Pbenjay's Blog

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I’m living in a world where I am omnipresent-everywhere at all times.  If you can’t reach me on my phone a/k/a house phone now a/k/a my land-line, then you can call me on my cell phone OR you can send me an email on at least two of my three email addresses OR you can text me and I will get it on my blackberry…SO why is there a problem communicating?

That was a rather loosely-connected (sorry for the pun) prologue to what really happened today.  There was a break down in communication BUT not really because I couldn’t be reached.  However, I liked writing that blurb about the absurdity of how connected we all are.

I had to make an overnight food and turkey run to New Jersey so I could pick up my turkey that I am paying $2.65 per lb for in a town that is “kinda” on the way home to New York City while my friend is paying $2.39 per lb for the same brand turkey AND if I had bought it where she did and where I did shop today I would have not had to “race” back to try and get to the City before my daughter did.  She was driving in from Boston with a baby, a baby nurse and a 2 yr. old in tow and I HAD HER KEYS! Not good!!

I'd Walk a Mile for this turkey

Here’s the break down in communication – I told my daughter that I needed to use her refrigerator on Sunday when I brought the turkey home and her freezer.  Here’s what I said, ” Will you be home on Sunday or will the key be with the doorman“?  At which point she turns around and gives me the key.  Did I think it was her only key? NO!  Today as we are trading semi-hysterical phone calls while each of us is speeding to Manhattan, she says, “You said the afternoon” – did anything I say sound like afternoon.  Someone doesn’t always listen to whole sentences.   The baby will have to be nursed, Finley will have to be fed and they will be locked out.  Ever the fixer and over-giver I come up with a plan; first I call my friend who has a key to my apartment and ask her to leave it with the  doorman – that will work.  I call Chiara back and suggest she send the car to Queens with her baby nurse so she doesn’t have to park it or park it in her garage and take a cab to my apartment with the kids.  I don’t think she appreciated my suggestion at all because she said she would just have to go to a restaurant and wait for me. Needless to say I asked at least 3 times if she thought the doorman would have a key to the apartment since it was a corporate rental.  “NO” says she and “we’ve been through this before, he doesn’t have a key”!!!

The next glitch came when we left the Orchard and because time was really of the essence, I suggested that we drive north on Rte 18 or Rte 9 and my driver thinks we should stay on Rte 34 till we hit the Garden State Parkway or the NY Thruway. Welllllll as we headed home on Rte 34 we saw a sign for the GSP and so we turned right…right into some beautiful countryside, looked like horse country BUT no Parkway.  About 20 minutes later we finally saw the entrance to the Parkway and I just knew we would never get into the City before she did. Damn it anyway!!!

I said I would call her once I was thru the tunnel and I did and guess what?? She was in her apartment – seems the doorman had a key after all (which I said I thought he would since IT WAS a corporate apartment).  But what do I know?

The other break down occurred when I tried to dash into a beauty supply store to pick up a few things and my card was declined – WHAT??!!!  I’m not even going to go into that issue – I run out of the store and to the car to get another card.  Did I mention there had been a line of people behind me in the store, oh they were thrilled. Back in the store, thrust my American Express at the girl who says, “oh we don’t take American Express”. Well, that’s that – I leave the stuff and as I run out the door, I hear the cashier calling out that she has a void!!!

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