... when it's still to early to go to Starbucks...
... because it's Sunday, and they don't open until 6:30 on Sundays, and the door's unlocked, but when you go in, they say "We're not open." It's 6:11, and you're a woman alone. Outside, it's snowing and there's not yet a hint of dawn. It seemed beautiful when I stepped outside my building a few moments earlier, saw the first snow of the season and took those pictures, but now, it seems really sad and lonely. The barista can't say, "Please, take a seat, and I can serve you when it's 6:30," and she doesn't think to say, "I know we're usually open at 6, but not on Sunday... I'm really sorry." She just glares at me, and I see I'm a trespasser. I must retreat into the night. I could walk back to my apartment, and I would if only the WiFi weren't malfunctioning again. I could go walk on the Promenade, take some more pictures, but does a woman walk alone in the dark on the Promenade?
My exile in New York continues....
Eventually, I get a wisp of happiness from a doggywog....
I think about home...
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41 comments:
Ann, go out and buy a Mr. Coffee machine with an automatic timer. You can pretend he's your butler.
My WiFi is broken. I go out for the WiFi. The coffee here sucks.
Ah, use of the word 'exile' is telling...
I agree, the coffee sucks...
There are ghostly cows you pass, if you make a 3am bicycle trip to the 10-mile-distant all-night grocery, in rural Ohio.
But no lights, no cars, nothing to photograph unless there's a moon rising over the railroad crossing, until you get to the destination
If the moon's out, you can ride without lights yourself, flipping them on only if a very rare car appears. The road is dark but visible.
The absence of normal traffic and the unaccustomed darkness makes it similar to the sunday morning Brooklyn streets, but unlike there it doesn't become sad.
Once I saw northern lights.
Ann, the nice thing about your exile is it has an end. You know the subtle loves and comforts you require, and you feel where your home is. What a wonderful thing really. It's so easy to feel like we should want to be somewhere else, and we suspect there's something beyond the borders of our staked out territory.
So we go, and we realize there might be something else, but its not for us. Learning that brings a contentment we didn't have before.
Cheers to the rest of your New York stay. The New Year is not long away and a renewed peace awaits.
Thank you for posting your thoughts this morning. Very touching but not in a cheesy, sentimental way. You do need a new tag: wistful Althouse.
Wait, I have a tag "emotional Althouse." I'll add that. And I'm still here next semester. But it's nearly winter break.
pictures: gorgeous
It's hard to tell from the blurr: was that doggie a rare c*****r?
Mary, you are a banned commenter and you know it. I have made it very clear that I regard any comment by you here as harassment. You are a lawyer, and I urge you to carefully read the Wisconsin statute § 947.0125 -- "Unlawful use of computerized communication systems." It is defined as a crime in Wisconsin if a person "[w]ith intent solely to harass another person, sends repeated messages to the person on an electronic mail or other computerized communication system."
I've been waiting for that one.
I know you could have me arrested but Professor, you're the [wog in that doggy's wagging tail].
We go out Sunday morning, but not to roam about!
We go out to our fave spot cozy:
There to list the paper rave whilst sipping coffee hot.
We don't go out for chilly toesys!
On a Sunday morning sidewalk,
I'm wishing, Lord, that I was stoned.
'Cause there's something in a Sunday
That makes a body feel alone.
And there's nothing short a' dying
That's half as lonesome as the sound
Of the sleeping city sidewalk
And Sunday morning coming down.
The purpose of coffee is to wake one up. It is not meant to be tasty. This idea that Starbucks' coffee somehow "sucks" when other coffee is somehow "good" ignores this simple truth.
Treat coffee as a utility and you will be set.
Good coffee is tasty. I can enjoy it while it wakes me up.
Don't like Starbucks though, I prefer Pete's.
"Treat coffee as a utility and you will be set."
The biggest piece of nonsense I've ever read on this blog, which is saying something.
Starbucks is not a coffee joint. It's a milk joint that occasionally flavors the milk with coffee. I blame women.
Oh quit your whining about your coffee and wifi and home.
