While construction is almost finished at the Bleecker St/Broadway-Lafayette station that would allow uptown 6 train riders to transfer to B/D/F/M trains and vice versa, the only current option available is still the out-of-system transfer. Free out-of-system transfers are available at certain stations like the 59 St where riders won't be charged an additional fare for leaving the system. These stations are usually announced so people will know.
At other stations though you will be dinged for another fare once you exit and walk over to a nearby station. For riders using an unlimited Metrocard though this isn't really an issue except that you would have to wait 18 minutes before being able to use your card again. This past Thursday however I did the out-of-system transfer at Bleecker St/Broadway-Lafayette station after getting on the 6 train at Canal St 5 minutes ago and just to try it out I swiped my card at the turnstile without waiting the 18 minutes. My card work and I was immediately allowed back into the station! I guess the MTA waived the 18 minute rule at this station. Why didn't they informed us of this? I would've had an alternative option of getting home with the B train.
While my card worked, I wondered if pay-per-ride users can re-enter the station without being charged again. If so, this is an unannounced free out-of-system transfer station! If not, they should have made it one of those stations all these years! Now that the in-system transfer is almost complete it seems a too late.
All these properities are probably still cheaper than a place in Manhattan!
Apparently mosquito season has already begun at my residence with me getting two bites on my right hand. I never realized how painful it was to have a bite on my finger. It hurts more than it is itchy!
I can't believe it has started already! Then again, it never really ended around here in the first. Something about this area is a constant breeding ground for these pests. It's probably all the trees and plants neighbors grow around here that's making it so bad. Maybe it's time for a nighttime fly by spraying? We didn't get one last year, so it's long overdue I think.
From the bites to the buzzing sound you hear while you are sleeping and it flies right by your ear, everything about them is annoying. As bad as the bite on my finger is, it's still better than getting bitten on the face. At least you can cover your hand somewhat. Not so much if it was on your face. You have to walk outside and get stares from people passing by wondering if you got beaten up. That happened to me once and I don't like to go through that again!
This past Saturday before heading to the
Broadway show "Book of Mormon," I chilled out in the Upper East Side,
Yorkville to be exact. I didn't had any plans except to have dinner
before the show and because there was a chicken restaurant in this neighborhood
that I haven't tried that was on my chicken list, this was the perfect time to
go.
The restaurant in target was called Chicken Carnival. The place was
advertised as a place to get Peruvian chicken, like another restaurant called
Pio Pio. It was a rather cozy place with a only a handful of seats, but I
had no problem getting one. After a brief moment checking out their menu,
I ordered the half chicken combo with saffron rice and beans and a side of
sweet plantains and within minutes my entire order was ready.
The chicken itself was not bad. Not too dry, salty or greasy, and was
pretty tender. It cut easily and went quite well with the rice, though
the rice was a little undercooked due to not enough water used probably.
The sweet plantains tasted exactly as I thought they would taste: sweet.
I think the meal overall was good. It wasn't anything spectacular, but it
filled me up happily. I believe Pio Pio has a larger menu, so if you want
something more than just chicken, you might want to go there instead. If
it's just the chicken you're after, I think either place is fine because
taste-wise I feel Chicken Carnival is on par with Pio Pio.
What better way to spend my birthday than
working overtime!
Well, this year it landed on a weekday and the weather was so-so for the first
half of the day, so it wasn't too bad. On the plus side I refused to do
any more work once I got home and took it easy for the rest of the night.
Saw a lady on the subway today writing some
notes on a piece of paper that was placed sideways or perpendicular from
her. In other words instead of writing right to left, she was writing
down to up. I've seen people write like this before, but she was one of
the extreme ones and literally had the paper sideways.
I quickly glanced at her notes and they were quite legible. The letters
weren't terribly slanted I thought they would come out. If it wasn't for
me watching her while she was writing, I couldn't tell she was writing that way
at all based on the results.
I wonder how she gotten used to writing like that. It doesn't look too
comfortable having twist the arm like that. Also, it seems like it
required more work because you had to write the letters out sideways so they
correctly match the orientation of the lines on the paper.
It was somewhat strange watching her write like that, but then again I'm really
not in the position to pass judgment here. People that have watched me
write stuff say that I hold my pen/pencil and write like a lefty even though
I'm a righty.
Today was the annual Bayfest in Sheepshead
Bay. This year seemed like there were more participants and vendors
compared to last year. Maybe it was due to the nice weather?
As usual, there was the mix of activities and events. Games, musical
performances, free handouts... it was a nice outing for everyone.
Unfortunately, the musical performances located at the front of each pier and
the two stages were too close to each other. A couple of the bands played
at the same time and the result was a blend of pop, dance, rap, rock, classic
rock and international music. It was hard to clearly distinguish the
music apart at times. At one moment while I was watching a couple of
[middle eastern] performers, I thought they were dancing to the rap music the
Brooklyn Nets truck was blasting behind me because I couldn't hear their own
music.
If for nothing else it was a great day to take a walk along the bay and enjoy
the perfect weather.
