work

A rainy, muggy Tuesday

We had another wake to attend this evening, sadly, this time for the grandmother of one of my sister’s friends (one of her bridesmaids, in fact). We didn’t know her well, and I didn’t really at all, but we wanted to go to pay our respects, if only because my sister is in Maryland and couldn’t. My father and I caught a train to East Williston, where we met my mother for dinner, and then we drove over to the funeral home nearby.

And that was pretty much Tuesday. Our e-mail was down at the office almost all day, meaning there were several projects I couldn’t get to at all, and I got a little soaked by the sudden, bucketing rainfall at lunchtime, when I went out to get both lunch and a new umbrella. (There used to be a drug store right next door, where they sold umbrellas, so close you could slip in without getting wet. But a few weeks ago, they moved to the corner. It’s a better and bigger location, more umbrellas to choose from, but there were very few awnings between me and it, between me and the pouring rain.) And, of course, there were random and often unexplained tests of the building fire alarms, without which a day at my office really wouldn’t be complete.

Onward to Wednesday.

Summer hours of fun!

A pretty uneventful day, if just slightly longer than usual. Summer hours at work have started, but I won’t be able to reap any benefits until Friday, when I get to leave work early.

The weekend ends

Tomorrow, I start my summer hours at work, meaning I have to be in the office at 8:30 and can’t expect to leave until 5:15. But, because I do that from Monday through Thursday, working an additional forty-five minutes each day, I get to leave at 1 PM on Fridays. Ask me if I think it’s worth it on Friday — and again when I go back to normal hours in early September. I can’t oversleep any mornings, and I’ll have to rush to make my train every evening, but we’ll see.

Meanwhile, there’s not much to report. The weather was lovely here today — a little hot perhaps, but a far cry from yesterday’s heavy downpour. I drove out to Huntington to join friends for our weekly writing group, then home to have dinner out with my father. (My mom and he attended a party for one of her coworkers, then she had to go to work for a few hours.)

And that’s really about it. These weekends go by so damn fast, don’t they?

Summer in the city

My father had a doctor’s appointment this evening, so my mother and I picked him up afterward, and then the three of us went to our neighbor’s wake. I didn’t know too many of the people there, beyond recognizing his sons and other family who’d been visiting lately, but it was lovely to see the large turnout, including many of his fellow veterans. After we’d paid our respects, we grabbed a bite to eat at the nearby Azerbaijani restaurant we’ve ordered from often but never actually eaten in.

And that’s about all the excitement I had today. Mostly it was just back to work and skipping a whole bunch of not mandatory (and probably not useful for me) sales meetings.

I am reassured that, though today felt a whole lot like Monday, it was actually Tuesday, and the week is almost half over. At least, that’s what I’m going to keep telling myself until the second half is done with, too.

Though, if this awful heat keeps up — hottest day in NYC since August of 2001, apparently, well around 100°F all day — that could be tougher than advertised.

Going fourth

It was a long day, in spite or maybe even because I knew the office was closing early in anticipation of the 4th of July holiday. Right now, I’m just looking forward to a relaxing three-day weekend, determined to do nothing more exciting than some reading, some writing, and maybe a movie or two.