September 19, 2013: Subway Musician made of win

Date: September 19, 2013
Event: Subway Musician
Location: New York City, Union Square
Cost: FREE (well, except for the cost of one subway ride)
Summary: There are a lot of subway musicians, some better than others. This guy? Loved him.

So I was running just a minute or two (or three or so) behind schedule on my way to take the subway to Grand Central then an Express Bus to LaGuardia airport. But as soon as I swiped my metro card and maneuvered my carry-on suit case through the narrow turn-stiles of the MTA, I knew I had to pause and appreciate the site and sounds before me.

Setting up shop was a 'One Man Band', Jeffrey Masin, with sing-a-long tunes, completely genius/outrageous-contraption-of-musical-cacophony-producing-instruments, energy, joy, and little self-deprecating one liners like, "I'm Jeffrey Masin, One Man Band, otherwise known as 'A Whole Lotta Noise" and "If there are any musicians in the audience, I apologize."

I would have loved to stay for an entire set and even sing along with a few songs (I had to leave just as he was starting up a Beatles song, dang it!) But I had to mosey. Maybe next time.

Still, I wanted to thank him anyway for brightening up a few moments of my hectic day. :)

(click the read more for a couple more pictures)

Never stop amusing me, New York, please never stop. :)

September 18, 2013: Commuting to Work

Date: September 18, 2013
Event: Commuting to Work
Location: New York City, Union Square
Cost: FREE (well, except for the cost of one subway ride)
Summary: It was a wee crowded on the subway this morning

I don’t often take the 4-5-6 train at rush hour. I’m fortunate that I can just as easily work at home as in the office so I’m pretty flexible as to when I actually go into the office. But today it so happened that I was ready to head to the office just before 8:00 am.

And MAN, was I reminded just how crowded the platform (and trains) on the 4-5-6 line get during morning rush hour. Now, don’t get me wrong. I actually don’t mind it. Not really. I mean, in New York you can choose to find such experiences as annoying or fascinating. I choose the latter. :)

With this subway line in this station, you can get a kind of ‘preview’ of what you’re going to face when you head down the stairs and onto the actual platform from which you’ll catch the train. So when I saw what I saw in the picture below, I decided to just stop for a moment, pause amongst the hustle and bustle, and actually *enjoy* the little bit of insanity, even marvel at it.

September 11, 2013: Tribute In Lights from the Brooklyn Bridge

Date: September 11, 2013
Event: Tribute In Lights from the Brooklyn Bridge
Location: New York City, lower Manhattan
Summary: Remembering

I wasn’t in New York on 9/11; I was still living in Seattle at the time. But since I moved here I make a point of memorializing this day in this city that I now call home. A trip to lower Manhattan to see the Tribute In Lights, a stop at Ground Zero to reflect upon the past and feel the push towards the future as the new tower stands at its full height and the rest of the buildings at Ground Zero continue to be built.

I wasn’t in New York last year so I wasn’t able to make my way south. But I did this year. I decided to view the Tribute In Lights (the twin lights that shine straight up from near Ground Zero) from the Brooklyn Bridge, something I hadn’t done before.

It was a hot and humid night but the breeze out near the center of the bridge was nice. And there were a lot of people out taking pictures and seeing the lights.

Overall it was a beautiful night to be out. More pictures on the “Read More” link below.

September 6, 2013: FDNY responds to a fire in Midtown NYC

Date: September 6, 2013
Event: FDNY responds to a fire in midtown NYC
Location: New York City, midtown
Cost: FREE (unless you count my tax dollars at work)
Summary: I admit it, I LOVE FIREFIGHTERS AND FIRETRUCKS

Maybe in some past life I was either a firefighter or I was saved by a firefighter. I don’t know. All I know is that I ship fire trucks and me. Yes, yes I do. And also, I know I <3 the FDNY.

And today provided an opportunity to see a whole lot of the FDNY and many of their super cool trucks. I sincerely hope that no one was hurt – I mean there was a *significant* response and there were people out on the sidewalk that had been evacuated from at least one building and the FDNY twitter feed indicated that it was a sub-basement fire:

(four hours later they tweeted it was under control, so that’s good).

So, I will show my appreciation of their work by posting pictures of all their coolness and awesomeness. :)