Off Topic - That Was the Week It Was - 02/07/10

Another week gone by as we get closer to the new seasons of two of our blog mainstay television shows. That's right -- Survivor begins on Thursday followed by The Amazing Race season premiere next Sunday. But right now it's time to take a look back at this past week in words and photographs I've taken.

I guess this week's big news story was the huge snowstorm which blanketed most of the Mid-Atlantic. Well, most of. It wasn't bad right here in Plainfield where I live. Oh, cold, windy, some snow. But I think we got maybe three inches if that much.

However, I didn't know we'd get so little Saturday morning when I got up to go to work. I looked out the window and saw heavy snow falling. I listened to the National Weather Service on my scanner and we were still under a winter storm warning and snow was expected throughout the day. Me and my knee didn't want to deal with it. So I called work and took a paid personal day. Then it stopped snowing. Oops. Oh, well. After Saturday, I was to be on my staycation for a week. I just started a bit early.

On the writing front, it seems there will be a few changes down the road for my TV Squad blogging. Right now, it looks for the better. But we'll see. I'll be blogging both Survivor and The Amazing Race episodes there as I have been for the past few years.

On the personal front, karma got me for calling out of work. My neighbors had perhaps 100 kids screaming, yelling, thumping, running up and down the hallways all day and into the night. Okay, it was probably about ten or fifteen kids. But I couldn't help but wonder if ANY adults were over there supervising them. I'd hate to see what that apartment looks like. Sigh. I can only hope they move once their lease is up. If new neighbors move in below them, I'm sure the complaints will come rolling in. I've found there's no use in complaining to the landlord. Nothing is ever done about it. I'm better off calling the police. Sigh.

Onto another tangent -- it's SuperBowl Sunday. Um. Okay. I'm not a football fan. I received the first two new episodes of Southland (due to air in March on TNT) and will be watching them. What snow we have is going to be blowing all around ... and I'll be inside baking brownies and drinking hot chocolate. Yay, staycation!

Well, it's time for the photos I've taken this week. If you click on an image, it will open larger in a new window.

Squirrels' nest

The squirrels' nest outside my window is hanging in there. I haven't seen any baby squirrels or much activity right around the nest. Some squirrels were running around getting material for another nest in a tree further away the other day. This was taken Saturday morning out of my window as I contemplated calling out of work.

The Dead Zone

Yep, that's what the little sign in the window says. What makes it even better is that beyond that window is an annex of the Plainfield Police Department -- it's the offices of the narcotics cops. They don't bring prisoners there, but that's their headquarters. Odd, as the building is very iffy with many of the top floor windows broken out and in ill repair. But I guess it gives them room to do their stuff. Right now the drain pipe by their door is responsible for icing the entire sidewalk. I saw one cop almost fall coming out. If they ever run out, they're all going to go down.

It's KALE!

I found a neglected kale patch near the Plainfield City Hall on Watchung Avenue. Yay. (Not yay that it's neglected, mind you.)

Closer Kale

Yep. I miss my little kale patch closer to home.

Happy Holidays!

Does Plainfield City Hall not realize that the holidays are over and perhaps it's time to take down the adorned wreaths? I mean, it's only February. I made this photo black and white leaving only the wreaths in color.

Urban contrast

Almost like stepping blocks, we have the brick Salvation Army building, one of the city's historic homes (probably cut into apartments), and a larger apartment building (yeah, owned by my landlord). Taken from a Watchung Avenue viewpoint in Plainfield.

Bad, bad siding. Bad.

There's a preponderance of bad siding and bad addition jobs on what probably were really cool older homes throughout the city of Plainfield. Cheap jobs, I guess. But I don't like it. I recall my parents going through all kinds of red tape and having to keep the historical aspects of our battered Victorian home from my childhood. This should be a crime!

E&A Restaurant Supply entrance

I so love the graphics they've added to the building! East Fifth and Cleveland Avenue in Plainfield, the Cleveland Avenue side.

"Architectiral?"

Oh. My. Gosh. If you are in the sign-painting business, you need to check your spelling. And, if you're buying a sign, you do not accept one with misspellings! I blurred the phone and web URL to protect the foolish. By the way, it's architectural. Yes, that's right.

Into the light

The NJ Transit train overpass on Park Avenue in Plainfield.

Pants on the ground

"Pants on the ground, pants on the ground, lookin' like a fool with your pants on the ground." - General Larry Platt, the best part of this season's American Idol so far. When I saw these two walk by me with their pants on the ground, I had to shoot them. Now, these are grown men, probably late-twenties, early thirties. But their crotches do NOT start at their knees. I'm sure they don't. General left out big jackets (and shirts), but that's all a part of the look, too. How do BIG guys like these two find such BIGGER clothes to wear? Lookin' like fools, for sure. I edited this to keep the fools in color, the background black and white and "posterized."

Fading away signs

No Parking and Entrance are slowly deteriorating at the closed Crown Cadillac car dealership in Plainfield.

No Caddy for you!

Nope, not from the closed Crown Cadillac, anyway. The afternoon sun was a bit harsh, but not as harsh as the economy.

Abandoned Glory

Peeking inside the window of the old Crown Cadillac building, I saw this trophy sitting on a bucket, a remnant of glory days gone by.

Coffe and News Papers

More bad spelling on Park Avenue in Plainfield. Oy. How do you spell coffee wrong? And, of course, newspapers is a single word. Gotta give 'em credit ... they spelled ATM right.

Uh-oh

Now the birds are rolling in dirt to camouflage themselves in their bid to overthrow mankind.

Who you gonna call?

No one, because the phone has gone missing! I swear more public phones don't have phones than ones that do. With the exception of the clearly vandalized ones (which have broken phones), it seems the phone companies are removing the phones as the wires are capped off. But they leave the shell. What's up with that?

Isn't he too cute for words?

Vincent enjoys a cat nap. So do I.

How was your week?