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Another short story and for a primarily restful day. I am rushing a bit so I did not get all the editing done. Please ignore the typos.

The day started with me up too early. It is the time-change Fall-Back day. I had managed to change all the clocks except for the one I use. So I was still jetlagged and enjoying the three-hour time difference between New York City and the Pacific Northwest. I falsely decided that 5:30 was early but not terrible. I discovered that it was 4:30! I managed to get back to bed, but sleep did not come, so I was up at 5:45ish. Ugh!

I took a shower and dressed. I saw a small flood by the wall in the bathroom. The toilet is spraying water when flushed in the master bedroom. The floor, I had noticed this and was trying to ignore it, was uneven in the bathroom. Likely the toilet leaked for the month I was away. I clean up the water and then reach to turn off the water to the toilet.

Now, this is usually where an actual disaster happens. The force to turn off the water breaks the nob off or even breaks off the valve and floods the house. Or the homeowner decides to “tighten” the leak. This usually results in a break off the valve too. My neighbors did that, and we had to turn off the water to their house (having to show them how to do that).

Nothing terrible happened, and I managed to shut down the master bedroom toilet without incident. I do not know if it is an insurance issue or me covering it. I will call Allstate this Monday morning.

Susie surprised me by getting going at 8:30 on Sunday morning. I had again made oatmeal from scratch with steel-cut oats. She had that, and then I shared a can of peaches with her. The stroke has made her left hand hard to control, and Susie dropped all the syrup and peaches on herself.

She got redressed, and I cleaned up the spill. Easy.

Susie decided to just order lunch delivered. Pizza! Dominos. I also spoke to Mom Wild and decided she could have lunch (dinner) too. So I ordered thru GrubHub a pizza delivered (with a salad) in Michigan. She was thrilled.

I called into Zoom meetings for church and said hello to folks. I was late for the first call, thinking it was at 10:30, but I got to say hello to a few folks. I then made the small group meeting, and again they were happy to see me.

I put on a movie for Susie, and she enjoyed some fav pizza, pineapple with ham.

Susie is being cautious with her new walker from NYC rehab. She still steps out of the walker, a bit unsafe, but she corrects it. So we are getting used to the carpet and the house with the new walker.

I read and took a nap.

Dungeons and Dragons gaming was at Cory’s house at 5:30, and we agreed to risk Susie being home alone for a few hours. She has her emergency button around her neck. I did pop out to McDonald’s and get her fav, Happy meal with apples. Corwin and I finished the pizza for our dinner.

I played my D&D character after driving Air Volvo (driving seems strange now instead of using subways) to Cory’s house, and, only missing one game while in NYC, I was soon caught up on the adventures in Hell. The campaign, purchased by our leader Matt with the miniatures and Hell machines, is about a city falling to Hell, literally. Our characters are in Hell trying to save the city and release all the souls trapped by a tricky deal that would fit a Faustian story.

I got tired as we played. We finished at 9PM, as usual, but I was sleepy. So I went to bed at 9:30. Corwin cleaned up the kitchen for me.

I hope you are enjoying the blog as I finish my sabbatical on Sunday. Back to work on Monday!

This was a very boring day to describe as I spent most of it resting and not doing much.

I started Saturday at about 8:30ish local time. I had tried to roll over a few times, but nope it was time to get going. Jetlag.

I made oatmeal from scratch by boiling some steel-cut oats. Then, I unpacked just a bit to enable me to get dressed and cleaned. I took a shower and noticed the bathroom floor was not even. I really was still too tired to care.

I ordered lunch from Happy Panda as Susie would like Chinese, I reasoned. Susan was exhausted and still sleeping into the early afternoon, and she was finally moving in the afternoon and had lunch. I was writing the blog. Susie enjoyed her lunch and went back to bed.

I stayed up and watched Star Wars movies with commercials on TV while writing and nodding off a bit. Corwin would do the dishes for me later.

I ordered burgers for Susie and me. Red Robin delivered them via Uber at about 745PM, and I stumbled off to an early night. I managed to make it to 9PM.

