On my way to the subway this morning, I came across trailers, cables and tents, oh my!  No the circus isn't in town.  They're shooting a movie, I Hate Valentine's Day, around the corner from my apartment.  I'll have to check it out, because I do hate Valentine's Day!

I'm Biloxi bound bright and early tomorrow morning.  Casinos here I come!  Have a great 4th of July!  I'll be back online on July 7th.

So I'm off to a trade show for work April 9th - April 13th. On Wednesday night after I get settled in the hotel, I plan to be a tourist in my own town and eat at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company; afterwards, I plan to go to check out Ripley’s Believe It or Not! I have to get up very early on Thursday to have breakfast and catch a cab over to the Javits Center with my boss. The other days there will be a shuttle bus, but it will probably take me longer than my usual 30 minute subway ride from Brooklyn to the office in SoHo...The company is putting me up in the swank Crowne Plaza and I do get an expense account for meals, so it's almost like a working vacation.

I will be online for a bit tomorrow night. I haven't been away from my computer this long since the last trade show I attended in Las Vegas. Six days away from the keyboard is almost unfathomable, between my Web Work and my Writing, but it's something I must do...I'll see you on the other side...

The other night after work I ventured out to my old 'hood, Greenpoint, Brooklyn to hear Sarah Langan read from her novel, The Missing, which is a very powerful book!  After taking three trains:  the E train Uptown to 14th Street, the L Train to Brooklyn, where I transferred to the G train, which took me to Greenpoint Avenue, where I lived from 1996 - 2002. 

The only appealing thing about Greenpoint back then was the dirt cheap rent I paid.  125 Greenpoint Avenue was rent controlled because my Grandmother had lived in the building for over 34 years.  We split the rent, so I paid $76.10 a month!  Pretty sweet, huh?  Not really.  Granny didn't understand that she was supposed to treat me like a roommate, not like a child.  Because I was her Granddaughter, she had trouble distinguishing between the two...We didn't get along.  She'd put the chain on the door, so even though I had keys to the building and the apt., I had to wait for her to shuffle over and remove the chain.  When I'd sit at my computer writing, she'd start talking to me.  I'd politely tell her I was writing, but she just didn't get it.   Sigh. 

The G train is the only train in the entire MTA Subway System that does not travel though Manhattan--it's the Brooklyn/Queens Local--so it used to take me an hour to get to work. 

The building itself was old and decrepit; the radiators rarely worked during the Winter--we had to bleed them to let the water out.  The apartment was on the top floor and the building wasn't wired for air conditioning...Looking back, I don't know how I survived...

Word Books is a really cool store, with bright pastel colors and an eclectic array of books to choose from.  I gave the owner, Christine Onorati a copy of my collection.  We got to talking and it turns out she and her husband owned a bookstore in Northport on Long Island where I grew up for six years.  Sometimes the world is so small!

The basement, also bright and comfy serves as the reading space; Sarah packed them in--I enjoyed her reading and the Q&A.

Greenpoint isn't as desolate as it once was--there are several trendy bars on Greenpoint Avenue, The Black Rabbit, and The Pencil Factory.  The McDonald's is still there, but the Burger King that used to be next door--I don't know what genius though that up--has been replaced by a Starbucks...

I hope everyone had a great New Year's Eve!  I had the day off from work yesterday, so I decided to take care of some errands; first stop: Reel Life South, but they were closed at noon--that did not make me happy--I'd planned to pick up some DVD's to watch at night.  Frustrated, I walked to the drug store on 7th Avenue here in Park Slope, where I stumbled another video store--I think it's called the Video Gallery--that was actually open!  I became a Member at the Video Gallery and picked up Black Snake Moan and The Host, two movies about two very different kind of monsters.  It turns out that the rental fees are cheaper at the second video store and, which is only slightly further away from my apartment than the first one.

I managed not to put an eye out when I opened my bottle of champagne.  I tired to drink the whole bottle over the course of six hours, but there was too much for one person, so I ended up dumping two glasses worth down the drain.  I tuned in to watch the ball drop on TV;  I actually went to Times Square one New Year's Eve with some college chums one year.  It was a wild and crazy time!  Did you know it was the 100th anniversary of the ball drop?

I plan to get out more for "me time."  Not an easy feat with work, various writing projects and Web sites to keep current for a handful of Web Clients, but I'm tired of being tethered to a computer all the time.  I've come to realize that on rare occasions that I'm not working, I'm either talking about work or thinking about various projects on my plate--that's not healthy.  This year, I'll strive to maintain a balanced life, with equal parts work and play.  I have plans 3 weekends out of 4 this month that will help!

So after a long day at the office, I didn't get on the subway until 6:45PM, I had the worst luck picking the Brooklyn bound train that would leave the Canal Street Station first.  I usually grab the A train, since it's express, but the C local train pulled into the station first, so I got on, found a seat and started to read this week's issue of Time Out New York, which is always chock full of interesting articles about happenings in NYC!    The C train did not leave the station and A train arrived across the platform, so I got off the local train and jumped on the A train, which was crowded.  I started to read again and cursed under my breath when the C train left the station first...The A train stayed in the station and another C train arrived, so I switched again; this time the local train beat the express train out of the station.  

Boy, am I dizzy!

My cable modem died last night, may it rest in pieces...At first I thought Time Warner Cable had an outage in Park Slope, Brooklyn, but when I called, they told me it was my modem...The technician sent a test to my modem, but alas, the all important cable light stayed dark. She told me I could bring my faulty modem to a service center in Brooklyn, located on 5th Avenue & 27th Street. This is a desolate, industrial area. I had no idea Greenwood Cemetery was there until I waked past it! They're giving Halloween Tours on October 27--I'll have to check that out!

My replacement modem is smaller than the old one and the color scheme matches my sliver Power Mac G5!

On my way to the subway after a check-up with my eye doctor in Manhattan, a woman asked me how to get to Third Avenue; I gladly pointed her in the right direction, but it got me thinking, people are always asking me for directions--it's usually a woman unfamiliar with a particular neighborhood.  I've been lost a couple of times in New York City and I'm not ashamed to admit it!  Whenever I needed directions, I'd ask a woman because it's good to play it safe.  The A Train can be confusing, so I've relied on the kindness of strangers on several occasions--it's much easier than getting on an Uptown Train, when I really want to go Downtown.

Sometimes guys will ask me for directions.  I always find this amusing...Most guys are way too macho to ask for directions; it's a man's way of striking up a conversation with me.  I'll usually take the bait, unless he's smoking a cigarette.  I dated a guy who smoked a few years ago...Never again!  I'd take it whenever we kissed and when I spent the night at his place, I'd come home smelling like an ashtray.  No thanks!

I swear I'm going to start charging Tourists for the directions when they seem hopelessly lost on the street or in the New York City Subway System.  They bring revenue to our fair City; it only seems fair that they give me a few bucks, don't you think!?

I ran into one the downstairs neighbors this morning after I ran some errands, one of the perks of Freelancing!  We got to talking and he said his boss gave him the rest of the day off.  So, naturally, I asked him what he does. He told me he’s a Paralegal when he's not acting--he's also an Actor.  I told him I do Online Marketing for Websites and I'm also a Writer. I still don't know what his girlfriend does, but I learned something.  I've only been living in the same building in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn for over 4 years now.  I do know what 5 out of the 6 tenants in my building, including me do for a living.

Very few of my friends who live in Manhattan or Brooklyn, though they've lived in the same apartment buildings for several years.  It seems to be one New York Stereotype that's actually true.  I challenge you to prove me wrong!