Five Little Words

Well ladies and gentlemen my 6 1/2 years of working for New York Health and Hospitals Corporation is coming to an end. The hustle and bustle of that long subway ride to Brooklyn is no more. I couldn’t continue even if I wanted to. And trust me, I don’t want to. I’ve been through a lot with that job and no amount of money is worth the stress, headaches, or health issues that I experienced.

Standing on my feet 8 or more hours a day in one spot is not what I dreamed of doing. It paid the bills, but if I’m not happy and healthy then I have to make a wise decision and my decision is to walk.

My kids come first and I want to be able to see them more, play with them, and enjoy every moment. My daughter always say “don’t go to work mommy”. I always wanted to stay but I couldn’t. I’m not getting any younger and she’s getting older and I don’t want to miss out anymore. I have 4 kids and have to be there.

Now I have to decide what I enjoy doing and do it. There’s so much out here and we shouldn’t settle for anything less than what we deserve, and we should be treated with respect and be acknowledged for our hard work and time.

I have to make my dream come true and network.

We were born with what God and the DNA of our parents gave us. As we got older we either altered what we didn’t like with plastic surgery, wigs, butt implants, lip injections, etc, etc.

I never experienced any of the above though I have thought about a few surgeries as I got older but that faded away.

Makeup was another thing I really wasn’t into but I did try mascara, lipstick, blush, and decided it wasn’t for me so I went au natural. Now, it’s just chapstick, mascara once in a while, and a nice perfume.

Eyebrows were also never altered with till I believe I was in my 20’s. My sister started getting hers waxed so I tried it out and it was okay but I didn’t keep it up. It wasn’t doing anything for me and I think I had bangs anyway.

Tweezing I never liked and I thought that plucking my hair would never end. I quickly stopped doing that.

After waxing, and tweezing didn’t work out she introduced me to threading the eyebrows. It hurts like crazy but they come out beautifully with the arch perfect. You tell them if you want your eyebrows thick or thin. I stay with the thick look.

My sister decided that waxing, and threading her eyebrows were a waste of money and she had them permanently tattooed. I personally don’t like skinny eyebrows but she obviously did and didn’t mind spending what she did.

Now she wants them tattooed darker because their too light. She needs a touch up. I guess she should have kept the threading going on but sometimes you have to learn the hard way.

The threading business is booming right now so if you find someone who does your eyebrows right stick with that person because all it takes is one mistake, and unless you have bangs to cover them up you will just have to tuff it out.

I appreciate the perks that come with living in New York like different modes of transportation. I love taking the bus just about everywhere. If I’m not in a rush I take the local and sight see. There’s always something new to see. I do love the new express busses as well when I need to get from point A to point B in a jiffy. You do however need to have a receipt with you which I have down packed when the bus is arriving. Press start, insert metrocard, wait, grab receipt and jump on bus.

If you don’t have a receipt here are undercovers om the bus so they say, and I’m sure you would have rathered paid $2.25 instead of the ticket they will hit you with.

I used to like yellow cabs until I got hit by one when I was in high school. Hit and run. They will knock anyone down for a fare. Gypsy cabs are dangerous as well but if I need one I make sure seatbelt is on and if I see them on their cell phone or smoking I’m out. My life is more important. Especially if my kids are in there as well. They come first!

Then there’s the subway system. Hate is such a dirty word so let me say I hate riding on the subways. They are always crowded, dirty, smelly, no air circulation, dangerous if you don’t pay attention, pan handlers galore, crime infested, and people can be very rude when they want a seat.

My job is in Brooklyn and the ride there is about 45 minutes to an hour depending on a lot of things. I noticed the 2 train is always crowded no matter what, so I would wait for the 3 train where I know I will get a seat as soon as I get on. I also noticed a lot of people doing the same thing as I would but it didn’t matter as long as I still got a seat.

The 3 train has less garbage, doesn’t smell, and I hardly see panhandlers. I still wouldn’t eat on trains though. I think that’s disgusting, especially when someone sits next to me and decide to eat a whole meal. One lady ate curry one morning and the whole train smelled for the duration of my trip. I also can’t stand when someone stands over me with their coffee, or newspaper, and I will let them know it’s in my face by pushing it off of me. As far as the coffee, I tell them or just move because there’s nothing like hot coffee spilling on you.

Then you have the people that literally sit on your lap to squeeze in next to you in that small space that they know they can’t fit in, then they want to read their paper and press their elbows in your ribs so that’s when I make it uncomfortable for them by putting both of my hands in my pocket so I don’t have broken ribs by the time I exit.

Bookbags hitting me in the back is another one. I’m 5’4 so I get hit everywhere. Is it so hard to take the bookbag off when you enter the crowded train?

There is so much more I could talk about with my bad experiences of the train but I’d rather not. I’m just glad we have a choice of what transportation we can take because there are some cities that don’t have subways, or they have buses that shut down at a certain time, or you need a car to get around.

Speaking of cars, I want one, can’t afford one right now, and hopefully I will win one in the future, or become rich whichever comes first.

I am a coffeeholic and I know it but there are worse things that I could be addicted to so I’m not sorry.

I love coffee, always have, always will!!
I’ve been drinking it so long I stopped counting. There are so many flavors and brands that I know I still have yet found just one that I can say I can’t live without.

Coffee shops are turning up everywhere. It used to be Starbucks was on every other corner but now there’s a Dunkin Donuts on every other corner as well. I also noticed Juan Valdez and I remember when Chock Full of Nuts was a hit.

I love the little cafe’s hidden in side streets that are so layed back and the vibe is for geeks and tech nerds or us bloggers to be in peace and not in the over crowded Starbucks waiting for someone to hurry up and take that last sip so you can sit down.

I love the sofas, and lounge chairs, or bean bags in some cafe’s as well. The more comfortable I am the better.

My favorite drink so far has been the caramel latte from Dunkin Donuts. However, I recently went to Starbucks and ordered a vanilla latte with caramel and BAM!! I almost fell out of my chair. That was the best latte EVER!! I don’t add sugar to my coffee anymore because I have diabetes not the bad type but I don’t want it to get to that stage, so that’s why I add flavor so it replaces the sugar.

Lattes have less calories than coffee also and they pump flavor in which is better.
Everytime I ordered sugar with my coffee my stomach would always hurt, then I noticed there’s a liquid type of sugar Dunkin Donuts use so I stopped using it.

Sweeteners are just as bad so I just don’t use sugar period.

As much as I love coffee I should own stock with one of these companies.
But I’ll tell you this, I know people who drink coffee 2, 3, or 4 times a day and smoke cigarettes. Hope they are brushing,  gargling, and flossing, and sipping through a straw. Coffee can really stain your teeth and give you bad breath. I’m glad I only get a cup in the morning and that’s it.

So, I’m addicted but I also can have a nice cup of tea as well.