Vanishing Act - Parts 2 & 3

Part 2

While we were in Manhattan on Wednesday on our way from the bus stop, sans phone, to Arrojo Studios, Fern and I stop in a shop and she tries on clothes. She ended up buying this adorable high-waisted black skirt. Very hip.

At the end of day we're back in the apartment. We have a dilema. I need to be back in Washington at 11:00 on Thursday for a meeting which was already postponed twice for me, I'm so important, Dahling.... We need to watch Lost. We need to drive 4 hours. And we need to get some sleep.

The plan, albeit not a good one, becomes return to the apartment, take a nap, eat dinner, watch Lost, leave Brooklyn, drive home, sleep till 10:00, get up and go to work. Fern didn't have to do that last bit, just me.

The nap was cut short by a quick dinner delivery guy, but we were diligent about cleaning up during commercials and were ready to go.

I'm blaming this next part on the fact I didn't have an adequate copilot/navigator. Somehow, after crossing the Outer Bridge Crossing I ended up on the way to Atlantic City instead of Washington. I saw the signs for the Turnpike, I just ended up on the Parkway instead. And, I was in the express lanes so I couldn't correct my mistake quickly. It wouldn't have been a problem at all had I crossed the Goethals, but nooo.

When I got off the Parkway I pulled over to check my (mostly) trusty iPhone. I plugged in 'hotel' in the map and it came up with one less than a half mile down the street. And they had a non-smoking room available, for a whopping $68. They even had quilts on the beds. :) The alarm was set for 5:30 and we were out of there before 6.

When we got home Fern cleaned out the car and I took a shower before heading off to work. She couldn't find her new high-waisted skirt which she had been wearing the night before. I'm usually the last one out of a hotel room so I can look for hidden belongings, but not this time.

I called the hotel to no avail, they didn't see it. I think they did and liked it too much. But, that's just me.

Part 3

BG&E wants to take down all our trees along our back property line that borders the state highway. They are too tall and can cause too much trouble for the power lines. They will give us $100 voucher for each tree they remove so we can have shorter trees put in. Somehow I don't think that'll be the same as the 60' shady Cypress trees they'll be replacing.

 

Vanishing Act

Wednesday morning Fern and I were in New York. We were staying in Brooklyn at a friend's apartment and planned to take the express bus into Manhattan. On the way to the bus I say "Phone check," and we both tap our pockets. "Got it," Fern assures me. "Got it," I reply back. "Camera check?" "No, I left it in the apartment." That's ok, I say, I've got two, three counting my phone.

I hand Fern her Metro card for the bus while waiting for the bus by a garden wall, she's sitting on the wall, I'm leaning against it. Then she can't find the card. While we're searching frantically the bus pulls up. I swipe my card and we sit in the front seat of the bus to find her card. Finally I find it in my tote bag and all is well.

The bus is a long distance coach bus, not a typical city bus so it's comfy in the front seat. We stay there. Fern and I chat about what we want to do in the morning, our hair appointments aren't until noon so we had time to kill. She wants to eat breakfast. The driver can hear us since were are so close to him. Eventually he learns our plans and suggests a stop and a route to walk which should provide ample opportunities for food on our way to our destination on SoHo.

We get off the bus downtown near the Battery and the financial district. I check our seat on the way out and grab Fern's iPod which had slipped off her lap. The bus turns the corner and vanishes.

Fern's phone isn't in her pocket.
It's not in my tote bag. Not in my purse.
I call it and we're not hearing it ring.
My heart sinks.

We found a place to eat and called AT&T to suspend service on that phone. By the end of breakfast I was feeling better and not stressed about the phone. We went on to have a good day, got our hair done, putzed around Times Square, used the restroom at Tiffany's, and got new headphones at the Apple store.

I took my "big" camera with me. I had checked the battery before we left home and it had a full charge. The first time I pull it out to take pictures, it won't, no juice. So I had to lug a big heavy useless camera with me all day. The Kodak is having issues again with acknowledging the memory card, so I'm down to my phone. Grrr.

For a small donation...
I took this of Fern and Elmo. I actually thought I took two pictures but only this one was there when I looked later. Naturally, the other picture was better.

This is the entrance to the Apple store near the southeast corner of Central Park. While Fern and I were in there, I plugged in my phone for a quick free charge.

By that time we were pretty tired and our feet hurt. The bus stop for our bus back to Brooklyn was only a few blocks away so we called it a day.

When we got off the bus near the apartment Fern scoured the area for her lost phone to no avail.

Thursday, back at home, we went to the AT&T store and got her a new phone. Same model as before, and through the magic of desperate economic times, I got that, and added unlimited texting for the whole family and got a 15% discount on my bill for only $30 out of pocket.

Post Script

Sunday night I got a call on my cell phone from a 718 number. The caller's mom found Fern's phone at the bus stop in Brooklyn.

Tiffany Window

The customer service waiting area in Tiffany's Fifth Avenue store is decorated much like a hotel lobby in tones of beige, taupe, tan, with bits of brown and olive. On the tables between the thickly stuffed chairs were white Phalaenopsis orchids, not quite dinner plate-sized, but beautiful just the same. Two walls were lined with ten booths staffed by friendly, efficient, business-like representatives. The necklace I bought back in October had broken and the repair was complimentary. Here is a view from their sixth floor window towards Central Park.

I have a question for you parents: Do you ever withhold information from your kids about something you'll be doing just so you don't have to endure 30 minutes of "can I come too"?

Yesterday I went to New York for my semi-annual shearing at Nick Arrojo's Studio and didn't tell anyone. My husband knew, of course, but I didn't tell Fern nor any of my friends. I tried to explain to Fern parents get to do things like that, sans offspring, but she's still mad. She'll get to go when she gets straight A's on her report card, but sometimes I get to go by my self.

sheesh.