Before sleeping, I did manage to restart Alexa Echo in the bedroom so we could control the lights and have music again in the bedroom. Unfortunately, it stopped working and had to be reset and added to our local group. In the house, Alexa is called “Echo” and allows Susie to turn on the lights by voice and have music. The bedroom and living room lights are controlled by Alexa (using Philips lights and a bridge device plugged into the house network). It is a safety item.

I remembered after Leta (Susie’s mother) called and reminded me, to set the clocks back. Except for the one I use. This would have me up too early on Sunday.

A dull day as I said, but one with rest.

Sorry for the delay. I was drained after a 22-hour stress-filled adventure. Sorry for typos and I just wrote and published.

I started Friday just before 7ish in the apartment. It was my last morning living there. I got up and pulled the sheets, and put them in the hamper. I showered and dressed. I then wrote the blog while running one last load of laundry. I took the extra nice butter, eggs, cheeses, and meat I never finished and put them in a paper bag and but outside near the street. “Free Food–Moving” sign was put on my slightly ripped Zabar bag. I washed the one glass I used the last month and put it away. I cleaned up a bit and tied all the bags. I emailed the apartment manager that I was leaving and left the “Cleaning Invoice” form filled out on the counter.

I put the key away as directed before and left the apartment for what is likely the last time.

I called an Uber that drove right by me, and that was when I finally walked 1/2 block to him about my luggage, but it all fit without issue. This would be a pattern for the day.

I then had all the luggage staked on the wheelchair. I went through security one last time, and the security folks all wished me safe travels. Susie was still in bed and not dressed when I got there. Susie was dressed soon, wearing her best sweater and her sweater coat with her nice leather hat. The staff members stopped by to wish us the best.

The official exit wheelchair, following the strange pattern for this day, was early, and we soon were on our way out. I was quickly handed a wrapped peanut butter and jelly sandwich, apple sauce, pudding, and juice containers too. This was Susie’s lunch.

Kat had asked to see Susie as she left, and we managed to get Kat in the hospital’s front door to chat with Susie. While she did that, I had to find the car service.

I had ordered a car service to get us to Newark. The guy was at the front of the hospital, but not the entrance. So the driver called me and discovered he missed the actual entrance and had to circle five blocks to get to the correct. After three calls and me waving my hat, we finally got him into the right entrance and Susie aboard and off to the airport.

The driver got us into the airport and helped me get the bags into the proper place. We managed to get boarding passes, and one bag was checked without issues. The gate security was massive, and we got funneled to the very last lane.

I managed to get all the shoes, belts, bags, laptops, and cane into a bin and then walk through without issue. Susie was lost in security. They just left her sitting there for ten minutes. They asked me why I did not wait for her; they told me to go through (growl). They finally found a gal to pat down Susie and test all her surfaces in their checker machine. Our bottles and food also got to be hand-checked. It was all passed. Susie and I were happy to survive that without more trouble. We had hours until our flight.

Next, we learned that a first-class lounge does not exist for United. After looking unhappy, the United Club check-in guy let me buy one-day access. I was happy with that. We had a nice table, food, drink, and excellent Internet. So we rested there for three hours. That was my safety margin for getting to the airport. I found it restful to have a short rest, and Susie nodded off a few times.

Soon back to the adventure, as hours initially appear to move slow, but suddenly there is no time, and I thanked the gentleman who made an exception for us to use the United Club as we headed back down to the elevator.

I get Susie to a family restroom, but it is in use, and even after twenty minutes, it was still in use. Not sure what happened, but the dad of the family came back with ducktape! We leave them and find another restroom for Susie to use. Out of breath and worried, I get to the gate only 15 minutes before boarding.

Delayed. The plane is late being released from customs as the previous flight was an international flight. The lead stewardess heckles the gate worker about not having a plane. Apparently, the aircrew had rushed too, only to find nothing at the gate. So my rushing and worrying were followed by waiting.

Ninety minutes later, the plane is called. There is no wheelchair for Susie to get to her seat. The gate guy just calls for boarding and boards the plane. There is no early boarding for those who need more time or kids. With an extra 90 minutes, they failed to get a wheelchair there.

