Back to work...sort of

I woke up Tuesday morning to the sounds of the city... car horns, trucks, sirens (can't believe how good that sounds--can you tell I'm a tourist?). After walking around and having breakfast at an old favorite (Jackson Hole on Madison--supposedly where Jennifer Aniston worked before she was discovered), I hopped in the car, and travelled down the Jersey Turnpike to my old place of employment. But first, I stopped off at the tanning salon and the cleaners to have some shirts done...(the tanning salon was just to have some fake sun on my skin--is it ever going to stop raining?). It was good to see that other than me leaving last year, the crew working inside and in the warehouse was still the same... (nobody let go). It was good to see my "work peeps" again and they were glad to see me. I spent most of the afternoon reminiscing and walking around the warehouse (God, I can't believe how much the tires smell--it never bothered me when I worked there). Things are pretty much the same as they were when I was employed there... business as usual. People had the same complaints (I will not divulge any details). I got to meet Shannon finally and that was cool. We IM from time to time and are Facebook friends, but it's nice to meet the person connected to the messages...

The rest of Tuesday night was spent hanging around the city and getting to sleep fairly early... I had a tee time for Wednesday in Egg Harbor City, New Jersey which is down near Atlantic City...(I am driving the crap out of this rental car--over 1200 miles and I don't return it until Monday--God bless unlimited miles!). I woke up early and hit the road... made it through the tunnel and down the turnpike and parkway to exit 44 and the golf course at Renault Winery...(Golf resort built on a winery, played along the rows of grapes and everything is "wine-themed" -- the yardage markers are shaped like wine casks, there are hollowed out wine casks everywhere and the course is tough and in great shape). Of course, it rained for a few holes. But when the sun did come out it was hot... but that didn't last long. After the round, Mike and Mike (Set Shot Mike aka Mike the Tooth) asked me to come and play nine more holes at Mays Landing where he plays with his boss every Wednesday...(I was going to be his ringer). As we sat in the bar having a cocktail (I had a soda), the skies opened up and poured rain down...(something new, huh?). Since Mike had already paid, we went out. It was drizzling until the third hole, when the skies opened up again and soaked us. But we played on and because of the wet conditions, I was able to fly the ball right at the pins and we shot 2 under par 34 as a team for 9 holes...

I said my goodbyes and piled my soaked clubs and soaked body back in the car and rolled back into the city around 11 pm... After riding around a bit I scored a parking spot (free) on 73rd st and went back to my hotel room and crashed. I didn't even wash my feet (I had been wearing golf sandals and my feet were pretty dirty). I was exhausted from 27 holes and another 5 or so hours of driving... Slept like a rock and woke up the next morning to more cloud cover... After breakfast, I took a ride to Jersey City and visited my alma mater (Saint Peter's College) for the first time since I graduated many, many moons ago... I picked up some copies of my "official transcripts" so I could send them along with my fingerprints and application to the Dept of Education in Arizona to try and get a license to substitute teach.... Walking around "the quad" and seeing the buildings and the library brought back many memories (both good and bad). The college has expanded across Kennedy Blvd. and the place looked the same except different, if that makes any sense...(the college buildings when I attended are still in the same place). After tooling around Jersey City for awhile, visiting old haunts (most of the bars where I "studied" were gone, as well as my "greasy spoon" restaurant where I consumed the breakfast of champions--cigarettes and coffee), I drove further south, picked up my dry cleaning and drove down to Long Branch, where I had dinner with an old flame and still very good friend. And even the sun came out. McLoone's Pier House is on the boardwalk overlooking the ocean and we got a table overlooking the beach and had a great time catching up... Talked and walked along the shops and said goodbye for now and I headed back into the concrete jungle. I walked the streets for awhile, soaking up the "flavor " of late night New York... There were people everywhere especially around the park...("Once more around the park, Bitterman. You know how I love the park"). Made it back to the room around 1-1:30 and went to bed a happy man... (By the way, the Chilean Sea Bass special was incredible, as is everything at McLoone's. And the ocean views are great).