Off Topic - That Was the Week It Was - March 13, 2011

It's Sunday morning, perhaps an hour later than you think it is if you didn't set your clock forward an hour. I never mind getting that extra hour of sleep in the fall. But take it away from me in March? Ack! Maybe if we just keep setting the clocks back an hour twice a year we can revisit history and right wrongs! (Not to mention getting more sleep!)

However, since it's Sunday, it's time for my off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken in my daily travels. Once again our weather has been weird -- deluge of rain, freeze, nice day, deluge, deluge and ending on a nice note on Saturday.

Although Northern New Jersey has had severe flooding, we were basically spared. In the town where I live (Plainfield) flooding is generally limited to street/poor drainage flooding in storms such as this. While it's deep at the time, it goes down rather quickly. My neighbor's yard which goes downhill and was already saturated, is still ponded.

The local area which almost always gets flooded by the Raritan River, Bound Brook, fared great through this storm. Outlying areas and the one road under the railroad which always floods flooded. Yet the downtown area, twice under water last spring, didn't get flooded! Woohoo! The Raritan didn't seem to overflow its banks all that much at crest. It was definitely high as I could see the water from the train and it should be in a valley. I usually don't see the river water from the train at all.

It's been quite the week what with a tsunami, earthquakes, possible nuclear meltdowns, floods, a Chinatown bus accident which had its roof sheared off by a sign as it skidded on its side killing 14 people in this area. My thoughts are with all of the folks whose lives have been impacted by these horrible occurrences.

My own week has been quiet enough. My big excitement was coming home to my entire apartment TP'd (toilet-papered) by a certain cat. You see, I set a new roll of toilet tissue on the sink and forgot to put it in its roller-doohickey. Apparently Vincent thought I left it there for him to play with while I went off to work. He unrolled the whole roll, bit pieces off everywhere and had a grand old time of it.

On Celebrity Apprentice, I think Trump made the right call. Richard Hatch was definitely harsh with David Cassidy, but David (no matter how cute I thought he was when he was 21 and I was 16) had to go. He was the weak link on the team. He hasn't aged too nicely either. I'll be posting the Amazing Race blog party later tonight, so please stop back for that!

Oh. I mentioned a few weeks back that I had some good news on an artsy endeavor. Details are a bit sketchy as of yet, but I'll let you know the bare basics. I won't be participating in the Plainfield Library Photo Contest for the win this fall. I might submit some photos on the theme, but I can't win.

Why not? Well, that's because my photography, along with the works of two others, will be on exhibit through the summer at the library. It was an honor to be asked and I'm excited about it

That said, I'm still in my lackadaisical photography mood. I really think it's due to the weather. I want spring and fresh fodder. Now that the snow is mostly gone except for a few die hard dirty piles, I'm just not all that inspired. Give me inspiration, surroundings!

Clicking on an image will open it larger in a new window, then hit your browser's back button to get back on the blog.

SPRING ALERT! SPRING ALERT!

I don't know what it is. But it's something and it's green. SPRING! Taken at the Plainfield YWCA on East Front Street.

What's the price of gas where you are?

This was Saturday morning on East Second and Church Streets in Plainfield. We generally have lower gas prices than the neighboring states due to the fact that gas is about the only thing we don't get taxed to death on in this state.

They're back!

The bird feeder family has returned to the (murder) house on East Front Street. Apparently, like many immigrants in this area, they were gone for the winter. The bird feeder is back up and kids toys are in the yard once again.

As the skies clear ...

Friday morning ended two days of rain. Although overcast for part of the day, blue skies and sunshine teased us. Plainfield Train Station on my return home from work.

Rent me
No, rent ME

Every time the town of Bound Brook is expected to flood, this one company moves all of its trucks and, I don't know ... stuff, to higher ground in Bridgewater.

SPRING SPRING SPRING SPRING SPRING

Look! A worm! This isn't the first one I've seen lately. However, it's the first one that didn't emerge early then freeze and die.

Does anybody really know what day it is?
Does anyone really care?

I told you about the two new Star Ledger honor boxes at the Bridgewater Train Station. The one on the left hasn't had its papers changed since the day the box appeared. The one on the right has fresh papers. Of course, six boxes to the left (not in photo), it's still January 17.

Uh-oh. I believe I've been spotted.

Plainfield Train Station on Tuesday morning -- no rain, but quite cold!

Goodness gracious, great balls of pigeon!

Pigeons sleep all rolled up trying to get a bit of the sunshine's warmth on the Chotola Building on North Avenue in Plainfield.

Well, yeah ... it's a firetruck.

It wasn't going anywhere. Um, well, it was going somewhere because it was out on the street. But there were no lights and sirens. Watchung Avenue and East Fourth, Plainfield. I edited the shot to leave only the firetruck in color.

Take the bike to the train

Yes, bikes can go on the trains with the exception of peak periods -- heading to Newark/NYC in the morning hours or coming from there in the late afternoon/early evening hours. Of course, the conductors get a bit irked if bicycles are ridden up and down the aisles and stairs.

I'm not the only one
on the train with a camera!

However I might be the only one who knows where to sit. He's in the seat in front of me. His field of vision is obscured by the window frame/post/wall ... whatever. NJ Transit.

Symbolic?

Perhaps we should all throw winter gloves on train tracks to welcome the spring! Bound Brook Train Station.

Vincent in black and white.

"Toilet paper? I don't know anything about that. Maybe it was the dog."
"I don't have a dog, Vincent."
"Maybe it was the kid."
"I don't have a kid, Vincent."
"Burglars. It had to be burglars!"

How was your week?