Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - August 23, 2015

Good morning! Welcome to my weekly off television topic reflection of the past week in both words and photographs I've taken along the way; This post is a year 'round "feature" on the blog. If you're looking for Big Brother posts, they can all be found at this link right here. If you're not interested in this particular post, please feel free to skip on by it. I'll be posting a Big Brother blog party post coinciding with the East Coast airing of the show and, late this evening, another live feeds post. Stay tuned.

Oh my ... what a week weatherwise we had around here this past week! We had an extended heat wave with humidity that made the air thick as pea soup some days. Well, perhaps not THAT thick, but ...! It was the kind of weather in which some folks have trouble breathing and others fall to heat strokes. I didn't have either of those issues, but it was definitely the kind of weather that made me miserable anytime I was outside in it. Gah.

On Wednesday, thankfully a day off from work for me, we had this strange storm which hung over our relatively small section of New Jersey with downpours lasting a few hours. I'm talking constant downpours. Sure, there was lightning and thunder, too. But the rain amount within three hours was more than we usually get for a month. While my direct neighborhood was no more than an inch or so flooded in parts, just a few blocks down the street from me people were abandoning their cars in the high flood waters. Neighboring town Scotch Plains was even worse.

My neighborhood has only flooded once in the fifteen years I've lived here. That was a few years before Sandy with another hurricane, if memory serves. While we got flood predictions and evacuation notices over Sandy at my building, that was more wind damage than water here. I'm not on the ground level, so floods don't worry me so much. Wind, on the other hand, is an issue. There are big trees lining the parking lot and we have above ground electricity wires. Sandy knocked out my power for almost two weeks.

That was the big excitement for the week. Other than the weather, everything was same old, same old. I keep telling myself vacation (more of a staycation) is coming soon. Alas, not soon enough!

Here are the photos for the week -- clicking on an image will give you a larger version!

Got his leggings on!

This is one of the pigeons born this past spring at the Bridgewater Train Station. To be honest, I have no clue whether it's male or female. However, I do know this one has cool leggings!

Gruesome discovery

Who could have perpetuated such a heinous crime? These remains were discovered on the grounds of the Plainfield Train Station. Obviously, no house fell on her. Those aren't ruby slippers and we had a flood, not a tornado. The rest of the victim's body remains missing. If you have any information, notify the authorities, please. We cannot let a vicious killer like this continue to roam the streets of Plainfield! Citizens beware!

Plainfield ambulance rushes to flooded area

While my block and the next were relatively unscathed by the flooding on Wednesday, just east of where I live was underwater with many cars stranded. As Route 22 and many other streets on the east side of town (my side) were closed due to the flash flood, traffic was backed up as far as you could see heading westbound as this all went down during rush hour. I took this shot about a half-hour after the storms subsided and the sun came out.

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

Union County ambulance rushing to flood area

This was taken on my street within a minute of the Plainfield Rescue passing by.

Break time!

Expecting to be working the long haul with flood rescues, this Plainfield Fire Department truck decided to make a snack and drinks run at the bodega around the corner from me.

Hibiscus duo

Night game

I took the 10pm train out of Bridgewater one night. The ball game at the TD Bank Ball Park (Somerset Patriots) was still playing. While it sounded like people were having fun, it was too hot and humid even at that hour for comfort. Who needs a spitball when you have humidity?

A new lock?

I got home from work in the heat and humidity on Tuesday lugging stuff I bought at Target. The elevator in my apartment building, which had been working fine in the morning, was out of order. Grr. When I used it on Wednesday afternoon, there's some sort of bizarre awkward-looking lock and fingerprints all over the floor control box. So, they must have had to open that. Why didn't they fix the light on my floor button while they were inside the box?

Bustin' out da pink

Not to be confused with da punk.

The flowers appreciated the rain.

Throw Mama from the train!

This means YOU. Of course, I'm more likely to experience a conductor taking his break and showing me his macro photos of bugs. (Yes, that has happened.) He has one spider face photo I'd love to have taken! He was thrilled someone wanted to see his bug photos!

A different angle on the hibiscus bloom

And, yet another angle

Hey, they're there and I didn't go out of my way much this week for photos as it was deadly hot and humid.

I'm SO not going to Manhattan in the heat!

While we tend to have higher temperatures than Manhattan because we're inland and they get the ocean cooling, the air in our heat wave was so sticky and stagnant that NYC was the last place I'd want to be! But, since I was at the Plainfield Train Station heading to work when I took this shot, the question is: Would I rather suffer heat and humidity (and the back of my neck getting dirt and gritty) of Manhattan or go to work? I'd rather suffer in the city, thank you very much. I went to work. Sigh.

Posing pretty for the camera

This pigeon is the sibling of the one shown in the beginning of the post.

A starling showing its spots

In the heat and humidity, the starlings even looked overheated. Plainfield Train Station.

East Second Street sunflower

There are much more impressive sunflowers growing on lawns on East Front Street. But their dinner plate sized blossoms are facing away from the sidewalk. I don't want to take the liberty of walking up on their lawns or walks without asking for permission and I haven't seen anyone as I've walked by.

Busy bee

Does Vincent have an idea?

No, it's not an idea -- that's not a light bulb over his head; it's a lamp. Obviously, he doesn't know true party animals wear the lamp shade, don't just pose for the camera as if they have lamps growing out of their heads. Silly nutty cat!