From the Greyhound

Hey all!

(*****Sorry that it's been soooo long since I've posted, I wrote this Thursday night but Blogger wasn't working so I'm just now actually getting to publish it :( Lots has happened since this that I may write about later, but I wanted to share these adventures*****)

Thanks to modern technology I am writing this post using the free wifi on a Greyhound bus! Yep, I'm on a Greyhound headed home for the weekend for some family stuff.

I probably don't need to tell you that I've been busy, but I will apologize for not posting recently (and missing another Mug Monday...) There's just been a lot on my mind and a lot going on. But right now I've got 13 hours on the road and wifi so what better to do than write a blog post :)

It snowed for the first time yesterday! Which was really pretty exciting. I don't like winter much at all but I do enjoy some snow.

It was rainy-snowy when I was walking to WeSell, then it came down in big, beautiful flakes that we watched out the windows. Joe from Jamaica was all excited because it was only the second time he'd seen snow. Of course from what I hear, snow in New York is pretty for about 5 minutes before it turns black and gross. So that's unfortunate.

The walk home was not so fun then. I don't have a pair of boots (for rain or snow) and I was wearing about the worst shoes I could be for walking through snow: a pair of flat that rain tends to soak through the bottom of. And by the time I was going home there was a good inch and a half-two inches of snow on the ground! And it was still coming down, blowing right in my face as I walked the third of a mile home. Uphill. In wet shoes. Hehe, just trying to sound like one of "those people," that is all true though...

It was strange also because the trees still have most of their leaves. So here's these trees looking like summer or fall and then branches hanging cause they're extra weighted down by snow!

Today I went in to WeSell, taking my suitcase and carry-on with me, and worked a pretty regular day. Afterwards I had some strange experiences, strange as in my life is always an adventure!

I went to Hill Country to buy some Salted Caramel Cupcakes because I talk about them all the time to my family and I want them to get to try them! (Shhhh they don't know that I'm bringing them...)

If we're being honest though, that's not the real reason I went into HC. I actually went in to get a haircut. No, seriously. One of the cashiers is actually a hair stylist by trade and I'd mentioned a couple weeks ago that I was wanted a haircut and he said he'd do it for free! So we'd been trying to work out a time and it was supposed to happen the last 3 days but something always came up or didn't work out right. I really wanted the haircut before I went home so he said to come in to HC and he'd do it real quick. So I went in and someone else covered the register and we snuck to this little room on the side where the dumpsters are kept and he gave me trim! Haha. Sometimes you just gotta do what ya gotta do!

After my haircut and saying hi and bye to all my friends there, I headed back uptown and stopped in at Cafe R for some supper (shrimp tempura sushi!) Then it was off to the bus station - Port Authority.

I'm pretty excited for my first big Greyhound adventure. Even though it's a 13 hour ride and I have a transfer that I'm a little nervous about, I have a "free spirit, travel loving, adventure seeking side" (in the words of Wendy) that makes me giddy for new experiences.

I got to the bus station and had no idea where I was going or what to do. I had to find the information area so that I could get my ticket (I had bought one but had no way of printing it...) I've done a lot of flying and am very comfortable in airports but this was a whole new ball game. The problem is that people can tell when you don't know where you're going and they jump on that.

I was looking at a map and a man came over asking where I was going and said to follow him and he'd get me there, he knew the whole place. I declined and he joked that I just didn't want to have to tip him, whatever that's supposed to mean... I then asked someone working at a kiosk there for help and they directed me to the Greyhound information center which I found easily and got my tickets printed, after a lady offered me her ticket that she wasn't using and was expiring today, all I had to do was pay the difference between her $65 ticket and what I told her my ticket would cost.

I searched my tickets for a gate number but no luck. I was standing outside the Greyhound check in area and debating if I should go downstairs and look around since I'd heard that's where I would check my luggage when a man in all black with a cap on his head and badge hanging from his neck walked over and asked if I knew where I was going. He then asked my age and if I had ID to prove that and explained that he was a cop and there's been a lot of runaways going through that station. I hesitantly showed him my ID and he said I was fine, and he's just making sure. Then he made sure I knew where I was going and advised me to get there quickly because there are a lot of bad guys hanging out up there on the lookout for girls who aren't from New York and don't know where they're going. Comforting.

