Yankee Clipper Ruins Our Yankees Red Sox Game Day

Posted on August 10, 2010 by itees

Yesterday my family and I were thrilled because we were heading to Yankee Stadium to see our first Yankees/Red Sox game live! As you can imagine we paid quite a bit for our tickets and would be going by the Yankee Clipper that leaves from Hoboken, NJ.

The clipper arrived on time, but our outing soon turned into a nightmare. We took off from Hoboken and the ferry picked up more people at Pier 11 Wall Street and within moments we’re told that due to construction of a bridge on the East River, the Clipper will now have to turn around and go up the Hudson River. Yes all the way up, under the George Washington Bridge to the tip, and then waiting for a stupid train to go by so the train bridge can open for us, and then back down the east side of Manhattan toward the stadium.

We were fighting the current, had no air or a breeze of any kind and were stuck on this slower than walking, steam machine for 2 hours! When we finally arrived at the stadium we had missed 2 innings of the game!

How come there was no better plan? How come they didn’t know ahead of time about the bridge problems? For the cost and importance of this game, why didn’t anyone care that we missed part of the game?

Why didn’t the NY Waterway offer to give us our money back, or a discount on our next tickets? You can just imagine how angry everybody was.

Shame on NY Waterway for making an exciting trip to Yankee Stadium a bummer! I called today and complained, and I better hear from Upper Management.

Gadgets, Books, New, Recycled and Time To Visit My Local Library

Posted on June 26, 2010 by itees

Lately with the iPhone, iTouch, Kindle and other assorted gadgets available, I’ve been thinking a lot about the gadgets that start piling up around and in drawers, and whether we’re being environmentally friendly.

Each time a new computer, gadget or phone comes out, we’re all eager to see them, buy them and use them, but what happens to the older models we already have. I have an older Apple desktop computer in the corner collecting dust and I’ve always thought, it’s my back up just in case these two explode someday, (which probably will never happen, because they’re also Apple…) but actually I would probably never turn it on because the software is now outdated. I also have an older scanner, and probably a few old cell phones in some drawer. Time to figure what to do with them… donate the Apple computer and scanner or look into a company that recycles parts.

Recently, I switched from Directv to Verizon FIOS and when I asked Directv what to do with the two old boxes and remotes, they had no real plan. They do not collect them or try to recycle them, which I thought was such a waste. They told me they belonged to me, I sure don’t understand this. They suggested I put them up on ebay. Are they kidding? Who’s going to buy this old equipment and for what, $5?

I do love the idea that by loading up my iPod Touch, I’m not buying paper books, plastic/paper containers of music or have to carry a laptop or portfolio, everything is stored within or I can connect via wifi. But to be honest, I really prefer reading a book with pages that I can hold with both hands, the same goes for a magazine.

ipod-touch-sample

I’m always concerned about being eco-friendly and spend more time reading blogs and websites so I can purchase less newspaper and magazines, but perhaps it’s time to revisit the local public library. I haven’t been there in a while and it would be a much better way to read some of the latest or current books without buying them and adding even more books to my overloaded shelves.

Five-Corners-JC-Library-375

Jersey City Heights vs Hoboken and Gentrification

Posted on June 19, 2010 by itees

I lived in Hoboken for 15 years before moving up to Jersey City Heights. Some of my friends who live up here thought I’d love it and I did when I first moved here almost 5 years ago. But Central Avenue has changed in the last few years and not for the better.

Due to the terrible economy, some of the stores have closed and some that were vacant 5 years ago, still are. Today a store can only survive if it sells products we truly need, like food and liquor. We can live without new sneakers, but we have to eat and have that glass of wine.

I have noticed that down in Hoboken stores close also, but a new store is more likely to open there, than here. It’s obvious to anyone who walks around here or there, the type of people who live and shop in these two areas are quite different.

A new store cannot open if the type of people who would shop there don’t exist up here, and if they don’t open better shops, the living spaces won’t improve driving up the cost, making the type of people who live up here better.

I realize it’s all a cycle and everything is connected. Just look at how Downtown Jersey City has reinvented itself, the same way Hoboken did years ago. New condominiums, shops, malls, parks, walkways, etc…

But “The Heights” is stuck in a downward spiral and no one is doing anything to help it. Hello, Mayor Healy? Each year in May, right on Central Avenue we have “The Everything Jersey City Festival.” This past festival drew approximately 23,000 people and it was a spectacular day, but one festival, on one day, cannot bring a section of the city up to where it could be.

everything-JC-fest-blog

I’ve got visitors coming to visit from the midwest this summer and I’m wondering what they’re going to think about this area and if they’re going to wonder why I moved here. Yes the space I have is huge compared to Hoboken spaces, but when they see the locals, I can only imagine their horror. Well, all I can do is show them a great time in close by New York City, and the waterfront areas of Hoboken and Jersey City.