Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - November 5, 2017

Good morning! Since it's a Sunday morning, it's time for my off television topic reflection of the week gone by in both words and photos I've taken along the way. If you're not interested in either, please feel free to check out my previous and newer posts I will put up after this -- they will be television related! You can find my Survivor posts at this link.

This past week included Halloween. I kept to my record of never having kids come to my door since I've lived in this building -- 18 years! Now, there are indeed too many kids living here for it being mostly one-bedroom apartments with supposedly a limit of two tenants in them. But the kids do know me and, even though I speak to them about playing in the hallway, they seem to like me and trust me anyway. (Just my luck!) Yet, no one trick or treats within the building. Oh, well. Each year I buy candy I like just in case someone comes by. All the more KitKat bars for me this year!

Other than Halloween and work, not much is going on in my life right now. Same old, same old. I'll be happy once we vote on Tuesday no matter who wins what -- I'm sick of all of the election junk mail in my mailbox! Although, I must say, I'm happy that there will be a new governor for New Jersey. I never cared for Chris Christie. He always comes across as a rather obnoxious bully to me. Perhaps he's not such, but I always get that feeling whenever I see him.

After our non-ending heavy rain and wind at the beginning of the week, we have had pretty nice weather. When you compare it to Hurricane (Superstorm) Sandy of five years ago or the seven-inch snowstorm the year before that, the weather has been gorgeous! The kids had a bit chilly Halloween, but it was sunny and clear and the power was on. We had a few really warm days this week, but now we're heading into more seasonal temperatures. That's fine by me. I do like a chill in the air. 

Onto the photos I took this past week -- clicking on an image will open a larger version ...

Heading to work

My NJ Transit train arrives at the Plainfield Train Station on Saturday morning.

Gotta love it!

I stopped into my local bodega on my way home from work on Halloween evening. These three also stopped in there. They had gone all out on their costumes -- I found it refreshing that young teens are still into the fun of the day! If their parents happen to see this, you've raised some friendly and polite children. I'm thinking they probably felt too old for the Trunk or Treat at City Hall, but made their own Halloween a happening.

The Beaver Moon

It actually went full sometime during Friday night. I took this shot last night (Saturday). I'll trap the moon with my camera, but I won't go out trapping beavers.

Flags, Flakes and Bikes

Saturday morning, before cars took over Watchung Avenue, a herd of bicyclists took over the street. All in all, there were a good dozen of more bikers racing through. Oh. And I guess it's Christmas season now. Way too early! Plainfield.

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Survivor 35: Heroes-Healers-Hustlers - November 1st Blog Party

As the show airs here on the East Coast, I'll be updating this entry with the latest happenings. Refresh the page to get the latest! The party itself is in the comments -- join in on the discussion!

Lifeguard Laurie has updated the blog pool and here ya go:

Levu Tribe
Ashley N. - Donna NY, MikesGirl, tbc. 
Desiree W. - Delee, Mario Lee, Skyriverblue, Buzzmaam 
Devon P. - David, Margo, Laurie, Fred aka TwoBlackAces 
Joe M. - Cheryl ICNY, Krysa Gibson, Sharon C.

Soko Tribe
Ali E. - Dr_Celine, Monnie8, Tennistoe 
Chrissy H. - Donna in Alabama, meb, SueGee, KelseyNY 
JP H. - Cheryl in NC, Krisen from Ohio, Shannon
Ryan U. - Anonymouse, Glenn Allen, Nickelpeed

Yawa Tribe
Jessica J. - ChicMc, Silk, Sharon N. 
Mike Z. - Becky, Janice, Rbennie, PDX Granny 
Cole M. - Dolores in Hollywood FL, Marthalight, Stormy 
Lauren R. - Brian, Jennasmom, Rochelle, Judi Sweeney 
Ben D. - Donna in FL, Merrilee, Tammy.

Flame Extinguished 
Katrina R. - Pool People moved to a different teams.
Simone N. - 4nancie, Nana in the NW, weenabe
Patrick B. - Beachbound Gmom, Jackie, Petals, Sara Welty
Alan B. - Ed in Ohio, monty 924, Terry is a Texan
Roark L. - Auntie Leigh, Indiana Jane, Pam

Survivor fans ready?

