Taking things one day at a time, I suppose is a better title than doing time.

I am still waiting for the Board of Education to call or contact me. Today was another day with nothing much to do. I just realized that I had my camera in my backpack today while I went out for a walk. I thought that I’d left it on my desk. So, needless to say, I did not take any photos today. I was just planning to walk around my neighborhood, but I ended up walking further than planned.

I started my walk walking to the internet shop. I checked my e-mail and sent out the URL to the photo page for those Pen pals who might have forgotten my old web site. Opps! I just realized that some did not receive the URL. Sorry! Since I returned to New York, I am missing some e-mail addresses. I gave away my old computer (with the e-mail addresses) still inside.

After briefly surfing the internet, I’d planned to walk around the nearby park (which is what I did yesterday). Not a very exciting plan is it? My starting point was 125th street and 5th avenue (I’d already walked 10 city blocks to reach the internet shop). From the internet shop, I walked down 5th avenue to 110th street (the Northern entrance to Central Park).

Since I hadn’t eaten lunch, I went to a local store. Another thing I missed about Japan, the convenient stores. In Japan, I could just walk into a convenient store and buy an onigiri (a rice ball packed with meat and wrapped in seaweed) and tea. A healthy meal when you don’t have time to fix a meal. I was hungry, but I wanted to try to eat something healthy. My first choice was a hamburger with fries and a soda meal set at a place called “Mama’s Chicken”. However, there was no “Mama”, just a short Spanish guy in a greasy apron who had difficulty understanding the customer on line saying “meal order #9”. There was a bit of a crowd, and all of the choices were one greasy sandwich combo with fries and a soda. Next door, there was a Bodega (the poor man’s convenient store). A Bodega is a small store usually owned and operated by a Hispanic person (or persons). In the Bodega, I was surprised to find fruit salads. However, 1. I wanted something solid that would fill my stomach, and 2. the salad containers looked old and dirty. I passed on the fruit salads. As I looked up and down the racks and racks of junk food (cheap cakes, cookies, chips etc…), I got a little annoyed that I could not find anything healthier than the dirty looking fruit salad. So being in a pouting mood, I bought a granola bar and orange juice, and kept thinking how much I wanted a rice ball.

At the entrance to the Northern part of Central Park, I was planned to walk around the duck pond (Harlem Meer) located at the North of Central Park, but since I did that yesterday, I decided to walk a little further. I ended up walking around the Central Park Reservoir, and then I walked back home to cook dinner. In total, I walked about 2 hours.

My plan was to walk; cook dinner then relaxes in the bath. However, things just don’t seem to go according to plan. After I’d finish cooking (spaghetti), my father told me to not wash the dishes. It seems his lady friend suggested that his grandson should help around the house. I’m thinking to myself….Oh, great!
Sorry, I just deleted about a page of explaining. I forgot that this blog is about my situations. I really shouldn’t be writing about other people, especially without their permission. However, if it directly relates to me, then I think writing about someone else is okay, as long as I don’t use that person’s name, or picture without their permission. But I really should think carefully about what constitutes “directly relates to me”. Sorry for the confusion.

To make a long story short, I am not living alone, so I have to share the facilities. This also means that the facilities may not be to my “different” standards.

Well, I think that is about it. Tomorrow, I plan to return to the mall in Jersey City. However this time, I will be taking a different route. Until next time…