Exploring

Three weeks and feeling quite at home in the city now. Have had some concerns, but manageable. The other night we came back to the apartments to find that the elevators weren't working. Ok, so do we walk 14 flights? No, apparently the stairs only lead to outdoors for fire safety reasons. My son was getting very antsy. Thankfully we only waited a few minutes before the elevators started working again. But it got me thinking....we would have to hang in other areas of the building or go back out when this happens. Not a very warm and fuzzy feeling...lol.

Parking and traffic has not been too bad. My commute back and forth to work has been good, minimal traffic delays. I have a parking spot in the complex garage, so finding a parking spot is not a problem.

My son and I often take daily walks around the area. We spent some time at the Philadelphia Free Library on Vine Street the other day. What a great building! I spent a lot of time there as a teenager, so it was a walk down memory lane for me. We got familiar with the layout, I renewed my library card, picked up some movies, books, and information on the free events hosted by the library. This weekend we plan to tour the Historical State Penitentiary grounds nearby and visit his favorite museum, The Academy of Natural Sciences. He seems to be enjoying himself and adjusting well.

Exploring the city on my own is always a plus. The other night I went for a motorcycle ride with my honey. The weather was great, a perfect night for it. We checked out the Rum Bar & Lounge too. What a great diverse crowd and great music! We danced all night...one of my favorite things to do! We also took a trip to the Reading Terminal Market, one of my favorite spots. Got lots of goodies!

Now that I have been here a couple of weeks, the feeling of home has started to kick in. I am also a big observer so feeling more comfortable about observing my surroundings and people. So I will share with you some of my observations. I understand my observations and perception of those observations often reflect a lot about the observer, and where I am in my life as the observer, so here it goes....

The other night while at Vango, I noticed a woman celebrating her birthday on her own. She had a cake, a bottle of champagne and a nice plate of yummy seafood! Some of us made it a point to say hello, happy birthday, and converse with her. I was very happy for her to be able to go out and celebrate on her own, but for a moment I felt a bit lonely for her. Why was she celebrating alone? Maybe she wanted it that way.....or maybe her friend or friends couldn't join her on that particular night. She left much earlier than we did, but she made a big impression on me.

She reminded me of a woman I saw on the train on my way to NY a couple of months ago. It was during the Christmas season while my son and I took a day trip to NY. She was sitting on the train with her head against the window and I noticed tears coming down her cheeks. I couldn't help but cry quietly with her for a moment. I wondered what was going on with her? Had she lost someone she loved, did a relationship end, was she or someone she loved sick? I didn't want to disturb her. All I could do was smile at her to let her know I was thinking of her. It was Christmas time, a time for joy, of spending time with family and friends, of celebration, but she seemed very sad. I think of her often still wondering why and hoping she is much happier now.

So glad to be able to share my experiences and thoughts with my good friends and family. Please feel free to comment when you can.