As we could have expected, Ali is mad at Ryan for voting out Roark, with violins playing sad music in the background as she lights into him. Chrissy is thrilled, though. Ryan is thinking that he now has an enemy in the game, something he cannot afford to have.

Over on Yawa, Mike caught a fish. He's beside himself. Well, until he dropped it in the fire. Ben is getting a kick out of him. Meanwhile, Ben notices that Mike shares his small fish and Cole hogs out. Cole thinks they need him as he's the only one who can bring them victories. Uh-oh, not good gameplay, it's throwing Ben, Lauren and Mike into a solid threesome.

Reward Challenge time -- Gathering poles, balance beam, buoys, slingshot two targets. Reward ten pizzas and soft drinks. Second place gets a pizza.  

Soko wins first place, Yawa wins second.

JP knows he's in a good place because his tribe is on the weak side in challenges. Ryan thinks JP's social game might be worth making him a target as he would be dangerous after the merge.

On Levu, Ashley and Devon would like to flip Ashley to their side to go against Joe. Desi isn't blindly loyal to Joe, though. She knows that he's basically using her. Even though Devon is following him, Joe finds an idol clue without Devon catching on. It's now nighttime and he's digging for it. And, now he has it. He says he'll keep it a secret and, after the merge, he'll go find a third idol.

Whoa! It's morning and Cole just passed out. Jessica and Mike are both healers, remember. They got some rice and hydrated him. They realize they do indeed need him. But Mike is a bit leery that they need to get rid of him as he'll just keep going downhill. Ben agrees with Mike that Cole is a liability.

Immunity Challenge time -- Lauren sits out. They have to work together with ropes and balance blocks to spell Immunity.

Yawa wins first place, Levu is second place. Uh-oh for Soko!

JP tells us Ali is next ... so she probably won't be. Ryan agrees with him to his face, but tells us that JP is a big danger after the merge. He wants Ali to work with him to get rid of JP. Ali agrees with Ryan and goes to Chrissy with the plan. Chrissy is agreeable about the plan. Hmm. But she feels the need to talk it over with Ryan. 

Time for Tribal Council and Jeff's Probsting questions. JP is kind of on the hot seat, but isn't defending himself. The rain and the wind starts just after JP says that this might be a wake-up call for him. Lots of talk of trust. 

JP votes for Ali. Ali votes JP. Now it's up to Ryan and Chrissy.

The tally --
Ali, JP, Ali, Ali.

Ohh ... they turned on Ali and kept JP!

The merge is next week! 

  

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - October 29, 2017

Good afternoon! Since it's a Sunday afternoon, it's time for my off television topic reflection of the week gone by in both words and photos I've taken along the way. Yeah, I know I usually post this in the morning. But I'm in a lackadaisical mood today. If you're not interested in this, please feel free to check out my previous and newer posts I will put up after this -- they will be television related! You can find my Survivor posts at this link.

We're under a flash flood watch here today with heavy rains and heavy winds expected as the day goes on. It's raining as I get this written, but it's not really stormy ... yet. I just hope it doesn't cancel or delay my expected Peapod grocery delivery order I expect between 4pm - 6pm. 

We've certainly had worse weather around here on this day in past years. Five years ago, Hurricane (or Superstorm) Sandy hit the area turning everything topsy-turvy in the area. While I'm not close enough to a shore point to worry about ocean storm surge, the wind damage in this area was bad. My power was out nearly two weeks. And, a few days after the storm, we had a three inch or so snowstorm. I had no power, no heat. I found out the meaning of not wasting daylight. We had received possible evacuation notices from the city of Plainfield before the storm -- I live near a stream called the Green Brook and it has necessitated some boat rescues across the street in the past. In a few other storms I've seen water come up about a foot or so around my building. But here with Sandy, the rains weren't the issue. It was the wind.