You may get more empathy from me if you would of been there for me when one of my rare clumbers was sick but I got nothing. As opposed to other thoughtful commenters here were so helpful and caring.
Now get into that bathtub and begin a vlog.
Hi Palladian, how are you this morning? Did you wakey wakey up horny this morning?
It takes a lot of decaf to keep you awake, by the way.
I pinched a really solid healthy morning loaf.
How was everyone elses morning loaf today?
That Wisconsin statute is part of the law against stalking. No lawyer should want to make a public display of engaging in behavior that may be construed as stalking. I am trying to talk some sense into you as tactfully as I can and to avoid seeking other remedies. You must get the message now that you should NEVER post here again.
That doggywog looks familiar.
Are you a Balla?
(or do you just wish you were a little bit talla?)
And, unrelatedly have you seen (or do you wish to see) I'm Not There?
I have the text of all the deleted comments, btw, and I have been advised that this would be considered stalking. Whatever you think you are doing, you need to be aware of how it is perceived by others.
Grab a Sprint EV-DO card for your laptop - it's fast enough that you might consider replacing your home internet with it (if, that is, you get Sprint EV-DO at home...).
Love the dog photos.
Ditto on the suggestion about the mobile broadband card. The service isn't that much per month, and being to connect most anywhere you are in the country is wonderful.
I'd ask what you're doing up so early in the morning, but since it's none of my (or anyone else's) business my guess would be a combination of how morning solitude can help maintain a level of calm throughout the day plus trying to capture the clarity of thought that seems to come far easier first thing in the morning.
Does EVDO work with a Mac? Obviously, what I want is to be connected everywhere, at high speed, with an Apple computer that is completely portable and has a decent sized screen and keyboard. Why is that so hard to get? The iPhone misses on every point except completely portable.
I like that middle dog picture a lot.
My dogs are much prettier.
Ann, we use the little Sprint modem with our Mac laptops, but Sprint doesn't tell you on the box that you have to configure it on a PC first. Fortunately, I have an XP laptop on hand, so it wasn't a problem.
I, too, loved the "doggywog."
Palladian, I'm with you. Coffee, utilitarian? (but why blame women for bad coffee? I think that Starbucks sheela na gig-style logo must have a subconscious effect on you.)
Yeah, wtf, why blame women? I'll have you know I had black coffee, with no milk at all today.
And titus, why don't you walk the clumbers up and down the Promenade in the hope of getting seen by Althouse?
I never heard of EVDO until the Kindle came along. Yes, why don't we all just have that? Forget WiFi.
Well, you can blame me. I don't even go with the "milk joint". I'll take a blended brownie, thankyouverymuch.
You might want to spend a little time thinking about what it's like to work in one of these places. I know some very well and they are NOT crazy about people who come knocking on the window, wanting to be waited on before they're even open.
Many of these workers are still very sleepy and would like a little time to wake up.
Well, Ignacio, I have worked in places like that as have members of my family, and the fact is, I walked through an unlocked door, and when I was told they weren't open, I didn't even consider asking if I could sit down anyway and wait until opening time. I thought about it and just left. I just felt sad that I didn't encounter the slightest human warmth on that cold, dark morning. As noted in the post. So what is your point? The person working there did not acknowledge my humanity. I didn't disrespect her in the slightest. You have it backwards.
Some of the new Sprint EVDO modems should work with a Mac straightaway, if I'm reading their site correctly. You'll need to download and install the connectivity software first, though. Best bet is to buy the modem at one of their stores and bring your Mac with you to make sure it all works.
Hysterical: You can't let Readers know the time and place of a Meetup in the comments section....
...However, the comments section is a perfectly appropriate venue to communicate with your Stalkers !
The person working there did not acknowledge my humanity.
People walking around at 6 AM have no humanity. She has every right to hate you--it's because of people like you that she has to show up for work at 6 AM on a Sunday morning, when all decent people sleep till noon. It's because of people like you that she can't have a good time on Saturday night.
Something really needs to be done about "morning people."
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