Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - Sept. 30, 2012

It's Sunday morning. That means that it's time for my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken along the way. Tonight will be the big season premiere of The Amazing Race. I will be posting a blog party post for the show and would love to see you there!

Hmm ... my week, eh? Well, it was nothing for the history books of most fantastic times of my life, for sure! I'm still under the weather. However, I did return to work on Thursday. Sure enough, the rain came to join me for my work return. It's held off for the most part for the past few days. But I ended up making sure I had my umbrella with me anyway.

On Tuesday I dropped off my entries for the Plainfield Library Photo Contest. It was also my first time in the library since they remodeled and reopened a few weeks back. Wow. I'm impressed with the changes! It's definitely a change from the libraries I grew up loving. Heck, all they had were books! I really enjoy the staff working there, as well. Good people, some fantastic artwork, BOOKS and more. If I lived next door, I might just develop an addiction.

I think I'm just going to head into random notes of the week or my observations. Yeah, I know it's cheating, but ...!

• There is an elderly man on my street who has a motorized wheelchair. He has a boom box on his wheelchair. He plays Jamaican music. It's like it's coming over a PA system. He needs to stop.
• Then again, there are also those fools who feel they need to use their cellphones as mini-boom boxes. It's all tinny and annoying. They need to stop, too.
• Sure, just as I was walking up to my building, I hear a voice shout, "Do you need a ride?" I turn around and it's a police car. It was one of the narcotic detectives, albeit it in uniform and on patrol. He's a good guy I know from the bus stop downtown. I told him I lived here.
• I guess it's good that the narcotics/gangs cops "know" me, but haven't a clue where I live.
• Not that it would matter if they did. I lead the ultimate in boring well-behaved lives these days. My drugs of choice are ibuprofen and caffeine. My only "gangs" I might belong to are fellow local bloggers and folks who say hello on the streets.
• The school year has resulted in more school kids on the morning train. Their conversations SO differ from when I was in high school. Three boys were talking about how many lives they had gone through and how to get a special weapon to get to the next level.
• We talked about rock concerts at Saratoga and anti-war protests.
• Vincent the Cat is now addicted to Temptations cat treats. It's my fault. I'm an enabler.

Onto the photos for the week. Clicking on an image will open it larger in a new window, clicking again will make it even larger. To return to the blog, just close the Photobucket window.

Late season bee

I'm really not liking the yellow jackets who have started to bumble around bumping into me. They can be aggressive. But the bumblebees themselves are always laid back and good photo fodder. East Front Street, Plainfield.

Uh-oh, walking upright!

If they get opposable thumbs, we needn't fear a takeover from birds anymore. It will be squirrels overthrowing mankind. East Front Street.

**CLICK THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS**

Weedy!

This lone weed is still growing in the rocks at the Bridgewater Train Station.

Did you see the moon last night?

I took this shot on Watchung Avenue in Plainfield last night, across from the police station (by the narcotics/gangs annex, which is why they know me!). It just reminded me of a line in the song 13 Questions by Seatrain so many years ago.

Burnt Bull (Durham) half-building remains

While all kinds of rehabbing is going on in the North Avenue downtown area, this half burnt building remains untouched.

Rehabbed

They've really fixed up the fronts (and probably interiors) of these buildings along North Avenue. But the backs, which face the train tracks, tend to still be on the sad side. I've been seeing ads for the apartments. I think they want a bit too much to live over a bail bondsman, dealing with the train station next door and its noise. 

While the area is eclectic -- an Ecuadorian restaurant, an internet cafe, a bail bondsman, a Mexican restaurant, an Islamic Center, a bar, bakeries -- it's somewhere where you'd be leery of taking your trash out to the Dumpster in the wee hours. If they're filling up the rehabbed apartments at the rates they're asking, it's probably not young professionals and it's likely to be several people sharing the rents. I have to say that the details on the building fronts are very nicely done, though.

Where will it lead?

Since I started frequenting the Bridgewater Train Station a good seven years ago or so, this gate has been locked. It leads to an abandoned fenced off parking lot from a defunct and long gone chemical company. It's a haven for rabbits and other critters. I will have to venture in with my camera.

Some flowers still abound

Both of the flowers were thriving on East Front Street in Plainfield.

Um. Okey-dokey

I had to shoot it. From the bait and tackle bumper sticker touting a Massachusetts business to the Monopoly character and the NJ tag which starts out with "PUN" -- it caught my eye.

Here comes the morning train

It's now totally dark as I go to catch the morning train.

And, you woke me up ... why?

Vincent ... I woke you up so you could say hello to all the folks out there!

"Hello. Can I go back to sleep now?"

How was your week?