SoC #31
November 15th, 2009
- As I ran aboard the last Ikea bus leaving NYC, just behind the driver and before he closed the door
- another passenger proclaimed me “Lucky, I’ve been waiting 30 minutes!”
- I smiled and shrugged my shoulders and looked for an empty seat
- went back halfway and my subconscious heuristic chose the skinny asian woman
- (there’d be more room for my wide shoulders)
- I asked if it was free, as I pointed to the seat
- didn’t hear her response but her face indicated approval
- I sat and caught my breath as I texted my success at catching the last bus
- as we got out of the tunnel the setting sun lit up her side of the bus and I noticed her outfit
- typical fall knits and tights and boots, at least that seemed to be what every other woman in NYC was wearing
- her attractive face with pulled back long hair completed each other well
- but her posture said stay away, crossed arms and legs…
- as I contemplated my best Mentalist skills, I weighed
- the risks of exercising my social skills VS her apparent
- desire not to be “socialized” with
- later her demeanor stayed firmly knotted, yet there broke the semblances of a smile on her face as I glanced over
- I took the mixed signals to mean she was ‘taken’
- but didn’t see any rings on significant fingers
- the lack of traffic brought us to Elizabeth quickly
- only punctuated by 4 texts and 2 phone calls
- besides her phone was studded and I couldn’t figure out
- whether she was much younger than I guessed, or why would
- a woman have such blingy accouterments with otherwise earthy tones and sensible knits?
- alas we disembarked before the perplexity allowed me a chance to break the silence
- and I was in the hunt for wood
- it reminded me of the reality show on Planet Green
- I’ve been mildly addicted to
- they were accumulating firewood for the season
- 4 groups of people from California to New Jersey
- retired factory worker with his daughters
- a computer tech, among others
- in “Alaska Experiment”
- a show about how these people will survive a winter in Alaska,
- roughing it in some cabins and tents, certainly unplugged and in the wild
- lumber turns out to be cheaper at Ikea than I can get at lumber stores in Manhattan
- I cruised the aisles and activated memories of short cuts but
- the Ikea was under renovation so at the second turn past pots and things I started looking at signs
- I arrived at aisle 35 bin 36 and was surprised at the quality of the bed slats, it was labeled unfinished wood
- but was much better than what I could pick up closer to home
- and this was pretty much cut already to size
- OK, I changed my plans a bit, but saved myself some noise and sawdust
- now to figure out how much to get…
- I decided on 3 bunches as well as a few other odds and ends
- the skill of picking a fast line proved still with me
- but there was only twine at the packing table
- i was hoping to make a handle from tape
- so it took a while to tie it up and fasten a handle
- as I worked feverishly a woman and two small children walked by
- she was somewhat out of it, but I didn’t really pause to observe
- and instead continued to tie and hope to catch a quick bus back home
- as her older child the daughter pulled a sign off the wall and it came crashing down loudly
- an Ikea staffer came over quickly and asked her a question but she didn’t respond
- I thought whats with these woman today who seem to not have a voice?
- then her boy started to bang a cart into the wall and the table I was using, so I shot her a look of WTF?
- she just took my stare and let it glance off her
- not even making any attempt to corral her charges at all
- I made my final knot and rushed out the door
- just past the woman I sat next to
- she was on her studded cell phone and she stared up off into the distance as our paths intersected
- she towards the returns area
- me out into the fresh air
- and then I sprinted with cart towards the bus for the second time
- and the driver indicated that he had to check if there was any seats left
- luckily the woman in front of me was waiting for someone and I heaved the stack of lumber into a free spot and boarded the bus
- the purple colors were spectacular with the setting sun and the golden rays bouncing off downtown skyscrapers sandwiching the blue waters of the Hudson
- I thought to myself how timely was my impromptu trip just as we hit tunnel traffic
- enough time to review my To-Do list and send a couple texts
- I carried the stuff across the long subway tunnel and my thoughts strayed towards that Alaska Show again
- I was carrying 30 pounds of lumber to make some furniture
- and they were logging and splitting firewood to the tune of 9,000 pounds to survive the winter
- I sweated a new understanding of their predicament
- just got snookered on a 4x trade, but it was only for dimes
- and I realize that 2 monitors are not enough for all that I want to do
- so the new furniture I’m building which will be part custom bed, window seat, and large work surface with plenty of storage underneath
- should allow me a spot closer to my multi monitor setup
- and I did de clutter about 100 pounds this weekend
- despite the 30 more I brought home.
