I have to admit, I have it pretty easy with this whole transit strike. But I feel for those transit workers who do not want to strike and have to pay 2x a days pay for every day they strike. And I feel for the people that live way out in Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx that work in Manhattan and are not on salary. I hope this strike is resolved soon for those people.

Here's a little picture (taken by my Treo) and word diary of my morning...just to give you an idea of what the transit strike was like for me.

I woke up this morning a little late because I could take advantage of the strike. My boss lives 100+ blocks away from work - I knew it'd take her a while to get into the office. I chatted with my mom for a while and finally got ready. I laced up my sneakers for the mile and 1/2 walk.

Since I work in the entertainment industry, I usually get to work around 10am - late morning works for me! I normally leave my apartment by 9:30 and get to work before 10am because the subways are really quick. But this morning, I left at 10am and started my walk. I decided to take my time and enjoy the city - not something I normally do.

It was really cold this morning - 23 degrees - when I left the building. I had to bundle up in my new winter coat, my ear muffs and my scarf wrapped around my face. I could have put the hood on, but that was a bit much.

There's a rule for cars in Manhattan during the strike - they must have 4 people in the car or they are not allowed into the city, or below 96th street (for those of you out of town, that's the vast majority of Manhattan). Thsi means that cabs can take more than one person, but they have a rule that they must not charge more than $10 per person. Not a bad deal if you have a ways to travel. But I decided to walk and enjoy the strange day.

Here's me on 23rd street. It's hard to take a picture of yourself when you dont want anyone to see you looking like a tourist. So i had to be careful :)

I walked up 6th avenue looking for a starbucks, which isnt hard to find. Can you believe that one of the 5 starbucks I passed on the way to work was closed!! What are we supposed to do with our coffee? ha, kidding. So I stopped at the 3rd one I saw and got myself a grande vanilla skim latte. Yum. But it was difficult to drink when I had to keep covering my face like the picture shows. I felt like I was getting my own personal steam room treatment on my face with each breath into my scarf. I cant wear lip stick in the winter up here or it would be all over my lower face by the time I got to work.

My latte and I continued up 6th avenue. I kept thinking that I should stop in some stores and do my Christmas shopping, but I never stopped. Still not sure why I didnt. Oh well.

Normally, I would break out the iPod and listen to some tunes on 1.5 mile walk, but this is difficult in the winter. I like to wear my behind-the-head earmuffs and this makes headphone very difficult to wear. I have these little ear buds but for some reason, when I put on my coat and the earphones and the earmuffs, I get these tiny little shocks every time I swing my arms. It's quite a sight with me cringing every few steps.

I decided against the iPod and in turn thought I'd listen to the interesting conversations around me. The strangest thing I heard was spoken by a Russian woman. She said "you know, I think sea salt is so very beautiful." The guy with her says "Sea Salt?" She says "yes, I think it's beautiful to look at." Ok woman, what drug are you on!

Here's a picture of Herald Square - that's where Macy's is. See all the cabs - there were plenty to go around. But I only had 11 more blocks to go.

I had finished my coffee and was starting to sweat by now. Hoofing it with a hot latte warms you up.

Again thought about stopping at Macy's to get some Chrismtas presents, but never stepped in the door. Procrastination is fun.


I made it to Times Square - Sonny, these pigeons are hangin' out right where we were standing with you a few weeks ago. The pigeons keep warm on the grates here when warm air rises up from the depths of the city. I always thought it was from the subway, but I guess it's from somewhere else. Hmmm?

There were a lot of marketing people out today handing things out to all of the walkers - very smart! I saw people from Brookstone, from Circuit City and FedEx. Way more than normal. And several dressed as Santa. I also so the Union rat that they bring out when a company has mistreated their workers - but it wasnt even related to the transit strike. Wonder if they are getting their point across today?

And finally, here's a picture of me getting on the escalator at my office. It only took me 35 minutes to get here. I took my time, took a few pictures and had a lovely cup of joe.

Not much work is getting done today. And just found out it took a coworker 4 hours to drive to work this morning. Why even come in because it will take you that long or more to get home. She might as well leave now.