bagels on the 'el' tracks

Not quite sure how they ended up down there, but there you have it.

It certainly amused me on my way to work.

DUMBO arts festival mug shot

I went to the DUMBO arts festival in NYC a couple of weeks ago and had my mug shot taken. I didn't actually heckle any performance artists there ... but was utterly horrified by the girls dancing in the East River. You couldn't pay me enough to swim/dance/or do much of anything that would involve submerging myself in the East River.

Me versus the rat … Round 2, 3, and 4

Friday - Round 2

… I’m not sure that I’m winning. Friday night, as I mentioned the rat stole the materials I used to block up its hole, and then got into a tin of pasta that I have, and proceeded to throw dry tortellini all over my kitchen while I slept. It then unceremoniously dumped over the tin of rat poison I left out for its consumption.

Score –

Rat – 2

Me – 0

Saturday – Sunday – Round 3

I wake up to see the rat running around my kitchen, I yell, chase it with a broom, and it disappears. The building super comes over and puts a metal plate over the hole, we look for other possible entry points in my apartment and fine none. I clean up the tortellini, wipe down all kitchen surfaces again with bleach. I don’t see the rat again for a day and overnight.

Rat – 3

Me – 1

Sunday – Monday – Round 4

Convinced (erroneously) that the rat is gone, I casually go to bed without doing my dishes … around 1am I hear noises coming from the kitchen. Bleary eyed, I go out there to discover the tin of rat poison has been dragged across the kitchen and it appears that some of it has been eaten. Annoyed and disgusted, I do up my dishes at 1:15am wipe down my counters again. Meanwhile, I hear the rat scratching and scuttling around behind the stove. I bang on the stove a couple of times out of disgust, but realizing there is nothing I can do at this point, I go to my room, close the door, and go back to bed, hoping the rat will just gorge itself on rat poison, as I have completely removed all other sources of food anywhere in my home. I wake up Monday morning and the rat poison has not been touched, but I see no sign of the rat ….

…. The saga continues.

Rat – 4

Me – 1

I don’t like how this is going.

You! Out of my kitchen!

For the past several days, I've been battling this little (or not so little) bugger that has decided to take residence somewhere in my home. I found the hole and the apartment maintenance guy blocked it up pretty good (my temporary solution of a brick with some rags stuffed around it didn't work, the rat just stole the rags). I'm not entirely sure it is gone, but I hope so. I have completely wiped down my kitchen with bleach and set out some rat poison (there is something sinister about the act of going to the hardware store and asking "so where is your rat poison"). The battle is on ... and I will win.

.... and for those who must ask, yes, I know the difference between a mouse and a rat, I wish it were a mouse.