I have no idea how people can commute from Trenton to NYC everyday. It is absolutely exhausting. I awake at 5 and I am out of my house by 6:30. My train pulls into Penn Station around 8:30. Today we were a half hour late because the train before mine hit a person and the trains stopped so the tracks could be cleaned of body parts. All day long I am on the phone. It is strange for me to go from knowing everything to knowing nothing. In my last company, I was there almost 10 years and I knew it all. In this new position, I am trying to absorb as much as I can but it just isn’t happening fast enough for my taste. It will happen, I must be patient. At 4:55 I run out of the office and sprint to Penn Station to catch the 5:01 train. I reach my car around 6:20 and I am home by 6:50. The last few nights I have considered going to bed at 7:00. Maybe I am just not used to it and once I grow more accustomed to the commute and the work I will not be as exhausted. I hope so. Heck, I hope the commute to and from Philly won’t be as draining. (if they ever find an office here!)

Me so tired

I worked from home today and Bo refused to get in his crate. Refuse isn’t really quite the right word. I never asked him to get in his crate. Bo just doesn’t go near it anymore. I assume he thinks if he stays away he won’t get locked in. This morning I placed some fabric over top the crate and I put his favorite stuffed animals inside of it yet he still stayed away.

Today he was safe but tomorrow I work in the New York office. That means a full day of crating. Grrrrrrrrrr! I gotta look into doggie daycare.

After work, Lisa and I took Bo to Tyler State Park for a nice long walk. On the car ride to the park, Lisa told me that she has been haunted by Stevie Nicks!
“Are you sure you mean Stevie Nicks and not Stevie Wonder?”
“I am not joking, I keep hearing her songs on the radio! It’s happening far too frequently, she is HAUNTING ME!”
“Lisa, I think you are overreacting.”
And at that moment the Daryl Hall and John Oates song we were listening to ended and a Stevie Nicks song came over the airwaves!!!

FREAKY!!!!!

My character on Prison Break survived to see another episode or two!!!! Lisa recently got me watching it. She told me she loves the show because it so closely echoes our relationship. I am apparently the older brother who is on death row for killing the Vice President and she is the younger brother who got himself jailed so he could break his brother free utilizing the massive tattoo on his back that shows the underground grid of the prison’s pipe system. This evening’s episode had the older brother strapped to the electric chair and Lisa just cried and cried! “No Donna!” she said, tears streaming down her cheeks. I have to admit that I am rather glad that this show upsets her. At one time I have no doubt she would have giggled and screamed, “Fry the bitch!”

I don’t know what to think about 24 anymore. This episode has to sink in, I guess.

Little Bobo spent 4 hours in his crate today. This morning I worked from home and instead of sleeping in my office as he usually does, he slept in the parlor! Bo must have known what was in store for him because he stayed far away from his crate. When it was time for me to leave for my appointment, I had to push Bo into his crate! He would not go in on his own. I have a feeling it might have to do with the lack of fabric surrounding the crate. Lisa found that he was entertaining himself by trying to pull the fabric into the crate (as I had found the first time I crated him) so she got rid of it. Now the crate is just a crate and not a makeshift cave and Bo seems to like it less. I am going to have to find a way of tacking the fabric on in such a manner that he cannot pull it inside the crate.

I had a strange experience today. A few weeks ago I had a dream that I was sitting in a white room at a conference table. I was surrounded by men on either side. We were having a meeting about something or other and I was taking notes. This afternoon I found myself in exactly that same situation. Everything seemed the same, the room, the conference table, the fireplace, the people, etc…

Strange.

Tonight is 24. I wonder if Jack Bauer will encase the city of Los Angeles in duct tape to keep the Syntox nerve gas at bay?

I think New Jersey Transit is evil. When I take the train to New York City, I leave at peak time. Coming home, it is off-peak. One would assume I could buy a 1-way peak ticket and a 1-way off peak ticket, right? Nope; unless I am missing something. These are my choices:

Adult One Way, $11.50
Child/Senior/Disabled One Way, $5.25
Adult Off-Peak Round Trip*, $19.50
Child Off-Peak Round Trip*, $9.75
Ten Trip, $115.00
Weekly, $97.50
Monthly, $320.00
Student Monthly, $240.00

As you can see off-peak tickets are only available as round trip. What really hurts is each ticket is labeled with the destination so I can’t just buy a couple round trip tickets and use them when I come home. I am wondering if maybe I could buy off peak and use it during peak and have the ticket-puncher charge me the extra bit. But what would he charge? Would it be the difference for one ticket or the round trip difference? Grrrrr! Maybe I should just forget it and pay the extra bit.

The shower went well. Audra got tons of nice gifts. I am happy to be home and heading off to bed. Goodness, I am tired! Tomorrow will be the start of my first full week of work! I will spend Wed – Frid commuting to NYC. I really have joined the rat race!

Tomorrow we must get up early and drive to our parents’ house. Mom, Lisa and I are driving all the way to Pottsville for Audra’s shower. Bo will stay with Dad for the day. He is going to have a swell time. They’ll sit on the deck if the weather is nice. Once that gets old, they’ll move inside and watch TV. Little Bo will have a great time. He loves his grandfather! 🙂