Going to RQS's place for a change

 

 

 

It's been a while since I've been to RQS's place, and it was time for me to make an appearance.  But, alternate side of the street parking has been suspended for a while, and I was warned that I wouldn't find a parking spot.  So, I knew that I'd be taking a cab to the train station, then the subway to Queens, and possibly a bus to RQS's house.  It would be a pain - especially with the subways on a weekend schedule.  Yet, I didn't realize how much of a pain this would be.

 

- - - - - -

 

I didn't start to get moving until 10:30, and proceeded to get showered and dressed.  Around noon, I went out for my usual sausage and egg sandwich, then called the cab service around 1:00 for the ride to the station.  By 1:45, I was on the train and heading for Grand Central.  This would be the easy part of the trip.

 

Once at Grand Central, I had to make it from Manhattan to Queens.  I made the mistake and followed Google's directions for the subway:

• Take the #6 line to Canal Street.
• Transfer to the J line to Essex Street.
• Transfer to the M line to Myrtle/Wykoff
• And finally, take the bus to RQS's place.

Well, Google didn't take into account one thing - I was toting a suitcase.  The Canal street transfer is not accessible for those using wheelchairs.  Even though I am able bodied enough to walk, I would need elevators to make the transfer at this station tolerable.  Instead, I should have taken the #6 to Brooklyn Bridge (a known accessible station) and made the transfer there.  Sadly, Canal Street is a complex station with many confusing passages (with staircases) to navigate - and I must have walked up and down at least 5 flights of stairs with a heavy suitcase.  AARGH!

Now that I made it to the platform, I saw my train pull away.  It would be almost 10 minutes for the next train to come. At least, I was still sheltered from the sub-freezing wind outside.  I hopped on the train, and made it to the next transfer point, where the train had just pulled into the platform.  And now, I was on the train that could take me close to RQS's place.

Finally, I made it to Myrtle/Wykoff.  I had a decision to make.  Do I leave the subway system and take a bus to RQS's place?  Or, do I take the subway 2 more stops, and go down 4 flights of stairs to make it to street level, then walk to RQS's place?  The accessible station won out.  Leaving the station, I hoped that the MTA's bus schedule was correct - I'd only have a 5 minute wait for the bus.  This may have been the second big mistake of the day.  Once I was outside, I was hit with a blast of wind that almost knocked me to the ground.  If I didn't find shelter from the wind, I'd get frostbite - it was less than 10°f outside, and 5 minutes' exposure to the cold would be the maximum one should risk.

Luckily, I didn't have to wait long for the bus, and I was finally within 10 minutes of RQS's place.  But this trip would take longer than the expected 10 minutes.  First, there was the streets, narrowed by snowbound cars which hadn't moved since the big snowfall 2 weeks ago.  My bus was stuck waiting for an Uber to unload.  In normal times, the bus could squeeze between the Uber and cars parked on the other side of the street - but not with snowbound cars on both sides of the street.  Next, there was construction/demolition equipment at the end of the block, taking up more than their share of space.  (This is where a fire displaced 120+ people 2 weeks before, just around the corner from RQS's place.)  Finally, I was in walking distance of RQS's place - and by 4:15 I was inside her apartment, enjoying both the warmth of the place and the aroma of meatballs being cooked.

The Electricians were here today....

 

It was 11:30, and the electricians left the apartment, with an appointment to come again next Monday for the next round of headaches.  But things didn't go as bad as expected, as moving a couple of things resulted in a better apartment.

But first....

RQS and I usually get up around 10:30 when she's here.  Today, both of us were up around 7:30, so that we could be showered and dressed by 9:00 am.  The electricians were waiting outside at 9:00 am sharp, and had turned off all the power in the apartment by 9:05 - not giving RQS a chance to get acclimated to anything.  (She made the minor mistake of opening the refrigerator door once to get milk for her coffee, and this was the only time I got slightly upset - no power meant no refrigeration, and I didn't want the contents of the refrigerator to get warm.)  By 9:15, I was moving both boxes and furniture, so that the electricians could rewire the outlets and switches.

What was being done, you may be asking - and why?

When these apartments were built, virtually all the interior wiring was aluminum based.  Over the years, it was shown that aluminum wiring could cause a fire, and that special connectors had to be used, so that the wiring in our buildings wouldn't be a fire hazard.  Although it is a low risk, our bank required that we do this work in order to get our mortgage refinanced.  This is for good reason.  A fire in a building adjacent to our complex may have been caused by wiring issues. So we chose this month to deal with this issue.

I knew that this would be a headache for many of us, and I made sure that people knew that many of the seniors living here may need help moving things out of the way.  (I did, and I still have most of my body mass and muscle strength.)  So, when the electricians started work on the refrigerator and stove circuits, both appliances had to be moved out of the way.  (The area behind the refrigerator is quite grungy, and I'll hate it if I ever need to clean the linoleum back there.)  Once done, the refrigerator was pushed back into place, and voila!, the refrigerator was now level.  I no longer have to play games to take care of this.  Instead, I now have to figure out why the door won't close completely.  (But that's another story for another day.)  

Midway through the work, the owner of the electrical company came by, and I made sure to compliment the two fellows who worked on the place.  However, the boss wondered why these fellows didn't turn on the AC once the breaker box was serviced, only leaving circuits meant to be dead as dead.  (I wondered why as well, as it was as warm in here as in the NYC subway today.)  Within 90 minutes, at least 10 outlets and 6 light switches were rewired.  Only 3 outlets are left, and they will be done on 2 different days.

Once the 2 guys left, it was time to relax before taking RQS to the train station.  Although I still had a lot to do at the end of the day, I no longer worry about how disruptive this work would prove to be....

A Busy Evening

 

As usual, I didn't do a thing all day - until evening came.  And then, I became active.  If the world started to wake up to get most activity done at night, I'd be in perfect sync with the world. But the world revolves around its axis, and not mine....

I was awake a little earlier than usual, but stayed inside my apartment until I had to get ready for dinner with my friend from the meetup group. When I left the house, it smelled like there was a fire nearby.  It's hard to believe that forest fires in Canada are causing the air pollution we're having in the Northeast lately.  It's even harder to believe that the particulates are enough for us to need to wear our masks again. But that day is here.

Reaching my friend, it took us a while to order dinner.  And then we discussed her wishes to change careers.  I'm not sure if she's going to make it, as she has a speech pattern that belies a slower intelligence for many people. But who am I to say?  It was a good conversation, and I think I was able to help her.  I'll find out when I get back from my vacation.

All too quickly, dinner was over, and it was time to go home.  Like a cisgender woman, I couldn't wait to take my bra off.  But it was going to be on for another 3 hours or so, as I was about to have a zoom chat with the friends from Texas with whom RQS and I are going to spend a long weekend in Chicago. So, I made it home, turned on my computer and waited....

Around 8 pm, the zoom started.  It was good that RQS is now a member of our chats, as it helps make her a 4th wheel for our group, having a good balance and moving forward to a good clip.  (How should I make a 4th wheel metaphor work when describing something that works well?)  Once we were done with the zoom, RQS and I had our usual daily chat. And then, it was to bed for the night.