A serious and sometimes not so serious personal blog
This was last Tuesday, December 5th, around 5:20 PM heading north on I-278 near Cobble Hill in Brooklyn.
Besides being disrespectful to passengers, I didn’t think this kind or amount of political messaging was allowed on TLC licensed vehicles. Imagine ordering an Uber and having this show up. I wouldn’t want to get in and then I’d have to go through the hassle of disputing the cancellation fee.
I’ve never eaten at either spot, but can you imagine the drama that had to happen before the Pizzeria at 36 St Mark’s put up that sign? It must have been something to see.
Also, it’s just good manners to not sit down at a restaurant and eat food from a different restaurant there.
By the way, Udon West is open again, but under another name: Udon St. Mark’s. The place looks exactly the same inside and has the same menu as before as far as I remember. Maybe it’s a little cleaner, but it’s the same ambience. I kind of wonder if they didn’t have a fire and just needed time to renovate.
In any case, I’m glad they’re not temporarily closed for renovations forever like Two Little Red Hens on 2nd Ave and 86th St.
I left work early today for an appointment in the Financial District. There’s no parking down there so I parked on the Lower East Side and, rather than take the bus, I decided to walk to get some exercise and to enjoy the sites and sounds of the city for a change.
Usually I’m rushing from place to place, but I planned a nice buffer between leaving the office and my appointment and I got lucky with parking, so I had almost two hours to spend on myself before I needed to check in at the dentist. I was thinking about something my wife told me about how I never take time to just walk around alone and enjoy myself.
I got lucky and found some really interesting art.
It’s a shame that most of it is painted on temporary barriers, but I guess that will make way for something new when they come down.
This art is located at 33 E 1st St, New York, NY 10003 (along Houston St) in First Street Green Cultural Park.
We parked on Riverside Drive and then rode up and down the Hudson River Greenway this afternoon. It was nice to get outside and feel the sun. The riverfront was packed with people, which was great because one of the best things about riding in New York City is people watching. It’s kind of weird when you pass someone else doing the same thing, though, because you both look at each other as you go by. It’s nice to see so many people out picnicking or just sitting in the shade and reading or talking. I wish I had more time to just sit and enjoy the day like that, so I’m glad we’re taking advantage of the time we have. Especially with this being New York City, where summers are way too short.
We saw one of the red tailed hawks sitting on a railing at Riverbank State Park. I’m pretty sure it’s one of the same ones that hatched in Washington Square Park that had that live video feed from NYU a few years ago. I’d seen one of them previously in a small park on Fort Washington Avenue called J. Hood Wright Park. It was eating a rat or a squirrel or something. Today, the hawk had a tuft of fur or cotton in its mouth when we first saw it. I moved in slowly to take a few pictures. I didn’t want to spook it, or get attacked by it. It got tired of being eyeballed, though and took off.
It was a beautiful day with beautiful weather. I’m sad the weekend is over.
My wife saw this poem posted on a subway train in New York City a few years ago. It resonated with both of us because we could relate. There was a time when we didn’t have much and when payday hit, we went out and enjoyed ourselves. Then, we followed a strict budget for the rest of the month.
Thinking about those times makes me feel more grateful for the things and experiences that we’ve accumulated over the years, and that we eat well every day.
It’s hard to believe that my wife and I have been married for 15 years. Well, more than 15 years now. Our anniversary was on the 23rd of last month. It seems like after that much time you might get tired of someone, but I still find her fascinating and I love being with her and helping her succeed. She’s an amazing person and I’m lucky to have her in my life.
We celebrated by going out to dinner at Old Homestead Steakhouse in New York City and by going up One World Trade Center to the One World Observatory. We’d been to Old Homestead before, on a previous anniversary years ago, and it was still an amazing meal and an amazing experience. It’s pricey, but worth it, and I highly recommend trying the place out if you’re in the city as a tourist or for a holiday.
According to my mom, I went to the top of one of the old Twin Towers (the old World Trade Center), but I don’t remember it, so the view was really impressive. Everything looked so far away and inconsequential from up there. And it was quiet. It was like being in another place and the city was just a bunch of toys down below us. It was weird going back down the elevator (which took us from the basement to the 104th floor in 47 seconds) into the bustle of the city. It was unfortunately a bit cloudy and rainy when we were there, but that just means we have an excuse to go back again.
It has been an amazing 15 years and I’m looking forward to all the anniversaries to come. I love you, babe!
There are some great views of New York City from the waterfront there. I particularly enjoy seeing the old piers mixed in with the new ones. Some are only visible at low tide.
January 7th, 2021
January in New York City is always rough looking and the Bronx being what it is, it looks especially hellish at that time of year. This was shortly after riot season ended. There was a water main break and a lot of businesses along this stretch were flooded.
There’s been a lot of new development along Jerome Ave and I had this idea that the arson along these two blocks and the flooding shortly after were part of a coordinated effort to get small businesses to move out so bigger developments could move in. Honestly, it would be better if that happened. The area could use some new buildings with new businesses that aren’t car audio shops.
I don’t understand why there are so many car repair shops and audio shops along this stretch of road. It turns traffic into a mess, is noisy, isn’t attractive, and prevents more worthwhile businesses from opening up that would make the neighborhood more livable, like restaurants, cafes, departments stores, gyms… hell… anything at all but more car oriented shops.
I took this photo outside my office in south Brooklyn today around 2 PM. What’s supposed to be the heaviest of the smoke from Canada’s wildfires reached New York City today.
In retrospect, I wonder why we were even at work. The air quality index hit the low 400s today on a scale that maxes out at 500. Some people had windows open in the building as well so the air inside wasn’t much better than outside. I feel like this is going to have a real impact on my health later in life, but there’s not much I can do about it now.
It was impressive though, in a bad way. The situation reminded me of sand storms that I experienced in Iraq in 2003. When the first sand storm rolled in, we were in full NBC gear and we put on our masks to protect ourselves from the dust in the air. I wish I had that mask today.
Bradley Farless 