anagram of brat

on my way out of New York and back to demanding kitty, adoring Manbeast, and most importantly my own squooshy way too comfortable bed. I honestly don't know when the last time I've been this dog tired was.

Despite the complete and utter exhaustion (I kinda forgot what an ordeal getting back on the regular crohn's pills is and in light of that should probably have waited until next week to start back up) this trip was overwhelmingly a more positive one than the last, probably entirely because of the amount of progress Dad has made since the pneumonia scare and return to Mt. Sinai on my last visit. On the contrary, after a meeting with his rehab team yesterday he's been given a release date of next thursday which is awesome news. Two months of hospitals and rehab is entirely Too Much. Considering how he was when I first went to see him in the hospital in January and where he is now, which in some ways is in better shape than before the stroke, I'm astounded by his progress. The rehab center has a small coffee shop in the basement for its residents, and yesterday we went down together for a late afternoon snack. Dad was up, walking (and not slowly either) with a little help from a walker for his balance, and once downstairs he was being his usual charming pain in the butt self at the lady running the place as well as trading jokes with the nuns on staff. He still loses words on occasion and while he always mixed up the names of his kids/grandkids (and had been known to go through at least five or six names before getting to the right one) that tendancy's gotten a bit worse. Still, for someone who had a stroke seven weeks ago, he ain't looking too bad.

Still I think all of us will be glad when he's out. Well, Ruth'll be more frazzled while he's staying with her, but he'll be if not home, close to it, back in Brooklyn, and I for one will be happy if I never have to take the IRT up the upper east side ever again. Between Mom at NY Presbyterian years ago and Dad ending up in Mt sinai for various and sundry over the years, I've almost never had to be up there for a good reason, and over the past couple of months I've come to utterly loathe having to take the sardine tin that is the Lexington Ave line anywhere and personally can't wait for them to hurry up and open the 2nd Ave line, because goddamn them IRT train cars are NARROW as HELL.

Sorry, veered into subway nerdage for a minute there.

Anyway, I didn't get everything I had to do done this time around (there is just not enough hours/spoons in the day for all the shit that needs taking care of) I do come home with a grim sense of accomplishment with what I did manage to get done. There was something about finally finding, buying and delivering the four silk ascots after two days of chasing them all over Manhattan that was deeply satisfying. I often need to be reminded that I can be deeply resourceful in a weird as hell pinch. I did manage to keep up with my actual job this week as well as pick up a little extra scratch from the fam, so this week will be somewhat profitable, and I just got a notice that my moderately whopping federal refund was accepted and should be hitting my account early next week. Just in time for PAXEast, not like I'm going to let myself spend much out there, seeing as most of my money's kinda spoken for for at least the next few months. Still... kinda nice to know things are looking up on several fronts for a change.... y'all don't know how thirsty I've been for some sunshine thrown my way. But for now I'm looking eagerly forward to boy and bed tonight. Or vice versa. I don't care, it'll just be good to get home.

Gonna catch a nap now.

The NYC subway map is getting an overhaul.

Also linked within the article is the Kickmap iphone app. Their home page goes into a fair amount of depth of why an abstract map like the London Underground's doesn't fly in New York.

The Times also has a neat interactive feature which discusses the history of the subway map, though boo on the Times for not making it work properly in FF.

Honestly? I don't like it. I understand a fair amount of the principles behind some of the changes, but I think the puke green parks are hideous and clash with the blue they chose for the water, and the drop shadows under the lines just make it look messier.

ALSO ALSO OMG WHAT THE FUCK THE M TRAIN IS NOW ORANGE AND NO LONGER RUNS TO (ETA: SOUTH) BROOKLYN???? O_o MY CHILDHOOD IS OFFICIALLY WARPED. AS IF SWITCHING THE B AND THE D TRAINS WEREN'T BAD ENOUGH FOR MY SANITY. CURSE YOU BILLYBURG HIPSTERS AND YOUR NEED TO GET TO MIDTOWN WITHOUT TRANSFERRING. *shakes fist*

heh heh I realize most of you haven't the faintest idea why that warranted capslock but trust me it does. The MTA tends to leave subway routes alone for decades on end unless there is construction, so when they do a major change-up like this it can be a little jarring.

This entire may or may not constitute an excuse to use the "railfan squee" tag.

Wow, I can't actually remember the last time I was on the LIRR before today... which just goes to show you exactly how long it's been since I went to the beach. :(

I had a nice time at Eisenhower Park at the reunion today. Much as expected, there was a lot of OMG UR 30 IM OLD QQ. And food. And reconnecting with my cousins. Hanging out with Deanne and Yvette for any length of time is quite enough evidence that Mom's side of the family does not hold the monopoly on sarcasm so concentrated it not only stains but corrodes anything it comes into contact with. Also - I apparently do an excellent Shug Avery impression. I was killing Deanne and Desiree by quoting "You sho' is ugly!" at them during a discussion of the Color Purple lol. Been too long since I've seen that movie.

Alas, I ate too much while I was there and hence am having to contend with severely cranky insides, which hurts but oh well, I brought that on myself. I am also completely out of social and will be spending the days leading up to Valley trip probably holed up in my room recharging (and working). Right about now all I can handle is IM and I'm even being snappy there. *sigh* kinda sucks when this sort of mood hits... especially when the five or so people you could tolerate/want around you are too far away, not speaking to you, or both.

I don't understand why creative ideas hit me when all of my energy needs to be concentrated on something else. Very annoying, but if I can hold this one at bay until I have a chance to breathe and sit with it, it could be a rather fantastic. If it actually develops into anything, remind me that I owe Kevin Smith one - I think a lot of what generated this was reading the first five or six essays in Silent Bob Speaks in Barnes and Noble yesterday and laughing my ass off.

Time for me to run my laundry through the dryer one more time, pop in whatever came from netflix today, lie down for a while and wish for death. Stupid Crohns flare.





ETA: plan to lie down and contemplate death severely hampered by ball of fuzzy cute asleep on my side of the bed. Hmm.