I get frustrated and just push Susie down to the plane, telling the gate guy to scan us on, and said  I will not be stopped by them. For Susie, the big issue is that first big step into the plane. It is uneven, far, and just a bit scary. I figured we just make it work–we have done it before, but as I get there, the stewardess who was heckling the staff before steps out and says, “How can I help,” and she carries all the bags on while I help transfer Susie to the chair/wheelchair which finally arrived to get her to her seat.

Susie and I have the last aisle seats in First Class. They had given away our seats and rebooked us to these. I was surprised when I checked in and found our seats changed. But two aisles next to the other bathroom, economy, worked for me. Susie just reached over and banged on my chair if she needed anything.

We get Susie into her seat, and everyone is happy to help us and glad to see the last passengers loaded. Ready to go.

Well, no. Catering was late, and so we waited. Then once we finally pulled away from the gate, the pilot told us that a “halt” was issued, and we saw fire equipment out to meet a plane with issues. But, it appears that it all worked out, but we spent another thirty minutes on the ground. I could see the IKEA sign in the windows and I suggest we visit “catering” to get meatballs for dinner.

Finally, we took off, and it was an outstanding experience. First Class dinner was good, and there were endless drinks. I stayed to coffee and ginger ale. One child managed to scream for about an hour after take-off, then on and off again, and finally for landing. I did not know a child could cry that much. I was able to ignore it as it was four rows away.

We landed and were the last folks off as the chair/wheelchair waited until everyone else was off the plane. I did help with the process and showed one of the Portland folks how to clip all the safety belts (I have done this a lot now). Luckily, we found our one bag locked in the lost baggage office as we missed the claim process as we were so late getting off the plane.

Mariah drove us home. We missed an exit, and Mariah had some issues getting to the airport as the torrential rains had flooded some roads, and folks hit the water and flipped their cars. But we made it home, unloaded the car, and drove Mariah home in Forest Grove. Finally, home at 2:30 and asleep about 3ish local time. 22-hours or so of work.

I am glad we are home now, and I hope you liked the story.

 

Going backward, it was past midnight when I went to bed here in the apartment. I road a near-empty and fully masked 1 train back from Time Square. Kat road the train one stop with me to Columbus Circle–the Kat Layer is not far there.

I did finally notice that Kat spells it Cat, but it is too late to change!

We came from the new movie, opening night, The Eternals. It is long, and it is flashy. The acting was good, and the special effects, including new bling that impressed Kat. It was a disappointment. There are no spoilers here, but the movie seems a bit disjointed, and the storyline is hard to believe and even follows a few times. The action scenes are a feast of special effects, but I think the storyline is lost, and the movie needs to be edited better. It seems to drag a few times. But, Kat and I were still happy to have seen it. Your experience may be better, and if you are an Eternal comic book reading, you will love it.

Before that, I said goodbye to Jason and Tasha after enjoying cheesecake at Juniors near Timesquare. Real NYC cheesecake, or what I call, stealing from the Parrotheads, “The Last Cheesecake in Paradise!”

We had a slightly rushed dinner at Danella’s near Times Square, preceding “The Last Cheesecake in Paradise.” This is “an Italian Restaurant,” and the food was good. I am not sure if you should just eat appetizers here as the pasta is heavy and good. Especially if you are following it with cheesecake and then a movie. ZzzzZzzz.

Me looking at cheesecake in NYC.

To get to dinner, I road the C train from Columbus Circle. It was my first time on this train. It is a bit newer and deeper than the 1 train. I had kissed Susie goodbye at 7ish and walked down to the station from Mount Sinia West.

The day at the hospital was busy as I had to get prescriptions at the local CVS. Dr. Kline wanted to ensure we had stuff ready until we could get help from our Oregon-based doctor. I had to discuss our plans to exit at 1PM and let Susie hear that she cannot walk alone any time when we are home. Until Susie gets used to walking inside her walker, she is not safe to walk alone. This will be a burden for both of us, but we will make it work.

Susie had her last therapy, and everyone was happy with how much she has improved. Susie is to have more work with PT and OT when we get home.

