: Car and commute :
It's been pretty quiet here lately, so that's why I haven't been writing. Last weekend I transferred my title on my car, and today I just got my car insurance policy activated (surprisingly, it costs the same as in Texas - apparently I have stellar credit and a good driving record, even under my girl name) so this weekend I can finally get my car registered with New Jersey license plates and all that. I also need to have my car photographed (which I thought was peculiar, but it's how it's done in NJ) and inspected, plus I need to pick up my prescriptions. Hopefully they won't have screwed it up like they did last time.
As you might have heard in the news, New York is sweltering under a record heat wave, and that has made my lunch outings quite unpleasant. I'm not in the habit of checking the weather report because in Houston there was no need to. You got in the car, which was right outside your door, drove a few blocks and parked in a garage. You generally weren't outside for more than five minutes at a time, unless you wanted to be. So on Tuesday I made the mistake of wearing a long-sleeve black shirt with my slacks, and I decided to walk to the tailor on my lunch break to make alternations on a pair of pants I'd just bought this weekend at Old Navy. The alterations cost about as much as the pants did, but there's nothing for it - most clothes just aren't going to fit me right off the rack.
So by the time I'd walked six blocks to the tailor I was about to die of heatstroke. It was so bad that on the way back I ducked into Banana Republic, then the Gap and finally New York & Company to cool off and to shop for a new top to wear. I found a cream-colored, wrap-front, short-sleeve knit top that I bought and wore out of the store, just so I didn't have to wear that black shirt again for the rest of the day.
Last week I also played my first softball game on the company team. They put me at second base, a position I'd never played before. I used to play shortstop, but I guess the team captain figured she needed a guy at that position. That actually worked out well because I was so rusty after no playing for more than 10 years - I let a grounder go under my glove for my first error, then dropped a feed from shortstop that hit me in the face and almost knocked my glasses off (the toss was bad, but I should have handled it). However, I did catch three short infield fly balls during the game, and almost turned a double play, missing the runner at first by a step. But we didn't hit well (I was 1 for 3 with a fielder's choice) and eventually lost by mercy rule since the other team kept pounding the ball past our outfielders. We were also shorthanded with only eight players, so we had to borrow a catcher from the other team.
As I wrote to a friend recently, between work, play and my killer commute, I haven't had much free time lately for blogging, especially compared to how I was before I started working. Nowadays, I get up at 5:30 a.m. every day, rush out the door to catch a 6:48 a.m. train, then come home at 7 p.m. (if I'm lucky and don't have to work late). That leaves me about two or three hours to either make and eat dinner by myself or hang out with my family for a while and maybe watch some TV. Then it's shower and in bed by 10 p.m., but it's usually a bit later than that. During the week, I don't even turn on my computer at home and I try to stay productive at work so I can go home on time.
Despite my busy schedule, things have been pretty good for me, even with this interminable heat wave. It still thrills me that I've been able to shed my old life and start anew in New York, of all places. It still makes me happy to look at myself in the mirror, or when people call me Michelle and treat me like a girl. I think there will always be a part of me that will feel this way, and that's the part that makes it easier to bear all the other challenges in my life.
As you might have heard in the news, New York is sweltering under a record heat wave, and that has made my lunch outings quite unpleasant. I'm not in the habit of checking the weather report because in Houston there was no need to. You got in the car, which was right outside your door, drove a few blocks and parked in a garage. You generally weren't outside for more than five minutes at a time, unless you wanted to be. So on Tuesday I made the mistake of wearing a long-sleeve black shirt with my slacks, and I decided to walk to the tailor on my lunch break to make alternations on a pair of pants I'd just bought this weekend at Old Navy. The alterations cost about as much as the pants did, but there's nothing for it - most clothes just aren't going to fit me right off the rack.
So by the time I'd walked six blocks to the tailor I was about to die of heatstroke. It was so bad that on the way back I ducked into Banana Republic, then the Gap and finally New York & Company to cool off and to shop for a new top to wear. I found a cream-colored, wrap-front, short-sleeve knit top that I bought and wore out of the store, just so I didn't have to wear that black shirt again for the rest of the day.
Last week I also played my first softball game on the company team. They put me at second base, a position I'd never played before. I used to play shortstop, but I guess the team captain figured she needed a guy at that position. That actually worked out well because I was so rusty after no playing for more than 10 years - I let a grounder go under my glove for my first error, then dropped a feed from shortstop that hit me in the face and almost knocked my glasses off (the toss was bad, but I should have handled it). However, I did catch three short infield fly balls during the game, and almost turned a double play, missing the runner at first by a step. But we didn't hit well (I was 1 for 3 with a fielder's choice) and eventually lost by mercy rule since the other team kept pounding the ball past our outfielders. We were also shorthanded with only eight players, so we had to borrow a catcher from the other team.
As I wrote to a friend recently, between work, play and my killer commute, I haven't had much free time lately for blogging, especially compared to how I was before I started working. Nowadays, I get up at 5:30 a.m. every day, rush out the door to catch a 6:48 a.m. train, then come home at 7 p.m. (if I'm lucky and don't have to work late). That leaves me about two or three hours to either make and eat dinner by myself or hang out with my family for a while and maybe watch some TV. Then it's shower and in bed by 10 p.m., but it's usually a bit later than that. During the week, I don't even turn on my computer at home and I try to stay productive at work so I can go home on time.
Despite my busy schedule, things have been pretty good for me, even with this interminable heat wave. It still thrills me that I've been able to shed my old life and start anew in New York, of all places. It still makes me happy to look at myself in the mirror, or when people call me Michelle and treat me like a girl. I think there will always be a part of me that will feel this way, and that's the part that makes it easier to bear all the other challenges in my life.
