Ah, spring is here and love must be in the air because everywhere I go used condoms litter the ground. Oh, Inwood. How you continue to do me proud.
Anyway, I suppose that if you're the type of person who throws a used condom on the ground then I should be happy that you're using a condom and not creating a smaller version of you to join our society. Of course this leads to me thinking of reasons why there might be used condoms on the sidewalks.
*You live with your parents and don't want them to discover this item in the garbage and then you'll never be able to have what's-her-name over to the house again.
*If the Honda is a rockin' don't come a knockin'. And if you throw your soda bottles out of your car door then why not a condom?
*School kids are just playing with them to see what one looks like and then just tossing them aside after they are done giggling about how gooey it is. If this is the case that means I have to look closer to see if it really is used. But I'm not going to do that. Isn't it enough that I've thought about it this much?
So this obsession started when I was doing my babysitting. I got the girls dressed for school, gave them breakfast, bundled them up, and headed out the door with them. And as soon as we stepped out of the apartment building there was a bright pink condom right in our path.
I panicked. Why?
Because even though I was able to non-verbally and gently move the older one out of the way so she wouldn't step on it I cringed to think that any minute she was going to ask what it was...why was it there...who put it there...why is it pink...what do you use it for, can I touch it...etc.
Not only was I totally stumped at what I would say (if it was my kid I would probably just answer "It's a condom." and then just not elaborate) But with this kid there is never just one question. She is QUEEN of the Thousand Questions. I mean...she just goes on and on and on and on and on to where you just want to shake her. Plus, I feel it's not my place to give her a 5 year old version of a sex talk. And it was only 8 o'clock in the morning, I hadn't had breakfast and I wasn't ready to deal with it.
So since then the fluorescent condoms have been a no-show which I'm grateful for. The standard issue ones are still around but those are harder for her to spot. I'm all for people having safe sex. I'd just rather they keep everyone else out of it. Between the condoms and all the people who aren't picking up after their dogs we're running out of space to walk.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Mini-Escape
Happy March!
People across New York City mourned the end of mid-winter recess as children went back to school. Well by people I mean teachers and students. Parents on the other hand are probably thrilled to get the kids out of the house.
This means I'm back to work shuttling two sisters to and from school and other various babysitting gigs. Oh gee golly!
Some of my charges did not need me last week due to the lack of school and so Mark and I decided to take that opportunity to hightail it out of the city. We considered Savannah, GA, I dreamed of Florida, and even for one second of madness I imagined an island easily hopped to from JFK. So we booked our trip and headed off last Thursday to...Philadelphia, PA! WoooHooo.
It got to the point where we realized everything was either too far by train or too expensive by faster airplane. I discovered that Megabus was giving away free tickets, which when full price aren't very expensive anyway, and so I booked a round trip to Philly, found a hotel room in the Center City area and away we went. Mind you, a semi-warm beach would have been great but when it came down to it we just wanted to wake up and not be in our own apartment with a parrot screaming in the living room.
Hmmm. Philadelphia. What can I say? Strangely sketch and quaint all at the same time. Of course there is beautiful, colonial architecture everywhere. That's always fun if you like that sort of stuff (not total sarcasm, I do find enjoyment in lovely structures). In Center City, where we stayed, there are restaurant options aplenty. We had vegetarian Chinese, food court Indian, trendy Mexican, convenience store 'hoagies' (aka best sandwich EVER), amazing soft pretzels, artful chocolate, nice wine bars. Etc. Etc. Even the breakfast at the hotel was a shade better than breakfasts I've had at other hotels.
However, wander around the tiny sidewalks or hop aboard a bus or subway and if you're not blind and have any sort of social conscience at all you'll realize there is a serious problem with race and poverty. I'm not claiming to know anything about Philadelphia but it was quite clear that people of color do not have it easy there. And that's coming from someone who grew up and lives in a neighborhood where the majority is considered a minority and public services help make ends meet for most of the households.
But anyway-it was nice to get away. So now we're back. We're busy. We're already exhausted.
People across New York City mourned the end of mid-winter recess as children went back to school. Well by people I mean teachers and students. Parents on the other hand are probably thrilled to get the kids out of the house.
This means I'm back to work shuttling two sisters to and from school and other various babysitting gigs. Oh gee golly!
Some of my charges did not need me last week due to the lack of school and so Mark and I decided to take that opportunity to hightail it out of the city. We considered Savannah, GA, I dreamed of Florida, and even for one second of madness I imagined an island easily hopped to from JFK. So we booked our trip and headed off last Thursday to...Philadelphia, PA! WoooHooo.
It got to the point where we realized everything was either too far by train or too expensive by faster airplane. I discovered that Megabus was giving away free tickets, which when full price aren't very expensive anyway, and so I booked a round trip to Philly, found a hotel room in the Center City area and away we went. Mind you, a semi-warm beach would have been great but when it came down to it we just wanted to wake up and not be in our own apartment with a parrot screaming in the living room.
Hmmm. Philadelphia. What can I say? Strangely sketch and quaint all at the same time. Of course there is beautiful, colonial architecture everywhere. That's always fun if you like that sort of stuff (not total sarcasm, I do find enjoyment in lovely structures). In Center City, where we stayed, there are restaurant options aplenty. We had vegetarian Chinese, food court Indian, trendy Mexican, convenience store 'hoagies' (aka best sandwich EVER), amazing soft pretzels, artful chocolate, nice wine bars. Etc. Etc. Even the breakfast at the hotel was a shade better than breakfasts I've had at other hotels.
However, wander around the tiny sidewalks or hop aboard a bus or subway and if you're not blind and have any sort of social conscience at all you'll realize there is a serious problem with race and poverty. I'm not claiming to know anything about Philadelphia but it was quite clear that people of color do not have it easy there. And that's coming from someone who grew up and lives in a neighborhood where the majority is considered a minority and public services help make ends meet for most of the households.
But anyway-it was nice to get away. So now we're back. We're busy. We're already exhausted.
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