Mow the Lawn

Last night I mowed the lawn. It was a choice between feeding and bathing cutey face and mowing the lawn. It's not that bad. Except we have a lot of lawn and a small house.

Cutey face loves the half playground that's up. She says that daddy did a good job as she climbs up the stairs and slides down. How much better is this than the fabulous playgrounds in the city. 100%. OK so you miss the friends you make at the playground. OK you miss the opportunities to deal with the mean kids and stupid parents with pitbulls in the swing area (yes, it's illegal - but if you tell them that they will attack).

From the time she comes home until she goes for her bath, she's outside. We eat outside. So much so that we need to tell Stokke to make an outdoor Tripp Trapp. We spotted a rabbit, chipmunks, deer, geese, ducks, and let's not get into the insects. We are also growing plants in pots on the patio. I can't bear to ruin the grass.

We need to get a bbq grill. That's our next purchase.

The Subway

This week I've been driving with Paulo to get to the Rt 4 Spanish bus in NJ. The Spanish buses are pretty amazing. They come every 5 minutes and zip through traffic. I then take the subway A train from 175th street to 42nd and transfer to the uptown E. I'm back on the subway again. Except for people standing in the doorway as you enter or exit it's not that bad. Still they stand on both sides of the escalator not allowing anyone to walk up on the right.

I've been doing MetroNorth then the TOR bus for the way home. Much nicer and faster if I get a lift from the bus stop. If not, I have to walk a mile home.

We've been eating dinner on our patio at night. Paulo is almost finished with the playground and the plants we started this weekend from seeds are sprouting.

It's not bad.

Civilized

MetroNorth is SO civilized. I think everyone who rides it knows that you stand to the right on an escalator to let the walkers pass on the left. That basically means that MetroNorth passengers are well-travelled.

Play Gym In Progress

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The Bugs

Living in the country is so lovely. We have lots of friends - mainly ants, flying things, creepy crawley things and bumblebees. I don't like to go outside. I'm getting attacked and it's only May. I think we need a screened porch.

Paulo is putting together a play gym. He's estimated it will take him 20 hours. We bought the plans and the accessories and then the wood. Paulo is in love with Cedar. Whatever. Cutey face is beside herself with joy. When the sitter came, Aliza showed her the wood and told her that it was for a playground. When our neighbor came by, she told him the same thing.

It's still not finished but we let her stand on the part that was finished.

The Door to Office Chair in 90 mins

The commute is getting easier. Today I left the house at 6:40 and rollerbladed to the bus stop to catch the 6:55. It took 12 mins to get to the Tarrytown station. All I know is that we arrived in GCT at 8 and I was in my office at 8:10. That's the best it's gonna get.

Why We Moved

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Walking and Rollerblading

Today I rollerbladed to the bus stop. Yesterday I walked. It's good to get a little exercise when you are commuting 3 hours a day.

Actually living in the burbs is a good thing. Who would have known? Of course we are a mile from a cute town. It would be better if there was only a train and no bus to and from the train. Yesterday Paulo stopped at the pizza store for dinner with cutey face. I met them when I got off the bus. Then jump in the car and we're home in a flash. No looking for parking on NYC streets, no dropoff and then look for parking. Pull right up to the house, get out, go in. We even came home to deer and geese. Note to world. A small house with nice property is the way to go.

On Moms

I'm a grinch. I don't like holidays - any holiday - especially ones like Mother's Day. I will say it first. Being a mom is really not that hard. Tedious maybe - but not hard. So you can't do the things you want. Big deal. Why should there be a holiday because you can't do the things you want? Everyday with a child you get oodles of joy. They are so cute.

Parking Signage

Paulo stayed home today to wait for the delivery of the swing set. I drove to town and parked my car on the street about 3 blocks from the bus stop. I'm a little nervous. There was a sign that said "No Parking from Here to the Corner" and across the street it said "No Parking on This Side". So I Parked on the "No Parking from Here to the Corner" side away from the corner.
Parking Management. There must be a class in urban studies about it. Parking rules are so random. Remember Ed Koch "Don't Even think of Parking Here". That at least had conviction. No Parking Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays between 3am-6am. Permit Parking only. Parking allowed on Sunday.

The commute is long 95mins door-to-door. A fellow Nyack commuter said that once there was an aggressive bus driver and he managed to meet the 8:19 train. This week we hit the 8:35 train twice, the 8:58 and 8:48 once. There is only 1 bus from Nyack an hour. I may need to change that. Property values will increase. But then again - Think Robbins Rest at our Fire Island House - the residents didn't want the ferry.

Old-timers...

I Found My Commute

Finally, I found the best way to get to the city and back.
The 8am bus from town to the 8:33, 8:48 or 8:58 train to GCS. The train time depends on bus traffic over the Tappan Zee. We caught the 8:33 today with a little hustle.

I'm not sure how long I can keep this up. Being in a car or bus is maddening in traffic. I don't seem to mind if the train gets delayed - but traffic. phew.

Work is slow. It's silly for me to quit. They are supposed to close the NY office soon. They just are not telling me when. Being on the train makes you think. Today I figured out that my husband is the kind of person who does a lot of things. That's why he has a PhD in astrophysics, renovates a kitchen or bathroom himself, has many hobbies, and generally gets things done. I on the other hand do only what I what to do - the least amount of work for the most gain. For example, I was an A student in Math, Science and History. I didn't have to study because I had great teachers. I wasn't great at English. Bad teachers.
Again in college - Political Science with great teachers.

In my work life it's pretty much the same. I enjoy going on interviews because I learn new stuff and get to talk about myself. I get the job 50% of the time. If I like the boss, I will bring in enough business to pay my teams salaries and overhead and 30% profit. I'm that good. Right now at work I'm just waiting it out. The boss is never here and is probably delivering 70% profit. I sort of think that is stealing. He fired everyone here and I'm doing their jobs. I could bring in more business using my 3/3 rule, but there is no direct benefit to me.

So I'm just cruising. Pushing paper, offering opinions, getting paid. But the commute is so ....

New Commute

Yesterday I took my daughter to the Israel Day Parade using my weekly bus/train pass. No bus service to the train on Sunday. I drove to the Tarrytown parking lot. Driving over the Tappan Zee bridge is heart pounding.

So I'm trying something new. The car to the bus to the train. I parked at the "Park and Ride". I missed my first bus at 7:56. The next bus was 8:48. Hello, there's a bus every 20 mins at 6am to 7:56. This is not going to work. Tonight when I get home I will investigate the Nyack bus stop information. I'm looking for bike rack.

The Very Nice TOR Bus Driver

My commute home consists of Metro North Bus to Tarrytown then the TappanZ bus to Nyack. You are supposed to get off the train and the bus is right there. I get on the TappanZ bus and it drops everyone off at the mall parking lot. Now I know where the commuter parking lot is. However, I left my phone at home and I'm stranded. I asked the bus driver how to get to Nyack from here. He checked the bus and said he would drive me to the Nyack bus stop. I'm learning the mass transit of Rockland County. It's called TOR. Next week I will try the weekly commuter pass. I get to drive my new car. I don't think I will ever get used to this.