Outside the Box

Woke at 440am after a sound night of sleep. Only problem was, I wanted so much more. That wasn’t to be however. I needed to get up and moving. I drug myself from bed and headed to the bathroom where I brushed my teeth and added drops to my dry red eyes.

My head in a sleepy fog, I slipped into my exercise tennies then promptly whipped out 55 sit-ups. After sit-ups I chugged a little Gatorade then did 55 push-ups. Still tired, I got into my running shorts and shirt and headed off to the gym to do my run.

Now aware of the technology available on the treadmill, I was looking forward to getting lost in a TV program of some sort while running. Problem was, the satellite feed was down to the treadmill I chose. Not wanting to switch, I toughed it out without benefit of TV. I simply stared out the window and got lost in thought.

I ran 3.2 miles, or 5k in 31.5 minutes. Running on a treadmill utilizes more/different small muscles in my feet, I’ve noticed. I felt good. It was 545am when I headed back to the room for a shower. I felt the need to hurry a little bit. I was shaved, showered, dressed and ready by 610am

I promised a few co-workers that I’d meet them in the lobby at 630am and show them the subway ropes. I decided to head to the lobby at 615am. I ventured into the café’ where I bought some coffee and a banana for about $6. There was no way I was gonna suffer through hunger and coffee deprivation like I did on Monday. By the time I had sucked down half my coffee my travel mates were in the lobby. Two of the three were older and none of them had ever ridden in a subway. They were nervous.

I showed them how to buy their passes then lead the way to the #4 train heading downtown. No problems. We got off at the Fulton St MTA center, or just east of the WTC site. Learned that one of the women has asthma. Taking the stairs up from the subway caused her to need her puffer. They told me I could go on. They knew where they were. Cool!

Arrived to more heckling. Ended up in the office at 702am. Did more training. Finished by  9am, or time for breakfast. This time breakfast was more organized, and for the entire building, or about 600 of us. It wasn’t much, but still appreciated and good. I am jonsing for some eggs! Instead, we had coffee, muffins, cereal and fruit. The coffee was good – strong.

Did a little more training after breakfast. I was about to fall asleep. Lots of rumors swirling around, like how long we might be staying. Many were already directed to extend their hotel reservations to into September. I was reluctant to do so until receiving official word. Laundry concerns are arising. May need to have the hotel do mine. I definitely wont’ have time to do it myself.

Lunch was served around 1pm – pasta, meatballs, salad, bread. By the time I got through the line the salad was gone. Many complained. I kept my thoughts to myself. The pasta wasn’t bad. I thought about making a run to Whole Foods with a few others, but didn’t.

The afternoon moved slow. Spent a great deal of time waiting on work assignments. Moderate to heavy rain moved in mid-afternoon. I wasn’t at all looking forward to walking to the subway in the rain at 7pm.  I’ll need to pick-up an umbrella if my stay is going to be extended. Heck, perhaps a jacket too.

Got a couple IM’s from peers back home midafternoon sharing their well-wishes. Said they were anxious for me to come back home. That was nice to hear.

Because I’m blessed, the rain stopped around 6pm and the skies brightened. I headed out at 7pm. I really wanted to head out with two others staying at my hotel for the safety factor, but they were out faster than I. Elevators are packed at quitting time.

I was on my own once again. I snapped a few pics on my walk to the subway. As you might expect, the WTC area is bustling even at 700pm. I did well this time, though still a tad nervous. Not too many missteps. I was pleased when I walked in my room at 725pm. That’s faster than I can walk out of my office and drive home in Ohio. Not bad!

I took a few minutes to relax and freshen up before calling home. I talked with Mindy for about ten minutes catching up on each others days. Mindy shared some good airline rates she found for the upcoming weekend. Thinking of coming up already. I only shared that coming up so soon might not be the best plan given the rumors about our length of stay. I suggested she come up after 2-3 weeks, instead. She understood. The ambiguity of my situation is annoying Mindy. I am trying hard to simply roll with it. Not much I can do about it.

Agreed to call Mindy and the kids again after getting dinner. I took another five minutes to relax before heading out to get some food. I promised myself to go a different direction so I could see more of the city at night. I headed north on Lexington Avenue towards Central Park. Att totaled, I probably walked 20 blocks but in a big square, never straying too far from my temporary home. Popped in three or four deli-style shops looking over their offerings. Nothing seemed to tickle my fancy.

Sad to say, but I ended up back at McD’s getting another Angus burger with bacon and cheese. That sounded better than anything else available. I took a couple photos with my Droid, and texted one to Mindy and Ashley. Beautiful at night!

Headed back to the room where I quickly got into my flannel cut-offs then settled down to dinner. I watched some TV too. Happy to see that the stock market went up about 450 points. All the talk shows were squawking about it. Mindy called me back Around 9pm or just after. I talked with Mindy and Bella. Not sure where Jacob was.

Mindy asked that I call her back before going to sleep. After finishing my dinner I did some reading about strong field theory. Awesome stuff. Talked with Mindy briefly once more just before crawling into bed. Good night princess. Asleep by 945pm.