No Exaggeration

The intersection of 23rd and 6th Avenue is the only one I've ever passed through in Manhattan which not only has the standard "Walk/Don't Walk" lights to indicate when to cross the street, but also emits noises like a cuckoo clock. (Every intersection I encountered in downtown Oakland, Ca, on the other hand, makes noises.) This Manhattan intersection is different from the others because there is an institute for the blind on W. 23rd Street between 6th and 7th Avenues. (While I think it is great that the City made one intersection easier for blind people, I always wondered what happened if they came from the west side as opposed to east, but I digress.)

As I walked from work to school this evening, I crossed through the noise-emitting intersection. I continued south on 6th Avenue, and as I approached the doors of the Burlington Coat Factory, I nearly fell over. Leaving the shop was a blind man. He held his walking stick and emerged slowly from the store's double doors. Behind him, with her hand on his shoulder, was a blind woman, also gripping a red and white walking stick. Following her was another woman. She placed her hand on the middle woman's shoulder, and grasped a walking stick.

Wow, I thought as they turned left and made their way to the corner. It's the blind leading the blind leading the blind. You really do see everything in New York City.

The Heat is Off

Ah, foolish first impressions! I sweltered at my desk when I started
my job. My hideous office cardigan (the one that is too ugly to wear
in public, so it is no problem to leave it on my chair at work because
there is no other situation in which I would possibly want to wear it)
would go unused, I believed.

Now that I'm in my fourth week (damn, time goes by fast), I understand
better. When I noticed that the office had no air circulation, that
meant that heat doesn't travel far. All of the heat comes through the
perimeter of the space, which is where people's offices are. It
doesn't flow to the worker bees in the cubicleland. I love great
building design.

Space heaters, anyone? Perhaps I shall take up this issue with HOUR...

--
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Blog: www.cussandotherrants.com
Book: www.offthebeatensubwaytrack.com

Bye Bayh Repro Rights

Many of the bad things that are happening in the Senate today take me back to my earliest years in public policy. In the summer of 1995, the country was hotly debating welfare reform. I interned with the child care division of the Department of Public Aid in Illinois, and I followed the discussion closely.

By the time I returned the next summer, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunities Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) had passed Congress and was signed into law by President Clinton. States wrangled with how they could meet the welfare for work requirements and move people off of public assistance programs as soon as possible. Next door, the governor of Indiana, Evan Bayh, embraced welfare-to-work so wholeheartedly that I was certain that he was a Republican. I'm fairly certain that I even had an argument with Husband about it. I was wrong.

These days, over thirteen years after I first cut my teeth on public policy work, Bayh is still causing me to scratch my head. Evan Bayh is now a pro-choice Democrat in the Senate. Yet he voted for the Nelson/Hatch amendment that would have essentially forbid health insurance plans to cover abortion services. On the flip side, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is anti-choice, but voted against the amendment. What the fuck?

Sen. Reid showed great initiative in explaining his position, finding common ground and recognizing the need for health care reform to be passed. I commend him for taking the time to do the right thing for more people than himself. Sen. Bayh offered no explanation for voting against the women that he has courted for votes. It’s baffling. OK, it's more than baffling; Sen. Bayh's lack of courage on this issue is pathetic.

I learned in 1995-1996 that I really couldn't count on Evan Bayh to make sound decisions when it comes to the health and welfare of women and children. A lot of time has passed since then. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Sigh.

Chopped Liver

At work on Friday, someone turned to one of my co-workers and said that she was the only person in the development department who was not sick. "Congratulations," he said.

"Hey, what am I, chopped liver?" I shouted from across the room.

He blushed. "Oh, sorry. But really, why chopped liver? Have you ever eaten it? It's delicious! I don't understand that phrase at all."

"It's true that chopped liver is good," my other co-worker cut in. "But you know how when you have a party and you put out chopped liver, chips and dip, crudites, and crackers and cheese?* At the end of the night, the only thing that is still left is the chopped liver."

Chopped liver may be fabulous, but it is still less popular than other items. There's a stigma to it. I thought that is the greatest explanation for the "What am I, chopped liver?" expression ever.

*My answer is no, I do not know any parties in which people put out chopped liver, but I guess I do not hang out with the right crowd.

On the First Night of Hanukkah Someone Threw Up on My Face

Actually, it only looks like a cat threw up a yarn hairball on my face. In reality, Husband found this crochet sleeping mask on etsy. He said it made him laugh so hard that it was worth the few bucks.

He also gave me an awesome Snoopy watch that was advertised on eBay as "for girls." What it meant was "for giants." It was even too big on him. I love it, though. I'll just buy a new band. Fortunately, he assured me that it was very cheap.

The sweater I am wearing in the picture was a Hanukkah gift from him many years ago. When he first gave it to me I hated wearing turtle necks. However, it soon became my favorite sweater. It's shrunk a bit, and I am fearful that it may not make it through this season.

Incidentally, I gave Husband a Kindle last night. At least I didn't sell my hair to buy him a watch fob only to discover that he sold his watch to buy me fancy combs. Love is all you need.

Happy Hanukkah!

The Weather

It was unseasonably warm in New York City in November. There were a
few days when I ran outside because it was in the 60s or 70s. That is
gone now.

It is unseasonably cold in New York City in December. When I venture
outside, bundled in my coat, a scarf, and scary bear hat, the wind
slaps my face red. On my way to the subway, I passed a stream of
frozen dog piss on the sidewalk (how awful would it be to slip and
fall on frozen piss...), and a few blocks later, a puddle in the
street with litter frozen in it. Ah, the holiday sights!

Everyone at work has the flu. In my department, five out of six
people are sick. They all have the flu, except half of them insist it
is just a cold with a high fever and body aches. Uh huh. Somehow,
although I am exhausted and feel run down in general and did not get a
flu shot, I am not sick at all. Hmmm...

--
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Blog: www.cussandotherrants.com
Book: www.offthebeatensubwaytrack.com

The Eyes Don't Have It

Decrepitude at the age of 33 (almost 34, and yes, I got my age right this time) is not good. In the few months that I was at my previous job earlier this year, vision in my left eye declined. It turns out that staring at a computer screen for hours a day made my eyeballs and their components really angry. The left eye went on partial strike.

My left eye continued to bother me after I left my hob, even though I no longer spent all day staring at a monitor. I had to get a stronger prescription lens. This fixed the situation. I could see! Hurray!

Now that I am staring at a computer screen all day again, my left eye has decided it is back to partial strike. I'm faster at responding to its demands, though. Lots of eye drops and a much more concerted attempt to look at other things every 15 minutes or so. And I bought computer glasses. Supposedly these will help because the coated lenses will reduce glare, and like reading glasses, they have a slight power. Unlike reading glasses (which made me ill when I tried them at my last job because they don't come in powers below 1.00), these new babies are only 0.25.

My fingers are crossed. I doubt disability insurance covers this type of problem...