Today I took NJ Transit from Teaneck to Port Authority. It went very smoothly. I got in about 90 minutes before my lunch date so I decided to walk across town on 42nd street to Pfizer and my old apartment building. When I got out of Port Authority, I noticed immediately that at least 75% of the people on the sidewalks were wearing masks. The amount of people on the sidewalks seemed like a Saturday midday rather than Friday midday. The city was coming back to life. It is hard to know what the new normal will be with so many of the jobs staying remote full or part time.
As I got closer to the East Side where I worked and lived it felt normal – like if I had a place to live and a job to do I could walk right back into NYC and be content. Oddly it is not the “sense” of home I felt in Philadelphia – comfortable but different.
Normally at the main entrance of Pfizer there is a steady stream of people in and out and I was literally the only one there. Very odd feeling. I walked around the corner and took a picture with the building I lived in for 9 years in the background.
I lived on the 28th floor of the red building. My vertical commute in the building elevator was longer than the horizontal commute to Pfizer. I had a fabulous view of the Chrysler Building, the East River, Tudor City and the UN. I often wonder how much my living space made the transition to NYC easy for me. There was not a building blocking light or view on 3 sides so I had lots of sunlight every day. I did not have to deal with public transportation – bus, subway or taxis to get to work and could walk to get pretty much anything I needed. I was able to take my time adjusting to what was unfamiliar in my new environment.
After my trip down memory lane I started walking back to the West Side for my lunch date. I realized I was not going to make it hailed a cab. Most of the cabs I saw looked like tiny minivans rather then the sea of yellow sedans when I left – far fewer taxis on the streets.
I had a wonderful lunch with a woman who was a medical assistant for me at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle. She then went to WSU, Temple Medical School, NYU Ob-Gyn Residency, Penn Urogyn Fellowship and has been on faculty at NY Hospital/Cornell for past 10 years. It was so fun to catch up with her. I was so distracted by needing to use the bathroom after lunch that I forgot to get a picture with her.
As I was walking back to Port Authority, the temperature really started dropping and it became clear the predicted rain was going to happen. I walked by the Madison Square Garden and saw people going into the new train station under the old Post Office across the street from MSG – work that was just getting started when I left. I was amazed by the number of people zooming around on the City Bikes in the middle of the city. Bikes seemed to be used for commuting – not just being used by tourists to ride in Central Park or on the paths around the city.
I will be back in Manhattan tomorrow and will be on other parts of the city. Hopefully the predicted break in the rain for the afternoon will happen so I can do all of the outdoor activities I have planned.
Tamara Unleashed 