Tag: Spring

  • Flowers

    Tuesday, normally, I go grocery shopping for the family. I try to shop for the entire week, not that it always works out because I will forget something. To accomplish this errand, and try to save some money, I head to multiple stores, one of them being Trader Joe’s – specifically, the on one 93rd.

    Walking into the store this morning, I saw that the flowers they had out looked particularly colorful, and it had been awhile since I had got the wife flowers. They have those three-dollar bouquets, which are rather small, so I bought two of them. I made sure that each bouquets was made up of different types of flowers, so that I would bring home a variety.

    I did my shopping and when I was checking out the clerk looked at my two bouquets asked, “Are you in trouble?”

    And I was like, “They are for my wife, but she’s having a hard week.”

    “It’s Tuesday.”

    “Been that kind’a week.”

    My wife works very hard, is going back to school, and has to deal with me and a daughter who acts like me. And she is having shoulder pain, which she has seen the doctor about and it is getting better, but it’s still there. Constant pain, even low-grade pain, can take a toll on you and wear you down. And it’s a pain, that no matter how hard I try, I have no power the alleviate. The best I can do is help her relax, and try to make her as comfortable as possible.

    Today, I tried flowers to see if that would help.

  • ODDS and ENDS: SPRING!, DJ in the Band, and That Smell

    (Every morning…)

    It’s a month early, but it’s Spring in New York. Things are becoming green and flowers are coming out, and trees look like they are about to bud as well. I haven’t worn a scarf or my winter coat in a week, though I think it is premature to pack them away for the season. Each season change has its own magic and quirks, but Spring has one of my favorites which is the “Super Optimistic” person. You can identify them because they’re the person who dresses like it’s 85 out, when it’s actually 65. Shorts, tank top, and flip flops. I respect their desire for warmer weather, and their disregard for reality.

    What happened to all those DJ’s that used to be in rock bands? In the late 90’s, seemed like everyone was adding a DJ to their line up. Just wondering what happened to them.

    I don’t know if you know this, but it is official, New York City has a new scent. The Official Odor of NYC is “Pot Smoke.” It’s hard to believe that the former scent was dethroned, but “Rotting Garbage” had been the champ since 1624, so it was due.

  • ODDS and ENDS: The MET, Spring, and Knit Blazers

    (4 out of 5 dentist recommend…)

    The kid is on Spring Break, which translates into Dad needs to keep the kid occupied. That’s not a complaint, I do enjoy the time we get to spend together. And when she has extended breaks, I make a point of taking her to a museum. This time it was The MET’s turn. I have been there at least half a dozen times in 15 years, and if you’ve been then you know it’s too big to cover in one day. Though me and the kid do try to see it all. I hope these excursions help broaden her perspective and understanding of the world. When my dad took me to museums when I was her age, they really did feel like a treat, and a chance to experience, or at least see, the world outside of our suburban surroundings. It had an impact on me.

    I know Spring is on its way, and right on cue, and I’m ready for it. The first set of flowers are popping out, as are the buds on the trees. I’m looking forward to ditching my winter coat, and opening up the windows. And the old men pot smokers have returned to the park benches. The cycle continues.

    So, my new fashion obsession is the “knit blazer.” I have no logical reason to obtain a knit blazer, as I rarely have any formal occasions in my life these days; even casual formal occasions like going to work. But I can’t shake this image of myself as a casual formally dressed middle aged man who is about town. Maybe the marketing has worked on me, or maybe I really do need to wear a blazer while I do laundry and make dinner.

  • Air Conditioners

    It’s going to be 80 degrees in NYC today, and then 87 tomorrow. In other words, we are going to die from this heat. May, normally, is one of the two best months to be in New York – the other being September. May around here is pleasant, a little cool, and little warm, everything is blooming, and green. The City feels alive, reborn, and full of life. And rarely does the temperature get above 78. Anything in the 80’s is Summer Weather – which should be the sticky and awful July and August.

    But the world is warming, and the Summer Heat Creep has begun, or more accurately, started a few years ago. The Summer heat and humidity in New York is now June through August. Sometimes it starts in late May, and can linger into mid September. I find it a tad bit sad that the Summers of old are gone, and never to come back; hot in the day, cool at night.

    With the coming short heat wave, I have tasked myself with going to our storage space to recover our air conditioners. We are the people who remove our window units in Fall, only to bring them back in late Spring. Like changing out your wardrobe, or full house cleaning, the dance of the air conditioners is another seasonly ritual we partake in. We do this so we can have a clear view out our apartment’s windows of a cinderblock wall, and a construction site. Breathtaking vistas, to say the least.

    In the end, the gathering of the air conditioners is yet another sign that the year is continuing to move on. After the a/c’s are installed, soon school will be out, and vacations and camps begin. Only to lead to road trips, and attempts to escape the heat.

    How long until Fall?

  • A Place Upstate

    I have been distracted this morning. I did get my errands and chores done, but when it came time to do this, write a blog, I let myself get sucked down the old rabbit hole of looking at houses for sale. Not that we are in a position to go buy a home, but hopefully in the next two years, it might become a possibility.

    You never can tell. We, as a small family, are right on that cusp of entering the world of home ownership. I do feel bad for anyone under the age of thirty because unless you are earning a huge salary, which most people don’t, then you will never live in a house that you own. We still can, but just barely. It is my job to get the family finances in order, so when the opportunity arises, we can jump on it.

    Anyway, all of this came about today because it’s already 75 degrees in the City, and should make it up to 80 today. The windows are open in the apartment with a nice cross breeze blowing in. The wife is working away in the office. Music is playing, and the kid is in her room enjoying not doing a damn thing on her Spring Break. With all of this going on around me, I had the thought that, “Wouldn’t it be great to do this in a house, surrounded by trees, upstate?”

    “Yes,” I said, “It would be great.”

    “Then go look for a home.”

    “Yeah, that would be fun, but we aren’t in…”

    “I SAID LOOK FOR A HOME!!!”

    And off to Zillow I went. Besides, who needs self-discipline?

    For an hour I looked at places that are all about two hours away from the City. I enjoyed the daydream. A place for books, and reading. A fireplace to use in the winter, and a back yard for the kid to play in. All the wonders, relaxation, and serenity, cleanly away from the City. A home that gives me a chance to wake up with the sounds of birds chirping and the wind blowing through the trees.

    This “window shopping” took up most of my writing time, but I don’t feel bad about it. Perhaps I have lost the desire to have a goal. Like a goal that isn’t just for me, but something that I can provide for my family. Ambition bounces around in my brain like a dirty word that I cannot muster out loud; but a goal? Perhaps I should say out loud that I want my family to move into a house in two years? Maybe I have forgotten what it is to strive on the high wire where one can fall to failure? Maybe.