The year before Sandy on this date, we had a seven inch snowstorm ... with all of the trees still bearing leaves! The wet snow brought trees down throughout Plainfield which knocked out my power for three days. Gah! We need underground cables! While I remember an earthquake back around eight years ago, they would be more reliable in this area. 

So, Halloween was canceled here two years in a row -- 2011 and 2012. Looking at the forecast this upcoming week, Halloween is the only day with lots of sunshine expected. I never have trick-or-treaters here, but I always buy something (I like) just in case. But I do know they're out there. I'm glad they'll have a good day for it.

I really don't have much photo-wise this week. I worked a lot. I'm tired. But, then again, I always feel tired. Oh, well. Onto the photos I took -- clicking on an image will bring up a larger version.

Saturday night's moon

I tried taking a shot with my cell phone, which does have a quasi-decent camera. But it came out as a white blob in the sky no matter what I did. So, this is the real camera. Hmm ... all of these shots this week are the real camera. I didn't take much with the cell phone.

Birds on a wire

Probably planning on overtaking the world and destroying humanity. Yep, they do things like that. Or, at the very least, they think about it.

Color through the trees

While the trees lining my apartment building's parking lot are still either green or shedding brown dried leaves, the neighbor has color in his backyard.

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Survivor 35: Heroes-Healers-Hustlers - October 25 Blog Party

As the show airs here on the East Coast, I'll be updating this entry with the latest happenings. Refresh the page to get the latest! The party itself is in the comments -- join in on the discussion!

Lifeguard Laurie has updated the blog pool and here ya go:

Levu Tribe
Ashley N. - Donna NY, MikesGirl, tbc. 
Desiree W. - Delee, Mario Lee, Skyriverblue, Buzzmaam 
Devon P. - David, Margo, Laurie, Fred aka TwoBlackAces 
Joe M. - Cheryl ICNY, Krysa Gibson, Sharon C.

Soko Tribe
Ali E. - Dr_Celine, Monnie8, Tennistoe 
Chrissy H. - Donna in Alabama, meb, SueGee, KelseyNY 
JP H. - Cheryl in NC, Krisen from Ohio, Shannon 
Roark L. - Auntie Leigh, Indiana Jane, Pam 
Ryan U. - Anonymouse, Glenn Allen, Nickelpeed

Yawa Tribe
Jessica J. - ChicMc, Silk, Sharon N. 
Mike Z. - Becky, Janice, Rbennie, PDX Granny 
Cole M. - Dolores in Hollywood FL, Marthalight, Stormy 
Lauren R. - Brian, Jennasmom, Rochelle, Judi Sweeney 
Ben D. - Donna in FL, Merrilee, Tammy.

Flame Extinguished 
Katrina R. - Pool People moved to a different teams.
Simone N. - 4nancie, Nana in the NW, weenabe
Patrick B. - Beachbound Gmom, Jackie, Petals, Sara Welty
Alan B. - Ed in Ohio, monty 924, Terry is a Texan

Survivor fans ready?  

Fourteen are left, who will be voted out tonight?

Joe is in his glory. He's just so smart (and crazy). Just ask him. Although, that said, I think Alan was a good one to go last week.

On Yawa, they think that Ben might have a bit of PTSD because he jumped when some bamboo exploded in their fire. The show goes on to touch our heartstrings with Ben's story of his military service, how it affected him and his hopes for the future. 

Reward Challenge time. Feet tied together, arms tied, slither a ball through the sand, shoot basket. Iced coffee, pastries, coffee and tea for the first place. Second place iced coffee container. Chrissy and Lauren sit out. 

Dang. Ryan loses the ball for his tribe not once, but twice now! Eep. Third time.

Levu wins first place. Yawa takes second place.

The win seems to be bringing Levu together. Devon is onto Joe, though. He wants to work with Ashley still. They think that Joe thinks he's in control. He kind of is, I'd say.

On Yawa, Ryan is apologetic. He tells us he needs to concentrate on his strength -- his social game. Roark wants to work her way in with the others. Ali seems receptive. Ryan is stuck in the middle between his allies -- Chrissy and Ali. Neither of the women will work together.

