Our 2 weeks of summer

Dear Summer,

You came late and you’re leaving early. Do you hate us?

Love, New York

Red Sky at Night…

The other night before I left for Michigan the sky was amazing. I meant to post pics, but then life got all turned upside down.

You’ll have to excuse my weird angle…I was trying to get as good a shot as possible.

Isn’t that awesome?? I’ve never seen anything like it.

Central Park Sunbathing

It was SO nice out this weekend. And hot! I laid out at Central Park on Saturday and got a little too much sun. I am so sunburned. My shoulders kill when I sleep.

My roomie came and met up with me and it was so nice just to lay out, read, people watch, etc. There were some people not far from us who were dancers and doing all these ballet moves/positions. There were of course people with footballs and frisbees. There were LOTS of girls who seemed to have made an impromptu trip and had stripped off their shirt or in some cases shirt and pants/skirt and were just in bras/underwear.

A hispanic guy with a really thick accent came up to my roommate and said, “excuse me? Can I dajou?” She said, what? and he said it again. She said, uh, no. I have a boyfriend. Sorry! and he walked away. Then the girl sitting next to us turned and said, did that really just happen??

Overall it was a great day in the park!

You know how I know it’s fall?

Leggings are starting to make appearances!

Hurricane Ike

So recently I had an aquaintance from college add me as a friend on facebook.  On Friday I made my status: “MissLissa is annoyed that people are freaking out in Houston…the same thing that happened in NO could never happen in Houston – especially from a category 2 storm!”  So then this person who had friended me wrote on my wall, “Not to be rude, but I have friends and family on Bolivar Penninsula who have 3-6 feet of water in their houses right now.  People are being helicoptered off roofs.  It is serious.”  What’s with the “not to be rude?”  That’s not rude, it’s a statement and his opinion…we’re all entitled to one.  I then replied, “Bolivar Penninsula is not Houston, it is practically in the ocean.  Anyone who lives there should know to evacuate.”  Then he defriended me. 

Um…not my problem that people on Bolivar Penninsula don’t have the common sense to evacuate.  Also, Houston is 50 feet above sea level.  New Orleans is 30 feet below.  I’m bewildered and actually quite amazed at the fact that he defriended me.  I mean, sure it sucks that their houses flooded and may have been destroyed, but do you not sign yourself up for that possibility when moving to a place like that or one of the barrier islands along the Texas coast?  Same thing with the Florida Keys.

Anyway, Ike went through Houston this weekend and caused a lot of damage to trees, fences and windows.  The flooding was less than was being predicted and there was no major loss of life.  People will clean up and life will go on as normal.  Maybe I’m cold and heartless, but I just don’t see Hurricane Ike as something catastrophic.  Lots of people lost power and now a lot of them have it back. 

Here are some cool pictures a friend of mine took in downtown Houston.

 

The Chase building…the tallest building in downtown Houston…windows all broken out.

At least the dress wasn’t white

The other night tbf and I were going to my place and were about half way there from the subway (1 of 2 city blocks).  It was thundering pretty seriously and started to sprinkle really big drops.  tbf had just enough time to say, “it’s going to pour.  like right now.” and on cue, like in a movie there was an absolute, vision inhibiting downpour.  It was like someone flipped a switch.  I grabbed my trusty umbrella out of my purse, but the wind was so strong that it did me no good.  At one point I think it actually turned inside out.  I was wearing a khaki safari type dress and sort of ran the remainder of the block to my building.  By the time I got inside I was so soaked it looked like I’d just jumped into a pool.  Too bad the rain didn’t last longer, I love watching storms like that…just not being in them.

Tropical Storm Party

My dad keeps saying over and over, “Fire! Fire!  The sky is falling!”  Everyone in Houston has off of work tomorrow and I just got off the phone with my parents.  I asked them how the hurricane is and dad said, “Fire! Fire! The sky is falling!”  Then he kept saying, “It’s not a hurricane” and he’s right, it’s not…it is a tropical storm.  Buuuuut, people have been and will continue to freak out since Katrina happened.  I will never forget southeast Texas running out of gas, bread, and milk, neithe will I forget that people’s parents were coming to Austin from Houston to “get away” from the storm and spending 22-23 hours in traffic on the highway just to make a 3 hour (max) trip.  Fire! Fire!  The sky is falling!

Update: Dad said the wind got up to 7 miles an hour at one point.  Hunker down!!

Ella Ella Ella

This morning on the way to work I decided that you can tell how much of a douche bag a guy is by his umbrella.  I’m all for the small, black umbrella.  What I am not for is the guy who looks like he’s wearing the best clothes he owns (it’s raining!) and carrying a golf umbrella he could fit most of his family under.  Inevitably, because these guys have the largest umbrellas, they seem to think everyone else has to get out of their way.  What makes the most sense to me when the sidewalk gets crowded and someone needs to lift their umbrella a little higher, it should be him.  He’s the one taking up the most space, and he’s the one who won’t suffer when he lifts his umbrella a little further away from him because he has the most coverage.

On top of that, I don’t quite understand why one needs a golf umbrella on the streets of New York.  I can understand having it, but it annoys me that it gets used on the walk to work.  Get a small umbrella, one that does not force me out from under mine when I’m near you.  Be considerate.  But, in the end, I suppose he won’t be considerate because you can tell, afterall, just by looking at him that he is a douchebag.

You know it’s too cold when…

You mistake a comment abeout the temperature for a comment about the time…

A: are you enjoying your long weekend?
Me: It is fantastic! How is/was your weekend?
A: i cooked all sat, and lounged all sunday
Me: nice
Me: it’s cold there, huh?
A: but it doesn’t compare to being in the snow
Me: It was 1 when I got up this morning
A: 40s, rainy
A: it could be worse
A: oooh nice
Me: haha
Me: I’m back in the city now and it’s about 15 here
A: oh you meant 1 F not 1PM
A: not so nice
Me: haha, yes. 1F
Me: ok, I’m gonna go run some errands.
Me: I will talk to you soon. Stay warm!
A: i’m more concerned about being warm
Me: you should be concerned about being warm…you don’t have a proper car..

First Snow

Sunday morning I woke up about 10:30 and decided to get up and get ready for church.  “They” kept saying it would snow or sleet Sunday and when I awoke it was snowing; soft, beautiful, white flakes.  When I left for church it was still snowing and there was a thin blanket of snow on the ground.  I have never spent winter as an adult in the north although it did snow frequently in the winter where I went to school.  Living where one of my major forms of transportation is walking should prove for an interesting winter and an interesting adjustment.

By afternoon the snow was melted and Sunday night it rained, but waking up to snow was beautiful and just made for a great day.  What else could it be?!