A quick run for lobster before the movie.

Both RQS have a craving for lobster rolls.  We'll go out of our way when we can to catch up with the Lobster Truck to get our fix.  This week was different.  Instead of chasing the lobster truck, we went to Stew Leonard's for their summer weekend lobster cart.  And it was almost as yummy as lobster from the truck.

But first....

RQS planned to come to my place, so that we could go see the movie "Oppenheimer" on the IMAX screen at a theater on the other side of the Hudson.  I was in Marian mode when she arrived, and she commented that she'd have been surprised to find me in a pair of trousers.  That made my day in a very pleasant way!

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Saturday came, and we proceeded to Stew's for lobster rolls.  Unfortunately, there were no more seats at the theater we wanted to go to, so we had a fallback plan - see the movie at the Drafthouse in Yonkers. In-between lobster and the movie, we killed some time at the book store, and proceeded to the theater in time to see the movie.

I was glad to have some background knowledge about  J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Project before seeing this film.  Coming out of the movie, I had a better understanding of why this man was the least likely person to lead such a large project, and why this man was to be spit out by the powers that be shortly after he was no longer needed.  Like many excessively smart people,genius in one part of his brain was balanced with character deficiencies in another part.  Even though I am nowhere near his level of intelligence, I understand the nature of someone like Oppenheimer, as I have similar flaws of a lesser magnitude.

Would I have wanted to live Oppenheimer's life?  No!   He was a great man, but with greatness comes people trying to bring you down.  That has happened in my life, and I have suffered for it.  I am grateful that I never had a burden like he had....

 

I'm now a trusted traveler!

 

 
Today was a rare day that I took off from work because I needed a full day to take care of things.  My visit to Customs and Border Protection for my Trusted Traveler Number required me to be in Lower Manhattan at noon for a 30 minute "Interview".

Although this was a day I'd have rather spent in Marian mode, my interview required that I look like the name on my official documents AND my meeting with RQS could not have went well had I not been in Mario mode.  My worry - I wouldn't find a packing spot at the local train station.  But I needn't have worried.- the pandemic's effect at the local train station's parking lot made it very easy for me to get a decent parking spot.  Unfortunately, it cost me more to park the car than for a one way senior ticket to NYC.

I arrived at the Global Entry center (at the former Customs House) a few minutes early, and was impressed by how they left much of the structure alone in areas controlled by TSA/CBP.  When I reached the area for my interview, the interview area looked like it was designed for a modern building, yet fit perfectly in the space.  (DMV should only look this open and functional.)  The interviewer took my fingerprints (same equipment I used at the census) and asked me one question: "Do I still work at 'xxxx'?" and I answered yes.  That was it.  My number was activated, and I was free to meet RQS at Grand Central.

There is not much to say about the rest of the day, save that we went to a new "Lobster Truck" not affiliated with the brand we enjoy so much.  This was the biggest mistake of the day - the lobster roll was not satisfying, and both of us wanted to enjoy something else.  And that we did - we went to an ice cream shop where they had wine flavored ice cream....  YUM!

I was looking forward to some lobster, and I almost missed it.

 

The above picture was taken at the site of a former country club in my area.  Doesn't the place look serene?  Well, the bulk of the property has been converted into a nondescript upper middle class housing development, and this is the only part of the site that looks as it did when I moved here almost 40 years ago.

You might be asking, why was I here to take this photograph?  Well, the answer is related to the picture below:

I've been looking to catch up with one of the food trucks from Cousins Maine Lobster for months now, and this was a golden opportunity I couldn't miss.  One of their many trucks was sited less than 10 minutes from home.  So I decided to go a little out of my way for a bit of lobster and some clam chowder.

I was talking with my friend Valerie on the way home, and overshot my normal exit on the way home to keep from losing the phone connection in a back roads dead spot.  And this made me forget about the reason I was taking this route in the first place.  As a result, I stopped into Chipolte for a burrito.  Yet, I was lucky.  They prepared my order as if to go, and I wasn't happy with the idea of eating it there.  So I brought home half a burrito to eat tomorrow.  While on the way home, I remembered the food truck, and stopped by the former golf course to pick up the bite to eat that I originally wanted.  This was worth my effort.  The clam chowder was good, but the lobster roll was great!  I'll definitely look for this truck again when it's in my area.

After I finished my dinner, I settled down to relax.  First, Vicki called me.  And then TCL called me.  By the time I was done with the phone, it was almost midnight and I had to post this entry.  Luckily, I was already prepared to tell a quick story about the food truck - all I needed to do is find out how good the lobster roll was....