J.P.

For the first time in over two years of doing this commute/hide at lunch time thing, I am not holed up in the Jeep in the far reaches of a parking lot. Today I am sitting in the alternate Dunkin’ Donuts (the one that is five miles from work). I am sitting a table in the corner with my iPad and a bluetooth keyboard in place. Normally I would be doing this sort of thing in the Jeep, but it’s 94ºF outside and subsequently a little toasty in the Jeep right now. I could run the air conditioner while parked, but I don’t think that’s a very responsible thing to do. Why generate my own air conditioning, and in the process add to the pollution, when I can sit and enjoy Dunkin’ Donuts air conditioning? It helps keep the carbon footprint in check.

There’s a decided difference between the folks at the two Dunkin’ Donuts. This one has many more blue collar people. Not a bad thing at all, it’s just a change in scenery. Some look at me with this iPad and wonder if it’s a remote control for the UFO I have parallel parked out back, but I’m used to getting stared at so it doesn’t bother me. Toothless grins in my direction are still pleasant.

As I look out this window I can see the first range of mountains of the Adirondacks. They’re only a mile away from here. I guess they mean it in these parts when they say this is the foothills of the Adirondacks. Folks from the Rockies would probably call them big hills but they’re real mountains. It’s funny that I haven’t ever noticed the mountains being right there before. Usually I notice that sort of thing. Perhaps I should open my eyes more while I’m driving.

So today during my day off I decided to go up to the old stomping grounds of my hometown. I put a solar lamp on my father’s grave site because I thought he would enjoy the simplicity of not having a lit up stone, but just something tastefully simple nearby. I think it looks good. I didn’t take a photo.

After that I headed to the “Port City”, or the City of Oswego, which is on the shores of Lake Ontario.

Downtown Oswego straddles the Oswego River. Unlike many cities, Oswego’s numbered streets don’t meet each other. For example, West First Street does not become East First Street. West First Street is on the west side of the river and East First Street is on the east side of the river. The numbered street increment in the appropriate direction away from the river. Some find this confusing. I find it delightful.

The downtown area of Oswego has seen its hard times, like many cities in the neck of the woods, but it still has quite a few homegrown shops to keep it interesting. After parking the Jeep I decided to walk around and explore a little bit. My first stop was a place called Oswego Bagelry and Sandwich Shop, which looked like it was a hole in the wall but the staff was super friendly and the homemade sandwich was wicked good. Plus, I got a whole pile of pickles!

After I had my fill of lunch, I spotted a barbershop called “Downtown Barber and Shave Company”. Since I hadn’t shaved in a couple of days and because I’m starting to become a barbershop shave aficionado again (after years of having a beard), I decided to give them a try. I waited an hour and enjoyed some of the liveliest conversation I’ve heard in a barbershop in a while (and I think I was the oldest one in the place) but it was well worth it and I came out smooth faced (except for the complimented mustache) and unscathed. Appropriately aged customers are offered an adult beverage from the fridge. All walks of life were in the place and it was the way a barbershop should be. It’s a shame that it’s 75 miles from the house.

I have always preferred Oswego over nearby Fulton (though they are somewhat close to being the same sized cities). After I was cleaned up and I realized it was getting a little later in the afternoon, I hit Route 481 and headed down towards Syracuse so I could make my way home. I took an obligatory powerlines photo of these two circuits that make their way across the county because I found the “bentwood” cross arms to be interesting.

Before making the journey home I realized that I needed to stop at Best Buy to pick up a few things for the home office. And next to Best Buy was …

Luckily Earl had left me a short “honey-do” shopping list before heading to Buffalo this morning, so I went into Wegmans and picked up some needed staples for the house. Even though this particular store was one of the smaller ones in the area, shopping was still a delight because of the selection, the layout of the store and the general vibe of the place.

All in all it was a good day. I feel very relaxed and I’m ready to tackle what remains of the work week. After all, tomorrow is Wednesday and it’s my Wednesday too.

It’s good to be back in sync.

So today is Monday and the energy level on the street indicates this fact. I must seem hyper around others because today is my Friday, so I’m all happy and I have a smile on my face and I’m thinking about my plans for tomorrow, even though it’s an abbreviated ‘weekend’ for me.

Sitting in this shopping center parking lot during my lunch hour on a somewhat daily basis gives me the opportunity to make some observations:

1. Most people eat at the Chinese buffet on Thursdays.
2. Not very many people eat at the Italian restaurant on Mondays.
3. A lot of people eat Italian on Fridays.
4. Dunkin’ Donuts is almost always empty when I go in on Tuesday.
5. The food delivery trucks almost always arrive during lunch hour (which must piss off their customers).
6. The bank is never busy.

These are random things I notice and I can’t really tell you why I notice these things, I just do.

I hope everyone is enjoy their Monday as much as I’m enjoying mine. I’m going to sip some iced tea now. It was prepared and waiting for me when I entered the Dunkin’ Donuts a little while ago. They just magically pulled it out from behind the cookie case when I walked in. Mary told me she was expecting me.