When it rains...it pours....

The people in this picture were gonna keep waiting...

This morning I awoke to a call from my friend Amelia (yes, the notorious poop story Amelia), who left a message saying that the number 4 train (on the East side wasn't running. She was nice enough to inform me of this as I was supposed to have a doctor's appointment for my ankle at 10am on the lower east side. A few text messages later, I discover (and to New Yorkers, this an emergency) THE SUBWAYS WEREN'T RUNNING...basically anywhere. Apparently due to a heavy rain storm (that occured while I was sleeping...I missed it compeltely) the subway was flooded and trains were unable to run. If they were running, they took a reported 45 minutes to go 3 stops (usually on a local train that takes less than 5 minutes). Amelia by the way was the one with the "shitty" day yesterday (sorry AB, couldn't resist...such a multitude of shit puns for this experience), but today, the majority of New Yorkers were having a bad day too! I tried to explain this terrible predicament to my Minnesota family members, none of whom seemed to understand...but picture this all you suburbanites:

It is a Wednesday and its time for you to hop in your car and sit in rush hour traffic and go to work. However your car isn't working...nor are about 65-70% of the cars normally running. Try to picture all of those people with broken down cars trying to fit into the remaining 30% of cars. That was the bus situation....below is a picture of the bus I FINALLY got on (because I got it at the first stop) after only 2 stops.



To make matters worse, it was (and still is) disgustingly hot outside. I finally made my way over to Mount Sinai (again on the trusty M96) to take a shuttle bus up that runs from Sinai to the Bronx VA (there was no way I was making it to the lower east side for my MD appt). I got there with about an hour to wait until the next shuttle came so I went into the building I used to work in cause I know they blast the AC. Just look at the windows...that's condensation from the air conditioning!!!



Disgusting. I saw a man in a white button up dress shirt walk in looking like he had run through some sprinkers. There was about 1 dry spot on his shirt. He was soaked.

Gotta love the summer in the city...Here's to better luck next week! (We've already decided this week has gone to shit...ha!)

Thats hot.

And no, I don't mean Paris Hilton getting out of jail. (Though I must say she looked the most attractive I've ever seen her with her natural, make-up free skin.) I mean it being 83 degrees at 9:30 in the morning (though weather.com says it feels like 88 due to humidity). Ick. It is hot. And hot in New York is miserable. It is not refreshing, cool breezed filled hot. It is not warm, soak up the sun hot. It is humid, sticky, thick stinkin hot. Keep in mind for those of us who don't make more than, say $50,000, and probably some of those who do, we can't afford to take cabs everywhere. And that means public transportation. And I promise you, if its 83 degrees outside, its at least 10-15 degrees hotter in the underground subway stations. Some may imagine its cooler down there, out of the sun. But just imagine millions of bodies occupying this space daily (which is open to the street above through vents and stairways, etc). It is like a brick oven. I feel like a frickin deep dish pizza sitting down there in the AM. And it doesn't help that:

#1 I am a natural sweater.
#2 I am on medication that makes me sweat more
#3 I have to walk at least 5 minutes to get to any subway station
#4 I am a natural sweater who is on medication that makes me sweat and I have to walk at least 5 minutes to get to any subway station.

It is seriously embarrassing. My damn eccrine and apocrine sweat glands (that's a little anatomy and physiology talk for you) are on overload and people often stare at me. Some even ask me if I'm ok. And I look up at them with water pouring out of ever pore in my face and say, "Yes, I'm fine thanks." Damn Minnesota nice. Oh well....my co-workers and I are planning a rain dance later this afternoon and we'll pretty sure it'll work. So we're hoping for some great thunder storms tonight and some breezy 70 degree weather tomorrow. Hope all of you are staying cool. Stay away from New York for a few days. We don't need any more bodies heating this place up!!