Walkin' about Town

Up at 435am. I felt good but not quite as energetic as I did the day before. Sitting briefly on the edge of the bed, I quickly got motivated to brush my teeth and start my exercise regimen.

I was done with exercise by 445am. Meditation and stretching were next, but with time being of the essence, I did both in less than 10 minutes. The important thing was getting the intrinsic reward of both, not the amount of time.

In the fitness center by 501am. Tuned the treadmill to CNN watching Carol Costello on CNN again. Time went fast. Ran 3.2 miles in about 30 minutes.  Back to the room for a shower just after 530am.

Ready to go by 605am. Still wearing the same pair of jeans as Monday. Gonna have to have laundry done soon. Running low on shirts, socks and underwear. To the lobby at 610am. Stopped for coffee. This time I went with a large caramel macchiato. Met Dave and Natalee a couple minutes later and headed off to the subway. Decided to skip cutting through the hotel. Much easier going outside then reentering.

Nice walk to the office from Fulton St station. Took the usual abuse entering. Word had it, President Obama was coming in town for a dinner. Wasn’t too long before his motorcade passed by. Not such a big deal for the locals. – ‘here all the time’.

Breakfast was provided just after 8am – bagels, boiled eggs, coffee, etc. Appreciated. Work day moved fast. Lunch was served at 1pm. Sandwiches and wraps again. Not bad. I’ve gotta stop eating like this, however. I’m on carb overload.

Dare I say that I’m getting used to the 12 hour days. They’re going a little faster, especially the last couple hours. Several folks planned a social gathering at the nearby  Battery Park for happy hour and NFL preseason football.  Not me. I didn’t want to drink even a single beer.

Come 7pm I made a solo beeline for the subway. On my way I poked into Century 21, a TJ Max kind of place according to others. I was looking for a small umbrella in preparation for a rainy day. Prices weren’t low at all. 20$ for the cheapest one. The place was packed too. Not my kind of place. I was out of there as soon as I was in.

Subway ride home went smoothly. Getting it down. Back in the room by 732pm. I took several minutes to unwind and stow my snack build-up. Called Mindy near 8pm. Talked for about ten minutes. Said her annual school retreat was a dud. I wasn’t surprised, though, given the coordinator – her principal, who is completely lazy and disorganized. We agreed to talk again when I got back from dinner.

I watched the first drive of the Seattle Seahawks and San Diego Chargers. The Seahawks picked up the Vikings back-up quarterback Tavaris Jackson and stand-out wide receiver, Sidney Rice.  First drive fizzed near the 50 yard line. I left for dinner, still not exactly sure where I’d go. And honestly, I wasn’t that hungry.

I wanted to stop at a CVS if possible. I Google mapped one just .6 miles up

Lexington Ave.

I ended up walking 20 blocks north up Lexington to 62^nd St up by Central Park. Gorgeous walk. Exciting. Got lots of cool photos of the city scape. I walked at a fast pace. Being by myself I was a tad nervous here and there but had not a single problem.

I stopped at a CVS on my walk back and picked up some Salt & Vinegar chips, deodorant, and chewing gum. I opened the chips on my walk back to the hotel. I was getting a little hungry after my hour long walk. Thought for a second about going after more Bravo Pizza. Come on man! Not again.

I diverted into the hotel instead. It was 915pm. I stopped in the lobby café’ and bought eight hot wings. The guy behind the counter hooked me up. Gave me ten for the price of eight. Took ‘em back to my room. They were really good. Finished about 7 of them before giving Mindy a call.

Talked with Bella and Jacob. Bella sounded sad. Said her friends have been mean to her. We talked for a while, me trying to cheer her up. Jacob seemed to be doing OK. Talked with Mindy for just another minute or so. It was already 945pm. I wanted to be asleep no later than 1015pm but also wanted to finish my wings, read, and brush my teeth.

I did all that and jumped into bed just after 10pm watching the end of the football game. Fell asleep before it was over. Good night Central Park. I’ll be back