Selling a Safe in Brooklyn

I asked one of my staff who is a comedy writer on the side to put together a funny post on selling our old office safe.  I think she was afraid of going to far.  I was thinking of something like:

Buy this safe to put your loved ones in….I mean your loved things in.  It's fireproof…if there is a fire, you can even throw your favorite book inside.

Either way, I'm hoping it sells.

They don't always make what you waaaant

So I've discovered that in many places in Brooklyn, you don't get what you want.

Last night, I walked over to a local bodega to get a sandwich and a drink for dinner.  This was my second time there.  The man cooking asked me what I wanted.  I told him I wanted a grilled turkey and cheese on a roll to go with a bit of mayo.  Now that order sounds pretty simple, right?

I guess people look at me and think I need a little more adventure in my life.  The man for the second time this week says, "no, let me hook you up with something you'll like."  I said I'd just like a turkey and cheese.  "No, trust me, you'll like this, it's good."  So, with a sigh, I said fine.

Admittedly, the very messy cajun, chicken, bacon, pepper jack with chipotle mayo did taste good.  The challenge is, it isn't what I wanted for dinner.

The same thing happened at lunch at the cafeteria.  I asked for a sandwich with two pickles on the side.  The lady making it chooses to give me six pickles instead.  I'm not one to complain, but there is no way I can eat six pickles with my lunch.  She thinks she is "hooking me up."  Challenge is that she does this almost every day, so now I have a plate with more than 20 extra pickles in the office fridge and people think I'm even weirder than I already am.

http://www.brooklynbrine.com (I do love pickles…where you can get them in Brooklyn)

And then there is Sue the Chinese Lady....more to come on her.

I'm not complaining, just adjusting to either have to give in and eat what people choose for me to eat, or be even more assertive (trust me when I say I'm already very assertive) to the point of me feeling like a jerk to just get what I want.

May 21, 2015

This morning started off with a 16 cent day.

I found my first three nickles in front of a bodega on Albany, not far from St. Marks.  As I crossed the street, I noticed something shiny.  I looked and noticed a nickle.  I picked it up.  As I was bent over, I noticed two more.  Standing in front of the Bodega were three men smoking.  

A block later, I found a penny in front of a run down brownstone.  

I moved to Bed-Stuy Brooklyn in early March.  I walk to work most days.  My walk is about 2.5 miles.  My first few weeks, I was walking around snow and ice.  I would scan the ground in front of me to make sure I wasn't going to slip.  I noticed that there were pennies on the ground in many spots.  I started picking them up.  For my first six weeks, I picked up money every day.  Two days, I found crumpled dollars.  

When my brother, his wife, my niece and nephew came on a Friday, I told them we'd find them each a penny for their bank.  Sure enough, walking just the half mile to get tacos, four of the five of us found pennies.  The kids had each found two.  On the way back, we found a time and a chuckee cheese token (the kids loved that).  www.chuckecheese.com

I explained to the kids that these were pennies from heaven.  God was raining money down on us.  Each time we picked up a penny or money, we had to pick it up and say, "thank you Jesus."  I also secretly think it's my grandma in heaven sending me messages.  She died in January.  I think my Grandpa is up there too helping.  He used to yell at us kids when he found pennies in our dirt driveway on the farm.  He would say,"these things add up, you know!"  We would roll our eyes and giggle.  Now I find myself saying the same thing.  

In front of work, the other day, there was a fruit cart.  The owner was sitting on a five gallon bucket in front of the cart staring at the ground.  Right in front of him, was a shiny, new copper penny.  I picked it up and gave it to him.  It made me laugh that a fruit vendor who is making pennies, would leave a penny on the ground.  

I guess it's interesting to me to think about how much is left here.  Many days, I am finding pennies that are green or tarnished with age.  I'm not looking that hard either.  Pennies are the main thing.  I've also found all other types of coins, both American and international.  

Fallen Hero

Rusted lock and lost key.....forever locked up :(

Three bottles...

The day the music died.