Last night I went to a cookout at a friend's house a few blocks from our house. It was a nice walk over, and it's interesting to see the change from one street to the next in this city. One minute you are in the projects, the next you're walking down a tree-lined street of gorgeous old brownstones, and then you come to an avenue, bustling with bodegas, groceries, barbershops and laundromats. I love the variety.
Well my friend lives on a quiet street where the houses all look the same but they have front porches and actual front yards! Tiny ones, but still. So we had a cookout with a bunch of people and sat outside, enjoying the dusk. E tried to befriend stray kittens, but they would have none of it.
While we were eating, suddenly a pair of Elders (Mormon missionaries) walked by randomly, so we called out and invited them over for some dinner. They were very happy to oblige, having been out tracting all day. And as soon as they were done eating, they went right back at it, knocking at doors along the street. They must have some adventures in Harlem, sticking out like sore thumbs!
Next a UPS man came along with a package for my friend, and we invited him to eat with us, too, but he was on the job and wouldn't stop. Probably wanted to finish his deliveries as soon as he could and get home. I don't envy the life of the UPS evening delivery man in Harlem. Never knowing what kind of street or house or apartment building he's going to have to venture to, he must have some crazy adventures along the way. I hope he gets paid well.
As we settled back into eating our hamburgers and chips, suddenly a news reporter from Channel 11 was introducing himself to us and asking if we wanted to comment at all about the man who lived across the street. Turns out my friend lives across from the guy who spread internet rumors that he was poisoning Gerber babyfood. It was all a hoax, but now he's being prosecuted, I think, for causing an uproar. So the reporter and his cameraman were wandering around outside the guy's apartment looking for talkers. I would have talked to the reporter, but at that moment my phone was ringing.
It was my dad telling me that he couldn't figure out what is wrong with my computer so he's taking it to his "Level 2" guys at work. They are the ones who fix the Level 2 problems, apparently, that are more serious than your everyday Level 1 bugs. Having a dad in the computer industry is nice! But my poor computer--what will become of you? Will I even recognize you when they are done? Meanwhile, I am reduced to blogging from work or the library...
1 comment:
Aw! You're killing me with the computer thing! It's so sad to imagine life without, uh, several! :) I know, I'm insane.
As for UPS, unless things work differently in NYC (which is entirely possible!) than everywhere else, there's no evening shift for delivery guys. They work really long hours some days but get paid very well for it. I know a couple UPS guys, and it's often they're at work from 7am until 8pm or even later on REALLY bad days. But hey, they get paid well, so...
UPS does have shifts for the warehouse guys, however. To get started you usually have to start on a night warehouse shift and work your way up to the day warehouse shift and then out as a driver.
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