I got there and helped Susie get dressed. I also got a pile of soiled laundry to deal with and tried to take that with grace. Well, I tried–I had hoped my last four loads the day before were my last opportunity with the apartment laundry room.

I road the 1 train the last time downtown this morning. Being about 30 minutes late. I cleaned up the apartment and packed some more. Getting ready for our escape from NYC.

I awoke about 7:30 and got up and wrote the blog and had breakfast after that, dressing and all that jazz.

Note: Today is a travel day as I am writing this Friday. So the blog is a bit rushed while I get ready to escape. I talked to the super and will put out the remaining food for folks to take. While I will not miss the apartment as I never planned to live here, I have had the pleasure of finding out what life is like living in a Studio in the Upper Westside. It is a strange life in NYC, both excellent and cramped. You live outside of your apartment here. That is where you find the cheesecake!

 

The day started with me up before 8 and rushing like a crazy person. This was my packing and organizing day.

I first called the hotel I stayed at, Fairfield Inn, thanked them again for all their help and told them we were leaving. They were happy to hear that Susie was getting better. They also gave me the phone number of the car service they use.

I managed to get transportation from Mount Sinai West scheduled; I had to give them the hospital’s address to Newark. Plus, It took three calls, but it was arranged for and even paid for.

While that was going, I did four loads of laundry. Then, I got our stuff organized back into luggage and put everything we wouldn’t need in my bag.

I then took my Nike roller bag on the subway (it was past noon). Next, I stopped by the UPS store not far from the hospital and shipped that bag home. One less thing to carry to the airport. I have clothing put out for the remaining days, of course.

I spotted a Russian Dumpling to-go place and got an order.

Finally, about 1ish, I was back at Mount Sinai West, and security folks remembered me and were happy to hear we were leaving.

Susie was partially dressed when I got there and was eating lunch. There was a morning PT session that I missed. Also, the new walker, to take home on the plane, had arrived. Susie was happy to see me, and I shared some of my dumplings with her. While good, I did not finish them. It was a lot of dumplings.

I helped Susie get fully dressed. I also got more light in the room. The PT folks have noticed that Susie is often not ready to fully be a part of the therapy when it is darker in the room.

Susie had Occupational Therapy while I was there, and the OT gal asked me to participate. So we walked with Susie all the way to the gym, and there, I was surprised, was most of a taxi car. We practiced getting into the back of the Buick. We then walked all the way back. The OT person was surprised by Susie’s not getting tired.

Susie’s dinner came, and I got a text from Clint that he was 40 minutes out. Clint is married to Susie’s niece and so like me an inlaw. So I met him in NYC for a few hours. He was in New Jersey for some training and popped on a bus to NYC.

We met at the transit bus station near Times Square.

Aside: Before that, I had to walk the insane tunnel between the 1 line and the rest of Times Square station. It has some ramps that are so steep that you can actually slip and fall. There is a sign that the ramps are not safe for wheelchairs! I call it the f**king endless tunnel, and I walked that thing three times on Wednesday!

Next, we jumped on a subway to the Bryant Park area and took a quick walking tour of the big public library. We did manage to get to the reading room and took a quick look at the Treasure’s show I did a few weeks ago; it was free.

Next, we walked for twenty minutes to Macy’s. Clint loves to show people the old wooden escalators. I have to admit it was fun to ride them all the way to the top and down.

That is Clint riding the wooden escalator.

Lastly, we popped on the subway back to Times Square. We went to the Beer Authority, and the security guy remembered me and asked how my wife was. I used to write the blog there at night. He was happy to hear that Susie was better.

Clint picked out the beer, and the pretzel bites were great. The rest of the food was just average. We chatted about things and caught up. We have not seen each other since the last family meetings before the pandemic in 2019.

Clint and I said goodbye at the bus station, and he reached his hotel without issue. I took the 1 train, after walking that tunnel again, and was home and just slept.

I also took a picture of my walk to Columbus Circle. I always look up and head towards the three sky scrappers. It is one of my memories of NYC, the strange skylines.

I hope you have enjoyed the blog and the stories of my accidental residency in NYC.