Strange New World
“Excuse me, do you have some spare change so I could get some Starbucks too” the vagrant asked
“No, I’m sorry I don’t carry cash” I replied
“Are you gonna finish the coffee your drinking” the vagrant asked
“Um… no, I guess not” I said. I sipped one last sip and handed him the last bit of my Venti coffee
My encounter in Times Square was typical, I guess, of any encounter with a NYC vagrant. I was on FaceTime when the interaction occurred. You gave him your coffee, Whitney exclaimed! I said “You got to really want some coffee to want to drink a cold, half drank coffee”. My need for coffee in the morning has become quite the problem, but I’m not ready to quit yet! It’s my morning routine, it’s one of the first few things I do in the morning.
The reason I was in Time Square was to go to Target. I actually did not take me long to get there, the hard part was actually finding it amongst all the other large buildings. The Target seemed smaller than at home. You walk into the first floor and you find one small section of Womens clothes and about 20 cash registers. You get on the escalator to go into the basement, and that’s where the rest of the store is. I’m sure they had the same items as all the other targets, it’s just seemed so much smaller because it was all smushed together with twice as many people inside. My target trip took over two hours. It seems errands are an all-day affair here, maybe that’s why they call it the city that never sleeps?
“You’re new here” the gentleman said to me with a very thick accent Brooklyn accent. I was indeed new, I had never been to a laundry mat before. I had needed just a few things washed, but the guy informed me they only did “Self Service” on Sundays. I would have to drop of my laundry, they would wash and fold it, and I could pick up my laundry in the morning. What a weird concept to me. They threw the laundry on a scale and handed me a ticket.
I met the handsome hubby at the train stop when he got off work. We walked, hand in hand, to grab a slice. It was just a hole in the wall place, but it was by far the best white pizza I have ever had. I predict Rays Pizza will become a frequent dinner spot.
As I mentioned previously, our apartment is very warm. I think it might actually be close to 80 degrees. According to New York City Law,
The period between October 1 and May 31 is Heat Season. During this time, the City requires building owners to provide tenants with heat according to the following rules: Between 6 AM and 10 PM, if the outside temperature falls below 55 degrees, the inside temperature must be at least 68 degrees Fahrenheit.
The problem being that there is no way to regulate each individual apartment temperature. While it might be freezing on the fifth floor, the first floor tenants are burning up. When I researched this issue on google, thousands of threads like these popped up “My apartment is a sauna” or “I’m going to die of a heat stroke in here” and “Send help, my apartment is an oven”. I began reading the threads for advice on how to fix this issue. We had already turned the valve off, but the pipes are still super warm. The #1 advice for solving this issue was to turn on the “Brooklyn air conditioner,” aka leaving the window wide open with the heater on.

So, we slept, windows wide open, in 25-degree weather. We both finally slept well. Its heavily snowing now, and I need to go pick up the laundry. The weather has predicted 3.5” of snow fall! It falling in big fat clumps. I don’t mind the snow, I just need better shoes. I’m now bundling up so I can head out for another adventure, and yes, the windows are still wide open.

2 Comments
Penny
Thank you, Sage for keeping us updated. It’s fun to be on this adventure with you!
Michelle
I know this is a great adventure for you both!! Have fun