About Amanda
I’m a disgruntled LIRR commuter by morning, real estate journalist by day, insomniac by night, and cancer butt-kicker for life.
Where To Find Me
An Accidental Trip
Published January 14, 2012 | A Writer’s Book of Days (01/14) – Write About The Horizon
“Wait a second, are we supposed to be going over a bridge?” Mom asked as the J train rumbles into daylight.
Crap. I forgot that Essex Street and Delancey Street were the same station and missed the stop.
In a few months, I was moving to the Bronx for college and was still learning the intricacies of New York City’s subway system. We certainly weren’t supposed to be going over a bridge. Nor did I know that the next stop, Marcy Avenue, wasn’t in the greatest neighborhood.
We got off the train at Marcy Avenue and waited for the next uptown train. There were some interesting characters loitering around the station, and I knew Mom was a bit nervous. She hadn’t ridden the subway in decades, and this wasn’t exactly a mistake that would calm someones reservations.
Finally, an M train pulls into the station and we hop on, taking a bench seat by one of the windows. It starts moving back toward Manhattan.
“Look at what God painted tonight,” Mom whispered, pointing to the sun setting over Manhattan’s horizon. The sky towards the front of the train was filled with brushstrokes of orange, red, gold, pink, and purple. It was one of the more spectacular sunsets I’d seen.
Flickr: bondidwhat
“Look!” she said more loudly, pointing towards the east. Not only we were witnessing a beautiful sunset, but a rare moon rising over Brooklyn’s horizon.
Sometimes missing your stop isn’t such a bad thing after all.
The 8th Day of Christmas – Christmas in NYC
Published December 8, 2011 | When I was younger, I went to St. Mary’s School in East Islip. Every December 8, we’d have the day off for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, so we took the opportunity to go into Manhattan and spend the day doing fun holiday things. Even though I’m not off on that day anymore, I love spending at least one full day in the city doing holiday things. My favorites, in no particular order: Continue reading
Unspoken Rules
Published June 5, 2010 | I’ve managed to get avoid yet another Summer Friday on the Long Island Railroad. It’s the period of time starting the Friday before Memorial Day and ending after Labor Day in which Fire Islanders, Hamptonites, and Montaukians take over the normal, usually quiet, commute home. Ask an everyday commuter on the Montauk Line about Summer Fridays and I guarantee they’ll make a face or groan. Certain beachgoers have earned a well-used nickname – citiots, short for idiots from NYC.
You can tell easily tell the beachgoer from the regular commuter. Beachgoers are Teva, Havaianas, polo shirts, and sundress-clad; smell heavily of suntan lotion or preppy cologne; carry Vera Bradley duffel bags and totes; have cell phones glued to their ears; and sometimes bring along a small dog, usually without a leash or crate. Your regular commuter is dressed for work, whether business suit or hard hat; has a monthly pass hanging around his neck; carries a newspaper and cup of coffee or platform beer; and attempts to sleep the entire way home.
There are unspoken rules that the regular commuter follows. If there aren’t enough seats, allow someone to sit down next to you. If someone was on the platform before you, allow them to enter the train first. Speak softly on your cell phone. Don’t bug to the commuter next to you if he’s sleeping. Don’t eat smelly food or wear heavy perfume. For the most part, this ends in a peaceful ride home (at least when there aren’t service delays).
But not on Summer Fridays. Continue reading
Carry On, Good Lady
Published January 16, 2010 | I feel like one of the people in the Halls Get Through The Season ads that have permeated NYC subway cars. Haven’t been able to get to the doctor or acupuncturist, and would prefer to go to the latter as I don’t want antibiotics. Hopefully I’ll get over what I think is a sinus infection by the time I leave for Taiwan.
Those Halls ads always make me feel uncomfortable. One of the comments on Ads of the World pinpointed it – you feel like you’re going to catch a cold just from looking at them. I’d probably be less bothered had they been painted caricatures, but they’re disturbing digitally warped photos.
Face The Type
Published January 10, 2010 | I wrote to Daryl Lang today in response to his blog post about rouge subway signs (back story: I was at the DeKalb Avenue station the other day and noticed a black-on-white sign, which Daryl posted here, and Google brought my curiosity to his website), in which I explained the difference between the MTA’s Helvetica font and the once-used Akzidenz-Grotesk (if you’re interested, here’s a great site on Helvetica and the NYC subway). Although the standard signage font nowadays is now Helvetica, there are still bits and pieces of Akzidenz-Grotesk around. I’ve always prefered the latter, as it’s a slightly cheerier font – the diagonal cuts of the c and e remind me of smiley faces. Lame, I know.
But then it got me thinking about which fonts I love and which I truly abhor. Admit it, you have those two. Continue reading