Once I got to the gate there were no more issues, except the lady in front of me bumping me with her big old bum every time she stood up or sat down on the floor, which she felt the need to do every  time we moved up in line while waiting to start boarding.

I'm sooooo excited to be going home for a little bit. It will be wonderful to be with my family.

Fun and Freedom

I saw a pic that my friend Alanah posted on her Facebook wall with this quote on it and loved it! Inspired, I created my own version to be my Facebook cover photo. Hope you like it!

See the full size on my Facebook page.

Munchkins on the Counter Make My Day

Back to work today! Buses were "partially running," what that meant exactly I wasn't sure but I set out at 9:45 to catch the 10:01 BxM4 Xpress bus into Midtown, hoping to make it to work by 12. There were other people at the bus stop which I saw as promising and took to mean that they probably knew the bus was indeed running. They did not actually know this, I found. Everyone was on the same page, not knowing for sure when or even if this bus was coming. And it didn't, not the 10:01 AM bus at least. Around 10:30 we saw a BxM4 driving in the opposite direction, towards Yonkers instead of Manhattan. We all grew hopeful then, knowing that the bus was at least running! 

It was interesting to see the little community that built as we all waited. A British man helped out a dog walker by informing him that the buses honestly were free today and that he didn't need to keep counting that pile of change and making sure he had $5. The dog walker then opened up to him about his latest bout of struggles and how everything happens at once. An Irish couple "here for a fortnight" nervously joked with anyone who talked to them that yes, this was the stop for the BxM4... if it ever showed up.

Finally, the bus did show up! We saw it there on the horizon, squinted to see the numbers, and all exclaimed with joy (no really, we did) when, at last!, they were the combination of numbers and letters we were all hoping for. We all piled in at about 11:20, happy to get out of the cold and be on our way. We even all got seats! 

It was about a 2 hour bus ride, hitting bad traffic once we got into Harlem. I enjoyed being above ground the whole time and seeing the sites of the route I usually am traveling underneath. Surprisingly, I didn't see a whole lot of destruction, not as much as I thought I'd see at least. There were some trees down and some caution tape and some windows/storefronts were boarded up. I suppose everything along the road had been cleaned up though, so the buses could actually run, understandable. 

I got to work around 1:10 and found only a handful of people in the office. There's probably 35-40 people who work there and today there were maybe 12 of us. There were also Munchkins sitting on the kitchen counter.... as in donut holes from Dunkin Donuts :) They seemed to be fall flavors (like pumpkin!) and they honestly made me feel that going into the office was worth it. 

It was a pretty good day at the office too. With so few people it seemed like I got to chat with more people. I also got to create the flier for an upcoming pubcrawl which makes me feel like a real designer! 

Getting home was another experience. I decided to take the same bus as in the morning so that I didn't have to make any transfers. I left work a half hour early in order to catch the 7:55 bus. Wellllll, just like the morning version, it did not come. Once again there was a little community built as a group of us waited for the bus to arrive. A man told us how he was glad that the bus was free today because $5.50! He could easily buy some rolling paper and weed to fill it with for that money. A guy from Peurto Rico told me about his first experience with a hurricane and how the sky had turned red. I also noticed the oddity of looking to my left and seeing the city full of light while to my left side the only lights were headlights, the lower many streets still being without power.

It was pretty chilly, mostly due to the wind and, once again, it was a long wait for the bus. Another hour and 20 minutes, actually. The trip home was shorter, thanks to less traffic. Plus, when I arrived I found a lovely package of popcorn and goodies waiting for me! (Thank you Grandma!!)

Overall a successful day! I'm very happy that the subways are open (at least the trains and stations that I use) tomorrow! The bus might be a nice change every once in awhile but I don't understand it well enough (and neither does ANY other New Yorker) to have the stress of HAVING to use it.