Odds and Ends

[catsittingstill]

I have been working on Common Ground, but still can't play one line and sing the other. A few more days of practice, maybe.

However, Scheherezade is very clever, so I do have an mp3 of her and me performing it together. It's here.

In other news I will be going to New York for a week to help a friend clean out a house, and see a bit of Long Island and NYC. I've been frantically running around trying to get as much as possible finished before I leave at 0 dark thirty (probably it will be light, but maybe just barely) tomorrow morning.

I got the futon restuffed. The futon we got back was so much thicker than the futon we handed over I wondered if someone had given us the wrong one. Getting the futon cover back on it was ...um...a vigorous two-person effort. I resent dripping sweat on a brand new bed I haven't even gotten to *sleep* on. But we did it.

I didn't sleep very well last night; it felt like somebody else's bed. A nice cushy bed that gave me a subliminal sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, but I still spent a lot of time half awake. Hopefully I will sleep better tonight.

I also got a new futon cover for the futon/couch, because the old one was ripped and the rip had been getting worse and worse.

I also got a Trip-Tik from AAA for my drive to New York. I spent a thoughtful hour or two pouring over the maps and the Trip-Tik and the directions from Mapquest and the directions from my friend, trying to reconcile everything. I *think* I know how to get there. Also I got the AAA tour book for New York and marked all the stuff on Long Island. There are beaches, and wildlife refuges (mostly on beaches) and historical reinactments and castles and all kinds of stuff. I'm going to spend at least a day in NYC and see the Library (mostly the Lions) and the Empire State Building and the Museum of Natural History and the Statue of Liberty and Central Park.

Probably I will be spending most of my time cleaning a house, though. Which is fine; that's the point.

I expect to have e-mail and web access, but may not be checking as much as usual.

Comments

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

When will you be on Long Island?

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

I expect to arrive Sunday night (9 or 10) and to stay until the following Saturday night. So the 8th to the 14th of July.

You're a New Yorker, aren't you? Want to get together?

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

I'm a Long Islander, no less! I'll be in Toronto from early Monday, the 9th, returning on Thursday evening, the 12th. Which means that if you're free at any time from when I return 'til when you leave, yes, please :)

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

Sure, sounds like fun. Um. Send me e-mail at cat (a) hwaet d0t 0rg (deconvolute in the usual way) and I'll send you the phone number of the place where I'll be.

[pocketnaomi.livejournal.com]

Speaking as a native New Yorker who actually *has* seen the sights of my own city, I can't recommend Ellis Island highly enough. You'll have a ticket to it automatically if you're going to the Statue of Liberty; they're on the same ferry, which does a three-way trip, so you can't actually avoid going there at least for a moment, but give it enough time to see the place. It's amazing.

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the suggestion; I will try to see it.

[mdlbear]

A day is hardly enough for New York City; if you have time you should try to get to the Metropolitan Museum of Art as well as the Museum of Natural History. They take about two days each for a proper visit, but...

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the recommendation; I hear the same from my sources locally :-)

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

There is too much to see, and the NYC summer is hot and wet. But where on LI? I used to live in Great Neck.

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

This is Northport. Long Island seems to be cooler than NYC; we went swimming this evening around dinnertime and for a while I was not sure I was going to get all the way in the water. Once I got used to it, I was okay to swim for a while, though.

Northport near Cold Springs Harbor!

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

That takes me back; my father used to take me fishing in Cold Springs Harbor, like, 40 years ago. That's way further out than we lived, though--about 50 miles from NYC. It probably is cooler there, being almost on the Sound.

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

Oh, and enjoy your trip, even if it is much-consumed by cleaning! Free advice, perhaps worth what has been paid for it: beware of the map tools during the day--travel times in and near Manhattan are always long; if you are touring in Manhattan, it may be best to stick to public transit.

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

I will keep the public transit option in mind. I would kind of like to try the subway; it's supposed to be very efficient.

[mdlbear]

I hardly ever used the bus system in NYC, but the subways are -- or were, anyway -- wonderful. Take the train to Grand Central Station, which is a sight not to be missed all by itself, and you can take the subway from there to just about anyplace in NYC.

Or just walk up 5th Ave to Central Park, which is what I always used to do.

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

Mandelbear is right; the subway is the best way to get around Manhattan, and anywhere you're likely to want to go in Manhattan will be a few blocks from a stop, or a short bus ride from a stop. Besides, driving will probably be unpleasant on weekdays. For the full commuter experience, get a ride to the Huntington Long Island railroad station, and take the LIRR to the subway. :-)

...have you considered renting a bicycle in Central Park?

[hms42]

How was your visit to NY?

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

I ended up staying a few extra days to get more done. We've made a big difference, but we're nowhere near finished. I drive home tomorrow.

[hms42]

Have a safe trip home from Long Island.

Harold S.