends and family to enjoy repeatedly for several months now:  Thanks much to all twelve of you who read this blog. 

Trying to catch a subway after midnight by Columbus Circle - NaBloPoMo Day 29

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I don't get why they park these utility trains right on the tracks in the middle of a subway station sometimes:  These flatbed subway cars with all manner of junk piled up on them Another view. And look, this was after midnight when all you want to do is get home and hop in the beezie. It's frustrating because if you see one of these bad boys, you know that whole track is closed. Whatever time you thought you'd get home, add ten minutes. On the plus side, every time I see these repair carts or whatever the hell they are, I'm reminded of this Cat Power video where one of them rattles by and it's super loud: OK. Now I know exactly how long ten minutes is because I just wasted that exact amount of time re-watching Cat Power videos. Now that we've covered the cons, let me present to you an actual plus. Here's a silver lining that can come from cooling it for ten solid minutes on a subway platform.  You see these two ladies? 2 ladies sitting across from us in the...

I bought some scissors and had a flashback - NaBloPoMo Day 28

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 I bought a 3-pack of scissors. They were on sale and I need scissors. I like a 3-pack near the holidays because you can keep two and give away the size you least want. I know, I'm both efficient and generous.  I got me some new scissors One of the reasons why I got the new scissors is because I felt like I needed a new pair to open packages and good news! I hae chosen correctly. These scissors are ready-made for package opening. Except: Conundrum. I needed scissors to open up the scissors package. You see, the scissors were ensconced in that stiff, obnoxious plastic. I had to dig up an old pair of scissors to open up the new pairs of scissors and the whole endeavor felt extremely taxing and ironic. Oh and also, I cut my finger. On the plastic. That shit is dangerous. Good news, it is but a flesh wound. I was lucky. I say this because of that one time, when I broke my wrist skiing and had to go to group hand physical therapy... yeah.  All of us in Group would sit around a...

Having brunch with my Swedish Friend and the Japanese Table - NaBloPoMo Day 27

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This morning at 11:30, so still the morning don't give me grief, I went down to Cafe Cluny to meet Anna. I knew I had to get there literally at 11:30 because Swedes are never, ever late. Pro tip - if you're having a party and you tell all the New Yorkers to be there at 6 because you know they'll all show up at 6:30... Tell the Swedes the party starts at 6:30 so you're not still in your underpants when they ring the bell. Cafe Cluny is kind of lovely if you can manage to get a table. The European tourists especially love it there. I made it down to the restaurant literally at eleven three zero, on the nose. My timing was impeccable although I might have jogged a little bit so as to not miss lights. Waiting on corners would have cost me a tragic minute which would not have gone unnoticed. We had a delightful brunch and Anna gave me a bag full of Swedish candy. I will admit I broke open the bag of candy on the walk home because who can walk around with Swedish candy and no...

Graham Crackers and Caroline is in town - NaBloPoMo Day 26

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 Graham crackers are delicious. Call this a PSA, because I forgot all about graham crackers. Only recently, some skilled advertising executive crunched all of my internet data and decided I'm the graham crackers type. And so I was reminded, multiple times, how essential the graham cracker is to a life worth living. Excellent flavor, lightly sweet, geometrically perforated.  Downside is they are not a crumb-free snack.  Graham crackers really are toothsome. This past Saturday, I attempted to cobble together the energy to walk up to the Transit Museum gift shop in Grand Central. This location of the gift shop, according to the website at least, is in fact open on weekends. Unlike the other location in FiDi, see the post from a few days ago about how we found this out the hard way. One reason I had such a nice time sitting around instead of getting my shit together and pursuing gift shopping was because, graham crackers. I'm wondering whether graham crackers have those addic...

How you know there's a soccer field on a pier - NaBloPoMo Day 25

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  Five soccer balls, one wayward basketball and lots of electrolyte beverage plastic floating in the Hudson River. There's an entire pier covered in astroturf. Kids, crowds of them in soccer uniforms, are always headed in that direction. So I can kinda see how all these soccer balls got in the water: Little kids are not much for ball control, and they're playing on fields literally in the middle of a river.  Or an estuary.    I think it is the Hudson Estuary.  I need to get this right, otherwise I will upset my father. One must not be inaccurate about geographical features such as this. An estuary is a river that flows both ways. Such as the Hudson.  Look at me, knowing things. Now let's discus the basketball. There's two basketball courts nearby, but not on a pier. They are on the other side of a little bit of grass, the walking path and the bike path, ie, kinda far from the water and yeah. What kind of wild ass shot gets your basketball into the drink for...

I will never tire of this view - NaBloPoMo Day 24

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  That is all.