Lauren, and Ben to a lesser extent, notice that Cole is a slob. While manners aren't a big thing on the island, he's worse than most. Mike is digging for an idol. And, he has it! He found it in front of Jessica. 

Immunity Challenge time. Swim out to bats, get bags of rice, get bags through obstacle, maneuver balls through a maze with ropes -- much like the ones we've seen lately on BB. 

Yawa wins Immunity! Uh-oh, Chrissy is holding back her tribe. Levu wins Immunity. Gah. I like both Chrissy and Ryan. I want them to stay in this for a while longer! 

Chrissy tries to ally with Roark. But Roark isn't all that keen on the idea. Chrissy thinks she'll have to create an imaginary girls alliance that is targeting JP so that Roark (strongest female) would get targeted. Ryan and JP seem to be in on the blindside. But we'll see. Meanwhile, Ali and Roark want Chrissy to go home. Ryan is ending up in the swing vote position. 

Time for the Tribal Council. Ali is already throwing Chrissy under the bus. 

Chrissy and Roark vote for each other. We'll see how it goes.

The tally:
Chrissy, Roark, Chrissy, Roark, Roark.

Roark is gone!

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - October 22, 2017

Good morning! Since it's a Sunday morning, it's time for my off television topic reflection of the week gone by in both words and photos I've taken along the way. If you're not interested in either, please feel free to check out my previous and newer posts I will put up after this -- they will be television related! You can find my Survivor posts at this link.

My apologies for not posting last week. I'm still tired and not feeling all that great this week. But at least I took some photos! I'm still working on improving my photo-taking with the new cell phone. Most of the shots here are from my actual camera unless I note cell phone. 

Nothing much is happening here -- the weather has been incredibly nice, temperatures in the 70s most days and chilly evenings. We're now at the point that we need rain, though. I'm sure it will decide to rain as I'm out and about heading to work and have to be caught in it.

Last night seemed to be party night in my apartment building. No, not for me! After I got home from work, I had my own party of one with a cat companion. (Someone may have imbibed too much catnip.) On the first floor in the front of the building, it was incredibly loud as I got home. Today when I went down to the front door of the building to get my Sunday newspaper, I saw busted balloons -- dozens of them -- all over the corridor floor, stairs and in the elevator. I know they were popping some in the front wing of my floor last night, too. I wasn't really sure WHAT the noise was, but I knew it was NOT gunfire. Now I know. The guy upstairs also had a party. Since he's been quite amazingly quiet for months, I tolerated it even though the noise went beyond 11pm. It wasn't as loud as he's cranked it in the past. But he definitely invited some real clodhoppers up there. Thank goodness he has carpeting in that apartment.  

I'm hoping for a quiet peaceful Sunday.

Here are the photos for the week -- clicking on an image will open a larger version.

De train! De train!

Oh, wait. That was Tattoo yelling, "De plane! De plane!" on Fantasy Island. I'm certainly aging myself with the memory of that television show, eh? The sun was almost set to the left just out of this photo shot as my train home from work arrived at the Bridgewater Train Station one day this week. A more colorful sunset would have been nice, but ...!

If the NJ Transit bus breaks down ...

... he has wheels of his own. I've noticed more skateboarders on the trains and buses since the Skate Park opened in Plainfield. I keep telling myself I need to get over to the park with my camera. Unfortunately, I haven't really felt well enough to be out and about more than I have to be lately. I took this photo with my cell phone, making it accidentally a video. So I edited a still from said video.

White and Yellow Lamps

Well, I will say that keeping the eastbound side of the train station so brightly lighted at night seems to have cut down some of the ne'er'do-wells who spend the evenings/nights there. As it was just after sunset when I took this shot, you can't really see the white brightness. NJ Transit Police and the Plainfield Police still need to move along the non-passengers during the daytime hours. Now they tend to hang out right on the platforms taking up benches for people who want to take the trains. Plainfield Train Station.

Let me pose for you

A posing squirrel on a fence post on the west side of my apartment building. My windows look out on the east side and only have a chain-link fence.

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