I go in late on Fridays because I always have to stay late and normally no one needs me in the morning. But my BlackBerry was dead today so I decided to log in and check out my mail before heading in just to be on the safe side. I ended up working for two hours before heading out to catch the train.

Josh didn’t leave the apartment until eleven or so so that gave us a chance to hang out while I did some work. It was before ten when I left and he just dropped off my keys with the front desk. It was a short visit but more than most anyone else does. So far, other than our parents and siblings, only Josh and the Ralstons has come down from back home to visit us here. We have been here for two years now!

I grabbed breakfast from Airlie and got onto the PATH. I learned today that the PATH system is actually older than the New York City Subway and is the oldest underground train system in the New York City Metro area. Josh was planning to hit Food for Life for breakfast before heading off to Jersey City to work.

Work was quite busy. I was going crazy all day and was stuck working until rather late. But nothing that I wasn’t expecting so it was okay.

Before leaving the office, Kevin called to see if Dominica and I wanted to do dinner in Jersey City. He and Pam had run into Dominica on her way home so they had already talked to her. It was about twenty minutes before I got to leave the office so we planned to meet at the Newport/Pavona PATH station in Jersey City. That trip is really easy as it is a direct connection from World Trade Center where I get onto the train.

We all had dinner at Raaz, an Indian restaurant right across the street from the train station. Jersey City is so easy to deal with via the PATH. The PATH is almost a dedicated subway system for Jersey City and Hoboken with commuter connections to Newark and Manhattan.

Dinner was really good. Having lived in Newark for so long (Newark isn’t really a part of New Jersey) we have forgotten about the “New Jersey restaurant bill” problem where every restaurant in the state is happy to bring you food but then never brings you the bill and just forgets that you are there. Since we moved to New Jersey it has been completely consistent that no restaurant will ever bring you a bill no matter how much you try to get one. They just refuse to let you leave and yet they completely stop serving you so they don’t make any more money. In fact, it lowers their tips. And worse than that, in cases like tonight, the restaurant was completely full without any seats available and people were turning around at the door and deciding not to eat there even though there were multiple tables waiting half an hour or more to pay and leave after they were done and bored. It is one of the most bizarre business traditions I have ever seen. In New York the bill comes with dinner and if you want coffee and dessert they take the bill back and add that to it. They never take a risk of you taking up valuable real estate if you don’t want to. They don’t kick you out but they sure don’t do anything to make you stay against your will – and I appreciate that.

After dinner we came home and took care of Oreo. Then it was off to bed. I have a lot of work to do this weekend so I am going to be quite busy. No D&D tomorrow, unfortunately.

While I am busy cleaning out my email, here is Tony West’s New Blog.

Oreo stayed in bed for a solid twelve hours. Just as he was leaving daycare yesterday he played with Lana, the little Jack Russell Terrier puppy there and she really wears him out. He isn’t young anymore. So whenever that happens he sleeps extra but this was a whole new level of sleeping even for him. He was definitely ready for breakfast when Dominica called him in to the kitchen this morning.

For the second day in a row they forgot to get Dominica her car. It was so cold today that she and Oreo returned to the apartment to get him more bundling to keep him warm. It is 16° F today with high winds bring the wind chill a bit below 0°. This is how I think of winter in the northeast.

My walk to the train station was bitter cold. I grabbed a hot sandwich at Airlie on the way in and that kept me warm a little. When I got to the PATH station I discovered that the trains were having a track issue down in Jersey City and that they were not running at this time. The PATH platform was completely packed with people who had apparently been waiting quite some time for the train. There were so many people that people were waiting on the outside of the turnstiles to await the train.

It took me an extra hour to get into the office. The train was packed with people like sardines. It was awful. And we kept getting stuck at different stations. It was not a pleasant ride into work today.

I have decided that the best names for pet cats are American Civil War Battlefields. Some examples of great names for pet cats include: Shiloh, Harper, Vicksburg, Antietam, Appomattox, Boydton, Hampton, Front Royal, Hanover, Hatcher, Manassas, McDowell, Piedmont, Rappahannock, Staunton, Ware Bottom, Totopotomy, Trevilian, Wilson, Winchester, Kessler, Smithfield, Galveston, Murfrees, Chattanooga, Brentwood, Franklin, Memphis, Chusto, Chustenahlah, Buffington, Albemarle, Averas, Hatteras, Roanoke, Valverde, Belmont, Girardeau, Carthage, Marmiton, Meridian, Okolona, Tupelo and Monocacy. Now that you have my list you can each choose one and will forever have a cat with a great, conversation starting name. These names don’t necessarily work well for dogs. It is specifically cats who needs Civil War names.

I came across a great site for the history of the Genesee and Wyoming Railroad which operates between Retsof and Caledonia, New York. In the past few years they have branched out and now serve as far south as Hampton Corners, NY where the new salt mine shafts are located.

For my readers who are from “back home” in Western, New York there has been a lot of interest over the last several years wondering what would become of the giant Foster-Wheeler facility in Dansville, NY. FW was the major employer in the region and the plant takes up a significant amount of the village land area. There has been much concern over the plant closing and what it would mean for the region. Today I stumbled upon American Motive Power who purchased the plant, renovated it and now uses it for rebuilding railroad locomotives. That is the perfect business for that area. I am really happy to see the facility being put to good use.

I discovered today that the Rochester area has the New York Museum of Transportation. I had no idea that this was in Rochester. I would have gone at some point had I known that. The area also has the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum. You only find these things after you move away. I also found a good article with good pictures of the abandoned Rochester Subway of the 1950s.

I stumbled across an amazing picture of a lake in the Faroe Islands that is 30 meters above sea level. This image is really stunning.

I went home and Dominica was cooking for Oreo when I got there. He hasn’t had home cooked food in a few weeks. During the holidays he went onto canned food as he was traveling so much. We are thinking that he is tired of his canned food as he skipped his dinner again tonight. Although it also could be that the cans of food are providing him with more food at breakfast and he just isn’t getting hungry at night like he does when we giving him the smaller, home-cooked portions.

I went down to the deli in the first floor of our building for dinner – grilled cheese and French fries.  We ate our dinners while watching some more of the eighth season of Full House.  Not much more of that show left.

Ryan stopped by for a little while to snag a piece of apple pie from the pie that Dominica baked yesterday.  Dominica thought that Ryan would be appalled by my idea of mounted a 52″ x 20″ Z Scale model railroad diorama on the wall by our bookshelf in the living room but Ryan agreed that it was a good idea and would be cool.  So Dominica lost out on that one

Early to bed and one more day then the weekend!