It’s another GORGEOUS day in New York City. This morning it felt like sweater weather! It’s been a while since I lived in cold weather…so, I’m starting to psych myself up for it.
Yesterday I got to be Mr. Mom. I couldn’t help but laugh as I rode the bus across town and looked down at my shirt and pants. I had a full day working…which included sending out gifts, talking on the phone regarding the construction site, renting a van and taking stuff to one of two storage spaces in Chelsea – then taking shelving units from the same storage places to the new apartment on the Upper East Side (which is also the aforementioned construction site)…I then ran back to the home office I work out of (on the Upper West Side) and prepared a to-go dinner for my boss’s daughter, Robin.
With dinner in one hand and my bag over the opposite shoulder, I got on the bus heading uptown, walked over two long blocks (those who have been to NYC know what that means…it means I was walking west to east, the “short blocks” run north/south), and picked up Robin from after-school tutoring. The she and I headed to the subway and rode downtown to a private screening of the forthcoming film, Duma. I think that was the first time I sat down all day. After the movie, we sat down to eat some of the dinner I packed before heading back uptown.
I turned over Robin to her Dad and as she settled into the nightly ritual of her bath and reading and I headed home. Riding home I noticed that I had sheetrock dust on my jeans, marinara on my shirt and I reeked of gas fumes from the rented van. All in a day’s work.
The events of the day furthered my admiration for parents everywhere. It requires a lot to balance a family life and a work life...and I just got a small taste of it. It is remarkable what my boss is able to do and accomplish in a day’s time. She’s always on and always on her game. She’s amazing.
Yesterday afternoon Elizabeth’s Mom & Dad have arrived (Mamma Dell & Daddy Schenck), but I still haven’t gotten to see them. I’ve worked two 11 hour days back to back and by the end of the day yesterday all I wanted to do was go home and get in bed.
I did go straight home but I didn’t quite make it to the bed. I decided to watch a movie with dinner. What could be better than a scary movie? I LOVE scary movies. I mean REALLY scary movies. Freddy and Jason horror flicks do nothing for me. But give me a good psychological thriller and I’m there.
I recently found the move SAW on DVD for $9 and I had to add it to my collection. I saw it a year ago when I was on the road for work and it literally terrified me to a point that by the end I was speechless. I remember the lights coming up in the theater and it was a half past midnight. I thought about the 10 blocks I had to walk back to my hotel and found myself raising my voice in the theater and saying, “Ok…somebody in here is walking me back to my hotel.”
I was serious, whether they knew it or not. Many audience members chuckled and I could tell I had lightened the mood of the theater…which was great for them, but I still needed someone to escort me back to the Days Inn.
No one came to my rescue…guess it’s hard to conceive a 6’ 1” man with broad shoulders and football player’s build could be truly scared of a movie. I took the LONG way back to the hotel staying on the main streets and running like child under the long, dark underpass (that was not lit in any way, I’d like to add).
Even though I’d seen the movie before, there were large patches I had forgotten (probably because my face had been buried in my hands the first time around). The movie frightened me all over again. Ah, good times.
The movie is brutal, dark and gory but more than that it is brilliantly creative. The mind and psychology behind it is what truly makes it so scary.
The sequel is coming out soon and I must confess…I can’t wait!
