Day Feels like Days

You know you have had a successful day when you get home and realize that stuff you thought you did for the last few days actually took place over the course of the past few hours. The fact that I accomplished/traveled as much as I did in the past 24 hours is still not quite settled in. I am impressed with how this weekend has gone.

Today I woke up with the plan of taking a train from north Jersey into NY to run some errands and buy something items before heading to central Jersey for a few hours. After the train mishap got straightened out and I ended up having to drive to the Bronx, things just got better. First, I was finally able to get my package from the Bx and give Alex his birthday gift. I got my hair cut, we visited a very cool comic shop and I bought a Scott Pilgrim t-shirt. We headed to Times Square and got to check out the brand new Pop-Tarts store. It was great.

We headed to Bryant park and jumped on the 6 down to Washington Square Park. Walked over to Thompson and grabbed lunch at Boyd Thai. I love this place and lunch was delicious. We then went next door to Generation Records and I picked up two gems - The Decemberists' Crane Wife and Sufjan Stevens' Illinoise. Then it was on to the train and back up to the Bronx for a quick and delicious slice of University Pizza (for old times sake). Got in my car around 4 and went to Chris' to pick him up. Then it was back to MontClaire to get Mike's car and then down to Central Jersey to a friend's house who lives by the beach. We got there around 6 and spent some quality time hanging out with friends. We had a delicious train shaped cake and ended then night hanging out on the beach. I got in my car around 11 and just got home.

For anyone who thinks driving 2 hours to see people is absurd - this is proof that it is not. Not only was I able to visit friends that live 2 hours away today, but I was also able to accomplish all of those other things and still be in bed by 1 am. No excuses!

Active Sunday (For A Change)

Most Sundays are spent in recovery. Not that I drink or do much that needs to be recovered from, but until this weekend I was busy every weekend this summer. Sundays were either spent lounging after a friend left from visiting all weekend or driving back from New York, or something else uneventful. It makes sense, then, that my first slow/low key weekend would find me busy on Sunday.

I have been reading a decent amount this past week. I have read the first five volumes of Scott Pilgrim as well as 2.5 more volumes of The Walking Dead. If you are not a comic book person then you might scoff at this being listed as an accomplishment. To me, however, this is a step in the right direction. I have somewhere between 75-90 minutes on my round trip train ride every day where I am able to be productive. Over the past 6 years of my life I have worked 9-5 jobs that I had to drive to. By the time I get home I don't feel like reading either. This time around, though, I am trying to use this time. I am both able to be in transit and do something else. For a few weeks I would read the paper, do a crossword, fall asleep, etc. Those weeks I found myself very tired getting into work. I started watching movies to keep myself more mentally engaged.

With the stack of Scott Pilgrim novels in my possession I decided I would give reading a go. I have a hard time staying awake on the train while reading, but I thought that since comics have images to them and have a faster pace I might be able to get into the routine of reading during these trips. After 5 days I knocked out all five volumes. I then used my low key weekend to plow through the rest of Vol. 2 and then Vol. 3 & 4 of the Walking Dead.

Today I woke up and quickly finished Volume 4 of the Walking Dead. I then drove to Delaware to pick up the next volume. I returned home and watched the Phillies game until it's rain delay. Then I drove to a my friend Alex's house and together we jouneyed into the city to Dave & Busters for a free Penrose show. Our parking voucher gave us 5 dollars off of food, and checking into using the app FourSquare we each got free $5 game cards. So I proceeded to eat, watch the remained of the Phils at the bar, kill some zombies, and then watch Penrose while sitting on the water with a great view of the Ben Franklin bridge over my shoulder.

For what is typically a day spent on the couch, I really enjoy this Sunday. I am also looking forward to this week for no other reason that for what I am going to read. After picking up the next volume in the Dead series, I also borrowed the latest Scott Pilgrim and the novel World War Z from Alex. Can't wait to get started on them.