invaders

we'd had some startling evidence of rodent invaders. last week in a flurry of looking for something under the bed, i found a gift torn to shreds. just a small hole actually but the contents were shredded. my mil made me a soothing, heating pack. i loved it. i would pop it in the mircowave for 2-3 minutes on chilly nights, wrap it around me or simply snuggle it up next to me. apparently it dropped from the bed one night several months ago and i didn't recognize the urgency in picking it up. you may be asking yourself why a mouse would chew into it? this snuggle sack retained warmth because it was full of corn kernels. obviously not the popping kind. my jaw dropped when i found it. through a hole the size of a nickle, the little enemy had eaten through nearly all the contents of the bag. another irritating fact, since the nibbled kernels were strewn on the floor, it was dining in our bedroom! disgusting! i know. i should be too humiliated to tell this tale. i hope our friends will still come over.

second offense: we returned from out fabulous long weekend in seattle to find a few little black droppings on the stove and even one in the tub! this is the first time we've ever seen this in our apartment. mouse feces...disgusting!

aside from this corn incident, we're clean people! of course we occasionally leave the bathroom a few days too long in between cleanings but we work hard to make sure there isn't food out or other pest attractions. i also know this is new york city, a few vermin are to be expected. perhaps, but i can't accept it! i want to wage all out war. actually i want jason to do it. there's that damsel thing again.

we'll keep you posted.

In The Club

5 minutes into our (slightly unnerving) adventure and Nate points out that we are not in a somewhat exclusive club. At the time, I thought it was sweet that Nate was staying so positive...but now, I realize, he was right! Not only are we in the "Stuck in an elevator club", but Nate, Margy, Oliver, Todd, Jason and I are in the "Stuck in an Elevator and Climb Out to Freedom Club". Talk about exclusive.

A few Sundays ago, we visited Nate, Ashley and Leo for some Nintendo and a tender goodbye. Nate generously offers to drive us back to 111th. Upon entering the elevator, the door closes behind me, two seconds of regular ride and bang, we're dropping. I don't know how I was the only one screaming! It's true we only dropped for 5 seconds but it was long enough to decide I was plummeting to my death.
First rational decision, use the emergency call box. No go. The woman who answered couldn't seem to hear us over a pre-recorded message the elevator was playing. And she may not have heard us but we heard her getting pretty frustrated.
Nate made the major decisions. I don't want to speak for the rest of the group, especially not the men, but I know I was shaken up and basically waiting to be rescued. Guess there's a little damsel-in-distress in me.

(Oliver looks too good to be stuck in an elevator. Todd looks very happy. Margy had a good "stuck in an elevator" face.)
Next option...call Paul, the super. I guess he lives next door because he showed up quick. We
heard him at the bottom of the shaft, and called down to him what floor we're on. A few minutes more and we hear Paul fiddling with the doors...the creak of the outer doors being pried open and then his fingers working through to pull open the inner door.

Beaming with pride and delight, Paul finally got the doors open. Then holding up a little tool (check the picture), said something like, "I'm not supposed to have this but I got it from the manufactured downtown." (If anyone remembers more exactly what he said, let me know). This angle is a bit deceiving. Paul is crouching down and we now have to climb through a three foot gap. My concern for how I was going to maneuver out with my weak upper body must have shown on my face, but before any words were exchanged from the trapped crew, Nate immediately got on all fours like a stool (what a guy!). We all stepped up and wiggled out to the safe hallway.

I believe Nate's calm stems from a combination of the following factors....
a. He possibly felt a little responsible that we were stuck in "his" elevator. We didn't feel this way but the elevator was more his, than ours.
b. He's in the national guard/army and is trained to handle emergencies.
c. He was stuck in an elevator before, on his mission in Russia. Talk about exclusive, he's in the club twice.
d. He's a calm, rational guy.











(Nate climbing to safety)
Afterthoughts...
1. I'm mostly sure Paul told us he locked the elevator or something that made us feel safe climbing through this little gap. If something had moved...well, I'm not even getting into that.
2. It felt like an hour but we clocked in at about 20 minutes from drop to out.
3. If someone had taken guesses on how far we dropped, I would have gone with 10 feet....realistically it was probably only 2-3.
4. This is another example of life is much easier with cellular phones.
5. Although I was nervous and teary at first. This does make a good story.

Oh No, I Stepped In It

Grocery shopping is one of the "errands" Jason and I love doing together. Last week I made the trip solo because we returned from Spain, to a completely empty 'fridge. So on a typical, steamy NYC summer day I headed up to Stew Leonard’s and the A&P I stock up. After the short 20-minute drive back, I found a parking spot down the block. Wish I had a front and center spot to make toting the groceries a little easier (especially doing it without Jason) but hey, that's part of life in Harlem.

With car parked and trip one completed, I took off to gather round two. I glanced left and started across the street. Just as I went between two parked cars, I felt a slight slide under my left flip-flop. Oh that feeling! Without any conscious thought process, I knew I had stepped in poop. Luckily slide was detected before my right foot had left the ground, so I hadn't stepped down with full force. Still moving I glanced down and instantly felt the threatening heaves of regurgitation. The first time in my life I was left wishing I had stepped in poop. What lay behind me on the ground was.... if you're reading this standing up, definitely sit down...squished RAT road-kill! I'm almost positive that poop is 100 times better than road-kill.

Repulsive. What could I do? Act normal, carry on. I scuffed my foot as much as I could on the sidewalk and tried to act normal. I carried the groceries up and left my beautiful rainbow flops outside the door. That night my hero, Jason, checked the bottom for remains and disinfected them. This is not a tale that can be chocked up as typical for our neighborhood. I have never heard of someone stepping on a dead rat and I can pretty much guarantee I'll be watching to make sure it doesn't happen to me again.

Erica